My eyes closed as he pulled the strap down from my arm, his breath hissing through his teeth as he looked at my lacey, see-through bra. His head lowered to capture my nipple with his lips when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

His head jerked up, eyes meeting mine. He blinked, as if coming out of a daze, and then turned to take in the chrome digital clock hanging on the wall. It was a few minutes after nine p.m.

The knock came again and Jordan pulled back as if I’d sprouted thorns. “Shit,” he mumbled.

“What? Who is it, your wife?” I joked.

He rubbed a hand over his mouth and jaw like he was trying to remove my lipstick. Luckily, my lipstick had worn off hours before and so the telltale evidence he feared wasn’t even there. “Sit up and I’ll zip you. Put your shoes on. It’s Adam.”

I sat bolt upright on the couch and did as he asked.

He growled at the door. “Just a fucking minute!”

“How do you know it’s him?”

He stood and ran a hand over his hair, then adjusted his pants as if he could hide the sizeable erection straining against the fly of his jeans. I could barely tear my eyes away even though my heart was drumming in my throat from fear.

“Two reasons. The way he knocks, and the fact that it’s nine and he’s out for his evening run. He lives a mile and a half up the road.”

“Is he checking up on you?”

Jordan bent and grabbed the laptop, snapping it shut and angling it in front of his crotch. “Grab that pad and pretend you’re taking notes. And Jesus, don’t let him see your mouth.”

I rolled my lips inward to lick them. They felt bruised and swollen from his kisses. Another shot of desire speared me from breastbone to backbone. Jordan spun and strode to the door.

“What the fuck took you so long?” Adam’s voice came from the open door.

“I’m in the middle of working with my assistant sitting right there.” Jordan stepped back to let him in.

Adam was wearing running shorts and sneakers and a sweat-soaked t-shirt. I licked my lips again, feeling as guilty as if I’d been caught with a dirty book by a parent.

His eyes widened when he saw me. “Oh, hey April. Sorry about that,” he said.

I assumed he was apologizing for his language. He took in my dress and shoes, frowning, then shot a look at Jordan. “I saw the email about the changed time for the meeting with the banker…thought I’d see if you needed any help with that, but I see you called in the cavalry.”

“April brought me the file from Susan’s desk and kindly volunteered to stay and help instead of going out dancing with her friends.”

My face instantly heated. Wow…Jordan’s casual lie to his best friend was so convincing that I almost believed it myself. And that was nothing short of scary. Who knew what other lies this man told on a regular basis? What did he say to women in order to get in their pants?

Although, with the way he looked, did he really have to say anything at all?

“Uh, yeah…we’ve been hammering away on the reports, trying to get the data together…” My voice faded as I got a glimpse of Jordan’s expression, his frown telling me that he didn’t approve of my not-so-suave attempt to follow his lead and lie.

Well, I sucked at lying so I didn’t blame him for wanting to shut me up.

“How did you even know I was home?” Jordan asked Adam, shifting the laptop from one hand to the other while still managing to cover his crotch.

“I was running along the beach. Saw the lights on. Figured it was too early for you to have one of your dates back here yet…” Adam then glanced at me again, probably conscious that he didn’t want to say much more with me here. But Jordan seemed even tenser than before.

“I was just about to send April home. If you want to take a look at what we were working on…”

Adam pulled out his phone and removed his ear buds, winding them up to set aside. “Sure.”

Jordan, however, was trying to send me some sort of hidden signal with a furrowed brow and gritted teeth and overtly pointed glances at the door.

I had to admit, I really wanted to mess with him. So I pretended not to understand, looking away. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Now that the panic had subsided, I was finding this the most hilarious situation ever.

“So April was just going…” Jordan repeated.

I looked up. “Oh? I was? You sure you don’t need me to help some more? Run some more searches?”

If looks could kill…

I smiled at him and he seethed. After an awkward silence, I stood. “Okay, well, the night’s still young. I could probably still catch my friends over at the club.”