“Just tell me this,” Zoe said. “Did you shave your legs?”

She totally had and she knew where this was going, but she played dumb. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You know damn well what,” Zoe said. “If you shaved your legs, you’re not going for junk food. You’ve got other … expectations.”

“I do have expectations. For you to mind your own damn business.”

Zoe laughed and flipped off her light.

Darcy was nearly halfway down the hallway when Zoe called out, “Tell him hi for me.”

Darcy pulled up to AJ’s house, which was lit from within.

He was up.

His place was an old farmhouse, which he’d restored and updated. The front yard wasn’t large but the back of the property butted right up to the river. Off to the side was a fenced-in pen where Sergeant, AJ’s horse, grazed. Actually, Sergeant was his father’s horse but AJ had taken over care of the aging animal for him.

Two huge cats—Thor and Stark, left to AJ by his superhero-loving grandma when she’d passed away—sat perched at attention on the front porch, eyes narrowed in feline suspicion, watching Darcy approach as the sky lightened.

And then there was AJ himself, too, in jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt, working a shovel in the horse pen, his body moving with easy grace. Like the cats, he stopped to watch her approach. Unlike the cats, his eyes weren’t narrowed, but warm and curious, making her heart leap into her throat.

She hadn’t the foggiest idea what she thought she was doing. In fact … yeah. This was really a terrible idea, and shaking her head at herself, she turned back to her car. She was reaching for the door when AJ caught her by the wrist and turned her to face him.

His eyes were still warm and curious, and now also assessing. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said. Look at her all casual, like she hadn’t come here for a booty call.

“If you’re here to give me back the money, forget it,” he said.

“No.”

He studied her. “Same goes if you’re here to fight with me. I’m not in the mood.”

She shook her head again. “I’d love to fight with you but I’m too tired.” As for what she had come for … “Look, I’ve gotta go get Zoe donuts. And I want Gummy Bears.”

He grimaced at her breakfast choice. “So your car drove you here by accident?”

“Yes!”

“To … yell at me?” he guessed.

“Not exactly.”

“Then what?”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, and he smiled. “You want me.”

God help her, she did. But her legs were feeling a little shaky and she needed to sit down right now. So she did, right there on the grass lining his driveway, where she let out a huge, wide yawn.

Before she could even register his movements, he was in front of her, on his knees, cupping her face and looking into her eyes. “You’re in pain and you haven’t slept.”

“No. Not since …” When she’d been with him in the hotel room. She looked away. “No.”

The next thing she knew she was in his arms and he was striding toward his house, his long legs eating up the distance with no effort at all.

“What are you doing?” she asked as her arms went around his neck. For balance, she told herself, and not because of the entire body tingle he’d created by the strongman act. “I can walk.”

He didn’t answer, just shouldered his way into his house, kicked the door closed, and kept going.

“AJ, put me down.”

“How about you just pretend to enjoy being carried off to my bed. You know, the same way you pretend to enjoy my kisses.”

His bed? “Um—”

“Talk later.”

Oh boy. She didn’t know whether to be aroused or nervous.

In his bedroom, he let her slide slowly down his body.

Both, she decided. Aroused and nervous. She was still standing there thinking that when he tugged off her sweater and took in the fact that she wore nothing beneath it.

“Laundry day,” she said.

He worked her jeans open and tugged them to her thighs, grinning at her lack of panties. “I love laundry day,” he said, and pushed her jeans to the floor.

She opened her mouth to say something sexy-kitteny but yawned instead. Damn.

Before she could try again he’d nudged her—not all that gently, either—onto his bed.

Anticipation gripped her. Maybe they couldn’t get along to save each other’s lives, but they could have this. And his bed was perfect, big and warm and cushy … She lay back, watching as AJ stripped quickly and efficiently.

Hmm. Definitely way more aroused than nervous now, her eyeballs soaked up the sight of his gorgeous bod. She opened her mouth to say so but another wide yawn racked her. “Sorry,” she murmured.

He crawled onto the bed and kissed her. Then he flipped her away from him.

Okaaaaay. She preferred her wild monkey sex—when she could get it—face-to-face but she didn’t really have any limits, at least none that she knew about, so—

AJ slid a corded forearm around her hips and hauled her back into him, her spine to his front.

More yum. In this position she could feel his hard chest, his powerful thighs … and everything in between.

He pinned her in place with one of his legs over hers and a deliciously muscled arm holding her still as he nuzzled his mouth at the nape of her neck. “Close your eyes.”