“You calling me a nun, Fox?”

Aleck puts the milk back into the refrigerator, then leans against the counter, folding his arms across his beautiful chest. “Among other things.”

“I’m offended, actually.”

“Of course you are. Sister Winter is offended by everything. See, I never know which one of you I’m going to get. There’s Sister Winter, eternally offended and prudish. There’s Baby Bulldog. I like her, but she never knows when to shut her trap. Then there’s Winter from last night, the real Winter. She’s a fucking blast. Where is she? Because I really enjoyed her—”

“Because that Winter let her guard down—”

“Exactly!” Aleck pushes off the counter, leaning over the one I’m sitting at. “That Winter let her guard down. That Winter got to know me, had fun, sang like a fucking drug laced with a spell. That Winter was free. I like her. And not because she let me stick three millimeters of my ten-inch cock inside her.”

We hold our hard stares on each other for all of four seconds before I nearly spit my coffee in his face when we erupt into laughter.

“Ten inches is a little generous,” I tease.

“I agree, but that’s what I was given.”

I roll my eyes, brushing off his arrogance, even if it is charmingly adorable.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m not trying to be an asshole. I had fun last night, too. I just…” I take a deep breath, deciding on my next words. “I want you to know last night can’t happen again. I don’t regret that it happened, it just can’t happen again.”

Aleck holds his smile and looks over my face, studying every inch. Looking for what in my expression, I don’t know, but with his gaze fixed on me with that look in his eyes, I almost regret what I’ve just said.

A tingle crawls up my spine, remembering the way he made me feel last night. His hands on me, his eager tongue, his erection grinding into my center against the elevator wall… He couldn’t even wait until we got back to the suite. And now he’s looking at me like I could be someone who makes him feel more than just irritated.

“Okay,” he says with a shrug.

Wait… What?

“Okay?” I parrot back, hoping my inner monologue drowned out his groveling and I simply missed it.

“Yeah.” He shrugs again. “If that’s what you want.”

“It’s not anything you did,” I explain, wanting him to protest and tell me he needs to be inside of me right now. “I just know myself, and—”

“Winter,” he interrupts. “No need to explain. It’s cool.”

It’s cool? Just like that?

I shouldn’t be irritated, but I am.

“Okay. Um…” I mean, I’m glad he got the picture because I know if he pressed the issue I’d end up bent over this island finishing what we started last night, but he abandoned ship without hesitation. That’s what I wanted, right? “Sondra and Preston are coming tonight.”