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“Fine. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

He tugged his shirt over his head to reveal his hard, sculpted body underneath. One that made me think of all the dirty, naughty things I wanted to do to it.

He paused, smirked over his shoulder, and then walked into his closet.

Bastard. He’d done that on purpose.

* * *

“Not bad forour first public date in five years.” Dev offered me his arm, and I slipped mine into his.

I smiled up at him as he kissed my forehead. “I couldn’t agree more.”

We’d left our community in my neighbor Debbie’s SUV so no one would suspect Dev and I were in the back.

Debbie had driven us around for an extra twenty minutes before she dropped us off near Dev’s office, where we took his car the rest of the way.

After a short drive out of the Seattle area, we relaxed and enjoyed our evening. I’d decided to stop overthinking things and see if it was possible to go out like a normal couple again.

We went to one of our favorite hole-in-the-wall seafood places and ate until our stomachs felt like exploding. No one seemed to pay attention to us, and if they did, they kept it quiet.

It was almost like it had been when we’d first met. Before the high-powered careers and all the secrets. I hadn’t laughed so much in what seemed like years.

At first, it had felt awkward. We’d barely spent time together in eighteen months, and when we were together, they were outings to vacation spots nowhere near Seattle and usually filled with nonstop sex.

Tonight, once we got over the initial uneasiness, it was natural and carefree.

Dev wasn’t the stiff Southern judge who went by the book, and I didn’t have to pretend I was the ball-busting Texas transplant.

“You realize this isn’t going to last?”

Reporters were sneaky, and you never knew when they might jump out from a hiding spot. Right after Clint had first referred to me as “Hot Stuff” and threw me to his fans, a reporter pretending to be a patient had followed me into my gynecologist’s office. Awkward was an understatement when the male reporter realized where he was scheduled for a pap smear.

“Don’t jinx us. Once the public finds out, neither of us will be left alone.”

I stopped to look up at him. “Dev, are you going to be okay with it? Your father is going to go ballistic.”

“His opinion has no bearing on us.”

I wanted to argue but kept my mouth shut. I had enough on my plate to add Devin’s issues with his father.

“Now I’m taking you home and planning to score.”

Arousal shot through my core.

“No, you’re not. I meant it. Sex is off the table. We have to work out our issues without letting our hormones cloud our judgment. After we figure out if we can work, then we’ll move to intimacy.”

“My judgment is crystal clear. You’re it for me. End of story. And watching you come around my cock has always been the highlight of my day.”

I rolled my eyes. “You sound like a caveman who has laid claim to his mate.”

“When it comes to you, I am one. And I claimed you the day I popped your cherry.”

“You make it sound so romantic.”

“It was one of the best damn days of my life. The woman I loved agreed to marry me and then gave me a gift only I will ever have in this lifetime.”

“I should have made you work for it. It was too easy for you.”