“Xander, so good. Yes, more. Harder.”

He listened. He plunged in and out, harder, faster, and she never thought the exquisite sensations would end. She was barely aware when he yelled out her name as his own climax crashed over him.

***

Awhile later, Xander had let Bella out back and they’d eaten breakfast while the dog played outside. Then they’d taken a shower, where they’d each managed to behave in order to clean up, and crawled back into bed.

Xander sat, leaning against the headboard, and pulled Sasha tight against him. “We need to talk about this week.”

She shook her head and buried it against his chest.

He chuckled and silently agreed. He wished they could stay holed up in his house without anyone disturbing their… reunion? Was that what he should call it? Brief respite sounded, if not better, then at least smarter.

“I figured we’d go back to the city tonight,” he said.

“I thought so.” She sighed. “I’ll make sure there’s a room available for me at the hotel where Cassidy is staying.”

He shook his head. “Nothing’s changed since you moved out of the last hotel. You should stay at my apartment. With me. I’ve got a concierge downstairs, an alarm on the apartment, and your security can stay outside the door, watching the hallway. You can’t get safer than that.” Not to mention, he wasn’t ready for her to leave him yet.

She pushed them apart and climbed out of bed, reaching for one of his tee shirts she’d used to go to the kitchen for a snack last night. It hung to her mid-thighs, and he wanted to keep her wrapped up in him forever, but she was already creating distance.

“Xander, we’re playing with fire with this. Us.” She gestured back and forth between them. “The longer we stay together, the harder it’s going to be when it ends.”

“Because we’re not going to hurt now?” Because he fucking did.

She wrapped her arms around herself, looking as pained as he felt. “I think I should stay at a hotel and let my security stand in the hall there. I’ll never be unprotected.” Her eyes were wet with tears.

He’d finally made the decision to let his anger go and allow himself to fully be with her and enjoy her and she wanted to walk away this soon? Oh, hell no. It didn’t look like she wanted to go any more than he thought she should.

“Look–” His thought and sentence were cut off by the ring of his cell phone. He glanced over to see Alpha Security show up on the screen. “I need to take this. It’s your security team.”

She winced. “I left my phone in my room.”

He picked up the cell and took the call. “Hello?”