Delaney lay in bed the next morning, her head pounding, her legs aching, and her mind racing. It was 7:30 and the first meeting started at 8:00. She knew she had to get out of bed to at least get coffee before it began. All she could think about was JC. His body on top of hers, his hands in places she hadn’t been touched in what had felt like years, his tongue…she shivered. His tongue could do things that she was pretty sure had never been done to her before.

“A one-night stand. That’s all!” Delaney was talking to herself in the bathroom mirror as she put on her make-up. She knew how one-night stands worked. But she’d never had one that had been that good.

She managed to stay calm and collected as she made her way downstairs. She couldn’t let on to anything, especially not in front of Chris and Ashley. The last thing they knew was that she’d spent the evening alone in her room. Delaney had already gone through the story she’d tell them should they ask how her night had gone.

Downstairs was a mass of hungover convention guests making their way to the large conference hall. Chris and Ashley were waiting by the entrance of the ballroom when Delaney walked up to them.

“Hey,” she greeted them with as much energy as she could muster. Her head was just starting to feel normal again after the four Advil she’d downed with her coffee.

“Whoa. You look exhausted,” Chris noted as soon as he looked at Delaney.

“Yeah, um, I didn’t sleep well last night. You know, hotel beds.” Delaney didn’t make eye contact and quickly changed the subject. “Let’s find a seat before it fills up.”

“Are you okay?” Ashley followed Delaney as she scoured the ballroom for three empty seats.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” That was the truth. Not to mention, her legs were still killing her. She had to smirk at that. She hadn’t had sex like that in a long time, if ever.

“There’s three seats right there.” Chris was pointing to a row in the back of the ballroom.

Just as they were getting to their seats, Delaney looked up and spotted JC. He was standing in the back of the room near the row that they were headed toward. And he was staring intently at her.

Delaney locked eyes with him, then quickly looked away and followed Ashley and Chris to the row of seats.

JC had watched her enter the conference room and hadn’t looked away. He was waiting for her to catch his eye and when she did, he was hoping she would keep her gaze on him but she hadn’t. He knew he couldn’t be that surprised. She was doing her best to act as if nothing had happened the night before and he could tell.

He decided to go over and be cordial to Chris and Ashley. It was the only way he could get next to Delaney. Yes, it had been a one-night stand. Yes, he knew how they worked. He was a damn pro at one-night stands. But Delaney had been different. Granted, JC usually preferred younger women and it was evident Delaney had mastered the art of fucking, unlike the fresh-out-of-college coeds he had in his office.

“Hi,” he greeted them.

Chris glanced up at JC with a confused expression. “Um, hi, J-I mean, Mr. Chasez.”

“How do you guys like it so far? The hotel I mean.” JC leaned against the row in front of them and brushed his fingers past Delaney’s shoulder. He saw her shiver and smirked.

“It’s…good.” Ashley was trying to respond without sounding as confused as she felt. Just yesterday he’d barely acknowledged them and now here he was trying to make conversation. “Um, how are you liking it?”

JC put his hand on the chair in front of Delaney. “I’m really liking it. Delaney, could I see you for a quick second?”

Delaney could feel her face flushing and wished she could control it. “Oh, sure.” She casually stood up and followed JC out into the foyer, trying not to seem as nervous as she suddenly felt.

JC led Delaney to a small corridor and made it look as though they were having a casual conversation. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” His voice was soft and low, almost a whisper. “I couldn’t sleep because all I wanted was to do it all over again with you.”

Delaney’s entire body felt weak. He was already turning her on and all he was doing was talking to her.

He leaned in closer. “I need you, Delaney. I want to be inside of you right now.”

“JC…” Delaney’s voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “We have meetings all day today. You know that. How’s it gonna look if we both disappear?”

JC shook his head. “I don’t care. It’s the same shit we hear every year.” He moved even closer to her, put his lips against her ear, then whispered, “I just want to feel you around me again, baby. Do you want that?”

Delaney let a slight whimper escape her lips and tried to compose herself. “JC, we can’t…”

“But you want it too, don’t you?” He didn’t care that he’d backed her against the wall now. They were slightly hidden and everyone else was rushing around the corridor to get to the meeting. His lips were still at her ear and he nibbled at her earlobe, causing Delaney to shudder at his gesture. “You like that?” He chuckled and bit down harder. Delaney looked past his shoulder and saw the doors closing. Nobody knew where they were. They were hidden from view and suddenly she was very turned on.

“God, I want you so bad, JC!” She couldn’t help herself from whispering to him.

“I know, baby. I want you, too.” His hands were at her waistline and she could feel him pressed against her thigh. “Do you feel me? You get me so hard.”

Delaney groaned and pushed him away. “JC, I want this, I really do. But we can’t do it right here. We’ve got to get back in there.”

JC looked into her eyes. “You know it’s the same old shit. Live a little, Delaney.” He grabbed her hand, walking backwards as he spoke to her. “Text Ashley and tell her an emergency came up at The Chancellor and we had to fix it.”

Delaney hesitated but was still letting herself be pulled in the direction of the elevators. The lobby was empty now since most of the guests were convention attendees and were at the meeting.

Ashley’s phone lit up with a text from Delaney. She was thankful for the distraction, as the beginning of the general assembly meeting was quite boring.

Something came up at The Chancellor and JC and I needed to be on a conference call. Be back asap.

Ashley replied with a “thumbs-up” emoji, then put her phone away. She leaned into Chris’ shoulder and felt him sigh against her.

“You sure you don’t want to go hang out by the pool?” he asked her. “I’ll come meet you later if you want to.”

Ashley shook her head. “No. It’s fine. Maybe it’ll get interesting in a minute.”

Chris just shrugged. “Well, at least we don’t have to deal with whatever Chasez and Delaney had to deal with back at the hotel. I bet they’d much rather be in here.”

Delaney wondered if the tropical heat had gotten to her head and her hormones because she had never been this insatiably turned on before in her life. JC’s hands roamed her body and stopped and caressed her in all the right places. His tongue made circles around her navel and he looked up at her as he headed down between her legs.

“Are you wet, baby?” He blew on her center and Delaney groaned in pleasure. His thumb made motions around her clit and he grinned at her feeling her juices beginning to soak his fingers. “Yeah, you are. You’re soaked, mama. Did I do this to you? Did I get you this wet?”

Delaney liked the dirty talk. He knew how to do that, too. She couldn’t remember a time when dirty talk got her off like it did with JC. And it was only their second time in his bed.

“JC…” Delaney moaned and tugged at his hair. “Keep going. Please.”

“We’re gonna be up here for a long time, honey.” JC licked her slit slowly before he slid his tongue inside of her.

“Oh…shit…JC…mmm!” Delaney felt as though she was losing control but she liked it. She wanted to watch him do it to her but her eyes were closed and she was on the brink of coming. She started to convulse around his tongue and JC pulled away, crawled on top of her and slid into her warmth.

And it was only just beginning.

“I hope everything’s okay back at the hotel.” Chris stood up from his seat. The first breakout session was going to start soon and Delaney and JC weren’t back. “They’ve been gone for over an hour.”

“Has it just been an hour?” Ashley yawned and stood up next to him. “It feels like a whole day.” She looked around at the ballroom. “You’d think they’d put us in a room with windows. It’s so dark in here.”

“If they put us in a room with windows they know we’d all leave and go outside to the beach.” Chris reminded her and looked at his schedule. “I’m going to the session on Successful Food Management. It starts in five minutes.”

Ashley took the schedule and skimmed the events. “I’m going to the one called Lay Out By the Pool While Your Fiance is in Meetings All Day.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” Chris shook his head. “I’ll see you at lunch by the pool, then?”

Ashley nodded. “Let me know when Delaney gets back. I was gonna see if she wanted to grab a drink later on.”

Delaney lay next to JC in a complete daze. They’d just fucked a total of two times and both times Delaney had been scared they’d break the bed because of how hard they were pounding at it. They were breathing heavily and she looked over at JC to see him put his arm across his forehead, wiping beads of sweat away.

“JC,” Delaney finally spoke once she’d caught her breath. “What the hell are we doing?”

JC turned to face her. “What do you mean? You know what we’re doing.”

“No, I mean, this-“ she waved her hand between them. “This isn’t us at all. We’re acting like we’re out of control.”

“What’s wrong with being out of control?” He rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow. “We’re on vacation. You know, what happens in the Caribbean, stays in the Caribbean.”

Delaney had to chuckle at that. “You mean Vegas. What happens in Vegas.”

“Dammit, Delaney, why you gotta correct me? I was kidding.” JC rolled his eyes. “And I don’t see you complaining. You were begging me a minute ago to fuck you harder.”

Delaney turned and moved closer to him. “I know that. I just mean…what got into us? We hated each other less than 48 hours ago.”

JC reached over and moved a strand of her hair behind her ear, then cupped her face in his palm. “I don’t know. But I like it. I like it a lot.”

She said nothing, only let him pull her into his arms. They were quiet and the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of people and music outside by the pool.

“So is this just a weekend thing, then? Like we do this here and when we get back-“

JC cut her off. “Let’s not worry about what it is. Let’s just enjoy what we’re doing.” He kissed the top of her head. “Stay with me tonight. Please, Delaney.”

“Why are you so insistent on that?” she asked him.

JC shrugged. “I don’t know. I kind of like the idea of getting to wake up next to you.”

Delaney cringed at that and moved away. “No, JC. That sounds too…permanent.”

“Permanent?” JC leaned back on his hands. “How is that permanent?”

“Because couples wake up next to each other. Fuck buddies don’t. And we are most definitely fuck buddies.” Delaney rolled over and stood to her feet. She turned around and faced him as she started to get dressed. “This isn’t going to be a thing when we get back. You know that, right?”

JC watched her putting her clothes on and got out of bed. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm just as she was trying to button up her blouse. “Then I guess we’d better make the most of it while we’re here, huh?”

“JC-“

He silenced her by kissing her hard on the mouth and all Delaney could do was give into him once more. She was putty and she knew it. For the first time, Delaney had met her match.

By the time Delaney and JC finally emerged from his hotel room it was after lunch. She barely had enough time to go and reapply her makeup before heading downstairs to catch the next large group session.

“Geez, did the hotel burn down or something?” Chris asked when Delaney sat down next to him.

“Huh? Oh, no, it was, um, just something that required both of our attention.” She was proud of herself for thinking on her feet that quickly. She looked over and spotted JC who was sitting on the opposite side of the ballroom. They’d both agreed that in order not to look suspicious, they shouldn’t sit together or converse that much during the meetings.

“Where’s Ashley?” Delaney pulled out her phone and began to look at several emails that had come through while she’d been occupied with JC.

“Laying out by the pool. She was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink with her later.” Chris replied.

Delaney nodded. “Sure, I’ll…” She trailed off when a text from JC came through right then.

Just want you to know that all I can think about is how hot you are. I love going down on you. I love how wet you get.

“I’ll, um, I’ll text her right now.” Delaney was doing her best not to show how flushed she was but when she looked at Chris, he was too busy playing Fruit Ninja on his phone.

I love it when you go down on me. Today was amazing. Delaney quickly typed back and then clicked over to Ashley’s number. She sent a quick text telling her she’d meet her at the Tiki Bar at 4:00.

JC’s name popped up again with another text:

Yes it was. Did you know I have a Jacuzzi on the patio in my suite? We should try that out tonight.

Delaney turned slightly away from Chris as she typed back:

Yes we should. Did you want me to bring my suit?

JC replied with:

Yeah but only so I can peel it off of you.

Delaney knew they had to stop. It was distracting her to no end and after missing all of the morning sessions, she knew she had to pay attention to the speakers in the afternoon.

I’m turning my phone off. I’ll meet you after dinner.

She sat back in her chair and pretended to listen to what was being said, all the while glancing over at JC who was eyeing her from the other side of the room.

“Wow, I feel like I haven’t seen you at all today!” Ashley greeted Delaney later that afternoon. “Is everything okay at The Chancellor?”

Delaney wished she hadn’t made up that ridiculous lie now. Chris had asked her and now Ashley was asking her and there was only so much she could make up about whatever it was that was going on back at the hotel.

“Oh, yeah. No biggie. Just had to clear up some stuff with some of the staff.” She caught the bartender’s attention. “I’ll have a banana daiquiri.”

The bartender nodded and began to mix the drink while Delaney hopped up on a stool next to Ashley.

“You know I kind of wondered if Mr. Timberlake had gotten in touch and that was what it was all about.” Ashley played with the umbrella in her drink. “Have you heard back from him?”

Delaney could feel the blood draining from her face. She had completely forgotten that Mr. Timberlake was going to be at the hotel next week to talk with JC. And here she was doing the exact same thing that she’d told him JC was guilty of doing.

“Oh, um, no.” She was doing her best not to act nervous or out of sorts but Ashley was looking at her with a wary expression.

“Delaney, are you okay? Seriously, you’ve been off since this morning.” Ashley leaned in closer. “Did JC do something? Because you know if he is threatening to fire you and all that shit then you know he can’t.”

JC had done something alright. He had awakened some sort of sexual animal inside of Delaney that she’d had no idea even existed.

“I think I’m just tired and stressed from everything that’s gone on at the hotel.” Delaney once again was proud of her fast thinking skills. “I didn’t sleep very well last night. Maybe it’s just that I need a good night’s rest or something.”

Ashley nodded. “Yeah, true. I know when I’m not sleeping well that I feel off.”

Delaney wished she could confide in Ashley about what had really happened. But she knew that with all that had gone on just in previous weeks that Ashley would tell her she was crazy and that she should remember all that JC had done before this weekend.

“Hey.”

Delaney nearly jumped off the barstool she’d been sitting on upon hearing JC’s voice behind her. “You scared me.” It was the best excuse she could muster since Ashley had looked over at her when he’d approached the bar.

“Did I?” JC smirked. “Sorry. Just coming to get a drink. Hi, Ashley.”

“Hi,” Ashley replied and eyed him with suspicion.

“Did I interrupt girl time?” JC asked after he ordered a beer.

“No.” Delaney didn’t look at him. “We were just chatting was all.”

He took a seat next to her and Delaney twitched when she felt his foot sliding up her leg. She moved her leg away and turned to face Ashley.

“So, how are the wedding plans coming?” It was the best question Delaney could think of to distract her away from JC.

Ashley looked surprised at the question. “Oh, I guess fine. We haven’t really done too much. Probably will look at a few florists when we get back next week.”

“Just use the hotel florist.” JC joined in the conversation. “You get a discount, you know.”

Ashley narrowed her eyes at him. “No we don’t. We asked you that right after we got engaged and you told Chris he didn’t get any kind of discount because we weren’t that kind of hotel.”

JC cringed at Ashley’s response, suddenly remembering that particular conversation. He shook his head. “Well, things have…changed.” He nudged Delaney’s leg with his foot and this time she let him.

“Changed? Ok. Well I’ll let Chris know that, then.” Ashley still seemed unconvinced. JC couldn’t blame her. He knew he’d been acting weird toward them the last day and a half. The truth was, being with Delaney made him feel like a nicer person in general.

“See? Now you don’t have to worry about flowers!” Delaney knew she sounded too cheerful and the look Ashley shot her told her she was right.

“I’m gonna go find Chris.” Ashley took her drink and hopped off the barstool. “Sorry, Delaney, it’s just too weird with him here,” she whispered quietly to Delaney and all Delaney could do was nod.

“They hate me.” JC stated when Ashley had left.

“Can you blame them?” Delaney cocked her head at him. “You’ve been an ass to them for years now. You can’t just suddenly decide you want to be nice and think they’ll be okay with it.”

“You’re okay with it.” JC raised an eyebrow at her.

Delaney didn’t answer. She was okay with a lot of things JC was doing to her. Being nice was just a bonus.

“I’m going to change before dinner.” She took one more sip of the daiquiri before she got off the barstool. “See you later.”

“Yeah. After the meeting. My room.” JC winked at her. Delaney flashed a smile before she darted inside hoping that the interaction with Ashley hadn’t felt as off as it had seemed.