“Where have you been?” my best friend asks.

I’m sitting with Audrey at Friday night cocktails a week after that disastrous, and unexpected, Uber ride with Jace.

Jace. The man that now seems to plague every single spare thought I have.

I take a sip of my basil-infused cocktail and tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. “You know the Uber guy?”

Audrey’s face instantly lights up and she points at me. “I knew it! Tell me everything.”

I roll my eyes but can’t help the smile spreading over my lips. “The next day I ran into him at the movie theater.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. “We ended up spending the rest of the day together.”

She raises a brow. “And night?”

I shake my head. “No, we haven’t slept together.”

“Why not? You guys practically burnt the place up with the sexual tension.” She laughs. “In fact, when he disappeared, and you went off to the bathroom, I’d made bets with his friends about it.”

“You did not!”

“Did too!”

I bite my bottom lip. We hadn’t had sex yet, although it was just a matter of time. We’d done everything else, well, except give each other orgasms. We’d teased the other without mercy, but somehow orgasms were off the table. I’d had no way of knowing it would turn into a little game between us. My only consolation is I’m in better shape than he is because he’d made me come in that theater.

It was a twisted, evil, dirty game neither seemed inclined to end too soon. It was like a competition between us, to see who could go the longest without breaking. It was…weird. And I wasn’t about to tell Audrey about it because I wasn’t sure what to say.

“So, why haven’t you done the deed?” She takes a bite of bruschetta.

I shrug one shoulder. “What’s the rush? A week ago I thought he was the most despicable man on the planet.” Something I’m still fond of screaming out as his tongue plays over my clit, too light to push me over the edge.

She clasps a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide before she screeches. “Oh my god. You like him. I mean, you really like him.”

A tiny seed of panic sits in my belly because she’s right. I do, and I’m not sure what to do about it. As strange as it sounds, I’m not used to liking a man like this. To distraction. I wrinkle my nose. “Yeah, I’m afraid I do.”

She beams, bouncing in her chair a little. “This is so exciting. I had a feeling, and you do know how much I love to be right.”

I laugh. “That I do.”

“So tell me about him?”

I run my finger over the rim of my glass, then lick off the lemon-spiced sugar. It reminds me when Jace and I’d gone to dinner on Wednesday night after we’d both worked far too late and we’d gone out of our way trying to seduce each other. We’d gotten so exaggerated and pornish we’d dissolved into hopeless laughter right there at the table. “Well, he’s a doctor, in his last year of residency, but not a plastic surgeon exactly. He specializes in facial reconstruction, like if a child is born with a birth defect or someone is in an accident. So now I kind of feel bad about the fellowship.”

She nods. “Go on.”

“We are not only the same age but we have the same birthday.”

“Shut up.”

“It’s true.” I shake my head. “We swapped licenses because neither believed the other, and I saw the proof.”

“That’s crazy.”

“I know, right?” I can’t help my grin. “His mom lives in the suburbs, and he has a brother here in the city. His dad suffers from Alzheimer.”

She raises a brow. “That’s got to be rough.”

I glance away. “Yeah, he’s stressed because his dad has to be moved to another facility.”

“That’s a sad disease.”

“It is.”

She’s silent for a minute before saying, “You like him, huh?”

I huff, pushing my hair back from my face. “He drives me so crazy, he’s infuriating, but god, Audrey, I really like him. He’s like…everything I didn’t know I’ve ever wanted in a man.”

“Tell me more.”

“I don’t know. He just…gets me.” I take another sip of my drink, hating a little that I miss him. That I want to see him so damn badly. I’d told him about Fridays with Audrey and how they were nonnegotiable. He kissed me, told me to have fun, and that he’d talk to me tomorrow. But now the thought of not talking to him for twelve whole more hours seems like an eternity. It’s so ridiculous. “Like with work. Most guys I’ve dated have hated the way I work and were always trying to get me to stop, but Jace has his own weird crazy schedule with too much stuff to fit in. He’s totally fine if we don’t see each other until nine thirty at night.”

“This is fascinating.” Audrey puts her chin on her palm, grinning at me.

“Why is it fascinating?”

“I’ve never seen you hung up on a guy before, I didn’t think it could happen.”

I throw a napkin at her. “I’m not hung up, I just really, really like him.”

“You, my dearest bestest friend, are smitten.”

Ugh. I am. I roll my eyes. “Whatever.”

My phone dings and I look down to see a text from Jace. My heart speeds up at the sight of his name. Which is so crazy, but so true. I pick up my phone and swipe to read. I’m sitting here, drinking with my friends, but you’re distracting me, woman.

I smile so wide my cheeks hurt and text him back. I’m not even there.

The phone beeps. Doesn’t matter.

I take a breath and take a risk. I don’t risk a lot emotionally. I can’t. In my line of work I have to shut off my softer feelings, or else I’d constantly die of disappointment. Somewhere along the way I’d gotten used to it. It’s safe and comfortable, but I decide Jace might be worth being vulnerable for. I type out, Even though you’re the most awful man ever, I pathetically miss you.

I’m vibrating with tension as I wait for his reply, half expecting that my confession will scare him away. When my phone goes off, I jump in my seat and stare at his name in horror-filled anticipation. He doesn’t know how hard that is for me to admit to him. How rare it is for me. And he’s so used to my sassy sarcasm, he’ll probably make fun of me.

I open the text. I miss you too, Fleur. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow to see you. Want to meet up later?

Relief floods through me followed by a happy warmth I’m unaccustomed to. Yes.

Name the time and the place and I’ll be there, even if it’s 3 a.m.

See, that’s what I adore about him, he wants to see me, but knows I’m with my best friend so he’s basically willing to make himself available whenever it works for me, but yet, he’s not a pushover. That hasn’t been my experience with men. It’s hard for men to be both, but he manages it. Deal. I’ll text you when I have an idea.

I put down my phone and look up to find Audrey studying me with an interested expression. I smile. “Sorry about that, where were we?”

She points to my phone. “Is that him?”

I sigh, all dreamy and obnoxious. “Yeah.”

A wide grin spreads across her face. “You’re dying to see him, aren’t you?”

I shake my head. “No! This is our time, he can wait.”

She laughs. “Fleur, it’s so obvious.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t seem to help it. But I’m here. I’m present. He’s with his friends and I’m with you.” I pat her hand. “Let’s talk about you. Tell me about your week.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

She tilts her head toward the phone. “Find out and we’ll head over there.”

“No. No.” I shake my head. Our rules are guys don’t get in the way of friend time. “This is our night and we’re sticking to it.”

She smiles. “Fleur, I’ve waited practically my whole life to see you really fall for a guy. Let’s go hang out with him and his friends so I can get to know him.”

God, she has no idea how much I want to. I’m like…jonesing to see him. This must be what heroin addicts feel like. “You sure?”

“Positive.”

“You won’t regret it, you’re going to love him.” I pick up my phone and start typing.

Ugh. I can’t believe I’m so infatuated. I’m not going to think about it now.

I’ll think about it later.

---

I try not to think too hard about how happy I am. I was literally going out of my mind wanting to see her. I never thought I’d be one of those guys, but, holy shit, I am whipped. What’s stranger, I don’t even care.

I want her too much to care. She’s too damn fun to care.

I glance up to find my friends, and their various significant others, watching me. I put down my phone. “Fleur and her best friend are joining us.”

Shelly looks at Ashley and X’s girlfriend, Tessa, a type of evil glee written across her expression. “Oh my god, this is fun. I can’t wait to grill her.”

Shelly considers herself the matriarch of our group and everyone that enters our sphere must go through her. She’s the gatekeeper. Or at least in her mind she is.

I shake my head. “You will do no such thing.”

Shelly rolls her eyes. “How long have you known me?”

“Too long,” I shoot back. Shelly might be tiny, but she can terrify the strongest of people. I’ve seen her make baby surgeons—notoriously the most egotistical group on the planet—cry. I turn my attention to Ted. “Can’t you control her?”

“I try,” he says, his voice fond as he smiles at her. “But she insists on having a mind of her own.”

“Which you love,” Shelly says in that sassy tone of hers.

He gives her a smacking kiss on the lips. “I do.”

Since Ted’s out, I appeal to Ashley and Tessa. “You both remember what she’s like when you first met her, can you please take pity on me and rein her in?”

Tessa—Xavier’s pretty, brunette girlfriend and perhaps the sweetest person I’ve ever met—clucks her tongue. “We had to endure it, she’ll endure it too.”

I frown. “That’s not helpful.”

X is sitting on a barstool behind Tessa and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. “Consider it a test of her merit.”

Xavier looks like a Greek god and used to be a major player until he hooked up with Tessa. I’d never thought I’d see him devoted, but he’s turned into a smitten romantic for her.

And see, he survived. If he survived, I can survive Fleur. She won’t break me completely. Before I can make a last-ditched appeal to Ashley, Shelly points behind me.

“There she is.” She lets out a long wolf whistle. “Damn, Jace, you’ve outdone yourself. She’s ridiculously hot.”

Shelly pretends she has a little thing for girls, even though she really doesn’t. She has a thing for tormenting Ted, and that just happens to fall in her repertoire of torture.

Before I can hear Ted’s response, I glance behind me and spot Fleur immediately.

Dressed in a black skirt and a crisp white blouse and three-quarter-length sleeves, she looks powerful and gorgeous. She’d been in court today and dressed accordingly. Personally, I don’t know how anyone in a courtroom could concentrate when she’s around, but maybe I’m biased. All I know is my throat goes dry at the sight of her and my thoughts scatter.

She smiles at me.

My chest squeezes.

I can’t take my eyes off her.

She doesn’t glance away from me.

Had I really despised her a week ago? It seems impossible now, even though she’s still sassy and spirited.

Finally, she’s in front of me.

Without a thought to my audience, I pull her close. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She steps between my splayed thighs and puts her hands on my forearms.

And I don’t know what happens, but the world melts away and all I see is her. Then my mouth is on hers, her tongue is tangling with mine, and I get lost.

I kiss her like my life depends on it and she returns it in kind. By this time I’ve kissed her a thousand times, and each time is like the first.

Hot and passionate and heart stopping.

I open my legs wider, gripping her waist and tugging her so she fits against me in that way only she has. She doesn’t hesitate. She just wraps herself around me, her hands coming around my neck to hold me closer.

This game we’ve got going on, the relentless teasing and denying, it’s getting to me because I cannot tear myself away from her. In the far recesses of my brain I realize everyone is watching us, that we’re making quite a spectacle, but I cannot force myself to stop.

There’s a tap on my shoulder, and I ignore it, but then it gets more insistent. I rip my mouth away from this woman who’s become an obsession, and scowl. “What?”

Christopher chuckles, shrugging one shoulder. “You’re getting a little carried away. You might want to fuck in private. Just a thought.”

“Shut up,” I shoot back, dragging my fingers through my hair, trying not to think of how I’d lost complete control of the situation.

Fleur gasps, straightening her skirt as a faint blush stains her cheeks. She shakes her head before laughing. “Well, this is humiliating.”

They all laugh in response, and in that moment I know she’s going to fit right into our group.

She steps back and I reluctantly release her.

She opens her arms and gestures her best friend into the fold. A tiny, cute brunette with big doe eyes steps up and Fleur says, “This is my best friend, Audrey.”

There’s a chorus of hellos and I spend a few minutes going around the table introducing Fleur and her friend to my group. Besides my family, these are the people that matter most to me in this world, and I want Fleur to know who they are.

Everyone settles onto a seat, Fleur next to me, and when drinks are ordered and everything appears to have calmed down, I put my hand on her knee and smile at her. “How was court today?”

She puffs out a bottom lip. “I lost.” She sighs. “You’d think I’d get used to losing, you know, but it never gets any easier. I am a lawyer after all, I like to win at things.”

In empathy, I rub her back. “Was it a hard loss?” Meaning was the person guilty or did she hold some soft spot for them.

She shook her head. “The guy wouldn’t accept the plea deal, even though that’s what I recommended, and he’s gonna pay because of it. I try and give the best advice I can, but it always sucks when they disregard it.”

I tug her close and kiss her temple. “I’m sorry, red.”

“Oh well, what can you do?”

We shift in our seats, closer, always fucking closer with her, and our eyes meet.

The air thickens, not just with lust, but with something else…something unfamiliar I can’t put my finger on. I put my hand on the nape of her neck and rub slow circles to soothe away the tension. “I’m glad you came. I didn’t like the thought of not seeing you today.”

She beams at me, her eyes lighting up at my words. “Me too.”

I run my thumb over her jaw before stroking her bottom lip. “I think we’re in trouble here.”

“I think you’re right.” Her tongue sneaks out, flicking over my skin.

I groan, instantly growing hard. “You want to get out of here?”

“Yes.”

“Your place or mine?” This game ends tonight. I need inside her.

“Yours, it’s closer.”

I lean toward her and brush my lips over hers before dipping next to her ear, “You come yet?”

She shakes her head against my cheek.

“You’re going to come tonight, riding my cock.”

Her fingers on my jeans tighten. “Promise?”

“Promise.”