“No other women,” she replied without hesitation.

“Then no other men,” I added with a cocked brow.

“Deal.”

A corner of my mouth tipped up in a grin. “Anything else?”

She looked thoughtful for a second, her lips scrunched to the side, forehead wrinkled. “That’s all I got for now. But I’m sure I’ll think of something later.”

“Great!” I said a little too enthusiastically as I reached for her. “We can start now. It’s a Sunday. You’re off the clock.”

She sidestepped my hold. “Sorry, big boy, got stuff to do today. I need to head home.”

“You know you’re killing me, right?” I pouted dramatically as I dropped my head to the kitchen counter. All I heard as she left the kitchen was that sweet giggle trailing down the hallway.

I was such a sucker.

I lied.

I didn’t have anything to do; I just needed some space from Rowan. It felt like things were moving at warp speed, and I needed a chance to process everything without the risk of him twisting me into knots.

I’d put up a valiant effort to convince him I could take a cab home. It was New York, for Christ’s sake; people cabbed it everywhere. But he wouldn’t hear of it. When we pulled up in front of my building, he planted a bone-melting kiss on my lips before I even had the car door open. I was so hot and bothered by the time I finished the climb up the stairs to my apartment, it was a miracle I hadn’t spontaneously combusted.

High-heeled sandals hanging from my fingers, I unlocked the front door of my apartment and crept in, trying my best not to wake Harlow. No such luck.

“And where have you been, missy?”

“Ah! Shit!” I yelled as I spun around, hand to my thundering heart. Harlow stood in the space between the entryway and living room, arms crossed over her chest, one hip popped out, a stern-mother expression on her face. “Crap on a freaking cracker, Har. You just scared a few years off my life! I thought you’d be asleep.”

“Thought or hoped? Seeing as you never came home and are sneaking in wearing your gown from last night.”

“Uh… hoped?”

A wicked smile spread across her lips as she rushed me and pulled me into a hug. “You dirty little ho! You’re totally doing the walk of shame, aren’t you? Eeeeeeeeeep! I’m so happy for you! Tell me all about it. Who was the guy? How was he? Are you seeing him again? You totally have hump hair right now.” She leaned in and sniffed. “And you still kinda smell like sex.”

“Ewww, gross!” I shouted, swatting at her. “Get away from me, weirdo. I haven’t had a chance to shower yet.”

As I made my way to my room to change out of my dress and take that aforementioned shower, she followed behind, yapping like a month-old puppy with ADHD the entire time. “Sooooo? Are you gonna spill the beans on who you banged?”

I turned to look at her over my shoulder. She was propped against my door, obviously not planning on moving any time soon. “Don’t say ‘banged’,” I told her as I dropped the gown to the floor and reached for the plush, terrycloth robe I kept draped over my desk chair. I’d changed in front of Harlow so many times, it was nothing.

I received an exaggerated eye-roll. “Fine. Who’d you play hide the salami with? Stuff the chicken? Plow the field? Slob the sausage?

I felt my cheeks heating as I slapped my hands over my face. “Oh, God! If I tell you, will you stop?”

“Yep.”

“Fine. Please, just… Stop. Talking.” She mimicked locking her lips together and throwing away the key. Taking a big breath, I spit my words out quickly. “It was Rowan.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted and when I uncovered my eyes, Harlow’s face was flooded with concern. “Oh, babe.” She sighed. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

My body went stiff just as I finished tying the belt on my robe. “What do you mean? I thought you were all for this?”

“I was. I am. I’m just… worried. I know something has been going on between you two and I know I’ve been teasing you, I just didn’t think you’d give in.”

I tried not to be insulted, I really did, but I couldn’t help it. “So, you think I’m being stupid?” I asked, offended.

“No! No, I don’t think you’re being stupid. It’s just… you lead with your heart. I want to make sure you’ve thought about this. That you can handle whatever happens between you two. I don’t want you to get hurt.” The frown that marred her beautiful face melted some of the ice that had formed in my bones. But what she said next thawed it completely. “You’re important to me. You hurt, I hurt. I just want you safe.”

I wrapped Harlow in a tight hug, squeezing with all my strength. “I know, babe. And you’re just as important to me, too. But I walked into this thing with Rowan with my eyes wide open, I swear. I know his reputation, but I also know him. This may work out, it may not, but I’m prepared for whatever the outcome may be.”

I was proud of how confident I sounded, because the truth was, I had no idea what I was doing. And that scared me. But I didn’t want Harlow to know that. She’d known me when I was the shy introvert who hid away from everything in order to guard myself from more pain. I could see it in her eyes; she feared I’d revert back to that. I did, too, but I couldn’t let myself think that far ahead.

One day at a time, that’s what Rowan had said. That was what I had agreed to. I just hoped I wasn’t crushed in the process.

The lid of my laptop slammed down, nearly taking off a couple of my fingertips in the process. “What the hell?” I snapped, lifting my gaze to find Rowan hovering over me, one hand on my computer, the other resting on the back of the couch by my head, caging me in. “I was working on that!”

“It’s 5:30,” he said between clenched teeth.

“So?”

“So… it’s quitting time.”

“Rowan,” I sighed. “I’m not done yet. Just give me another fifteen—”

“No,” he cut me off, pulling the computer from my lap and setting it on the coffee table. “I’m not giving you another five minutes. You said we couldn’t do anything while you’re on the clock, and I’ve held up my side of the bargain.” His hand wrapped around one of my ankles, using it to pull me down the length of the couch so I was lying on my back, his weight coming down on top of me so I had no other choice but to open my legs to him. “Now it’s time for you to live up to yours.” I giggled as his lips came down, trailing whisper-light kisses against my neck. “Jesus, I need to be inside you, Navie,” he groaned as I wrapped my legs around his lean hips, reveling in the feel of him against me, already hard and ready.

I nipped at his lower lip, earning myself a growl. “I’m starting to think you have a problem.”

“I agree. You aren’t naked. That’s a huge fucking problem.”

Heat flooded me as he ground his hips against mine, drenching my panties as his hard-on rubbed against the perfect spot. “Rowan,” I moaned, my head falling back against the cushion. It had been five days of pure, unadulterated sexual bliss. It was as if we couldn’t get enough of each other. The moment the workday finished, we were on one another like animals, ripping clothes, ravishing each other. It was insanity. But the strangest part of all of it was that the sex hadn’t changed the nature of our relationship. I’d expected things to be different between us once intimacy entered the picture, but we still joked, we still teased, we still laughed and argued. The only difference in our relationship was that we now had a detailed knowledge of what set the other person aflame.