“I like what I do,” he said. He turned his gaze to her. “I like working for you, and I’m not saying that because I’m in bed with you.”

She tried to fight off a grin. “Let’s keep those separate. Working together and sleeping together.”

“I’m good with that.” He reached out and grasped her arm, tugged her toward him. “Come here. Let’s focus on the sleeping together. Or the not sleeping part, more accurately.”

She scooted closer, and he guided her onto his lap, straddling him. “This is how you handle a serious conversation?” she asked, her breath coming out unevenly as she felt his hardness rubbing against her naked body.

“Not much else to say. No answers, only questions, and I’m questioned out.”

He palmed her breasts and leaned in to kiss her. There was no question in his kiss, only demands. And she was only too happy to meet those demands.

Chapter Nineteen

Before he even opened his eyes, Cole felt the weight on his chest, as if Tito and a dozen other cats were sitting on top of him. He popped his eyes open, knowing on some level it wasn’t Tito, wasn’t anything tangible, but taking a moment to figure out where and when he was.

Sierra’s apartment.

She was curled up against him, facing him, one leg resting on top of his, her hand on his upper arm. Her hair was everywhere, and he might’ve taken a few seconds to run his fingers through the silkiness, breathe in the orange-vanilla scent—if he didn’t feel like he was coming out of his skin.

He wasn’t supposed to fall asleep. Wasn’t supposed to stay. That crossed a line, took things from a physical let’s quench our mutual needs to…something else. Something more. It was the “more” that he was guaranteed to screw up, whether he wanted to or not.

His phone was likely on the floor, either still in his jeans or next to them. In the near dark, he could barely see his watch, which was still on his wrist, but holding it a couple of inches from his face at a particular angle to the light from around the window let him just make it out—3:26 a.m. Middle of the night, and he had to get out of here before it was morning.

On one level, he fully recognized the dick move for what it was. That didn’t stop the gut reaction that he needed space, needed to breathe. Needed to make sure he didn’t let Sierra think there could be something deeper.