have a calm conversation. Her hand was so small in mine, but it seemed to fit. Just right.
Meg arched an eyebrow. “Because I thought I was better equipped to resist the Adam effect. I’m horribly disappointed in myself.”
I snorted. “The Adam Effect? What’s that exactly?”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on; you don’t need me to stroke you’re already over-inflated ego. You know the effect you have on women. That smile is probably illegal in some states.”
I grinned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Meg groaned and finally pulled her hand away. I was left clutching air. It was depressing. My smile faded. “As for my over-inflated ego, I think you took care of that,” I muttered.
Meg let out another noisy breath. “I’m not trying to be a bitch here, Adam, but what happened can’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Damn, she was brutal.
“Of course it meant something, Meg. It’s you. And it’s me. You can’t pretend otherwise,” I argued, feeling myself get defensive.
Meg pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, using them as a shield. A barrier between us. “I won’t let you hurt me again,” she swore.
I felt as though she had slapped me. “I didn’t mean to hurt you ever. Why can’t you believe that?”I was sick of her painting me out to be the bad guy. I wasn’t a bad guy. Fucking hell, I had just climbed her goddamned tree to get her to talk to me! Bad guys didn’t do stuff like that.
“We have baggage, Adam. Lots of it. Sex only complicates things.” She seemed as though she were trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince me.
And that’s where I saw my opening.
“It doesn’t have to,” I replied. I inched closer and then, ever so slowly, ran my hands up her calves, hooking my palms beneath her knees and gently tugging them down. I turned to face her, moving further up the bed so that her legs were now draped around my hips. I rested my hands on her thighs, my fingers slowly rubbing the heated skin. I could hear the change in her breathing. I was getting to her. “Sometimes sex is just sex, Meg. It can be two people who enjoy each other. Who find pleasure in each other’s bodies.” The tips of my fingers slid beneath her shorts. I waited for her to smack my hand away.
She didn’t.
Meg’s jaw tightened. “You think it’s that easy? That we can just be what? Fuck buddies?” she scoffed at the same time her legs parted slightly, giving me clearer access. She met my eyes almost defiantly, licked her lips, and lifted her hips in a clear invitation.
She was the queen of mixed signals, but I wouldn’t question it. Not when I was so hard, I thought my dick would pop.
“We can be whatever you want, Meg,” I murmured as I slipped my fingers into her panties, finding her already wet. Her body certainly seemed to like what I was doing. I ran my thumb over her clit, and she moaned, then pressed her mouth shut as if annoyed by her involuntary reaction.
“Of course you’d say that. You just want to get in my pants again.” She sounded breathless, her words coming out as a pant.
“Is it working?” I grinned as I slipped a finger inside her. Good God, she was hot.
She closed her eyes briefly, looking pained. “We can’t do this, Adam. I can’t forget everything—”
I pulled my finger from her pussy and sat back. Her eyes flew open, and she looked at me in confusion. “Maybe you should try seeing things from someone else’s perspective once in a while,” I bit back, feeling frustration wage war with my lust. “Maybe instead of holding onto this anger, you should let me tell my side for once.”
“You can’t remake history. You still married Chelsea,” she snapped.
“Yes, I married Chelsea. But I’m here now. With you,” I seethed, feeling my anger rise up to meet hers.
We sat silently fuming, staring each other down. Neither of us budging. Neither of knowing what to do to mend this decade-old heartache.
Then something twisted and turned, and Meg stood up suddenly. She stood before me, staring down at me with hard, angry eyes.“I don’t know if I can get over it, you know.”
I tilted my head back to look at her. “Get over it or don’t. That’s on you, Meg. But I’m here, and I want you, and I’m pretty sure you