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T
aylor breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled into her driveway and didn’t see Joe’s truck parked next door. Jenna pulled her black Saab in behind her as Taylor parked in her garage.

Even though Jenna knew all about Joe, Taylor wanted to avoid an awkward introduction. She could imagine it now.
Jenna, this is Joe, the guy who’s been fucking my brains out for the past three weeks. Joe, this is Jenna, the only person I’ve told about this furtive little thing we’re having.
When he called tonight, she’d explain she was having a working dinner with a colleague over at her house and that she’d be over later.

Or maybe she shouldn’t. The fact that she felt she owed him an explanation was a red flag, yet another sign that she was allowing herself to get more deeply involved than she had ever intended.

“Your place looks gorgeous,” Jenna exclaimed. She slammed her car door and paused to admire the freshly planted front lawn, slate walkway, and stone-lined flower beds. “Hot in bed and an artist too? If I ever get out of my condo and actually have any yard to speak of, I’m definitely hiring Joe.”

Inexplicably, Taylor felt a surge of pride in Joe and his work, and couldn’t help but brag. “You think this is nice, you should see the back. He completely rebuilt and redesigned the patio to look like it’s part of some Tuscan villa.”

As Taylor unlocked the front door, Jenna continued to ooh and ahh over little details that Taylor herself had missed, like the way Joe had alternated red and pink azaleas in the stone-lined flower beds.

“Something smells amazing,” Jenna said, sniffing the air as she stepped into Taylor’s foyer.

Taylor shrugged off her blazer and hung it in the front closet. “The neighbors must be barbecuing. We’re going to have to do waiters on wheels, I’m afraid.”

She led Jenna into the kitchen and started riffling through the stack of takeout menus next to the phone.

“Uh, Taylor, I think someone might have taken care of dinner for us.”

Taylor looked up, taken aback by the downright ravenous expression on Jenna’s face. “I know you said he was hot,” Jenna said, drool practically dripping down her chin, “but you didn’t do him justice.”

Taylor turned to look where Jenna was staring out the sliding-glass doors, and even through her irritation, Taylor had to admit that the sight that greeted her was indeed drool-worthy. Joe was on her new patio wielding a spatula as something cooked on a grill she hadn’t owned earlier that morning. A similarly unfamiliar teak table and chair set was laid out with plates and silverware, along with a platter of vegetables and a bowl full of salad.

“He cooks too?” Jenna sighed. “Taylor, are you sure you only want him for sex?”

Until that moment, she didn’t realize she had been asking herself the exact same thing. That realization, combined with Joe’s presumptuousness, galvanized her into action. “What are you doing here?” she hissed as she stepped out onto the patio, Jenna close at her heels.

“Hey.” He turned with a smile so sweet and sexy it would have melted her into a puddle if she hadn’t been so irritated. “I finished your patio,” he said with a gesture of his spatula, “and I thought we’d christen your new grill and deck furniture.”

“I didn’t buy a grill,” she said as tension knotted her shoulders.

“I did,” he said. “And I couldn’t let you ruin your beautiful new patio with that plastic crap.” He deftly flipped a succulent-looking steak and reached out his hand. “I’m Joe, by the way.”

Jenna practically mowed Taylor over in her haste to shake Joe’s hand. “I figured,” Jenna said. And
giggled,
for God’s sake. “Taylor’s told me
all
about you,” she said with another titter.

Taylor looked at her friend in shock, wondering what annoying sorority girl had overtaken her usually level-headed friend.

“I wish I could say the same,” Joe said as he turned to Taylor, an odd look in his eye, “but she doesn’t tell me much.”

“You’ll have to add the grill and furniture to your final invoice,” she said tightly.

“They were a gift, Taylor,” he said softly.

Something like shame curled in her belly at the momentary flash of hurt in his eyes. “I can’t accept them,” she replied. His eyes narrowed and she blundered on. “I know you went to a lot of trouble, but Jenna and I have a lot of work to get done tonight, so…” She trailed off.

He released the spatula with a clatter. “All you had to do was call me and tell me your plans.” The anger in his voice spoke of weeks of pent-up resentment, and Taylor realized he had not only noticed her refusal to make plans with him, but it had also obviously pissed him off.

“You two clearly have something to discuss.” Taylor had actually forgotten her friend’s presence for a moment until Jenna spoke. “Taylor, we can finish up tomorrow. There’s no reason we have to finalize the draft tonight.”

Taylor shook her head. “Jenna, we have so much momentum, we should really finish the business plan while it’s still fresh in our minds.”

Jenna glanced at Joe, admiration mixing with wariness as she took in the way his every muscle vibrated with tension. “No offense, Taylor, but somehow I think whatever momentum we had is pretty much gone.” Without so much as a “see ya,” Jenna made a beeline through the house, heels tapping a rapid rhythm across Taylor’s kitchen floor.

Hands on her hips, she whirled to face Joe. His lips were tight, and a muscle flexed in his jaw as he clenched and un-clenched his teeth. “What do you think you’re doing, Joe? You can’t just come over to my house and start cooking like you own the place.”

He took the steak off the grill, shaking it onto the platter with such force it nearly slipped onto the ground. “I was trying to do something nice for you, Taylor. If you had other plans, you could have picked up the goddamned phone.”

“You’re not my keeper,” she said, hating that she sounded like a petulant adolescent and hating that deep down she knew he was right.

He flipped the gas knobs off and slammed the grill’s lid down so hard, Taylor was surprised it didn’t break apart. “What the fuck am I, then, Taylor?” He turned to her, his stance mirroring hers. “I’d say I was your boyfriend,” he continued before she could speak, “but that usually implies going out in public together, which we never seem to do.”

She shook her head and looked down, the rusty color of the flagstones blurring as she blinked back tears. The hurt and justifiable anger in Joe’s eyes made her want to weep, even as she knew she couldn’t give him what he wanted. “Why do we have to label it?” she said lamely, not wanting to enter a discussion that would bring the end to whatever it was they had.

“Because I don’t like feeling like your boy toy or your fuck buddy,” he said sharply. “Especially when we could have something really great, but you’re too goddamned stubborn to see it.”

Maybe he’s right. So what if he’s not well educated and doesn’t fit in with my world? He makes me happy.

For now, she reminded herself. What about later, after the sexual urgency died down? When the demands of her career required her to attend endless social functions, work late, and travel? Joe, with his nine-to-five life, would grow to resent her hectic schedule. Not to mention he would hate having to give up his evenings to accompany her to parties where he knew no one and had nothing in common with anyone.

Nothing had changed. It could never work. But Taylor wasn’t ready to say good-bye just yet. So she decided to distract Joe the best way she knew how.

Joe braced himself as Taylor slid her hands up his chest, steeling himself against the flash of heat that erupted in his groin at the first brush of her fingers. “I know what you’re trying to do,” he said through tightly clenched teeth as he wrapped his fingers around her wrists, “and we’re not finished with this discussion.”

She stood on her tiptoes, leaning close until the soft weight of her breasts rested against his chest and her stomach cradled his suddenly raging hard-on. Her bullet-hard nipples peaked the thin fabric of her blouse, nudging his chest with the evidence of her need. She may have been using sex to distract him, but at least she wasn’t faking it.

“Please, Joe,” she whispered, her hot breath wafting against his neck, followed by a little flick of her tongue that nearly brought him to his knees. “I’m sorry I got mad at you for cooking dinner. You just caught me off guard, and it’s been a really long week. I don’t want to argue.” Freeing her wrists from his grip, she wrapped her arms around him and slid her hands down to cup his ass, pulling him more firmly against her.

“I don’t either,” he breathed against her cheek, meaning it. But he also didn’t want to blunder along in this relationship purgatory, endlessly trying to pin her down as he fell deeper and deeper in love.

His head snapped up. It was the first time he’d admitted it, even to himself. It made him feel a little sick as the undeniable truth hit him like a gut punch.

He must have looked a little dazed, because Taylor cupped a hand over his cheek and asked, “What?” with a concerned look on her face.

He stared down at her eyes, icy blue yet hot with passion, her hair so pale it was almost silver in the late-evening light. Her lean curves were covered by her stylish but conservative work wear. On the surface, Taylor, with her prim, tidy, ultra-professional appearance, was nothing like the kind of woman Joe had imagined himself falling in love with. She was different from every woman he’d ever dated, taking her life, her work,
herself
way too seriously. Yet over the past few weeks, he’d discovered her dry sense of humor, her sharp intelligence, not to mention her almost insatiable sex drive.

Seeing her had become the highlight of his day, the moment she would let him strip away the uber-career woman façade to reveal the funny, sexy woman underneath.

Now if he could only convince uptight, workaholic Taylor that being with a man who appreciated her funny, sexy side was worth a lot more than one who appreciated her Stanford MBA.

A wave of frustration hit him, warring with the desire that made him so easily distracted. Damn her, why wouldn’t she give in, admit they were great together, and stop trying to pretend this was nothing but sex?

And damn him and his randy cock, which was rapidly drawing all the blood away from his brain until he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to be pissed off about.

“Let’s test out the big lounger,” Taylor said, grabbing the front of his shirt in her fist and tugging him toward it.

Joe took one step forward, then stopped, wrapping his hand around Taylor’s fist as something dark, something primal twisted in his gut. He was sick of waiting patiently for Taylor to come around, of being led around by his dick. “You decided you wanted to fuck instead of talk,” he said, pulling her almost roughly through the sliding-glass doors. “That’s fine with me, but we’re going to do it my way.”

A
quiver of fear raced down Taylor’s spine, followed immediately by a hot rush of moisture between her thighs. Joe was all but shoving her up the stairs, his shoulders bunched tight with tension, every muscle standing out in stark relief against the thin fabric of his T-shirt.

When they reached her bedroom, he quickly stripped off his clothes, then hers with ruthless efficiency. Once he had her naked, he pushed her down on the bed and wrapped her hands around the rails of the wrought-iron headboard. “Don’t move or I’ll tie you up,” he said, his voice dark and commanding in way she’d never heard before. Taylor felt a tiny tremor of un-ease as his hot green gaze scorched a path down her naked body.

Joe was an earthy, dominant lover, a man who loved women and loved sex, and always ensured that she had as much or more fun than he did. Even though he was a big man, he was never rough, his touch incapable of bringing anything but pleasure.

But now his face was set in hard lines, his eyes stormy with desire and anger. He looked capable of anything.

He bent his head and took her mouth. It wasn’t the rough, lip-mashing kiss she expected. Instead, Joe sucked first her upper, then her lower lip between his, nipping her just hard enough to send a thrill of sensation between her legs. Her fingers gripped the headboard tightly as he flicked his tongue down her neck, between her breasts, tracing a scorching path over her silky, pale flesh. His mouth closed over her nipple, sucking hard, closing his teeth over her with a pressure that stopped just this side of pain.

His fingers pinched her other nipple hard, and to her shock, Taylor’s pussy clenched at the small hurt.

“You like that, don’t you,” he murmured, biting down again as she jumped against his mouth. This was a new side to herself, and she didn’t like it.

She released the headboard and pushed at his shoulders. “Let me up.”

He lifted himself off her, but instead of letting her move out from under him as she expected, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the pillow. “Don’t make me tie you up,” he warned, urging her hands back around the headboard.

Taylor swallowed heavily as her state of complete vulnerability hit her. He could do whatever he wanted to her. And she could do nothing to stop him.

His eyes softened as he looked down at her, and he leaned in for a soft kiss that couldn’t help but reassure her. “I would never, ever, hurt you, Taylor,” he said, and she believed him wholeheartedly, despite the fact that he still had her pinned to the bed. “You’ll like everything. I promise.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” she snapped, “if what’s happened so far is any indication.”

“Oh, really?” he said, eyebrow cocked as he shifted his weight to lie beside her. He reached his hand down to cup her mound, his middle finger dipping in to verify that she was drenched.

She opened her mouth to protest, uttering a high, startled cry as he gave her nipple another almost punishing nip. At the same time, he thrust two fingers deep inside her, and to her shock, she found herself pressing up into his mouth, urging him without words to suck her harder, to give her that little taste of pain that made her pussy shudder and ripple around his pumping fingers.

“That’s what I thought,” he said, the arrogance in his tone almost enough to make her try to nail him in the groin. But not quite. “See, Taylor,” he said between firm sucks, “you have all kinds of ideas about things you should and shouldn’t like. You need to be a little more open-minded.”

She knew he wasn’t merely talking about sex, but before she could analyze his comments further, his finger surged deep, making her arch off the mattress. She wanted him inside her so badly she could taste it, but she resisted the urge to release her grip on the headboard and yank him to her. Something about pretending to be helpless, allowing him to do whatever he wanted, spoke to some deep, dark part of her she hadn’t even realized existed. A part that reveled in his unabashed lust and the slightly unhinged look in his eyes. From the first night with Joe, she’d felt nothing but pleasure from his touch. She wondered if it was even possible for him to go too far. As she moaned and writhed against his hands and mouth, she didn’t think so.

Abruptly he withdrew his fingers, forcing a cry of protest from her throat. Ignoring her, he pulled her by the hands into a seated position, guiding her to the foot of the bed. He quickly donned a condom and moved behind her. Positioning her on her knees, he placed her hands on the wrought-iron footboard.

Her stomach clenched as she felt the tip of his cock brushing against her buttocks.

“Just relax, Taylor,” he murmured, wrapping one hand around her hip as he used the other to guide his erection between her thighs.

“I don’t like it this way,” she protested feebly. He surged forward, and she bit back a moan as he dragged himself back and forth in her juicy slit, sliding against her clit, nudging himself against the wet folds.

“Why not?” he asked, moving his hand up to cover her breast.

“Because,” she half moaned, trying to ignore the pleasure long enough to form a coherent sentence. “It’s dirty, like you’re an animal who doesn’t even care enough to look at my face.” He moved again, the thick ridge of his erection awakening every nerve ending with delicious friction. Despite her protests, she found herself leaning farther forward, tipping her ass up in an effort to entice Joe to stop all the teasing and fuck her like he meant it.

“But if I fuck you like this,” he said as he worked his cock inside her, “I can watch the beautiful way your back arches.” He rocked his hips, going so deep she felt him at the base of her spine. “And I can touch you like this.” His middle finger drifted back and forth over her clit in perfect rhythm. Taylor moaned and arched her back, pushing against him as she sought to increase his pace. From this angle, he was huge, thick, stretching her wide as he drove impossibly deeper.

“Look at us, Taylor,” he whispered against her neck before sinking his teeth into the sensitive curve. She opened her eyes, startled to realize she had an unobstructed view of them in the mirror over her dresser. Immediately she snapped her eyes shut, not wanting to acknowledge the truth she saw in her reflection, the reality of herself, the pale skin of her body flushed with desire, her lips parted as she moaned like a porn queen. “We’re beautiful together,” he murmured, drawing himself almost all the way out before sinking back in. “How can anything that beautiful ever be dirty?”

At his words, she opened her eyes, unable to look away, even though the primitive sexuality unnerved her. Behind her, Joe looked huge and dark, his tan body a stark contrast to her milky curves. His hand was so big it spanned the width of her belly, his shoulders and chest so broad in contrast to her narrow frame. Yet something about them together, like this, looked so right it shook her to her very core.

He urged her up, sitting on his heels so her knees straddled his thighs and her back pressed against the hair-roughened skin of his chest. Gone was the urgent, aggressive lover from before. Now Joe held himself still, buried deep inside her as he took advantage of their position to explore every smooth patch of skin he could get his hands on. He rained hot, sucking kisses on her shoulders and neck, pinched and cupped at her breasts, making them both moan as she clenched and writhed on his cock.

She became transfixed by their reflection, watching his big, hard hands move over her body with exquisite care, knowing exactly where and how to touch her to take her to the very brink of climax. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, she released her grip on his thighs and grabbed his hand, guiding it firmly between her legs. In the mirror she watched his finger press against the gleaming bud of her clit. He circled once, twice, and she was coming, pulsing and clenching around him as he drew her orgasm out.

She collapsed back against him, her head resting against his shoulder. Tipping her chin back, he took her mouth in a lusty, tongue-thrusting kiss before urging her forward. Once more she braced her hands against the footboard and tilted her hips up, open and willing to his heavy thrusts.

His hands closed over her hips as he pounded into her, his balls slapping against her ass with every stroke. To her shock, Taylor felt herself tightening around him as another climax built deep in her core. She slammed herself back against him, meeting him in a harsh counter-rhythm as she felt him swell even bigger within her. Her pussy tightened and throbbed around him as she came in a blinding wave, even more intense than before. He uttered a muffled curse as his cock pulsed and jerked inside her before he collapsed on the bed.

Wrapping his arm around her waist, he rolled them to their sides, spooning her from behind. “Told you you’d like it,” he murmured sleepily.

She smiled ruefully in the fading evening light, searching her brain for an appropriately witty comeback and coming up empty-handed. “You win,” was the best she could do.

Joe had won the battle, but not the war, as became evident the next morning over breakfast. “My sister’s having a barbecue this Saturday,” he said without preamble, “and I’d really like it if you would come with me.”

Her coffee cup froze halfway to her lips, and his gut clenched as her mouth formed a tight, apologetic smile. “I can’t. Our senior partner is having a party at his house, and there’s no way I can miss it.”
And no way would I ever choose my boy toy fuck buddy over anything work-related.
Though she didn’t say it, Joe got her message loud and clear.

Still, he must have woken up with a masochistic streak this morning because he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Maybe Sunday, then, we could go out to dinner.” Just to be sure he was crystal clear on what was going on, he named a restaurant that was well known as a hangout for local venture capitalists and Silicon Valley’s technology elite. He didn’t miss the panic that crossed Taylor’s face before she blew him off with a, “Maybe. We’ll see.”

He left shortly thereafter, unwilling to sit across the breakfast table like some chump, pretending nothing was wrong, pretending he didn’t want something more. His head was screaming at him to end it, to cut her off before he wasted any more time waiting around for whatever crumbs of affection she deigned to throw his way. And yet, there was something under that snobby, image-obsessed surface that drew him in and wouldn’t let go. A funny, sexy woman who for some reason was terrified to show that side of herself to the rest of the world. Something loving and protective in him wouldn’t let him give up on her, needed to show her that it was okay to let the rest of the world see the real Taylor Flynn.

He left for work that morning no closer to a decision. The only thing he was certain of was that he was damn sick of being Taylor Flynn’s dirty little secret.