Page 19 of MOM

For the second time in less than twelve hours, I manage to catch the word and wrangle it all the way down the back of my throat. Our arrangement was for a one-night thing only, and I have every intention of honoring that.

For now.

"We were—" His phone rings. "Shit. I have to take this. Sorry. Hey, Zane… Yeah. I just saw it… What? Of course not… Are you…smiling?… No, it isn't. It's a colossal mess… Yes, you'll get paid either way… I'll call you in a few minutes, okay?… Okay, okay, okay, bye."

I have no idea what's going on, so I wait for Decker to fill me in. He walks over and sits gingerly at the foot of the bed.

"We were snapped together last night. It completely slipped my mind that I'd tipped off Steve, my favorite paparazzo. One of the decent ones who always keeps his distance so the subject doesn't even know he's there."

"What does this mean?" I ask. "Does it affect the PR plan?"

"Yes and no." Decker lifts his thumb to his mouth and chews on the skin around the nail. "The fake dating thing is still on, but we're going to have to make one almighty pivot."

"Which is?"

He stops chewing his thumb and lifts his gaze to mine. "You're going to have to fake dateme."

14

Decker

How could I have been so stupid and let this happen?

I can't believe I forgot to cancel Steve. He was still under the impression the plan was going ahead, so he played his part perfectly, taking photos of Rocky and his 'date' so discreetly he wasn't spotted, then sending the snaps to the vultures at a few online pop news sites along with a statement, helpfully supplied by yours truly, saying "According to sources close to the natural bodybuilder and social media sensation, the couple have been enjoying keeping a low profile since they began dating several months ago."

"I'm so sorry about this," I say to Rocky, who, to his credit, is taking this latest turn remarkably well. "I'll make it up to you. I promise. From now on, things are going to be one hundred percent professional between us," I assure him. "Starting right now. So can you please, um…" I toss the bedsheet over his bare legs. He's got amassivecase of morning wood. "Cover yourself?"

He leans forward but bypasses the sheet and crawls down the bed to sit closer to me. Still fully naked.

And fully hard.

"Permission to be inappropriately honest?"

I let out a short laugh. "Go ahead."

"I just want to say one thing real quick. Actually, two things. One." Rocky takes my hand and cups it in his massive palm. This isn't exactly aligned to my newfound recommitment to professionalism…but I'll allow it.

"Thank you for the best night of my life. What we did was…" He blows out a breath, the warmth fanning across my skin. "Unbelievable. You were amazing and beautiful, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for you."

My mind goes to war with itself.

One half wants to switch into warrior work mode and crisis manage the fuck out of this escalating situation; the other half wants to soak in each and every word coming out of Rocky's mouth.

No one has ever spoken to me like that before. I don't just feel seen, I feel truly validated. I shared a side of myself very few people have ever seen, and he hasn't turned around and judged me.

Another first among a night of many.

"And two," he says, letting my hand rest on his knee. I'm free to move it away…but I don't. "I'm secretly happy with this development."

I blink. "You are?"

He nods, and it sends a dark curl falling across his forehead. "You captivated me the second you marched into that meeting room and told my friends to fuck off."

"You're slightly misquoting me, but okay."

He chuckles. "Maybe slightly. But you were in control. And I liked that. Then last night, at dinner, I got to see another side of you. And when we came back here…" He eyes the bed where he fucked me senseless in every position imaginable, and his dick twitches. "You gave me such a precious gift. It lit my soul up. It was hot and passionate, and I loved every minute of you being my precious little slut."

I close my eyes and swallow, the lines between personal and professional washed away by the tide of emotion rising up within me.