mentally undressed him a little while ago and liked what I saw.”
“Oh,
really
, you got to meet him?” Brynn asked, scanning the crowded room to see if she could spot Cooper and her new coworker.
Mel sipped her drink. “Mm-hmm. I ran into Coop a few minutes ago and he introduced us. Apparently, the guy’s starting Monday, so you have two nights to get around your I-don’t-date-people-I-work-with policy. Just enough time for a dirty little fling.”
She rolled her eyes. “Right. I think that’d make for an awkward staff meeting on Monday.”
“Or an interesting one. I’d bet Mr. Dark and Dashing would know exactly how to break you out of your dry spell. You should see the size of his hands,” she said, holding up her palm with a knowing nod.
Brynn snorted. “If he’s so great, why aren’t you weaving your wicked web around him by now?”
“You know I like mine blond—feeds my Leonardo DiCaprio fantasies. Plus,” she said, nudging her shoulder, “you need the action more than me.”
“Good Lord, could you make me sound any more pathetic? It’s not like I’m going to shrivel up and die if I don’t get laid.”
Her expression turned deadpan. “You may. The lawyer may be your only chance before you spontaneously combust from sexual frustration.”
“Oh, please.” Brynn bent down to fiddle with the strap on her shoe. Damn thing was cutting into her ankle like razor wire. She loosened the strap and rubbed her reddened skin. “I’m not going to combust. Who needs the lawyer when I have a perfectly functioning vibrator at home?”
Brynn expected to hear a witty retort, but there was silence. She froze, her gaze still on her shoe. Mel, a former sex therapist, would never stay quiet after a comment like that, especially when her tongue was loose from alcohol. Unless . . .
Shit
. She closed her eyes briefly.
“Hey, ladies, hope I’m not interrupting,” Cooper said, her boss’s baritone voice barely concealing amusement.
Brynn straightened, finding Cooper wearing a shit-eating grin and Melody biting her lip like she was three seconds from bursting into laughter. Brynn slapped on a smile and tried to keep her voice light. “Hey, Cooper. Not interrupting a thing.”
“Good, ’cause I wanted to introduce you to the new lawyer.” Cooper nodded at someone behind Brynn. “This is Reid.”
Brynn’s response lodged in her throat, the all-too-familiar name ringing in her ears.
No, couldn’t be
. But a sinking feeling settled in her gut. She’d only met one Reid in her life, and that Reid was a lawyer. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before she turned around to face her new coworker.
Reid’s blue-eyed gaze met her head-on, hitting her like an airbag to the chest. She sucked in a breath and fought the old instinct to lower her eyes in deference.
Son of a bitch, where had
that
urge come from?
She ticked up her chin and gave him her best I-hate-you-but-will-be-polite-because-I’m-the-bigger-person glare. “Hello.”
Cooper walked around Brynn and clapped Reid on the shoulder. “Reid, I’d like you to meet our other social worker, Brynn LeBreck.”
Reid nodded, his expression annoyingly unreadable. “Brynn, pleasure to see you again. It’s been a while.”
Not long enough.
Three years had passed since she’d last seen him. His inky hair was longer on top and a few lines creased the corners of his eyes, but time hadn’t softened her warring responses to him. The urges to pummel his face and strip naked before him held almost equal weight. Luckily, the venue was too public to give in to either. She feigned an air of indifference. “It has.”
“Still as beautiful as ever, though.”
The warm notes of his voice stirred the dark recesses of her memory, further inciting the old longing. She shifted in her heels as hot tingles crept from deep in her belly and moved downward to settle between her legs.
Un-fucking-believable
. Her body was a whoring traitor.
Melody
“Oh,
really
, you got to meet him?” Brynn asked, scanning the crowded room to see if she could spot Cooper and her new coworker.
Mel sipped her drink. “Mm-hmm. I ran into Coop a few minutes ago and he introduced us. Apparently, the guy’s starting Monday, so you have two nights to get around your I-don’t-date-people-I-work-with policy. Just enough time for a dirty little fling.”
She rolled her eyes. “Right. I think that’d make for an awkward staff meeting on Monday.”
“Or an interesting one. I’d bet Mr. Dark and Dashing would know exactly how to break you out of your dry spell. You should see the size of his hands,” she said, holding up her palm with a knowing nod.
Brynn snorted. “If he’s so great, why aren’t you weaving your wicked web around him by now?”
“You know I like mine blond—feeds my Leonardo DiCaprio fantasies. Plus,” she said, nudging her shoulder, “you need the action more than me.”
“Good Lord, could you make me sound any more pathetic? It’s not like I’m going to shrivel up and die if I don’t get laid.”
Her expression turned deadpan. “You may. The lawyer may be your only chance before you spontaneously combust from sexual frustration.”
“Oh, please.” Brynn bent down to fiddle with the strap on her shoe. Damn thing was cutting into her ankle like razor wire. She loosened the strap and rubbed her reddened skin. “I’m not going to combust. Who needs the lawyer when I have a perfectly functioning vibrator at home?”
Brynn expected to hear a witty retort, but there was silence. She froze, her gaze still on her shoe. Mel, a former sex therapist, would never stay quiet after a comment like that, especially when her tongue was loose from alcohol. Unless . . .
Shit
. She closed her eyes briefly.
“Hey, ladies, hope I’m not interrupting,” Cooper said, her boss’s baritone voice barely concealing amusement.
Brynn straightened, finding Cooper wearing a shit-eating grin and Melody biting her lip like she was three seconds from bursting into laughter. Brynn slapped on a smile and tried to keep her voice light. “Hey, Cooper. Not interrupting a thing.”
“Good, ’cause I wanted to introduce you to the new lawyer.” Cooper nodded at someone behind Brynn. “This is Reid.”
Brynn’s response lodged in her throat, the all-too-familiar name ringing in her ears.
No, couldn’t be
. But a sinking feeling settled in her gut. She’d only met one Reid in her life, and that Reid was a lawyer. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before she turned around to face her new coworker.
Reid’s blue-eyed gaze met her head-on, hitting her like an airbag to the chest. She sucked in a breath and fought the old instinct to lower her eyes in deference.
Son of a bitch, where had
that
urge come from?
She ticked up her chin and gave him her best I-hate-you-but-will-be-polite-because-I’m-the-bigger-person glare. “Hello.”
Cooper walked around Brynn and clapped Reid on the shoulder. “Reid, I’d like you to meet our other social worker, Brynn LeBreck.”
Reid nodded, his expression annoyingly unreadable. “Brynn, pleasure to see you again. It’s been a while.”
Not long enough.
Three years had passed since she’d last seen him. His inky hair was longer on top and a few lines creased the corners of his eyes, but time hadn’t softened her warring responses to him. The urges to pummel his face and strip naked before him held almost equal weight. Luckily, the venue was too public to give in to either. She feigned an air of indifference. “It has.”
“Still as beautiful as ever, though.”
The warm notes of his voice stirred the dark recesses of her memory, further inciting the old longing. She shifted in her heels as hot tingles crept from deep in her belly and moved downward to settle between her legs.
Un-fucking-believable
. Her body was a whoring traitor.
Melody
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