“Once again, let me state for the record, unless you’re looking for a girlfriend, you can think of her primarily as my little sister,” Braden said with a smile.

“I’m sure I’ll remember, Braden,” Mark reassured him. “And also for the record, I am not presently looking for a girlfriend. Despite the fact that you and Adam have not failed to let me know how blissfully content and well-laid you both are.”

“Lily’s not nearly as irritable these days,” Bruce shared. “Here’s to good sex.”

Chapter Nine

Our guests stayed for another hour and then headed home, but not before I saw Mark and Adam having a quiet word together. Later, as I finished washing up, I found Adam sitting in bed with his iPad. I took off my robe, which left me nude. Both Adam and I slept in the buff.

“See something you like, Roth?” I teased, noticing him checking me out.

“Lots of things,” he answered in a sexy voice.

I grabbed my book and slid under the covers beside him. We sat silently reading for a moment and then he spoke up.

“So, did Beth say something about Mark to you?” he asked casually.

“If she did, it would have been in confidence,” I answered just as casually.

“In confidence?” He put his iPad down and turned to me. “Lily I’m going to be your husband. That gives me automatic access to confidential communications.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Spousal privilege.”

“Spousal privilege? Adam, that just means we wouldn’t have to testify against each other court. Besides, we’re not even married yet.”

“Not legal spousal privilege, traditional spousal privilege.”

“I’ve never heard of ‘traditional spousal privilege.’ If you’re talking our ketubah, your sister said that just covers you agreeing to feed me, clothe me, and meet my sexual needs.”

“Wait a minute. What do you agree to?”

“I agree to let you.”

“What? What Biblical schmuck negotiated that contract?”

“Obviously, some Jewish bride a long time ago had a good lawyer.”

“Okay, we’ll talk about that later. Going back to our original discussion, I can’t believe that you would share your body with me six times in 24 hours, and you won’t share a simple piece of information.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m curious, okay?”

“That’s not a compelling enough reason to overcome my duty to keep my friend’s confidence.”

“Who are you, the Supreme Court?”

“You just want to tell Mark, but if Beth wanted Mark to know something, she would tell him herself. She doesn’t need us to pass him a note in gym class for her.”

“You’re the one who brought it up to him!” he pointed out, reminding me of what a big mouth I had. That made me cranky.

“That was a mistake. I had traveled a little too far into Margaritaville. He can always ask her out on a date if he wants to know if she’s interested in him.”

“He wouldn’t do that unless he knew she wanted him. The male ego is a fragile thing.”

“What?! First of all, your ego is about as fragile as titanium, and secondly, he’s a player. Every weekend he goes out to clubs and has enough confidence to hit on strange women. I’m sure he could work up the nerve to ask Beth out if he wanted to.”

“That’s not the same. He’s just going to have sex with those women. A date is like dinner and stuff with somebody you’re hoping to know for more than a few hours.”

“Wait, let me get this straight, ha**g s*x with someone is no big deal, but eating dinner with them is? What kind of f**ked up logic is that?”

“Guy logic! Goddamnit!”

“Well, that explains it!”

“Why doesn’t she just tell him if she’s interested?”

“Because he’s her brother’s close friend and he’s a womanizer.”

“Well, that’s why he won’t say anything to her either until he’s ready to do something like date her.”

“Until he’s ready? So, he actually might be interested?” I asked perking up.

“Why do you want to know?” he asked smugly.

“Oh Jesus! This discussion is pissing me off!”

“Me too,” he growled. “Want to have make-up sex?” He looked very pleased with my response, which was to put my book down and crawl over to straddle him.

“Hi, hot na**d guy,” I said seductively and squirmed around a little on his lap. He breathed in sharply, grabbed my waist, and obligingly started getting hard for me.

“You drive me so crazy, in so many ways.” His hands skimmed up my sides to cup and knead my breasts. He lifted them and pinched my ni**les and I sighed with pleasure.

“That just means you won’t get bored,” I said in a silky voice.

“Bored? With you? Never. I haven’t been bored once in twenty-three years.”

“Did you really used to look at that photo of me that you kept in your drawer?”

“It helped to have a visual at certain private moments.” He paused. “Although, it was a little disturbing that Josh Lieberman and Rob Bergen were also in the picture.”

“Naughty boy. I was a naughty girl, too. I’ll tell you a secret,” I whispered. I leaned in and licked his jawline, savoring the taste of salt on his skin and the tingle of his rough stubble against my tongue. Then I moved my mouth down lower to gently suck on his neck. His breathing picked up noticeably as I enjoyed the feel of his pulse hammering against my lips.

“Yes, tell me,” he answered, voice vibrating with tension.

“You were the one I was thinking about when I had my first orgasm.”

He froze. I stopped nuzzling and kissing him and leaned back to look at him. I searched his face to try to figure out his reaction to my confession, but his expression was hard to read. Oh God, I couldn’t believe that I had just shared something that private. I felt pins and needles travel down my spine and my cheeks got hot.

“Really?”

“Does that make you feel weird?” I asked. Anxiety made my chest feel tight.

“Weird? Holy fuck, Lily. That’s the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me.” I relaxed again, releasing a shaky breath. One of his hands traveled down to my cl*tas he began drawing slow circles with his thumb, still gazing at me intently. “How old?”

“Thirteen,” I said with a moan and shifted my h*ps to push harder against his hand. “Oh yes. Yes, like that. That feels so good.” I let myself escape completely into the pleasure he was giving me.

“What were you thinking?” His voice sounded hoarse and his eyes looked hazy. He pushed two fingers up inside me and I moaned louder.

“I didn’t know enough to imagine it right.” I gasped and reached up to squeeze my breasts. “Just that you were kissing me and that you were the one touching me. Like you are now,” I added, my voice wavering.

I looked at him and saw how much he wanted me, and even though I had already had him inside me twice that day, at that moment, I wanted him even more. I wanted him desperately. I needed him like I needed air.

“Lily, you nearly finish me when you look at me like that,” he said, gazing at me almost helplessly. “Do you see what you do to me?”

I shifted my gaze to his lap, where his big beautiful c**k was ready to play. I gripped him at the base and ran my fist up his length rubbing my thumb over his wet tip, making him groan. I loved the feel of him pulsing in my hand.

“Adam, I want you so much. I’m aching for you.”

“I need to be inside you,” he said thickly and bent his knees, urging me forward as I positioned him at my entrance. I was about to slide down on him when his hands went to my hips, holding me still. “Slowly.”

He looked into my eyes and eased me down. I felt him fill and stretch me inch by inch until he was completely buried in me. We sat there, chest to chest, my arms wrapped around his neck as he slowly stroked my back, making me clench around him. I sucked in a breath and shivered, my skin tingling.

Then he urged me to move and guided me while I rolled my h*ps and rode him. He started pulling me forward against his pelvic bone every time I came down on him, and the friction was driving me wild, making my tummy clench and setting every nerve ending in my body on fire.

“Oh, Adam, Oh, God.” I felt the tension in my lower belly traveling down between my legs. I relaxed into it and let the pressure build.

“Come on, baby.”

“Yes, yes, please,” I begged. “Oh God, Adam.”

“You’re right there. Just let go.”

“Oh, Adam!” I cried out, not looking away from him. I knew that he wanted to see me come undone. A jolt hit me hard as I lost control and my inner muscles clamped down around him, pulsing and grabbing his c**k in rhythmic waves. He held me still as my orgasm ripped through me. Finally, when he was sure that I was done, he rolled me onto my back, settled between my legs, and started seeking his own release, thrusting into me hard and fast.

“Lily, Oh, God,” he said, barely coherent himself at that point. He was so far gone that his voice sounded different. After another minute or so, he ground out something completely incoherent and held himself against me tightly, stilled and tensed. Then he groaned and let out a ragged breath. His muscles relaxed, and I happily took his weight as he collapsed on me. Fighting with Adam was a whole different ballgame now that we had make-up sex.

Afterward we shared some sweet, deep kisses and gently massaged each other’s tired muscles while we held one another. “She didn’t say anything that exciting,” I offered. “Just that she had always thought he was hot but that she figured that she was probably off-limits because she was Braden’s sister.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” he replied, pulling me closer and leaning down to gently kiss me on the head. “She would be off-limits to just hook up with, but maybe not if he eventually wanted to date her. He says he’s not looking for that. Still, though, he seemed kind of interested for a guy who’s not looking.”

“Is that what he was talking to you about?”

“That’s confidential,” Adam teased and I poked him.

“Hey watch it. You poke me more than I poke you. And that’s a lot.” He laughed. “He asked me if I wanted to go out tomorrow night. The two of us haven’t hung out since that night I ran into to you at that club.”

“Well, you should go then.”

“You don’t mind?”

“No, not as long as you don’t hit on other women.”

“Well, let’s see, I’m living with my fiancée, who wants sex about twenty times a day lately. What do you think?”

“I think I’m tired.”

“Me too. You’re wearing me out, Lilith.”

Chapter Ten

Even though I hadn’t made a big deal of it, it did feel strange that Adam was going out without me. We had been together constantly since our first date and something just felt … missing. Still, I wasn’t going to be a clingy partner who had no friends or life of her own. I called Beth, who was free and happy to hang out with me, and I resolved to look good and go out and have fun, damn it.

I was not going to dwell on what Adam might be doing. I trusted him, even if I didn’t trust other women not to flirt with him. After all, I had been watching other women throw themselves at him since puberty. Of course, I had also watched Adam enjoy that attention, revel in it in fact. He was exceptionally good looking. More than the physical looks, though, was the natural confidence and swagger. You just had to look at him to know he was good in bed. Women noticed, and he enjoyed them noticing, or at least he had.

He got ready first and when he came out of the bathroom I could smell his cologne. Why did have to smell so good? And why did he have to look so hot? True, he was just wearing a pair of jeans and a black sweater, but I knew that he would be getting plenty of female attention looking like that. Those jeans fit him perfectly and the sweater stretched over his pecs and biceps without looking like he was trying too hard. I wanted to peel those clothes off of him and lick him from top to bottom.

I pushed down my qualms, steeled myself, and marched off to the bedroom to get ready. I made an effort. If he was going to look lickable, so was I. I took real care with my hair and makeup and I chose an outfit that hugged my curves. He almost did a double-take when I came out of the bedroom wearing a black jersey knit wrap-dress and black boots. His eyes traveled up and down my body several times.

“You look amazing. Where are you two going?”

“We thought we would check out Orient Express, that new martini bar on 15th.”

“I heard that was a nice place.” He smiled. Was it my imagination or did it look a little forced?

“Where are you and Mark going?”

“Kilimanjaro,” he answered, naming a hip, funky South Street bar.

“Should be fun,” I said trying to sound upbeat. The two of us nodded and stared silently at each other for a long moment.

“Okay, well um, it’s good that we’re hanging out with our friends. That’s healthy. I mean we’re individuals, not one unit, right?” I said with a laugh that came out like a bark.

“Right!” he agreed, nodding some more.

He verified that I had my key and my phone and my pepper spray and then he left. When he was gone the apartment immediately felt empty and as much I criticized myself for being a pathetic excuse for an empowered woman, a dull ache settled between my ribs.