She lay weakly against the bed, her legs limp. Exhausted, she rested there as he kissed and licked between her legs.

She wanted to say something, but the words lodged in her throat. She didn't want to come across as needy. This was sex. Good sex, but sex nonetheless. No way in hell she was going to get all girly and emotional.

Her first lover moved off her and she wondered if he would leave now, but no, he carefully arranged her body like he wanted her on the bed and then tucked her against his hard form. His heart beat fast and furious against her back as he spooned against her.

Softly and soothingly, his hand ran over her body, petting and caressing her as he kissed the curve of her neck.

And then he pulled her even closer, twining his legs with hers as he wrapped an arm securely around her waist. Did he intend for her to stay? She reached for her blindfold, but he took her wrist and lowered it back to her side.

He sighed. In regret? He kissed her neck again, letting his lips linger for a long moment. Then he rolled away, and she bit her lip to keep from calling out, to apologize for breaking her own rules. She had her reasons for wanting things to be anonymous, and evidently so did he. It wasn't fair for her to change the rules now.

His footsteps mingled with those of the second man, and then the door shut softly, and she was left alone. She lay there for a long moment before finally reaching for the sash covering her eyes.

The lights had been turned low, and she blinked to bring the room into focus. Empty, but then she'd known they'd left. It was what she'd asked for, but had she not reached for the blind-fold, would he still be here, holding her? And why did she want him to?

She snorted in disgust and rolled from the bed, putting shaky legs over the side. She hurriedly dressed, not wanting Cole to come back while she was naked, although he'd seen her already. Before she'd been expectant. Cocky almost. Now she was shaken and disheveled and she definitely needed some recovery time to think about what the hell had gone on here. She damn sure didn't want to do it in the buff with a gorgeous man looking on.

A knock at the door startled her, and she bolted around as it opened a crack and Cole stuck his head in.

"Everything okay?" he asked gently.

She nodded.

"Damon arranged for a car to bring you home. One of his men will drive your car. He thought it better if you didn't drive yourself."

She smiled. Had Damon known how the evening would affect her? That her mind was mush and she had the muscle tone of an overcooked noodle? She would have to remember to thank him for his consideration and needle Serena some more about making the poor man wait for her to accept his marriage proposal. If girlfriend didn't want to marry him, Julie might reconsider her strict no relationship vow and marry the man herself.

Cole reached for her hand and squeezed when she placed her fingers over his palm. He didn't say anything else as he led her from the room, and for that she was grateful.

Even when he handed her into the waiting car, he merely nodded before backing off. As she rolled away from the stately mansion, she wondered about her two mystery lovers. Leaning her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes and relived those erotic moments when their mouths and hands worked over her body. She'd had good sex before, but this? This went beyond a quick, sweaty fuck, or even the more sensual lovemaking she'd indulged in. And she couldn't figure out why.

Sure, it was a new experience, and damn, but she knew what sweet little Faith saw in the kink. But her first lover ... he was something special. It hadn't just been sex to him, and it galled her to be so damn girly right now and say mushy shit like that, but the man hadn't fucked her. She'd been around enough to know the difference. Lover number two had fucked her and fucked her hard. Lover number one had made sweet, bone-melting love to her, and damn, but she wanted to know why.

“So are we ignoring what happened?" Micah asked.

Nathan cast him a disgruntled look as the two headed into Malone and Sons.

"Work ain't where I want to talk about it," he muttered.

And yeah, ignoring it worked for him just fine. He was still reeling from the experience, but that didn't mean he wanted to gush on about it like a damn girl.

"Look, I don't want to recap. You just seem kind of weird about it. If it's going to mess things up, then I'd rather call it quits now. Just remember, it was your idea."

Nathan was prevented from replying as they entered Faith's office. The smells of fresh coffee and doughnuts made his mouth water. Damn, but the woman took good care of them all.

"Morning, sweet thang," Micah said as he kissed Faith smack on the lips.

Nathan shook his head. It amazed him that Micah hadn't gotten his ass kicked by a jealous man yet. He went through life loving women, and didn't much give a shit who else loved them.

"Morning, you two," Faith said. "Why's Nathan so grumpy?"

Nathan frowned and slouched in a chair with his cup of coffee.

"PMS," Micah offered. -

"Morning," Connor drawled as he walked through the door.

He stopped long enough to ruffle Faith's hair, which started an immediate argument between them. For two people who had absolutely no blood relation, they'd gotten the sibling squabbling down pat. Even though Pop had adopted Faith, Nathan swore she looked enough like Connor to be his real sister.

"Where's your man this morning?" Connor asked Faith.

She scowled. "Just because I'm wearing his ring doesn't mean I have to keep up with him every minute of every day."

"Quit giving her a hard time," Micah said mildly. "I don't want her to threaten to cut off our coffee again."

"Dude, you are one pussy-whipped son of a bitch," Connor said with a laugh.

Micah arched one eyebrow. "You say that as if it's a bad thing, my friend."

Connor slung one leg onto Faith's desk and slid over until he was sitting on the edge, coffee in hand. He reached for the doughnut box and rifled through it until he picked up one with sprinkles.

Nathan cracked up. "Speaking of pussy. You're eating a doughnut with sprinkles, man."

Connor looked down and frowned then shrugged and stuffed half the doughnut in his mouth. "More sugar," he muffled out.

He pinned Nathan with a stare. Uh-oh, here it came.

"So, you catch up with Julie yet?”

Heat crept up Nathan's neck, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Yeah, Nathan, you catch up with Julie?" Faith asked, her eyes gleaming with unholy glee.

"Leave the guy alone," Micah said. "He'll work things out with Julie in his own time."

Connor chuckled and wiped sugar from his chin. "He has to catch her first."

Gray strode through the doorway of Faith's office, his blue eyes stormy. Ignoring the others, he stalked to Faith's desk, slapped his palms down on the surface and leaned over until his eyes were level with Faith's.

Nathan exchanged surprised looks with Micah and Connor. This had to be worth the price of admission.

"Why the hell did you cancel our wedding?" Gray demanded.

Connor eased from his end of the desk and took a step back. Micah's eyebrows shot up and Nathan studied Gray's tense body language, but none of the men made any move to give the couple their privacy.

Faith's cheeks lit up in a blush. "Not here, Gray."

Gray didn't even look around. His gaze never left hers. "Why?"

"Because it's not private!"