by A. m Madden
“Well, happy birthday,” I said, but Jade’s gaze followed Amy’s hasty exit until I asked, “Would you like another drink, on the house?”
“Thank you. I’ll have a Cosmo…and a gun,” she added quietly, shifting in her seat.
“Change your mind about the knifing method?”
“No…the gun is for me.”
My chuckle loosened her scowl a bit. From where I still stood, I watched as she crossed her legs, drawing my attention to the way her gray skirt molded over her toned thighs. My gaze made the natural progression up, to how her matching jacket clung to her narrow waist and perky breasts. When my line of sight reached her face, she quirked a brow.
“Walk with me to the bar?” I asked.
Wordlessly and apprehensively, she followed. I led her to an empty stool, and only after she sat did I make my way around the bar to fetch our drinks.
“So, you and Brad, twins, huh?”
I slid the Cosmo over the worn wood bar top toward her. “Technically, we’re triplets.”
As if he heard me, Brad strolled back behind the bar, holding a case of vodka, with an all-knowing smirk.
“Well…well. It’s my Kismet Karaoke winner.” Brad placed the liquor down and leaned over his side of the bar, angling his tall frame toward her while putting on his best game face. “Jade, right?”
“That’s me.” She sharpened her gaze on my brother’s face. “Identical triplets, isn’t that rare?”
“One in a million,” Brad boasted. “Kind of like how beautiful you are. I’ve never seen you in here before.”
Oh, Christ. “Enough with the cheesy pickup lines,” I scoffed with an eye roll. “Although he’s right on the beautiful part.”
“Thank you.” Jade gifted us with a genuine smile, but then it faltered. “This is my first time here. My friend and I stumbled in. Um, but as you know, she had to leave…to fly…not literally fly, an early flight. I don’t know why I stayed. It’s not like I sit around bars by myself, but you asked me to stick around…and I already mentioned I plan on killing her when she gets home, so this may be my last night of freedom before I go to jail. So, there’s that…”
“Well, then, glad Brad’s Tavern is where you choose to spend your last hours as a free woman.” My asshole brother covered her hand and with a gleam in his eye added, “Don’t let our identical faces fool you—I’m most definitely hotter.”
With raised brows, she slid her hand from beneath his when it was clear he wasn’t going to move it.
“Hey.” I snapped my fingers in his face and commanded, “Get lost.” He chuckled at the daggers I shot his way before giving me a condescending bow.
“You really are identical.” Jade flicked her line of sight to Brad before her eyes reconnected with mine and held. “Minus the dimples. Shouldn’t you both have them?”
“I’m the only one who does. Although we all have the same DNA, we are not all exact replicas of the other. But only our parents could ever tell us apart at first glance.”
Another stunning smile lit up her face. “That’s amazing. Who’s older?”
“Me, then Nate, and then Brad…and the idiot likes to bust our balls that God saved the best for last. We prefer to think he was just lazy.”
Brad said, “I heard that.”
I lifted the Cosmo I made for her, grabbed myself a beer, and said, “Let’s move back to a table, Jade.”
“Okay.” She waited for me to come around the bar before climbing off the stool. I couldn’t help but notice how her sexy black heels nicely showcased her toned legs. The table we had vacated was now occupied, forcing her to ask, “Where to?”
A jerk of my head prompted her to follow me to a small booth in the back corner. I paused, watching her slide into her respective side, and then I slid across the opposite bench, placing our drinks on the table between us.
“Thank you,” she said then took a sip.
“My pleasure.” I followed suit with my Stella, my eyes pinned to hers over the length of the bottle. “So, tell me about yourself.”
“Not much to tell.” The way her focus darted to her drink, and her teeth scored her bottom lip, intensified my intrigue.
“It’s your birthday… How old are you today?”
“Twenty-seven. You?”
“Thirty-one.” I pinned my intense gaze to hers. Caught in her web, I wanted to kiss her badly. And if I was being honest, I wanted to get the hell out of there and do it properly. Instead, I continued the conversation. “Do you live in the city?”
“Yes.”
“Work, too?”
“Yes.”
With each question she answered, I became more and more intrigued. “What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer.” When my brows reached my hairline, she asked, “What?”
“Sorry, I didn’t expect that.” I wasn’t about to admit I imagined her to be a lingerie model. “I’m sure you’re mesmerizing to watch in the courtroom.”
“It’s rare I have to appear before a judge, but when I do, the opposing counsel doesn’t think so,” she responded dryly. I liked her sense of humor. “What do you do?”
“I own a gym a few blocks away. What kind of law?”
“Um…estate.” She seemed distracted as her slim fingers twirled the stem of her glass, then she focused on me. “So, you own a gym and your brother owns a bar. What’s your other brother do?”
“He’s also a lawyer…divorce.”
“That’s interesting. What made you all go into such different businesses?”
“Our careers pretty much sum up our personalities. I could never do what they do, and vice versa. I like to bust their chops that I improve people’s lives, while one offers them incoherent debauchery and the other destroys relationships.”
An easy laugh erupted from her perfect lips and, combined with her stunning smile, caused a surge of desire to shoot through me.
She couldn’t possibly have any idea of the imagery I suddenly had of her in my bed, sheets tucked up around her naked body, laughing at something I had said. Yet all humor left our expressions at the same time, leaving me dying to know if her thoughts mimicked my own.
We stared at each other far longer than would be considered normal for two strangers. It was weird and at the same time not.
“I’ve seen you before,” I admitted, watching as she pressed her berry-tinted lips together in a firm line. “I own MAXimum Fitness.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve been there.” She cocked her head. “I thought you looked familiar. You have a nice place.”
“Thank you. But you’ve only been in once, right?”
“Yeah.” Her brows scrunched a little. “Wait, how do you know that?”
“I looked on our visitor log the day I saw you,” I said, with no shame. “Besides your signature, you left no info.”
“I left my email, too. [email protected].”
“Sixty-nine, huh?” I smirked suggestively. “I think I would have remembered that.”
“My birthday. June ninth,” she clarified with an eye roll. “Six nine.”
“Ah, gotcha. Anyway, I haven’t seen you since. Why just the one time? Did you not have a good experience?”
“Truth?” On my nod, she shrugged. “I got your promotional flyer in the mail and didn’t want to waste a free smoothie.” A devilish expression spread on her face as she lifted her drink to drain it.
I laughed. “Was it good, at least? The smoothie.”
“Delicious. I got the acai berry.” And as she sat there, she continued to hold my rapt attention. “Actually, I really don’t have time to work out.”
“Maybe I can change your mind.” When another flare of seduction again zipped between us, I wanted nothing less than getting out of there. But instead, not wanting to scare her away, I nodded toward her now empty glass and asked, �
��Would you like another?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m good. Thank you for the drink.”
I wasn’t ready to see her go and schooled my disappointment by asking, “You can thank me with your number.”
“What if I don’t want to give it to you?” The devious look in her eyes returned, and I leaned forward.
“Then I’ll have to find other ways to track you down,” I teased.
Her lips parted on a small inhale, spurring the need to kiss her, with the memory of our first kiss tingling my lips for a repeat.
Fuck it.
Just as I was about to ask permission, a buzzing sound came from her side of the table. She reached for her bag, pulled back, but then decided to retrieve her phone after all. Those perfect teeth yet again clamped down on her plump bottom lip as she read a text. Whatever it said must have annoyed her, because she slapped the phone on the table with a groan.
“Everything okay?”
“Um…yeah. Amy is just checking in on me, although it would serve her right if you killed me after she left me with a complete stranger.”
“I’m not an ax murderer, I promise,” I said, flashing a grin, to which she made a slow blink. “If it makes you feel any better…” I pulled out my wallet and then my license. Sliding it across the table to her, I added, “Text her a picture of it.”
An incredulous laugh erupted while she eyed my license.
“What’s so funny?”
“Amy had also suggested I do this before she abandoned me.” When she pulled her phone back out to snap a shot, it was my turn to chuckle.
“Well, on that note, can I see your license, too?” Her brown eyes held humor as she waited for me to continue. “My last relationship ended very badly when I was forced to bring kidnapping charges up against her.” I rubbed my wrists in mock agony. “I still have nightmares of those scratchy ropes.”
A grin twitched at the corners of her lips. “Lucky for you, I use silk. Only the best.”
“In that case, want to get out of here?”
“I do,” she said, an undeniable desire in her tone replacing all humor.
Hooking up with a stranger hadn’t been on my agenda tonight. I’d never do anything a woman wasn’t willing to, but hell, I wanted her, and she clearly felt the same.
Brad was lucky this was the outcome. Now I wouldn’t have to kill him.
Minutes later, we were in a taxi. “Where to?”
Without a pause, Jade rambled off an address for the driver. The drive from the East Village to Chelsea took about fifteen minutes. Just as the cab veered toward the curb, Jade wordlessly pulled out her wallet.
“I got it,” I said, placing a firm hand on hers.
“Thank you.” She smiled shyly before slipping out of the car. With her hand on the open door, she then peered inside. My pause was enough to send the message that I wasn’t sure if her offer still held and meant what I’d hoped. “Aren’t you coming up?” she asked.
“Are you sure you want me to?”
She leaned farther in, allowing long silky tresses to fan her pretty face. With a subtle breeze, some of the wisps pointed right toward her mouth. “Yes, Max. It’s my birthday, and I’d like to spend the rest of it with you.”
One smile, one lingering gaze, and one sincere admission brought with them imagery of the pleasure I knew would soon come.
“Well, then. It’s time to celebrate properly.”
I paid the cab and followed her into the nondescript brick building that looked like every other one on the street. It was barely eleven, still a respectable hour for many New Yorkers to be milling around, enjoying their night.
She unlocked the inner door and led me to the elevator. As we rose up seven flights to her floor, Jade glanced up at me. “For the record, I’ve never done this before.”
“Ridden in an elevator?”
Jade bit her bottom lip, shaking her head, and a pretty pink hue warmed her face.
Widening my eyes, I sucked in an exaggerated gulp of air. “Oh my God…neither have I!” I wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from my forehead. “I’m so glad we addressed that awkward truth. It’s very hard defending my choice of being an elevator virgin at my age.”
Relaxing at my quip, she laughed. “You’re a smart-ass.”
I chuckled, pushing my arm against hers. “Stop thinking so hard, counselor.”
“I’m afraid that’s easier said than done.” While still sporting a grin, she led me into her apartment.
A decent-sized living room opened to a kitchen. The opposite wall led to a hallway. A few framed decorative pictures hung on the slivers of wall space around floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Each shelf displayed an array of paperback and hardcover novels with knickknacks scattered between them.
“You like to read?” I asked, walking closer to read the titles. The entire top two shelves of books were from the same author named A. Delton. I pointed to them and smiled. “You’re a fan?”
“That’s actually Amy. She writes romance novels,” she admitted with a shrug.
“That’s a very cool profession.”
“She’s good at it. In fact, tomorrow she’s off to yet another book signing in Florida.” She removed her suit jacket and hooked it on the coat rack beside the door, leaving her in that sexy skirt and a sleeveless pale pink blouse. A flash of uncertainty crossed over her face but was gone as quick as it came. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Water would be great.”
Awkwardness hung heavily in the air. Absent were the dynamics usually found before jumping into a one-night stand, such as getting naked as soon as possible and running away once it was done. Strangely enough, I wasn’t interested in a quick fuck. That would be too shallow for a woman like Jade. The thought of slow and deep was what had my libido standing at attention.
But being with her now in a quiet apartment, without a loud bar scene to distract, the reserved woman I suspected she was became even more apparent. It possibly had to do with her profession, and it made sense in contrast to her boisterous author friend. Yet my gut felt it was much more than her line of work that contributed to an aloofness that came off as sexy rather than bitchy.
When Jade opened the fridge door, my eyes caught on a picture held up by a plastic monkey. In the photo, Jade smiled as Amy hugged her.
“Nice place,” I said as she handed me a cold bottle of water. Twisting the cap, I helped myself to a long swig, needing it to cool me down a bit.
“Thanks. Rent is a high, but we like the neighborhood.” When she motioned toward the couch, I sat on one end and she sat beside me.
“So…” she said, stretching the tiny word out into a few syllables.
“So,” I repeated with a smile.
She smiled back, in spite of the way she fiddled with the button on her blouse.
“You’ve never invited a strange man to your place?”
Her large brown eyes widened a bit, revealing specks of gold I hadn’t noticed before. “Are you strange?” she teased.
“I can be.” I shrugged. “Why tonight?”
“I like you.” It wasn’t as hesitant of a response as it should have been. “Have you…you know…ever had a woman…who you didn’t know?”
“Yes, but anyone I hooked up with wanted the same thing I did—consenting adults looking for just one night of mindless sex.”
“What makes you think I’m not a consenting adult looking for just one night of mindless sex?” she countered, that tentative smile quirking her mouth to the side. Zoning in on those gorgeous lips caused me to take a moment to respond. I slowly lifted my focus to her eyes, almost losing my train of thought. “Well?” she pressed.
“Well, maybe it’s the circumspect expression on your face right now?”
“Maybe that’s just my game face,” she quipped with confidence. There i
t was, that unguarded countenance that showed me a glimpse of Jade in her true glory.
I reached over and skimmed a fingertip across her cheek to release a piece of hair that stuck to her lip, suppressing a chuckle when she jumped at my touch. “Point proven.”
“Okay, you caught me off guard.” Adorably, she shook her arms out at her sides while twisting her neck back and forth like a fighter preparing to spar. “Go ahead, touch me again,” she instructed. “I’m ready now.”
“My pleasure.” Once again, I reached toward her face, this time using my entire palm to cup her cheek. Not stopping there, I slid my hand into her hair, pulled her closer, and finally fused my mouth to hers.
Chapter Four
Jade
He maintained his grip on my neck just as I opened my mouth, allowing his tongue access to softly tangle with mine. With the kiss still going strong, when I straddled him, hearing a sexy moan rumble through him was all it took for my reservations to dissipate into thin air.
God, I was horny.
Max sliding his hands down my back and pressing them on my ass created a delicious friction between our groins. In just a few seconds, all I could think of while kissing him was I wanted more and prayed he felt the same.
The thrill of exploring unfamiliar lips for the first time popped the cork in the bottle holding my pent-up desire, causing it to bubble to the surface and spill freely.
I could feel his hardness beneath me, and the way he continued to grip my hips gave me the confidence I desperately needed to continue on this crazy quest.
When a subtle tremor traveled through me, he broke the kiss and asked, “You okay?”
“I’m great,” I sputtered before leaning in to resume where we’d left off.
Placing his fingertips on my lips, he halted my progress. “Then why are you trembling?” I tried to turn away, but he gripped my chin. “Jade?”
“I’ve never been kissed like that before,” I said quietly on a shrug. “And I don’t know why I just shared that with you.”
“I’m glad you did…because that’s a fucking shame, Jade.” The timbre of his voice left no question what he implied.