I looked at the boy tucked under the gray guestroom comforter. He looked small and helpless in the massive heap of pillows. I picked a few up and tossed them on the floor.

Julie walked up behind me.

“All ready for lights out?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Bed time is eight o’clock. We both have school in the morning.”

I liked that school teacher tone she had. I wondered if I could get her to use it in bed.

“Give us a minute?” I asked her.

I could tell she didn’t want to go. She probably wanted to set up a sleeping bag and sleep next to him to make sure he wasn’t scared. He was fine. The kid was stronger than she gave him credit for. I knew. I was this kid.

“Ok. But if you need me, Hunter. I’m in the bedroom next to yours and Kane will be on the couch.”

I rolled my eyes. Like fuck I was sleeping on my own couch. I knew she was trying to set some kind of moral example for the kid, but he’d be asleep in ten minutes. By morning my ass would be on the couch. Tonight that woman was mine and in my bed.

“Thank you, M-miss … c-can I call you Julie now?”

She gasped. “Oh my God. Really?”

He nodded. “Is it ok?”

She pulled him into a hug. “Yes. Yes, of course. Julie. Call me that, honey.”

I was pretty sure I saw her eyes misted over. She turned quickly and ran out of the room.

“Did I do something wrong?” Hunter asked.

“Nah. I think you did something very right.” I sat in the empty space next to him. The bed creaked under my weight.

“Thanks for inviting me to the game today.”

“Sure.” The game ball was next to him. He hadn’t let it out of his sight. It sat next to him at dinner. I remembered doing the exact same thing. This kid and I had so much in common.

I wanted to tell him about my conversation with Savannah. I wanted him to know I was trying my damndest to get him. To give him a family. And maybe that included Julie too.

“You’re going to win the next one too, right?”

“No one wants the Sharks to win more than I do.”

“But you’re supposed to play on Christmas Day aren’t you?”

I scratched the back of my head. Where was the kid going with this? I felt like he was a tiny interrogator holding a flashlight in my eyes. He was good at it too.

“That’s the plan.”

“Oh.” He took handfuls of the comforter and balled them up in his small hands.

“You worried about something, Hunter?”

“No.”

“Hmm. You sure?”

“I just want to sleep.”

I reached over to turn off the light. “If you need anything we’re here.”

He turned on his side. I touched the top of his hair lightly before closing the door behind me.

Julie sat on the couch, clutching a glass of red wine. She stared into the small flames crackling in the fireplace. The loft was big a man cave, but with this beautiful woman on my couch, the fire, the kid tucked in, I felt like I was living in a damn white-picket fence movie. It felt like a home.

“He’ll be out in five minutes.” I grabbed a goblet and poured a full glass. “That is one tired kid.”

“He loved watching you play. The whole thing.” Her feet were tucked under her. “He was mesmerized by everything.”

“What about you? Was that your first Sharks game?”

She nodded. “It was sort of amazing watching you out there.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know about your little fan club.” She smirked slyly.

The wine tasted sweet. Not really my thing. “You saw them?”

“Who could miss those girls? Is it always like that?”

I thought I heard her voice change. She was jealous. “It’s the AFA. Women are part of it.”

“I see.”

I placed my glass on the table in front of me. It was there on my lips again—I wanted to tell her about Savannah’s assignment. I wanted her to know I took all of this seriously. Hell, I was trying to become a father. Something I never thought I wanted. And I sure as hell didn’t think I’d start with an eight-year-old.

“I think you need to know what the ground rules are as long as you’re staying here, baby.”

Her eyes flared. “Excuse me?”

“I have rules.”

She laughed. “Let me guess. Do they involve handcuffs or blindfolds?”

Damn, my cock twitched. “No, but that can certainly be arranged.”

She hit me in the shoulder. “What are these rules then?”

“Number one: when you’re here, you sleep in my bed. Number two: when in my bed, if I find a shred of clothes on you, I’m taking it off.” I saw her swallow hard. “Number three—”

“There’s more?”

I nodded. “Number three: I want you at all my games. Every single damn one. You understand?”

“Really?”

I chuckled. “You sound like Hunter.”

She blushed. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to say about any of this. It’s surreal. You. Me. Hunter.”

She didn’t know how fucking surreal it was. She had no damn clue.

“Number four: no other men.”

She blinked. “I’m not sleeping with anyone else, Hawk.”

“I didn’t say you are. But you won’t again.”

She gulped the wine. “And you?”

“Are you asking if any other women are going to be in that bed?”

She nodded slowly. “I saw them today. I couldn’t help but wonder. This is new. This is … what is this?”

“It’s us,” I answered.

“And the women?”

“Did you hear rules one through four?”

“Mmmhmm.”

I took the wine from her hands and placed it next to mine. The flames bounced off the glasses. I’d never promised a woman I’d be faithful. Shit, I never wanted to be. I liked to have my choices. I liked fucking who I wanted to when I wanted to.

But Julie had changed that. I hadn’t even explored half of what I could with her. Saying that to her was something different. I was scared as fuck.

“You need to hear me say it? You need me to tell you? Or is your pussy still swollen from this morning? Does your clit still feel where I kissed it? Are you still wet from when I fucked everything I had into you?”

She nodded climbing into my lap. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”

Her legs straddled my waist. Her mouth landed on mine and she kissed me softly at first before her tongue took over. Fuck, this woman could kiss. And the things she could do with her tongue were pure sin.

“If there weren’t a kid sleeping down the hall, I’d bend you over and fuck you in front of the fireplace and watch you come over and over as the flames ripped through you. But instead, I need you to go into my room and take off your clothes.”

I nudged her off of me. My cock was as solid as a rod of stone. I was sure the kid was asleep and he’d never hear us, but I couldn’t take that chance. The things I wanted to do to her needed to be done in the dark.

She rose from the couch, her eyes filled with lust. Her hands went to the edge of her shirt and she tugged until the fitted Sharks shirt was over her head. I stared at her breasts bobbing over the lacey bra.

“Don’t you break a rule.”

“Or what?” she taunted.

“Or else you’ll have to bend over the bed and wait for me.”

She reached behind her and unhooked her bra. The straps fell from her shoulders. She let the pink tip forward, exposing her tits. “It’s hard to learn so many rules at once.” She sashayed from the couch. “But maybe with a little encouragement I’ll be better at it tomorrow night.” She looked at me wickedly over her shoulder.

“Now it’s not just bending over. You’re not listening, baby. I want your legs spread wide. By the time I get there, you fingers better be coated in your sweet honey. I’m going to lick every finger and make sure.”

She whimpered as she hit the bedroom door. She closed it behind her and I reached down to soothe my cock for a second.

I was exhausted after the game. Exhausted after fucking all night. But Julie brought out a new energy in me. A hunger that couldn’t be fed. A thirst she couldn’t quench until I was buried inside her. Until I saw that look in her eye. Until I thrust my cock deep inside her and felt her come on me over and over.

I downed the rest of the wine and rose from the couch, stretching me legs. I took my time turning off the fireplace and turning off the kitchen lights.

I hesitated outside of the door and almost broke through it when I heard her whimpers coming from inside. There was just enough light I could see her hips jutting forward as her fingers dipped in an out of her.

I locked the door behind me, dropped my jeans and peeled the shirt off my head.

“Oh, baby.” I walked toward her.

“This turns you on, doesn’t it?” Her face rushed with ecstasy as her fingers dove between her legs. Her head rocked back and I inhaled sharply when I saw her beautiful fingers massage her clit before being sucked inside her.

“You have no fucking clue how much. I could watch you fuck yourself all night. Or I could do it myself.”