She blinked up at him, disoriented and bewildered. Hadn't she just been about to come, with Ty beneath her? Quickly, he answered her silent question.

"My jeans are not getting the pleasure that I want for myself," he said as he stripped her skirt off. Her shoes were already gone and slowly, with a patience she wished he didn't have, he slid her stockings over her hips, past her aching clit, down her incredibly sensitive thighs, and finally over her knees and calves and the soles of her feet.

A part of her wanted to yell, "Hurry," but before she could give in to the urge, Ty said, "I like your panties."

Lingerie was her biggest splurge. Silk from France, lace from Italy. She hadn't bought it to turn on the men she slept with; she simply liked the feel of luxurious, sensual fabrics against her skin. It was her way of acknowledging the sexy woman within her.

"I like you better naked, though," he said as he slid her panties off and dropped them onto the plush rug.

All she wanted was for him to slip his finger inside her—that's all it would take. But he'd never followed the rules. Not in school, not on the field, and not now.

His mouth came down hot and heavy on her pussy lips and her hips bucked up to meet him. Strong, calloused hands cupped her ass, pulled her closer. Julie's body instantly obeyed his command, and she pushed into his teeth, his tongue.

And then his fingers found her, slipped and slid against her clit, against her engorged lips, and then finally, deep within.

"Ty," she moaned, his name a prayer of wonder as the first waves knocked her down. No orgasm had ever been this intense, not even back in high school on the yacht. She tried to prepare herself for the next hit of pleasure, but she couldn't, she didn't have the resources against the constant onslaught of Ty's tongue, fingers, the way he pushed into her clit, then backed away, only to give her more and send her higher.

Her brain ceased to function as he rode her harder and harder with his hands, higher and higher with his mouth.

Then, miraculously, her brain pushed through the fog of sensation. Where had this girl come from, the one who would do anything for that orgasm? All these years, she'd been in hiding. Ever since the night when this bad boy broke her heart.

In an instant, the spell of lust collapsed.

With superhuman strength, she pushed him onto the far end of the couch. As she scrambled into her clothes—even though she knew his eyes never left her face, not for one second, even though she knew how hard he was behind the zipper of his jeans, even though they were both panting from what had just happened—she wouldn't let herself look at his face. Into his eyes. If she so much as glanced up into his beautiful eyes and all the desire in them, she'd leap onto his lap and ride him like she was going for a gold medal.

"I can't do this anymore." She ran up the stairs, her shoes and briefcase in her hands. "You'll have to work with Amy. She'll call you with the new plan."

She tried to turn the knob to get the hell away from him, but it was locked. With wild determination, she pounded at the keypad with her fists.

"Open, goddamnit!" she yelled.

Ty moved behind her to punch in the code, and when the door beeped open, she leaped through it and out to her car with a speed she hadn't known she possessed.

She could never, ever see Ty again.

Never.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ty was painfully hard. He wasn't surprised that Julie had fled before they could finish the deed. And really, he decided as he turned the shower on cold, he'd thoroughly enjoyed himself anyway. Because even though he hadn't had the pleasure of sliding into her hot, slick pussy, he'd gotten his rocks off in other ways.

Just kissing her was lethal.

And those breasts. A guy could lose himself in how soft her skin was, in the way her nipples tasted. And then there was the fact that she had the most beautiful pussy in all creation. The icy water temporarily worked its magic on his libido, so he wrapped a towel around his waist and thought about his next move.

She didn't want to work with him anymore, but he wanted to be with her. What was the one thing absolutely guaranteed to bring Julie running to his side? And, if all went really well, keep her there?

He grinned with sudden certainty. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Oh yes, he'd be seeing Julie again very soon.

Julie walked into Amy's office, closed the blinds, and threw herself down on the overstuffed chair in the corner.

Amy stopped typing. "Uh-oh. What's wrong?"

"I just did a very bad thing."

"How bad?"

Julie bit her lip. She was the boss. She was supposed to set an example of professional behavior. And what had she done?

"I slept with a client."

Amy was out of her seat and sitting on the coffee table in front of Julie within seconds. "You didn't." Julie nodded, miserable and yet still energized and tingly from the amazing orgasm Ty had bestowed upon her just minutes ago.

"Oh yes, I most certainly did." Amy's face was a picture of disbelief. "Who could you have possibly slept with? Honestly, I can't think of a single one of our clients without their clothes on." She paused.

"Thank God."

Her voice barely above a whisper, Julie admitted, We got a new client this morning. Remember?"

"This morning? The only people who called today were from that football team. The Outlaws." Amy's eyes grew big with sudden comprehension. Julie didn't say anything, just waited for her friend to do some quick math over which Outlaw player was most likely to need an image consultant.

"Ty Calhoun?" Amy's voice notched up a note. "No freakin' way. You couldn't have. You hate football. You hate sports stars. Even incredibly hot ones like him." She fanned herself. "Damn, that man is hot."

Amy didn't know about Julie's past with Ty; no one did. She'd never wanted to admit even to her closest friend that she'd been so naive, so pathetically in love with someone who would never ever love her back. The time had come for confessing.

"Promise you won't hate me for not telling you about this before. I'm not good at telling secrets. Especially ones that make me look stupid." She paused for a long moment. "The thing is, I used to know Ty Calhoun. A long time ago."

"When? I've known you since college, met practically every guy you ever dated. And I definitely would have remembered if he'd taken you out."

"We went to high school together."

"Oh."

Julie was amazed how many meanings one short word could have.

"We didn't hang out. Not until the graduation party."

Amy put her hand over her heart in empathy. "Please tell me he wasn't the guy you chose to lose your virginity to."

Julie had never felt more stupid. "Everything seemed so different that night. He was different. Needless to say, things didn't work out between us."

"So that explains why we never take the athletic contracts." Amy went into problem-solving mode.

"What do you need me to do for you?"

Julie had never appreciated her best friend and right-hand woman more. "I can't see him again."

"I guessed. And I'm also guessing that you don't want to hook the Outlaws up with a new company, right?"

"Of course not. I need the money, for the building."

"Okay then, consider Ty my problem from now on." Amy grinned. "And you can be absolutely certain that I will exact painful revenge upon him for hurting you."