Chapter 20
She tastes like honey, and he can’t get enough.
Her nails dig into his shoulders as his mouth skims over her chest, licking at the outer curve of her breast before sucking a sweet pink nipple into his mouth. Beth moans, arching into him, and he slides his hands beneath her back to hold her close, her skin hot and damp with need. She moans his name in soft, needy pants, and he’s convinced he’s never heard anything as sweet. Her fingers tangle in his hair, pulling him away from her delicious breasts, only to pull him down once more to her mouth.
Adrian sinks into the kiss, his tongue claiming every corner of her mouth. She pulls his bottom lip between her teeth, nipping just hard enough to elicit a growl, before soothing teasingly with her tongue.
His hand travels down her stomach, relishing the feel of soft skin and even softer curves. He stops when he reaches between her legs and nudges her bare thighs apart. They both groan as he finds her warm and wet pussy. His fingers stroke her soft folds before he slides his middle finger into her, groaning louder as she clenches around him.
Beth squirms beneath him as he brings her close time and time again with a circling thumb and thrusting fingers, only to stop before she finds her release.
She bit his shoulder in frustration. “Now.”
He rolls over her as she spreads her legs, their warm, sweat-slicked bodies aligning perfectly. He frames her face with his hands, his gaze locking on her need-filled eyes, seeing the same confused want there that’s rocketing through him.
Neither looks away as he moves his hips, nudging her opening.
He thrusts forward, planting himself firmly inside her with one smooth stroke. She wraps her arms around him, her lips claiming his.
It’s right. It has always been right. Always been her.
Adrian’s eyes fly open, his breath coming in shallow pants, skin damp with sweat. He sleeps naked most nights, but even the thin layer of sheets is still too hot, so he kicks them off. He closes his eyes again, trying to catch his breath and wrap his mind around what just happened.
A dream. A sex dream.
About Beth.
Damn it.
Even he can see how depraved that is.
The sunlight streaming through the windows lets him know that he’s slept in which makes sense considering the dream he had.
He gets out of his bed and heads to the shower.
****
In his darkened home office, Adrian turns on the desk lamp and then his computer. As it hums to life, he stands at the expanse of windows behind his desk and watches the cars below.
He thinks of Beth’s face as she sat across from him and waited for him to put an end to the most incredible week of his life. At the time, he’d been sure it was the right thing to do. They were getting too close. He was getting too close. He needed to establish some healthy distance between them before…before something happened.
Something he can’t name.
Or something he’s afraid to name.
Adrian collapses into his office chair and sorts through his e-mail. Despite trying his best to concentrate, he’s unable to put meaning to the words in front of him. With more force than necessary, he clicks the mouse, shutting down his computer.
He toys with the idea of calling Beth under the guise of a work-related question. He’s desperate to hear her voice. But he knows it’s a ridiculous idea– it’s a Saturday and he has no right to contact after all the things he said about boundaries. He takes out his phone. There’s a message from Colin asking if he’d like to join him for drinks.
He has a pile of work stacked up, a shitload of emails waiting for responses, and yet here he is, sitting at his desk doing absolutely nothing.
Better to get wasted than to sit here moping like a teenager after his first breakup.
****
“How is everything so far, gentlemen?”
Adrian doesn’t glance up from his phone to answer the waitress. It’s the third time she’s been by their table in the last ten minutes and he’s beginning to find her presence vaguely annoying.
“Everything’s great,” Colin says.
“Thank you,” Vincent adds with a genuine smile.
Her cheeks turn scarlet as she backs away from their table.
Instances like this aren’t uncommon when the three of them hang out, but that doesn’t make it any more tolerable for him. He’s also particularly on edge thanks to the content of his texts. He’d been so distracted by the shock of the text he’d received that he’d forgotten to send a reply. So here he is, seated in a bar on a Saturday night looking for the best way to explain that he wants to be kept as far away from this situation.
“We should be done with all preparations before the holidays so the wedding is still set to happen as planned,” Vincent says, addressing Colin.
Adrian growls loudly. “No offense man but this is probably one of the last evenings with the three of us still single. It signals an end to our years of living free and playing hard. Can we please talk about something else other than weddings?”
Vincent looks alarmed but not offended. “Well, someone’s in a mood.”
“Okay, we’ll change the topic.” Colin takes a swig of his drink. “How’s our newest employee working out?”
Adrian pinches the bridge of his nose. He knew the second he’d filled Colin in on the truth about Beth that he’d made probably the biggest mistake of his life.
“Any topic but that.” He’s here to get his mind off the mess of his life, not dwell on it.
Colin and Vincent both laugh.
He shoots them a look.
“You know about Beth?” he asks Vincent.
“Of course he does. We were just talking about the very peculiar situation between you two right before you got here.”
Great. He picks up his glass and takes a bigger than usual swig of Scotch, letting the liquid burn its way down his throat.
“So, did you do her yet?” Vincent asks.
Adrian coughs and settles his glass on the table. He hadn’t been expecting that question. But what really threw him off was the memory of his wet dream about Beth which popped in his head at the mention of fucking Beth.
Colin slaps him on the back. “Jeez, man.”
“What the fuck?” Adrian croaks, coughing again and clearing his throat.
“What? I thought you liked her. I mean, considering the way she was hired,” Vincent says with feigned innocence.
“I do. She’s a valuable employee.”
Colin shoots him a sideways glance. “Yeah, right.”
It’s true. Or at least, half of it is. He does like her but it’s not necessarily because she’s a valuable employee.
“I can’t have sex with an employee.” No matter how tempting it is. Rubbing his jaw, he finally sets his phone aside, realizing his texts had become ineloquent since he started thinking about Beth.
“Who are you texting, anyway?” Colin asks.
“He’s probably trying to secure some business deal,” Vincent says. “Always working.”
“Yeah. You would know,” Adrian retorts.
“Not anymore, man,” Vincent says, reclining in his chair.
Colin’s eyes narrow. “That’s not your work phone. Nor your personal phone, come to think of it.”
Of course, Colin notices. Adrian uses a separate phone to receive any information concerning Mia. That way, he can ignore whatever message or call he gets until he’s in the right headspace to view it.
“It’s no one.”
“Well, no one sure has you worked up,” Vincent says, eyeing the phone when it lights with a new message. Adrian removes it from the table, but it’s too late, he’s seen it.
“What the hell is that about?” he asks.
“None of your business.”
“How the fuck is this not my business?” he asks. “I thought you had put an end to that chapter in your life.”
“Trust me, I have no desire to still be involved,” Adrian says, glaring at no one in particular.
“Mia?” Colin asks.
Adrian sighs. “Yes. She’s about to be discharged.”
Vincent’s entire body goes slack with disbelief. “Fuck.”
“Listen to me, man.” Vincent places his glass down. “You don’t owe anyone anything. Aside from your family – your real family – you shouldn’t have to break your back for anyone.”
“You’ve done more than enough,” Colin says earnestly.
Adrian is silent for a moment as he suppresses the urge to argue. And tell them that they had no clue. They couldn’t possibly understand. “Fine, let’s drop it.”
“Fine by me. So, where did we stop?” Colin raises a finger. “Ah, yes, Beth.”
“I can’t at all grasp why you’re so interested in this topic.”
“Well, I haven’t seen you actually invested in a girl in a long fucking time, and the sooner you settle down and have kids, the sooner your Mom will stop bugging you about it.”
“I doubt I’ll have to worry about that anymore,” Adrian says casting a look at Vincent.
Vincent laughs. “Whatever. So you’re not going to ask her out?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Like I said, she’s an employee. I can’t have a relationship with an employee.”
Vincent choked on his drink then stared like maybe he’d just heard a joke. “I know you sure as hell don’t believe that.” He raises his hand. “Wait. I hope you’re not just coming up with excuses because you’re trying to stay away from relationships in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the whole Mia situation?”
Adrian glares at him.
“I’ll take it that I’m correct then. You do realize that’s a very stupid line of reasoning. What do you think, Col?”
“I’m with you. I mean, what are the odds that she’ll end up like Mia.”
The truth is, he’d been having doubts about his decision to keep her out of his life ever since he’d made the decision a week ago, but that doubt has grown to full-on regret.
He holds up his drink. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, gentlemen. I’m heading home.”
Colin groaned. “You’ve lost your edge. It’s barely ten yet, and you’re already folding up the tent for the night and schlepping home.”
“Yeah. What happened to living free and playing hard?” Vincent taunts.
“You’re both being intolerable, that’s what happened.”
“Aw, what did we do? Is it because we won’t stop talking about Beth?” Vincent asks innocently.
Adrian doesn’t bother to reply as he walks out of their private box. He settles the bill on his way out and makes a sharp line for the exit with only one thought on his mind.