“Sweet Jesus, Brett. Fuck me. Now.”


She couldn’t have denied him even if she’d wanted to. Her body moved of its own volition, grinding against him in a frantic rhythm.

AJ lasted four strokes.

She lasted five.

The orgasm was unlike any she’d ever experienced. It tingled in her fingers and toes, rippled through her body, burned in her blood like jet fuel. It was too much. Too damn much. She collapsed on top of him, convulsing violently through the onslaught of ecstasy.

When she opened her eyes, AJ was grinning up at her. “Say it,” he ordered.

She struggled to catch her breath. “Say what?”

“That I was right. That the anticipation was worth it.”

As her lower body quivered from the aftershocks of her orgasm, she responded in a grudging tone. “It was worth it.”

“Good.” The grin never left his face. “Now untie me so we can do that again.”

…

When AJ entered his office several hours later, he found both his partners waiting there for him. Sprawled in the visitors’ chairs by his desk and fiddling on their respective phones, as if they’d been killing time until he showed up.

AJ looked from Reed to Gage, bewildered. “What’s up?”

Reed shot him a duh look. “Weekly meeting. Remember?”

Crap. He’d forgotten that they’d moved their meeting to Sunday because Gage had taken Friday off to have dinner with his girlfriend and her stepfather.

It also occurred to him that Friday was the night he’d met Brett. Wow. Had it only been two days ago? Christ, they’d had a ludicrous amount of sex in such a short time. It felt like he’d known her for months, years even.

His wrists still bore the damage from their latest round between the sheets—Brett’s knots had chafed the hell out of him. AJ hoped his friends wouldn’t pay too close attention to his hands. They’d probably be stunned if they knew what kind of kink he’d just participated in.

“Sorry, it slipped my mind,” he apologized. “You guys haven’t been waiting long, have you?”

“Naah, just ten minutes or so,” Gage answered.

Reed’s blue eyes twinkled as he pocketed his phone. “So what’s her name?”

AJ tensed as two identical smirks appeared on his friends’ faces, but he decided to play dumb. “What’s whose name?”

Gage snickered. “You’re really gonna deny it?”

“We know you had a visitor the other night,” Reed chimed in. “Jerry told us. Ergo, you’re busted.”

Damn. AJ should have known Jerry would blab. Sin’s employees gossiped more than a group of teenage girls.

“A friend stopped by to say hello. It was no big deal.”

“A friend,” Reed echoed. “Uh-huh. Suuuuure.”

The two men exchanged knowing looks. “He’s lying to us,” Gage said thoughtfully. “Why do you think that is?”

Reed pursed his lips. “Maybe she’s got crazy scars on her face or something?”

“Naah, you know he’s not obsessed with looks. Maybe he’s in love with her?” Gage suggested.

“Fuck, of course.” Reed nodded fervently. “But it’s still so new and shiny he doesn’t want to share yet. Wants to bask in the glow in private for a while longer. Makes sense.”

“Perfect sense,” Gage agreed.

AJ flopped down in his chair. “I’m not in love with anyone, and stop talking about me like I’m not in the room.” He picked up the inventory sheets on the desktop. “Are we doing this or what?”

To his relief, his friends quit needling him and shuffled their own papers.

He wasn’t sure why he’d deflected their questions, but he didn’t feel entirely comfortable telling them about Brett. It didn’t help that Reed and Gage happened to be dating women who liked to poke their noses into AJ’s life. Darcy’s nosiness made sense—they’d dated, after all, and AJ knew she desperately wanted him to find the kind of happiness she’d found with Reed. But Gage’s girlfriend Skyler was just as dogged in her matchmaking efforts. She’d already tried setting him up with both her roommates, and after he’d shot her down, she’d proceeded to make a list of everyone she’d gone to college with in an attempt to push a love connection on him.

Well, he didn’t need help finding dates, and he certainly didn’t need Darcy and Skyler latching on to Brett the way they’d latched on to each other. If he introduced them to her, they’d welcome her into the girlfriend fold in a heartbeat. And then, knowing Darcy and Skyler, they’d remain friends with her after she and AJ parted ways, and he’d be forced to see Brett all the time.

Though forced was probably the wrong word. Truth was, he was surprised by how much fun he had with the woman. She was strong and outspoken, she made him laugh, she challenged him…