It made him the worst kind of bastard. Dishonest. Selfish. Unrepentant. Because as inexcusable as it was to continue this subterfuge, that’s exactly what he would do. The alternative—saying goodbye—was unbearable.

He continued on. He would deal with the silos of regret he’d been collecting later, when Samiah was no longer a part of his life. He had her for now. And he would savor every delicious minute.

She noticed him when he was about twenty feet away. He watched as she said something to the statuesque woman he recognized from the viral video—London—before breaking away from the group and advancing toward him. Her eyes were as bright as her radiant smile. The thought of eventually leaving her, of having to live without that smile, caused an ache to settle deep in Daniel’s chest. How could he contemplate giving her up until he absolutely had to? She was like a drug, his own sweet addiction.

“Hey there,” she said as she approached. She grabbed him by both hands, leaned forward, and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “Thanks for coming all the way back out here on a Sunday morning,” she said.

“Did you really think I would turn down an invitation to be next to you when I knew you’d be wearing skintight clothes?”

She tipped her head to the side, her lips tilting in a flirty grin. “I wouldn’t think the thought of seeing me in clothes would be all that exciting after last night.”

“Now that I know exactly what’s hidden underneath those clothes, it’s a thousand times more exciting.”

Her warm brown cheeks darkened even more. Making her blush gave him as much pleasure as cracking a case that had been cold for thirty years. Making her call his name out as he plunged deep inside her gave him enough pleasure to kill him.

Leaving her would destroy him. There was no way around it.

“Come on.” She tugged him forward. “I’ll introduce you to London and Taylor.”

He recognized both women from the YouTube video. Taylor had dressed the part of drill sergeant, her camo-colored workout pants and cropped sports top an exact match to the cap she wore. TAYLOR’D CONDITIONING was embroidered in red on the front panel. With those defined arm muscles, she looked as if she could kick ass as thoroughly as any sergeant he’d served under.

London, on the other hand, seemed as if she’d been dragged from bed kicking and screaming. That she was here to support her friend’s endeavor was a testament to the bond the three women had formed in the short amount of time they’d known each other.

“London, Taylor, this is Daniel Collins. Daniel, this is London Kelley and Taylor Powell.”

“Nice to meet you, ladies.” He shook both their hands.