Page 114 of Blacklist

“I should tell you it was a bad idea to wear that dress then, but I’m glad you did, Lucky.”

She preens and maybe its enough to warm her up because the trembling fades a little. When I pull past the guard station at Windfall, ignoring the security officer’s disapproving glare at finding me in the driver’s seat, she directs me to bypass the circular drive and head toward the pool house.

“I thought your dad wasn’t home,” I say as we pass the main house.

“He’s not.” She chews her lip for a second. “I’m not allowed to have boys in my room.”

I try not to laugh and fail. “Is he going to find out?”

“There’s cameras all over this place,” she tells me.

I cast a concerned look at her. “Maybe we shouldn’t…”

“He won’t check the pool house cameras. It’s too cold to swim and I told him I was going to a friend’s for a party.”

“Wait.” Something terrible occurs to me. “It’s your birthday.”

“Yep.”

“And your dad left town?”

She nods.

“Are you upset?”

“He’s been home for like two of my birthdays. It’s not a big deal.”

I had a shit father before he went to prison, one I didn’t really want around either—and that’s how I know she’s lying. It doesn’t matter how much they disappoint you, you never stop hoping they’ll finally show up for you.

“He doesn’t know what he’s missing.” I mean it. I know it’s true.

Before I can process it, she’s unbuckled and climbed into my lap. It’s easy enough given how short her skirt is. It bunches at the waist and I get a glimpse of heaven between her legs. Whatever nerves were bothering her earlier aren’t anymore. She wriggles a little, her eyebrows furrowing. “Um, is there something in your pocket?”

For a second I think it’s a really stupid joke then I remember her present. I dig it out, inspecting the package to see if she accidentally squished it.

“Your birthday present.” She starts to protest but I stop her. “Don’t get excited, Lucky. It’s just something that made me think of you.”

Adair wraps her long arms around her neck, ignoring the tiny package. It’s already dark and in the moonlight, I can’t see the green of her eyes or the red of her hair. But I see her perfectly. I want to bury my face in her neck and breathe in that scent that I only know as Adair.

“Do you know what I want for my birthday?” she whispers. “You.”

“I’m all in, Lucky.” My mouth finds hers as she presses closer and I have to remind myself that it’s cold and that the first time I fuck her is not going to be in a car. But I can’t stop myself from tasting what’s to come. I slip my hands up her thighs and cover her mouth with mine. I’m beginning to question my earlier decision not to take her right there, against the steering wheel, when something explodes overhead.

Adair rears up and my arms circle her protectively. Then the second firework lights up the night sky, illuminating a tent for a split second.

“Fuck,” she mutters, figuring it out before I can.

Lights burst on and a crowd of people scream “surprise!”

We scramble apart and I help her pull down her skirt before anyone can get a better look at us in the dark.

“I said no parties,” she says. “You didn’t…”

“I had nothing to do with this,” I swear.

Our conversation is cut short as her friends descend upon the Jaguar. There’s not an ounce of shock on their faces over our indelicate entrance. Adair looks less than thrilled as she’s led toward the tent. She casts a frantic look over her shoulder and yells, “Later! Find me!”

It’s not a promise. It’s a command. She really didn’t want a party.