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I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this .

I guess I assumed when he led me up to the third floor that we’d head toward our dark red room.

Instead, he leads me into one of the private suites. He locks the door, and then he kisses me slowly. Intimately. Sensually. He kisses me like we have forever when we really only have a few hours until guests start arriving and we both have duties to attend to.

His tongue brushes along mine, and he presses soft kisses to my neck, dragging that sexy scruff of his everywhere on me, leaving me a tingling mass of exposed nerves ready to give into this thing that has been building between us for months. I grip onto his biceps because I need to grip something or else my knees will buckle and I’ll fall over.

Troy Bodine is kissing me, and he isn’t just kissing me but he’s really kissing me, pouring adoration and need into a single connection as the friendship we’ve built shifts into some new territory we’ve both been longing for since the day we met.

I hold onto his biceps to remind myself this is real.

And God, those biceps.

The man is still in damn fine shape…proven further when he pulls his shirt over his head.

Good God.

He strips me naked then removes his own clothes, and he moves in close, pulling me into his arms. He holds me, his palms gliding along my skin as mine explore his, too.

He’s firm and soft at the same time, warm and hard everywhere.

He picks me up into his arms like I weigh nothing then lies me on the bed.

I guess I assumed he’d always play the role of dominant and I’d always play the role of submissive, and maybe we’ll get to that. But this is a partnership, and instead of the rather explicit things we’ve done in the dark red room, this act is full of something different.

Something like love.

He climbs onto the bed and hovers over me for a beat, his eyes connecting with mine, and I see it there.

He has feelings for me—feelings that run deeper than either of us were expecting. I feel it too. I feel the pulse of need in my heart every time he’s around me. I feel the longing loneliness when I go home without him.

I don’t want to go home without him.

I want to be his home.

He rolls on a condom then lines his cock up with my pussy and thrusts into me for the first time. His eyes are on mine as we both relish the feeling of the other’s body, his filling me up in the most glorious way.

He starts to move, burying his face in my neck, and I clutch onto him, digging my nails into his back as he makes love to me right here in one of the suites we’ve passed by every single day since the day I started working here.

He picks up speed, and my hips lift to sway with his body as we find an immediate and purposeful rhythm together. Our moans fill the otherwise quiet room, and I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve been in love, and I’ve had sex…but nothing has ever felt as intimate and meaningful as this.

This is long-term. I was not expecting my life to change when I walked into Coax with Mr. Fox that first day, yet here I am, in one of the private suites having sex with Troy Bodine, and I have a gut feeling he will be the only man I have sex with for the rest of my life.

I never want it to end, but as the emotions surround us, I feel my body starting to tighten as I tip over the edge.

“Oh fuck, Joanie,” he murmurs, and it’s the first time he’s called me by my first name.

When we’re out in the club, I’m Sapphire.

But here, when it’s just us, I’m Joanie.

I murmur his name, and as I start to come, the murmurs gain volume until I’m screaming his name through clenched teeth.

He yells out a string of curses as he comes along with me. Our bodies work in unison as we both give into the pleasure surrounding us, and when it’s all over, he collapses to the side of me. We both pant, trying to regain our breath as we lie in the quiet, tingling afterglow.

I tuck myself quietly into his side as emotions start to wash over me. I want to cry at the beauty of what we just did, and I want to giggle and yell from the rooftops about my feelings for this man.

“I would’ve fired you long ago if I knew it was going to be that good.” He leans over to press his lips to mine, and I can’t help a giggle.

“You really think I have a shot with the expansion team?” I ask.

“I really do. You’ll get it on your own merits because you’re a fucking rock star, but I know one of the owners pretty well and I bet I can get him to at least get you an interview with the front office team.”

I raise my brows. “You know an owner?”

He nods, and he points to himself.

“You’re an owner?” I gasp.

He nods again.

“Well shit. Won’t that make me your employee again?” I ask.

He makes a face. “I’m going to pretend like you didn’t just point that out because I’m going to be spending all my time at the stadium and I want your talents there, too.”

I laugh. “Do you mean my marketing talents or my bedroom talents?”

“All of the above. Besides, I’m only a twenty percent owner, so it barely even counts.”

I laugh, and he grabs my hand with his. He links our fingers together, and just like everything else has fallen into place between us, our hands just seem to fit together perfectly.

He leans up, and his eyes meet mine. “I think we’re going to make a great team.”

* * *

Up next in the VEGAS HEAT world is Danny Brewer’s story! He’s met the woman of his dreams in Alexis Bodega, but she’s married…or is she? Find out if he ends up with her or someone else in this steamy series full of cliffhangers and curveballs! SCORING POSITION is now available!

* * *

Ready for more Cooper and Gabby? Check out the bonus epilogue ! Watch Cooper in action as he leads the Vegas Heat on the field in one of the most important games of his career, plus see Gabby as a new mom and find out what happens next for Troy and Joanie!