Chapter 2
TWO
RIDGE
Being with Addison in the same space again felt so damn right. Yet seeing her with West, with their heads bent together, filled me with a rage I hadn’t felt since my first tour. And certainly never over a woman.
Had this been the feeling West also experienced when he’d first met Lauren? If so, now I got it. Love had been so far down my list of life goals. Yet, the memory of our time together slammed into me. How she’d been so incredibly responsive. How I’d spent weeks looking for her.
West looked from me to Addison, then asked, “Do you two know each other? I’m getting the sense that?—”
“Not until that night. She’s not someone I would ever forget meeting. Isn’t that right, Addison, is it?” I asked, without expecting an answer.
I’d told no lies and kept our secret safe—for now. I also deliberately left out the qualifier of “that night” as being the night of Lauren’s birthday party turned into an engagement celebration when West had surprised her with a ring.
I wanted to make it crystal clear and leave no doubt how much I remembered her and all her sweet pleas and moans.
And if she wasn’t aware from my words or my unbreaking gaze as I looked my fill, there would be a repeat of that night. And no better time than the present to make my intentions known. Without taking my eyes off Addison, I asked, “Could you do me a favor and talk to Lars about the housekeeping situation? He keeps assuring me he has it handled, but we both know he’s procrastinating.” Okay, maybe it was a lame request, but being alone with this woman was all I could focus on.
“I have a few questions for the good doctor, and her thoughts on talk therapy versus pharmaceutical.” I watched, fascinated, as one of her delicate eyebrows rose at my words. She maintained a composed look on her beautiful face, but her eyes were telegraphing another story. Fire and ice warred in her gaze as she nodded at West.
“I think we’re done. If I have any more questions before your grand opening, I’ll be in touch.”
West looked between us once more. A lift at the corner of his mouth disappeared as he covered it with a fake sneeze. “You owe me, Beauchamp. I feel my allergies kicking in.”
His statement forced me to break eye contact with Addison. “What are you talking about? As long as we’ve known each other, you’ve never complained about allergies.”
My long-time friend shrugged. “I’m allergic to riling up the big guy. Lauren would be very upset with me, and you, if Lars takes his frustrations out on my face.”
I swear his brain chemistry had altered since he got together with his woman. I hadn’t gotten used to all the smiling and joking around. “Don’t drag Lauren into this, Jesus, you’re a real pain in the uh…” I paused, looking at Addison. Unsure how deep I wanted to get into things with West over the third partner.
“Don’t mind me. I’ve heard a man swear. Plenty of times. Comes with having an older brother and the work I do with trauma survivors.”
“Right. Well, not very professional of me, since this is a meeting, of sorts.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Embarrassment wasn’t an emotion I gave much credence to. If someone didn’t like me, the way I spoke, the way I lived my life, that was their problem. But with her, this need to impress was new and felt like an unused muscle.
I waited until West had left the building. The sound of the back door closing echoed down the hallway. I stepped fully into the room and inhaled deeply as her scent washed over me. I wanted to rub it all over me. If she’d let me close enough, I swore I’d never wash it off. Fuck. Where had that come from?
“Do you mind if I sit?” I pointed to the chair across from her. Addison continued to look wary. Her shoulders went back, then she sat ramrod straight. “No.”
That one word, laced with the ice I’d witnessed moments ago in her eyes, was probably meant as a warning. Well, too damn bad. What we had that night, what I had foolishly agreed to, was all I wanted to talk about. At least at first, because I actually had a clinical question for her.
“Afraid to be alone with me, Addison?” I kept my tone purposely unthreatening. I may want to haul her across the table and devour her ripe lips, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to worry about her safety. Although still virtual strangers, I also had never felt closer to another woman as I did Addison.
“What makes you ask? I’m a grown woman. I made my choice that night, and so did you. There’s no reason for me to be fearful. Besides, it was one night. In the past. We can be professional around each other without it becoming awkward.” Her hands had dropped into her lap during her little speech. I wonder if she did that to keep from reaching out to me. Because my palms were itching to touch her.
Leaning back in my seat, I crossed my arms and grinned. “Oh, I plan on things getting very awkward, Dr. London. Or can I call you Addy? What do your friends call you?”
Her eyes had moved from my face to my arms, her gaze locked on them as I flexed, the strain of keeping them in place under her fiery gaze left me rethinking my next step. I was going to give her space. At least for today, but not now. Not after seeing the need building in her gray eyes as they darkened. And I wasn’t going to let her leave until we shared a kiss.
Addison froze at my statement. Our gazes locked in a contest of wills I was determined to win. She finally broke by rolling her eyes then releasing the cutest puff of air that she would probably be upset to hear me label it that way. But damn, even when she was mad at me, she was gorgeous.
“Listen, we pinky swore. No names, one night of…fun, and that would be all. Just because we’ve ended up here…” she paused and flung an arm out, “doesn’t mean there’s going to be a repeat. Just so we’re clear, I’m not looking for one.” Addison gathered up her things and stood. But she wasn’t able to hide how her hands shook as she picked up several pieces of paper before shoving it back into her shoulder bag. Oh, she wasn’t as unaffected by my nearness as she wanted me to believe.
I stretched to my full six-foot-two-inch height and stepped to the side of the table. Towering over her, Addy’s curvy petite body bumped into mine and I steadied her. My hands wrapped around her upper arms. The contact sent a spark from my fingertips through my arms, then down straight to my dick. Her sharp intake of breath assuring me she felt a similar reaction.
“Are you sure about that, Addy?” My voice sounded strangled and foreign to my own ears. If I felt this way from a simple touch, if she let me kiss her, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t turn into a stammering teenager begging her for a second chance. Everything about this woman had me in knots, desperate even.
Her mouth opened, then closed, and the tiniest crinkle appeared between her brows. I wanted to kiss it away, smooth the skin over until all her uncertainty vanished. I wanted to know if she’d been reliving that night, every night since, waking with my name on her lips, an ache between her legs.
Just when I thought she would lean toward me, lifting herself up on her toes to receive my kiss, she shrugged from my touch. Pacing the room, she ran her hands through the shoulder length silky blonde waves. She began muttering to herself. “Nope. Not going to do this.” Wonder if she was aware I could hear her. So lost in her thoughts, I could have been anyone, let alone the man she’d bewitched less than a month ago with her naughty pleas and curvy body.
Even now, the image of her full breasts bouncing gently as she rode me that night flashed in my mind. Another surge of lust rushed to my midsection, and my erection pulsed behind the zipper of my jeans. No longer would I be able to hide my reaction to her. Not that I wanted to.
“Addy, please stop. Look at me.”
Addison stumbled at my words. When she turned to face me, she gasped, then her face flushed, her gaze lasered in on my waistband where the tip of my cock had breached the waistband of my jeans. Her cheeks flamed red and her eyes widened. “This can’t be happening. I wasn’t supposed to see you again.” Her breathy tone and her heated gaze, still locked on my erection. It was too much.
“I would have found you. Eventually.”
“Wha-what? What are you talking about? Our promise?—”
“Oh, sweetheart, I made that promise before I got a taste of you. And by the way you’re looking at me right now, I’m pretty confident that you have regrets about it as well. What we shared that was special, Addy. And you can believe me or not, but I have never had a night like that in my life—ever. And I will not pretend as if nothing happened between us.” I pulled the shirt from my waistband, covering myself from her greedy gaze.
Addison might fight her feelings right now, but for my sanity, covering myself was the best option. I would not ruin this by letting my dick make my decisions today.
“I uh, never said you could call me Addy. And no, I’m not going to pretend when we…you know…that night…it was…great. But I’m not looking for anything serious. Relationships just aren’t on my radar.”
Huh, sounded like something I would say. And had, often. But that was in the past. She was my future, and I had to come up with something to keep her from bolting out of here and never returning. An idea hit me quicker than expected. It had merit and would definitely keep her within reach long enough to show her I wasn’t going anywhere.
“I can understand that. Appreciate it even. What if we tried something? Nothing serious. No demands other than having more of what we had that night. I’m on board with providing you as many orgasms as you can handle. No need to date, no commitment to spend holidays together, meet each other’s family. Just good old-fashioned sex—when were both available. My place or yours, I’m up for either. I just can’t let you walk out that door and never have the opportunity, the pleasure of kissing you again.”
She’d been expressive that night with her feelings, and now wasn’t any different. Addison’s face morphed from one emotion to the next, ending with her taking her lower lip between her teeth, nibbling until it swelled. It took all my willpower not to groan out loud and erase the distance between us, take her into my arms and kiss her senseless. But I held on. Barely.
“I can’t believe this is how the day is ending. I came here determined to avoid you. And if I couldn’t, then ignore you and my memories. But you just had to be so damn sexy and irresistible, just like that night at O’Malley’s.” Addy smoothed her hair, then straightened her skirt and looked around for her bag. Locating it, she set it on her shoulder, lifted her chin and looked me square in the eye and said, “I’ll think about it.”
She may have thought that was going to be enough for me as she swept past me. But she was mistaken. I snaked out an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against me. “Say the word and I’ll let you go.”
“But….” Sarcasm dripped from her mouth. Her pouty lips practically daring me.
Chuckling, I dipped my head until our faces were less than an inch apart. “But if you say nothing, I’m going to kiss you.”
She opened her mouth as if to say something, then her body relaxed against mine, and her lips closed. I wasn’t ashamed to say the thrill of victory felt damn good.
Kissing Addison felt like coming home. She may be uncertain about what I’d proposed, but she didn’t let that keep her from giving me the same level of passion she’d shared with me three weeks ago. And she had no idea what I truly wanted to give her. And I hoped both of us were ready for what came next.
Because I was determined to be the one whose touch she would crave for the rest of her life.