"Okay?" Jake's eyebrows shot high, so high they were partially hidden by his damp hair, his jaw unhinged, and his eyes flashed with disbelief. Based on his reaction, he wasn't expecting my answer.

Fuck, I'd have surprised myself if it weren't for the week I'd had since I'd last seen him.

Part of me scolded myself like I lost my senses and questioned if we really repeated a past mistake. The other part of me told the first part to shut the fuck up and jump on his dick already.

Truth be told, I'd tried all week to forget about Jake. My body, like it'd done all week, betrayed me though. Just the memory of his hands on me, his dick inside me, the warmth of his hard, muscular body over mine set my hormones off to another level. That asshole proved tonight with just one finger fuck round that my vibrators weren't a fair comparison, at the expense that I'd permanently scarred Li from ever entering our room without being preceded by a marching band-decibel announcement.

Even worse than how my body reacted, despite my efforts that I tried to forget about Jake, the fucker had infiltrated my mind. If my dreams weren't bad enough, the final evidence of how fucked up I was when I'd torn apart the inside of my purse while I looked for Officer Davis' card, to no avail.

At Jake's stunned silence, an unusual flash of apprehension rolled through me, followed quickly by regret in my hasty agreement.

What am I thinking?

The last time I'd tried to fuck Jake Harrison out of me didn't go so well.

A heated, maximum-position experimentation weekend while Logan and Ellie did the actual skiing part of our holiday had been agreed upon by both of us to satiate whatever toxic, lust-filled emotion pulled us together.

Instead of the all-intended purposes that Jake and I ripped off the sexual tension band-aid between us, I was a hot mess for weeks afterwards. Jake haunted my daily life. I saw his face instead of other guys I slept with and invaded my dirty thoughts and wet dreams, after which I'd woken up flaming hot, drenched in sweat, and completely wound up just like I had earlier this week.

For the first three months after that Christmas holiday, my usual string of one night stands hadn't helped. Either they weren't as hot as Jake, they hadn't lasted as long, my body hadn't tingled with goosebumps under their touch like his, some component or another was missing.

But slowly, as more time separated us, I settled for a new norm of the thrill of initial raw, passionate, first-time only sex. To say the experiences were underwhelming was a severe understatement. I'd sampled the finest wine and everything else tasted straight from a box.

And I'm taking that admission to my grave.

With Jake, despite my talk with Ethan, I knew what I got myself into.

Or more specifically, what's going in me.

No attachment, just raw and hot - yet monogamous - sex.

My traitorous vagina buzzed happily at the idea. The hulking, muscular pile of testosterone that now looked like he wanted to eat me alive was safe, familiar, and there was no risk of feelings coming between us.

"Okay, fuck buddy..."

I frowned at Jake's choice of words but honestly drew a mental blank with a better alternative. And honestly, that was my favorite swear word, I'd give him that much credit.

He didn't say anything, just a slow smile spread across his face until he wore the biggest shit-eaten grin I'd seen on him in awhile.

"No so fast, quick dick McGraw," I reminded him and hit him square in the chest with the narrow edge of my phone. "We need to establish some rules."

"Fair enough." His arms tensed around me and he made no movements off me, just nodded at me to go first. "Lay them out so you'll break them later."

"Hilarious, asshole. Rule one, you owe me a report card." I dropped my eyes down to the area of his pelvis. "Who knows what STD cesspool you've dipped your meat stick into."

"Harper." The corded bicep muscles on either side of my line of vision clenched until a slight vein protruded. "I got tested right at the beginning of camp. And that didn't seem to bother you fifteen minutes ago."

"Not true." I frowned since he was right. While my vagina voted I threw out all inhibitions, I knew that even if we used a condom, the chances of an STD were not zero, so still too reckless for me. "A week doesn't mean shit for a manwhore like you."

Jake's reaction surprised me. I fully expected he confirmed it jokingly, laughed, or smirked about his sexual opportunities, but he only frowned. An unrecognizable emotion, mixed with annoyance, flashed briefly in his eyes until he flat out glared at me.

"Fine, I'll get tested again," he finally snapped angrily. "But you too."

"Fine." I shrugged nonchalantly since I had nothing to hide.

Possibly the only benefit for my recent dry spell but Officer Davis aside, I'm clean.

"Rule two," he interrupted my thoughts. "You have to be on birth control."

"Aww Jake, hoping I'll ride you bareback?" I teased. After the knowing look he gave me, I added, "Don't be a prick, just cover the dick."

"I will." His glare intensified. His look was warranted, since we both knew that, for all the vaginas he'd plunged into, he'd always worn protection and insisted that he put it on. "But just as backup, you get on the pill."

"No pills." I shook my head at that hormonal shit. "For the record, I have an IUD."

Jake dropped his glare and blinked blankly at me. "Like a roadside bomb?"

My lashes fluttered as I closed my eyes at his idiocy and I exhaled sharply. "No idiot, intrauterine diaphragm. And don't freak out, but it also means I don't get a monthly period."

Before he jumped into what that meant, that there didn't have to be any shark week excursions, I continued with another important rule. With one corner of my phone jabbed into his chest, I "Rule three: no one else. I'm nobody's side piece."

"Neither am I." His eyes traveled over me suggestively. "If you're with me then you're mine and mine alone."

Ordinarily those words out of a guy's mouth sent me running for the hills, faster than I ran from Jake tonight, toward any hills within the vicinity. Out of his mouth, soaked in a possessiveness that raised the hairs on the back of my neck, they sounded... weird. Although, I barely heard them because my thoughts were focused on how I'd essentially demanded that he not sleep with anyone else either and he hadn't flinched at the idea.

"Rule four: no fucking at my place." While the shoebox-sized room and my lofted bed screamed a positional challenge, my reasons for this rule were two-fold. One, I'd already freaked out Li by myself, so Jake's bare ass while he railed into me was a guaranteed 'not a chance.' I also made a mental note that, if I hadn't already, then I needed to assure Li I wouldn't have brought a guy into the room, but reason number two...

Jake's ego will be insufferable if he sees all those damn posters.

A glint of silver flashed in front of my eyes as Jake furnished two keys on a ring, both of which looked small nestled in his large palm. "Only fair you get these then." His other hand's index finger pointed at the more rounded key, "House," then the jagged one, "Bedroom."

While a heated pulse throbbed between my legs at Jake's bold move, the remembrance of Li brought up a welt of guilt that lodged itself into a lump in my throat.

Ellie.

"And we have to tell Ellie." I lifted my pointed index finger accusingly at the now smug expression I wanted to punch off his face and slipped my index finger around his key ring. "But not before she's here for game five."

"Why?" His eyes widened slightly. "I think she'd be happy -"

"No, dick for brains." I rolled my eyes. "We have to be careful how we tell her, because she'll think we were serious."

"I am serious." Jake stepped towards me and pushed my finger into a flat palm on his chest.

My breath hitched as he raided my personal space again, with the same stiff erection as earlier, and the increased pulses of his heartbeat throbbed against my hand. I was tall for a girl at 5ft10 but his large frame towered over me. I inadvertently breathed in his strong aftershave scent and swore it infiltrated my common sense.

Even I couldn't deny that up close and in person, Jake exuded raw, powerful masculinity.

Which, for the record, is his only redeemable quality at this moment.

He leaned forwards until his face was less than an inch from mine, and his index finger traced one finger down my jaw line and stopped on my chin. A surprisingly gentle touch tingled my skin as he tipped my chin up until my gaze met his. My mouth dried at the intense, dark look that burned in his eyes and contracted how gently he touched my face. His voice held absolutely no uncertainty when he finally spoke.

"I want to fuck every inch of you."

His words, and the intensity he wrapped around each one, sent a flush of heated, pulsing anticipation straight between the apex of my thighs. I fought the urge to squeeze them together against it since he'd for sure notice and fell back onto the only sarcasm I had left in my brain.

"Clean report card first," I reminded him as I lifted my chin off his finger. "And I have no doubt you're serious about the sex. But Ellie can't know about this... arrangement yet. She'd think we're dating. She'd ship us so hard, she'd sink worse than the Titanic when it falls apart."

"When it falls apart?" His dark eyebrows raised. "You have no faith in us."

"There isn't an us," I retorted. "Which brings me to rule five: no relationship shit."

"I can't be that much of a dick. One date per week." If Jake hadn't pinned me flat against my car, then I would've fallen over at that ridiculous fuckery. Like an extra insult to injury, he quickly added, "For the sake of appearances."

Appearances!? What the fuck appearances does he care about?

Ha, guess we'll discuss that on a date. No Harper, we won't.

The hardened expression on his face and way he stared straight into my eyes showed the fucker wasn't kidding. I hated dates, which were pointless because of the guaranteed sex that apparently had become sex with strings within one negotiation.

Jake knew my opinion, along with how I was much more of a 'let's watch a movie but we both know we're just having sex tonight' kind of girl. The fact he exploited it against me...

Fucker will pay for that later.

I mentally kicked my own ass, but grumbled in concession, "Once a month."

"Every other week," was his response.

Where the hell is this coming from?

"And no stay-in movies or parties," he added with a smug grin. "Those don't count, we go out."

"What are you playing at here, Jake?" With a low grunt, I slammed my hands hard into his chest and narrowed my eyes until his smug expression blurred.

Flickers of annoyance rose in my stomach at how he barely budged for some much-needed breathing space between us. But as if he knew the physical effect he had on me, Jake kept me pinned in place, his still-there erection tight against the seam right between my outer folds.

"Consider it my..." Jake paused as his eyes examined mine. "...Appreciation. We can work towards the friend side. I know you, this can't be just completely detached fucking."

"Why not!?" I fumed since his words flipped on an internal pilot light of anger in me. "Now you're making me sound like an unpaid prostitute."

"Of course not." His mouth tightened into a firm line. "We have to spend some time together outside of bed. Speaking of, you have to attend every USC home game."

He didn't say which side I have to sit on, so here's to cheering for the visitor team. All of them.

I didn't love football but knew the game well and didn't have a problem sitting through them.

Even if making out under the bleachers is more fun.

"On USC's side," he added with a smirk as if he'd read my mind. "I'll get you the same tickets so I can see you. Maybe some of those fans will rub off on you. I'm sure -"

"Jake..." He drew a sharp inbreath of air as I lowered my hand, cupped his erection in my palm, and squeezed gently. "This will be the only rubbing off, I assure you."

"Harper." His eyes turned one shade darker and his expression hardened into something more primal as his hand grabbed my elbow. He wanted to take me right now but knew he couldn't and his frustration was obvious. My ego, the only part of my brain that obviously functioned at this moment, mentally high-fived myself at the power game struggle Jake warred with himself.

With a low groan, Jake lifted my hand off his crotch, but his voice was noticeably strained as he said, "Don't distract me. One date every other week and you attend every home game."

"Fine," I grumbled. "But I'm not your girlfriend."

"Only by title," he shot back firmly. "For appearances, I get that you have no faith in us."

My brain short-circuited at his lunacy.

What the... Did he just - huh!?

"Oh, fuck no! Get it through your caveman thick skull, Harrison. There. Is. No. Us." I reminded him while my index finger poked each word into his stupidly hard chest. "All we are is a horrendously overdone cliché plot line at best. Toxic, sex-only relationship with best friend's brother, where's the creativity there? Why don't you just go get some tribal tattoos and buy a motorcycle?"

"I've heard motorcycles are good at turning women on. Maybe I should get one, put a few more vibrations between your legs. You look..." He paused, smirked, and ran his eyes over me. "Frustrated."

"If I want vibrations between my legs then I'll use my vibrator," I spat out in a dry, bored voice and rolled my eyes.

"Oh, we're going to do that too." Somehow his confidence level made me second-guess what I'd gotten myself into here. "Besides, we both know the only reason you're agreeing is because your toys aren't enough."

"Ugh." I sighed and, since I still couldn't move, closed my eyes for a few breaths. "Any other stupid rules? Do I need to get a Brazilian every week? Wear pink thongs the entire time? First born child? Left ovary?"

"No." The corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

"Right..." I ticked off on one hand's fingers. "So clean bills of health, no baby Jake's brought into the world which honestly is a win for everyone, exclusivity, no telling Ellie until we see her in person if we last that long, and whatever the fuck you're obsessed about for appearances... but no fucking social media shit."

"Sounds about right."

I couldn't believe how casual he was about this, but rolled my eyes and stuck my hand out in a shake position "Fine."

Jake's head shook while his eyes stayed fixated on mine. "I think we should seal the deal with a kiss. Might as well start, since there's going to be a lot of that too."

My nose cringed with tension at how ridiculous cheesy his words sounded. When one of his hands cupped behind my neck with a strong enough grip that my lips parted, I looked intently into his eyes and tried to ignore the beat my heart skipped as I searched for any sign that he played me.

I almost felt sorry for Jake at the genuine interest that grew in his eyes the longer I studied them. The warmth in his gaze put a pit of guilt and remorse into my stomach and I swallowed hard.

Am I really going to do this?

Seventeen-year-old Harper echoed past reminders into my active memory and fourteen-year-old Harper cried into her pillow, but any emotions that festered inside me were snuffed out cold when Jake's lips closed the gap between us and smashed hard against mine.

While his fingers clenched tightly around the back of my neck in a near choke-hold position that spiked my heart rate higher than I comfortably admitted, his other hand lowered to the side of my hips and his long fingers curved around to my ass. My traitorous body lit up from the warm contact as his lips moved against mine with such force that my breath stalled in my lungs. With one sharp tug on the back of my neck, my lips parted and his tongue plunged in between the seam.

Our kiss was anything but romantic but the forceful way his tongue raked over mine, the way his body wrapped over mine, and the way his mouth crushed mine, Jake reminded me of another obvious fact.

He always was an amazing kisser.

"Fuck appearances though," I murmured as we pulled apart. "I'm not your girlfriend."

"Not yet." He leaned over and brushed another kiss, this one gentle and soft, against my lips. I bolted back at the gentle contact and dropped my hands to my sides. As if he finally understood I'd had enough of his torment, he stepped back and released the pressure on my body.

"Fucking first, promise." His dark eyes assured me just as much as his words. "But I will take you on dates."

"We might have to open that up for debate," I grumbled and opened my driver's side door. Before this night got any further fucked up, like I suggested we really sealed the deal, Jake jabbed me with one last low blow.

"Rules are rules, firecracker."

At the reminder of how I'd probably just broken every damn rule I'd set up for the last three years, I sat down in my car, slammed the door behind me, and peeled off with my right foot flat on the accelerator. Jake's smug grin, his giant frame, and muscular arms crossed over his shoulders grew smaller and eventually disappeared as I drove back to UCLA.

For most of the drive back, my heart pounded in my ears, my chest heaved with ragged breaths, and I nearly broke the steering wheel with how hard I gripped it. Salvaging whatever shred of dignity I had left seemed a lot harder than I wanted to admit.

The fuck did I just get myself into?

Again.