Simon hadn’t told her he’d not only put together an NDA, but brought it tonight.

“Simon! Enough.” Anna put her hand on Ben’s knee. “He knows how important this is. He doesn’t have to do that. Relax.”

Ben didn’t look at her, but took the papers from Simon.

“I’m happy to sign an NDA, Simon.”

Simon handed him a pen with a very smug expression on his face.

“Excellent, I’ve flagged the pages where . . .”

Ben was still talking.

“Obviously, I’ll need a lawyer to look at it first, so I’ll get back to you later this week.”

Anna bit her lip so she didn’t laugh out loud. He was good.

They traveled the rest of the way to Simon’s house in silence. After they dropped him off, she turned to Ben.

“I am so, so sorry about that. I just thought he wanted to go over the game plan, not give you the third degree.”

Ben shrugged and tossed his arm around her.

“No big deal, don’t worry about it. Now can I do what I’ve been thinking about ever since I got in this limo?”

He pulled her face to his and kissed her, hard and long. She gave herself over to that kiss. There was more that she’d wanted to say about Simon, and to make sure Ben wasn’t upset, but she forgot everything other than what it felt like to kiss him, to touch him. God, she’d missed his touch.

“You’ve only been thinking about that since you got in the limo?” she asked, as they finally pulled away. “Because I’ve been thinking about this all week.”

His hand slid up her thigh.

“Mmmm. One question: How long will it take us to get to your place?”

She tried to think, but she couldn’t quite concentrate, not with his fingers pulling at her nipple in that way he knew she loved.

“About half an hour,” she said.

He bent down to kiss her neck.

“Good,” he said. “Now, tell me what you’ve been thinking about all week, and I’ll tell you what I’ve been thinking about.”

The look in his eye was that hot, insatiable look from the bar that night. But this time, no one was watching them.

“Well,” she said, as she reached for his belt, “before you got in the limo, I was thinking that it’s been almost a whole week, and I didn’t know how I could survive being in here with you for the whole hour it would take to get back to my place.”

He looked down at her fingers, which had already unzipped his jeans, and smiled.

“And what did you think we might do about that?”

He tugged her dress down and popped her nipple out of her bra. He squeezed it between his thumb and forefinger until she arched her back.

“I thought . . .” She wrapped her hand around his cock. It was already hard. “I thought that if you came as prepared this time as you did the other times, that we could take care of that right here in the car.”

He reached down, flipped his messenger bag open, and pulled out a condom.

“If?” he asked, his eyes locked on hers. “Are you saying you doubted me?”

She tore the packet open and unrolled the condom over his cock.

“Not for a second.” She straddled him in one fast move. She loved the surprised, aroused look on his face. He reached up under her dress and hooked his fingers around her thong.

“Tear it off,” she said.

He took it with both hands and ripped. He dropped the pieces to the floor.

“Oh, you liked that last time, did you?” he asked.

“I liked that a lot,” she said. “That’s another thing I’ve been thinking about all week.”

She leaned forward and kissed him hard. He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her toward him. They kissed as they jolted on the road, and she wanted him so bad she almost came just there.

“But I’ve been thinking about this part even more,” she said. She lifted her hips and slid herself down, down, until he was deep inside her.

He looked at her with that intent look in his eyes, and it made her feel like she was going to catch on fire. She wanted it hard, and fast, and now, and she could tell from the way he looked at her and touched her that he did, too. So she rode him just like she’d fantasized about, and it was even better than she’d imagined, because he had his hands around her waist, clutching her, moving her up and down, his breath on her neck, his lips on her collarbone, his tongue on her nipples. And when he brushed her nipples with his teeth, she went faster and faster until he clutched her even harder and gasped into her chest, and then she arched her back and collapsed into his lap.

“What were you thinking about this week?” she said in his ear, after she finally slid off his lap and back onto the seat next to him. She picked up her torn underwear and put it in her purse.

He leaned in close to her.

“I was hoping,” he said in her ear, “that you had some bacon around for breakfast tomorrow. I can do a breakfast sausage but, you know, it’s not ideal.”

She smacked him on the shoulder and they laughed together until they pulled up to her house.

 

* * *

 

—

After they had dinner, and another round of sex—longer and slower this time—they went outside to Anna’s backyard with a bottle of wine. The sun had gone down, but it was still warm outside, with a cool breeze. Ben took a sip from the glass she poured him and looked out over the pool.

“Was everything okay at work?” Anna asked him. “I mean, about all of this.”

Ben had been more nervous to talk to his boss about their “relationship” than he’d let on to Anna. Thank goodness, that conversation had gone well.

“Mostly fine—my boss was great about it when I told her, and thanked me for warning her in advance. No one else has really said anything.” Roger had dropped by his office that week, and Ben had sort of expected him to bring it up, but he’d just congratulated Ben for the shoot—the client was thrilled with the results, and that it had come in under budget, even with the delays. Apparently, when a billion-dollar tech company wanted to give them more business because of Ben, no one at work cared what else he did, at work or at home. “Though some people have given me some looks like they’re dying to ask me about you.” He laughed. “I haven’t encouraged them.”

“Good.” Anna smiled at him. She was sitting cross-legged next to him in that way she always did. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head, and her lips were still pink from how much he’d kissed her. He smiled back at her.