Keeping Hot Mr. Sterling.

We Need To Look Like We Are F*cking.

Dom stared at her for a long moment, his dark eyes unreadable, and Eve forced herself to stand still under that intense scrutiny. She'd just propositioned a complete stranger with the most insane offer of his life, and if he laughed in her face or told her to f**k off, she'd have to salvage what was left of her dignity and find someone else.

But he didn't laugh.

He glanced at her phone screen, at the balance that showed she absolutely could afford to pay him twenty thousand dollars a month then back at her face.

"You want to hire me," he said slowly, like he was testing the words. "For twenty thousand a month. To stand next to you and... what exactly?"

"Protect me. Be visible. Make people think twice about f*****g with me." Eve pocketed her phone, refusing to show any uncertainty even though her heart was trying to beat out of her chest. "I have a family situation. People who think they can push me around, take what's mine. I need someone who makes them reconsider that assumption."

"And the other part?" His voice dropped lower. "The part about f*****g you when you say so?"

Heat flooded through her at the bluntness of it, but Eve held his gaze. "That's part of the deal. When I need you, you're available. However, I need you."

A younger worker, sandy-haired, early twenties appeared at Dom's shoulder, clearly trying to eavesdrop. "Hey boss, we need you to—"

"Jake." Dom didn't look away from Eve. "Take an hour for lunch. Actually, take two hours."

"But we just—"

"Two hours, Jake. Go."

The authority in his voice was unmistakable. Jake's eyes went wide, and he practically scrambled away, leaving them alone in the middle of the construction site while other workers pretended not to stare.

Dom took a step closer, and suddenly Eve was very aware of how much bigger he was with his broad shoulders blocking out the sun, the heat radiating off his body, the way she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact.

"Let me get this straight," he said. "You're offering me twenty thousand dollars a month to be your... what? Bodyguard? Boyfriend? Kept man?"

"All of the above." Eve lifted her chin. "I need someone who looks like they belong next to me. I know what I'm asking sounds insane, but I don't have time for subtlety. I need protection, I need it now, and I'm willing to pay for it."

"Why me?"

"Because you're big, you're intimidating, and you have presence." She gestured at him. "You walk into a room and people notice. They move out of your way. That's what I need."

"You think I need the money that badly." It wasn't a question.

Eve looked at his worn jeans, the duct tape holding his work boots together, the dirt under his fingernails. "I think you're working construction in ninety-degree heat for probably fifteen, maybe twenty an hour. I'm offering you a hell of a lot more for a hell of a lot less work."

Something flickered across his face amusement, maybe, or something darker. "And what makes you think I'm good at the other part? The f*****g part?"

"Call it intuition." Eve's voice came out steadier than she felt. "But honestly, I don't care if you're good at it or not. That's not the priority. The priority is making sure my family sees that I have someone who won't let them push me around."

"Your family." Dom crossed his arms, and the movement made his biceps flex in ways that were absolutely distracting. "What did they do to you?"

Eve's jaw tightened. "That's none of your business."

"If I'm taking your money to protect you, it kind of is my business."

"They want what's mine. My café, my money, my life. They think because they raised me, they own me." The words came out harder than she intended. "And they're not going to stop asking nicely. So I need to stop being nice back."

Dom studied her for another long moment, and Eve got the distinct impression he was seeing a lot more than she wanted him to. Then he pulled out his phone and held it out to her.

"What's your number?"

Eve's heart jumped. "You're saying yes?"

"I'm saying I want more details before I commit to anything. Give me your number. We'll talk."

"I don't need to talk. I need an answer." Eve pulled out her own phone, opening her banking app. "I'm transferring the first payment right now. Twenty thousand dollars. Once you accept it, we have a deal."

"You don't even know my full name."

"I know enough. You're Dom. You work construction. You need money." She started typing in the transfer amount. "What's your number?"

He rattled it off, still watching her with that unreadable expression, and Eve sent the money before she could second-guess herself. Twenty thousand dollars to a man she'd watched through a window for three weeks but never actually spoken to until five minutes ago.

This was either brilliant or completely insane.

Possibly both.

Dom's phone buzzed. He looked at the screen, and for the first time since she'd approached him, his mask slipped completely. His eyes went wide, his mouth opening slightly in genuine shock.

"You actually—" He looked up at her. "You just sent me twenty thousand dollars."

"I told you I would. I don't make offers I can't back up." Eve crossed her arms. "So? Do we have a deal or not?"

Dom stared at his phone for another second, then back at her, and something in his expression shifted. The shock faded, replaced by something darker and infinitely more interesting—heat, curiosity, and a kind of amused fascination that made her stomach flip.

He accepted the payment with a few taps, then pocketed his phone. "We have a deal."

Relief flooded through Eve so intensely she almost staggered. "Good. I'll book you a hotel room for tonight—somewhere decent. You can quit this job tomorrow and be available when I need you."

"A hotel room." His mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "You really are serious about this."

"Completely serious. I don't play games." Eve pulled out her phone again, already searching for hotels. "I'll text you the details. Meet me there tonight. Seven PM. We'll go over the specifics of the arrangement."

"What specifics?"

"How this is going to work. What I expect from you. What you can expect from me." She found a hotel—The Harborview, nice but not ostentatious—and started a booking. "And we'll need to practice."

"Practice what?"

Eve looked up from her phone, meeting his eyes directly. "Being convincing. My family can't know this is a business arrangement. They need to think we're together. Really together."

"So we need to look like we're fucking."

The bluntness of it sent heat pooling low in her stomach, but Eve refused to look away. "Exactly. Which means we need to be comfortable touching each other. Standing close. Looking like we can't keep our hands off each other."

"And if we can't keep our hands off each other?" Dom took another step closer, and suddenly the space between them felt charged with electricity. "If the practice turns into something real?"

"Then I guess we'll both get what we want." Eve's voice came out slightly breathless despite her best efforts. "I told you—f**k me when I say so. If that happens during 'practice,' then that's just part of the deal."

Dom's eyes darkened, his gaze dropping to her mouth for just a second before returning to her eyes. "What hotel?"

"The Harborview. I'll text you the room number tonight." Eve forced herself to take a step back before she did something stupid like kiss him right there in the middle of the construction site. "Tonight. Seven PM. Don't be late."

"Yes, ma'am."