Zach woke Harper up by slowly caressing her nipples. She couldn’t have been asleep for more than two hours, but it would seem Zach was up and ready to go. One look into his midnight blue eyes and she already felt herself moisten between her thighs. The look was pointed and predatory, like she was his prey and he was going to feast on her.

Except Harper wanted to be in control now. She wanted to be the one who called the shots. She wanted to make this strong, tough hockey player beg for more, moan her name, and be completely and utterly helpless.

As such, she pushed him so he was flat on his back. At first, he seemed surprised. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest. But when she reached to his nightstand and grabbed a condom, he closed his mouth. There was still a hint of wariness in those eyes, but he was hard against her thigh and it would appear that he trusted her enough to see where she planned to take this.

Harper smirked as she opened the condom and slowly slid the slick material onto his cock. She drew it out, using one hand to put it on and the second to idly play with his balls. He hissed at the contact, but pleasure clouded his eyes. He was sensitive there, she realized, just like every man she’d been with. Probably just like every man.

Without warning, she straddled him and slid down his considerable length. She should have been accustomed to his size already, since they had had sex so recently, but she had to slow her ministrations down just to allow herself some time to stretch around him. He groaned in response and held onto her waist, helping her ease down.

“Fuck, you’re already wet,” he muttered, his eyes squeezed shut. His grip on her was firm.

“Can you imagine what I would feel like without the condom?” she asked before she could stop herself.

His eyes flashed open, capturing hers. “Don’t tempt me, Harper,” he said, and she felt a shock to her pelvis at the way he said her name.

She grinned down at him and started to roll her hips on top of him, the same way she had danced last night, early this morning, she couldn’t keep track. Any retort that was ready to come out of his perfect mouth was snuffed out the minute she started to move, and even she was cast under a spell, his cock impaling her in just the right spot. She should speed up, but she couldn’t. She was forced to go slow.

His hands cupped her breasts, his long thumbs caressing her nipples in just the right way that was firm but gentle, eliciting a throb of pleasure to soak the thrusting his cock was already doing to her. She threw her head back, her eyes rolling closed as her left hand found her clit and she started dancing along the swollen nub, begging for release.

Orgasm came easy, hard and slow. It was different, coming slowly. It was powerful and shook her to her core. It was hard to grasp it the way she did coming hard and fast, but this orgasm lasted longer and the waves rolled consistently until she couldn’t touch herself anymore. Until she was too sensitive for Zach’s fingers on her nipples. She had to push them away.

“You’re amazing,” he murmured through hooded eyes. She watched as he gave her a lazy smile, those dark blue eyes never leaving hers. She felt shy under his gaze, which was silly, considering what they had just done again, but she did not look away from him, nor did she immediately get off. He softened inside of her but she liked the way he felt inside her, the way her body felt with him. It wasn’t like the way she had been with the guys who came before Zach.

It was different.

She refused to think about it.

“I should get to my room,” she murmured, prepared to slide off him and grab her underwear so she didn’t make too much of a mess. Zach’s hands immediately stopped caressing her hips, and instead, gripped them with just enough pressure to keep her in place.

“Don’t go just yet,” he said, and pulled her down so she was lying on top of him. “Hang out for just a little bit longer.”

She should go. Harper knew she should go. Who knew when Zach’s roommate would be back and it was already bad enough that they saw her and Zach together at the club. She didn’t want to be known as a puck bunny and a part of her worried that any respect she had from them when she first introduced herself was thrown out the window.

Surprisingly enough, Harper didn’t regret what happened between her and Zach. Truth be told, she thought she would. She thought she would worry about their relationship, her job, and how the team perceived her. And she did. To a degree. But not enough to wish she hadn’t agreed to go out with him tonight, to kiss him the way she had at the club, and to be with him in his bed.

She wouldn’t necessarily say they made love, but she also didn’t think they fucked. It was an in-between that had the roughness and the intimacy of both. She liked it, she realized. In fact, Harper would never admit it out loud, but she could get used to it.

With him.

So she agreed. She let her body relax. She let her eyes close. And she allowed herself to fall asleep in surprisingly comfortable arms.

* * *

Harper awoke to the comfortable pressure between her legs. She hadn’t been drunk when Zach kissed her. She hadn’t been tired or tipsy when they went back to the hotel room together. She was completely sober when she heard the rip of the plastic, when she felt his considerable length enter her body. She didn’t even try to stop it. She didn’t want to.

And now. Now.

Her eyes dropped to Zach. He slept on his stomach, his face away from hers, but one arm still thrown carelessly across her stomach, his fingers sprawled out like she was his, like he was afraid she would slink off into the night.

Her heart felt full at the thought, but the fear immediately jumped in. She had wanted it, wanted him. Badly. She was surprised at how badly she wanted him. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been with anyone since Bryan and wanted to know that someone desired her in that way. And yeah, there was an element of pride that went along with bedding a hockey player. But now, those feelings, that pride, didn’t mean much to her. Any hope of deepening the relationship on an emotional level probably went completely out the window. Her chest ached, but she pushed it aside.

Never again. She couldn’t let this happen again. Any respect he had for her probably vanished. Not that she cared what he thought of her –

No. That was a lie. Harper hated to admit it, but she did care what he thought about her. Because despite his many personality flaws, Harper truly believed that Zach was a good guy.

She had to get out of there. She would sneak out and pretend this never happened. She pointedly ignored when her heart squeezed in response to the decision she made. Her first goal was to get out of Zach’s grasp without him knowing. Then, she would go back to her room, go to the game, and fly home early – even if she had to pay for it out of her own pocket. Then, she would tell Seraphina everything. Seraphina had created this position for her; the least Harper could do was treat her job seriously and give her boss respect.

Harper took a breath and sucked in her stomach. From there, she slowly began to edge her way to the end of the bed. Her eyes darted between the floor – so she wouldn’t topple off with no warning – and Zach, to see if he would wake up. By the time her leg was able to drop to the floor, Zach still hadn’t awoken. Twisting her body to stand up would be easy. She held her breath, angled her body, and stood in one fluid motion. Immediately, she held her breath and waited. But Zach continued snoring softly, didn’t even move besides the even rise and fall of his chest from breathing.

A twinge of guilt hit her hard and unexpectedly. She chewed her bottom lip as she cast one last look at her lover, over his beautiful body. Memories flashed of last night and this morning. It was good. No, not good. The best she ever had. And she was going to give that all up.

She had to.

Harper shook her head. She needed to focus. She needed to get her head on straight.

It didn’t take her long to pull on her bra and underwear. Instead of slinking on her dress, she grabbed his shirt and decided that it was long enough that it could pass off as a dress. If she ran into anyone, they would probably assume she had shorts on underneath the hemline of the shirt because no one in their right mind would walk around with just a shirt and high heels on.

The shoes were a problem. They definitely gave off a walk-of-shame vibe – and that was what she had been trying to avoid which was why she refused to wear her dress. There was nothing she could do unless she chose to go barefoot. She wasn’t sure what was more damning. In the end, she supposed it didn’t matter. As long as she left now, as long as he didn’t see her leaving, that was all she cared about.

So she quickly ran her fingers through her hair, grabbed her shoes and her purse in her hands, and left Zachary Ryan sleeping in that bed without looking back. Even though she wasn’t spotted as she made her long trek back to her room, she kept her chin up the entire time.

* * *

Zach felt her leave the minute she slipped from his grasp and got off the bed. He didn’t want her to know he was awake, however. He hadn’t particularly cared if a girl snuck off in the morning after a passionate night of lovemaking. Most of the time, he was sleeping when it happened. Sometimes they left notes, most of the times it was their number, but he rarely called them back. He wasn’t looking for anything serious.

But Harper was different. He didn’t want to see her leave. Because then, it was real. Then, it was over.

And, he realized to himself, the last thing he wanted was for it to be over.