Well, almost all of it. Fred’s e-mail about the possibility of us having to either take out a loan to continue paying employee salaries or consider a mass layoff is still on my mind. Not to mention my promise to Olivia that we’d find a way to wow our clients with an intimate party. And Fred’s news about his cancer resisting treatment. And the heir clause, looming over everything . . .

Fuck me running. I tuck the stacks of dreary bank statements into my leather portfolio and close it.

“What do you think?” Olivia grins at me, wiggling her painted toes.

“Pink. I like it.” Then again, I’d probably like her in just about anything. I already know I love her in nothing at all.

She smiles at me. “I was feeling flirty.”

“Did you have fun?”

Blushing a little, she looks down at the plush carpeting. “Yes, except . . .”

“What is it?”

I rise and pull her chin up so she’ll meet my eyes. I hope she hasn’t seen our current financial picture yet. She’s got enough stress to juggle right now. I’ve tried to shield her from most of it, asking Fred and Peter to come directly to me with their reports and concerns.

“Camryn grilled me on us,” Olivia says softly.

Oh. I’m relieved to hear it’s nothing related to work. But it’s crazy to think there’s actually an us. I didn’t know if we’d ever get to this point.

I shrug. “That’s not so bad, right? Things are good between us. Hopefully that’s what you told her.”

She looks up, her cheeks still hot. “I did. But she wanted to know specifics. Like how you were in bed.”

A slow smile uncurls on my lips. “And what did you tell her?”

She chews on her lip, looking unsure.

“The truth, Olivia,” I say firmly. It’s unlikely that she said anything to hurt my reputation—she’s polite like that, and besides, I know I’m good. I just want her to tell me how I make her feel. I want to hear those words straight from her soft, full lips.

“That you have a big . . . b-boy parts,” she stutters, “and you’re . . . assertive, yet tender, and—”

I can’t wait another second to have her mouth on mine. I take her mouth hungrily, and her lips part, accepting me. Our tongues duel as I pull her close, chest to chest.

I’m not sure how or when it happened, but she’s become mine. She’s the first thing I think about when I wake, and the last on my mind before I drift off to sleep. And before I can contemplate the ramifications, I know that I’m going to do what needs to be done to protect my future with her.

Tonight. I need to do it tonight.

I lift Olivia in my arms and carry her toward the bedroom, our mouths still moving eagerly together. Unable to even wait until we reach the bed, I stop in the hall, pinning her back against the wall with her legs wound around my hips.

She’s wearing a simple cotton sundress, and that means when I slide my hand along the outside of her thigh and under her ass cheek, I can reach all the way around to the damp center of her panties. Slipping my fingers under the elastic, I find her clit and rub in circles, pulling a moan from her lips that I quickly swallow with another kiss.

It’s insane to think that the man who once refused to let a conquest sleep in his bed now shares a home with his wife, and practically attacks her at the door after only a couple of hours apart. Damn, I’ve turned into a total mushy prick. But there’s something so addictive about this woman. The way she carries herself, her wit and intelligence, her insatiable appetite for me. It just feels right.

I’ve never even been in a serious relationship. According to Sterling, getting married—tied to one woman for all of eternity—should have scared me shitless. Instead, it’s made me loyal, faithful, loving. It’s brought me to life in all the best ways.

I only hope that doing what I need to do tonight doesn’t destroy everything.

“Yes,” Olivia cries. She grips my shoulders and rocks her hips into my hand, already getting closer.

I love how she keeps herself bare for me. Running my fingers over her silky center, I ease one in slowly. But my careful pace isn’t to last, because when Olivia groans and murmurs my name, I add a second finger and thrust in harder. I finger-fuck her against the wall, my cock so hard it aches. But getting off is the last thing on my mind. I’m content to kiss Olivia and watch her fall apart right here in my arms.

“Noah . . .” She moans, pushing her hands into my hair. “I want you.”

“You have me, baby.” I kiss the side of her neck, inhaling her honeysuckle perfume as my fingers continue stroking. That familiar scent, so uniquely Olivia, always gets me worked up and calms me at the same time.

“Inside me. I want you inside me when I come.”

Okay, then. That changes things. My baby wants the dick, then the dick she shall have.

Still supporting her weight with one arm around her hips, I reach between us and undo my jeans, shoving them down enough to free my cock. Then I line myself up, rubbing the head of my cock through her wet folds just to feel her shudder in my arms.

“How’s that feel?” I tease her again, dragging the length of myself through her heat, grinding against her oversensitive clit.

“Need you,” she moans brokenly.

It’s almost hard to believe this is the same woman who a mere month ago turned up her nose at the thought of sex. Thought it was some useless, vile affair that had no place in her busy life. I’m not an egomaniac, but I’d like to believe the reason is me. I alone bring out this side of her, make her crazy with desire, unleash her inner sex goddess. Which is fine, because she does the same to me. I crave her like I’ve never craved anything before.