“How old are you?” I blurt out. I need to know things about him even if I do tell myself it doesn’t matter.

“Twenty-nine,” he responds without hesitation. Hmm. So he’s eight years older than I am. That’s not bad.

What else do I wanna know? “Can I ask you something?”

His head falls to the side as he looks at me. The smile makes him look so young, so free. “Sure.”

I want to ask him about his past, his tattoos, but I won’t. This is one of those moments I don’t wanna fuck up. “Will you tell me about the club?” I decide to ask.

“What do you want to know about it?” he asks slowly, but the smile is still on his face.

“What made you and Brecken open the club? Savannah told me you have owned it for nine months.” This is the safest question I can think of, but I want to know more about him.

He lets out a shaky sigh as if he just dodged a bullet. I give him a soft smile to try to ease his discomfort and let him know that I won’t dig too deep. “Connections.”

“Connections?”

He nods. “We knew a friend who happened to know someone who was selling the warehouse. The second we looked at it, we knew what we wanted to do with it.”

“Have you and Brecken been friends long?” I don’t think that is too big of a question.

“A long time.”

Hmm. That is not good enough. “Since back in high school?” I ask.

“Yes,” he says simply.

“And …?” I don’t want to just come out and ask questions. I want him to want to tell me about himself. I want to feel like I deserve to know him. The real him.

“And what?” he asks with a huff. I sit up and lick my lips nervously as I stare down at him. He still has one arm over his stomach and the other under his head, but his eyes look darker as he stares up at me.

“I wanna know more about you,” I say softly. “I’m not asking for you to tell me everything. I want to, but I know you don’t.” He goes to speak, but I speak before he can say anything. “I know this is just a hook-up. And I’m okay with that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care to know you on a more personal level.” He’s your boss; you don’t need to know him on a personal level.

He pulls his hand out from underneath his head and reaches up, pushing some loose strands of hair from my face. “Is that what this is to you? A hook-up?”

“Uh …” I don’t know how to answer that. “Yes?” He smiles at my confusion. “Isn’t that what this is to you?” I decide is a better response. When in doubt, answer a question with a question.

He sits up, and his face is only inches from mine. “I thought we decided this last night,” he whispers softly against my lips.

“Decided what?” What did we talk about last night? All I remember is him standing in the kitchen and then waking up alone in bed this morning. There wasn’t much talking involved.

He brushes the back of his knuckles against my cheek. “I told you that I don’t share what is mine.”

I frown as I repeat his words in my head. “I’m not sleeping with anyone else, if that is what you’re worried about,” I answer softly. Should I have made him think I was? I mean what are the odds he isn’t sleeping with someone else? Should I play hard to get? I’ve already slept with the man; maybe I should make him think he has competition.

“I’m not worried about it,” he says with a smirk on his face.

I pull back as I let out a huff. “Excuse me?”

He chuckles this time as he reaches out and grabs my upper arm, pulling me back to him. “Wanna know why?”

“Yes.” He’s such an arrogant bastard …

He lowers his lips down to mine. “Because I will kick any guy’s ass who touches you. I told you last night I don’t share what’s mine.”

My lips part and I inhale. He considers me his? “I’m not sure what that means exactly,” I say truthfully.

He smirks as he lowers his hand from my hair, over my collarbone, and stops when he gets to my breast. “It means exactly how it sounds. You only see me. You only fuck me.” His voice drops to a deeper tone, and it makes my nipples harden. He places it between two fingers and pinches it. I gasp as a shiver runs down my spine.

“And you?” I manage to ask breathlessly.

“What about me?” He pushes his head into the crook of my neck.

“Just who are you gonna see?” I swallow when his lips gently brush my skin. “Who are you going to fuck?” I finish off with a sigh.

“Only you, baby,” he whispers as I moan. “That is if you want me.”

“Oh, I want you.” I laugh at how desperate I sound, but he cuts it off as his lips touch mine. I move to straddle him and place my hands on either side of his face. He deepens the kiss, and I pull away breathing heavy.

“I’m guessing if you don’t remember that then you don’t remember our conversation about you being scared?” he asks softly.

I frown at the change in subject but don’t question him just shake my head. “What was I scared about?” There’s no telling. Savannah has gotten drunk many times and told me about the craziest things she never remembers the next day.

“You told me that you were afraid of being at the club last night. That you thought I was gonna make you do drugs.” I swallow nervously. I said that? I mean, yeah, I was, but why did I have to say that?

I drop my head and lick my lips. “I was.” I fiddle with my hands between our bodies. This would be easier if he would throw me down and fuck me senseless. Instead, we have to relive an embarrassing moment for me.

He reaches up and grabs them. “Look at me,” he demands quietly.

I look up at him through my lashes. “I told you this several times last night, but you obviously don’t remember.” He gives me a small smile, and it eases my concern. “I would never make you do anything you don’t want to do. And that includes everything. I would never make you do a drug. I would never make you drink, and I would never force you to do something in the bedroom. Do you understand that?”

I nod my head once. “I mean it, baby.” He lets go of my hands and reaches up to cradle my face in his hands. “You are always safe with me. And if you ever feel unsafe, you just have to tell me. Okay?”

“Okay,” I reply with a sigh. “I believe you. I do. I guess I was just so caught off guard last night,” I tell him.

“And that’s my fault. I promise it will never happen again.”

I smile. “Thanks, baby.” He places his lips back on mine, and I kiss him softly. I do feel safe with him. And I do believe he would never put me in harm’s way. Call me selfish, but those words aren’t enough. I need to know more. He just told me that we belonged to each other.

“Case …” I say through our kiss.

“Yes.” He moves his head down to my neck, and he places gentle kisses while nipping at my skin every now and then. I place my hands on his head and push him back, narrowing my eyes at him. “You gotta give me something.”

“Taylor, I can’t …”

“Do you think I don’t deserve to know?” I question with a frown.

“It’s not that you’re not worth it.” He sighs heavily.

“Then tell me. Please,” I beg giving him my puppy eyes. “Tell me who you are.” His eyes search mine, and I add, “You can trust me. I haven’t given you a reason not to.”

For a few long moments, he just stares at me. His dark blue eyes searching mine. “I trust you,” he finally whispers.

I lean in and softly kiss the tip of his lips. When I pull away, he looks down at his left wrist. I hold my breath when I see he is looking at the tattoo Nicole on his wrist. I wanna know who she is.

“What do you want to know?” he asks with a growl as if this is gonna be hard for him.

“Have you been arrested before?” I ask curiously. I know Nicole is a very sore subject. She meant something to him, that’s obvious. I wanna know the things that make him look so dark. The things that make him seem so dangerous. Anyone can fall in love; I wanna know what makes him so special. So mysterious.

He actually throws his head back and laughs. A deep, sexy laugh that makes his muscles flex. “What?” I ask as I slap his hard chest playfully. “It’s a serious question,” I snap at him as he continues to laugh. “Can’t take anything serious,” I say as I get up from straddling him. He grabs my arm and pulls me down to the bed as he straddles me.