Reckless (Irresistible 6)

Adam coughed on his drink. “Come again?”

“The gluteal muscles.”

“Yeah, I know what glutes are, but why are we talking about them?”

“You asked what the deciding factor was in choosing a partner for a one-night stand and I say it’s a nice sculpted ass.”

“Holy shit, I hate this conversation.”

“Because your thrusting game isn’t going to be strong if you don’t have strong glutes,” I explained. “Also you asked for this conversation so don’t cry about it now.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t aware at the time that it would lead to a discussion about Josh MacMillan’s ass.”

“His very sculpted ass.”

“Christ.” Adam winced hard. He let a couple seconds pass as he took a drink, but then he muttered, “Mine is better anyway.”

I burst out laughing. “Really.”

“Yeah. We don’t have to pretend you haven’t noticed.”

I squinted. Umm. Okay. If there was one part of Adam Maxwell’s body that I did let myself check out from time to time, it was definitely his ass. So yes, that was true. But... “How do you know that I’ve noticed?” I asked.

“Reflective windows at the office.”

I raised my eyebrows way up. Oh.

“Damn.” I gave a genuine laugh as I thought of all those times I followed him into the conference room and totally looked. “Well, there goes my cover,” I said, making him laugh too, and for a second it felt like our usual joking around. Like we weren’t talking about how I did sometimes check him out.

It was weird. It felt half-normal, half-crazy. Like we were toeing the lines of safety. Was this flirting? Was it not? I had no idea but I didn’t ponder it for long, because suddenly, Josh was approaching us at the bar.

“AJ. Gorgeous,” he said, holding his arms out grandly. “I’d give my condolences over your idiot ex, but you look like you’re doing more than fine.”

I laughed, almost solely because I knew how much he annoyed Adam. “Thank you, Josh,” I said, managing a smile as he touched my hip and started to extol the beauty of breakups. Between nods of feigned interest, I eyed Adam, who didn’t bother disguising the way he was shaking his head through all of Josh’s pet names for me as he spoke. Sweetheart. Angel. He really was such a douche, but I couldn’t help being amused by it as Adam leaned against the bar, looking like he wanted to blow his brains out.

“Know what I say? Forget that loser. Okay? How long were you with him again?” Josh asked, his questions like rapid fire.

“Almost six years,” I replied with suppressed laughter as I eyed Adam, who mouthed Jesus Christ.

“Six years. AJ. You must be ready for a real man. I mean look at you. I know you’re ready.”

He continued talking a mile a minute till he was briefly pulled away, at which point Adam turned to me.

“Yeah, there is no way in hell you’re going home with that clown,” he said.

“Weird, I missed the part where it was your decision.”

“AJ. For Christ’s sake, he’s not going to be quiet about it, and the last thing you want is someone with ties to the office talking about what you were like in bed.”

I tipped my chin up. “Fine. I won’t have sex with Josh MacMillan,” I said, waiting till Adam’s tense shoulders relaxed before I added, “I’ll just find someone with no ties to the agency.” He groaned. “Or I’ll just go to a bar after this and pick some lucky guy.”

“You’re going to go home to some stranger’s place tonight?” Adam laughed. “No the fuck you’re not.”

“Sorry, boss, that’s actually not your call. And I’ve already made the decision, so.”

He stared at me, more serious now. “Remind me why you need this so badly?” he asked, looking at me like I was so out of my mind that I couldn’t help but take offense.

“Oh, I don’t know, Adam. Probably because I spent over three hundred dollars on lingerie and an entire week getting primped and preened and waxed so I would feel like walking sex for my fiancé, but he didn’t end up fucking me, because he was too busy fucking someone else, so on top of the fact that I was left completely high and dry, I’m dealing with a bit of an emotional shitstorm, I’ve got a lot of post-breakup logistics to deal with once I get back to LA, and all I want right now is to blow off this steam with a really, really good orgasm.” I was breathless, hot all over by the time I finished my rant, and it didn’t help that Adam had his gaze locked so fucking tightly on me, penetrating me in a way that made me feel as naked as I wished I could be right now. “Long story short, I’m feeling pent up in a way I don’t think you would ever understand,” I said, my ears tingling hot as I tossed back the last of my champagne.