I awoke to the sound of voices downstairs. At first, I tried to ignore the noise and go back to sleep, but I couldn't. The fan was on in the corner of the room, but its' white noise wasn't enough to drown out the chatter. The blinds were open and sunlight was flooding the room. I pulled the covers over my head, but the material was too thin to offer any escape. After tossing and turning and several blinks, I finally opened my eyes all the way and surveyed my surroundings.

I was disappointed to find the other side of the bed empty. A mess of wrinkled sheets laid where Jesse had been sleeping. The corners of the fitted sheet had been pulled off of the mattress in the intensity of our fucking and the bed was an absolute disaster. The duvet and two pillows had been tossed to the floor alongside the trail of our clothing.

I was still naked from the previous night's steamy activities, wrapped up like a burrito in Jesse's smooth satin sheets. The bed was so warm and comfy, I had to force myself to get up. It was Saturday, so I didn't have to worry about work, and I would've loved to have stayed in bed with Jesse all day, but I was going to have to head back home at some point. I remembered that the girls and I were supposed to get together later in the day.

I slid out of bed and shivered when my feet touched the cold wood. Jesse's button-up was lying nearby on the floor and I quickly slipped it on on my way to the bathroom.

Once I reached the hallway, the mouthwatering aroma of coffee and breakfast cooking hit me and my stomach started to grumble. While I freshened up, I could hear Jesse in the midst of a conversation with a woman on speaker phone. They sounded frustrated with one another and I couldn't help eavesdropping out of curiosity.

"I'm giving you a chance just this once, Mr. Reese. There are many highly recommended and higher qualified options we could've chosen," the woman said sternly. "You know what a huge opportunity this is for your father's business. Do not screw it up."

Jesse raked his fingers through his hair, leaning against the island where his phone sat. I walked into the kitchen as he was concluding the call.

"You have my word, Janet," he assured her. "Mr. Jeffries will be very pleased with the turnout. And please don't hesitate to call my personal cell, should you have any more concerns."

"Don't think I won't," Janet said.

Her words were followed by three low beeps signaling she'd hung up.

"Everything alright?" I asked, leaning in the doorway.

Jesse groaned and turned his attention back to the skillet he was making an omelet in. "I think – I hope – so. We're catering a big, fancy event next week and the guy in charge of making sure everything's perfect isn't so sure I'm capable of doing a perfect job, apparently."

I shook my head. "That's ridiculous. You did an amazing job catering Erica's wedding!"

"A wedding is completely different from a corporate event with the press, Kate." He turned to me and sighed deeply. He looked exhausted with dark circles under his eyes. "If this doesn't go one-hundred-percent smoothly, it could mean a huge loss of business for us. This is a huge account for us and my dad's trusting me to do a good job."

It sounded to me like Jesse was overthinking the situation and putting unnecessary stress on himself. I was sure he could pull off catering some extravagant event. While yes, he was right that catering a wedding and catering a corporate event were vastly different, I couldn't help taking into account how well he'd handled providing dinner to a few hundred of Erica's guests. If he could do that, I doubted he'd have any trouble feeding a thousand corporate executives and media gurus.

"I think you're worrying too much," I told him.

I made my way over to where he stood and snaked my arms around his bare torso, resting my cheek against his back and hugging him. He placed a hand over my clasped ones while he flipped the omelet one last time.

"Maybe I am," he said, sounding a little distracted. "But it's hard not to worry when I have Evan Jeffries and his snotty secretary doubting me twenty-four-seven. They've called me twice already, and it's not even ten o'clock yet, and it's a Saturday, for fuck's sake! I get that they want everything to go off without a hitch, but I would feel much more confident about catering their event if they'd stop dragging me through the mud. You know?"

I pressed a few soft kisses to his back and his tense muscles started to relax.

"I have... complete confidence... in your abilities," I said between kisses to his shoulder blades.

Jesse hummed in satisfaction and shoveled the omelet onto a plate.

"If you're trying to distract me, you're doing a good job," he mumbled, turning off the burner.

I hooked my thumbs in his belt loops and gave a soft, suggestive tug.

"Maybe I am," I teased and pressed my breasts up against his back. "What are you going to do about it, Mr. Reese?"

He cursed under his breath and before I knew it, he had me turned around with my back to his chest and his lips were tracing down my neck while he skillfully popped open the buttons of my – his – shirt.

I wasn't hungry anymore. The rumbling in my stomach had been replaced with zaps of electricity every time his tongue grazed my skin. I pressed my bare ass against the zipper of his jeans and his breath caught when I felt his hard length straining against the other side of the denim.

He undid the final button and my breasts sprung free. Jesse's hands slid under the shirt that now hung loosely on my shoulders and snaked their way up my body, making me shiver against him. The cool air against my skin inspired goosebumps and turned my nipples to hard little pebbles by the time Jesse cupped my breasts and rolled my nipples between his thumbs and fingertips.

I leaned back and rested my weight against his chest while he continued his scandalous actions. The combination of his experienced hands and talented mouth on my body elicited an array of pleasured sounds from my lips. Foreplay with Jesse brought with it a better morning high than any espresso-laced coffee ever could.

He kept one hand on my breast while the other slowly slid down toward the apex of my thighs. I gasped when his teeth sunk into my shoulder just a little too harshly.

"Jesse, don't stop!"

He breathed a laugh and kissed back up my neck to my ear, whispering coquettishly. "My goodness, Miss Crawford... You're not wearing any panties."

Then I felt his fingers slip inside me, teasing and prodding. The feeling sent a heat wave over my entire body and I nearly went limp in his arms.

"J-Jesse!"

I closed my eyes in pleasure while his fingers continued their dance between my legs and his thumb brushed back and forth over my clit. He had me sopping wet in seconds.

"Jesse, please!" I moaned with an uncontrollable shudder.

"Please what?" He smirked against my skin and kissed my neck again. "What do you need, Kate? Do you need me inside you? Is that what you want, baby?"

I couldn't respond. I could only nod, breathless from his caress.

His tongue darted out for just a second as he kissed my jaw. My skin felt ablaze everywhere he touched me. I was floating in ecstasy from his touch. I couldn't get enough. I didn't want him to ever stop.

I whimpered when he retracted his hand from my pussy. I suddenly felt very empty. I opened my mouth to beg him to do something when he pushed me against the island and bent me over the counter. Jesse gave me a swift smack to the ass and I gripped the edge of the granite for support. Then he grabbed my hips and positioned himself. I was starting to pant in anticipation. I needed him inside me right that second!

"Fuck," Jesse groaned, easily thrusting his entire length into me in one move.

He didn't waste any time waiting for me to adjust to his size. He twisted a handful of my hair around his wrist, tugging just hard enough to show off his possessive side, and started slamming himself into me. We were both gasping and shouting an entire vocabulary of curse words. I was telling him to fuck me faster. He was telling me how good I felt around his cock. We were moaning each other's names and I was doing my best to meet his thrusts. He tried to make it last as long as he could, but the deadly combination of pleasure and need was far too great. We were both tumbling over the cliff in a matter of minutes, screaming out our orgasms to each other.

When it was all said and done and our heart rates finally slowed down enough to allow us to catch our breaths, we were still standing there in the kitchen, embracing in a sweaty mess, and I could feel the evidence of our passion dripping down my inner thighs.

"Fuck..." Jesse groaned again, holding me against his chest. "That was..."

"Really fucking amazing," I finished for him, still pretty breathless.

I wasn't looking up at his face, but I knew he was smirking confidently.

"What do you say we have some breakfast and then take this show back upstairs?" he suggested deviously. "I don't know about you, but I definitely have not had enough yet."

He kissed my forehead and I smiled up at him. He still looked really tired, and I was debating dragging him back into bed and making him go back to sleep with me for a couple hours after another two or three rounds. I was starting to regret making plans with Selena and Kacey. Jesse was making it very hard not to give in and spend another night at his house.

"I agree," I said, tracing designs on his bicep with my pointer finger. "I need more of you, too."

He shook his head, his eyes sizzling with desire, and that sexy smirk still plastered across his face. "Mmm... no... I need more of us."