his life. Not his job. Not even his reputation on the field, as terrible as it was.
I hated myself for considering his offer.
I hated myself more for realizing there wasn’t a force in the world that would keep me from taking the job.
Pride and principles meant nothing when my child needed food, clothing, and shelter.
“Fine,” I said. “I have a state certification, but that doesn’t mean I’m a practiced agent. I’ll do the best I can, but—”
“That’s all I’m asking. I’ll do my job, and I’ll make yours easy.”
“I doubt that.”
Rose buzzed from inside her box. She pointed at him and squealed. Bossy little thing. She expected him to get on the floor and play with her.
Imagining him sitting beside her, laughing and smiling, was a mistake. I had no idea I’d like the thought so much.
Cole heaved a breath as he glanced over my apartment. “I have one condition to your employment.”
Of course he did. “I’m not going out to eat with you.”
“We won’t have to go out.”
My eyebrow rose.
“The offer comes with room and board. You have to say with me.”
My mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“You need a place to stay, and I need someone to represent me. You want the job; you move into the mansion.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Cole smirked. “What’s wrong, beautiful? A few days ago I couldn’t keep you out of my house.”
“Very funny. The answer’s no.”
“I don’t like the word no.”
Cole stepped closer. I couldn’t break through the boxes for an effective retreat. I shifted as best I could, trying to put any distance between us before I was trapped in his woodsy, masculine scent or stared too intently at his lips.
“You need a place to live, and I have plenty of room,” he said.
“That’s not the point. I have a baby.”
“And where better to take care of her than in the lap of luxury?”
“A home is more than walls and columns, Cole.”
“So I’ve heard. You wanted to spend more time with her…” He gestured to my babbling baby. “I can give that to you. Represent me, earn easy money, and have a beautiful place for your daughter to live.”
He made it sound so perfect and dangerous. Like it wouldn’t be the worst idea of our lives.
He asked me to live with him. He offered his home for my child and his career for my own fortune, but what did he expect in return? I had enough to box up in my apartment without worrying about what he packed between his legs.
It was too risky, and I’d already surrendered to him. First a kiss, then the intimate moments in the hot tub. I once trusted myself to make the right decisions after learning from my worst mistakes, but nothing made sense when I stared into Cole’s fable blue eyes.
I couldn’t let it get complicated, but I had no idea how to untangle us from this mess.
“It’s my fault you got fired,” Cole whispered. “I want to make it up to you.”
I wished he wasn’t so close, that I wasn’t already on the tips of my toes to face him. I twisted my fingers in his shirt, but I couldn’t push him away. The heat flared from my core, and I eased the ache of my lips with a gentle lick.
That only made it worse.
It only invited him closer.
“I can’t move in with you,” I whispered. “I have to think about Rose.”
“I figured you’d bring her.”
His top lip nudged mine. It was enough to sear through me, dazzling me in goosebumps.
“She’s…walking now. She gets into everything. I have to be somewhere baby-proofed.”
“So?” He wasn’t listening. “Baby-proof it.”
His kiss shook me from the inside out, beating at me and demanding I surrender to the prowl of his mouth and the fierce grip of his arms.
I pulled away to breathe a trembled gasp. “I can’t baby-proof a mansion.”
“Hire a company. I don’t care. Just agree.”
His hands wove into my hair, pinning me in place. He seized me with a harsh strike of a kiss—a bite of pure, vicious lust. His tongue whipped mine once. Twice. Enough to make my knees tremble and thighs clench.
This was wrong.
I freed myself, breathing deep and ignoring every good shiver that wound its way into my core.
“Cole, no. It won’t work. We can’t live together. We can’t work together. We can’t do…this.”
Not the answer he wanted. His jaw popped, and I recognized the look of pure ferocity that shadowed his features.
He didn’t hear me…or he didn’t care. “Either you come