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  I ripped my mouth away, gasping for breath, and bit down on my swollen bottom lip. Adam’s eyes were unfocused and heavy-lidded as he stared down at me. My pink lipstick marred the perfect shape of his full mouth, and it totally turned me on to see I had marked him in some way.

  He swooped down to kiss me again, and when our lips latched together, I reached between us to fumble with the buttons on his dress shirt. I wanted to feel his skin. It seemed like I’d waited forever for him to touch me like this, for a kiss that totally blocked out the rest of the world. I was taking advantage while I had the chance.

  Except my hands were shaking and my fingers kept missing their mark. How the hell was I supposed to remove his shirt when his lips were assaulting me to the point I couldn’t function?

  I made a frustrated sound and he swallowed it down. His chuckle floated between my lips as he pushed my hands away and took matters into his own hands.

  Those buttons never stood a chance.

  The sound of them scattering across the hardwood on the floor barely registered as he literally ripped the fabric off his chest. I was on him before he even had the shirt totally pulled off his arms.

  His chest was like granite, hard and carved, bronzed, and so incredibly smooth. My fingers slid over him like water. The silkiness of his skin made me sink my teeth into his lower lip as if feeling him wasn’t enough and I had to taste him too. Holy crap, he was broad. There was so much of him to explore my hands couldn’t move fast enough. I loved the way his muscles bunched beneath his skin, the tightness in his form, and the way when he wrapped his arms back around me, it was like he totally surrounded me. I was completely captured by his coppered, oversized body.

  He made me feel small, but not in a helpless way. Small in the sense the passion between us was so big it overpowered my frame.

  My hands fondled all the way down to the waistband of his pants. My fingertips flirted with the line between skin and clothing. Adam made a sound and ripped his mouth away to stare down with lust-filled eyes.

  Abruptly, he spun, taking me with him, pulling me away from the door and walking us over to the desk. Like it was nothing at all, he lifted me by the waist and sat me on the edge of his desk and fit himself between my thighs. With glittering eyes, he looked down at the tie and grasped the lapels of his jacket.

  Slowly, he peeled away the fabric, baring my naked chest. The rush of air was shocking because my skin was so incredibly hot. My nipples tightened into hard little knots, and they grew achy as he stared at me.

  “I don’t want anyone else looking at you again, Rox,” he rumbled, oh so gently brushing the backs of his knuckles over the sensitized skin of my breast.

  I shivered.

  “I could say the same to you,” I whispered, tucking some fingers in his waistband.

  The force of his body sent me arching over the top of his desk. I would have lain out completely flat, but he slid his arm beneath the small of my back and arched me up so my naked chest was completely flush against his.

  I ceased to think. All I knew was the feel of him against me and the seductive kiss that went on and on.

  The sexy beat of the music from the stage made me want to grind against him, but I couldn’t because of the way I was positioned. Tension coiled inside me so tightly I moved restlessly, and a little helpless sound ripped from my throat.

  Adam pulled back but kept his arm around me, supporting my yielding body. “Jesus Christ,” he swore, his voice thick and gravely. My lips felt swollen and moist, and as he withdrew even farther, he swiped at my lower lip with his thumb.

  He picked up his jacket and draped it around my shoulders. “You gotta put that shit away, Rox. If you don’t, I’m going to take you right here on the desk.”

  I pressed my lips together because if I opened my mouth, I’d likely beg for just that.

  He groaned. “Don’t look at me like that,” he rumbled and rubbed a hand over the top of his head. “I’ve been waiting too goddamn long for a chance with you. Our first time is not going to be in this office with a bunch of drunk assholes on the other side of the door.”

  “You’ve been waiting for me?” I whispered, gripping the front of the jacket.

  “Guess I have,” he quietly replied. When his eyes brushed over me, the tenderness in his gaze almost made me swoon. He had a way of making a girl feel like she was the only one in the entire world.

  I wondered if any of his four wives ever felt like that.

  The thought helped break some of the tension inside me. I might want Adam, he might turn me on in ways I never imagined, but getting involved with him probably wasn’t a safe bet.

  I wanted safe right now. I needed it. The best way for me to have the safety I desperately needed was by remaining alone, by taking care of myself.

  “I should get back to work,” I said, hopping off the desk. “There’s a big crowd out there tonight.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly at the sudden change in my demeanor. I hoped he didn’t press. His kiss, his touch, and that dance left me feeling weak inside. If he pushed me right now, I might cave.

  “Can you come in early tomorrow for training? In the afternoon, before the club opens?” he asked. There wasn’t a hint of anger in his tone.

  I hated to admit it, but I was surprised. I had been expecting him to be angry or to make some kind of comment about how I led him on and then put on the brakes.

  But he didn’t seem angry at all. He didn’t act disappointed in me or let down. It crumbled a little piece of the wall I had built around my heart these last couple of years.

  “Sure, I’ll be here,” I replied. Every step that brought me closer to the door left me feeling regretful. I didn’t want to go back out there. I wanted to stay in here, with Adam.

  Of course, that was exactly the reason I had to go.

  I pushed my arms through the jacket, once again reveling in how it swallowed me up. Abruptly, I spun on my heel, clutching the coat against me. “You can’t have this back,” I burst out. As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt my eyes widen in surprise.

  What the hell? I sounded like a spoiled five-year-old.

  He smiled lazily and wandered over in front of me, taking his time prowling closer. My eyes fastened on his chest and the way it moved.

  “Sweetheart, I wouldn’t dream of taking it back.” One of his arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me in as he pressed a lingering kiss to my hairline. His mouth was warm and soft; the feel of his lips gave me little shivers along my spine. He didn’t lift his head when he spoke, so his breath danced over my forehead and ruffled my hair. “Put some clothes on before you go back out there, sweetheart. I’m feeling extremely possessive tonight.”

  If words had a flavor, those would have been a giant, warm-from-the-oven donut drizzled in warm, gooey glaze. Sinful, bad for you… but so damn good.

  “‘Kay.” I agreed.

  He reached around me and opened the door. The sounds of the bar pressed in on me, intruding upon our little bubble.

  “Rox?” he said quietly, but even over the music and rambunctious crowd, I heard him.

  I glanced over my shoulder, peeking around my tangled hair.

  “Thanks for the dance.” The corner of his mouth turned up, an ornery smile stealing over his features.

  I winked and walked away.

  Backstage, the girls all started clapping when I stepped up to my table. I felt my cheeks flame under the attention. Thankfully, it didn’t last very long because we were all busy and had work to do. I grabbed an outfit out of my bag to finish my shift. It was the only outfit of mine that offered some sort of modesty.

  With the fabric still clutched in my hand, I sagged against the makeup table and blew out a shaky breath.

  I should be congratulating myself for staying strong, for avoiding a situation that would likely end in more heartache.

  But I wasn’t.

  Deep down, I knew I hadn’t avoided anything with Adam. I’d just made it even more inevit
able.

  10

  Adam

  I had to stay in my office for a while after Roxie went back to work. If I didn’t like to wear jeans at work because of professionalism, imagine how unprofessional my boner would be.

  I’d never wanted a woman this bad before. Maybe because I’d never tried to fight my attraction to one before. Of course, if that were the case, then wouldn’t that kiss have lessened my want? Wouldn’t it have sated at least a little part of my desire?

  It didn’t.

  It left me with a serious hard-on, a tent in my pants, and the possibility of blue balls.

  Eventually, I was able to focus on something other than the way it felt to finally kiss her, and I credited that to reading the manual for the electric pencil sharpener on my desk.

  The club was just about empty when I left my office. The dancers were done for the night, and a few of the girls were finishing up their shifts.

  My gaze found Roxie automatically, and I noticed she looked a little strained.

  How the hell could she already look like that after the kiss I laid on her? She should still be walking around on wobbly knees!

  “Roxie!” I bellowed.

  My sudden yell made her jump, and I felt bad. I hadn’t meant to scare her.

  “Do you have any other volume besides extremely obnoxious?” she asked, coming over to where I stood.

  I leaned in close, dropping my gaze to her mouth. “Oh, I think you know I do.”

  She pressed her lips together like she was remembering the kiss. I was totally the man.

  “Why do you look like something is wrong?” I asked, trying my best to not be obnoxious.

  She turned her head slightly, her eyes slipping over to where a couple people still sat in the club. “Nothing’s wrong,” she answered, looking back at me. “Just ready to go home.”

  I scanned the people still sitting around. A table of guys who looked to be about twenty-one were talking to one of the dancers, a couple sat nestled in the corner, finishing off their drinks, and a lone man hunched over his beer and staring down at his cell phone.

  “Are any of the guys bothering you?” I asked, not really seeing anything that might be a problem, but unsure just the same.

  “No,” she replied quickly. A little too quickly.

  “Club’s closing!” I called, and everyone started to get ready to go. If someone was bothering her, then they wouldn’t be an issue very long.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and leave for the night?” I told her. “Everything’s about done here anyway.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Grab your stuff. I’ll walk you to your car.”

  A few minutes later, she came out with a duffle bag in her hand and my jacket slung over her arm. I didn’t hesitate to slip the bag off her shoulder and take the jacket from her grasp. Before she could say anything, I held it out so she could slip her arms inside.

  Once my coat was around her, I picked up her duffle and guided her to the door. We bypassed the bouncer out into the empty parking lot. She was parked around the side of the building so we headed in that direction.

  When we arrived at her car, I was sort of hesitant to let her leave. I felt like I’d been waiting for her forever. I took the keys out of her hand, started up the car for her, and tossed the duffle in the backseat.

  When I pulled out of the car, she was standing directly behind me. I shut the driver’s door and leaned against it, curling my fingers around the lapels of my jacket and tugging her a little closer.

  “I like your lips,” I murmured, staring down at the object of my affection.

  “Just my lips?” she whispered, a small smile playing over her mouth.

  “I might be partial to everything else around them too.”

  “I might like that.” Roxie swayed a little closer, pressing me into the side of the car, and I tightened my hands on the front of the jacket and lowered my head.

  Her lips were soft and warm, the kiss was tender, and it was entirely easy to lose myself in the feel of her. The steady rhythm in which we moved together was far better than any song I’d ever heard, and I released the jacket so I could cup her face and pull her closer.

  Roxie made a little sound in the back of her throat as her soft lips parted. I slipped my tongue into her mouth and gently teased until she melded against me like it was hard for her to stand.

  I forgot we were outside in a parking lot. The way she felt in my arms was most arguably the most incredible thing I’d ever experienced. She was all soft and curvy, her body begging to be explored. My hands slipped into the opening of the jacket and slid across her waist and around to the small of her back.

  Roxie’s fingers skirted over the exposed skin at my neck and throat, lightly climbing up the side of my jaw and around the back of my head.

  The sound of a car door slamming intruded upon our moment, and I drew back slowly, blinking down at her. Roxie’s little pink tongue darted out over her bottom lip, capturing what was left of our kiss. It was fucking hot, and I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to pull off all the fabric between us and rub our bodies together until we both fell over the edge of bliss.

  “Thanks for walking me to my car,” she whispered, tilting her head back to look up at me.

  Her bangs were falling into her eyes, so I brushed them back and smiled. “It was my pleasure.”

  Reluctantly, I reached around behind us and unlatched the car door. I stood close and she slid into the driver’s seat, and because I couldn’t not touch her one last time, I reached in to buckle the seatbelt around her.

  “Drive safe,” I whispered and kissed her temple.

  She sighed, and my gut tightened.

  I watched her car until the taillights disappeared. One of these days, sooner rather than later, I wasn’t going to have to watch her drive away. She was going to be with me.

  The distinct sound of heels clicking across the pavement broke into the spell Roxie had cast. I watched as someone familiar seemed to materialize out of the shadows along the side of the building.

  Parked off to the side was a car I knew all too well, a car I paid for.

  “The ink is barely dry on the divorce papers, and here you are, working on wife number five,” my ex said bitterly, stopping just several feet in front of me. “Are you going to stand there and deny you want her even after what I just saw?”

  Aww fuck.

  And tonight had been going so well.

  11

  Roxie

  I could kiss him forever.

  It was late. The roads were dark and practically empty as I drove home from the club. Everything was still wet from the heavy rainstorm earlier, but I barely noticed.

  I couldn’t even worry about the guy who sat in the club tonight, the one whose stare seemed to burn a hole right through my back. All night it was hard to shake the feeling I was being watched. Every time I was out on the floor, taking orders and delivering drinks, the little hairs on the back of my neck would stand tall.

  My eyes kept going to the man sitting alone, drinking beer. Every time I glanced his way, he appeared to be engrossed in his cell phone, but I had caught him once. Caught him staring at me, the intensity in his gaze making my skin crawl.

  But then he went back to his phone, and I was left wondering if I was just being paranoid.

  I’d seen him a couple times at the club, and each time he creeped me out. But he’d never done anything to make me think he was dangerous. In fact, he’d never even spoken to me.

  But whatever. The creepy man in the bar was the last thing on my mind because everything in my head paled in comparison to Adam. I couldn’t stop reliving the kiss.

  The. Kiss.

  It played such a prominent role in my head I felt like it needed a title of its own. I had been so keyed up when I left his office that it took the rest of the night just to breathe normally again.

  And then he walked me to my car.

  And kissed me again.

&nb
sp; I should have been scared out of my mind. Scared of my reaction to what happened between us tonight.

  I knew better than to get tangled up with a man who would probably only hurt me. True, Adam had never been anything but good to me since I met him, but his track record told a different story.

  He’d been married four times. Four. If he would marry and then divorce so easily, then it didn’t bode well for any kind of relationship we might have. And sure, if I were in any other kind of place in my life, maybe a casual fling would be okay.

  But I wasn’t in that frame of mind. Hell, who was I kidding? I never would be. I put everything I had into my relationship with Craig. I made excuses for him, I blamed myself, and I basically tried way too hard to make it work with him even when I should have walked away.

  Deep down I was a relationship kind of girl. Deep down I craved that one person who would always be there. That one person who would always love me no matter what.

  While my heart whispered—hoped—it might be Adam, my brain told me to get real.

  It was so hard thinking with my head when my heart was involved.

  A pair of headlights bobbed in the rearview mirror, momentarily distracting me. I glanced at the car that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

  It was red.

  It looked sporty.

  I thought about the gas station before work, about Craig and the car I’d seen him drive away in. A funny feeling unfurled in my gut, making my nerve endings sizzle with warning.

  It couldn’t be.

  All thoughts of Adam, our kisses, and my final dance earlier tonight fled my brain. Adrenaline began to flood my system. I knew I shouldn’t be scared. I was probably overreacting. But I couldn’t help it. I was out alone in the dark, the road was almost empty, and a car that looked suspiciously like the one Craig had been driving was following along behind me.

  My hands tightened around the steering wheel, squeezing until it was almost painful. My back stiffened and my legs locked up, squeezing together from the knees up. As I drove, I glanced in the rearview mirror almost obsessively.