I slept the day away, or most of it.

It was past five in the evening when I climbed out of bed. My head felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton, and my limbs were so heavy and sore, it hurt to move.

“That’s what you get for sleeping in that torture device they called a chair,” I muttered under my breath as I bent over and tried to loosen the kinks in my back. I wanted a hot bath, but I knew if I took one, I would fall asleep again.

I settled for some yoga, followed by a hot shower, one just long enough to wash up. I wrapped my hair in a towel and reached for my robe, only to discover the hook on the door empty. I’d left it in the bedroom. Again.

Sighing, I used a towel instead, wrapping it around me before heading into the kitchen to get a pot of coffee brewing.

And food.

My belly rumbled demandingly, and I opened the refrigerator in the ever-wishful hope that I’d find a Philly cheesesteak or maybe even just some leftover pizza. Or some kung-pao chicken. Sadly, there was nothing like that, but I did find a wrapped plate with a note from Harrison.

It read simply, Thank you.

Somebody from the studio must have called and let him know what was going on.

I felt ashamed I hadn’t thought of it.

I felt selfish and small because I hadn’t remembered to do it.

The plate held cold cuts of chicken and ham, as well as cheese and veggies cut up fresh. Nothing that would require heating up. He must have been able to tell that I didn’t like to cook. In the kitchen at home or in my dorm, I would have enjoyed it, but I knew how to operate things in my own kitchen. Here, I still felt a little out of my depth.

Putting the plate down, I turned to check on the coffee. The towel slipped and I reached up to adjust it. Needed to get my robe.

I had taken two steps toward the bedroom to do just that when somebody knocked.

“Shit,” I muttered with a quick look down at the towel. Hurrying over to the door, I peeked through the side window and saw Glenn.

He was staring right at me.

I blushed to the roots of my hair. What the hell was it with this guy that he could do this to me?

Jerking back, I hid behind the sanctuary of the door. “Yes?”

“Maya, can you open up? I’d like to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Well, if you could open the door, that would be easier to tell you,” he said, wry humor suffusing the words.

Under my breath, I swore a hundred thousand curses, or so it seemed. I didn’t want to open the door and talk to him because if I did, what little self-control I had would vanish. I was about ready to tell him to just go away, just like I had the last time.

But he sighed. And somehow, I sensed he’d moved closer to the door because his voice sounded louder when he spoke again. Like he was leaning against the door, just as I was. I could practically feel him. “Maya…please.”

My resistance crumbled, and I opened the door. It wasn’t until the very second when his eyes dropped, then lingered, that I remembered something important.

I was still only wearing the damn towel.

Flushing hotly, I spun on my ankle. “I just got out of the shower,” I snapped over my shoulder. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Hurrying into my bedroom, I grabbed my robe and put it on over the towel. I needed as much material between my treacherous body and his eyes as possible. My nipples were already stubbing in the rough weave of the cotton, sensitized almost to the point of pain.

I had no idea what was wrong with me. While I was no exhibitionist, I wasn’t overly modest, either. But having him see me in the towel was worse than if he’d seen me naked.

And now I was debating on taking the time to get dressed, but I hesitated because I wasn’t sure if I should. He’d be out there thinking about me getting dressed.

Which was worse?

I didn’t know.

Deciding to brazen it out, I knotted the tie of my robe securely and headed out to face him.

Glenn was standing at the window, looking outside. Even though I knew he had to have heard me, he didn’t turn around.

“Sorry I’m intruding,” he said gruffly. “I heard you stayed with Florence last night. You must be exhausted.”

“Not now.” I shrugged and fiddled with the robe’s belt. “I slept all day.”

Immediately I wish I hadn’t said anything about sleeping, because that made me think of my bed and then him, preferably him and the bed and me together. His spine stiffened, and I thought that maybe he was thinking the same thing.

Miserable, I wrapped my arms across my chest and stared a hole through the back of his head. “What was so important that it couldn’t wait until the next time we saw each other?”

“I didn’t know when that would be,” he said reasonably. He finally looked at me, but it was just a glance, so quick it might as well have not even happened. “The movie is on hold. You were talking about leaving. I needed to see you. It’s important.”

“You’ve said that already.” My knees went a little weak as he continued to stare at me. There was a new intensity to his gaze that hadn’t been there before, and it made it even harder for me think. I realized I was gripping the vee neck of my robe together, although it had nothing to do with modesty. It was some subconscious, last minute grab for control, like if I didn’t hold the damn thing on me, I was afraid I’d just step right out of it.

He took a step toward me.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” I backed up a step, desperate not to let him get close, even as I desperately wanted to get closer to him. My entire body ached for him, ached with the sort of need that came from a hunger too long denied. I didn’t entirely like it, didn’t want to feel like this now, or ever again.

“You said you were leaving. I don’t want you to go.”

Those words struck me with an unending chill. I would leave. I didn’t have any choice, did I? But when would I leave—that was the question.

“It’s not really up to me.” Even though I wasn’t wearing the necklace, my fingers went to my throat, and against my ring finger I felt the rapid thudding of my pulse.

Glenn’s gaze dipped low and rested on my hand before returning to my face.

“What do you mean it’s not up to you? Just decide to stay.” He took another step closer.

“Florence is going to be focused on getting better for the near future,” I hedged. “She doesn’t really need me here. I was hired by the studio. I don’t have a job. Not like there’s a lot of reason for me to stay.”

“You do have a reason, and you’re hiding from it.”

Somehow, he had closed the distance between us and reached up to cup my cheek. His thumb stroked over my lower lip, and I shivered despite myself.

“If I could have made myself love her, I would’ve done it. But I’m not going to be with somebody when I know it won’t make either of us happy. Especially not when there is somebody I do want, somebody I think will make me happy.”

The staggering beauty of his eyes seemed to cut right through to my very soul. My heart raced so hard and fast that I was certain he could hear it.

“Maya…” He dipped his head and pressed his lips to my ear. “Do you want me to leave?”

Why couldn’t he have just been pushy about it?

If he’d been an ass, I could have pushed back. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, he was logical and reasonable…and sweet. As I hesitated, his lips slid down my cheek to rub against mine, and he asked the question again, his voice low and rough. “Do you want me to leave?”

I’m sorry…

“No.”

I lifted my lips for his kiss, already moaning, already starving. He met me with equal desperation. As I buried my fingers in his hair, his hands went to my waist and I felt the tie on my robe give way.

I didn’t care. It was just another barrier between us. I still had the towel on, too, but as the robe gave way, the towel loosened and fell, puddling at my feet. He pushed the robe back from my shoulders and it joined the towel, baring all of me to his touch.

And touch he did. As his tongue teased at my lips, his hands moved across my skin, making me quake, making me burn.

He boosted me up and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. His fingers dug into my ass and I gasped as my back encountered the wall behind me. It was cool against my flesh, a harsh contrast with the fire burning in me and the heat that was him.

His tongue twined against mine and I moaned. I didn’t always like being kissed, especially with tongue. Some guys were okay at it. Some sucked. Some were pretty decent. Most made me feel like they’d learned it from watching porn.

Glenn, however, was absolutely fantastic. He was a damn maestro when it came to kissing, and judging by the way his fingers teased patterns on my skin, he was going to be equally talented in other areas.

I rubbed my tongue against his then tore my mouth away, panting, needing the air and hating that it meant we weren’t kissing.

Then his mouth slid down my neck, closed over the skin there, and I decided this was okay too. As he began to suck on the delicate flesh just above my pulse, I curled my arms around his neck and rocked my hips forward, desperate to ease the ache inside. His jeans were rough against the insides of my thighs, rough against my most sensitive skin, but I needed.

He shuddered even as he grasped my waist, holding me tight as he walked us over to my bed.

“I won’t hurt you,” he murmured against my skin as he carefully lowered me to the mattress.

That confused me for a minute. Then I realized he probably thought I was a virgin. I hoped he wasn’t disappointed. Craning my head back, I studied him from under my lashes for a moment before saying, “I’ve had lovers before.”

For a moment, his expression was unreadable; then, slowly, a smile curled his lips. “Good.”

That wasn’t exactly the reaction I’d expected.

But from one second to the next, a change came over him, and I caught on... fast.

He’d been holding back.

Now his hands were demanding as they moved over me. Not hard or cruel, but I caught a glimpse of a frenzied need that almost matched mine. He covered my breasts with his hands, and for a moment, I wondered if he wished my figure was more like Florence’s, more like the curvy bombshells who were in demand in the sixties. Then he cursed softly under his breath and leaned down to take one pebbled nipple in his mouth, and I forgot all about comparing myself to the women he’d been with before.

I tugged at his shirt even as he used his teeth and tongue to bite and soothe. I wanted to feel his bare skin, dig my nails in and mark him physically as surely as he was marking my soul.

“Off.” I managed to get a word out. When he started to pull back, I realized he’d misunderstood me. I shook my head and grabbed the front of his shirt. “Not you,” I said. “Shirt. Off. Now.”

He gave me that killer smile of his as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

Fuck.

I’d known how amazing he looked in a suit, in a tight t-shirt, and I’d felt the hard planes of his body, but nothing had compared to seeing all that gloriously tanned skin. I reached for his belt but he caught my hands before I could do anything.

“Not yet.”

As he skated his palm down my belly, his mouth came back to mine. He thrust his tongue and fingers into me simultaneously, his mouth claiming mine while he plunged deep into my pussy and twisted, sending a wave of pleasure pulsing through me.

It was followed on the heels by another, then another.

I tried to clamp my thighs shut around his hand, but that just drove him deeper, pressed his thumb hard against my clit. I cried out, back arching as electricity raced along my nerves. I was so close, torn between needing to go over the edge and wanting this to go on forever.

He bit my lower lip, gently, but with enough force that it caught my attention. “I won’t be able to last long once I’m inside you, baby, but I’m going to make damn sure this is good for you, too.”

“I…” I might have argued, insisted it already was.

But my climax broke over me at that moment, and all I could do was scream his name.

I was still quivering when he removed his hand from between my legs. I watched with half-hazy eyes as he pulled something out of his pants pocket before stripping them off. Surprise cut through my muddled mind when I realized it was a condom. I hadn’t even thought about protection. Back home, I took the pill, but I’d been off it since I’d been here.

His eyes met mine as he rolled on the condom. “I just want to protect us both.”

It took me a moment to remember that safe sex wasn’t really a thing yet, not the way it would be after the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Contraception was still controversial at this point, and it wasn’t that strange for him to think I’d protest him using it.

“Thank you.” I smiled at him, then let my gaze slide down so I could admire the rest of his body as much as I had his torso. My pussy throbbed at the sight of his erection, thick and long and all for me, and then he was lowering himself over me.

My eyelids fluttered when the head of him brushed against me and I tipped my hips up in anticipation. His mouth came down hard on mine and then he was inside me, burying himself deep with one thrust. He stilled there, his mouth softening on mine before he raised his head, pressing his forehead to mine.

“Are you okay?”

“Ummm…” I had a hard time processing that question as every inch of my body was currently trying to adjust to the realization of just how full I was. “I think…but you aren’t moving.”

He chuckled, a low, dark sound that made me shiver.

Then he started to move and I found that I was far better than okay.

He moved with purpose, each stroke rubbing against all the right parts of me even as the hair on his chest scratched against my sensitive breasts. The sensations nearly overwhelmed me, taking away my ability to say anything but more and please. To do anything other than move with him, rake my nails down his back and then dig them into the firm muscles of his ass. Nothing outside of this room, this bed, registered. Only him inside me and above me.

But it wasn’t only the physical pleasure of our bodies coming together that assaulted my senses, my mind. It was the inexplicable rightness of it, of how we fit together. It was how being with him, like this, made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. How, for the first time since I’d arrived in California, my center shifted, and this time, this place, became home.

As I exploded around him, white light danced behind my eyes and my body burned. Then he followed me only a few seconds later, groaning my name, and I thought maybe the pleasure just might kill me.

But what a way to go.