Picking Up the Pieces (Pieces, #2)

“Uh, hopefully the only guy you’re expecting tonight.”


Even though his voice was playful, I immediately regretted teasing him when I heard his response. I wondered if his mind had traveled where mine did: to the fact that there had been times when he hadn’t been the only guy who had made visits to my apartment. Dropping my head slightly, I tried to compose myself quickly before I replied. You’re not that girl anymore. You won’t fuck up this time. I lifted my head and interjected happiness into my voice. “I’ll be right down.”

Throwing on my coat, I hurried from the apartment and descended the stairs to meet Adam. He was waiting in the foyer, his blond hair gelled to messy perfection, a black pea coat stretched over his solid arms, his hands shoved into his dark jeans. His back was to me, giving me a moment to eye-fuck the shit out of him through the glass door that separated us. Adam and I had done our fair share of making out and allowing our hands to roam each other’s bodies, but we hadn’t been intimate yet. And God did I need to be intimate with Adam. It was all I could do to keep myself from throwing open the door, tackling him to the ground, and straddling his face. Keep it in your pants, Lily. Inhaling deeply, I pulled open the door.

Upon hearing me, Adam spun around, a wide smile lighting up his beautiful face. I felt the familiar slickness between my legs as his eyes appraised me from head to toe, spending a little extra time on the good parts.

I sauntered over to him with my sexiest strut. “Hey,” I breathed as I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lifted my lips to his. My intention had been to simply share a quick kiss, but as soon as our lips met, the need spilled out of us. Our tongues intertwined, invading each other’s mouths roughly, wildly. His hands skimmed up my body before pressing firmly into my lower back, pulling me tighter to him. I had no idea how long we stood there, and it didn’t matter. I could’ve stood there forever wrapped up in the moment, in him, in us. He eventually pulled away, letting a low growl escape from his throat. Just when I thought I couldn’t be more turned on.

“Hi,” he said breathlessly. We laughed softly as we both backed up slightly. “You ready to go?”

“Yup,” I said as I looped an arm through his and let him lead me outside.

***

It only took us about ten minutes to drive to the restaurant. Adam and I fell into easy conversation about who-cares-what. I would’ve happily talked about knitting, as long as I got to be near him while I did it.

Once inside the restaurant, we were shown to a table nestled in a corner. The lighting was dim, and it instantly made me think of how hot it would be to make love to Adam by candlelight. Attempting to push this thought from my mind, I opened the menu and studied it. But I couldn’t focus on the words. Jesus Christ, the man’s sexiness has made me forget how to read.

“What looks good to you?”

My eyes snapped up and drank him in. Oh, I know what looks good to me, alright. “Uh, the New York strip maybe.” Shit, is there even a New York strip on this menu?

“Hmm, that sounds good. I’m thinking of going with the prime rib though."

As I contemplated whether or not I could stealthily finger myself under the table and relieve some of the desire that had settled there, our waiter appeared.

“Hi, folks. How are you both doing this evening?” He filled our water glasses as we replied that we were fine. “My name is Chris and I’ll be your server this evening. Can I get you started with something from the bar?”

“Want to share a bottle of wine?” Adam asked me.

“I’d share anything with you,” I blurted out dreamily before realizing what I had just said. My eyes widened as Adam tried to suppress a smile and Chris shifted his weight slightly.

“We’ll take a bottle of your house Chianti.”

“Certainly, sir. I’ll be right back with that.”

I watched Chris hurry away before turning my attention back to Adam. He was staring at me intently, a sly smile playing on his lips.

“So, you’d share anything with me, huh?” His tone was teasing, but there was a heat in his eyes that caused a warmth to spread over my body.

I figured I could play this one of two ways. I could either be embarrassed by what I had said and try to change the subject, or I could embrace my words and set about my primary goal for the evening: seducing Adam Carter. Needless to say, I chose option B. “Pretty much. Why? Are you offering?”

He leaned back, allowing his cream sweater to pull deliciously over his taut body. I wanted to unravel it with my teeth. “Well, you know me. I like to know all of the specifics about the person sitting across the table from me before I entertain an offer.”

Chris returned with the wine, and poured a little in Adam’s glass so he could taste it. But instead of taking a sip, Adam handed the glass to me.

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