Had she imagined the whole damn thing? Because right now it all seemed the product of one too many vivid dreams. Good dreams, mind you. Really, really good dreams.

Unfortunately for her, the man behind those dreams was treating her like his worst nightmare.

What the hell had happened back there? And what the hell was Gray’s problem? He acted jealous, but she wasn’t anything to him. One stolen kiss didn’t grant a license to spank her ass. Even if she loved every minute of it.

“You need help,” she muttered. The serious lying-on-a-couch-across-from-a-shrink kind of help.

She pressed her forehead to the warm glass and closed her eyes. How had things gotten so fucked up? She couldn’t even blame Gray. He’d actually salvaged what was otherwise an exercise in complete disappointment.

Why had she reacted to him and not Brent?

Because it had been real with Gray. Not a pretense. Not a show put on more for the spectator than the participant. Brent had merely toyed with her. Given her the appearance of dominance. Gray? He was a completely different story.

A fascinating, seductive story. One she wanted to watch unfold. Wanted to experience unfolding.

She didn’t know what the hell was wrong with him, but she’d learned quite a lot tonight. Namely, that what she was looking for was well under her nose. His name was Gray. And he was more than capable of feeding her darkest, most secret desires.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex, Faith didn’t immediately move to open her door. Gray opened his and walked around to open it for her, but still, she sat there.

“Faith,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s time you got home.”

Her chest gave a jerk as she let out a dry laugh. Then she turned her stare on him.

“You’re just going to ignore what happened?” She got down and stood toe-to-toe with him, craning her neck to look into his eyes. “Gray, we didn’t just share a kiss, trade a few gropes and back away.”

He turned his head upward to stare at the sky, his face drawn tight.

“It was a lot more than that, and you’re pretending it didn’t happen?”

He lowered his head again but didn’t look her in the eye. “I need to go get your car,” he said. “You go on in. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“How are you going to get my car?” she asked in exasperation.

“Faith, please. Just go inside.”

She threw up her hands and stalked off toward her door. Whatever was up his ass wasn’t going to be dislodged tonight. But damn it, tomorrow he was going to talk to her.

She jammed her key into the lock and shoved her door open. A hand touched her shoulder as she started to go in. She turned around to see Gray standing there. A surge of hope rose within her.

“I need the keys,” he said simply.

With a scowl, she slapped the keys against his chest, and without waiting for him to take them, she whirled around and left him standing in the doorway. She slammed the door behind her, fuming the entire time.

She clutched her arms around her waist and headed for the bathroom. Right now a long, hot bath was the first order of business. Sorting out her cluster fuck of an evening could come later.

CHAPTER 19

Gray stalked to Micah’s apartment, trying to gain control of his raging emotions. He couldn’t even begin to explain what had happened at the damn sex club. What demon possessed him to cross the line with Faith he didn’t know. All he did know was that she had set fire to his senses in a way no other woman ever had.

Never would he have imagined she would have been so fiercely responsive. He’d intended to teach her a lesson. To prove to her that having her ass spanked wasn’t what she wanted. God knew she hadn’t responded to the pussy Dom wannabe.

He cringed as he remembered just how hard he’d marked her ass after he’d stepped in. He groaned as his cock tightened all over again. He’d expected her to hate it, to beg him to stop, and then he could tell her to get her ass out of the place and never come back.

Instead, she reacted wildly, wanting more. And when he’d touched her…Jesus. She’d come immediately, the sweet juices of her pussy flooding his hand. He didn’t want to think of the implications of that.

He pounded on Micah’s door, knowing he was going to get bitched at again for disturbing him. A few minutes later, Micah swung the door open, a resigned expression on his face. To Gray’s surprise, Micah was dressed.

“So did you find Faith?” Micah demanded.

“Yeah, she’s home.” Gray shifted and shoved both hands into his pockets. “Look, I know I’m probably interrupting again, but I need you to ride over to the damn sex club with me and drive Faith’s car back for her. I brought her home with me.”

“You’re not disturbing anything,” Micah said. “I sent her home after you came over the first time.”

Gray cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

“Picturing Faith at The House was kind of a mood killer,” Micah muttered. “Let me get my wallet, and I’ll hop in with you.”

Gray nodded and walked back out to his truck. Mood killer? He wished seeing Faith bent over, ass in the air had killed his attraction. Instead, it had fired every single one of his kinkiest fantasies.

Micah jogged out a few seconds later and slid into the passenger side. Gray put it in reverse, and they headed out in silence. It didn’t last long, however.

“You going to tell me what went on?”

Gray stared straight ahead, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. “No.”

Micah grunted. “C’mon man. I’ll find out later anyway.”

Gray glared over at him. “I imagine if Faith wanted you to know her business she would have confided in you already.”

Micah returned his glare. “I don’t recall her confiding in you, Mr. Barge-into-the-Place-and-Haul-Her-Out-over-Your-Shoulder.”

Gray sighed. Fucker had a point as much as it pained him to admit it.

“Look, dude, I just need to know if there’s anyone whose ass I need to go kick. Is she okay?”

Some of Gray’s irritation diminished at the concern he heard in Micah’s voice. “She’s fine,” Gray said. “I stepped in before anything really happened.”

Micah shook his head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into that girl. The House isn’t a place I would have ever expected her to even know about much less go visit.”

Gray was beginning to wonder just how much Micah or any of the other guys at Malone’s, including Pop, knew about her. She was a contradiction, that was for sure. The face of an angel, sweet, innocent, soft and so very feminine. But she had a body that would tempt a man to sin. Wasn’t that what all men wanted? A beautiful, demure woman in public and a sexy firebrand in private?

He wasn’t going to speculate about what other men wanted, but he knew that scenario certainly did it for him.

“You’re way too quiet, man,” Micah spoke up. “What the hell happened tonight?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Gray said honestly.

Silence stretched between them again. Gray caught Micah staring at him from time to time. It was only a matter of time before, like Pop, Micah started the subtle (or not so subtle) prying.

“So what’s between you and Faith?” Micah asked casually, though Gray could hear the keen interest in his voice.

Gray clenched his teeth then blew out a breath around them. “There’s nothing between us.”

“Bullshit.”

Gray looked sideways at him and frowned.

“Look, dude, I’m sure you’ve already gotten the ‘speech’ from Pop. He gives it to everyone where Faith is concerned. Don’t expect to get one from me. Faith is a big girl. Pop, well, I like the old fart, but he treats her like a piece of glass. He’s way too over-protective of her, and I understand, given the shit she’s gone through in her life, but she’s tough. Much tougher than Pop gives her credit for. While I’m not crazy about her fucking around at a place like The House, I’m sure she’s very capable of choosing the guy she gets involved with.”

“Thanks for your support,” Gray said dryly.

Micah shrugged. “I just wondered, that’s all. Faith…well she’s hot. A better girl you won’t find. I’d think you were a fucking pussy if you weren’t attracted to her at least on some level.”

“Can we stop with all the touchy-feely shit?” Gray muttered. “You sound like a damn woman.”

Micah chuckled. “Hey, I just wanted to know if you’d staked a claim on Faith, because if you aren’t interested in her, I might ask her out.”

“Over my fucking dead body,” Gray growled. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d been had.

Micah bent over laughing, looked up at Gray then dissolved into laughter again.

“Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.”

“Don’t you love it when a woman manages to twist you all up in knots?” Micah said around a bubble of laughter.

Gray briefly closed his eyes, as long as he could get away with as they zipped down the highway. This was a fucking mess. And he so wasn’t in the mood for Micah’s obnoxious joking.

Thank God it was Friday. He glanced at his watch. Or Saturday morning. He wouldn’t have to face Faith until Monday. But even then, he wasn’t sure how the hell he was supposed to look her in the eye.

“I’m so fucked,” he muttered.

Beside him Micah chuckled. Gray shot him another dirty look, but Micah regarded him innocently, a smug look on his face.

“Sure you don’t want to tell me what all went on in there?” Micah asked.

“Nosy bastard.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” Micah said with a shrug. “Guess it’s too bad I didn’t choose to hang out at The House tonight.”

“Yeah, that would have gone over real well,” Gray said sourly. “I’m sure Faith would have been real happy to see you there.”

Micah grinned evilly. “No happier than I imagine she was to see you.”

“Just shut up,” Gray mumbled. “Let it die already. I’m going to have to hope Faith has no more desire to rehash everything than I do.”

CHAPTER 20

What kind of twisted, weird-ass woman did it make her that when she got up the next morning, the fact that she could feel the slight ache in her ass made her all quivery inside?

Faith rolled out of bed and flexed her muscles experimentally as she stood and stretched. A warm tingle buzzed up her midsection at the memory of the night before. Gray commanding her body, making her come.

She remembered every swat to her ass, how it made her feel, the delicious balance between pain and pleasure. But more than that, and something she was starting to realize, was that her reaction wasn’t just to the stimuli, but to Gray. Otherwise, Brent would have been able to get her off just as quickly.

She yawned and trudged to her bathroom where she turned on the shower, full blast and blistering hot. Ten minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom, towel on her head and dressed in a T-shirt and gym shorts.

As she puttered around her kitchen, she gave thought to her most pressing dilemma: Gray.

If she lived to be a hundred, she’d never understand men. Women were supposed to be the enigmas, but men? Moody, brooding bastards, the lot of them. A woman with PMS had nothing on a man. Where women might get hormonal once a month, men suffered their own brand of PMS on a daily basis.

He wanted her. She could see it in his eyes, in his body language. He practically screamed possession. It made her shiver just to think about all that testosterone flowing behind those big muscles.

So what was his problem? Why did he shove her away like she was Satan’s spawn right after they went at it in the hallway of The House?

She poured herself a glass of orange juice and padded into the living room, where she flopped on the couch. She glanced at the TV remote for all of three seconds before twisting her lips and redirecting her gaze.

She wasn’t in the mood for television. What she was in the mood to do was brood and mull. Figure out this thing between her and Gray.

His directive to stay away from The House should have pissed her off, but she shrugged it off. He was right. And she had no intention of ever going back. Why should she, when she’d found exactly what she wanted, and it wasn’t anything The House offered?

No, she was pretty certain she knew precisely what it was she wanted now. It just happened to come in the form of a six-foot-plus surly male. A man she was dying to taste again. Take in her mouth. In her body.

Goose bumps prickled over her arms, and she closed her eyes to relish the memory of his hands on her body, his fingers between her legs.

Finally. Finally she’d found a man who was forceful. Strong. Unapologetic. A man who didn’t ask. Who took what he wanted.

Now she just had to figure out how to reel him in.

She started when a knock sounded at her door. She hurriedly leaned forward to set her glass down on the coffee table and lurched to her feet.