Unexpected Lovers Box Set by J.B. Heller

That was,by far, the hottest first-time-with-a-partner sex ever. Zero awkwardness, no “Is this okay?”, and a mind-numbing orgasm, to boot.

My legs feel like jelly, and I’m beyond satisfied. I want to curl up and have a quick power nap.

But as reality sets in, it dawns on me: I threw my three-dates rule out the window.

“You okay?” Sam asks, stroking my back with gentle fingers.

I swallow then nod. It’s okay. It was just one little rule. No big deal, right?

Sam’s hand stills on my shoulder. “Hannah, did I do something wrong?”

Licking my lips, I run my gaze over his concerned face. “I have a three-date rule. I don’t like to sleep with someone until we’ve been out at least three times, and I—” I sit, tugging the blanket with me and wrapping it around my mostly naked body. My legs tangle in my tights still wrapped around my ankles, and I kick and thrash, trying to dislodge them.

“Hey,” Sam says, taking my legs in his hands. “Let me help.” He tugs off my boots, dropping them on the floor with a thud, then removes my tights.

“Thank you,” I murmur, embarrassed by my little spack-out. Tucking my legs beneath me, I lift my eyes to Sam’s ridiculously handsome face. “Sorry. I’m not usually weird after sex.”

His brows furrow as he stares at me with so much intensity I have to look away.

A warm palm cups my jaw, turning my face to look at him. “I’m sorry for coming on so strong tonight. I had every intention of being a gentleman—that is, until my eyes landed on you.” A gentle smile curves his lips. “Everything about you throws me off center. And when I saw you tonight . . . the drive to claim every single part of you took over, and it was all I could think about.”

Well, when he says that, how can I be upset about it?

I lift my hand and place it over his, still holding my jaw so gently. Such a contradiction to the amazing sex we just had. “I’m not blaming you. I just have these rules, and they help me keep things straight in my head. I overreacted. It’s not a big deal that we rounded all the bases a little earlier than I expected. I’m definitely not complaining.” I grin, hoping like hell he understands.

Sam nods, and his thumb strokes my bottom lip. “If it makes you feel any better, we can count the night we met as our first date. That makes tonight date number three.”

My cheeks pull tight as my smile spreads across my face. Then, I throw the blanket to the side and launch myself at him. He falls back, and I end up straddling his incredible body. I run my greedy hands across his sculpted chest, marveling at every rise and fall of his muscles.

“You’d better stop touching me unless you’re ready for round two,” Sam warns me with an upward thrust of his hips. His dick glides against my butt, and I spin around. He’s getting hard again.

“Already?” I ask, shocked and delighted.

The grin that crosses his lips is downright wicked. “Apparently so.”

I scurry off of him and reach for the spent condom still covering his length. Discarding it in a tissue from my side table, I open the top drawer and grab a fresh one. Sam’s eyes follow me as I tear the package open, remove the condom, then toss the packet over my shoulder. He chuckles then chokes on the sound as I wrap my hand around his thick dick and roll the rubber to his base.

* * *

The buzzingof my alarm wakes me from a deep sleep. I slap my hand around until it lands on it, and I turn it off. I’m usually up before it even has a chance to go off, but not after last night. It’s official: Sam is a very talented lover with unbelievable stamina.

I’m not sure what time it was when he pressed his lips to my shoulder and murmured his goodbyes. I was so exhausted I think I was asleep before he was even out of my apartment.

Rolling out of bed, I snatch my phone and stumble to the bathroom. Dropping onto the toilet, I read a text from Sam as I relieve myself.

SAM: I’m ready for date number four when you are. But this one’s on my terms.

Warmth fills my chest, and I set my phone aside and get in the shower. My body is sore, but in a you-had-incredible-sex-several-times-last-night kind of way.

I’m still smiling when I arrive at work an hour later. I’m in such a good mood I don’t even care that the food-preppers are down a man, thus my girls’ breakfast is running late. I’ve never been one to sit still, so I start loading what has been prepared with my babies’ vitamins.

“You’re awfully chipper this morning,” Tami, one of the preppers, says, nudging me in the ribs with her elbow.

I waggle my brows back at her. “I’ve had four very good reasons to plaster this smile on my face recently.”

She bursts out laughing. “Damn, girl. Where can I get me a man who delivers like that?!”

“I don’t even know how I got him,” I tell her, shrugging. And the statement rings true. Why did Sam and Tom approach Amy and me in the first place? I don’t buy that Tom couldn’t get a table, but I didn’t even think to ask. And now it’s bugging me.

I finish stuffing the last chunk of tuna with a horse-sized vitamin then go scrub my hands in the huge stainless-steel sink. After pulling my phone from my pocket, I send Sam a quick text, asking him about it.

ME: So, you never did tell me why you guys crashed Amy’s and my girls’ night…

Violet approaches as I slide my phone away. “Morning, Vi.”

“Hey, Han. You busy? Wanna help me bring my guys in?”

“Sure.” We have to move the turtles into a separate area when we feed the sharks since we use the same method to feed them. We don’t want one of my girls getting a little overeager and taking a chunk out of one of Violet’s turtles if they swim on over, thinking it’s a snack for them.

Vi hands me one of the colored rods we use to signal the turtles, and we make our way to the top of the tank. It doesn’t take Mate and Sheela long to spot their rods in the water and come over.

“Thanks. It’s easier with two people. I’m on my own today. Leila’s down with something,” Vi says as she hands a cabbage leaf to Mate.

“Something must be going around. The preppers are out a man today, too. Anyway, let me know if you need a hand with anything else. I’m off to feed my babies.”

It takes four people just to feed my girls, then another to operate the shoots that release food into the water at the bottom of the tank to keep the bottom feeders happy. Plus two more who scatter food at the opposite side from where my girls are fed to keep everyone else away.

Walking back into the prep room, I scoop up the bucket labeled Tina. “Let’s go, people,” I call, and everyone nods as we file out of the room, buckets and feeding poles in hand.

There’s one feeder assigned to each shark. Tina is my main girl and the largest of our collection. She’s a ten-foot tiger with a little bit of an attitude. Then there’s Ruby, our blacktip reef shark; Lulu is a lemon shark; and Bertha is a bull. The girls have all been trained to feed from the same spot at the same time every feed.

My phone chimes in my pocket, and I pull it out. Sam has replied to my earlier text.

SAM: We were hungry and two beautiful women were eating alone. It made sense to ask if we could join you.

But that doesn’t explain them talking to Mike at the bar and him clearly pointing at me from across the room before they headed our way.

ME: I totally saw the conversation you guys had with the bartender and him pointing at us. What was that about?

My phone rings in my hand before I can put it back in my pocket. It’s Sam. “Hey,” I answer.

He clears his throat. “What are you doing right now?”

“I’m about to feed a ten-foot tiger shark. You?”

I chuckle at his muttered curse before he replies, “Nothing so life-threatening. Are you free for lunch later? I think it’s best if I explain the bartender situation in person.”

My brows furrow. “As intrigued as I am now, I can’t. We’re short-staffed today.”

“Okay, how about tomorrow?” he counters.

I nibble my bottom lip. I don’t have time to talk right now; all the other feeders are waiting on me. “Crap, I’ve gotta go. I’ll text you later, okay.” I end the call before he responds.

“Sorry, guys, let’s do this!” I say, forcing a smile I’m not quite feeling. Why does Sam need to explain in person? And why did he call it a situation? That makes it sound like it’s a big deal. An unwelcome feeling settles in my gut.