“Stop, you guys are gross.” Olivia flipped them off. “I hope you all get diarrhea while you are wearing white and there isn’t a bathroom anywhere around . . . oh, and that you are surrounded by people.”
“You love us, you know you do.” Adeline kicked one foot out and lightly tapped Olivia. “It’s just weird that Max deals with guns, and you’re a fucking gunslinger. I can’t help but think that it is a match made in heaven.”
“I couldn't have thought up a better couple myself,” Sunday added.
When Adeline sees Max coming over to join them, she changes the topic. Yes, they loved to pick on each other, but they rarely let other people in on the action. They’d never truly embarrass each other in front of others. “So, how's the business these days, Max?”
“The past few weeks have been driving me to drink, I tell ya. People are nuts, they come here for the wrong reasons, ya know?” Max ran his fingers along his mustache. “They come here when they are mad, thinking that firing a gun will help them let it out. They get pissed at me when I refuse to let them on my range. Then there are the ones who think they are all gangsta and know shit from watching television and movies. When they fill out the forms they mark, yes, to knowing how to handle a gun. This kind of shit is bad for business. If only we could give IQ tests along with background checks, but of course, that will never happen. They don’t want anyone to feel forced into disclosing information that would make them uncomfortable, but then they wonder why we don’t have all the information when the guy goes nuts and shoots people. They never understand that it is called selective enforcement. A slippery damn slope.”
“Stay true, Max. You keep making people spend a day with you on the range before they buy their first gun, do things your way. We will always support you.” Adeline patted his shoulder before picking up her duffle bag and heading out the door.
Chapter Nineteen
Adeline
It was Adeline’s turn to cook and the truth was, she just didn’t feel like it, so she picked up a pizza from Giordano’s on her way home instead. She knew the girls would be on high alert immediately, since Adeline loved to cook, but her heart just wasn’t in it. Her heart was firmly with a gorgeous man and his German Shepherd. Adeline wondered what they were doing right then as she grabbed a slice, poured herself a glass of vodka on ice, and dropped a slice of lime into it. Instead of heading into the living room, which was normally where they all ate and drank, she headed outside to the pool.
She needed to talk with the girls, they were best friends after all, would they criticize her for having feelings toward a client, or would they encourage her? Wait, was Riley even a client anymore? Swishing her legs back and forth, Adeline watched the swirls break into waves and then dissipate . . . oh the irony . . . love was much the same way. It was all swirls and then it hit waves and dissipated into nothingness.
“Boo.” Adeline jumped at the sound of Melanie’s voice as she copped a squat next to her. “You were a million miles away, you didn’t even move when I came out.”
“I’m sorry, just got a lot on my mind.”
“A lot on your mind or a hottie on your mind?” Melanie shoulder bumped her friend, obviously trying to get a smile out of her.
“It’s that obvious, huh? I feel guilty. He’s a client, or rather, was, right? I shouldn’t be interested in him. I don’t know, I can’t explain it. He makes me feel something, something that I can’t remember ever feeling before. But I’m scared.” Adeline kicked her feet harder, splashing water.
“What are you scared of?”
“You.”
Hurt crossed over Melanie’s face at that confession.
“Sunday, Olivia.”
“Whoa, what about us? Since when is the great Adeline Morgan scared of anyone?”
“I don’t want to let you all down, I don’t want to let myself down. I know the rules. We made them for a reason, professionalism. But . . .”
Melanie nodded. “Yeah, I see what you mean. It’s risky. I don’t think that you should take a chance. What if he’s just like all the other guys and turns out to be scum?”
Adeline sniffled. “Yeah, that.”
“Then again, what if he turns out to be one of the good guys? Someone who truly can fall in love with just one person for the rest of his life?”
Adeline kicked her feet again. “No such thing.”
“Ad, even you know that’s a broad brushstroke. Come on, you can’t seriously think that, right?”
“No, I don’t. But come on, it’s unreasonable for me to like him this much when we haven’t even really kissed.”
“So, there have been some fake kisses?”
“Stop being stupid.”
“Me? Do you hear yourself?”
“All I mean is that he has given me a little peck, but nothing heavy duty.”
Melanie shrugged, “Uh-huh. And isn’t that how all relationships start? Well, the ones that last anyway. Call me crazy, but you see there’s this thing that has been going on for centuries and it’s called love at first sight. Crazy, I know. But believe it or not, some people’s souls or hearts or whatever it is just recognize each other. Maybe you two have that?”
“It isn’t hearts or souls or whatever. It’s pheromones. Science, Melanie, it’s a real thing. My rational arguments aside, what about our rules, or Sunday and Olivia?”
“What fucking rule? I don’t remember us ever having a rule that said you couldn’t fall in love or even have a life.”
“No, the one about mixing business with pleasure.”
Melanie let out a loud laugh. “You idiot. That rule was made when we were all much younger and wilder. If you remember, back then it was way more likely that one of us might sleep with a relative of a client. Hell, between the four of us, our conquests totally topped seven-ways to Kevin Bacon. It was more like three ways to our house.”
Adeline cracked up because it was sort of true.
“And as far as Sunday and Olivia go? They want what I want, and that is for you to be happy. We see some shitty things, but that doesn’t mean that all men are Satan. If you think he will make you happy, then you owe it to him and yourself to find out. We’ve done our job for Loren, and now it is just dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s. Go see if he feels the way you do.”
“But what if he doesn’t?”
“Oh, but what if he does?”
Adeline’s heart was beating a million miles a minute as she stood in front of Riley’s door.
Hell, she had been standing there for five minutes and had halfway talked herself out of this crazy notion, but then her phone rang.
Swiping to answer and pressing his doorbell at the same time caused an explosion of noise. Well, it sounded more like an explosion because Adeline could hear Gerda barking from inside the house and through the phone.
“Adeline, I’m sorry. Can you hold on? Someone is at my door. Platz, Gerda.” Riley gave the German command for Gerda to freeze, and silence fell in time for Adeline to hear the twisting of a lock. The door swung open, revealing the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.
She took one step forward and Riley swept her into his arms. His mouth came down to meet hers and he gave her the kiss she’d been fantasizing about. His mouth was unrelenting as his tongue tangled with hers and his hands slid down either side of her waist and around her butt.
When he spun, he took her with him and then kicked the door closed, shutting them away from the rest of the world. She hadn’t changed out of her work clothes from earlier, and for the first time, she was really glad that she was wearing a skirt. Riley worked his agile fingers down, down, until he was at the hem, and then deftly worked his way back up, his fingers sliding along her smooth legs as he bunched her skirt and lifted. Every inch of the way his hands deftly massaged her thighs until he could feel the heat radiating from her core. As he neared her center the heat intensified until her skirt was totally out of the way and he’d exposed her drenched, panty-clad pussy for his perusal.
“Let’s take this into the bedroom.” His voice was deep, deeper than Adeline had ever heard, but she followed him. Fuck who was she kidding, if he said to drink the red Kool-Aid, she’d drink the fucking red Kool-Aid, so long as she got the fucking orgasm that he was building inside her.
They moved through his house, Riley walking behind her, his arms wrapped around as he used his body to guide her. The whole time his fingers were working at the buttons of her shirt, then the zipper on her skirt, and finally the clasp of her bra, which got dropped at the side of his bed a second before he was bending her forward over his comforter.
“I’ve dreamed of you, right here in this spot.” His fingers danced down the length of her spine. His palms slid over her hips and her ass, smoothing their way over her curves as he slid her panties down her legs.
Adeline heard the sound of a buckle followed by a zipper, and the swish as his pants hit the floor. Then his mouth was on her skin, kissing along the path his hands had taken until he reached the curve of her shoulder.
When he slid his left hand between her legs, Adeline could feel her own moisture soaking him.
“God. Fuck, I love this. I fucking love the way my fingers sink into you.”
When he stopped, Adeline almost lost it and a smart-ass retort popped into her mind as she tried to demand that he keep going, but he was flipping her over, looking down at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. For looks like that, Adeline would keep her smart comments to herself.
“God, you’re so smooth. I need to taste you. Lay back.” Adeline did as ordered, her feet dangling off the bed. “I’m impressed, I thought it would take much more to get you to do as instructed.”
Adeline pushed up to get off the bed but Riley was faster.
“Uh huh, you’re here, exactly where I’ve wanted you for some time. Let me show you why it’s okay to give in every now and then.” Riley slid his hands under her ass and squeezed before removing her panties. Kneeling on the side of the bed like a man about to pray he came up between her legs, a calf resting on each shoulder, he lifted and leaned forward to breathe her in. He inhaled the mixture of musk and citrus as he used one hand to separate her folds. Lowering his head, he licked.
The gasp of breath that escaped Adeline only fueled Riley on as he increased his tempo, faster strokes, longer swipes. With his free hand, he moved it and slid one finger inside of her, then a second. His body was in perfect sync, tongue and fingers moved together in pace and so did his hips. He couldn’t help it, but he was so fucking aroused just watching Adeline lose control that out of some primal reaction, his body was thrusting to the same beat.
Adeline bucked, her hips rising off the bed, but Riley used his forehead to press down and licked again. Up and down, side to side, she thrust, and he used his tongue and mouth to nibble and suck on her clit.
Chapter Twenty
Riley
When her legs got heavier and a heat started radiating from her, he could tell that she was close. He curled his fingers into the come here gesture until she let out a low, drawn-out moan of pleasure.
“Riley, god . . . that—” A sharp gasp cut off her words, but he wasn’t done yet. Not even close, so he took her right to the edge and backed her away, only to bring her right back up again.
When he couldn’t stand the thought of not being inside her for one more second, he pulled back, stripped, and grabbed a condom from his dresser. All the while, Adeline panted and shifted, silently inviting him to take what she was so very clearly offering.
When he climbed back on top of her, he slid his arms under her—one moving up to press between her shoulder blades and the other snaking around her lower back—and rolled so she was straddling him. She was the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen, and he wanted to watch her taking his cock. He wanted to see himself be buried deep inside her.
The expression on her face when she sank down onto him was captivating, half-devious, half-lust drunk. And when she rocked her hips forward in a slow roll, Riley grabbed them, needing something to hold on to just as much as he needed to slow her. It was too fucking much.
Her head was thrown back, the column of her neck exposed, breasts on full display.
She was too much, too perfect in every way.
With the control of a saint, Riley slowly lifted her, completely enthralled by the way his body looked disappearing into her.
“Faster,” she panted, and he gave her what she wanted.
Faster and deeper and harder until they were both lost to the sensations.
When her body fisted around him and he could feel her orgasm starting to vibrate through his own damn body, he rocked her clit against his own skin . . . and smiled.
“Oh, fuck,” she cried breathlessly.
“Yep, that’s exactly what I’m doing.” Riley brought Adeline’s mouth to his, taking it as thoroughly as he was taking her body.
He wanted to hear her shout his name.
He wanted to see that moment of ecstasy as it crossed her face.
He needed it more than he needed the heart in his damn chest.
“That’s it, baby, let me see you come again.”
Forward, up, down, and again. Adeline threw her head back as her body tensed and the heat rolled through her. Riley flipped her onto her back, threw one leg over his shoulder, and fucked her through her orgasm before chasing his own.
Chapter Twenty-One
Adeline
Adeline was fixing a pot of coffee when the elevator doors opened and Loren walked out, followed by Riley. She rocked on her heels, a little unsteady at the sight of him, since she’s been avoiding his calls ever since their night together. Now here he was in their office, and he was gorgeous.
Guiding them in, Melanie and Olivia moved into the boardroom and took their normal seats, but this time Riley didn’t sit next to Loren, instead he moved to the vacant seat on Adeline’s right. She jumped when he placed a hand onto her leg.
“You look beautiful this morning, I’ve missed talking to you.” He moved one hand to the nape of her neck, but Adeline flinched and pulled away.
“Yeah, been busy.” She swallowed hard, trying not to face him.
Once everyone was settled Melanie began. “Loren, you realize that your husband hasn’t been playing golf, correct?”
“Yeah, I sort of put those pieces together when he never mentioned his clubs were missing.”
“Well, we know you need solid evidence for the prenuptial agreement, and we were able to get substantial proof to back this claim up.” Sunday moved her mouse and brought up several photos, scrolling through in a slow still-life movie.
“Huh, that’s Hillary Chatham. She’s married.”
“So is your husband,” Adeline added.
“Did you or Greg know Hillary before she married Dan?” Sunday asked as she moved her mouse, looking for the next set of photos.
“No, why?”
Sunday brought up the yearbook photos from Stetson University and then they walked through what they knew about Tertiary Development and how Hillary and Greg owned the company together. Loren’s complexion grew sallow when Sunday told her about the land that she had for Noelle and how Greg had forged her name. He’d filed a quit claim deed and sold it to Tertiary with the sole intention of having Tertiary, his own company, sell it to the city for a fuck-ton amount of profit. Loren threw one hand to her mouth as if she was trying not to vomit.
“Are you okay, Loren? If you want to stop here, we can. We can bring in our attorney and let him handle everything from this point on if you’d like.” Adeline reached forward and clasped Loren’s hands.
“No, I want to get that son of a bitch. It’s one thing to screw me over, but his daughter? How dare he. She’s only four years old. She’s innocent, and he wants to steal from her? Oh hell no. What else do you have? Let’s fry him.”
Adeline clapped her hands together. Their clients were usually divided fifty-fifty at this point. Some got mad and some got
depressed. Adeline always had more fun with those that got pissed.
“How do I get my land back?”
“That’s easy, it’s yours. Since inheritance isn’t considered marital property, Greg didn’t have the authority to sell it. That means, Tertiary bought stolen property, and they are out any money they paid plus whatever damages you would like to go after them for.”
“What about the deal with the city?”
“He will have to handle that, it’s considered a major conflict of interest to have the city purchase from your own business, especially on a land deal such as this. This particular deal will require some serious investigations, and they will probably bring in an interim mayor during that time,” Melanie explained.
Sunday clicked a few more pictures and then turned on the audio from the luncheon at Cooper’s Hawk.
“And who is she? I thought that Hillary was the owner of Tertiary.”
“Keep listening,” Sunday warned.
And Loren did as Sunday instructed and slowly it all made sense. “So how many women is he screwing?”
“We only have been able to find those two, but we don’t think they know about each other. We think they each believe that he’s leaving you for them,” Adeline explained.
“Good riddance to bad rubbish, they can have him. Not that they’ll be able to keep him happy—hell, I don’t think the entire squad of Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders could keep him happy, not as long as he thinks someone might have had them first. So, what’s next?” Loren was practically bouncing in her seat. Revenge looked good on her.
“Now, if Riley is willing, we have him call and see if he can get Trinity’s contact information, explain that he has some questions for her, perhaps about selling his land parcel to the city or about selling it at a loss once it is rezoned. Let’s see if Greg gives over the contact information or if he insists on meeting with them. Then, Loren, you call Hillary and invite her to lunch, be concerned about her sudden onset of migraine headaches.”
Roadster (Iron Ladies Book 1) Page 13