“I think the word you’re looking for is bitchy.”
She bent over to unzip one boot, which caused her dress to ride up her thighs. Her koi fish tattoo peeked out enticingly, but he forced himself to stay focused. He watched as she kicked each boot onto the mat in the front hall, her previously casual body language stiffening to reveal the hurt she’d been trying to hide.
“I don’t know what got into her,” AJ admitted. “She’s not usually so…”
“Bitchy?” Brett supplied.
Fine. He’d call a spade a spade. Darcy had been bitchier than he’d ever seen her, and for a woman who was usually sweeter than cherry pie, AJ had been shocked by the sudden personality shift. Darcy’s hostility toward Brett had been palpable, so much so that Reed had even apologized to AJ in private before he and Brett had left Sin.
Was Darcy jealous?
The thought had occurred to him somewhere between the first and last barbed remark she’d tossed in Brett’s direction, but it made no fucking sense to him. He and Darcy had only dated for five months, and any idiot could see that she was madly in love with Reed. Since she’d started dating his best friend, she’d given AJ no indication that she still had feelings for him. Which made her antagonism of Brett completely baffling.
“God, you can’t be that clueless.”
Brett’s grumble interrupted his train of thought, making him frown. “What do you mean?”
“Your ex-girlfriend doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.”
His brow creased even harder. “That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. That’s why she was glaring at me the whole time like I was robbing her house or something. And all those comments about what a good guy you are, directly followed by snippy jabs about my tats or my job or the fact that I’m three whole years younger than you? She might as well have paid for a billboard and pasted it all over the city. In neon pink.”
Although her blunt evaluation of the evening disturbed him, AJ couldn’t deny it was pretty much how things had gone down.
“I get it. She’s your ex, and she’s protective of you.” Brett shrugged. “But with that said, don’t blame me when I say I’m not interested in hanging out with her again.”
Guilt dripped down his spine, along with a hefty dose of indignation on Brett’s behalf. She hadn’t deserved to be treated like an unwanted intruder, and he definitely planned on having a talk with Darcy the next time he saw her.
“C’mere.” He opened his arms, beckoning at her. “Forget about Darcy. It doesn’t matter what she thinks or why she decided to act like a dick. All that matters is what I think.”
Brett stepped into his waiting embrace and wrapped her slender arms around his waist. A pleading note—shocking and unexpected—wobbled in her voice. “And what do you think?”
“I think you’re beautiful.” He stroked her hair, then grazed his fingers over the angel on her upper arm. “I think you’re smart. And strong. And confident.”
He moved his hands lower, cupping her ass. “I think you’re sexy.” He angled her body into his groin so she could feel his hard-on. “I think you turn me on like no other woman ever has.”
“Including Darcy?” The question was muffled against his chest.
“Including Darcy.” He kissed her neck, inhaling the scent of body lotion and a fragrance that was uniquely Brett. Spicy and hot and addictive. “Everything about you gets me hard. The sound of your voice, the way you smell. You’re perfect.”
“I’m not perfect.”
“Oh, but you are.” AJ slipped his hand beneath her dress and delicately pushed aside the crotch of her panties. When he felt the moisture pooled at her opening, he groaned. “Perfect,” he repeated.
Brett rocked into his touch, a breathless sound leaving her lips. He loved the noises she made when he put his hands on her. Loved knowing that he had the power to make her tremble, moan, beg.
He swept his fingers upward and sought out her clit, finding it hot and swollen to the touch. As he tickled the taut bud, Brett’s eyelids fluttered, and she let out a dreamy sigh.
“So good,” she whispered. “Keep doing that.”
“Only gonna get better, baby.”
AJ slid down to his knees and circled her shapely ankles with his hands, rubbing his thumbs over her smooth skin. She shivered, then yelped when he tugged one leg and lifted it up to his shoulder, fully exposing her to him.
“Oh yeah,” he rasped. “So much better.”