“Taylor, hey what’s up, lady?”
“Things are good; tell me why you sound like hell.”
I huffed out a laugh. “So much. I have a spoiled little brat artist that I’m about to cut her contract. Negotiations with another client just blew up in my face. On top of that, I’m over budget on two new singles that were supposed to be done two weeks ago. Take your pick on why I sound like shit.”
“Well, would you like some good news?”
I rested the phone in the crook of my neck and glanced through the papers someone handed me while we walked to my next meeting. “Some good news would be great.”
“I need you to come to Vegas in two weeks.”
“Taylor, I really can’t—”
“Stephen and I are getting married and I want you to be my maid of honor.”
I stopped mid-step in the hallway, causing the intern following us down the hallway to run into me. “Are you kidding me?”
“No, but it’s a surprise. No one else knows that it’s our wedding. We’re just going to invite everyone out and they’re going to think we’re announcing our engagement.”
“Honey, that’s awesome. I’ll be there, just let me know when and try to make it during a long weekend.”
She laughed. “Already taken care of, Gina has all the information. I emailed it to her right before I called you.”
“Look at you being all responsible or something,” I teased.
“Or something. I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
I signed the clipboard the intern held out for my approval. “Mason is coming and he’s going to be Stephen’s best man. Are you okay with that?”
Anything, but that.
“I’ll be fine,” I lied. “I’m going to bring Adam with me though as long as he can get away from the hospital. Maybe you should warn him.”
Now I just have to convince him.
I could hear the grimace in her tone. “Yeah, I’ll have Stephen let him know.”
“Hey Taylor?”
“Yeah?”
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you, honey.”
“Thanks, Em. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
If Taylor and Stephen were able to find their happily ever after then I could find mine. Adam and I were friends, but maybe that would evolve into more. He’d stuck around even after my idiot decision in California, so that had to mean something. Right?
***
Adam poured two glasses of wine and carried them over to where I sat on the couch. I took mine gratefully. He sat down and rested his arm over my thigh. We weren’t fully back to where we were before everything happened, but each day was a little better. He was starting to trust me again and I was opening up about my issues. It would just take time. I wasn’t sure how he would react to going to Taylor’s wedding with me, but I needed to mention it soon.
I angled my body towards him. “I have something to ask you.”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly. Something in my tone must have given away my nerves.
“It’s not bad; it’s just something that might make you uncomfortable.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Now you have to tell me.”
I took a deep breath. “Taylor called. Stephen proposed and their getting married in Vegas. They want us to come and she wants me to be her maid of honor.”
“I can see where this is going,” he said, leaning forward to put his wine on the coffee table.
“No, Adam, I want you to come with me. As my date,” I said slowly. “I know we’re still figuring all this out, but I don’t want to go without you.”
He took my glass from me and set it down. I was surprised when he cupped my face with his hands and leaned in. His kiss was soft at first, teasing and no tongue involved. My hands went to his wrists, and I leaned into him. I moaned lightly when he finally slipped his tongue inside my mouth. The kiss became deeper, more passionate. Adam rose up to his knees, pushing me back on the couch softly and pinning me down with his hips. My fingers dug into his back, urging his shirt up his shoulders and over his head.
We broke the kiss just long enough to slip off the fabric between us. He slowly unbuttoned my silk blouse and let the fabric gape open with each button. I shivered as his fingers skimmed across the lace of my bra. When his lips trailed from my mouth to the hollow of my neck my hands grasped his arms, pulling him in closer.
“Adam,” I whispered. He continued running his amazing tongue along my neck and kissing further down my collarbone.
“Adam,” I said again. He finally looked up at me, able to process my words through the lust filled haze. “Not that I’m not really enjoying this, but what are we doing?”
“Do you want me to stop?”
He kissed the hollow of my neck and leaned back on the couch. I had to tear my eyes away from his amazing abs and chest. “Not really, but we haven’t done much of this,” I said motioning between us.
“Emmy, I almost let you slip away once because I didn’t push and I was being stupid. I want to do what’s right for you, but I only have so much self control. You are an amazing, sexy, confident woman, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out without trying to take this to the next level. And yes, I’m incredibly jealous of your ex-husband.”
I laughed. “So you’re saying you’ll go to the wedding with me?”
“Baby, I’ll go wherever you’ll let me.”
I threaded my fingers in his hair and led his mouth down to mine. Just as Adam’s hands moved to the zipper of my skirt, his work cell started ringing.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I said, dropping my head back on the couch. His head rested on my chest for a second before he dug in his pocket to pull it out and answer.
“Dr. Parker.” Long pause. “Shit. Okay, prep an OR and I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
He hung up quickly and reached down for his shirt.
“I didn’t think you were on call.”
He sighed and looked at me with pleading eyes. “I’m not, but this is one of my high risk patients.”
I sat up slowly. “I get it. Go play God and I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me later if it’s not too late?”
He tugged his shirt over his head and adjusted himself in his pants. His hard on couldn’t be comfortable, but there wasn’t a chance to help him with it tonight.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
He kissed me goodbye, playfully nipping at my bottom lip, and was out the door before I could even sit up. Being left high and dry after getting all worked up wasn’t my idea of a good time, but Adam’s patients couldn’t control when they went into labor. Apparently my vibrator would be getting a good workout tonight. I sighed and took a long drink of my wine before turning on the TV to distract myself from my raging hormones.
Adam took the room key from the front desk clerk and winked. He’d managed to get us an upgrade to an amazing suite even though the hotel was booked solid. I didn’t ask questions, but I was excited for a romantic weekend with him—our first romantic weekend together. Taylor and Stephen were coming in a few hours and I wanted time alone with Adam before they showed up.
This was the first time in over a week that we’d had any time alone together. After the night he had to rush out, I had to fly to Los Angeles for business the next day for an emergency meeting with a client. Of course, those meetings took two days longer than I planned. I almost had to meet Adam in Vegas instead of flying out together like we had planned.
He slid the key down into the lock and it flashed green. The grin he shot me over his shoulder made my insides melt. While I was gone, we’d had a few steamy phone conversations. Now we were both so anxious to get into the hotel room and have alone time that neither of us noticed the flashing light on my cell phone. I giggled as Adam playfully tugged me down on top of him on the couch.
In seconds, I tugged his shirt off and unbuttoned his pants. His fingers tangled in my hair and his tongue trailed along my neck, finding the sweet spot b
ehind my ear almost instantly. I nipped at his chest, causing him to laugh and smack my butt. I giggled as he tugged my shirt over my head and then groaned as he took in the sheer transparent bra I’d chosen.
“Baby, I think that bra alone made the wait worth it.”
He sucked at my nipple through the thin fabric and I arched to give him better access. A knock on the door made me pause. Adam groaned and rested his head against my shoulder. I pushed him off and reached for my shirt.
“Who in the hell is that?” I asked him in confusion. “Taylor’s flight was supposed to get in at seven tonight. Who else knows we’re here?”
My phone chimed and there was another knock at the door.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Adam groaned. “You get the door and I’ll grab your phone.”
I nodded and tried to fix my mussed hair and smudged lipstick before opening the door. Violet and Jaxon stood in front of me with sheepish looks on their faces.
“I take it Taylor didn’t tell you we were here already.”
“Nope,” I said popping the p at the end. I loved these two, but what the hell? I didn’t ruin their adult time.
“We can come back later,” Vi said quickly. “We just wanted to say hi and see if you were free for lunch.”
Adam walked over, tugging his shirt in place. “That was work. They need you to call as soon as you can. Something about the brat and the prince have hooked up.”
I groaned. “No, no, no. I’m not PR, they need to handle this. I told Gina that she needed to start delegating.”
He kissed my temple. “I told her you were on vacation, but she insisted.” He smiled and held his hand out to my friends. “Hi, I’m Adam.”
“Oh, god. I’m so rude. Adam, this is Violet and her husband, Jaxon. Vi is Taylor’s sister.” I reached for my phone. “Give me two seconds to handle this.”
He shook his head. “Baby, let’s go to lunch with your friends. As far as work is concerned, you need to let Gina figure this one out. You gave her instructions and she needs to follow them. Text her if you’re really concerned, but don’t call. I know you and you’ll be on the phone for hours if you do.”
Violet stared at Adam. “I like you.”
He laughed. “You do?”
“Oh yeah. You’re what this girl needs. Lately all we’ve seen is the mogul part of Emmy, with you around we might actually get to see our fun friend.”
“Ha ha,” I said sarcastically. “I get it, okay. I won’t call and check in. No work this weekend, I promise. Let me just grab my purse and we can go.”
Adam held open the door for me and I slipped my hand in his as we follow Jaxon and Violet. He gave me a lopsided smile and I shook my head. It seemed like we weren’t ever going to get alone time.
***
Lunch turned into drinks by the pool, and then Taylor and Stephen got to the hotel and joined us. Adam seemed to be having a good time and everyone liked him, but I really wanted to go back to our hotel room alone. The afternoon was relaxing. For the first time in forever, we were all in the same place and no one was injured, had family drama, or was punching anyone out.
I had hoped Mason wouldn’t show up until the next day, but unfortunately he strolled up to our table and sat down next to me at dinner. It might not have been so awkward if he hadn’t draped his hand along the back of my chair and stared daggers at Adam. Luckily for everyone, Lexi came in soon after and made Mason move down so she could talk to Adam about a case she was working on.
My wine glass seemed to keep emptying itself, but the nice buzz I had going indicated it might have been doing something other than disappearing into thin air. I leaned into Adam and ran my lips up his neck. He turned to look at me with a knowing look in his eye.
“How many glasses of wine have you had, Emerald?” he asked softly in my ear.
I giggled and ran my hand along the lapel of his jacket as I leaned into him.
“Enough.”
“Baby, when you stand up you aren’t going to be able to walk. I’m going to have to carry you back to our room.” I pouted and he laughed. “I’ve watched you drink four glasses tonight. In the two years I’ve known you, you’ve barely ever finished one full glass.”
Oh shit.
“Can we go back to the room?”
He ran his hand along the back of my neck, brushing a few loose tendrils of hair away. “Are you sure? You seem to be having fun.”
I leaned in closer. “There are other ways I would like to be having fun right now.”
His eyes darkened, making my body heat with desire. Without breaking eye contact, he grabbed his wallet from his pocket and threw down a handful of bills.
“We’ll see you all tomorrow,” Adam said, helping me up from my chair.
“Night guys,” I chirped.
Lexi, Violet and Taylor all shared knowing looks. Even though I was completely buzzed, I definitely noticed. The last thing I saw before leaving was the hard set of Mason’s jaw. He looked defeated. The Mason I knew would never look like that; he would have found a way to fight. Mason saw our relationship as a lost cause, which gave me even more of a reason to move on.
I leaned on Adam as we took the elevator up to our suite. My eyes were getting heavier and even though I wanted to stay awake, I was having a horrible time of it. We had plans; sexytime plans, and I didn’t want to give those up, even if I was drunk. Man was I drunk. The doors to the elevator opened and I stumbled out like a newborn colt. Adam’s arm wrapped around my waist and he steadied me.
“Easy there, baby.” He fished in his pocket for the room key as I leaned against the doorframe. The door opened and he swept me up in his arms. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
“Yeah, let’s go to bed.” I kissed his neck and his soft laughter filled the room.
“You’re in no condition to do any of that fun stuff tonight.”
I put my hands on my hip, pouting like a child. “And why not?”
“Emmy, you can barely stand for goodness sake.”
I grinned. “I don’t have to stand for what I have in mind.”
Adam picked me up and carried me to the bedroom, putting me down in the center of the bed. He carefully pulled off my strappy heels and tugged my tight skirt down my hips. I giggled when his hands skimmed my body to pull off my loose fitting top. The bulge in his pants grew as he continued taking pieces of clothes off my body.
“You’re killing me,” he said, looking down at me. I was in my bra and panties, a different set than earlier. This one was cream lace. It wasn’t as sheer as before, but it gave off the illusion that I wasn’t wearing anything at all.
“Come here.” I crooked my finger at him and bit down on my full bottom lip. “Let me help you out with your situation.”
“Emmy,” he said in warning. He let me pull him over by his belt loops, and struggle with unfastening his belt before his hands gently stopped me. “If we do this, it isn’t going to end well.”
I batted my eyelashes at him and leaned back on my elbows. “Don’t you want to have sex with me? We’ve been trying to do this for so long.”
“You know I do, I just want to make sure it’s right. I don’t think you being drunk off your ass the first time is how we need to do this.”
I threw myself back on the bed with an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. Never mind. You win, no sex tonight.”
He laughed and sat down next to me. His fingers trailed across my stomach. “It’s going to be amazing when we do actually fuck for the first time, but there’s nothing saying that I can’t get you off.”
My body heated at his words. As his hand trailed down to my boy shorts, my stomach clenched.
And not in a good way.
I pushed him off and ran towards the bathroom, making it just in time to throw up all four glasses of wine I had drunk at dinner. When I finally quit throwing up, I rested my face on the edge of the tub, allowing the cool porcelain to chill my heated skin. Adam came in a few minutes later to check on me. He squat
ted down and I turned my head away, embarrassed as hell that I was so drunk I was puking up my guts. I hadn’t done that since college.
“Feel better?”
I nodded miserably. He wrapped a soft cotton robe around my body and cradled me in his arms as he carried me back to the bed. I watched him tug his shirt over his head and pull his pants down over his trim hips. If I had the energy, I would probably still be trying to get him to have sex with me. When he curled up behind me, a small contented sigh slipped out.
“Sleep, baby. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
***
I woke up sore as hell and with the worst cotton mouth ever, but all things considered I felt better than I should. A glass of water and two ibuprofen sat on the nightstand. Adam was sweeter than I deserved. The clock read ten am, meaning I had forty-five minutes before I had to meet up with the girls for our scheduled spa day. Then I would be helping Taylor get ready for her wedding. She had still opted to keep it secret that this was her wedding, but everyone knew the truth. That was Taylor though, the least amount of fuss the better. Honestly, if Stephen would have agreed to go to the courthouse to get married she would have been perfectly happy.
“Good morning, baby.”
Adam came into the bedroom wearing basketball shorts. His broad chest was on display and covered in sweat.
“Where have you been this morning?” I asked.
He kissed my forehead and handed me the water from the nightstand. “While your lazy butt was sleeping I went to the gym.”
“You’re amazing. I’m so sorry I’m such a mess, Adam.”
I threw myself back on the bed and tugged a pillow over my face.
“Dramatic much? Baby, I knew you were a mess before we started this, remember?”
I peeked out at him. “That was mean.”
He sat down on the bed next to me. “That was a joke, Emmy. Considering how awkward it was at dinner last night, I’m surprised everyone at that table wasn’t bombed.”
“I know this whole situation is weird, but I’m really happy you came with me.”
He leaned over me and I took in a deep breath as he placed a kiss on my neck. My hands ran along his arms and my robe slipped open. He grinned when I climbed on top of him and straddled his lap. I moaned as he pressed into me and rolled us so he was on top of me. His fingers tangled in my hair as he kissed down my sternum. As he was about to move my bra to the side, my annoying ringtone filled the bedroom.
Flawless: A Relentless Series Novel (The Relentless Series Book 4) Page 11