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“Hey,” Veronica said, staring at me and pushing my drink towards me. “You’ve got that look in your eye.”
“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head.
“You mom’s going to be fine,” she replied gently. I looked at her and smiled sadly. I nodded.
“I know,” I lied. Veronica knew how bad things were, but it was still nice to have her say those things. She knew that my mom had a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer, and she knew that the prognosis was not good. But she was my friend, and she always made me feel better. We clinked our drinks together and got to work.
Within minutes, we had sketches and concepts laid out, and my family issues had melted away. I looked at my drink, surprised.
“This is empty!”
Veronica laughed. “Imagine that.”
“I didn’t know I was drinking that fast. I was so focused on these sketches I didn’t even notice,” I laughed.
“Here,” said a deep voice that reverberated deep into my stomach. A sinewy, tattooed forearm dropped another drink on the table. “To a successful working relationship.”
My eyes trailed up the arm and over the shoulder it belonged to. How could an arm be so manly? I already knew who it was, even though I’d never heard him speak. Maddox’s whiskey eyes were drilling into me, and the heat in my core bloomed. I opened my mouth and closed it again, vaguely noticing Carter walking up beside him. Veronica was equally speechless.
“What are you ladies doing in a place like this?” Maddox asked, never taking his eyes off me. I curled my fingers around the drink and cleared my throat.
“Just putting some finishing touches on the plan for tomorrow.”
His eyebrow quirked and he turned one of the papers to look at it. He slid into the booth beside me, and I scooted down to give him room. Carter let himself in as well, and soon my heart was hammering. Maddox was so close. I could feel the heat of his skin right next to mine.
I wondered if he could tell that my heart was racing? Thank God he couldn’t know how wet my panties were.
I took a deep breath and the intoxicating scent of man wafted towards me. He smelled of wood and musk and it made my head swim with desire.
“Leather, tousled, rock n’ roll,” he read. “Is that me?” He pointed to one of the sketches. I blushed, grabbing the papers and stuffing them back in the file. A smile played over his lips and I quickly glanced at Veronica. She was staring at Carter, smiling and blushing like an idiot.
At least I wasn’t the only one.
Maddox reached over and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I shivered at his touch, closing my eyes for a moment.
“I… I liked your song,” I stammered. Nice. Real smooth.
Maddox grinned. “Yeah?”
I nodded.
“I can play you another one sometime,” he said in a low voice. I doubted Vee would have been able to hear it. His eyes had flames dancing in them, and they trailed up and down my body. They set me on fire.
“You play any other instruments?” I asked.
Maddox grinned, resting his arm on the booth behind me. His closeness was unbearable in the best possible way. I felt like a nervous wreck, and I loved every second of it. His other hand reached under the table and brushed the outside of my thigh. He ran his fingers ever so gently up towards my hip, and a whimper escaped my lips.
“I play lots of instruments,” he growled in my ear. “I’m pretty good with my hands.”
