“Yeah, that’s her.” Gage nodded. Dominic just stood between them, shaking his head.

“Yes, we’re friends. She’s an amazing person.” Oh crap, maybe she should have left that part out. It sounded a bit like a sales pitch. Gwen didn’t think Crystal needed that because Gage appeared to already be sold on her.

“Hmmm,” he muttered, “do you think that maybe we could . . .”

Before he could finish his sentence, Dominic put his hand against the nape of her neck and began leading her toward the coffee shop at the other end of the lobby. “Pick up women on your own time, bro. My woman needs her morning coffee.” Both Gage and Gwen were gaping at Dominic as he ushered her to the rapidly forming line. “Sorry, honey. I didn’t want him to put you on the spot. I’m certain he was going to suggest a double date and I think we should spare ourselves that.” He gently tucked a strand of her wayward hair behind her ear. “Now, what kind of coffee do you want this morning?”

Clearing her throat of the sudden lump there, Gwen said huskily, “Vanilla latte—skim.” Dominic ordered an Americano for himself and a decaf vanilla latte for her with skim milk.

“I don’t think you need to avoid whole milk, babe. You’re sexy as hell just as you are.”

“You might actually be the perfect man,” she said before she could stop herself.

Quirking a brow at her, he asked, “Why’s that?”

Blushing, she haltingly said, “Because . . . you don’t think I need to lose weight or that my . . . backside is too big.”

He took her elbow, leading her toward a quiet corner. “Whoever told you that you weren’t perfect as you are must be blind. And your ass, sweetheart . . . my cock was damn near coming out of the top of my pants watching you walk to the coffee counter.” Before she could stop herself, Gwen looked down, immediately spotting the truth that he wasn’t able to hide. The bulge in the front of his pants was readily apparent for all to see. He inched closer to her, whispering against her neck, “Your ass has been the star of many of my fantasies. . . .”

“Dominic . . .” she moaned shakily. “You’re killing me.”

“Ditto, baby,” he replied flashing his signature grin. “I’m going to need you to walk me to my office.”

“Why?” she asked, confused. Surely, he didn’t want a quickie in his office with Gage somewhere near. The thought thrilled her more than she cared to admit. Apparently, she had a bit of an exhibitionist in her.

“I’m going to need a little cock cover. . . .”

Following his gaze down to the tent that remained in the front of his cargo pants, she said simply, “Oh.” So, in what was a first for her, she provided a human crotch cover for the man who was becoming an alarmingly important part of her life.

When they reached his office, she stopped outside the door, knowing that she was going to be late if she didn’t leave now. She wanted nothing more than to have the right to throw her arms around Dominic and kiss him good-bye. They had had sex quite a few times now, but it was still too soon to consider it a relationship. She’d learned better than to assume anything like that where men were concerned. Heck, the last man she thought she was in a relationship with had just gotten married to another woman in Vegas. Maybe casual sex was what she needed to focus on now. No strings equaled less pain when things ended. Men, it appeared, understood that concept much better than women. It wasn’t that she was desperate to get married and have a family because she wasn’t. She was just tired of being let down and disappointed. Maybe Crystal was right—a good vibrator was the only thing that a single girl could depend on.

Yet Dominic, it appeared, had no problem moving in for a good-bye kiss. He embraced her as if he had done it every day for years. His lips met hers with no hesitation, and he kissed her senseless right there in front of East Coast Security. No doubt, Gage was somewhere close by enjoying the show. “I’d love to take you out for dinner tonight if that’s okay with you?”

“Mmmm K,” she muttered as he released her. So much for trying to be tough. One good swipe of his tongue against hers and she was agreeing with everything he said. Damn, she was in so much trouble.

*   *   *

Gwen was relieved when Dominic led her toward his black Silverado pickup truck. She was late getting home and had just enough time to change into a belted, green sheath dress and strappy, black sandals. She hadn’t considered the fact that he might drive his motorcycle until they walked toward the parking lot.

She couldn’t help but admire how he looked in his perfectly pressed black dress pants with a blue button-down dress shirt. She had always thought him all rugged male, but seeing him dressed up tonight showed her that he fit in perfectly well, no matter what the surroundings.

He took her hand, helping her up into the truck before pulling the seat belt around her. He kissed her lightly, then ran his hand down her thigh. “You look beautiful tonight, baby.”

“So do you,” she said honestly. She didn’t bother to hide her admiration as she openly stared up at him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he growled, “or we’ll never make it on time.” She grinned as he adjusted himself before stepping back and shutting the door.

He held her hand as they made their way through the Myrtle Beach traffic. “Where are we going?” Gwen asked, realizing that she had no idea. She would have been just as happy having dinner at his apartment again. Yeah, that resolve to keep her distance wasn’t working at all.

She almost thought she had imagined the quick grimace that crossed his face until he said tightly, “You’re probably going to be pissed off at me so I might as well give you fair warning.”

“What? Why?” she asked, confused and a little unnerved by his prediction. Where could he possibly be taking her that would make her mad? She didn’t care if they went to McDonald’s; she just wanted to spend some time with him.

“We’re . . . kind of having dinner with my sister at Ivy.”

“Oh, I like Ivy.” Gwen smiled before the word “sister” sank in. “Um, your sister?” she squeaked, fighting the urge to open her door and roll out into traffic. She and Dominic had been doing things for only a few days and she was meeting his family? Oh my God, she’d never made it that far with a man before. She felt herself beginning to panic when the truck suddenly stopped.

Dominic had pulled off the road and was looking at her with a worried expression. “Shit, I’m sorry, Gwen. It’s just that my sister, Meredith, is in town for some convention. She’s a blogger for a romance book site. She had told me originally that she’d be going home right afterward, but then today she called and said she was staying overnight. I wanted to see her, but then you and I had already made plans and I didn’t want to break those. I just kept putting off making a decision all day and then it was six and it was too late to change anything. So, fuck, please don’t be angry. I just didn’t know what to do.” At any other time, Gwen would have found Dominic’s unusual rambling funny. He was normally so calm and self-assured, but it was obvious now that he was afraid she was going to freak out and dammit, she was about to.

“Maybe you should just take me back home,” she suggested tightly. “Your sister is expecting to just see you tonight. You don’t want to spend your time trying to entertain me when you could be catching up with her.” Why were men so completely oblivious to social situations that made women cringe? Meeting a man’s family was something that usually didn’t happen for quite some time—or in Gwen’s case, never. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to meet his sister the first week they started dating.

Dominic took both of her hands in his, forcing her to look at him. “Babe, I really want you with me tonight. I know you’ll like Meredith. She’s a lot of fun and you two will get along well. Please do this for me. I wouldn’t ask if I thought you’d be uncomfortable around her.”