Sliding a leg up and over his hip, she insisted, "You're here, in my bed." Dragging her fingernails lightly over his chest, testing his muscles, she insisted, "Kiss me. Please."

The merest hesitation had her holding her breath, then he bent his head and brushed his mouth over hers with such tenderness, her heart wanted to break.

"Not like that," she begged, pulling him back, licking over his bottom lip before nipping him with her teeth. "Kiss me like you want me."

Husky, concerned, he whispered, "I always want you, girl."

So then why did he sound so somber? She lifted against him, and sure enough, he had an erection. To convince him, she said, "I have condoms in my nightstand."

That got her a tight squeeze, and a tighter, "Why?"

Silly Denver. It would take her a while to get used to the idea of him being jealous.

Lifting her legs around him, she locked her ankles at the small of his back. "In case I ever talked you into coming over." Stroking her hands down his broad back to his muscled tush, she squeezed him. "And I have-so give it up."

His resistance wavered, she felt it in the way he breathed, how he settled more fully atop her.

Taking advantage of that, Cherry trailed her fingertips up his back to his wide shoulders. "You are such a stud. Please Denver, stop denying me."

Almost as a nonargument, he murmured, "You need sleep."

Sleep dredged up ugly memories that were better left buried. "I need you." She tangled her fingers in the silky hair at his nape and pressed her pelvis up against him, then hummed with satisfaction. "Feels like you need me, as well."

He turned so that she rested atop him. "I don't know," he teased. "Maybe you should convince me."

"Oh, I love a challenge." Almost as much as she loved him and the understanding way he allowed her the diversion without asking too many questions.

Staying perched on Denver's hard abdomen, she reached for the nightstand drawer and withdrew the box of rubbers. After she opened one with her teeth, she smiled at him. "Consider it done."

THE SLAPPING OF his running shoes on dew-wet pavement lulled Denver, but then he was working on less than three hours' sleep. He hadn't planned to do that. A good night's rest was as important as the proper diet to his regimen. But when Cherry set her mind to seducing him... Yeah, zero resistance.

He'd wanted her far too long to say no when she insisted yes.

When he'd left at 5:00 a.m., she'd been dead out with a few more hours to sleep. Other than a soft kiss to her forehead and a long perusal of her naked body nestled on the bed, he hadn't disturbed her.

The note he'd put on her dresser would suffice as his morning goodbye. Already he missed her, which was absurd. Usually when he jogged he got in a zone where the rest of the world ceased to exist.

Not this time.

Yawning wouldn't cut it, so he concentrated on the rhythm of his jog and tried to ignore his exhaustion. He needed to get the cardio in before an early meeting with a client, then conditioning at the rec center, then sparring with Cannon and lastly a class with high school boys.

The damp morning air smelled like rain as he breathed deeply, loping past houses and toward the park. He was halfway through his run when Cannon joined him. Judging by the sweat, Cannon had been at it almost as long as Denver.

When he came alongside him, Denver said, "Hey."

"Morning." Cannon adjusted his stride, picking up the pace to match Denver. "Need you to come by the rec center a little earlier today."

Damn. "What time?" Maybe he could change the meeting with his client.

Cannon dropped his head forward with a laugh. "You don't want to know why?"

"Figured something came up." Cannon had been so good to all of them, no one asked "why" when he made a request-whatever the request might be. Denver loved him like a brother, valued him as a friend, and like most in the town, considered him a local hero.

"Yeah." Cannon rubbed a shoulder over his face to remove a bead of sweat. "Sponsors."

"Sponsors?"

"New clothing company." They jogged around an elderly couple making their way to a bench. "Athletic wear."

Talking and jogging was never easy, but especially not without sleep. "What's that got to do with me?"

"It's you they want."

Sponsors weren't new to him; every fighter established in the sport had at least one sponsorship, if not many. "So why not call me?"

"Because they want me, too. And Stack."

Denver slowed. "I'm not following."

Grinning, Cannon said, "They want to sponsor the rec center and any fighters there. You and me specifically since we're already with the SBC, but on a lesser scale they also want to help support the place, and they want the guys wearing their shirts. Said they'd donate some youth shirts, too."

Thinking of the ragtag kids that came to the rec center, Denver smiled. Most of them got excited over a piece of candy. "The boys will love it, especially if their shirts match ours."

"Yeah. I thought it sounded like a sweet deal, particularly with the influx of cash they're donating. We'll be able to upgrade some old equipment and add in some new. My manager jumped the gun and worked out the details, but I told him I'd have to clear it with you and the others first." He glanced at Denver with a conspiratorial smirk. "With all the shirt designs similar, Armie is going to see it as a uniform."

Picturing it, Denver laughed. "Yeah, probably. Maybe he can chop off the sleeves or something."

"Maybe." They rounded a bend and by tacit agreement, slowed to a walk. As he opened his water bottle, Cannon asked, "What's happening with Cherry? Anything?"

Amazing sex around the clock. He shook his head, not about to share details on that. "She called that douche foster brother of hers." And then had bad dreams that she'd combatted by wringing him out with pleasure.

Lifting his shirt to wipe sweat off his face, Cannon asked, "How'd that go?"

"I'd like to kill him, that's how."

While they walked, Denver told Cannon everything he'd heard while listening in on the call.

"So what do they want her to find?"

Shaking his head, he admitted, "Cherry says she has no idea."

"You don't buy it?"

Thinking of the day ahead, he said, "She's holding back, but I don't know what or how much." Not her body. Not her affection for him. But...something. "I'll get it cleared up with her later. Last night, she was just too stressed to talk about it." And she didn't trust him with the truth.

"There's a cure for that, you know."

"Yup." He grinned. "She was still asleep when I left."

"Your place or hers?"

"Hers."

Cannon went quiet, which made Denver tense.

As he'd just told Cherry, Cannon made it clear how he felt about any of the guys going for a casual hookup with his sister's roommate. But Cherry was more than that to him. More than a mere hookup. More than anything casual.

How much more, he didn't know yet. They hadn't really had time to figure it out.

But Denver knew what he wanted involved far more than a quick lay. Hell, he'd already had a sexual marathon with her, and it only whet his appetite.

He planned to spend every night with Cherry, so it'd be best for him to work this out with Cannon right now. "If you're still against me staying the night-"

"No, I'm not." Two women strolled past, blatantly eying them. Not that long ago, they'd both have appreciated the female attention.

Not so much now.

Cannon pretended not to see them and Denver just nodded.

After they were out of earshot, Cannon continued. "If it was Yvette, I'd have found a way to stay over, too. Actually, I'm relieved my sister and Cherry aren't alone at the house."

"I'm glad you get it, because Cherry doesn't."

"She doesn't want you there?"

"She does." For sex. And just when did he start complaining about that? "Thing is, she's worried about me. Like she thinks Carver might hurt me or something."

Cannon's commiserating grin came slowly. "Ouch."

"Yeah." Kids kicked a ball in their direction. Denver loped a few steps past Cannon, caught it, and tossed it back to the boys. "The thing is, she expects me to lose my cool."

"Sorry, but it happens." His thoughts traveling back to a bad memory, Cannon murmured, "When that fucker tried to grab Yvette..."

Denver stayed quiet, knowing it was still tough for Cannon to think about everything his fiancee had gone through. Yvette was awfully sweet, mostly quiet and very contained. She hadn't had an easy time of it, but with Cannon she was a very happy lady.

"I like to think of myself as controlled, too," Cannon said. "But that day I totally lost it."

Unsure what to say, Denver kept quiet. Under the same circumstances...well, he just didn't know. So maybe Cherry had reason to fret after all.

They'd just about circled around to where Cannon had started before he spoke again. "What are you going to do?"

A shrug didn't really convey the frustration smothering him. "Try to get her to open up. Level with me." Love me.

No, screw that thought. He wanted her to stop keeping secrets from him more than anything else. Before he'd think about getting too emotionally involved, he had to be able to trust her.

Almost as if Cannon had read his thoughts, he asked, "And until then?"

"I'll watch over her, keep her safe." As any good man would do. But he'd also keep trying to figure her out.

"What if she gives you reason to think her old foster brothers are a serious problem?"

"I won't let them be a problem, not for her." Never again. He had a feeling they'd already caused Cherry enough grief to last a lifetime.

As he followed Cannon to his car, Denver checked his watch. Talking about Cherry made him want to see her. He could probably squeeze in a quick visit, but for reasons he didn't want to examine too closely, he decided against it.

"Need a ride?"

Denver shook his head. "I'll finish up my jog, but thanks."

Cannon nodded. "You'll let me know if there's anything I can do to help with Cherry, right? You'll keep all of us updated?"

"Count on it." Denver knew the value of help from a well-trained, disciplined, capable fighter-even if Cherry didn't.

AFTER SHOWERING AND fixing her hair and makeup, Cherry dressed in a long, summery, floral skirt and pink tank top with sandals. To finish off the look, she slipped in hoop earrings and headed for the kitchen upstairs. She had her own small kitchenette in her living area, but overall she and Merissa shared the storage space in the main kitchen.

Merissa was just rinsing out her coffee cup, but the second she spotted Cherry, she abandoned the task to rush her. "Oh my God, you hussy!"

Freezing in her tracks, Cherry tried to look innocent. "What do you mean?"

"You molested that lucky man through half the night." Merissa beamed at her. "Woke me up twice and I am soooo jealous."

In wholehearted support, she offered Cherry a high-five.

Given that Merissa stood just shy of six feet, and Cherry was several inches shorter, she had to stand on tiptoe to smack her palm.

"You really heard us?"

"My brother probably heard you-and he's on the other side of town!" Not appearing bothered by the inconvenience, Merissa pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you." Shoving Cherry back the length of her arms, Merissa gushed, "So spill the beans. Denver is a certified hunk, yes? I mean, not just what he's packing, but how he's dishing it out. Tell me everything so I can live vicariously."

Dodging her, Cherry went to the coffeepot and poured some liquid energy. Last night...well, she hadn't gotten much sleep, but she sure wouldn't complain. Poor Denver, though, had crawled out of bed before sunup. "I feel guilty."

"For waking me?" A chair scraped across the floor and Merissa said, "I have five minutes. Tell me everything."

"Not for waking you, no." Cherry turned to see Merissa settled in her seat, her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands, her attention rapt. "Though I am sorry about that."

"Don't be." Using her foot under the table, she pushed out another chair. "Sit. Spill." Bobbing her eyebrows, she added, "Tell me all the nasty things you have to feel guilty about."

Laughing, Cherry added sugar and creamer to her coffee, then took the offered seat. "I knew Denver had to get up superearly this morning and I still... Well..."

Eyes going round, Merissa supplied, "Gave him superhot sex?"

The sigh came out softly. "Oh, Rissy, it really was hot. Like supernova hot."

"Pfft. Then ten to one he's not complaining."