“Wow. Can’t you see how fucked up this is, Nate? She’s our sister-in-law’s best friend. Things could get messy. Would you regret it then?”
“Not even a little.” I shook my head and huffed. “None of this was a concern for you while you sniffed Amy’s ass for the last year.”
“For me it’s one and done. We have our fun, and part as friends…”
“When has a woman you fucked considered you a friend afterward?”
“That’s beside the point. I’m the one who thinks with his dick; it’s expected.” His eyes widened and he groaned. “Shit. What happens if you two get married? I’m supposed to retrain my brain from imagining my sister-in-law naked?”
My stomach turned, and I forced myself to believe it was his comment about marriage that caused it and not the thought of him seeing her naked. “Shut up, you ass. We are not getting married.”
“Either way, it sucks.”
“You’ll get over it.” I would bet my Rolex as much. In fact, once we went out to the bar, I had no doubt my brother would be scouting out his next lay, and this entire conversation would be forgotten.
However, whether I would get over it once this thing between me and Amy ran its course remained to be seen.
Tapping an aggressive pattern on the glass surface with my pen did little to calm my annoyance. Last I spoke to this particular client on Friday, just three days ago, the papers couldn’t be signed fast enough for him.
“Things happened, and we started talking things out,” he said. Code for they fucked, and the lust is once again parading as love. “I’m really sorry, Nate. I owe it to myself to give it another shot.” After two affairs and a hundred hours billed at my rates, now the sap decided to give it another shot?
“Yeah, no problem. Good luck to you guys.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate that.” He hung up, and all I could think was, What a sucker.
I gave it a month. The once-a-cheater stigma was real. In this case, it was his pretty wife doing the cheating, most recently with the hot gardener. My client walked in to see them fucking in his shed. The first affair had been with their accountant. And since her partners were getting younger and hotter, experience told me that the dad bod my client had going wouldn’t hold her interest for much longer.
I twisted my wrist, and seeing the time forced me to suppress a groan. Not even noon yet, and it was already the day from hell.
It all started at 5:00 a.m. when I’d gone to work out, only to realize upon getting to the gym that I had lost the key Max gave me. He wasn’t happy getting a phone call from me at that ungodly hour. Nor was he thrilled that he should probably change the lock. “It wasn’t like I had it labeled as master key to MAXimum Fitness,” I said before asking, “I’m getting another key, right?”
Since normal hours began at six, and that was too late for my workouts, Max had given me access to come and go as I pleased. Because I was the responsible sibling, he had no issue doing so. I loved starting my days alone in silence.
Max gave me that key years ago, along with his apartment’s key, and we kept that info from Brad. Contrary to me actually using the place to work out, Brad would no doubt use it for extracurricular activities after the bar’s closing hours. And there was no telling what he would do at their apartment when they were out of town, which was often.
But the irony was that I had been so distracted of late that I’d begun acting the role of our irresponsible brother, who thought with his dick first.
“Nate, you have a visitor,” Simone said over the phone’s speaker.
“I’m not available,” I barked, hating that my trusty assistant received the brunt of my mood. “Sorry, Simone.”
“Not a problem, but she said it would only take a minute.”
“Who is it?”
“Amy Delton.”
I couldn’t have been more shocked. “Send her in.” Maybe my day was about to look up. The door slowly opened, and there she stood in painted-on jeans and a pale-blue sweater that not only accentuated those fabulous tits but also made her gorgeous eyes even bluer.
“Hey,” she said hesitantly. “I’m sorry to bother you.”
“You’re not bothering me.” Just the contrary. I moved to where she stood and leaned close to shut the door. Her intoxicating scent hit me just as she twisted her neck, bringing our faces a few inches apart. When I straightened and brushed my shoulder against hers, she stiffened a bit, as did my cock. “Come in. Sit down.”
“I’m fine.” She swept her gaze around my modern office, taking in the glass desk positioned before the large windows and landing on the seating area, which consisted of a white marble coffee table, a black leather couch, and matching club chairs. “Impressive.”
“Thank you. What can I do for you, Jersey?”
My eyes tracked her hand slipping into the front pocket of her jeans. “I found this on my living room floor,” she said, holding out a familiar key ring. “I’m assuming it’s yours.”
“It is.” I palmed the dangling brass piece, catching her fingers at the same time. “But you could’ve called me and saved the trip. I would’ve stopped by to get it.”
Her chin lifted pointedly. “I’d rather give it to you here.”
“Why?”
“It’s safer.”
“Safer?” I repeated, amused. “Am I dangerous to be with, Jersey?” I asked, all while knowing she was the danger. If given a signal, I would have my door locked and her bent over my desk in a heartbeat, professionalism be damned.
“Yes, you are.” She hitched the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and shifted on her Chucks-clad feet.
“You sure you don’t want to sit down for this discussion?”
Ignoring my question, she leveled me with her eyes. “We need to set some ground rules.”
I schooled my features to hide the shock but allowed elation to reveal itself through a slow grin. This wasn’t her normal not happening again mantra. This was—we are going to keep doing this, but…
I could deal with a but.
“Okay. Name them.”
“I’m very behind in my novel, and you need to respect my work schedule. Just like I wouldn’t come here in the middle of the day and distract you, I expect the same consideration.”
“For the record, if you were to show up here during the day to distract me”—I stepped closer while shoving my hands into my pockets—“rest assured I’d drop everything. But okay, Jersey. I can be considerate. Is that it?”
“No. If you’re doing this with me, then you’re not doing it with anyone else. Same holds true on my end. You feel the need to get your thrills elsewhere, then you end it with me first… and vice versa for me.”
A flash of something hit me square in the chest… getting her thrills elsewhere, my ass. “Exclusive fucking. Got it. Anything else?”
“That’s it… for now.”
“Okay, I have one of my own.” I closed the distance and slid a hand around her waist to rest above her ass. “No more condoms.” Wondering what she felt like bare had consumed my thoughts. “I get tested regularly—a month ago, in fact—and still have never gone without. Can you do what’s necessary on your end?”