“Lucky me.” My intention was to just give him one little flirtatious hug before turning to dinner, but now, in his arms, I don’t really want to pull away. I think about the coldness that emanates from Travis. His voice could give you frostbite. His touch, hypothermia. But Lander always runs somewhere between warm and hot. Being with him is like lying out in the sun. It feels so good you forget that it can burn you.

I try to remember what he looked like when he was beating that man in the bar. I try to remember the hidden viciousness. But sometimes it’s hard, like right now, while I’m in his arms.

“You said you wanted to make love to me in every room in my home.”

“I did say that.” I kiss his neck lightly. “Maybe that’ll be our dessert.”

“There are a lot of rooms. Maybe it can be our appetizer too.” He lifts me up, places me on the counter, next to the extra virgin olive oil and red chili powder.

“Aren’t you hungry?” I ask teasingly.

“Starving.” He bites down lightly on my shoulder.

I thread my fingers through his hair, then grab on to it and pull him back so he’s looking at me. With slow, languid movements I stretch out my legs, then wrap them around him. I move my hands from his hair to his cheeks, cupping his face. “Would you like to fuck me, Lander?”

“I would,” he says with a brightly lit smile. “I would like to fuck you, Bell.”

I laugh. Only Lander can make the word fuck sound like romance. I think about that drawing he made of me. Kind, Witty Heroine.

It’s not who I am. But right now I want to pretend. Pretending is part of my plan.

It’s also part of my pleasure.

I lower my mouth to his, my hair enveloping us both.

I think of Jessica, married to a man who can’t even pretend to like her.

But here I am, pretending to fall in love with a man who is pretending to be good.

I pull off his tie and drop it in the sink.

“Hey!”

I shrug as I pull off his jacket. “It’s ugly and you’re rich. Buy a new one.”

“Well, aren’t you sassy today?”

“I’m sassy every day.” I throw his jacket across the room. “If you’re just noticing now, you haven’t been paying attention.”

“Trust me, I’ve been paying attention.” He pulls off my jacket. “For instance, I know that you like it when I kiss you here.” He kisses the base of my neck, sucking slightly, making little circles with his tongue.

“Oh please,” I breathe. “Everybody likes to be kissed there.”

“And here.” His tongue flicks across that little hollow spot atop my collarbone.