Standing up, she walked around the bed toward him, ignoring her dress, to wrap her arms around his waist. “We brought in the New Year.”

He smiled, glancing at the clock. “We did.”

“We missed it.”

“Shit, I didn’t miss anything.” His hand took hold of her ass as he squeezed. “I was right where I wanted to be.”

A grin took over her lips as she leaned her chin into his chest. “You know they say wherever you are when the clock strikes twelve is where you’ll be the whole year.”

His face lit up. “So I’ll be inside of you all year?”

“If you play your cards right.”

Leaning down, he took her mouth with feverish need as his fingers dug into her ass. Getting lost in his kisses, she felt horrible for not wanting to leave, but she had to. She wanted to, for Rodney. Though, she wished that Vaughn would want to go. She almost asked him to, but she caught herself. It was their first night together. They weren’t in love, and he wasn’t hers. She needed to slow down. This was just starting; she couldn’t rush it.

Though, it felt right.

So damn right, and she just hoped he felt the same.

“Oh, good, you didn’t do it.”

Vaughn and Tricksie looked up from the TV to Jensen, who had just walked in. He looked dead tired, and Vaughn figured it was because it was past his bedtime. The dude was an old man in a model’s body. “Do what?”

“Brie.”

Vaughn smiled. “Yes, I did.”

Jensen threw his hands up. “Where is she? You couldn’t last long?”

Vaughn laughed. “Dude, come on. I rocked her world, and then her brother called. So we didn’t get to round two or three.”

Shaking his head, Jensen threw off his coat and then suit jacket before undoing his cuff links and sitting down. He sent Vaughn a very disapproving, fatherly stare. Which was annoying, since Vaughn was older than him. “So what was said?”

Shrugging as he grinned, Vaughn just shook his head. “There wasn’t much talking, Jenny. We were banging. In case you don’t know what that means, it’s when a man—”

Rolling his eyes, Jensen set him with a glare. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t,” he said honestly. “We fucked, Jenny. It was nothing.”

That was a big fat lie, but he wasn’t even touching what he was feeling inside. And he sure as hell wasn’t admitting to feeling anything but satisfied. Truth was, Brie rocked his fucking world. He might say it was him that did it all, but it wasn’t. She exuded sex, and he hadn’t even realized it until he saw her naked. Yeah, he had wondered what she had under all those clothes, but seeing it, touching it, tasting it, feeling it… Nothing could compare to even his wildest dreams. She was everything and more. So responsive, so fucking beautiful… He could still feel her next to him, and he wasn’t sure what that meant.

And it scared him.

Badly.

But he wasn’t telling anyone that.

Especially not Jenny.

“I know this, Vaughn, which is why I’m wondering what you told Brie. You know, the reporter for our team?”

“I know who she is, Jenny, and we didn’t talk much. Well, we picked at each other, but it was more doing than talking.”

“Vaughn.”

“Jensen.”

Glaring, Jensen shook his head. “She isn’t like the other girls, the ones you fuck for kicks and kick out. She has feelings. She’s not that kind of girl.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do, and you know it too.”

He ignored that and shrugged. “It was nothing. We’ve been foreplaying for weeks, it was bound to happen. We’re good.”

“You’re going to hurt her.”

“I won’t. If we do it again, which I doubt we will, then I’ll let her know it’s only fucking. If she’s cool with it, we’ll keep on. If not, then I’ll let her down easy. She’s a strong girl.”

“Strong girls don’t take rejection easier because they’re strong. It hurts, and she’s into you.”

He scoffed. “She hates me. It was hate fucking. No big deal.”

But he didn’t have to look at Jensen to know that he saw right through him.

Hell, even he knew that was all a lie.

“No, Vaughn, you both are feeling each other more than just physically. And if you don’t want more, and we both know you’ll never want more, then you need to be honest.”

“Yeah, fine,” Vaughn said, waving him off. Jensen was overreacting. They’d had a good time. If it came up again, he’d tell her the truth, that he wasn’t looking for anything more than fucking. He wasn’t that guy. He didn’t do relationships, and he was okay with that. He had Jenny and he had Tricksie, along with Wells and Wren and everyone else at NateWay. He didn’t need a woman.

No matter how hot and explosive it felt to be with Brie.

What did he expect, though? She was the match to his gasoline. He knew from the rip that things would be dangerous, but he’d wanted to play. Now, he was either going to get burned or dance in the fire until it flamed out. He wasn’t sure which one he wanted, and he sure as hell didn’t want to decide now. He wasn’t even sure what he was feeling, so he’d do what he wanted until he figured that out. If she didn’t like it, then that was that. He wasn’t making any promises, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to change how he felt.

“Someone is going to get hurt, and as much as I want to say it will be only her for your sake, I think it will be both of you.”

Looking up at Jensen, Vaughn rolled his eyes. “I don’t get hurt.”

Setting him with a look, Jensen laughed. “So Hazel didn’t hurt you?”

Vaughn threw his hands up, startling Tricksie, who then popped up, barking. “Why do you gotta bring her up?”

“Because she’s the reason you are the way you are. Not everyone is her.”

“I don’t care.”

“You do. And you need to be careful. Really, Vaughn. I’m serious.”

“I hear you. Damn, get off my back.”

Reaching for Tricksie, Vaughn cuddled her, kissing her head as he closed his eyes. The last person he wanted to think about was Hazel, and he was pissed Jensen had brought her up. He did well leaving that chick in the dark recesses of his brain, and he wanted to keep it that way. He wasn’t sure why he was getting so upset. Hazel was old news, she was history, and he was over her. Yeah, she had broken him in ways he hadn’t thought he could be broken, but she was in the past.