They made it to Arcos by early evening, and the instructions for accessing their apartment were blessedly straightforward. After parking their car in the designated spot just off the narrow street, they climbed to the top floor of a three-storey building. Keys were waiting for them in a lockbox with a number pad that Sean knew the code to from his email instructions.

Inside, they found a spacious apartment that faced the town on one side, and had a private terrace that overlooked the valley on the other.

It was beautiful, and private, and Jenna couldn’t believe it was all theirs for the next ten days.

She twirled on the tile floor in the living room, then grabbed Sean’s hand and pulled him into the bedroom. They made out like teenagers before he slowly undid her jeans and reached inside, not even bothering to tug them down her legs. She writhed against his hand, letting him get her close before she reached for him.

Two could play the hand job game.

He was hot and hard in her hand, his shaft heavy as she stroked him.

“Tighter,” he urged her. “God, you feel good. Come on, come for me…”

She squeezed her hand and held on tight as he pumped his hips, rocking into her fist as she rode his hand, and when she came, fast and furiously, he rolled onto his back. She followed, watching as he covered her hand with his and changed the pace. Her eyes gobbled up all the details she’d missed the night before. The veins that stood out in stark relief from his washboard abs. The paler skin across his hips that didn’t see much sun.

He was impossibly good looking, and all hers, in this gorgeous apartment in the South of Spain. She wouldn’t pinch herself, not ever, because this was almost certainly a magical dream.

All the muscles in his body tensed up as he neared his climax, and his face twisted in concentration, then abandon. She sat back on her heels as his legs twitched on either side of her. He laughed. “Damn, that was good.”

She should get him a washcloth. She would. In a minute. Right now, she was taking him all in. “So good,” she whispered, and when he caught her gaze, something heavy tugged between them.

So very, very good.

* * *

Jenna felt Sean get up the next morning, was vaguely aware of him kissing her gently and whispering that she should stay asleep.

He was going for a run, he said, and the idea of that was so crazy she blissfully went back to slumberland.

When she woke a second time, the room was bright and the street below sounded busy. She crawled out from under the crisp white sheet and blushed as she remembered what they’d done the night before, both before and after a late, simple dinner.

And what they hadn’t, yet…but would soon.

Sean Foster was definitely a man to have sex with. Repeatedly. Twelve days in a row, in fact.

There was a note stuck to the mirror in the bathroom.

You’re extra cute when comatose. Went for a run. Feel free to go find breakfast without me if you wake up hungry.

Right on cue, her stomach growled. She quickly showered, then loosely braided her hair and pulled on clothes. She sent him a quick text that she was awake, had read his note, and would text again when she’d found a cafe.

The restaurant on the corner where they ate the night before wasn’t open yet, so she hung a left and descended the narrow street. It didn’t take long to find a cafe in the centre of the old town. She texted Sean the address and he replied that he’d meet her there in fifteen minutes.

Instead of getting a table right away, she ducked into a discount shop across the way that had sundresses hanging in the window. Ten euros each, the sign promised, and since Jenna didn’t have anything other than jeans and t-shirts, that sounded perfect.

Ten minutes later, she emerged with a shopping bag.

“What did you buy?”

She whirled around and found Sean sauntering toward her, freshly showered. He’d changed into cargo pants and a white t-shirt that stretched across his chest enticingly. Her heart fluttered in her chest as the sun caught some blond highlights in his hair. “A dress,” she said breathlessly. “Well, two dresses, because I couldn’t decide. And I thought…dinner here seems a bit fancier than jeans and a t-shirt…”

He grinned. “I like your clothes. But if you want to ask me out to a fancy dinner, I won’t object.”

She laughed and gestured to the cafe. “Speaking of asking you out, can I buy you breakfast?”

He rubbed his flat stomach, the shirt catching a bit as he moved his hand. She tried and failed not to lose her attention to that slice of skin he revealed. “I’m starving,” he said, and she knew the feeling.

She was famished, suddenly, and not just for food. She wanted to drag Sean back to their apartment and feast on his body. Lick the ridges of his abs and then lower, exploring him again with her mouth before—

“Jenna,” he growled, and she guiltily jerked her gaze back up to his face. His expression was serious now, hooded and hot. “Don’t look at me like that if you want breakfast.”

“Breakfast might be optional,” she whispered, heat swirling through her torso.

He reached for her, tugging her close—and then closer still, until she was plastered against him. “Maybe we just didn’t say good morning properly,” he whispered as he brushed his lips against hers.

If he thought a kiss would quench her thirst for more of him, naked and at her bidding, she was going to—

Go along for the ride. All it took was one teasing touch of his tongue, a barely-there lick to the soft swell of her lips, and she was all in. “Good morning, Captain Foster,” she breathed as he kissed the corner of her mouth before returning front and centre.

He sank into her, his lips electric against hers, sending sparks of awareness shooting through her body as he kissed her with everything he had. It was a kiss to make her blush, to turn her on, but also a kiss big enough to satisfy her cravings for now.

A main course kind of kiss.

Like he saw that she was hungry for him and he knew just how to fill her up—and buy enough time that they could eat actual food, because she might be able to survive on kisses and orgasms, but he couldn’t after a run.

He kissed her mouth one last time then brushed his lips against the tip of her nose. “Breakfast.”

She nodded. “Right.”

“Then sightseeing.”

Hadn’t they done enough of that yesterday?

He grinned, wicked and cool. “And then siesta.”

Oh, the Spanish had it right. “My favourite part of the day.”

He led her into the cafe, where they had coffee and toast. Jenna went with the most basic version, thick, crusty Spanish bread drizzled with olive oil. Sean had his with crushed tomato and ham, which looked so good, Jenna ordered a second plate to go with their second round of coffee.

Then they set out for a long walk around the old town, hand in hand.

They talked about everything and nothing. Sean bought postcards for his brothers. “They’ll give me shit if I don’t, so it’s good to get it out of the way.”

“Are you close?”

“Yeah.” Sean paid the clerk then led her out of the store as he expanded on that answer. “Dean’s the oldest, and there are ten years between us.”

“You’re the youngest?”

He nodded. “So I was only eight when he left for college, but as soon as he finished his police training, he came back. Jake never left Pine Harbour, except for an Army tour a few years ago. And by the time Matt left for college, I was nearly grown and giving Dean and Jake a headache more than anything. I was a shitty teenager.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“Maybe. My two oldest brothers were practically born boring adults, so they don’t see it that way.”

She laughed. “So far you don’t sound really close.”

“It’s a deep bond that defies reason.” A fond smile twisted over his face.

“That sounds really nice, actually.”

He laughed and nodded. “It is. What’s your deal with your sister?”

“We get along better now that we’re both adults. The first time she texted me to say, whoa, is Mom always this controlling? I knew we were good. But there’s such a big age difference between us that we were always at a different developmental stage growing up.”

“And is your Mom always that controlling?”

“More concerned than controlling, but to a sixteen-year-old, it’s one and the same.” Jenna sighed. “Annie’s twenty-one now.”

“And your mom…”

“Still worries about me, so I think Annie’s got a little ways to go yet.”

She changed the subject as they climbed the narrow, twisting streets to the top of the hill. Sean knew a lot about the Moorish history of southern Spain, and took a lot of pictures of the architecture.

She took a lot of pictures of Sean. She couldn’t help it. He was beautiful.

When they reached the castle and church that soared above the town, in the Plaza Del Cabildo, he took her phone. They pressed their cheeks together and Sean stretched out his arm, taking a picture of them together with the buildings in the background. And when she led him out onto the terrace at the edge of the plaza that had an even more breathtaking view of the valley below the town, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tight against him.

“Which way is Gibraltar?” she asked, holding out her hand.

He slid his arm along hers and adjusted her angle. “That way.”

“Do you know as much about it as you do about the Moors?”

He chuckled in her ear. “Maybe even more.”

“Is a day going to be enough time there?” She twisted and kissed his cheek. “I didn’t realize how much you were going to geek out on this history stuff. We could spend more time there if you’d like.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Have hot showers and sleep through the night.” She turned back to the amazing view. “And see more things like this.”

“Then we’ll do exactly that.”

* * *

After the simple breakfast, Jenna was in the mood for a big Spanish lunch of shared plates, and as they looped back toward their place, they stumbled across the perfect restaurant.

“Do you like tapas?”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever had it.”

“It’s just shared plates. Little bit of this, little bit of that.”

“Whatever you want to get is fine. Food is fuel,” he said with a shrug. “But I like good fuel.”

She poured over the menu posted on the wall. “I want to try it all.”

“Then let’s get everything. If we don’t finish, that’s okay. Do you think they do doggie bags?”

She giggled. “No. And I don’t want to be wasteful.”

“We’re on vacation. Live a little.”

“I’m living plenty already.” She rolled her lower lip between her teeth as she tried to make a choice. Nope, she couldn’t do it, too hard. “I’ll let the chef pick, maybe?”

“Sounds good.”

They moved into the patio, and they were quickly seated by a waiter who took their drink orders, then left them to peruse copies of the menu they’d looked at outside.

Sean frowned and dug his phone out of his pocket. “Sorry. It won’t stop vibrating.”

The waiter returned as Sean scrolled through his messages. She slowly explained what she wanted—“We would like six or eight dishes. Chef’s choice. Whatever goes together, okay?”—and he repeated that back with a beaming smile.

When she looked back at Sean, his face was twisted in a weird expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He laughed. “There’s a picture of me playing hockey with the prime minister. Now that he’s returned to Canada, the publication embargo has been lifted and the stories are flooding the papers. I’m anonymous in the picture, but my family is having a field day in my text messages.”

“Show me!”

He handed over his phone. “If you scroll through that article, there are some pictures of you too. Feels like a lifetime ago already.”

“My mom will get a kick out of that.” She flicked her gaze up to his face. “Can you forward this to me so I don’t have to search for it?”

“Sure.”

She handed the phone back and he tapped out a quick message. Her own phone vibrated in her pocket as their first small plates to share were delivered to the table.

She smiled. “I’ll send it after we eat. Tell me more about your running. You take it seriously. And you said it was more than a hobby.”

“Did I?”

She laughed. “Yes. In Urfa.”

“Good memory.” Sean leaned in and watched as she served him a bit of everything. He pointed to a piece of meat. “What do you think that is?”

She shook her head. “No idea.” She popped a piece into her mouth. “Mmm.” She swallowed and smiled. “It’s delicious. Try some.”

He laughed and took a bite. “It is good. Wow.”

They cleared the first round of plates and then she leaned back in her chair.

“Do you run marathons? I’ve run a 10k race a couple of times, but I’m always impressed by people who can run for hours.”

His eyes lit up. “I wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity to impress you.”

“So that’s a yes?”

He grinned. “A marathon is a light run for me.”

“Shut up.”

“Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But yes, I run marathons. A bunch of them a year. And longer distances, too. It’s actually something I do semi-professionally.”

“For real? Is that your job?”

“It’s one of my jobs.” He leaned back and took a slow sip of his beer. “It just sort of happened. I’m fast. I always have been. I went to provincials every year in high school. I used to joke that it came from having three older brothers chase me. I had to get fast enough to out sprint them. But really, something happened in university. I ran my first marathon, and I realized… I could have kept going. Others hit a wall somewhere around three hours of cardiac exertion.”

“But you don’t?” She couldn’t imagine what that was like.

“I do, but I push through it. Every time I hit a wall, I bust on through, and I get a second wind on the other side. And I like the science of fuelling my body on the go.” He shrugged. “That dovetailed with my military career, and suddenly a whole new world of competition opened up. Races that had pretty significant purses attached to them. Some low-level sponsorship stuff. It all adds up to a decent part-time job, and with the Army reserves, I keep busy.”

“Do any of your brothers run?”

“Only with me for training. None of them are competitive in the same way. They’re more career-oriented.”

“What do they do?”

“Dean’s a security consultant now. He was a cop for a long time. Jake’s got his own construction business. Matt’s a paramedic. They’re all in the military, too, but I’m the only officer.” He snorted. “It’s ironic, really.”

“How so?”

Tension flashed across his face for a beat. “That’s a story for another time.”

More food arrived then, and it was a good distraction. Sean was so open about everything—for him to shut down like that had to be for a good reason. And while she was curious about every part of him, she had to respect his boundaries.

Some limits would be good, she told herself. It was dangerous how much of this man she wanted to consume. His history, his likes and dislikes, his family details.

She pointed at his plate. “That’s octopus, I think. It’s delicious.”

He didn’t miss a beat. He speared the morsel with his fork and popped it in his mouth. His eyes lit up and he slowly chewed and swallowed.

She could watch him eat for hours, and hopefully would.

The second plate in this next round was eggplant. It wasn’t her favourite food, but it was done perfectly, and they cleaned that off, too.

The third plate made Sean laugh. “Those are hash browns.”

“But they’re Spanish hash browns.” She grinned. “Fried potato is universal.”

“It is.” He took a bite, then leaned in and gave her a curious look. Her turn to be on the hot seat. “Are you going to tell your mother you know the soldier playing hockey with the prime minister?”

Her fork froze in mid-air. Slowly she set it down. “Uh….”

He waved his hand. “You don’t need to answer that.”

“No…” She took a deep breath. “It’s not because of you. My mom and I have a complicated relationship. She’ll be thrilled I met the prime minister, but also obsessed with how I can leverage that into something important. Something to…” She winced and made air quotes. “Take me to the next level.”

“Are there levels of midwifery?”

She laughed. “Not like that. It’s just…Probably one of the reasons I went into health care was because it’s exactly the opposite of the type of career my mother dreamed of for me.”

Sean pulled a face as he reached for his beer. “Parents. Ironically, my story for another time is the same thing. Well, the opposite thing.” He took a long slug. “My father is—was—an officer. And we don’t see eye-to-eye on anything. So it’s a big, weird thing in our family that I went that path. He sees it as following in his footsteps.”

“And it’s not?”

“Fuck no. I just like being in charge.”

She probably shouldn’t find that sexy, but with all the chemistry sizzling between them, it was impossible not to. “In all ways?”

He grinned, right there with her. “Not with you. Not unless you wanted to play that way.”

She shrugged. “I could be convinced it might be fun.”

He lowered his voice as his smile grew. “That wasn’t what I meant. When it comes to sex, I’m usually pretty laid back.”

“Usually?”

“With you, everything is different.” He held her gaze as he said it, and her chest grew hot.

More plates of food arrived, but something had shifted. Everything was different with Sean too.

And she was totally ready for their seista, thank you very much.

* * *

As soon as the door of the apartment closed behind them, they were all over each other. Shirts off, mouths together.

It was hard to grin and kiss at the same time, but somehow Sean made it work.

“Let me see you.”

He turned her around, carefully, reverently, his hands never leaving her body as he unzipped her jeans. She wriggled out of them and then his hands returned to her hips to tug down her panties. His mouth dropped to her shoulder, her neck, his breath hot against the spot behind her ear. He wove his fingers through her hair and twisted it out of the way so he could lick the top of her spine.

Having all of his attention was heady and intoxicating.

So too was feeling the press of his erection against her, feeling the urgency in his touch, even as he took his time stroking and caressing her body.

This man wanted her on a whole different level.

She took his hands in hers and tugged him toward the bed. Seduction and play could happen another time. Later, after dinner. Tomorrow, when they woke up.

Right now, she wanted something simpler, more elemental.

She wanted Sean inside her.

He had a condom already. He pressed the foil into her hand as he kissed down her body, and she ripped it open as he went down on her.

“Sean. Now.” But it came out as more of a plea than a command.

He rose above her, gloriously hard and sculpted, and she rolled the condom down his length before pulling them together. He followed, bracing one hand beside her head as he spread his legs wide, his knees planted on the bed. Her own legs rode high on his hips as she rubbed him against her clit, then lower.

She loved the way his eyelids fluttered at the first tantalizing feel of his erection against her entrance. Yes. Oh, God, yes. That was…so good.

He let her play, stroking him up against her sex, then back down to where she was slippery and ready. His cock pulsed in her hand, but he held himself still and just watched as she rubbed against him. She watched, too, her breath catching with each jolt of feeling. Spark, fire, gasp, repeat.

“Look at you,” he whispered, smiling in a lazy, feral way as he held himself above her. “That feel good? Sure looks good. Feels damn sweet to me, too.”

“I want you so much,” she breathed.

“Then take me.”

She rolled her hips, bringing them together again, and this time, she wasn’t teasing. This time she let go, and he pushed inside, stretching her with a steady, sure thrust.

Crying out, she arched her body at the perfect intrusion. Yes, yes. She breathed his name and he did it again, filling up space inside her she hadn’t known to be achingly empty. Now she knew, though. Now a brand-new need clawed at her. For him to push again, to stretch and fill and be inside her. “Slow,” she pleaded, wanting him to stay there when he was as deep as he could go.

“Like this?” He stroked down her body and hooked his arm over her hip, spreading his hand wide across the curve of her bottom. He lifted her up as he pumped his hips then held them together before repeating the delicious motion.

“Yes.” She pushed her arms up above her head, finding the headboard to get some leverage. “Just like that.” The words felt weak, not big enough to describe just how good, how right it felt.

When the headboard wasn’t giving her what she needed, she twisted her hands to grip the pillow, but that wasn’t… “Fuck.” She flailed her arms out, needing to ground herself on something.

“Shhh…” Sean caught her hands with his and laced their fingers together, pressing her fists into the mattress as he moved over her. “Hold on to me.”

Her heart wobbled and caught against her rib cage as she pulled against his hands. Yes, again, yes. He grinned down at her and she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist. His gaze darkened, turned molten, and she flexed around him, inside and out. She held on tight.

“I want you to come, Jenna.” Those dark eyes pierced right through her as he surged forward. “Let go and let me make you feel good. Or use me and make yourself feel good. God, you’re so gorgeous right now. I want to see you come apart. Gimme that secret, angel.”

She could feel her eyes go wide, but his dirty sweet words did the trick. The tightness that had bound her in a restless, panicky energy started to dissolve in the face of her mounting pleasure. “You, too,” she breathed. “With me.”

“Want to make this last,” he said, his voice husky.

Oh, the idea that he craved more of her tugged in all the right places.

“Slow…next time—” Her words caught as he shifted his angle, nudging a new spot deep inside her that set off technicolour explosions in her brain. More, yes, there.

And suddenly it was too much to look up at him. His hot, hungry gaze burned her skin. She twisted her face and tugged her hands free. “Turn me over. I want… from behind.”

He dropped his face into the curve of her neck and groaned. “God, yes.” He slapped her hip lightly and she flipped herself over as he slipped out of her.

Shameless, she dropped to all fours and pushed back against him, desperate to have him fill her again. Aching for that sweet stretch, and eager to feel it like this. Deeper and harder.

Less intimate and more instinctive.

But it wasn’t any less intimate when his hands covered her hips, hot and wide and strong, and tugged her up. He revealed her completely, pressing her shoulders down to the bed before thrusting into her again. She shouted from how good it felt, and he growled at her.

“Whatever you want, Jenna. However you want it. Tell me and I’ll make it yours.”

“You,” she panted. “Just you. Like this. So good.”

He slammed into her.

Her need was coiling now, twisting tight. Her legs started to shake and she reached for her clit, but he was already there, his fingers pressing on either side. Just enough pressure to drive her insane without tripping over the live wire that was her out-of-reach orgasm.

“More…”

“More what?”

Everything.

She licked her lips and shook her head, trying to think straight. She flexed her fingers, and Sean leaned into her, over her, pressing her down. Once again, he linked their fingers together, their left hands pressed against the pillow together now. His other hand wrapped around her and pressed against her clit, and as he buried himself inside her again, she came in a spectacular, shuddering climax that took her by surprise.

“Oh…” It was all she could say, her voice stolen by pleasure and other more deceptively simple feelings she didn’t want to explore.

Like how good it felt when Sean held her hand during sex.

How crazy, out-of-this-world good that felt.

He rolled away from her for a few seconds. She glanced down when he rolled back. Condom gone, taken care of. “Did you…”

He kissed her so softly it cracked her chest. “Yes, I came. Hard, and deep inside you. Best fucking feeling in the world.”

“I didn’t notice.” She was out of breath and out of complex thoughts, too.

He chuckled and folded her into his side.

What the hell had just happened?

They’d fooled around repeatedly. Blow jobs, hand jobs, all the jobs… And it had been awesome. Sexy good times fun.

But none of it had prepared her for having him inside her.

She needed to be careful and remember what it was they were doing—and what they weren’t.

Two weeks of magic. Two weeks of sex and friendship.

Then it was back to reality and no more dreaming.