Maia glanced at the handsome man sleeping next to her and wondered how she'd fallen from grace so quickly. She'd had more sex in the last twenty-four hours than she'd had in two years. Even though it had been the best experience of her life, in a few hours, he'd be on a plane back to Texas, and she'd never see him again. He'd even offered to get the morning after pill for her if she'd needed it, and to stay with her. Luckily, she was already on birth control and the both of them were clean. It could've been a lot more stressful.

She slid out of bed, tugged her dress over her head, grabbed her shoes, bra, and panties, and made her escape. Within seconds, she was back in her room safe from six feet two inches of solid temptation.

The thought brought tears to her eyes. He was a warrior with a shepherd's heart. Everything she'd ever wanted in a man, and soon, he'd be fifteen hundred miles away. She shook the thought from her brain because it hurt too much. She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

When she finished, she slicked back the wet strands of her hair and wrapped a towel around her body and thought of how wonderful she'd felt surrounded by Zach's arms. Why keep torturing herself? It had been nothing more than a one night stand. In a few days, she'd be over it. Besides, she'd slacked off long enough. She had a job to do, and it didn't involve Zach.

A tap on the bathroom door drew her attention.

"Are you all right?" Silbie said.

Maia turned the knob and stepped into the room. "All good. How did the shoot go?"

Silbie grabbed her hand and guided her to the edge of the bed where they both sat. "Oh, no you don't. We aren't discussing anything until you tell me what happened between you and Dawg Shepherd."

Maia flopped back onto the mattress, stared at the ceiling, and snorted. "I've been possessed by the devil, and he has a silver tongue and golden penis," she deadpanned.

Laughing, Silbie fell back next to her. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. So, you like him?"

"I'm in so much trouble. He's everything I've ever wanted. The way he talks to me. Sweet. Erotic.  Sometimes, downright nasty. And he does this thing. When he gets hard, he pumps himself a couple of times. Like he's cocking his cock. It's kind of hot."

She covered her face with her hands. "Oh. My. God. Why am I even telling you this?"

She launched upright and bowed her head. "Why didn't you stop me from going to his room? It was a mistake. A terrible mistake."

Silbie sat up and slid her arm around Maia's shoulders. "I'm sorry. You're right. I should have known it was too soon after Dante. But I thought maybe seeing someone else would help the situation. Honestly, I didn't think you'd end up in bed with Zach. I mean, I teased about it, but I didn't think anything would come of it."

"I can imagine what he thinks of me. I was all over him. On the bright side, I never have to see him again."

She quirked a brow. "Why? Did he say something?"

"I didn't give him a chance. I left while he was asleep. That'd save us both from an awkward goodbye. I mean what do you say? I enjoyed fucking you? I have no experience with one-night stands, so I'm not sure about etiquette concerning such situations."

Silbie started to speak, but someone knocked on the door.

"I ordered room service and told them to deliver to your room. I figured we have a lot of catching up to do. My fake sex scenes and your real ones." Silbie giggled and answered the door.

Zach stood on the other side. "Silbie."

He didn't give her time to answer. He strode straight to Maia. "So, you decided just to sneak away without a word?"

Fifty shades of supreme manhood in cowboy boots, tight jeans, and a red knit shirt loomed over her, and the timbre of his voice scraped her nerves raw. "I didn't sneak."

He cocked a brow.

"Okay. Maybe I did. I just didn't want things to be awkward for you."

Damn. Why did he keep arching that brow? "Okay," she admitted. "Maybe I didn't want things to be awkward for me."

Silbie stepped forward, clearly out of her element. Maia wanted to grab her, cling to her and beg her not to leave her alone. But that wouldn't be fair to either of them.

"I'll just... go to my room and let y'all work this out," Silbie huffed out a laugh, clearly ready to throw herself out of a window. Maia felt the same way.  "I'll call and change the food delivery."

Once the door closed behind her, Zach locked his gaze on Maia. "You regret what happened between us?"

Her pulse exploded into chaos, and her chin quivered. "No. See that's just it. I don't—but I should."

"Why?"

"Because I practically forced myself on you."

He threw his head back and laughed. "If you think a tiny little thing like you can force me to do anything, then you're living in a fantasy world." He gathered her into his arms until the scent of his aftershave clouded her senses. "I wanted you to stay because I needed to tell you something."

She buried her face in his chest. "Oh, no. Please don't confess. Just let me believe you didn't cheat on a girlfriend you have back home. I should have asked. I mean—look at you. You're like..." she waved her arms up and down like a game show host, "freaking Thor, with a gooey chocolate marshmallow center. But, that's probably the reason I didn't ask. Deep down, I knew a guy like you couldn't be single."

He leaned away, took his phone from his pocket and handed it to her.

She looked down at the blank screen, confused. "What's this for?"

"Check my contacts," he keyed the button and the screen lit up, showing off a screensaver obviously taken at Christmas. She recognized Zach stuck between an older couple and a young girl, all wearing matching footie pajamas. His phone wasn't even locked. "You'll find eight women listed. My mom, sister, aunt, grandmother, hairdresser, housekeeper, and the two women who work for me. No girlfriend. Not for a long time."

She pitched the phone down onto the bed as if it burned her. "Then whatever it is, doesn't matter—unless—oh, you're not sick, are you? Is that what this has been about? You don't have much longer to live, and I was like your last hurrah?"

She paced the room. "You didn't perform like you're in bad health. I can't imagine there's a man alive with more stamina. You're like a sex god." She clamped her hand over her mouth.

He gripped her shoulders. "Sit down and listen. If I don't say this, I'm going to explode."

She slumped onto the bed, gulped for air, then looked up at him. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears, she worried she'd miss it. "Okay. I'm ready. Tell me."

He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. "Don't freak. Okay?"

He was dying. That had to be it. She bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling and nodded.

Zach squeezed her hands. "The last thing I expected when I came to California was to hook up with anyone. I want you to know that up front. I don't do casual affairs anymore. But then you picked us up at the airport, and I couldn't stop thinking about you. I'll admit ten ways of kissing wasn't the only list I made."

She knew that to be true. They'd had sex more ways than she could remember. But she would. Once he was gone, no doubt she'd spend most nights reliving each and every one.

"Here's the thing. I'm not going back to Texas. Not today."

She blinked. What was he trying to say? "What about your business?"

He shrugged. "My staff can run it. I've thought of opening another location, and California is worth scouting."

"Why would you think I'd freak out about that?"

"I didn't. Here's the freak out part." He leaned in and kissed her. When their lips parted, he cradled her faced in his big hands. "I think I could fall in love with you, Maia."

She jerked away and came to her feet. "No, you don't. You can't. You don't even know me."

"Remember last night when you asked if I was ever afraid before a mission?"

"Yes," she answered, warily. "You said you weren't because you and your team are well trained and always have a plan."

He walked to the corner chair and sat. "Yeah. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been afraid of anything—until today. When I woke, and you were gone, the thought of never seeing you again scared the hell out of me. I'm into you."

She shook her head. "You have love and lust confused."

"No. You're the only one with that problem. And that's okay. I'm willing to stay long enough for you to figure that out."

She tightened the towel around her breasts, unable to meet his eyes. "I need to get dressed."

He crossed his arms over his chest and sat down. "I'll wait. We're not done talking."

She grabbed a pair of jeans, a red hoodie from the closet, undies from her suitcase, and dashed into the bathroom. The man was insane. No way was he going to fall in love with her. Sure, when they'd not been having sex, they'd talked about their lives, and he'd been a good listener. But it was impossible to know someone well enough in that short amount of time and think you could potentially have a future.

She shed the towel and dressed as fast as she could, then stared into the mirror. Her eyes were shiny, a little manic. Expected. And her hair—plastered flat against her head certainly didn't add any sex appeal. Sex. That's all it'd been. Hot-monkey-swinging-from-the-trees-sex.

She flipped on the blow dryer and blasted the back of her head, strands of hair shooting into the air like streamers. No one had ever said anything like that to her. But when it came to relationships she'd always been ahead of the guys in her life.

With Zach, she was the one to play catch up. Or was she? The thought of him excited her. His kisses made her want more.

She turned off the dryer, brushed her hair, and then gathered it into a ponytail. It was the list that had started her downward spiral. He had kissable lips. Full—pouty—pillow lips. She forced the image from her head and rubbed on foundation. Yeah, they weren't finished talking. She needed to set him straight. Good sex was not the foundation for a good relationship.

She set the eyeshadow aside and applied mascara. And his eyes. How could a man have such long lashes? It was against the laws of nature.

His voice jarred her back to reality. "Are you okay in there? Need any help?"

She opened the door and stared up at him. She had to admit, she was trying to wait him out a little. "I thought maybe you'd left."

He smiled, as if he thought her avoidance was funny. "Thought—or hoped?"

"Very funny," she dryly remarked. "You said you wanted to talk, so sit down, please. I'll go first."

He returned to the chair and flashed her a wicked grin. The one that caused her knees to buckle.

She frowned. "Try not to look so gorgeous."

He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth and crossed his eyes. "That work for you?"

"Yeah." A smile formed at the corner of her mouth. "Can you hold that expression?"

He chuckled. "Cute."

"Okay, here's the deal. Since you're staying in California, I think we should date. Go out a few times and see where it leads."

He leaned forward. "I think that's a good idea."

"Okay. It's settled. And if we should end up in bed, I don't want any of that..." She held her hand in air quotes, "I think I could fall in love with you business."

He nodded, as if understanding, but... "Then we have a problem."

"What do you mean?"

"If it happens, and I do, then that's how I feel. I won't pretend otherwise."

How are we liking Zach? Too cheesy? Right shade of romantic? You tell me.

TEASER: "Because you were more mad than hurt."