Page 15 of Edge of Desire

“It took me forever to find that back door.”

We returned to where Caroline and that other guy were. They were sitting and talking, with some kind of baseball game on in the background. When we entered, the guy stood up and Caroline said, “Avery, I’d like you to meet my br—” but at that point, the hot guy interrupted and said, “Friend. We used to work together.”

The three of them glanced at each other and I was sort of lost in the shuffle. I jumped in and said, “Hi, I’m Avery.”

Caroline said, “Avery, that’s Pres?—”

And hot guy interrupted again and said, “Miles.”

“Nice to meet you Pres-Miles.”

He laughed and said, “No, it’s just Miles. Miles Patterson.”

I nodded and said, “Okay, Just Miles. You’ve got it.”

Boy oh boy, was Just Miles hot. Make that boiling. Scorching. Molten lava kind of hot. Messy dark brown, slightly wavy hair that was long enough to run my fingers through. And, my God, what a mouth he had. It made me want to jump on board and ride that train for life. His lips were the perfect kind of full, and every so often he’d slide his teeth over his lower lip, and I’d automatically squirm. His face was pure angular perfection ... high cheekbones with slight hollows beneath them that were the perfect shape to accommodate my lips. But those eyes. Golden brown, like coffee with lots of cream. I could only imagine what they looked like right when he was climaxing.

Fuck it all, Ava! Get your head out of the bedroom!

“Wouldn’t you agree, Ava?” Justin was asking me.

I shook my head and swallowed. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“We were talking about the weather here in the summer and I was saying how much more pleasant it is than in Charleston?”

“Oh, yes, it is.” Was my voice breathy sounding, or was it my imagination?

Just Miles was wearing jeans that rode low on his hips. They were tight and he had a superior set of buns. What would I pay to see those babies? And speaking of babies. I’d gladly have his any day of the week.

“Ava? What do you think?”

“Babies! I mean buns!” I blurted out.

“Excuse me?” Caroline asked.

Holy Toledo, did I just say all that out loud? “Fun! Anything sounds fun!”

“Ava, you look a little flushed. Are you sure you’re okay?” Caroline asked.

“Hot. I mean, I’m fine.” I looked across the room and my face totally flamed. Everyone was staring at me. I had unbuttoned my blouse and was fanning myself. I’d noticed that Just Miles had a gloriously hot tattoo of a sideways cross on his arm. I think I needed to go home.

“So. Avery, where are you staying?” Caroline asked.

“Oh, I’m at the Four Sleazy. Seasons! I mean the Four Seasons.” If I didn’t pull my act together, they would think I was on the crazy train. “I need to look for a place to live, but I was going to rent an apartment for a month until I can land something.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You have to stay with us. My God, we have more room than we know what to do with. It would be crazy for you to rent a place. As a matter of fact, you should move in right away. Isn’t that right, Justin?”

“Absolutely. Do you need a car to drive? We have a couple of extra ones,” Justin said.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m going to rent one. The company is paying for it until I do my final move.”

“If that doesn’t work out, you can always borrow one of ours.”

I was already going to be enough of a burden, so I declined their generous offer.

Then Justin made a suggestion. “Look, why don’t you let me take you back to the hotel. You can grab your things and check out. Then you can get settled in here.”

“Are you sure about this? I don’t want to impose.”

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