Olive I shift in bed as a twinge of soreness awakens me. I frown, confused, moving my legs back and forth as I half-consciously try to figure out what's caused this feeling. Before I can come to any conclusions, the culprit snakes his arm around my waist. I smile as West spoons me against his naked body. Oh, right.

The soft morning light shines around the sides of the closed curtains as I blink sleepily. In the sunlight, a creeping anxiety begins in my stomach even as West's body warms my skin. I promised myself I wouldn't do this. West doesn't know how to have a relationship. My brother would completely freak out if he knew what happened last night. He's off doing something dangerous while his best friend and his sister are sneaking around behind his back. I interlace my fingers with West's where they droop over the side of my waist.

"Well. Good morning," I say. I feel him hardening again at the sound of my voice. For G.o.d's sake...I need to speak quickly. "I think we should talk about last night."

"Mmhm," he murmurs, and begins kissing my neck.

"I just think that it was a bad idea," I go on.

"Very bad idea," he echoes, taking my breast in his hand. He tweaks my nipple, and I feel an immediate wetness between my legs. Must...focus.

"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work," I whisper. "We need to just be friends. That's it."

"And yet you're not going anywhere..." he observes, sliding his hand down my stomach to-oh my. I take a deep breath to keep from gasping as his fingers come to rest against my c.l.i.t.

"Well, maybe we could do this for a little while," I breathe, "Just, you know, we have to be clear about what we're doing, here." G.o.d, it's impossible to think straight as pleasure overwhelms my brain.

"It's important to be precise," he whispers, his fingers sliding inside me, pressing up against my g-spot.

"You are making this very difficult..." I murmur, gripping the underside of my pillow as I struggle to form words.

"Am I?" he whispers innocently. I feel him shift a little behind me and hear the rip of a condom.

"OK, OK," I say, trying to gather my thoughts, aching to feel him inside me again. "Just until Stick comes back, alright? Then we have to stop. That's it. Deal?"

"Deal," he whispers in my ear. The heat of his breath sends a tingle throughout my body.

I feel the tip of his huge d.i.c.k flush against my slit. He takes me by the hips and holds me steady as he enters me. I gasp as sensation reverberates through me. West groans as he slides into me. He rubs my c.l.i.t, he drives his c.o.c.k all the way inside of me. I clench my legs together to create more pressure around his member. I feel his mouth against my neck, his stubble brushing my skin.

"West...you feel so f.u.c.king good..." I moan.

He rolls me onto my stomach so that I'm on my hands and knees. He grabs my hips and pounds into me, ramming straight into my core.

"f.u.c.k!" he moans, as I cry out wordlessly He has complete control over my body, pulling me back onto his huge c.o.c.k. I groan every time he thrusts in. He picks up the pace, and I arch my back. I feel his hand slip between my a.s.s cheeks, where one finger slips inside- "Oh!" I gasp at the new sensation and brace my hips against him as my o.r.g.a.s.m builds. My vision swims as pleasure overwhelms me. I lose control of my body, hear sounds of bliss coming from my mouth as though they're being made by someone else.

West comes with a loud, guttural groan. We collapse onto the mattress, completely spent. I feel his body relax on top of mine, his huge frame covering me completely. He reaches for my hands, and interlaces his fingers with mine.

We lie for a while like this, I don't know how long. His body is heavy, but comforting on top of mine. Finally he sits up, kneeling between my open legs. I blush as he looks openly at my body, and I cover my eyes with my hand. He runs his hand down from my sternum to my stomach.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, uncomfortable under his gaze.

"I'm just admiring you," he says with a little smile.

"Admiring me? Oh, G.o.d..." I say, rolling my eyes.

"What? Don't you know how beautiful you are, Tiny?"

"OK, you definitely cannot call me 'Tiny' anymore, especially when I'm naked," I reply, sitting up and pulling myself toward the edge of the bed. "You want breakfast?" I ask as I stand up and grab my robe.

"Yeah. I got some sausage from the butcher shop we should try." He gets up and grabs his clothes, which are still in a heap on the floor. He walks toward the door with the bundle in his hands, still naked.

"Hey-" I say, about to stop him. "Oh, right. You live here. I forgot. Weird."

He smiles at me and disappears down the hallway. I pull on my slippers and run my hands through my hair to smooth down the mess, then make my way to the kitchen. I start on the eggs and heat up a skillet for West. He joins me at the stove, wearing an old pair of jeans and no shirt, and cooks the sausage. We stand in an easy silence, then bring our food into the living room. We sit at opposite ends of the couch, facing each other.

"You hear anything from Stick?" I ask.

"Not yet," he says, "They're probably still on the road, so I won't for a while. Don't worry, he's got good men with him. You working tonight?"

"Yeah, four to close," I reply.

"OK, text me a little while before you want me to pick you up," he says.

"You don't have to pick me up, you know. Now that's Stick's not here, I mean. I can drive myself," I inform him.

"Nah, Stick would kill me if I didn't pick you up," he says.

"You really think that's what Stick would be mad about?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Oh, right," he winces. We both guiltily push our food around on our plates as we think about Stick.

"He doesn't have any right to tell me who I can sleep with," I point out.

"I know...but it still doesn't feel right," West replies.

"He has a blind spot when it comes to you," I say, "I mean, he was so worried about everyone else trying to sleep with me, but he never thought about you."

"You're making it worse." he says.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I am," I grin sheepishly. "It's just funny, I mean..."

"That he trusts me implicitly?" West asks. "That he wouldn't think he has to say, 'Hey West, please don't sleep with my little sister behind my back?'"

"OK, it doesn't look good, I'll grant you that," I allow, "But what he's really worried about, what he's always been worried about, is that someone's going to hurt me, and that's not going to happen here. We have an agreement. This is just for the next couple weeks, then it's done. No mess."

"You're right. Hurry up and finish eating," he orders me.

"Why?" I ask with a frown.

"If we've only got two weeks, I've gotta f.u.c.k you at least twice more today before you go to work," he says with his familiar smirk.

I stare at him for a moment, my mouth open. I set my unfinished plate aside and meet West's intent gaze.

"All done," I grin.

Chapter Eleven.

Olive I survey the stock room, proud of all the work I've done on it. I've taken inventory of everything and labeled every shelf, so it's clearer when something runs out. I've also adjusted our delivery dates, since we need fewer deliveries of more specific items now. I switch off the light and carry a carton full of liquor upstairs. The bar will be opening soon, and it's a Sat.u.r.day, so it'll probably be packed.

Franchise hired a prospect named Avery at my recommendation as a barback, so that the bartenders could focus on actually serving drinks. Sharon, the other bartender, will be here a little late today because her kid has an afternoon baseball game, so I hope it doesn't get too crazy until then.

The insanity does hold off until several hours later, but by then the Black Rock is humming with music and bursting with people. West is over at the pool table on a team with King. I steal glances over at him when I can, checking up. In the week since we started sleeping together I haven't seen him so much as flirt with any other girls. Not that we said we were going to be exclusive while Stick's gone or anything, but, well, I guess I have been secretly hoping for it.

Stacy leans on the bar in front of me, moodily stirring the ice around her gla.s.s.

"Stacy, you have to try my drink special tonight. No vodka, I promise!" I say as I rub her shoulder with my hand.

"Alright," she agrees glumly.

I quickly mix the drink for her and top it with a plump maraschino cherry. She takes a sip. "Hey, this is pretty good. You come up with this yourself?"

"Yeah, Franchise is letting me do a new drink special every night. This one's called The Chopper. It's rum-based." She takes a long sip through the straw, and I watch half of the liquid disappear. "Hey, now," I caution her. "There's a happy medium!"

"It's just, last time he called was yesterday afternoon," she says, biting her lip.

"I know," I say, taking her hand. "West said he's probably just busy, though. I'm sure everything's fine. And he said that-"

"You and West been talking a lot?" she breaks in, narrowing her eyes at me.

"No! I mean, just-" I trail off as I see two men stand up from the couches across from the bar. The taller ones shoves the shorter one, who stumbles back. "Hold that thought, Stacy."

I hustle over to the end of the bar, grabbing a pool cue from the rack. I walk swiftly over to the couches, where the shorter man has just recovered and punched the taller one in the face. The tall guy pulls back and is about to land a blow himself, when I bring the cue down with a loud "whack!" on the table between them. They both jump, startled. I hold up the pool cue, brandishing it threateningly.

"I don't care what happened, just take it outside!" I yell. They both look at me, fuming. The taller one opens his mouth to speak, then his angry eyes flick to something behind me.

"It's all good," the man says, turning to the shorter guy, "Right?"

"Yeah," the shorter one agrees, nodding. "Sorry, we'll pay for these broken gla.s.ses." They glance at each other, and warily sit back down on the couches. I wait for a moment to make sure they've really stopped fighting, then turn around and run right into the brick wall that is West. He smiles c.o.c.kily down at me.

"Oh, man. I thought it was me they were afraid of..." I say, disappointed.

"You're terrifying on your own, don't worry. The pool cue was a nice touch. I was just your back-up, really," he replies.

"I'm sure," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Can I have the cue back now, please?" he asks.

"Oh, sure," I say, and hand it back over.

"Oh, also, I'm going to need you to do something for me," he says, his eyes dancing mischievously.

"What? You need a drink?" I ask.

"No..." he leans down and whispers in my ear. "I'm gonna need you to go to the bathroom, take off your panties, and bring them to me."

"West!" I exclaim, as I pull my head back, shocked. "I'm wearing a skirt!"

"Look, you're a great bartender, but no panties, no tip," he says with a shrug, then walks back to the pool table.

I stare at his back as he walks away, my mouth open. I know he's joking about the tip, but I still find myself turning toward the bathroom, head down. I don't like to be ordered around in life, but when West orders me around in the bedroom, I find it unbelievably hot. And he's been introducing me to some things that I didn't know were even out there. Like a.n.a.l beads, for example. My stomach clenches in antic.i.p.ation as I shut the stall door behind me. I felt the cool, hard plastic of the beads last night, with West's promise that we would try them again soon. With only a two-week window to have s.e.x, we have to progress quickly, after all.

Pulling my black skirt up around my stomach, I slide my panties down around my heels, stepping out of them and s.n.a.t.c.hing them up. Thank goodness I slipped into Victoria's Secret and bought some cute stuff last week when Stacy and I went shopping. This pair is a black lace thong, with a small satin bow on the front band. I smooth my skirt back down and roll the panties up as small as I can in my hand, then step out of the stall and look in the mirror. I look normal, though perhaps a little flushed.

I push the door of the ladies' room open and walk back out towards the pool table. West is leaning on the wall, looking s.e.xy in his white tee and jeans. He's engaged in a conversation with Five, one of his brothers. I walk up to West's side and clear my throat.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can get for you gentleman?" I ask, overly politely. West smiles at me. I press my hand with the panties against his free hand at his side. I feel him take them from me and stuff them into his jeans pocket.

"Five, you need anything?" West asks him.

"I'm good," Five says.

"We're all set, thanks, Olive," West says to me with a s.h.i.t-eating grin.

"Great. Good to know," I say, returning his smile.

I walk back to the bar, hyperaware of everything south of my waist now. I cautiously duck under the bar again and return to where Stacy is emptying her gla.s.s.

"Sorry about that," I say. "Do you want a water?"

Stacy shrugs disconsolately, which I take as a yes. I see two guys headed toward us as I scoop some ice into a gla.s.s for her. They take a seat next to Stacy at the bar and beckon me over.

"What can I get for you?" I ask.

"Two IPAs. Whatever's on tap," the bearded one says. His friend smiles at Stacy. I get the feeling they already decided who was going to talk to whom before coming over. I pour the two IPAs for them and the first guy hands me a card.

"I'll open a tab," he says. "I'm Nick, by the way."

"Nick. Nice to meet you," I say as I run his card. "I'm Olive. This is my friend Stacy. She's disappointed because her boyfriend's out of town."

"Oh, that's too bad," Nick says consolingly, though his friend looks a little disappointed to hear she has a boyfriend. I smile politely at him, then glance over to the pool table just in time to see West bending over some girl to give her a couple tips on her pool game. A rush of jealousy heats my face as I watch him run his hand across her body to adjust the angle of her arm.

"How about a couple shots for you guys, on the house?" I offer. "I think it's a little too quiet in here."

"h.e.l.l yes!" Nick says. I smile at him. He is rather cute, with a sandy blonde beard and a close-cropped haircut.

"And one for me too!" Stacy chimes in.

"You finish that water, and then we'll talk," I tell her.