Free In the Boss's Bed (Harlequin Blaze) by J. Margot Critch

was a great lecture.”
    Jamie winced. “Ooh, I don’t like that word. Makes me sound all old and stodgy.” He laughed, and in a move completely uncharacteristic of Jamie Sellers, he turned and put an arm around the shoulders of both Maya and Abby. “Well, ladies, shall we hit the party?”
    “Sounds good to me,” Abby answered.
    Maya closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of Jamie’s arm around her. “Me, too,” she said as he led them outside.

8
    J AMIE TOOK A beer from the fridge he’d had installed as part of a poolside bar and popped it open. He loved the outdoor oasis that he’d created on the terrace of his condo. He had meticulously planned the space for the pool, the hot tub, the bar, lounge area, even down to the plants and flowers adorning it, the foliage that afforded him and his guests all the privacy that they needed. Sure, it was June and it might have been a little chilly for an outdoor party, but with the warmth of the pool and carefully placed exterior heaters, nobody complained. He loved his outdoor area, but because of all the time he spent working, he rarely got to enjoy it, or any of the other luxuries he could now afford because of his hard work and success. A sad irony.
    He watched his guests mill about the poolside. They were all smiling, having fun. He really missed just spending time with his friends and the people he loved. He had no real family, but the dozen or so people who congregated around the pool, he considered them to be his true family.
    His eyes were drawn to Maya as she pulled herself out of the water. She was wearing an orange bikini. When he invited her to a pool party, he knew that she would most definitely be wearing a bathing suit. But he couldn’t have imagined how she would look in that two-piece. From behind his dark aviators, he watched her pick up a towel and use it to dry herself off, as she made her way to the loungers that she and Abby had occupied. He could see the rivulets of water as they rolled down her olive skin—down her breasts, over her smooth, flat tummy, trailing the longest legs he’d ever seen on a woman. She leaned over and said something to Abby, and they both laughed.
    Abby. The woman who had dared her to kiss him in the club. I should really buy that woman a present. He’d almost mentioned the night he’d watched them at Swerve when they’d been formally introduced earlier, and he’d had to bite his tongue. But he knew that it probably would have embarrassed Maya if he’d mentioned it. However, without Abby’s intervention that night in the club, Maya wouldn’t have stumbled into his life, and only after a month, he now couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.
    “Hey, man, what’s occupying all of your attention?” Trevor came up behind Jamie and slapped him on the back. He figured out where Jamie’s gaze was fixed. On Maya. He smiled. “Ahh,” he said, understanding.
    “What?”
    “You’re checking out Maya.”
    Busted. Jamie shook his head in denial. “Nope.”
    “Her cute, little, blonde friend, then.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    Trevor grinned. “Can I assume you’re going to ask both of them to stay after the party and help you clean up ?”
    “Oh, come on, Trevor,” Jamie reprimanded him.
    Trevor put both hands up in protest. “Hey, it’s something that you would have done 10 years ago, I’m just saying.”
    It was true. Partier Jamie wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity to try to get both of them into bed, separately or together, it wouldn’t have mattered to him. But now, he had little time or energy for the extracurricular activities he’d once so wholeheartedly enjoyed. But as he watched Maya lie down on the lounger enjoying the heat of the sun, he felt his interest rising. Her long, lean body was stretched out in repose, glistening with the sunscreen she had applied. His mouth watered at just the sight of her.
    He wanted her. No doubt about that. But there was no way in hell that he could