“Then it might be worth it,” she whispered, stretching upward; his bite having been more restrained, only teeth marks reddened her lip.

Shoving her back down, he circled her wrists with his fingers. “You’ll have another chance later,” he said lightly, dropping a kiss on the bridge of her nose. “Right now, I have a semiserious proposition. So don’t say no right away.”

“I wouldn’t dream of saying no to you after that dynamite orgasm.” She smiled faintly. “Does this have anything to do with my next orgasm? Please say yes.”

He smiled back. “Yes. But give me a minute first. I hate these things.” Withdrawing from her body, he sat on the edge of the chaise, yanked off the condom, and tossed it in the jungle of plants. “Don’t lecture me,” he warned her. “My staff doesn’t give a shit.”

“I wouldn’t think of it,” she murmured.

Her reply was so amenable, his gaze narrowed. “Is that sarcasm? Forget it,” he said quickly. “I don’t care, as long as you’re not getting up to leave.”

Her green-eyed gaze was balmy with contentment. “I don’t feel like leaving just yet.”

“Perfect. Because I have something that will make the sex even better.”

“You have my full attention, Mr. Knight,” she purred.

He laughed. “I thought I might.” But he drew in a quick breath and said warily, “Listen, don’t shoot me down until you hear me out, okay?”

She grinned. “It must be super kinky.”

He gave her a flinty look.

She mimed a locking motion across her mouth.

“Now, first, I’m perfectly willing to use condoms for as long as you want, but with the multiple orgasms you prefer, along with, shall we say, the marathon fucking sessions you like, condoms would be a real pain in the ass. So”—he took a quick breath—“if you’re interested I have an alternative. Since your period is just ending—”

Shock and surprise instantly gave way to indignation.

“Don’t give me that look. There’s no such thing as privacy anymore. I read the interview brief on you in Hong Kong and remembered because it mattered to me at the time. Am I right about your period?”

“Jeez. Is that kind of invasive detail actually legal?”

“I never asked. So am I right or not?”

She made a face, then nodded.

He smiled. “Since when did you get shy?”

“That’s kinda personal.”

“Unlike fucking. So can I get back to my plan?”

She wrinkled her nose in a little bunny twitch.

“I’ll take that as a yes. One more thing and don’t be squeamish. It’s just a simple question. Is this the fifth day of your period?”

Her brows flew up. “How the hell did you know that?”

“I told you, I read the brief. I have a good memory; once I see something, it’s here.” He tapped his head. “Anyway, the timing couldn’t be better for a contraceptive shot. The shot would be effective immediately.”

She glowered. “How would you know that?”

“General information. Don’t get pissed. I read about it.”

“Why?” Her glare was undiminished, her jealously unreasonable but stubbornly persistent.

“Because it happened to be on The Times Health page I was reading,” he said, keeping his voice super calm. “And birth control impacts me. Okay?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that.”

“Come on, babe, I’d like to say I was a virgin when I met you, but I can’t. I told you I haven’t been with a woman since Hong Kong. And that’s major for me.”

“I suppose,” she grumbled.

“You better suppose,” he grumbled back. “It’s in the category of moving mountains with my history.” He briefly shut his eyes as though reconfiguring his past against the present, then looked at her and smiled. “This is a whole new wonderland, babe.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“No problem,” he said as softly. “It was worth it.” He leaned forward and bushed a kiss across her mouth. “So what do you say?”

“Okay.”

He sat back. “Just like that—okay?”

“Yup.”

“That blindsided me,” he said with a grin. “No argument?”

“Actually I’m a little allergic to latex and a lot allergic to the lubed ones, and honestly, I like to feel you.”

Taking issue with any condom use on her part, he wanted to grill and cross-examine her on the history of her latex allergies. But understanding that argument was counterproductive, he stifled his resentments and reached for his sports jacket instead. “Let me call my doctor,” he said, pulling his cell phone from his coat pocket.

“You can get a doctor this time of night?”

“I can get a doctor anytime. He works for me.”

She scowled. “I hope you’re not going to tell me he gives these shots to all the women you entertain here.”

“I don’t bring women here. It’s my home.”

She gave him a dirty look. “You brought them to the Garden House.”

“I don’t consider that my home,” he very carefully replied, his voice gentle, his expression completely blank. “If my mother hadn’t been at the house when we got there, we would have stayed on the Peak. And before you jump to conclusions, I don’t bring women to my home on the Peak either. You were the first.”