Shelby always knew that she liked routines. It went along with liking numbers and the way they made sense and followed patterns. But she’d never imagined just how comfortable it would be to slide into a routine with a man.

Then again, she’d never imagined Nolan.

When she thought about it logically, they didn’t fit at all. Her, all ordered and precise. Him, practically overflowing with wild and untamed energy.

But that was surface stuff. Underneath, they fit. Not because they were alike, but because they were like a jigsaw puzzle. Their differences meshed perfectly, and once together, everything made sense.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said, coming into the living room with two cups of coffee. Since his speech, he’d pretty much moved into her place. He even had his very own drawer. And Shelby loved the domesticity of it.

“Are you only worth a penny?” she asked lifting her feet so he could sit, then replacing them in his lap. “Because I was thinking of you.”

“Then we’re even, because I’m always thinking of you.”

“We are so sappy,” she said, then laughed.

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“Deal.”

He glanced at his wristwatch. “I need to get going. You’ll come later?”

“I wish I could come now.” Tonight was the Mr. March contest at The Fix, and Nolan was going in early to meet with everyone involved since he was ramping up the promo for The Fix on his show.

“I’ll probably be late,” she reminded him. She gestured toward the stacks of paper on her coffee table. All minor crises that had to be dealt with, and so she’d brought the work home so that she could focus properly. “And then I have to meet Frank after work and brief him.”

“But even if you don’t make the contest, you’ll meet me there?”

“Absolutely,” she said. “And as for the contest, I still think you should enter.”

“Too late now.”

“Not for Mr. April.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Not happening.”

“If I can surprise you, can that be my prize?”

“Surprise me?”

“Yeah, you know. Pull a rabbit out of a hat. Give you a blowjob while we’re doing eighty on the toll-road. Stuff like that.”

“Let’s skip that one.”

“Illustrative purposes only,” she promised. “But if I manage a safe surprise…”

“I guess it’ll depend on the surprise.”

She rolled her eyes, but knew it was the best she’d get from him. “Go,” she said. “And let me get back to work.”

It really did take her all afternoon and into the early evening to get a handle on her various projects, but that still left her plenty of time to get to The Fix and settle in. Because she had no meeting tonight. She just needed to go alone. Because that was all part of her plan.

---

Nolan clapped Cam on the shoulder, congratulated him on being Mr. March, and thanked him for doing the promo spot. Then Cam pretty much bolted. Not that Nolan could blame him. Nolan knew damn well that the only thing on Cam’s mind at the moment was Mina.

He checked his watch, then glanced again at the door. He still hadn’t seen Shelby come in, and he hoped that he hadn’t missed her in the crowd. He’d been to all three of the Man of the Month contests, and with each event the crowd grew bigger and bigger, such that Brent was going to have to hire extra security to make sure the crowd didn’t get too rowdy and that the door didn’t let too many people in and violate the fire code.

But, again, that was something Nolan didn’t care about.

He wanted Shelby, and he was about to pull out his phone and text her when Aly hurried up, her expression harried and her tray overfull. “A lady just tipped me twenty to make sure this gets to you,” she said, then shoved a folded receipt into his hand. He started to ask if she’d given him the wrong thing when he realized that the handwriting on the thin strip of paper was more than just a signature.

He unfolded it, then laughed out loud at the note in Shelby’s neat, precise handwriting—Surprise.

As soon as his laugh faded, though, he frowned. What was the surprise? For that matter, where was Shelby?

The question was answered almost the instant he’d asked it. Because there she was, walking toward him in her familiar linen blend suit skirt and matching suit jacket. That, however, was the end of familiar. Her usual buttoned-to-the-collar shirt was open all the way to her cleavage, revealing the white lace trim of what was undoubtedly a sexy camisole.

And most interesting of all, she was walking on the same incredibly high fuck-me pumps she’d been wearing the night he’d first laid eyes on her.

“Shel? What is it?” he asked as she approached. “Are you okay?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he kicked himself, because of course she was okay. He was the one having heart palpitations.

“I’m fine,” she purred. “I have something for you.”

She reached into her purse, and then pressed something soft into his hand before flashing him a flirty smile and continuing on toward the exit.

He watched her go for a full minute before thinking to look down into his hand. When he did, he felt his cock grow hard. Because he was holding a pair of red La Perla panties—and he was quite certain that his Paradox—who had repeatedly refused to go commando—was wearing absolutely nothing at all.

---

Shelby kept walking even though she knew that she had Nolan’s attention. And sure enough, she heard his footsteps hurrying to catch up to her. She glanced over her shoulder as she walked, lifted her brows, and said, “Good surprise?”

“Very. But where are you going?”

She paused long enough to look him up and down, lingering her gaze in the vicinity of his cock. “I thought we’d go to your place. Walking distance, right?”

His mouth curved up. “It most certainly is. And we can take the shortcut.”

Her pulse picked up tempo at the idea of getting naked with him sooner. “I’m game,” she said. “Lead the way.”

He stepped beside her, then took her hand as he led her through an alley behind the Bank of America building.

“How is this faster?” she asked, and he laughed.

“I didn’t say a shortcut to what,” he said as he eased her up against the brick wall of the alley. They were hidden from view from pedestrians on both Fifth and Sixth Streets by the uneven nature of the wall and the scattered Dumpsters and metal storage containers.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he inched the skirt up, exposing her to the dim ambient light.

“What I’ve been wanting to do since I first tried to get those damn panties out from under your dress,” he said, then lifted her up so quickly and unexpectedly she gasped.

He ordered her to hook her legs on his shoulders, and she complied, both turned on and slightly terrified of falling. But he had her fast, and she realized just how strong those muscled arms really were.

“Arch back,” he ordered, and since the next thing he did with his mouth was cover her clit and suck, she did what he said. And as he worked a beautiful magic on her sex, she opened her eyes, looked at the sky, and let Nolan hold her tight and keep her safe as he, quite literally, took her to the stars.