‘Did you come here to tell me you loved me or to get railed, love?’ he rasps in the low, dirty voice of a man rapidly losing control.

‘Both,’ I admit, grinding against him. Definitely both.

‘Fuck.’

We’re groping each other like horny teenagers, and it’s amazing. I frantically undo the top few buttons of his shirt so I can slide my hand in and remind myself how fucking fantastic his pecs feel. Then I’m pulling on the concealed zip down the side of my dress so I can tug it off. It lands in a silky pile somewhere off to the left, leaving me straddling Brendan in nothing but heels and white lace lingerie.

‘Jesus,’ he says, leaning back so he can take me in, his jaw flexing as he smooths his warm palms down the sides of my body. His eyes meet mine. ‘I’m speechless, sweetheart. Just speechless.’

A wave of intense frustration crashes over me. We had it so good before—on the physical side, I mean. Given everything that went down, I know we needed to halt our sexual relationship while we worked on everything else. These past few weeks have been a time of healing for me and Brendan as much as for Tabs.

Still.

A girl has needs, and it’s been way too fucking long. We’ve wasted quite enough time.

I grind my lace-covered pussy against his trouser bulge again and pull at his hair. ‘I need you inside me yesterday. I need you to fuck me, Bren.’

He chuckles, and it gives me pause. I stare at him. The Brendan Sullivan I know and love does not turn down a practically naked woman straddling him at his desk. ‘What?’

‘Remember your first audition?’ His hands move languorously over my skin. He seems to be in far less of a hurry than I am.

I smile down at him. ‘Yeah.’

‘You were so shy. So nervous.’ He swallows, his face growing serious. ‘And now, of course, I know exactly why you were so nervous. Because you were practically a born-again virgin, showing up to fuck some rando to save your little girl.’

‘I was,’ I concede, ‘but I loved every second of that evening, honey, in case you didn’t notice.’

‘I did notice.’ He drags his hands lower, over my spread thighs. ‘I was just thinking how far you’d come from then.’

I grin at him. ‘You mean by marching in here and straddling you and stripping?’

‘Basically, yes.’

‘You said in your questionnaire that you liked the whole innocent thing,’ I say haltingly. ‘Do you think you can handle this?’

‘The woman I love showing up and telling me what she needs? Yeah, I can handle it. This confidence of yours is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.’

We smile at each other dreamily.

He did this.

He gave me this gift of sexual confidence.