But she already knew he wouldn’t. He might think he’d kept the reins tight on his emotions tonight, hiding from her how he was starting to feel, hiding his fear of letting go, of giving her control and losing his, but he hadn’t really kept a thing from her.

A surge of emotion for him welled up and filled her heart and her eyes. Leaning in, she put her lips softly to his. “Night,” she whispered.

He hummed in pleasure and tightened his grip on her without waking all the way. With a dreamy sigh, she snuggled in and let sleep claim her, too.

AN ALARM WENT OFF and Jacob jerked awake. He was in a bed, a strange bed, with a delicious, warm, naked female body plastered to his side.

Not just any bed, and not just any woman.

Hush.

Em.

He had a handful of breast with a nipple pebbling in his palm, his other hand cupping a warm buttock. Nice. Rumbling approval deep in his throat, he rolled her to her back, settling his weight on her, thrusting a thigh high between hers to spread her for his pleasure.

“The alarm,” she gasped.

Reaching out, he knocked the clock to the floor and it went mercifully silent.

“Auditions,” she mumbled, eyes still closed. “I have to-Ohmigod.”

Having sucked a nipple into his mouth, he teased the tip with his tongue, smiling at her moan, at the way she clutched at him with her hands, her legs.

“Jacob-”

Lightly he bit down on her nipple, then flicked it with his tongue.

Her fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulder, her body arching up into him.

Oh, yeah. Good. His slid his hand down her side, spreading his fingers wide to touch all that he could, her ribs, her belly, her hip. “Wait,” she gasped.

He palmed her sweet ass, then dipped his fingers in-

“Jacob.”

For the first time he heard the tone in her voice. The reluctant tone. The tone he’d used often enough the morning after when he’d had enough of a woman and needed out.

That was when he woke all the way up and smelled the news.

She was done with him.

She was done with him before he’d been done with her. That had never happened, not once, and a feather could have knocked him over he was so shocked. “Right.” Without looking into her eyes, he rolled off her and off the bed all in one move. Reached for his jeans.

“Jacob.”

Where the hell were his shoes?

“Jacob.”

“Don’t get up,” he said, shoving his legs into his jeans and grabbing his shirt. “I know my way out.”

Did he ever. He always knew his way out, and was pissed he’d stayed.

Sex with a woman, he could do that. He knew how to do it, extremely well.

Sleeping with one, not so much. In fact, he rarely did it at all, and never on a woman’s turf.

Seems he’d broken all his own rules last night.

That’s what he got for thinking with the wrong head.

The paper bag on the dresser mocked him. It was open, the packaging of the vibrator strewn over the glossy wood.

They’d put that thing to some fun, sexy, outrageous use, and if his heart hadn’t been pounding heavily, uncomfortably, the memories of what they’d done would have made him smile.

As it was, they made him hard.

Because after her initial shyness, Em had gotten into it. Very into it. The batteries were close to dead.

Damn, he was thinking again.

He made it to the door before he felt her hand on his arm, trying to tug him around. He stared at his own hand on the handle. “Don’t, Em.”

“Look at me,” she said softly, her hand rising to glide over his back. He felt his muscles quiver at the touch.

“Please?” she whispered.

Gritting his teeth, he turned only his head and met her eyes. They were deep and full not of discomfort or irritation at him still being here but hope and joy and, damn, that knee-knocking affection again.

She hadn’t run off like a scared little bunny at the depths of his passion. Hadn’t run from anything he’d shown her, as he’d assumed-and half hoped-she would. He didn’t understand what drew him to her, why he suddenly wanted to toss her back into that bed and follow her down, why he wanted to keep her.

Keep her.

He couldn’t keep her. Even thinking it was the stupidest thought he’d ever had. He’d never managed to keep anything in his life, not a place, not a thing, and sure as hell not a person.

“Last night,” Em said, searching his gaze for something, God knew what. “It was…different.”

He let out a harsh laugh. “Yeah. I’m guessing not a lot of guys would take you to a porn shop.”

“That wasn’t all that was different.”

“You probably don’t do a lot of barhopping, either. At least the kind of bar I took you to.”

“I didn’t mean different bad.” She looked at him as if she could see right through him, damn it, into the very black depths of his soul. “I meant different…scary.”

Scary? He’d scared her? Christ. “Em…” He squeezed his eyes closed tight. “I didn’t mean to…I wouldn’t-”

“No.” She turned him to face her, both hands on his arms. “No.” She smiled. “Scary good. I’m trying to tell you that I had the most amazing time, and yes it was different, and yes it scared me because it was different. Different as in more meaningful. What we shared last night when we made love-”

“Wait.” He shook his head. God, he couldn’t let her finish. “I think you should stop right there. Before you say something you’re going to regret in the name of lust.”

“It wasn’t just lust.”

“Yes,” he said. “It was. It was just a normal night of lust.”

“Oh.” She blinked once, the hurt in those depths unmistakable. “I see.”

Hell. He should have left last night. He was a complete idiot. “I don’t want to hurt you-”

“No. No, it’s okay. I understand. It was a casual thing.”

“That’s right. Just a normal night out-”

“I get it.” She nodded. She took her hands from his arms. Backed up a step. Even curved her mouth into a smile.

Though it didn’t come close to reaching her eyes.

“Don’t worry,” she said, trying to soothe him, which made him feel even more like slime. “I’m fine.”

From somewhere behind them her cell phone rang and she jerked as if she’d been shot. “Excuse me, I’ve got to get that-”

“Yeah. Uh…good luck with your auditions.” At his own lame words, he winced. Good luck? Could he be a bigger ass? “Em-”

But she’d already turned away.

Just as he’d wanted.

EM PICKED UP her ringing cell phone. When she heard her hotel room door close behind Jacob, she closed her eyes. He was gone…

Just a normal night out.

She was such a fool, such a damn fool, she thought angrily as she flipped open her phone. “Hello?”

“Em.”

“Eric.” She let out a breath and concentrated on the here and now. “I take it you’re not still…tied up.”

“Uh, no.” He lowered his voice. “Look, it was great. But…”

“But what?”

“Afterward…” He sighed. “She cried, Em. It broke my heart.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because she’s asleep right next to me. Why did she cry?”

Em sank to the bed. “Did you ask her?”

“She denied doing it, but I saw the tears.”

“What happened after that?”

“We, uh, did it again. It was…well, words fail,” he said in an awed voice. “Not the sex, the connection, you know?”

Yeah. She knew.

“I fell in love with her all over again.”

Em let out a long breath. She was falling, too.

“God,” Eric whispered. “I think she’s just screwing with my head. What do I do?”

She laughed a little harshly. “Eric, what in our history together makes you think that I have any clue when it comes to love?”

“Because your heart’s always in the right place. You’re all about heart and soul, Em, making memories, shit like that.”

“Yeah, well, I’m really a pretty big screwup in that area. Right now all that matters is that we’re going to be unemployed and eating canned soup for the rest of our lives if I don’t get downstairs and get going on the auditions-”

“She cried, Em.”

Em rubbed her aching temples. Other things ached, too. Between her thighs.

But the biggest ache of all came from her heart, which she reached up and rubbed now, though it didn’t help. “If I had to guess, she cried because she loves you, too.”

Utter silence greeted this.

“Eric? You there?”

“She told me she doesn’t.”

“Even you are not that clueless as to believe her.”

“Look, I’m just a guy,” he pleaded. “We were born clueless.”

“Okay, listen, I haven’t had caffeine, and my night was…well.” She drew a deep breath. “But I think she just doesn’t know how to deal with the love she feels for you, or even how to show it. Tying you up was symbolic. You get it? You’re hers. You’re tied to her. You see?”

He was quiet for a moment. “I guess.”

“You know what happened before. The two of you were too hot, too heavy. You didn’t share the stuff that scared you. You didn’t do the things you need to do to make it last.”

“Yeah.”

“You burned it out.”

“I know.” He sounded terrified. “I don’t want that to happen again.”

“Then do more than the wild sex. Talk. Communicate. Listen to each other. Be there for each other.”

“I can do that. But pinning Liza down is hard. She’s not exactly the communicative type.”

“Well, turnaround is fair play,” she said, quoting Jacob.

He paused. “You mean…tie her up?”

“Give the boy an A.”

He laughed softly. “Gotcha. Now tell me about your night. You have a bad one?”

Bad? No. Good? No. Try the best night of her entire life. “Hard to explain.” Especially since, for Jacob, it had all been…“normal.” Heat filled her face at that. Bastard.

From its perch still on her floor, the alarm clock went off again, and she sighed. “We’ve got to get a move on. Get up. Get Liza up. Meet me in the conference room for round two.”