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Her smile is soft, a little teasing. “I wasn’t actually going to date. Everyone was pressuring me because it’s fun for people who are coupled up to try to connect their single friends. But honestly…” She exhales wistfully.

“Honestly what?” I press.

She gives me a sly look. “Honestly, for a long time I was hoping that you’d bang on the door, bend me over the bed, and fuck me to pieces.”

That image is scorching hot. And it’s seared into my brain. “You want me to bend you over the bed? Because that can definitely be arranged.”

“I want it all, Tyler. That was the first time I’ve ever had an orgasm with another person. And…I’ve got some other things on my list.”

I clear my throat dramatically. “Two, baby. I gave you two,” I point out. “Do not shortchange me.”

“I would never. In fact, they’re both going on my list of good things that happened to me today.” She pushes up in bed, like an idea’s struck her. “That’s it. We need a list.”

“A sex list? Count me in.”

“Yes, a game plan for sex. A list so we can work through all the un-St. Bernard-like things I want you to do to me.”

I am so there. “Let’s do it. Maybe you put a list of three things you want? ”

“Only three?” she teases.

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous. You tell me how many you want.”

She’s a match ready to strike. “All I can eat,” she says. “But we could start with five.”

That’s two better than I’d hoped, so already this feels like winning. “I like five. And what if we check one off…once a week?”

Her eyes pop. “Well, you have better restraint than I do.”

“Maybe I’m just trying to stretch this out.”

She hums, as if she’s considering, then a glint shines in her eyes. “If that’s the case, how about every other week? Just to make sure we don’t get in over our heads.”

How did we go from once a week to once every other week? But what I really hear is that she wants to stretch it out too. “That sounds fair for the first rule,” I say, keeping my cool so I don’t let on how much I like this plan.

It feels like a wide-open window. A long, winding road with beautiful views and barely an end in sight. It feels like the promise of pleasure, stretched out before us, with no complications.

“It’s like a workout plan,” she says.

“A sex workout?” I smirk.

“Yes. But we’re going to need more rules,” she adds, staying on task.

“You’re right. We really can’t do anything in front of the kids.”

“Yes. Definitely no kissing, no hand-holding,” she adds.

“No little sneaky displays of affection.”

“And no sleepovers.”

That last one doesn’t sit well with me though. Hanging out here in her bed late at night? This is the best I’ve felt in a long time. “You mean when the kids are home?” I ask, hoping she likes that technicality too .

“Sure, but also because we don’t want to get used to this.”

“It’s every other week. You can’t get that used to it,” I say, trying to convince her.

“True,” she says, and I want to pump a fist, because do I ever want to wrap her in my arms tonight.

“And no one says ‘pretend it didn’t happen,’” I add because I know how important that is to her.

“Yes. Good,” she says, then hesitates like something is weighing on her.

My gut twists with worry, but it’s best to be upfront. “What is it, baby?”

“When it’s over, it’s over. We move on. I enjoy my job, and I want to keep doing it,” she says, sounding so damn vulnerable, and it hits me exactly how much she has to lose. “Is that okay?”

I don’t want to hurt her like others did. Like Chad did. Like her dad did.

I don’t want to take all the things away from her that she needs and depends on.

I want to be a man she can rely on.

“You’re not going to lose your job,” I try to reassure her. “You’re a fantastic nanny. You’re great with the kids. I need you desperately.”

She smiles, warm and pleased. “Good. Because I’m kind of falling in love with the gig.”

That is music to my ears. But it also means we need to be smart and logical. “We’ll be adults. It’s a promise. It’s a game plan, and we’ll follow it. When the game is over, it’s over,” I say even though the words taste sour on my tongue.

She sticks out a hand. “Deal.”

I take it and shake. This is exactly what we need. And exactly what I hate. But it’s necessary.

After jerking her closer, I drop a kiss to those sweet lips. “Sealed with a kiss,” I say, focusing on touch again .

She rolls her eyes. “You’re such a cheeseball.”

I scoff. “Am not.”

“A little.”

“Would a cheeseball want to fuck you to pieces?”

She seems to mull that over. “Maybe.”

“We should find out then for sure. What’s on your list?” I ask. “I’m dying to know.”

“That’s a surprise.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t that make it more fun, if everything was a surprise?”

Actually, she’s right. “You keep me on my toes, Sabrina Snow. You know that, right?”

“I think I do.”

I tug her closer, sweep her hair off her cheek. “I’m going to be counting down the days to your next surprise.”

“Or the minutes,” she says, letting the words roll off her lips seductively.

My eyes pop with curiosity and dirty hope. “First one?”

She taps her chin, like she’s deep in thought. “Never have I ever been fucked hard twice in one night.”

And I’ll be thanking Trevyn for giving her more than one condom, because I rip that wrapper open so fast and put her on her hands and knees.