I wondered … I wondered so hard when he made the decision to draw a line. He knew as well as I did that Rory wouldn’t be okay with anything we had done together. It wasn’t just me pushing lines and bending rules to serve my own needs and desires; Fisher did it too.

I just didn’t know why. He could have had Angie or Teagan or a million other women meeting his sexual needs.

Why me?

Why seek something you know you won’t conquer … out of choice?

So many thoughts stirred in my head, but they didn’t stop my hands from sliding my shoulders and arms out of my romper, letting it drop to the floor.

That confused and painful expression remained affixed to Fisher’s face until he met my gaze. Then it vanished, leaving the Fisher I knew all too well.

Cocky.

Confident.

Unapologetically crude.

“Shoes.”

I slipped out of my shoes.

“Bra.”

Reaching both hands behind me, I unhooked my bra and let it slide down my chest and arms. He focused on my bare breasts, on my erect nipples.

After the bra landed on the floor at my feet with my romper, I reached for my panties.

“No.” He inched his head side to side. “Leave them on. Turn that way. And walk slowly to my bedroom.”

There I was, following Fisher off the side of the mountain. Did he know I would do anything for him? Did he know what that meant?

Turning, I feigned confidence and made the slow walk down the hallway to his bedroom.

“Stop.”

I stopped because he told me to stop.

“Turn around.”

I turned around, centered at the threshold to his bedroom.

Fisher took his time making his way to me, slowly peeling off his shirt, leaving him in bare feet and exercise shorts. When he reached the doorway, he pressed his hands to the wood frame. “Put your hands below mine.”

Eyeing his hands for a few seconds, I pressed my hands to the frame. “W-why?”

“Because.” He kneeled in front of me. “Your knees will want to give out soon.” Sliding his hands to the back of my legs, he moved my hips toward his face, stopping with his mouth just above the waist of my panties. “Can I kiss you here?”

I couldn’t speak. Swallowing and breathing heavily became a full-time job. Fisher pressed his mouth to my skin and glanced up at me.

I nodded.

He kissed lower. “Here?”

I nodded, gripping the wood with anticipation. My knees were already weak.

His lips descended another inch or more. There. He was right there. A whooshing sound—a thumping that matched my ever-escalating heartbeat—made it hard to hear anything else.

“Here?”

I barely heard him, but I still nodded.