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Trying to work while your assistant that you had made out with sat in the same room was an exercise in torture. All I wanted to do was get up and kiss her and straddle her in that chair and do all kinds of unspeakable things but instead I had to look at copy edits and marketing plans and spreadsheets of sales numbers. None of that was remotely as interesting as Cadence.

She was happy. Practically buzzing with it. She hummed more and moved in her chair and kept throwing me flirtatious looks that stopped my heart and made me forget what the hell I’d been doing.

Cadence had taken over part of my brain and I had to use the little there was left to continue to function and it wasn’t going well. I kept making typos in my emails and forgetting things and my schedule was all off and it should have had me panicking, but instead I kept thinking about the wisps of hair on Cadence’s neck and what the hollow of her throat would taste like and what sounds she made when she came.

Lunchtime came and I ordered in instead of making sandwiches.

“Does this mean I can raid your fridge now?” Cadence asked when I fetched the takeout bags.

“You’ve been able to take anything from my fridge for a while, Cade,” I said. I liked the way her nickname tasted when I said it now. It was growing on me. Guess I’d have to keep saying it over and over.

“Is that so?” she asked. “Well, I didn’t know that. So you’re telling me, if I were to say, take this ice cream and eat the whole pint, that would be allowed?”

She held the pint up and peeled off the top.

“If you eat all my ice cream without sharing with me, I’m not going to be thrilled,” I said, moving closer to her.

“Oh, I’ll share. A bite.”

I pushed her up against the fridge, pinning her with my hips and my hands on either side of her face.

She let out a little gasp and bit her bottom lip as I crowded her.

“Don’t you dare eat all my ice cream, Cade.”

“God, you’re so sexy,” she said in a soft voice.

“Am I?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Yeah, you are. Completely and totally. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?”

I plucked the ice cream from her fingers and set it on the counter, not caring if it melted.

“Yes, but I guess I never really believed them,” I said.

“Shit, El. That’s bleak.”

Cadence ran her hands through my hair and then grabbed my chin, pulling me down for a searing kiss that made my head spin and forget whatever the hell we’d been talking about.

“I’ll just have to remind you every day.”

Remind me of what?

* * *

We somehow made it through the day without any major distractions, but the sense of dread that pooled in my stomach got more and more intense as the time ticked closer to when she would leave. Sure, she’d be here tomorrow, but I didn’t want her to leave. The house would be too quiet without her in it.

“I know that technically I’m not on the clock anymore, so does that mean I can take off my assistant hat and put on a different one?” Cadence asked as she packed up her bag.

“You can wear whatever kind of hat you want,” I said. “I bet you look great in hats.”

She snorted and set her bag on the floor. “Oh, I do.”

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” I blurted out.

Her face broke into a gorgeous smile. “I was going to ask but I didn’t want to be presumptuous. This is uncharted territory for me.”

It was uncharted for both of us.