The smile returns to her face, and she claps her hands. “I knew it.” She actually jumps up and down once and then pulls out the barstool across from me. “When I woke up this morning and you were gone, I just knew you were with him. It’s not like you not to come home. But three times?” She lets out a low whistle. “He must be better than I imagined.”

“That makes two of us,” I mumble. Sighing, I add, “But it won’t happen again.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s my boss, Savvy. I can’t sleep with my boss. And even if he wasn’t, he is friends with Blane.” This time I bang my head on the kitchen table. “Stupid,” I mumble to myself as I bang it again. “Then I said some things this morning. I pissed him off …”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You can sleep with whomever you want. Don’t let Blane dictate your life.”

I might have let Case fuck me last night, but I have officially fucked myself.

CASE

“She passed,” I say as I hang up the phone on my desk and look up at Brecken.

He’s silent for a few seconds. “Do you believe it?” he finally asks me.

I sigh as I lean back in my chair. “I can’t say yes or no. The results are back. And they prove Rachel is telling the truth.”

He starts to pace as he lets out a snort. “I know what I saw.”

“She did admit that they were there. She just said they belonged to a friend.”

He pauses long enough to throw me a hard look. “What do you expect me to do?” I ask when he goes back to pacing.

He runs a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t know,” he growls. “I just have a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling.” I watch him pace a few more times and then he looks back at me. “What about Taylor’s drug test? Did it come in yet?”

“I didn’t have her tested.”

He stops pacing, and his dark eyes widen as they look at me. “You what?” he asks with a growl. “Why didn’t you have her tested?” he demands.

I sigh heavily. “Because she has never been a part of this world. She doesn’t do drugs. It was pointless to test her.”

“What the fuck, dude?” he barks, and I don’t say anything. “I saw her car in the parking lot when I left last night.” I grind my jaw. “And I know for a fact the club was closed. No one else was in the building.” He pauses, and I want to look away from him, but I don’t. “Unless she was up in your apartment.” He lifts a dark brow in question.

I sigh. Well, fuck, he knows something happened. I can’t lie to Brecken. “She slept over last night.”

Nothing about his features change, but I know his mind is screaming at me. “Fuck, Case.” He finally speaks. “Do you understand what you have done …?”

I hold up my hand to stop him. “I know exactly what I did. And I do not intend to stop.” I thought about it after she left this morning. I can’t stop. No matter how many questions she asks, no matter how many answers I gotta make up, I can’t stop. The need for her is just too big. Too much to handle.

“Shit,” he hisses running a hand through his dark hair. “You have got to be kidding me,” he yells. “Where is she right now?” he demands leaning over my desk. “She needs to be fired. I’ll do it …”

“No!” I shout standing from behind my desk. “You will not.”

He stares at me with narrowed eyes and then pushes off my desk as he spins around giving me his back. “You fucking her will only fuck us in the end,” he mutters.

“I know,” I say truthfully.

He turns to face me once again. “You can use any other woman. Hell, you can have your pick any night downstairs. This girl is bad news in more ways than one.”

I fall down into my seat and let out a long breath. He’s telling me the truth, but I need to keep her close. I need to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. I can live with myself if I’m the one to hurt her with my lies and betrayal, but I can’t imagine allowing her to get hurt physically ‘cause I cared more about the lines than her safety.

“I’ve made up my mind,” I say with finality as I stand from my chair once again. “And I expect you to keep your mouth shut about the matter.”

He goes to speak, but the door to my office opens, cutting him off, and Taylor enters. “Oh. I’m sorry,” she says looking at Brecken and then me. “I can come back.” She turns to walk back out the door, but Brecken stops her.

“No, go ahead. I was just leaving.” And with that, he throws me one last look letting me know that this conversation isn’t over and then walks out.

I feel the mood shift as soon as he closes the door behind him. It changes from hot and stuffy to cool and refreshing. I don’t know what it is about Taylor, but she makes me forget the bad in life. She makes me forget that my life is a lie. She makes me think there is another world where darkness and headache doesn’t exist. She makes me think maybe the sun could shine every day. And I’m becoming addicted to it. I’m becoming addicted to this ride she has me on.

I look at her body differently now. Even when I saw her naked in the hallway of her house, when I wanted her so fucking badly, I knew she had the power to make me weak in the knees. Now that I’ve had her, I see her even clearer. And I know for a fact I would beg for her as I crawled on hands and knees.

“I wanted to talk to you before my shift,” she says uncomfortably as she shifts from foot to foot.

“What is it?” I ask hoping everything is okay with her. She won’t even look at me. And I know it has to do with the fact I pretty much kicked her out of my place this morning.

“I want talk about last night … This morning.” She bites her bottom lip nervously.

My chest tightens. Please don’t ask me any more questions about my life. “What about it?”

She takes a deep breath. “I just wanted to let you know that I am an adult. And that I can be an adult about what happened.” I stand as she continues. “I didn’t expect that to happen,” she rambles. “You’re not only my boss, but you’re also Blane’s friend. And I’m sorry about afterward. I understand that it was a one-time thing, and I don’t want you to think I need to know everything about you. I can still work here and still be professional.” She sucks in a deep breath. “When I got home this morning, Blane said he had a meeting with you. I hope that you didn’t tell him anything about what we did.” She speaks the last part softly.

Of course, I didn’t. Contrary to popular belief, I do not like to create bad situations for myself. And informing Blane that I spent all morning fucking his sister would cause some big fucking problems. “Are you done?” I walk around my desk, and she takes a step back.

She nods. “I think so,” she answers softly.

I reach out and push a few brown and blue strands behind her ear. “I’m sorry about this morning and the way I reacted to your questions.”

She shakes her head quickly causing her hair to fall back in her face. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”

“It’s not,” I say truthfully. “But I understand why you asked.” I would like to know more about her, but I already know enough. Blane has filled me in on their mother’s death and the fact their father is in prison. And of course, I know more than she even knows. I didn’t become who I am without contacts. And those contacts gave me every bit of information I needed.

I take a step closer to her. She goes to step back, but I reach out and grab her hand, pulling her to me. Her hands come up, and she places them on my chest. “Case, I understand what last night was. You don’t have to do this.”

“Do what?” I ask tilting my head to the side.

She lets out a shaky breath. “This.” She pats my chest. “Where you pretend you want me again. Where you act like it meant something. I’m not the girl who needs a man to act like he cares.”

“You’re right,” I say, and my cock swells at her words. “It didn’t mean anything. But that didn’t mean it didn’t feel good.” I grab her hands and place them around my neck. “You’re also right about not being a girl, but I do want it again.”