On her way from the copy room, Lindsay paused mid-stride, unable to believe what she read on her phone screen. She let out a little squeal and dialed Malik’s number as she picked up the pace to her office.

His low voice came over the phone. “Hello?”

It was hard to have a normal conversation with him after what they’d shared last weekend, but she kept her voice neutral. One time. That’s what they’d agreed to.

“Hey, Malik, I have some news.” She entered her office, tossed the copies on her credenza, and propped her butt on the edge of the desk. “You’re going to thank me when you hear this. You have a showing at a local gallery off Highway 85. Ever heard of Noble Art Gallery?”

“I have. They’re a pretty big outfit. They have what, three locations around the city, don’t they?”

“That’s right. Their fundraising auctions are notoriously successful, and they’re known for all the high-end art they sell. They have an invitation-only event planned for two weeks from Friday for up-and-coming artists. It’s the kind of thing they do for a small segment of their mailing list who want to be part of discovering hot new talent. I’d told Hal to keep an ear to the ground regarding any opportunities for you. He found out that one of the artists who was supposed to attend the Noble Art event, a sculptor, had to cancel—family emergency or something. They were looking to replace him with another sculptor, and Hal sent them to your website and Instagram page. He texted me a second ago to say they want you to take the place of the other artist.”

“Are you saying that I have a showing?”

Lindsay grinned when she heard the excitement in his voice. “Along with two other artists, yes. Get ready to schmooze some very wealthy people with lots of money to spend. Tell me you’re free.”

“Hell yeah, I’m free.”

“Awesome. I’ll text you the info so you can get in touch with them.”

“How about you give it to me when you see me?”

Lindsay paused. “I don’t know when I’ll see you again,” she said carefully.

“You’ll see me in a few minutes. I just walked into the lobby of your office.”

“What?” Lindsay said softly.

“Brought you lunch. I’m checking in with the receptionist now. See you in a little bit.”

Malik hung up, and for a moment, Lindsay was so stunned she couldn’t move. Was he serious? Then the phone on her desk rang, and the receptionist told her she had a visitor—Malik Brooks. He was serious.

“Send him back,” she said.

Lindsay hung up and straightened her black slacks and checked her face real quick to make sure her makeup was still intact. Unlike some of the other entrepreneurs she shared office space with, she always came into the office dressed well even though she seldom had outside visitors.

At the knock on her door, she called, “Come in,” from behind her desk.

Malik walked in holding a Styrofoam cup and brown paper sack and looked very delicious in a chest-hugging orange T-shirt and jeans. Her pulse rate tripled. She wanted him like she never wanted any man before. Breathe.

“Hey.” He gave the room a cursory review, and when the corners of his mouth pushed up into a slow, delicious smile, her toes curled in her shoes.

“What’s in the bag?” Lindsay went to stand in front of him.

“Mexican food from your new favorite place.” He handed the food and drinks to her.

His gaze traveled over her body, and she felt his look as if he’d trailed his fingers over her breasts and waist.

“My new favorite place?” she asked, continuing the friendly conversation despite the way the temperature in the room had raised a few notches. “On Buford Highway, I guess?”

“Of course.”

He was right. It was her new favorite place. She’d been back several times since their trip there.

Lindsay set the items on the table and peeked in the bag.

“A couple of tacos and a burrito,” Malik said. He was much closer now, his voice low and the heat from his body warming her back.

“That’s a lot of food.” She closed the bag.

“You can save some for later.”

Lindsay turned to face him, and he was standing closer than she thought. She reached for the mental strength required not to maul him.

“Why are you all up on me?” She stepped back so her thighs bumped the edge of the desk.

“Why do you think?” He came closer. A few more inches and they’d touch.

“I have no idea. I have no idea why you’re even here,” she whispered, because that’s all she could manage.

Malik hooked a finger in the waistband of her black slacks and pulled until the tips of her breasts touched his chest. His gaze dropped to her lips. “I think you know why I’m here.”

“Why don’t you tell me.”

His gaze flicked up to hers, and their eyes locked. “I’d rather show you.”

With a hand at her nape, Malik slanted his mouth over hers. She gave in without hesitation. He was an excellent kisser, and his mouth moved over hers with a level of expertise that made her moan and fold her arms behind his neck. She dragged him closer, parting her lips and pushing her tongue into his mouth. Standing on tiptoe, she urged closer contact. The soft hairs of his beard rubbed against her cheek as he kissed the corners of her mouth and plucked her lower lip between his teeth.

Lindsay framed his face with her hands, and when he pushed her against the desk, one leg wound around his so he could comfortably fit in the cradle of her thighs. Feeling the hard swell of an erection, excitement seized her blood, and she fastened her arms around him and opened her mouth for a full French kiss.

He was intoxicating. Delicious. His hands ran down her sides and hips. He moved to grip her bottom, and she gasped into his mouth, tilting her head back as his lips trailed along the side of her neck and down to the swell of her breasts.

Suddenly, she was released and swung around, her hands flattened atop the desk.

“I need you to stop wearing pants,” he said, in a low, gravelly voice.

“Why?”

He pressed his lips to her ear. “Without them, it’ll be easier for me to fuck you.”

A tremor rippled through her, and she closed her eyes.

Malik pushed her pants down around her ankles and let his rough-textured hands skate over her skin. She loved it. She loved when he pushed his hands up her shirt and caressed her waist and around to her stomach. They both groaned when he impatiently yanked her bra below her breasts and closed his hands around them. Her nipples pebbled as she pushed back, feeling the hardness of his thighs and the firm rod between them.

He squeezed her breasts, and she slanted her head to the side so his hot mouth could plant itself against her neck. His hips rubbed against her ass, and her ass rubbed against his hips. They groaned. They panted.

His hands squeezed her raw, aching breasts in a constant rotation. Eyes closed, she reached back blindly and cupped the back of his head, caressing the soft coils and forcing his mouth into tighter contact with her skin. His sucking and gnawing would surely leave a mark, and she wanted him to. She wanted to be branded everywhere by his touch and the heat of his mouth.

Tilting back her head, Lindsay gave herself over to the immense pleasure, gasping when his fingers pinched her nipples and his teeth fastened on an earlobe. One hand slipped between her legs, shoving aside the crotch of her panties to stroke over the smooth skin into the wetness below. A gasp broke free from her lips as two fingers scissored her tight clit, and a shudder shook her entire frame.

“Goddamn,” he muttered, his voice a guttural figment of its former self.

She opened her mouth to whisper a plea, to beg, but all she managed to do was softly say his name in a trembling moan.

His hand on her back pushed her onto her forearms. She stepped out of the pants, and he removed her underwear. She heard the whisper of his jeans as they dropped to the floor. This time he came prepared with his own condoms. Once he’d sheathed himself in latex, he fused their bodies into one.

They both moaned, and Lindsay bit down on her lower lip to keep from making louder noises that her work neighbors would hear. With each thrust, she arched her back to better accept him.

One hand fastened on the back of her neck, and Malik bent his head to her ear. “Now do you know why I came?”

“Yes,” Lindsay whimpered.

Pleasure licked at her spine. She wanted desperately to prolong this feeling—one of fullness, of him hitting every corner in a slow rhythm. But she couldn’t. It was too hard. Hands flat on the desk, she levered backward faster, seeking relief. Her muscles spasmed around him, and the noise she’d fought so valiantly to keep banked in her chest burst free from her throat as a violent climax rocked her body.

“Now my neighbors know we had sex.” Lindsay’s body still hummed from the unexpected nooner.

They were both dressed. Malik had dragged the extra chair from against the wall and set it in front of Lindsay’s desk. She sat on the desk with her bare feet on his thighs, eating a carne asada taco.

Malik chuckled, one hand caressing from her ankle to her calf and back again in a continuous motion. “Whose fault is that?”

“Yours.”

“I’m not the one who hollered.” His brown eyes twinkled with amusement.

Lindsay cut her eyes at him and sipped her horchata. She set the Styrofoam cup on the desk. “Still your fault. You had no business coming here. I thought we agreed we’d only hook up once.”

“Did we? I remember you saying it, but I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

“Are you saying you want to see more of me?” she asked.

“Yes. And you want to see more of me.”

“You sure about that?”

“Very.”

“Hmm. So are you saying that we’re going to do this more often?” She arched a brow, a thread of excitement sliding down her spine.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“You’re actually going to break your sex fast?”

“Pretty sure that ship has already sailed.” Malik’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t look so smug.”

“I’m not being smug!”

“Yeah, right.”

Lindsay giggled and stuck the last piece of taco in her mouth. After she finished chewing, she said, “If we’re going to do this, we need to establish parameters. A friends-with-benefits relationship—”

“Who said anything about friends-with-benefits?” His hand on her ankle stopped moving. “I don’t do casual sex relationships. Tried it, didn’t like it. I’m real possessive. What’s mine is mine, and I don’t share. So that friends-with-benefits bullshit goes out the window when you’re with me.”

“Do I get a say?”

Malik slowly raised from the chair and stood between her legs. He rested his hands on the desk, caging her in with his strapping arms. “The only thing I want to hear you say is yes, you agree with me.”

They made direct eye contact, and Lindsay’s stomach contracted. Was she in over her head? She no longer felt in control, and what she’d anticipated as being a casual fling was turning into something that could easily go sideways and leave her with a broken heart, again.

“Yes, I agree with you,” she heard herself say.

She hoped she wouldn’t regret it.