Ask Adam

by Jess Dee

  “I’m not sure,” she told Ben. “Maybe he’s wondering who this cute guy is I’m holding.”

  “No,” Ben disagreed. “He’s looking at you. Do you know him?”

  “Yes, sweetie, I met him through work.”

  “Then why don’t you say hello to him?”

  Because that’s probably the last thing he wants. Besides, I can’t seem to breathe properly when he’s around.

  “I’ll do it if you’re too scared,” Ben offered and lifted his arm and waved at Riley.

  “Hello, man,” he yelled across the room and Lexi snorted, though in amusement or horror she wasn’t certain.

  —

  He hadn’t taken his eyes off her for a second, not from the minute she’d preceded the bride down the aisle. He’d hidden in the crowds and watched her, content to keep his distance yet drink his fill. Touching her may be off limits but he couldn’t stop himself from staring.

  She looked stunning. Her dress was the same color as a predawn sky, with a simple line that clung in all the right places. The long slit up the side allowed for an enticing view of shapely thigh—thigh that had been wrapped around his waist, and his neck, more than once in Melbourne. A low neckline showed off slim shoulders and a teasing glimpse of firm, round breasts. Breasts he wanted to bury his face in. Breasts he had buried his face in.

  He headed over to her, watching as the boy wriggled out of her arms and skipped off to play with another child across the room. He sighed in relief. One less stress to deal with. Dealing with Lexi on her own was hard enough.

  She frowned as the child raced away, then she stood a little straighter and flicked her hair over her shoulders as if bracing for his arrival.

  “Lexi,” he greeted her, keeping his voice neutral.

  “Adam.” She eyed him nervously.

  Who could blame her? Last time she’d seen him he’d said some pretty outrageous things. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.”

  “They make a handsome couple.”

  A brief smile touched her mouth as she looked at the bride and groom. “Yes, they do.” She turned back to him. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “That would explain the stunned expression on your face.”

  “I never knew you and Daniel were friends.”

  “There seems to be quite a few things you never knew about me.”

  A hint of color touched her cheeks. “Yeah, well that’s the thing about meeting someone for the first time. You generally don’t know very much about them.”

  “Does it make you uncomfortable? Knowing you’ve slept with a friend of your brother’s?” Shit, why’d he have to talk about sex every time he saw her? What made him so damn horny all he could think about was hauling her off into some secluded corner and fucking her stupid?

  Her eyes blazed. “Not as uncomfortable as it does knowing the friend thinks I slept with him under false pretences.”

  “Did you?” The way she got all worked up and hot under the collar like that, well it got him all worked up and hot under the collar.

  Her hand fisted at her side and for a minute he thought she might punch him.

  “I have answered that question,” she bit out and stepped closer, speaking into his ear, her voice soft enough so only he could hear and aggressive enough to get those hot bits under his collar really burning. “Several times. Now, you listen up, and you listen good.

  This is my brother’s wedding and I will not engage in some two-bit discussion with you about what kind of a whore you think I am. I won’t do it now, and I won’t do it tomorrow or the next day. If you have anything else you need to say to me, I’m sure Matt will be happy to pass on the message. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I see someone I would like to spend time with.”

  Ouch.

  As she twisted around to leave, he grabbed her wrist and spun her back to face him.

  “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a ferocious whisper.

  Her smile was tight and her gaze darted around as she checked to see if anyone had noticed their little altercation.

  “I’m clearing something up.” He kept his voice low.

  “I told you, speak to Matt.” She tried to pull away. He gave her arm another tug and she teetered on her heels for half a second before losing her balance and stumbling into him. He wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her and pulling her close at the same time.

  “This isn’t really something you’d want Matt to hear.” Damn, she felt good in his arms.

  “Adam, let me g—”

  “I don’t think you’re a whore,” he cut her off. “I never did.” His mouth was by her ear and his voice was soft. He couldn’t help but notice the goosebumps that skittered over her bare shoulder and down her arm.

  She stopped struggling. “Then why do you insist on treating me like one?”

  Because if I treat you like you ought to be treated, if I give you half a chance, I’ll fall for you. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve it. You never have.” How could he tell her she scared the crap out of him? How could he explain the only way he knew to keep his distance was to punish her emotionally? She wouldn’t understand why he needed to keep his distance, why it hurt too damn much to ever love again.

  The fight drained out of her. Her resistance slipped away. “No,” she agreed, “I really don’t deserve it.”

  Suddenly, he didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to keep on holding her. “Dance with me?”

  Her body tensed up again.

  “We’re on the dance floor anyway and people are beginning to stare.” Shit, why’d he need to make excuses to hold her? “It’s just a dance, that’s all.”

  She nodded uncertainly and her arms fluttered midair for a minute before she wound them round his shoulders. Shivers ran down his spine as she touched his hair.

  For a few minutes, they danced in silence, the music slow and romantic. Her soft curves and firm breasts fit snug against his more solid form. Hard as Adam tried not to, he found himself relaxing into the beat, relaxing against her body.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Daniel?”

  “You never asked.” He declined to point out that he’d never told her he knew her, either.

  “You might have mentioned you’d be here tonight.”

  He probably should have said something. “When would you have liked me to tell you? After you threw the coffee at me, or while you were lambasting me about the donation?”

  She stiffened in his arms. “This was a bad idea. Thank you for the dance.”

  “Lexi, wait, I’m sorry. That was supposed to be a joke.” He shook his head. “I guess you and I just aren’t at a point where we can laugh at ourselves.”

  She studied his face for a minute. “No, I guess we’re not.”

  “How about we call a truce? Start over fresh. What do you say?”

  She gnawed on her lower lip and he thought he might bust a gut watching her.

  “I say, I think I’d like that.”

  “I think I’d like that too.”

  She looked almost as surprised by his answer as he was. “So we’re okay?”

  He nodded. “We’re okay.”

  They began to dance again.

  “You look exquisite tonight.” He was thrown by the sound of his own voice—soft as a lover’s whisper.

  “Uh, thank you. You look pretty good yourself.” She pulled a sheepish face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have thrown the coffee at you.” Then she gave him an impish grin, a smile that made her dimples stand out and his heart stand still. “It was too cold to have much effect anyway.”

  He chuckled and she stared at him in delight. “You can laugh.”

  “I’ve been known to once in a while,” he replied, still smiling. “Don’t let that become general knowledge or everyone will expect it.” He enjoyed the laughter. It wasn’t something he did very often.

  “You have a beautiful smile,” she told him, her eyes fixed on his mouth.
>
  “Good grief, Miss Tanner.” He stopped suddenly. “Do you know you’ve complimented me twice tonight?”

  She grinned. “Don’t get used to it, Riley. You have to work hard to earn my compliments.”

  “Adam,” he corrected automatically. “I’m learning that most things about you require hard work.” He changed the subject before she could retort. “Cute kid. Who is he?” At least the question came out sounding casual. Asking was torture.

  “Ben? My nephew, Sarah’s son. He is a cutie. With the tact of an ox, as you might have noticed. We never know what he’s going to come out with next.”

  She was swaying seductively, her body warm and inviting and just a little too right in his arms. “I saw you talking to Sarah earlier. You seem close.”

  “We are.” Lexi nodded toward Daniel. “All three of us are close. What about you?

  Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  He shrugged. “Not really.”

  “Not really.” She laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean? Either you have siblings or you don’t.”

  “Well, technically speaking, I don’t. But for a long time I’ve considered Matt a brother.” More information than he needed to give her, perhaps, but something about Lexi made him want to talk.

  “He’s not just a colleague?”

  “I’ve known him for years. We were at school together. He founded Riley Corporation with me.”

  “Sounds like a good friend.”

  “The best. I couldn’t have got through…” Adam caught himself just in time. Jesus, too close. Images of Timmy flashed before his eyes. It took a couple of seconds to compose his thoughts. “Let’s just say we’ve been there for each other through the years.

  He helped me through a real rough patch a while back.”

  Ah, crap. The look on her face told him she’d picked up too much. Her mouth creased in concern, and confused sympathy shadowed her eyes—much the same way it had in his office. He hadn’t meant for her to catch him off-guard then. She’d been leaving; she wasn’t supposed to turn around.

  To her credit, she didn’t push the issue. “Matt was a little surprised when I called you Adam.”

  “Oh, shit.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m never going to hear the end of that one.”

  Until a week ago, Matt was the only person in Sydney who knew him as Adam. Since he’d arrived here ten years ago, he’d felt more comfortable with the nickname AJ. It helped keep people at bay—if they didn’t know his first name, they couldn’t get too personal.

  “Am I missing something?” Lexi asked. “Is your real name a secret?”

  “Not at all,” Adam said. “I usually prefer the name AJ, that’s all. No. No more questions. Let’s just enjoy the music, shall we?” He pulled her closer.

  She wore very high heels, and the added height made dancing cheek to cheek all too easy. Moving like this, with her in his arms, well it was rather nice. Altogether too nice.

  He’d surprised himself tonight, showing her a side of himself he rarely let anyone see. He’d made it a firm policy never to allow anyone close again. Lexi was pushing hard on his resolve. Sleeping with her, though necessary, had been a mistake. Sex as a physical release was one thing. Sex as an expression of emotion was another altogether.

  With Lexi, the boundaries between the two blurred. The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her. The more he liked her, the more he desired her. The more he desired her, the more of a threat she became. As much as he wanted to, there was no way he could sleep with her again and limit the act to sex. He’d feel something, and that would be the biggest threat of all.

  Safer to keep her at arm’s length.

  Unfortunately, he found it difficult to keep his distance from her. Each time he tried, she found some way of breaking down his barriers and getting in anyway.

  Like now. She looked at him and smiled, and then snuggled into him and let the music carry them away.

  Though his head resisted, his body embraced her. She fit into his arms perfectly. Her breasts were squashed against his chest and her hand played at the nape of his neck. He breathed in her scent. Fresh green leaves mingled with warm wood and a suggestion of something very feminine. She smelled fresh and sexy and carnal and captivating, and not for the first time that night, his body stirred. Shifting slightly, he nestled against her hips, and she pulled her head back and stared into his eyes.

  “Adam?” she whispered.

  He held her tighter and murmured, “Shh.”

  For once, instead of arguing with him, she shut up and they danced.

  Chapter Nine

  “I had an interesting talk with Lexi Tanner the other day.” Matt tucked his briefcase under the seat in front of him and fastened his seat belt.

  “You did?” Adam feigned disinterest and turned a page of the Sydney Morning Herald.

  “Yep. I told you we were meeting to sort out the fundamentals of the donation.”

  “I assume there were no problems?” He shook his head at a flight attendant, refusing a drink she offered.

  “None at all. Quite the contrary. Apart from being intelligent, easy to talk to and most entertaining, Lexi turned out to be quite the babe. I considered asking her out.”

  At this, Adam looked up sharply. “Did you?”

  Matt shook his head and Adam could have sworn his friend smothered a grin. “No. I would have if she hadn’t been in such a hurry. Wanted to go and spend some time with her brother, Daniel.”

  “Good morning, ladies and gentleman, and thank you for flying Qantas, flight QF 411 to Melbourne.”

  Adam returned his attention to the paper.

  Matt leaned in a little closer and spoke over the voice on the intercom. “You never told me she was Tanner’s sister.”

  “Never thought about it,” Adam lied.

  “Our flying time today will be approximately one hour and thirty minutes,” the disembodied voice announced.

  “How was the wedding?”

  “Good.”

  “That all?”

  “It was a nice wedding.”

  “Doesn’t say very much.”

  “The bride looked radiant and the groom smiled a lot. It was a happy day.”

  Matt smirked. “You take a date?”

  “Nope. Went alone.”

  “If you’ll direct your attention to the front of the aircraft, our flight attendants will…”

  “What about that Roberts woman? I thought you’d take her.”

  Adam shrugged. “She’s history. Got a little too intense for my liking.”

  “What about Lexi Tanner?”

  “What about her?”

  “You spend some time together at the wedding?”

  “We spoke.”

  “I’m sure you did.”

  “Okay, mate, what’s your point?” Might as well stop beating round the bush. Matt had something to say—as always—and he wouldn’t rest until he’d said it.

  “There aren’t many people I know around here who refer to you as Adam.”

  It had to come back to bite him. “Your point being?”

  “Point?” Matt shook his head. “No, my man, there’s more than one point here.”

  The plane reversed from its parked position and taxied down the runway.

  “Let’s do a quick inventory. First—” Matt held up a thumb, “—you meet with a woman you should never have met with. Second—” index finger, “—she talks you into a donation, which you agree to without running it past me or any other board member.

  Third—” middle finger, “—it turns out the woman’s a looker and she calls you Adam.”

  He lifted his ring finger. “Next, you go to her brother’s wedding without a date.” Then he grinned again and dealt his trump card. “The fifth and most noticeable point of all is that you almost beat the crap out of me when I mentioned I might ask her out.”

  The plane shot down the runway and lifted off, the pressure forcing Adam back in his seat. Why had he tho
ught for one second he could hide his feelings from Matt? Then again, what was he hiding? The fact that he’d slept with Lexi? That was none of Matt’s business. The fact that Lexi was getting under his skin, regardless that he didn’t want her there? Not Matt’s business, either, but he seemed to be picking up on it anyway.

  “So,” Matt continued, “in summary, I guess my point is—what is going on with you and Lexi Tanner?”

  Damned if he knew the answer himself.

  “Mate,” Matt said, “I haven’t seen you this wound up about a woman in over ten years. What’s the deal?”

  “Nothing.” Maybe if he said it out loud, he’d believe it.

  “Yeah, right.” Matt disregarded the answer with a dismissive flick of his hand.

  “You’re falling for her, aren’t you?”

  “No. I am not,” Adam denied vehemently.

  “Then you won’t mind if I ask her out?” Matt smirked again.

  Try it and I will kill you. “Not at all. Go ahead.” Adam buried his face in the newspaper, knowing his eyes had narrowed to dangerous slits.

  “I’ll take her for dinner. Or on a romantic harbor cruise. Hey, would you mind if I borrowed the mountain loft for a weekend? Maybe she’ll spend a couple of nights there with me.”

  “Over my dead body,” Adam snapped and then shook his head as he realized he’d walked straight into a trap.

  Matt threw his head back and laughed. “Relax, brother. I’m not interested in her.”

  His tone changed. “You are, damn it. You like the woman. Do something about it.”

  “You know that’s not a possibility.” Adam refused to look at him.

  “I know you think it’s not an option. You’re wrong. The past is in the past. Leave it there. Let go, mate. You’ve had enough pain in your life. It’s time to move on.”

  Adam shot him an acid look. He didn’t speak. Matt knew the pain hadn’t passed. It never would.

  “Your life didn’t end ten years ago.”

  “Yes,” Adam said, his voice as dead as his heart. “It did.”

  “You have a chance to start over. Something’s telling you it’s time, and you know it.