When they were done, they stood back and studied him.

The guard glanced at Kash. “Leave the pants on?”

Kash grunted. “I’m not taking them off.” He side-eyed the guard. “You game?”

“Is that part of my job description? Undressing a detox patient?”

For the first time that night, Kash’s mouth flickered in a grin. It was grim and still dark—his theme since he got to the club that night—but it was there.

Oh boy. My heart jumped at the sight.

But Kash was saying, “I think we’re good. Go get the nurse.”

The guard left, and Kash pulled up the sheet over Matt. The room plunged into blackness, and a second later we could hear Matt’s deep and even breathing.

A hand found mine, our fingers linking, and Kash tugged me from the room.

A nurse was standing in the hallway, coming from the living room. She paused, taking us in. Her eyes enlarged at the sight of Kash, but she didn’t say anything. A faint blush came to her cheeks. I didn’t blame her.

He stopped, giving her instructions to check on Matt.

Then we were leaving. Kash went to the elevator. And just as when we were leaving the club, the SUV was waiting for us. We ducked in, slid in, and the vehicle took us to another underground parking lot. We got out, repeated all the same motions, until the doors opened up to what I knew was Kash’s downtown home. This was the one he mentioned before, where he kept all his stuff that he wouldn’t trust around a stranger.

I was tongue-tied, realizing what he’d just shown me by bringing me here.

Kash trusted me. When had that happened?

He dropped my hand when we left the elevator, waiting for the doors to slide shut again. The guard went back down, and Kash was keying in some sort of code. A green light positioned above the frame clicked over to red, then Kash turned and took me in.

His hair was messed up. There were rings under his eyes, around his mouth. He was exhausted, to put it bluntly. But those eyes were wide awake and filled with lust. They were nearly black as he started for me, stalking to me.

One foot in front of the other.

I braced myself, excited, thrilled, and so scared. He paused just before touching me. “We weren’t exactly friendly before I left. That was a week ago. Since then…” His gaze moved up and down me, inspecting me, making me feel naked before him. He whispered, moving closer, his hand coming out to touch my shirt. “Things have accelerated tonight. I need to know you’re okay with that.”

It wasn’t framed as a question. Or a request.

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly drying up.

Jerking my head in a stiff nod, I wrung out, “So okay with that.”

His hand fisted in my shirt and he pulled me to him. And tipping my head back, raising my lips—his mouth was on mine.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Fire.

I expected hot and commanding and that’s what I got. My arms around his neck. My legs around him. The perfect pressure, and I was whimpering.

Flames enveloped me. Every inch of me was blazing.

Then he was gentling his kiss, soothing the pressure until the lightest and most tender graze whispered over me.

Goose bumps broke out over my skin from that last kiss. Holy hell.

I was panting.

He was pulling away.

And then—I was waking up.

I woke up. It was dark out. My head was foggy, but bits of a conversation were waking me.

“Yes, we did.… No.… No.” A pause. “She is, yes.”

I lay back down. God. I had been dreaming about last night, about that kiss. The first kiss. Holy crap. That first kiss had been epic, and I wanted to forget, then experience it all over again. Please. Could that happen?

A harsh exclamation from the other room. “You want to see her, come and see her.”

Reality dumped over me like a bucket of cold water. Kash was talking to my father.

Man.

Lying there, after that had happened, the last few days, and those words just crept back in. Idol. Father. Then, That guy who hurt my mom. And somehow in the last three days he’d become father again.

I expelled some air, blowing a strand of hair off my forehead. It went up, paused, and landed back down. Story of my life. Up, up, up, hold, and slam back down. Okay, okay. I was being a bit dramatic, but Quinn’s eviction notice stung.

Fuck it.

I sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed, and listened in. It was easy enough to do. Kash had left his door open a crack. Just a crack, but enough. He would’ve heard me if I got up for the bathroom, and the only other course of action would be to fall back asleep, but I was awake. In fact, I was wired awake. I had enough energy bouncing in me to go on a full all-nighter on the computer—and just like that, I was missing working on my code fierce.

“You might want to remember that it was your wife who asked for her to be removed from the premises.… Yes. Not me. Your wife.” Another beat of silence on Kash’s side. “Gladly. I’d love to have a conversation with Quinn.… What? No. For fuck’s sake, Peter, think about what you’re saying.” He drew in a sharp breath, pausing.

I could see him through the crack, and as if he felt my eyes, his head lifted. His body went rigid, then he came right for me. I didn’t have time to hide or even fall back and pull the blanket over my body, even with my feet still on the floor.

He was there, pushing open the door, and everything in him softened. He took me in, those same eyes warming.

“Peter,” he murmured, the bite leaving him. “Peter.” Nope. It was bit, just a little. “We’ll talk later.” He didn’t say good-bye, just hit the End button and tossed his phone onto an ottoman in the corner.

Folding his arms over his chest, he leaned his shoulder against the door frame. “How are you feeling?”

Memories of last night hit me.

We kissed. We did more than kiss, and Kash was a phenomenal kisser. He was a phenomenal everything. How he touched me. How he whispered to me. How he made me feel loved, worshipped, satisfied.

My face was heating up, just remembering, and also remembering how I had wanted more. That was a theme by the end of the night. I just wanted more, but we didn’t have sex. After making me groan and moan for two hours, Kash eased back and shifted so he was holding me.

I fell asleep like that. I wished I had woken, just to experience his arms again. Seeing them now, remembering how firm they felt, my mouth was watering.