Problem was, he actually liked Alyssa. As a woman. As a person. And whatever they had, it wasn’t just sex.

Worse, last night, he’d gotten this odd pleasure in taking care of her. She worked so damn hard, fulfilling the needs of her businesses and her employees before seeing to her own.

Once he was gone, who would take care of her?

Tyler.

God, even the man’s name burned like acid in his gut. He squeezed his eyes shut. Why the hell should he be so jealous of another man when he was the one lying naked beside her?

Because it’s not going to last.

Shoving the ugly thought away, he propped himself up and looked at Alyssa’s clock. Ten eighteen. Wow, they’d both been exhausted, sleeping a good nine hours plus.

Suddenly, she rolled over slowly and opened her eyes. Her lashes batted slumberously, her makeup smudged beneath her eyes. Rather than resembling a raccoon, she looked vulnerable.

Once she saw him, Alyssa glanced away, vague panic on her face. “What happened?”

Damn it, she was pulling away again, and all he wanted was that trusting warmth against him again, her arms around him, her lips raised to his.

He stroked her shoulder with a soothing touch. “Nothing. You were hungry and exhausted. Do you remember eating last night?”

Immediately, she flushed and nodded. “You fed me.”

A smile touched his mouth. “Yes. Then I brought you to bed. You fell asleep halfway up the stairs.”

She covered her face with her hands, then peeked one eye out. “Seriously?”

Luc nodded. “Dead asleep. You mumbled something about not wanting to ruin your dress just before you conked out, so I took it off and tucked you in.”

Alyssa wriggled, blinked. “You took everything off.”

“I didn’t know what you usually slept in . . . and I like you this way.”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. “What time—Oh!” Glancing at the clock, she cursed. “We should be at Bonheur around twelve. I think the others will be there by two.”

“Good. Then we have time.”

“For what?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Her body was pressed close to his; she couldn’t have any doubts that he wanted her badly. But her expression told him that sex wasn’t first on her list, and he supposed she still had questions about yesterday.

“A proper breakfast, for one thing.” His tone scolded her.

“And?”

“Whatever else happens.”

She sat up in bed and wrapped the covers around her. The sheet hid her lush curves, even as it molded to them. Luc felt nearly dizzy with want.

“In the interest of saving time and bullshit, just answer one question. What is going on between us?”

That was direct. Luc actually admired her for having the guts to ask what she really wanted to, for not taking the easy way out.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I like you, I want you, and the thought of you with Tyler rips me to shreds. That’s all I know.”

She paused. “Uncharted territory for you?”

Luc nodded. He realized that, in all his “relationships,” he’d never taken the time to really know a woman unless it suited his purpose. If there was an end to achieve, he figured the woman out enough to manipulate her response in his direction. With Alyssa, he wanted to know her because she fascinated the hell out of him.

“Me, too.” She admitted. “I don’t . . . do relationships.”

He frowned. “You don’t get emotionally involved?”

Alyssa raised her knees to her chest and curled her arms around them. “Trust is hard for me. I don’t usually let men into my personal space.” She tossed him a pointed glare. “This house is supposed to be my Zen retreat, hence the pale walls, the black-and-white nature photos, and water features. I come here to escape, not fuck.”

If he was translating her right, she was claiming that she’d never brought another man here. What about Tyler and his house key? For protective purposes only? The fact she’d broken her rule for Luc twice said something about her feelings. The answering leap in his chest scared the shit out of him.

God, could he really fuck her out of his system in four days, or would he just fall in completely?

“Friends with benefits is as far as I ever go. So to actually give a damn at all is weird for me.”

So she gave a damn about him. It wasn’t huge emotion, but it was a start. Question was . . . where was it leading? He had no clue.

“Any reason you don’t get emotional?” He knew from experience that emotion made the sex richer. It was one reason he always tried to feel something for his partners.

“I don’t need complication, and happily-ever-after is bullshit. Every night, I see lots of married men who would give their right nut to fuck me or one of the other girls, wife be damned.” She sent him a sad smile. “You’re here cheating on a girlfriend. I’m not stupid, Luc. I don’t set myself up for heartache.”

Had that been why she left yesterday morning without a word, because he’d gotten to her emotionally? And why did he like that thought so much?

“Where does that leave us?” he whispered.

“If we were smart, we’d end this now.”

Not until he was good and ready. As miserable as she looked, he didn’t think that was what she wanted, either.

So he leaned closer and brushed his mouth over hers. “I don’t think I can be smart when it comes to you.”

She gasped under his kiss, and he brushed his lips down her neck, letting the sound roll through him.

“Luc . . .” Alyssa put a hand to his shoulder.

He was certain she meant to push him away. Instead, she gripped his hair in her fist and pulled him closer, her lips feathering across his jaw, her teeth nipping at his ear.

A shiver racked him. God, what was it about this woman? Around her, he couldn’t keep his head.

Or, he feared, his heart.

Alyssa raised to her knees above him and pushed him to his back. He went willingly, groaning when she ripped the sheet away from his body and fell on top of him, her mouth searing its way across his chest. She did those wicked little tricks with his nipples again, and damn if he wasn’t already so hard he couldn’t string a thought together.

When her hand drifted down his abdomen and her fingers circled his cock, he cried out.

“You like that?” she asked, all coy vixen as she stroked his length roughly.

“Fuck, yes.”

“Everyone else thinks you’re controlled. A great Southern gentleman.” She laughed. “You’re so not gentlemanly in the bedroom.”

Again, she stroked him up and down, her grasp tight, her pace blistering. When her thumb brushed the crest of his cock, his back arched and his eyes flew wide. Jesus!

Alyssa redefined pleasure for him. Virtually every drop of blood in his body had pooled between his legs. The pressure was intense, and every stroke piled sensation on top of sensation.

Then she slid her way down his body.

“Not a good idea,” he croaked.

But his hands delved into her hair, holding her between his legs. He guided her to his cock.

At the first touch of her mouth, need spiked. He gritted his teeth. “Oh, God.”

Watch her; he had to. Luc didn’t want to miss a moment of her mouth on him. She batted her lashes, her blue eyes alive and electric, shocking him down to his core. That sweet red mouth opened, the plump lower lip the perfect resting place for his dick. Her tongue peeked out, swiping his head as if she licked a lollipop. Then she moaned and licked her lips—and he lost his mind.

“Suck it,” he demanded. “Put my cock in your mouth and suck hard.”

Instead, she raised a brow at him, then licked his balls, running a thumb up the length of his dick. Different sensations—ones that were like adding gasoline to the funeral pyre of his restraint.

“I don’t take orders. If I suck you, it will be when and how I want.”

His fists tightened in her hair. The woman was taunting him. Bad, bad move. His control was shot, body taut, teeth clenched as he tried to get it together. But she drew her tongue up his length again, grazing the sensitive crest with her teeth. He hissed in sizzling pleasure. He’d never been one for the painful edge of desire before, but the way Alyssa delivered it . . . Damn.

Taking himself in hand, he guided his cock to her mouth.

“Suck it now,” he snapped, his voice tight, strained. He’d apologize later. Right now he really needed to feel the wet silk of her mouth heating his cock to a fever.

The moment her tongue cradled his dick, Luc sucked in a sharp breath. The rush of sensation blistered its way through him, darting down his legs. Desire seared his entire body as Alyssa’s head bobbed up and down. Gorgeous sight.

She took him to the back of her throat, then eased out with a suction so strong, Luc nearly lost his mind. Her tongue flirted across his head as her fingernails dug into his thighs. Desire swelled, rapidly pushing the limits of his endurance and control. It had taken her maybe thirty seconds to bring him to the edge. Fuck! His breathing short-circuited. He fisted his hands in her hair, trying to slow her down. Every flare of sensation and searing tingle worked against him. God, he couldn’t last long like this.

No, he wasn’t coming in her mouth. Her pussy. It had to be there. Very quickly, that had become his favorite place. As much as he loved her mouth and couldn’t wait to explore her ass again . . . he needed to be deep inside the most female part of her, pounding her through multiple orgasms before he finally let go.

But first, he’d repay the brazen witch for her teasing.

Lifting her off his cock, he heard an audible pop when he left her mouth. She reached for him again, whimpering in frustration.

“I wasn’t done,” she growled.

“You are for now. My turn.”

Anticipation scorched his system as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up past his hips, over his abdomen, raising her above his shoulders—and settling her thighs on either side of his face.

“Luc!” she protested.

He didn’t bother answering her. The scent of her musky tang pierced his system and revved up his desire. Blood sizzled in his veins as he grabbed her hips and lifted his head, swiping his tongue through the wet folds of her pussy until he reached her clit. Wet, swollen, hard. Perfect.

When he sucked it into his mouth, she released a high-pitched, ragged gasp and clutched the headboard as if she needed serious steadying. Luc smiled and ran the flat of his tongue over her sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Oh, my—Oh . . . Luc,” she panted. “That’s so—Damn! It’s fast. I can’t—”

He scraped his teeth over her clit gently . . . with just enough pressure to prove to her that, in fact, she could. Right that instant.

Alyssa screamed in pleasure, and it was the sweetest sound. Her release filled him with primal need and a satisfaction unlike any other. He’d always insisted on leaving partners sated, but this was both gratifying and frustrating. Incredible . . . but not enough. Not nearly.

Cream flowed from her body, and he was thrilled. She’d need it later, no doubt. But now he wanted more on his tongue. Much more.

Holding her in place with one hand at her hip, he ran the other up the inside of her thigh, then pressed a finger inside her. Her heat enveloped him instantly, her flesh clinging, still rippling with the aftereffects of her climax.

“No more playing around. Just fuck me.”

Not until she was good and ready. Not until he dismantled whatever wall she’d erected between them. Not until her body had completely surrendered.

Luc didn’t bother with words. Instead, he slid two fingers into her pussy. Tight. God, every time he got inside her it was a delicious struggle he always looked forward to. Today would be even better because she was still swollen from their last encounter.

With a twist of his wrist, he finally submerged his fingers inside her. A few seconds and a bit of fondling later, he found that sensitive smooth spot that drove her mad and rubbed unmercifully as he set his mouth back on her clit.

She gasped, grabbing the sheets around her, her body bowing as she tried to absorb the sensations.

Against his fingers and tongue, he could feel her flesh grow more slick and swollen. Her breath began to catch; then she moaned.

“Luc. Oh, Luc. Please . . . It’s too much. Too big. Oh!”

In that moment, he wanted to deliver the kind of pleasure that would devastate her, break her will to resist him ever again.

He rolled her clit around on his tongue like candy, swiping it from top to bottom, side to side. Her sleek thighs tightened, her fists on the headboard grew more frantic, and her folds swelled so beautifully. Luc pulled his mouth away for a moment to look at her. Yes! Her flesh throbbed, an angry red that demanded fulfillment.

She breathed a moment of relief—until that itchy, achy feeling caught up to her and made its demands known.

Then she whimpered. “Luc!”

“Don’t want me to stop, do you?”