He clicked the remote and opened the door to his SUV. “Then stay out of my personal life, Liz, and go bother some other client who’s not the number one player in his position.”

NATHAN’S POPULARITY HAD GROWN BY LEAPS AND bounds, and all because of Tara dating Mick. She tried to keep his feet on the ground and tell him that this could all end tomorrow if she and Mick decided not to see each other anymore, but Nathan brushed her off and said that he and Mick would always be—what was the word he used? Tight. That was it.

She was afraid her son was growing too attached to Mick. And not only Mick, but Mick’s family. He Skyped with Ian and Steve, Mick’s cousins, on a regular basis, as well as whatever the hell those kids did online in that Warcraft game. Not that she really minded, since it was another avenue that was safe and kept her kid off the streets, and Mick assured her they were good kids.

But little by little her life as well as her son’s had begun to revolve around Mick. And Mick’s family. Now she was even planning a party for Mick’s parents’ anniversary, and that meant almost daily phone calls to Jenna, who she decided was an absolute riot. She had a wicked dry sense of humor, took nothing seriously, and she fiercely loved and protected her family. Tara could see why. Mick’s family was perfect. If Tara could choose a family for herself, the Rileys would be the kind of family she’d want.

But they weren’t her family and likely would never be her family. Sure, she and Mick got along great, but Mick had a lifestyle totally foreign to her. She was enjoying the hell out of playing the game with him right now, but it was temporary. Once his football season started up, he’d be busy, Nathan would start school and his football season, she’d dive into moving her business to the next level, and that would be the end of things. She just hoped Nathan wouldn’t be hurt over all this when Mick no longer had time for him.

Maybe it was time to start easing back a little. She was already having a little too much fun with him. And okay, that too much fun thing was engaging her heart and her emotions in a way she hadn’t expected. She hadn’t wanted to get involved with him at all, but he’d been insistent, and she hadn’t exactly been forceful in pushing him away. After all, the sex had been phenomenal, and oh, God, had she really needed some great sex in her life after years of drought. But now? Now things were starting to get serious, at least on her side of it.

So, yeah, it was definitely time to let go.

She leaned back on the chair and picked up her notebook, jotting down some shopping supplies for the party. Nathan was out with the team tonight, so she intended to enjoy her quiet time.

Until someone knocked at the door. She sighed and set down her cup of tea and the notebook, went to door, and peeked through the peephole, smiling when she saw it was Mick.

“Hi. What are you doing here?” she asked as she opened the door.

“I gave one of the guys on the team a ride home. His car’s in the shop and his wife had the other car,” he said. “He lives near you, so I thought I’d drop by.”

“Come in.” She closed the door behind her. “A little late for practice, isn’t it?”

“Offensive team meeting went a little longer than expected.”

“I see. Would you like something to drink?”

“Water would be great.”

“Okay.” She went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, came back, and handed it to him. He was sitting on the sofa, so she went to sit next to him as he finished the bottle in a few long gulps.

She realized he had been looking at her notebook. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No. I was just working on some notes for your parents’ party.”

“Thank you again for doing it.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Mick. You did insist on paying me, after all. Which is totally unnecessary.”

“Hey, it takes time out of your day to put an event together. Why not get paid for it?”

“Because it’s your family, and I volunteered to help because I wanted to, not because I expected money for it.”

“If we’d hired another event planner, we’d have paid them, wouldn’t we?”

“Yes.”

“Then enough talk about the money.”

“Okay.”

He looked upstairs. “Nathan home?”

“No, he’s out with some of the guys from the team tonight.”

“Oh. Will he be home soon?”

“I have to pick him up later.”

“Uh-huh.”

She arched a brow. “Did you come over to see Nathan?”

“Yeah, I’m secretly only seeing you so I can be Nathan’s best friend.” He pulled her onto his lap. “I think you know why I came over here.”

And just like that her heart started racing, her body temperature rose, and heat filled her. Lying against him like this, her thighs over his, her breast rubbing against his chest, put her libido into overdrive. The physical chemistry she shared with Mick was combustible.

She arched a brow. “So you thought you’d drop by for a booty call?”

He tilted his head back and laughed. “I assumed Nathan was home. So the answer is no.”

She affected a pout. “How disappointing. And here I thought you’d just come over to admire my ass.”

“You do have a great ass, Tara. I have no problem spending time worshipping it.”

“Really.”

His eyes went dark. “Yes. Want me to show you?”

Heat coiled low in her belly. “Oh, most definitely.”

He flipped her over so fast her head spun. He pulled down her shorts, dragging them to her knees. Her panties went next, and then his lips were on the globes of her ass, warm and making her pu**y quiver. She clenched her fingers in the couch cushions, needy for what Mick could give her.

He slipped his hand between her legs, sliding his fingers along her pu**y lips. “Is this what you want?” He tucked two fingers inside her, her pu**y already wet and ready for his invasion.

She arched against him, pushing back against his hand. “Yes.”

Time without him meant time thinking about him, about being with him, about doing this with him.

“You’ve been thinking about me kissing your ass, huh?”

She tilted her head to look at him. “Among other things.”

He pressed his lips to her buttocks while he finger-fucked her. “I’d like to know what other things you want me to do to you.”

He swept his fingers over her sex, swirling them over her clit, and any thoughts she had flittered away. “I can’t think when you’re touching me like that.”

“Really.”

“Yes.”

“Then just make noises if you like what I do.”

She did, letting out a whimper when he rubbed her butt with one hand and her pu**y with the other, especially when he trailed his finger between her butt cheeks, teasing her anus. The sensation was incredible, sparking her desire even more.

“Like that?”

“Yes.”

He teased her anus and slid his fingers into her pussy, f**king her with relentless strokes until she lifted her butt in the air against him, craving more of what he gave her.

And then she felt his finger at her back entrance again, and this time it was wet, whether from his saliva or her juices, she didn’t know. But he slid it past the tight muscles, and oh, God, it felt so good she cried out, arching upward to get more of the burning, pleasurable pain that seemed to make her pu**y pulse, too.

He f**ked her pu**y with his fingers, using his thumb to swirl over her clit, while at the same time sliding his finger in and out of her ass. Her mind tried to process of all the sensations, and it overwhelmed her with the sweetest, most wicked pleasure she’d ever felt.

“I’d like to f**k your ass sometime, Tara. Would you let me?”

If it felt as good as what he did with his finger, she’d deny him nothing. “Yes. Yes, you can f**k my ass.”

She’d never felt anything like this, this lightning strike of intense pleasure that made her lose her mind. She arched her back, pushing against his hand as she cl**axed with a wild cry.

Mick held her, giving her more of what she needed as she rocked through the pleasure, not stopping until she was spent and panting. Only then did he withdraw, roll her over, and kiss her. He went into the kitchen for a moment while she caught her breath, returning with a cold glass of ice water. He held the glass for her while she sipped, coating her dry throat.

It was very strange to be sitting on the floor na**d from the waist down. Then again, she supposed there was no point in being modest with Mick. He’d pretty much seen it all.

“Thank you,” she said, leaning over to kiss him. “That was very nice.”

“You’re welcome.” He took her glass of water and swallowed down two quick gulps. He set the glass on the coffee table and sifted his fingers through her hair. “You make me thirsty.”

She climbed on his lap. “Is that right? Let’s see what we can do about that.”

His c**k was still hard, and she surged against him, ignoring the fact he still had his pants on and she was na**d. She reached for his zipper, taking her time about tugging it down, taking a quick glance up at his face to find him zeroed in on watching the movement of her hands.

She slid down on his thighs and pulled his pants down over his hips. He lifted to help her, and she freed his cock.

“Got a condom on you?”

“Pocket.”

She dug in his pocket and pulled out the foil packet, waving it back and forth. “I like that you’re always prepared.”

“Around you? Hell, yeah. I always want you, Tara. I think about making love to you all the time.”

She lifted her gaze to his and saw the heat in his eyes, glad to know he thought about her. She wrapped her fingers around his c**k and stroked. He hissed, grabbed the condom packet from her fingers, and tore it open. “I need to f**k you.”

He reached for her hands and pulled her toward him, holding on to her while she lifted and held his cock, settling over him, sliding onto him.

Every time he entered her it was like the first time, a shock of awareness, a thrill of excitement as he expanded and filled her. Fully seated on him, she fanned her fingers over his abdomen and closed her eyes, just let herself experience the sensations as her pu**y accommodated his cock, felt the flutters and contractions and pure joy as their bodies joined.

“Good?”

She opened her eyes and met his curious gaze. “Heaven. I love the way you fit inside me.”

He arched, and she gasped. “I like being inside you, Tara. I like feeling the way your pu**y grips me, the sounds you make when I f**k you.”

She rocked forward, dragging her cl*tagainst him, and felt the walls of her pu**y grip his c**k in response. Mick grabbed her h*ps and pulled her toward him, then back, setting the pace.

“Yeah,” he said, watching where their bodies were connected. “Look down, Tara. See my dick pulling your pu**y lips apart when I pump up inside you?”

She bent forward, watched his c**k disappear inside her, then pull out, coated with her cream. “Yes.”

“I love the way you swallow me up.”

Her belly clenched, her entire body going up in flames at the way he touched her, the way he spoke to her, his touch, his voice, everything about him hot and sexy and filling her senses with fire. She leaned forward, pressing her br**sts against his chest, running her fingertips across his jaw and his lips.

He cupped her face and drew her to him for a soul-shattering kiss, then grabbed her butt cheeks and lifted her up and down off his c**k while his tongue dueled with hers. She gasped against his mouth, so close now she felt the stirrings of orgasm tightening inside her.

“Mick.” She pulled back just enough to search his face, her nails digging into his shoulders.

“Come on, Tara. Let me feel it.”

She held on for only a few seconds more, driving her cl*tagainst his body, letting the sensations take her to the ragged edge. Then she cried out and let go, latching on to his mouth as she came. Mick dug his fingers into her hair and kissed her deeply, held on to her as she shook against him with the force of her orgasm. He groaned against her lips as he thrust upward into her when he came, his fingers digging into her flesh. It was just so good to be held tightly in his embrace, to know it affected him as hard as it had her.

She blew out a breath and laid her forehead against his. “So glad you stopped by tonight.”

He laughed. “Me, too.”

They cleaned up and dressed, then sat on the sofa together watching TV while Tara made her notes. Her cell rang about eleven p.m., and she frowned as she went to grab it, thinking it was odd that Nathan would call early to be picked up from the party.

But it was Maggie, and her eyes widened as she listened, tried to calm Maggie down, then hung up and turned to Mick.

“What’s wrong?”

“Maggie’s having a meltdown.”

“About what?”

She chewed her lip, wondering how much she should confide in Mick about Maggie’s personal life, then decided she didn’t have much of a choice. “Her brother is a mess. He gets into a lot of jams, then expects Maggie to come to his rescue. She doesn’t know what to do, she’s in crisis mode, and she’s not clearheaded where he’s concerned because he’s her baby brother and she’s practically raised him by herself. We’ve been friends a long time and seen each other through some rough spots. I’d like to help her.”

“You need to go to her? I understand.” Mick stood.

“There’s another problem. Nathan. I was supposed to pick him up from the party at midnight.”