“I aced every test,” he said.

  “Wow,” she said. “Adam must have had to do the same.”

  “Everyone does.”

  “How?” She gestured in the general direction of his crotch. “Don’t you . . . that is, can you . . .”

  “Get it up at will?” he said. “Pretty much. I could get hard now, if you wanted. I might anyway. You’re a beautiful woman.”

  “But it’s just a physical reaction.”

  “Pretty much.” He shrugged.

  “I think maybe I understand that now.” She had so much to think about. Before tonight, she wouldn’t have had two men, especially not one who was getting paid to satisfy her. No prude, she wouldn’t have thought anything about someone else doing it, but perhaps her jealousy over Adam had clouded her judgment about what went on here.

  “Good. Because I wasn’t blowing smoke about you and Adam. I think you two could make each other happy.”

  She turned to gaze into the darkened bedroom where he slept. “Has he been unhappy?”

  “He hides it. I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t seen the two of you together,” Jeff said.

  “What a fucking mess I’ve made of everything.”

  He leaned over and took her hand in both of his. “Don’t beat yourself up. It’s a hard issue to deal with—that your man spends his time having sex with other women.”

  “I could have trusted him.”

  “You still can.”

  “I don’t know. It could be too late.” She got up and paced a bit, the silk of her robe swirling around her legs. “What if he thinks that I want him now only because he no longer sleeps with clients, and that I wouldn’t have accepted him as he was before?”

  “Would that be true?”

  She twisted her fingers together and kept moving. “Maybe. I can’t really tell.”

  “That’s something you’ll have to work out, for sure.”

  “This is silly,” she said. “We’ve been apart for six months. How do I know he even wants me?”

  “He does.”

  If only she could believe Jeff. A sweet man, he’d no doubt tell her what she wanted to hear. What if he got her hopes up and it turned out Adam couldn’t forgive her after all?

  “You don’t believe me?” he said.

  “I just can’t be sure.”

  “I think I know what will help.” Jeff pointed toward her chair. An obvious invitation for her to sit across from him again. “Let me tell you what it’s like with the clients.”

  She sat and waited for him to speak.

  “We like all our regulars,” he said. “Madeline makes sure we have good working relationships.”

  God, he made it sound like a corporate team or something.

  “But we don’t get involved emotionally,” he went on. “The clients understand that, and Madeline issues gentle reminders if they get too attached to us.”

  “It all sounds so clinical.”

  “It’s the only way this place can work.” He leaned toward her, his elbows on his knees. “I like you. I like fucking you, but that’s all.”

  “I like you, too.”

  He laughed. “Of course you do. I’m a great guy.”

  “And really good in bed.” She couldn’t help but smile.

  “Now you’ve got it.”

  “Yeah, I do.” He could have sex with women without loving them. She’d always known that about men, but now she’d experienced it herself. She could have fun with Jeff, in and out of bed, and then she could go back to her regular life without thinking of him except as a pleasant memory. That’s how Adam would have felt about the women he pleasured here. Perhaps friends, but nothing more.

  “Adam feels very differently about you,” Jeff said. “The first moment I saw the two of you together, I could tell. He looked like he wanted to kill whoever had messed with you.”

  She couldn’t disagree with him. Their relationship had started out intense and built from there. Good and bad, unfortunately. She’d let the bad win. Maybe they both had. Could they get the good back?

  “I have to admit I’m jealous,” he said. “I wish I felt that strongly about someone.”

  This time, she put her hand over his. “You will.”

  “Yeah, I probably will. Then I’ll have to quit.” He laughed. “Too bad. I like this job.”

  “Maybe you’ll find a better woman than I am.”

  “Not a chance.” He rose. “I’m going down to the kitchen to put in our order for breakfast for the morning.”

  “The kitchen’s open now?”

  “Twenty-four seven. Can I bring you something?”

  “Nuh-huh.” She stared into the bedroom for a while. “Don’t hurry back, okay?”

  He followed her gaze with his own. “Sure thing. Go get him, tiger.”

  SUSAN LIFTED THE covers and slipped into bed next to Adam. Snoring softly, he rolled over, and his arm flopped across her midsection. When the man slept, a freight train rattling the windows wouldn’t have awakened him, but she had a few tricks. And when she used them, they usually resulted in sleepy sex. Warm and snug and as much about skin-to-skin bonding as the inevitable orgasms.

  She ran her palm down his neck to his muscular shoulder. “Hey, cowboy, you up for a ride?”

  Other than an mmmph, he didn’t answer. She’d have to use more drastic measures. She had to push, hard, but she managed to get him onto his side. With him in this position, she could slide up against him, pressing her body into his. She began her assault by nibbling along his shoulder to the curve of his throat.

  Maybe because she melted so easily when he caressed her neck, she’d always enjoyed doing the same for him. Kissing him there always turned him on. Whether he was humoring her or not, the technique worked, so she did it now. Nibbling, nipping, and then covering his flesh with kisses, she proceeded upward to his ear. When she took the lobe between her teeth, her breath slipped into his ear, and he finally roused, opening his eyes a crack.

  His gaze didn’t completely focus, though, and he stared at her for a moment. “Susan. It really is you.”

  “None other.”

  “I thought maybe I dreamed everything.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. “Where’s Jeff?”

  “In the kitchen. I told him to take his time.”

  “Did you, now?”

  “Uh-huh.” She wormed an arm between their bodies and moved her hand downward. When she reached his crotch, she slid her fingers over his sac. Slowly and oh so gently. The way he liked.

  “Drug still bothering you?” he asked.

  “Nope. Unless the drug is named Adam.”

  “You always were good for my ego,” he said.

  “I’m not worried about your ego right now.” The part of him that did have her total concern at the moment was responding nicely. Swelling and growing hard. The man truly was a force of nature. So absolutely perfect and always ready. As she stroked him, he filled her palm with his thickness.

  He closed his eyes and parted his lips, his concentration on her touch. So different from their encounters here, where he’d taken charge. Of course. In his job, he could never completely take his own pleasure during sex. He’d told her he always had to please his client, but with her, he could indulge in the act for its own sake. Until this moment, she’d never understood he could only truly fill his own needs in the bed they shared. If she’d realized that before, things might have been different.

  When he’d become fully erect, he reached down and stilled her hand. For a moment, they lay gazing into each other’s eyes in the dim light. The words didn’t pass between them, but the feeling did.

  I love you.

  They’d said that to each other so many times. Perhaps too easily, without understanding the implications. They wouldn’t be able to say them now, but maybe they had a future to explore their meaning.

  The moment passed, and he smiled and kissed her. Then—typical of her Adam—he began the methodical assault on her senses. His lips tangled with hers, drawing her further into him and demanding she answer. No one could resist that temptation, and in a moment, what had started out sweet turned incendiary.

  She kissed him back with everything in her. As she took his face in her hands, she eased her tongue into the seam between his lips and tasted him. With a moan, he pulled her hard against him so that her breasts pressed into the solid wall of his chest. His cock, the greatest sex toy in the world, pushed against her pelvis. Their toy and the source of both of their pleasure. When she rubbed herself against it, he made a low rumble of approval in his chest.

  Sex was always like this between them. Their first kiss had lit a fire neither of them had managed to quench, even now. They’d come together with a force far off the Richter scale and spent their getting-to-know-each-other days in bed in a rhythm of sex and talk, sex and food, sex and sleep, and on and on. No matter what might happen in the future, he’d always be her dearest, most passionate lover. The man who’d taught her the miracles of her own body.

  Easing her down, he lay her back against the sheets and slid his hand between her thighs, taking over to stroke her sex and bring her arousal level up to his. He didn’t have much work to do in that regard. She’d already become moist, and when his fingers dipped between her pussy lips, they came away wet. The throbbing started. The dull ache that would build to sensations far more urgent. His touch could take care of that, but how much sweeter to have his hardness inside her. He wouldn’t disappoint her. He never did. But he might play with her until she begged him to enter her.

  Next, he slid his finger inside her and probed, urging more moisture from her. Then, his mouth closed over one breast and tugged at the nipple. With a sigh, she rested back and allowed him to work his magic on her body. He knew where every sensitive spot was and how to stimulate her to maximum excitement.

  So far, he’d avoided her clitoris. Leaving the best for last, perhaps. That hadn’t stopped the tiny organ from hardening in anticipation. When he finally grazed it, her hips jerked, and she took a sharp, inward breath. She’d become more aroused than she’d imagined, and soon her need spiraled out of control. Without words, she could only reach down and wrap her fingers around his wrist in a silent plea for more.

  He obliged, of course, rubbing and stroking her clit as she drifted off into the hazy world of high arousal. She’d enjoy as much of this as she could, and then she’d invite him inside her to finish her. Just for a few more seconds of utter bliss until she’d have to have him.

  Seemingly in no hurry, he continued loving her hot button as he nestled his face in the crook of her neck. His breath came hot and shallow against her skin. Evidence of his rising excitement. Neither of them could wait much longer. So she reached between them and found his cock, parting her legs to make room for him between them.

  When he rolled backward, groping for the drawer in the bedside table, she caught his hand in hers. “We don’t need that.”

  “But—”

  “Nothing separating us,” she said.

  “Club policy.”

  “Never mind that. This is you and me. I trust you.” The question hung silently between them: Did he trust her, too?

  “Pregnancy?” he said.

  “I’m taking the pill. I thought I might meet someone else.”

  He rolled back to her. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  “So am I.”

  This time, when she parted her legs, he took his place between them. He’d made her more than ready, so when he eased the head of his cock into her pussy, it passed smoothly, and he surged forward, burying himself inside her. He held himself above her, not moving as the two of them adjusted to a new reality. They were utterly joined, totally complete. Her breath caught in her chest as the image of him above her etched itself into her brain. The strong jaw and sensual lips, the dark hair that hung on his forehead, and especially the light in his eyes. As if nothing existed outside this room and nothing of any importance ever would.

  Then he began to move. The same way he’d coached Jeff hours ago. Slow and even. Not rushing the beginning but letting them both savor it. Wrapping her legs around him, she settled in for the journey. In no hurry, she let her hands go exploring, her palms gliding over his skin. Her fingertips traced the tension in his arms as he held himself above her. Then she trailed them over his shoulders and up the cords of muscle in his neck. The backs of her fingers noted the stubble on his jaw, and she traced his lips with the pads of her thumbs. He caught one in his mouth and nibbled. She couldn’t help but giggle, and he cocked an eyebrow, which made her laugh harder.

  If he saw that as a challenge, he responded by picking up the pace. Now thrusting deeper and harder, he took them to another place. And still, her hands couldn’t get enough of him. She reached under his arms to stroke his back. She found the furrow down the center and trailed her fingers over the velvet of his skin. Lower still, his hips moved, creating the powerful movements of his sex into her own.

  He worked so hard. Such a strange thought considering he’d climax with her in the end. Sure, he enjoyed this, even claimed to enjoy it more than she did, although that had to be a lie. He devoted himself to her pleasure, giving and giving. Surely, she must be the most selfish creature on earth, but she couldn’t stop accepting his gifts any more than she could stop breathing.

  “Adam . . .”

  “Sure,” he said. “Anything.”

  “You’re amazing. Don’t stop.”

  “Stop?” His voice came out strangled. “I couldn’t.”

  And still he moved inside her. Near the end of his control. She’d had him often enough now to recognize the signs. The heavy breathing, the trembling of his arms, the way he bent his head down to her shoulder. She joined him in their special world, a place no one else could share. Her body readied itself, the heat rising with each thrust. They’d finish soon, but it wouldn’t be an ending. Not this time.

  As he continued, now wild in his movements, her sex responded. Her being contracted to the friction in her pussy and the pressure against her clit. She hadn’t lost him, could still hear and feel him, and when she came, she’d come with her whole body and with his. But right now, her total focus was on the rising wave of pure lust building inside her. Each movement brought her closer, closer, closer . . .

  And there. Oh, God, the perfect moment. All of existence concentrated into a few seconds of pure bliss. She left reality behind as the orgasm claimed her, crushing her under its weight. And then she broke free, her sex clamping down on his in a furious rhythm. With a few more thrusts, he joined her, nearly deafening her with his shout. Yes, they’d climaxed together, but the joining meant more than the physical. They’d bared themselves to each other, offering up what most made them human, and they’d come out at the other end together. Trust, communion, love. All those things and others they still had to explore.

  As they floated back to earth in each other’s arms, they remained connected. The physical connection would last only a few more seconds. The emotional and spiritual would never truly fade.

  ADAM CAREFULLY LIFTED the covers and got out of bed. No sign of Jeff, thank heaven. He’d taken Susan’s advice and had disappeared. Adam had a lot to thank the guy for. He’d performed the total immersion exercise perfectly and then made himself scarce. Adam could take pride in how he’d trained Jeff, and he’d tell him all that later. Right now, he had more important business.

  With the thick carpets, his bare footsteps made no noise as he crossed the room and used the dimmer to set the lighting to the barest glow. He really shouldn’t do anything to interrupt Susan’s sleep. She had to be as exhausted as he was, but now that he had the opportunity to drink in the sight of her after six months apart, he wouldn’t waste it.

  He crept back into the bed and snuggled near her but far enough away so he could see her clearly. Only a few inches separated them, and he could detect the scent of her shampoo and clean skin that had infiltrated the most primitive parts of his brain to become a memory of his body rather than of his mind. A physical presence inside him, not a conscious thought that could disappear when something more interesting came by.

  Despite anything they’d done sexually, either at Club Ecstasy or before, she still had the aura of innocence that had captivated his imagination when they’d first met. Her dark lashes rested against her cheeks. He brushed her hair back from her face, letting his fingers skim over her soft skin. Her lips pursed. At another time, he’d take that as an invitation to a kiss. For now, he’d just stare at her because he could.

  Something inside him shifted, settling into place like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle. A perfect fit, plugging up a hole he’d only half recognized was there. He was happy. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but he’d tried too hard to convince himself he’d felt fine, when in fact the emptiness had nagged at him. Now he had her here, and unless he misunderstood a lot of things that had happened in the last few hours, they had a chance to make things right between them.

  They’d never lost the magic—the intense physical connection that had forged the first bond between them and sustained them for the time they’d lived together. The expression on her face just before he’d entered her that last time. Transcendent. He must have looked the same. His heart had seemed to stop for those seconds, and he’d let his emotions show in his eyes. He loved her, and she’d sent the same message back to him.

  They’d made love then. They hadn’t fucked or screwed or slept together or any of the words people used when they left their feelings out of the act. They’d joined together spiritually as well as physically. She had to have recognized the difference between what they’d shared and the other games with Jeff, no matter how much fun those had been. She’d have to understand now that his job offered no threat to their relationship. He couldn’t promise her he’d never use his body to serve another client, but she’d have to realize he was bringing his heart and soul to her when he came home at night.

  Yes, they’d make this work. They had a lot of baggage to unpack, including the w word. He must have said a few things in his anger that he’d have to fix, too. But with the foundation they had now, they could build. He wouldn’t have to let her go again—ever.