“You don’t know what you’re asking for, princess,” his voice gravelly with the struggle for control.

“Then I guess you better show me.”

It was like a switch in him flipped—his body roared to life above mine, and suddenly I found my wrists crossed and pinned above my head, my arms immobilized by his strength. He drove into me with deep, powerful thrusts—slowly at first, making me inhale sharply with every one. But somehow he was rough and commanding without being mean, and the pain began to blur with the pleasure of knowing everything I felt was at his whim. Knowing every ragged breath he took was for me. Knowing every agonizing groan meant he was torturing himself, holding back to make it last.

Sometimes he’d pause, buried to the hilt, and perform some magical spiraling motion with his hips that made my body hum with hunger and desire. The base of his cock rubbed against my clit and I couldn’t speak, couldn’t beg, couldn’t breathe. I struggled to get my arms free, to no avail. My head thrashed from side to side—he was so unbearably deep—everything within me tightening and tightening—my insides a vise around his cock—the tension in me rising to impossible heights—and then suddenly I was riding out the most intense and glorious orgasm I’d ever experienced.

Or maybe it was his climax I felt—deep and rhythmic and thunderous—the throbbing force behind it jarring my bones, shaking my core, tearing my body to pieces that scattered like stars all over the sky.

Was this even real?

I wasn’t sure—not even when he collapsed above me, not even when the scent of vanilla and Lava soap and sex mingled in my head, not even when he finally released my wrists and I could move my arms again.

It was only when he lifted himself off my chest and asked if I was okay that I felt myself returning to earth.

“I don’t know,” I said, still out of breath. “I might have just had an out-of-body experience.”

A laugh rumbled in his throat. “Well, I had an in-your-body experience. And it was fucking amazing. Sorry if it was too fast and you missed it.”

“It wasn’t, and I didn’t.” I rubbed my palms up and down his shoulders. “It was perfect. I’ve never felt an orgasm like that before. I don’t know what you did, but if my body has a language, you speak it.”

“Good.” He sounded smug. Dropping a kiss on my lips, he said, “I’ll be right back.”

He got off the couch, and I flopped onto my tummy, pulling the cool pillow beneath my cheek. My heart was still beating erratically, and my skin felt puckered with goosebumps, although it was hot as hell in the room. The sheet was damp beneath me.

But I didn’t care. My body was completely relaxed, my mind was at ease, and I had the distinct feeling I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Maybe it wasn’t my final destination, but it was part of the journey to get there, and somehow I knew I was on the right road.

A moment later, I heard Griffin moving around in the kitchen. “Just feeding the cat,” he said. “She’s making a bunch of noise in there.”

“We probably woke her.”

“We probably woke the entire block. My windows are open.”

I giggled. “Good thing we’re married. Otherwise we’d cause a scandal.”

He groaned. “You’re as bad as my sister. When are you leaving town again?”

“As soon as you fix my car.”

“Oh, right. That’s good incentive.” The refrigerator door opened and closed. “I’ll be right back.”

“Sure,” I said, my eyelids drifting shut. I was almost asleep when I felt his hand on my back.

“Hey.”

I smiled and opened my eyes. “Hey.”

He crouched down next to me. “I switched on the window unit in my bedroom. Why don’t you sleep in there with me?”

“Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Yes. But we’ve already broken the rules tonight anyway.”

“Right.” I sat up and looked at him. He’d put on boxer briefs, but the sight of his bare chest threatened to light my fire all over again. In fact, I couldn’t stop my hand from reaching out and tracing the lettering on one of the tattoos near his collarbone. “And you think we’ll be better behaved in your bedroom?”

“Hard no. But I’m willing to risk it.”

Dropping my hand into my lap, I met his eyes in the shadowy dark. “I don’t want to make this weird, but are you sure this is okay? In general, I’ve always been a rule follower, and I want to respect yours, but I also really enjoyed those orgasms, so I—”

“Jesus Christ, Blair.” Griffin ran a hand over his hair. “You’re not on trial. It’s just sex. It’s just one night. Now stop talking and come to bed.”

When he put it that way, I had to agree. Tomorrow night I’d be somewhere else, so we wouldn’t even have to worry about it. Might as well cook while the oven was hot. “Okay.”

He took my hand and led me back to his bedroom. As we passed the dining table, I noticed the kitten’s crate against the wall beside it.

“You moved her out here?” I asked.

“Yeah. I don’t want you to keep waking her up.”

“Me?” I laughed as we entered his bedroom.

“Yes, you.” He shut the door behind him, ditched the boxer briefs, and pushed me onto his bed.

“You were loud too, you know,” I informed him as he moved up my body, his lips pressing kisses on my stomach, my breasts, my throat, until his face hovered above mine in the dark. Against my thigh, I could feel he was already growing hard again.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. I think I learned some new curse words tonight.”

He laughed—a low, guttural growl—and flipped onto his back, bringing my body on top of his. “Did I shock your delicate sensibilities?”

“In more ways than one,” I said, straddling his hips. “But mostly I’m just glad you made the first move. I was back here in the bathroom trying to think of ways to seduce you in my Snoopy T-shirt and ripped shorts. It was not going well.”

“That would have been quite a show.”

Leaning forward, I braced my hands above his shoulders and moved back and forth along the length of his cock, my damp hair giving off the apple blossom scent of my shampoo. “I can still try to give you a good show. Minus the Snoopy shirt, of course.”

He put his hands on my hips, digging his fingers into my skin, and lifting his mouth to my breast. He inhaled deeply as his tongue stroked my hard, tingling nipple. “You smell so fucking good all the time. It drives me insane. I can’t keep my hands off you.”

“Good.” I moaned as he took the pebbled peak in between his teeth and flicked it with his tongue. “Although it might make our whole boss/employee relationship a little difficult.”

His head fell back. “Fuck that. You are not officially my employee yet. That starts tomorrow.”

“And this ends?” I rocked back and forth a little faster. I was wet and eager all over again, my desire for him unquenchable.

“This ends,” he said, breathing harder. “Do we have a deal?”

“Absolutely. We don’t need any complications.”