"Babe, have you seen my blue shirt?" Liam called and Steffy shook her head to drown out the thoughts of her previous night's activities.

"In the closet with your gray suit," Steffy answered before going back to her daydreaming.

She closed her eyes for a second as kisses littered her cheeks. "You look great. Is that a new way you're wearing you hair?"

Steffy ran her hands through her wavy tresses and smiled. It was the first time he'd complimented her in a while. It was actually the first time they were home awake at the same time in weeks.

"I just woke up like this," Steffy snickered.

"Well, I like it."

He kissed her again and she smiled against his soft pink lips. Intimacy had been missing from them, but maybe they were getting it back. Steffy wrapped her arms around his neck, and he laid her back on their bed.

Sweet kisses over took her, and she reveled in his attention.

She had her eyes closed until he pulled back.

"Okay, I have to go."

Steffy sat up suddenly, and exhaled loudly. "What?"

"You know I have to run and make some stops before my morning meeting. Those fabric distributers aren't going to talk themselves down. Being your VP isn't an easy job, Stef."

"My dad usually meets with the distributors. Why are you going? Especially today."

"Your dad has a fire at home that you sparked. He needed me to fill in. He's your president, but he also has a home life too. That blew up when you fired his wife and daughter."

"Why does it sound like you're defending them? You heard what they did to my mother," Steffy raged. "And Hope is not his daughter."

"I'm not defending them, sweetheart. I'm just saying that you have to understand the position you put your father in at home. He might not be as available as he used to be."

"Well, then he can be replaced." Steffy crossed her arms. "If he's not objective enough to do his job, I will find someone that can."

"Stef, you know I'm more than willing to step in."

"No," she shook her head. "I'll find his replacement elsewhere. You worry about your functions and I'll handle that. I'll take this meeting today."

Steffy moved to get dressed, and Liam stopped her. "I can handle distributors. Don't worry about it. You took today off, I'm assuming to relax. Do that. Don't wait up tonight either, I'm sure I'll be running late temporarily filling my duties and your dad's until you bring in a stranger to take over."

"You're angry," Steffy quickly assessed.

"I've only been in the position going on four years and know his functions better than any stranger," Liam countered.

"Yes, but my dad does a lot of things you wouldn't think to do, besides, who says I'm bringing in a stranger? This person knows our family business as well as me or dad."

"You don't mean—Steffy, you're going to promote your best friend over me?"

"Amber has a background in design as well as her MBA, and she's moving back."

"Amber Moore? She almost broke us up the last time she was here, Steffy. You remember what she did?"

"Yeah, she called you out over the leggy blonde she saw you having drinks with."

"A potential client, Steffy. That's all."

"Amber said it looked like more."

"Giselle introduced herself to you, Steffy. She went out of her wake to make sure you knew that you're the only woman for me."

"So you're not seeing anyone right now?" Steffy finally asked the question that had plagued her for months.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm seeing someone. You! I love you, I want to marry you."

"What?" This was the first time Steffy heard the word marriage come from him in regards to their relationship.

"Yes, Stef, I was going to ask you before your friend's last visit, but she almost wrecked us. You started doubting me, and if I would have asked then it would have looked like I was trying to fix us by proposing. I was sure you didn't want it that way."

Steffy was in shock. She wasn't expecting this. Not this morning. "Liam, we aren't ready for marriage. We hardly share meals. You haven't touched me in over a month."

"Stef, it's been a busy time, you know that, and you know that I love you."

"Do I?"

"You know what? You do this every time she's about to come here, and now that your mother is here, you might as well pack my bags and put them on the curb. I'm sick of being the only one invested in this. I love you, I've always loved you more than you loved me, and I was okay with it until now. You're going to make a choice. It's going to be only us in this relationship or we're done."

"It's never only us, that's the point," Steffy uttered, and Liam rolled his eyes at her.

"This is done. I'm not going to do this now." That was all he said as he buttoned his cufflinks and left the room. Was this it? Were they over?

Steffy wanted to sit and analyze the entire conversation, but the door slamming downstairs made her jump. She had tears streaming down her cheeks for a few minutes until she heard her name called from downstairs.

Steffy pulled her robe closed and descended to find Bill standing in her living room. She had completely forgotten about this morning until he smiled at her.

"Our swim, breakfast," she acknowledged. "Give me—give me a few minutes, she ran her hands through her tousled hair. I won't be long."

Bill looked at her and his smile fell before grabbing her. "No, wait. What happened?"

"I just had a rough—" She couldn't hold it together, she broke down in his arms. "I think we just broke up, and my dad is mad at me, everything is going to hell. This is a horrible way to celebrate your twenty-seventh birthday."

"He did this on your birthday? He's a bastard, Steffy."

"In his defense, I don't even think he remembered. He just broke things off on what he presumed was a normal day."

"Come with me." Bill pulled her hand.

"I'm not dressed," she threw out.

"That's fine. Don't worry about clothes." Where that should have sounded sleazy to Steffy, she just nodded her head and followed. The short walk to Bill's house was eventful, they saw a few neighbors that stared at her like she was crazy, and Bill just wrapped his arms around her hardly clad body.

"They're going to talk about this," Steffy sniffled as Bill open his door for her.

"Who gives a damn what they say? Mrs. Peterson has UPS deliveries three times a week with no packages while her husband is at work. You tell me what that means."

"She's screwing the driver," they both laughed.

Steffy hadn't been inside Bill's house before, but it was gorgeous. Champagne colored walls and silver and gold decor throughout the front. You would've thought a woman put these touches on. He said he was single but she wouldn't be surprised if he had "women" on the side. Maybe it's what he had planned for her.

"My sister," Bill volunteered as if reading her mind.

"What?"

"My sister Karen came down from New York and decorated. She's always going on about me and Justin needing a real home and not some bachelor pad. She set up my New York penthouse too."

Steffy sighed. She wasn't sure why she did, but she was relieved. Maybe she didn't like the idea of a woman other than family being there for some reason.

"It's beautiful."

"It works," Bill shrugged. "But that's not why I stopped you in here first." He grabbed her shoulders and steered her into his kitchen. "Happy birthday, gorgeous."

He had a cake with candles burning that had her name on it. He'd obviously had this planned from the start. It was incredibly sweet.

"Bill, I don't know what to say."

"Say nothing and blow your candles out while you make a wish."

She blew the candles out, and he kissed the side of her head.

"How did you know?"

"You might have mentioned being a Virgo the night we met, and I took it upon myself to know the exact day. I research all my business contacts."

"Business contacts, right." She nodded. "Well, thanks for this. I would totally be down for a swim if I had brought my suit." Steffy waved her arms out and Bill's eyes roamed her body. Suddenly she realized how little she actually had on and clutched her robe. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, and don't be afraid." He kissed the side of her head and tugged at the drawstring of his shorts as he clutched her hand, pulling her through his huge house."

"Bill—"

He didn't stop at her protests. He just dropped his shorts and her mouth fell open. In all his naked glory, he smiled at her before jumping into the pool.

"Oh, perfect."

"Aren't you cold?" Steffy tried to ignore his naked state and focus on the crystal blue water.

"Join me and see."

Steffy shook her head and backed up a fraction. "I can't."

"Why not?" Bill swam closer to the edge.

Steffy was about to offer up an excuse when he hoisted himself out of the water and pulled at her robe. "It's not right. We can't be here naked together."

"My privacy gate will make sure none of those nosy neighbors see you, and it's just me and you, Steffy. I'm not going to do anything you don't want. Live a little, it's your birthday, beautiful."

Pushing the thin robe from her shoulders, Steffy took a deep breath and stepped out of her underwear and turned her back to him, unclipping her bra. "If I get pneumonia, I'm blaming you, Bill Spencer."

"You won't get anything you don't want."

His voice sounded far away, and when she opened her eyes, she realized he was back in the water waiting for her. "Here goes nothing."

Steffy jumped into the water and expected the cold to prick her skin, but was pleasantly surprised to feel warmth. The warmth of the water soothed her as well as the warmth of the arms that caught her on her way in.

"You tricked me," Steffy laughed as she slapped at Bill's shoulders.

"I never tricked you, I just didn't tell you what to expect. Life should sometimes be a surprised. Me and Justin had the pool heated for the fall so that we could use it year round." They were encased in a dome like structure with a moon roof.

"This place is gorgeous, Bill."

"I like to think so."

Steffy was working hard to ignore the fact that he had his hands pressed over her breasts and his very large member seemed to be poking a hole into her back. His firm chest felt good against her bare back.

"So are you going to keep holding me or are we going to put this pool to work? I fully intend to prove myself as the superior swimmer."

"You could try that," Bill released her. "But you should know I went to college on a partial swimming scholarship."

"More surprises, huh, Dollar Bill?"

"Dollar Bill?"

"It's what my mom says my grandmother called your father. I figured the name was probably passed down too."

"I like it," Bill grinned. "Now back to this swim off. Let's go."

Steffy took off, as did Bill, and when he met her at the end of the pool, he congratulated her for almost beating him. He won by a fingertip.

"I want a rematch, and I'm going to crush you," Steffy promised.

"I have no doubt you will try," Bill teased. They swam again, and he actually lost to her. She was overjoyed.

Steffy laughed so hard she almost cried and stopped for a second to look at Bill. This was amazing. He had taken her mind off of the morning she'd had and issues with her father. She owed him for this.

"Bill," Steffy called out, as he watched her move closer to him. "Thank you."

She hugged him, and he moved her head into the crook of his shoulder. "Anytime, sweetheart. Anytime."

He ran his fingers through her wet hair and down her jawline. Steffy felt it. The urge to kiss him was bubbling inside her, and instead of making him initiate it, she leaned in, giving him the softest of kisses.

He seemed to be caught off guard, she hadn't initiated a thing between them, but now, she had no reason to hold back. Wrapping her legs around him, she had a sharp intake of breath when his hands cupped her bare bottom.

Sucking her bottom lip into his mouth, Bill deepened the kiss and took her breath away. He kissed better than anyone she'd ever kissed. Her insides melted as he continued to dominate her mouth. His tongue flicked her bottom lip and she pulled back from the kiss. She had to, she almost had the crazy thought of letting him take her right there in the pool. She was less than thirty minutes single. She didn't want a rebound.

"We have to stop." Steffy pushed back. "We have to—"

"I'll do whatever you want." That made him even more sexy to her. The fact that he'd let her figure things out, made her throw caution to the wind.

Kissing him again, this time harder, she felt his hands creep back down and didn't flinch. She wrapped her arms around him, and he lifted her, gazing into her eyes the entire time. She'd missed the intensity of being with a man the actually wanted her. Her body was starved, luckily, he was more than willing to feed her.

His size was something she had to brace herself for. He was huge, but he didn't do what she expected. Taking her to the edge of the pool, he laid her back on the steps and pulled her legs over his shoulders.

Bill's tongue snaked out to taste her. The feeling was glorious. He sucked, licked, and prodded her body with his two long fingers and tongue. Her back writhed against the steps of his pool as he devoured her. She couldn't speak, her words were cut off. She couldn't breathe because she didn't want to move and mess this whole thing up. She didn't want to open her eyes from fear that it would all end.

"Steffy." She could hear the chants of her name and wondered why the hell he was calling it. She should be screaming his. She would be if she could find her voice.

Steffy bit her lip as Bill gripped her thighs tighter and sucked her clit harder. She felt her eyes rolling backward. Her orgasm was coming hard, and in the midst of her anguish and pleasure, she found it. Her screams floated through his dome and she found the strength to open her eyes. He was smiling at her as he helped her sit up. "Happy birthday, beautiful."

Bill swung her up over the edge and reached for her bra. "Your body is amazing, but I have to put it away before I lose my mind."

"What was that?" Steffy asked, still in amazement over the way he made her feel.

"Me moving too fast and making you go there with me."

"I didn't feel—"

"You're fresh from a breakup, and I don't want to add confusion to that. This was supposed to be a fun thing, not a sex thing."

"I had fun, Bill. I—I'm sorry I got you going."

"You didn't," he smiled. "I got you going. Come on."

He reached for her hand and helped her into her underwear. Her robe was tossed over her shoulders by him, and he held her hand as he led her back into the house.

"Are you working today?" He asked, breaking their bubble of silence after over a minute.

"No," Steffy told him, quickly.

"Spend the day with me?"

"You're not going either?"

"No. I figured they could do without me today. But would you like something dry to wear? I have some shirts and shorts upstairs."

"Sure." She sat down and watched him hit the stairs. She was there alone for a few seconds when she heard a throat clear

"Ms. Forrester, what a surprise." Bill's roommate, Justin.

"Hello, Justin," Steffy greeted, looking down at her attire. She felt her cheeks blush in embarrassment. "Can you point me to a restroom?"

"Use the one upstairs."

Taking the stairs carefully, Steffy reached the top and looked around. Justin wasn't specific about where to look, but she found it. The light was on, and as soon as she reached it, she looked further down the hall and saw Bill.

God, his body was amazing.

She had flashbacks of the pool.

The bathroom was forgotten.

Making her way into his room, Steffy took a deep breath and closed the door behind her. He seemed surprised to see her, he didn't have on anything but a fresh set of boxers, but she gripped the waistband.

"I was looking for something for you," Bill admitted.

Steffy looked around his room and exhaled. "Do you think we could just stay here? I—"

He didn't let her finish before his hand snaked out a golden wrapper and her back was against the door.

"Uhh," Steffy moaned as he joined their bodies. It was glorious. Her earlier worry about his size vanished as he moved her up and down the door.

His lips were an inch from hers, but they felt like a mile; she wanted him to kiss her. She needed his lips against hers while he rammed himself in and out of her. God, she was awful. She was never supposed to be this weak over a man, over sex, but she was melting inside and needed it.

She slapped her hand to the back of his neck and felt his lips ease over hers. It wasn't intense, it was kind of sweet, until she felt her legs being lifted into his arms. He had her body against the door and her legs were in mid-air when he plunged deeper inside. The pain was exquisite and her nails were digging into him.

She wasn't trying to break the skin, but the shock of his first few thrusts had her reeling. It hurt, but It felt like she was in a magnificent whirlwind; the pleasure was amazing, the pain was glorious. Her head was screaming, her body was jerking, her mouth... oh damn, it wasn't in her head. She was screaming. She was screaming so loud she couldn't even hear the rattling against the door.

She was listening to herself and couldn't believe this was her voice. She had never been this vocal and she couldn't control it. She wanted to shut herself up but couldn't. It was awful, she should have been embarrassed. She lowered her head and felt when his lips kissed down her face.

"Look at me, Steffy."

She did it without hesitation and saw the hunger in his eyes. She wasn't sure if this was how he always was, but she felt like they were burning holes through her. The connection was so strong, she felt like they were the only two people in the world. It was kind of intimidating.

He was holding her, looking into her eyes, pushing so hard she felt like she might break and she felt her legs slipping down. She thought she was falling for a second but didn't care. Just when she thought her feet might hit the floor, he pushed her legs over his. She didn't know what he was doing to her, but he had her in a sitting position against the door, with her legs draped over his. If it was possible, it felt better than it did before.

She didn't know where she regained her strength, but she was rolling her hips forward and talking more of him inside her. She had no idea how, but he pushed himself inside her all the way to the hilt, and her breath caught. When her eyes, slammed shut, he stopped and ran his hand over her face.

Just when she thought she was giving in and letting go, she was lifted away from the door and swung up into his arms. His lips crashed into hers and his arms squeezed her tighter as he continued his quick, hard thrusts. Every bit of her was shaking and her legs were wobbling as she wrapped them around his hips. He had his hands on her ass, spreading her cheeks so far she thought he might rip them apart, but she found herself pushing against him harder. She had to be a masochist, because her actions only fueled him further.

When it felt like it couldn't get any better, his hands circled her face. He was kissing her hard, sucking the air from her lungs, and all she could do was whisper his name into his mouth. Her tongue was vibrating against his and he was smiling so hard she just wanted to punch him. She felt like she had been through so many different emotions, and all he seemed to feel was pleasure.

He was loving this, having control over her body. Pushing her to new heights, making her scream his name, he had her clawing at his back. He had her wrapped around him and she was running her tongue over his soft lips.

When her orgasm exploded, she shuddered in his arms and went limp. He held her there a few more strokes and she felt him twitch and then explode. He shook inside her and carried her to his bed.

Steffy stared at the ceiling and let out a deep breath. She couldn't believe what she had just done. Liam's things were still in her house and she had already climbed into bed with another man. This had to be a new record for her.

"Oh, God, Bill. What did we just do?"

"I didn't mean for it to go this far today."

"But you wanted it?"

"You did too," Bill said as more of statement than a question.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Then don't think about it. We're adults and we were safe. Speaking of safe." Bill pointed at the condom he was still wearing. "Let me take care of this."

Snuggling into his sheets, Steffy tried to relax, and finally did until there was a knock at the door. Bill pulled it open on his way back, and his words, made panic swell within Steffy.

"Liam is downstairs, Bill. He wants to know if you've seen his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Bill looked back at Steffy, and her mind went blank.

"This is done. I'm not doing this now." He meant the argument, not the relationship.

"He has flowers," Justin said and Bill just looked at her and shook his head.

"Let me deal with it. She's not here. You haven't seen her."

"Got it," Justin disappeared.

"Bill—"

"Don't explain. Just stay here until I get rid of him."

He left and she felt her head spin. She'd made a huge mistake, and now she was a cheater. How could a day that could have been great go so wrong? And what was she going to do now? She cared for Liam, but this experience with Bill was more than she ever expected.