“No. Stripping my clothes off for a man who doesn’t respect me has never appealed. Some of the women love it, and others do it because they have to. I’m not in any desperate need to be noticed by men.” She opened the sterile wipes and started to work on his face. He released a wince as the wipe glided over his cut. “Sorry.”

He didn’t say anything as she finished dressing the cut on his eye and placing a plaster over it.

“Respect?” he asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“You need respect to fuck?”

She smiled. “To a point, yeah. I’ve got to know the man sees me as more than a whore or someone who’s paid to do a job. I don’t know. It makes sense in my head.”

“I get it. I know what you’re trying to say.”

“Good, at least that makes one of us.” She moved onto his other cuts. When she was finished, she pressed her palm to his bruised cheek. “I’ve got nothing for the bruise. I wouldn’t go out fighting for a couple of days. Your face needs to heal, and if you keep splitting it open, it’s not going to heal.” She grabbed the bowl and walked it into his kitchen.

“Were you a nurse or something?” he asked.

“Nope, I read a book on first aid. Believe me, when I saw the cost of insurance and medical bills, I figured a few hundred dollars in medical books would save me a hell of a lot more over the years.” She’d burned herself a few months back, and with the book she was able to treat her own burn, which was a mild one. The thought of dealing with medical bills made her feel sick. She made good money but not enough to go wasting it on crap.

She threw the water down the drain and started to wash the bowl. His hands went to her waist as she was standing at his sink. Amber tensed, floored by the flood of arousal working around her body.

Dropping the bowl into the sink, she heard it smash. She made to turn around, but Jasper wouldn’t let her. He held onto her waist tightly keeping her facing the sink.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” she said, looking at the smashed bowl in the sink. The glass was all in the sink.

“Don’t worry about the bowl. I’m not.”

She licked her suddenly dry lips. “What are you doing?” she asked.

The heat of him surrounded her back. She didn’t know what to make of this sudden change within him.

Her hair was moved aside, and she felt his lips against her neck, kissing her.

“Can’t you feel that?” he asked.

One of his hands moved to her stomach. The arousal intensified as his fingers moved downward to the start of her shorts. She was breathing hard, wondering what she should do.

He was a fighter, and she worked in a strip club.

Jasper kissed her neck, sucking on her pulse. She closed her eyes, biting into her lip to try to contain the moan.

“Let it out, Amber. Let me hear you moan.”

“This is wrong.”

“Why? You’re not with anyone, and neither am I. This is more than okay. It’s meant to be.”

She couldn’t argue. The way he brought her body to life, Amber couldn’t think of a single argument to put up. Keeping her eyes closed, she rested her head against his shoulder, letting herself go.