The ride to my place was silent save for the few times Rory complimented me on my eye for details. It was like I didn’t have a clue how to act around him now that my heart had latched on to the one man I’d basically hired to use for sex.

For God’s sake, he’s not a prostitute. It was a mutually agreed upon contracted relationship, not a porn. Well, it did have some of the better aspects of porn, but still. I should have known this was going to happen. I’d had a crush on the man for years, and now he was here, with me, and so much better than anything I could have ever imagined.

I clenched my eyes shut, breathing a sigh of relief when Rory’s driver pulled us up to my house. “Thank you again for showing up today, Rory. It was above and beyond.” And totally pushed me over the damn ledge I’d teetered on with my feelings for you.

“You don’t want me to come in?” He asked, climbing out of the car behind me.

I floundered around in my own head before I found my voice. “Of course I do. It’s just…I’m all dirty and—”

He cut my words off with a kiss, his tongue slipping inside my mouth like he’d always belonged there. I immediately melted into his embrace, forgetting about all the reasons I shouldn’t—like how much of a hot sweat-soaked mess I was or how he was stealing my heart instead of striking off items on a list.

“Let’s get wet,” he said, smacking my butt as he walked passed me toward my front door.

I gaped after him, my heart racing in my chest from his kiss. I unlocked the door and led him to the master bath in my bedroom. He closed the door behind me, locking it as if someone could waltz in at any moment. Or perhaps he was worried I’d run and wanted to keep me there. Both weren’t going to happen. Rory didn’t need bolts to keep me, hell, all he had to do was ask, and I’d truly be his in a heartbeat. But what was I thinking? The man was performing his contractual obligations well, and that’s all.

“I can’t believe you wore those heels,” he said, eyeing my pumps again. “I want to make a rule here and now. You’re never allowed to wear those to a game, okay? They kill me.” He hissed, slipping his hands underneath the hem of my T and pulling it over my head.

“Am I allowed to come back to a game?” I asked, the notion shocking me with excitement. I hadn’t wanted to distract him ever again, but damn did I love to watch him play.

He scrunched his eyebrows at me. “I want you in the stands.”

“You do?” The hopefulness in my tone was so obvious I was shocked he didn’t pick up on it.

“Hell yes. I won’t fuck up again. Well, I won’t as long as you don’t wear these.” He tugged each pump off before sliding me out of my jeans. I took my time peeling his clothes off, relishing the way his rock hard muscles felt underneath my fingertips.

“Deal,” I finally said when I’d stripped him bare. I reached inside my shower and turned it to hot, popping the clasp of my bra after I was finished. A quick drop of my panties—which earned me a growl from Rory—and I stepped in.

The warm drops of water hit my skin and soothed the tense muscles underneath. When Rory’s hands gently gripped my hips, my body coiled for an entirely new reason. I turned around to face him, suddenly beyond grateful I’d bought a house with a massive stand up marble shower. I had often thought it was a tad too big for only me but with Rory’s large frame in front of me, I knew it was worth it. He seemed to do that with every facet of my life—find the big, empty spaces and consume them until everything felt just right.

He smiled down at me, lightly teasing my skin as the water rolled over us both. Reaching over me, he grabbed the bottle of lavender body wash I had on the shelf and squirted a mountain in his hand. Rubbing his hands together, he quickly created a lather which he immediately smoothed over my skin.

“So,” he said, working his hands up and down my body like he’d memorized it. “Is this on your list?”

I sucked in a deep breath, gathering some of the suds and swiping them across his chest. Damn the man was cut like he was carved out of the same marble as the shower. “No,” I said, sliding my hands across his lickable V lines. “But I’m starting to think it should’ve been number one.”

He chuckled, the sound igniting my insides as much as his touch. A moan escaped my lips when he threaded his fingers through my hair, his body close enough I could feel the hardness of his cock against me.

“Can I see it yet?” He asked, his tone slightly gravelly.

I bit my lip and shook my head.

“Come on,” he begged. “Give me something.”

A deeper blush than I thought possible flushed my entire body.

Rory tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “How are you embarrassed? You think there is something you could throw at me that I couldn’t handle?”

I pressed my lips together to hold back a laugh. “Not a chance.” I had every confidence Rory could check off all the items left on my list within a matter of days if I asked him to.

“Hey,” he said when I’d dropped my eyes once again. “What is it?” He wrapped a soapy arm around my hip, pulling me against him.

I wanted to tell him the truth. Wanted to say I couldn’t stop falling for him, that I’d already fallen too hard, and I was scared to death of what would happen to my heart when our arrangement was up.

“Paige,” he said before I could find the courage to say a word. “I’m here. With you. And there isn’t a thing on that list of yours that you should be embarrassed over. In fact, I think you’d be surprised how far I’m willing to go to make you happy.” He teased between my thighs with his hard length, and my eyes rolled back in my head. “Tell me.”

Forcing my brain to work, I mentally scanned the list for the easiest number available. A lightbulb clicked, and my eyes darted through the glass shower door to the huge mirror in my bathroom. I smiled timidly up at Rory as I stepped further under the water to rinse off, pulling him along with me. Shutting the water off, I handed him a towel as I dried myself off, but didn’t bother putting clothes on.

He arched an eyebrow at me, and I motioned toward the mirror. He looked at our reflection in the glass and then back to me before it registered in his eyes. “Ah,” he said, smirking as he dropped his towel. He licked his lips. “I love the way your mind works.”