The Ex Files Read online

  Damian was grateful for a good blowjob as much as any man, but not particularly after having only an hour or so of sleep when he had another long shift to deal with later that day. Tending bar for a living, he’d pretty much swapped a normal life for sleeping days and working nights. He usually ended up making do with a few hours rest when he could and pretending it was enough.

  This girl obviously didn’t need her rest. She’d had as little sleep as he had last night, and she’d woken bright eyed and bushy tailed and done some damn nice things to his body. Even though he was still asleep for the start of it. Judging by the amount of come that had spewed out of him, tired or not his body obviously hadn’t minded being woken all that much.

  Still feeling guilty for dodging the kiss, he grabbed her slender body and pulled her down to him, planting his lips against her forehead before rolling on top of her. “So, you always such an early bird?”

  “I have to leave for work in a little while.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept you up so late last night.”

  She frowned. “I’d give up sleep for what we did last night any day.”

  He grinned. “Why, thank you. And thank you for the—you know.”

  “My pleasure. I thought I’d try and start both our days off right.” Brittany pursed her lips prettily.

  “Well, I’d say that was a good start.” For him anyway, but not exactly orgasmic for her.

  He usually took care of that part right away. In his defense, he had been sleeping for the start of this morning’s encounter, so it wasn’t as if he were at the top of his game in the “pleasuring her” department at the time. He could make up for it now though. Damian slid down her lean legs and spread her thighs so he could position himself in between them.

  God, he was tired. Hopefully he’d be able to get back to sleep again when he went home after she left for work.

  Pushing aside the bone-deep exhaustion, he spread her pussy lips wide to expose her clit and dove right in.

  He did the math in his head and figured how many hours he had until his next shift started. Not enough. Sucking harder, he worked her clit until her hips rose off the bed. He plunged two fingers inside, fucked her with them fast and rough and hoped she’d finish as fast as he had. When she started to shake and then come, letting him know pretty loudly, he knew he’d soon be back in his own bed and blissfully asleep. With that hope firmly in mind, he stopped thinking about anything and concentrated fully on enjoying the sounds of her pleasure.

  Chapter Two

  “To you, Jane, and your thirtieth birthday.” Candice raised her wine glass high in the air to toast an event Jane considered better left forgotten.

  “Don’t push me. My birthday’s not until the day after tomorrow. I have all day Saturday to still be in my twenties.” She sure as hell wasn’t anxious to leave them. Jane scowled but did take a sip out of her own glass, not as a toast, but to drown the sorrow.

  “I won’t see you on your actual birthday on Sunday so too bad, we’re celebrating now. Besides, what’s wrong with you? You’ve never had issues with your age before.” Candice frowned. “Turning thirty isn’t so horrible, you know. I lived through it. Six years ago, in fact.”

  “But you’re married.” Jane tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

  Maybe she should get it cut short in light of her early onset mid-life crisis. Was shoulder length hair appropriate on a thirty-year-old woman? At least it was still her usual lovely shade of shit brown and hadn’t turned gray yet. She wasn’t counting those two stray white hairs she’d found and immediately plucked. They could have grown out of a freak albino follicle.

  “So? Yes, I’m married. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I always thought I’d be married by the time I turned thirty.” Jane leaned her elbow heavily on the bar and glanced around for Damian, the hottie bartender. She truly needed a refill. Maybe she’d switch to something stronger than Shiraz.

  “Yeah, you better hurry up and get married, because you know women dry up and die after thirty.” Candice raised one brow, but the sarcasm was clear enough in her tone without the added cocky eyebrow move.

  “I didn’t say that. What I meant is I made the decision to put serious romance on the back burner while I finished law school and studied for the BAR exam. After that I was too busy working toward getting a job in a crappy economy and then making a name for myself at the firm.” Jane let out a sigh. “Now, I’m wondering if I had my priorities in order.”

  “Well, it’s not like you became a nun. You’ve dated.” Taking the last sip of her Pinot Grigio, Candice stared at Jane over the rim of the wine glass as if challenging her to deny it.

  Since Candice had been Jane’s sounding board for many a bitch session about men, and especially about her crappy sex with Jim, she knew damn well Jane was no nun. But Jane hadn’t dated, or done anything else with a live man, in a month. Not since she broke off whatever the hell she’d had with Jim. Maybe it was time to get back on the horse, so to speak. She could sure use a good ride about now. And the wine wasn’t helping her neediness in that area, but rather ramping it up even higher.

  She put her glass down on the bar. “I’ve dated, but not seriously. I don’t know. I used to think I’d just never met the one, but now I’m wondering if maybe I just wasn’t open to love. Candice, what if I met Mr. Right and let him go because I didn’t want to get serious back then?”

  Candice drew in a sharp breath. She leaned forward and slapped her hand over Jane’s. “You know what? I just read an article in one of those women’s magazines in the dentist’s office. It said exactly that. By the time they turn thirty most people have already met the person they were meant to be with. Shit, I can’t remember the exact statistic but it was like a ridiculously low number of people who actually end up with their soul mate. Usually they let him or her go and they marry someone else or end up alone.”

  Jane’s eyes opened wide. “Oh my God. I could have had him and pushed him away. I always tell guys I don’t want anything serious, with my long hours and career and all.”

  She could have met him and not even known he was the one.

  “Him who? Which guy you dated do you think was your soul mate?”

  “I don’t know. It could have been any one of them. I wouldn’t have recognized him. I was so wrapped up in my career. My God, Candice. I have to find him. I have to get him back.” Jane’s panic rose, constricting her throat and chest.

  “How?”

  Jane forced her mind to reason this out. “I still have the address book I had back in college and law school somewhere among my old stuff. That book, combined with my contacts list on my computer, means I’ve got the phone number and probably the email address for every guy I’ve ever dated.”

  “No way.” Her friend leaned back and looked shocked. “You do?”

  “Yes.” Jane let out a laugh. “I’m obsessive compulsive. You know that. I don’t throw anything away in case I need it later.”

  “What the hell are you going to do? Re-date them all?” Candice frowned.

  “If they’re single, yes.” With a newfound determination, Jane nodded.

  “So you’re going to call every guy you ever dated and ask him out again?”

  “That’s the plan.” Adrenaline flooded Jane. Now she had a plan, she felt better about things.

  Candice shook her head. “Girl, you’ve got more courage than I do.”

  “Calling the guys I’ve already dated? That’s nothing. What do I have to lose?” Jane shrugged. Being alone for the rest of her life would take far more courage.

  “I guess nothing. And it’ll make one hell of a good story when you find him.”

  Jane let her mind wander to a blissful time in the near future. A wonderful day when she sat happily beneath the adoring gaze of her soul mate, surrounded by their mutual friends as they retold the crazy story of their reunion. She sighed at the fulfilling vision.

  “Need a refill, ladi
es?” The deep, dark and come bite me, you’ll like it voice of Damian the bartender shattered her illusion, but Jane wasn’t all that upset about it.

  “Definitely. We’re celebrating Jane’s big birthday and her upcoming dates—plural.” Candice spilled the news and leaned closer to the bar like Damian had his own gravitational pull.

  Jane really didn’t need to have her big and unwelcome birthday announced to the hottie behind the bar. She also wasn’t sure she wanted her new re-dating scheme to be common knowledge. She cringed at how pitiful Damian would think she was. Most women he met probably didn’t need a battle plan as detailed as Jane’s to find a man.

  Candice eyed the bottles in Damian’s hands and pursed her lips. “I think we need to move on to something harder than wine.”

  “Harder, huh? What did you have in mind?” Damian’s dimples appeared to accompany the playful twinkle in his eyes. He put the wine bottles down and leaned his forearms on the bar, putting him closer to Jane and Candice. He shot them each a smoldering look. “I’m sure I’ve got something hard back here somewhere.”

  “I’m sure you do.” Candice laughed.

  Feeling a little envious of her friend, Jane watched their banter filled with witty double entendres. Candice interacted so easily with Damian. With all men really. That’s what came with being a little older and married. One more reason to hate being single.

  If Jane flirted with men the way Candice did, it wouldn’t look like innocent joking. It would look like she was trolling to get laid. Not that she wasn’t. It had been too long since she’d engaged in that particular activity, but she really didn’t need to look like she was on the prowl. Especially not with a bartender who could possibly be six or maybe even seven years her junior. But damn, she bet what was beneath his uniform was nice.

  Jane sighed and remained quiet.

  “How about we start first with a chocolate martini and maybe we’ll move on to something else hard later.” Candice smiled at Damian and then turned to Jane. “That okay with you?”

  Not really processing what had been asked as she pictured all the many enticing things that could be hard on Damian, Jane nodded. “Um, sure.”

  There was a reason she and Candice came to this bar at least once a week after work and it wasn’t just because it was walking distance from their office. It had nothing to do with geography and everything to do with the tall, dark and tempting tidbit behind the bar. Nothing like a drink and a little innocent ogling after a tough day at the office.

  Damian. Even his name sounded dangerous. He stood before her, the tiny silver hoop in one ear glinting in the light as he wielded a different liquor in each hand. All the while he wore a smile that made him look as if he’d partied with the Devil himself, and liked it.

  He stepped closer, put the bottles down and planted two stemmed glasses on the spill mat in the well at the edge of the bar. His eyes narrowed as he glanced from one woman to the next. “Chocolate martinis? Hm, are you ladies trying to test my skills? Because I have to warn you, I’m very well schooled in a wide variety of creative uses for chocolate, only one of which is the making of the perfect chocolate martini.”

  Candice sighed. “Ah, Damian. You truly are the perfect man. Where were you ten years ago when I was single?”

  “Uh, I’d have to do the math but ninth, tenth grade maybe?” He grinned as Candice and Jane both groaned.

  “God, that makes me feel old.” Jane let her forehead drop to the smooth wooden surface before her.

  “Stop. Don’t be silly, Jane. You’re only as old as you feel.” The sound of ice in a shaker accompanied the sexy purr of Damian’s voice.

  Jane heard Damian’s words of encouragement coming from above her, but didn’t believe them. She raised her head and watched him expertly strain the dark liquid from the glass shaker. The combined scents of the sweet liquor and Damian’s spicy cologne reached her nose, causing her to breathe in deep to capture the essence of them both. She tried to ignore the tingling of desire in her groin since there was nothing she could do about that now. However later when she was alone would be another story. Shit, she really needed to replace her broken vibrator. She’d burnt out the motor a week ago, coincidentally right after she and Candice had last been here enjoying Damian’s sultry company.

  Hotter than hell and gorgeous, with dark eyes that seemed to bore into a woman’s very soul, Damian was what every woman looked for in a fantasy man. He probably wasn’t even twenty-five and he slung drinks for a living, making him a totally inappropriate boyfriend for a thirty-year-old attorney with her eye on a partnership—which also made him perfect for Jane’s sexual fantasies. Who wanted to dream of the boring square asses she dealt with all day at work? Not her.

  She noticed his dark wavy hair had gotten a bit long in the back so that it had started to curl over the collar of his shirt. It was just the perfect length for a girl to tangle her fingers in while he was busy working her to orgasm with his mouth. The thought had Jane’s panties getting damp.

  With his trademark smile that Jane was sure earned him more tips—at least from the female patrons—than any other server in the place, he put the tall glass filled right to the rim in front of her. “This round’s on me. Happy birthday, Jane.”

  Jane had been so into the fantasy of running her fingers through Damian’s hair, it took her a second to process he’d spoken to her. “Oh, thank you. That’s very nice of you.”

  Having Damian buy her a drink almost made having another birthday and turning thirty worth it. Though she sincerely hoped he hadn’t picked up from their discussion she was turning the big three-zero. Maybe he thought her big birthday was twenty-five? Yeah, right. She grabbed the drink and took a long sip of chilled, chocolaty, alcoholic perfection.

  She let out a moan. “Oh my God. That’s unbelievable.”

  Candice took a swallow from her own glass and let her eyes drift closed for a moment. “Holy cow. That’s like an orgasm in a glass. You, sir, are a master.”

  Bar rag in hand, Damian swept one arm in front of him and bowed from the waist. “I humbly thank you, ladies and accept the title of orgasm master.”

  Jane’s mouth began to water, and not from the tasty drink. Where had she stashed away that old address book? She’d have to find it and start on those phone calls tomorrow before parts of her did begin to dry up.

  She drew in another long swallow of the smooth liquor. Chocolate orgasms would have to do for now.

  Damian hefted the rack full of dirty glasses onto the stainless counter. The guy they’d just hired as a dishwasher would take care of cleaning them in the morning. Damian’s shift had come to an end and thank God washing the dishes before he could leave was not part of it.

  Back out front, he headed for the door to lock up and was surprised to find he wasn’t alone. He stepped behind Jane where she stood fumbling in her bag by the restroom door. “Hey, there. I thought you’d gone home.”

  “I was trying to call a cab, but I don’t have a number. So I thought I’d call information but I can’t seem to find my phone in this stupid purse. Then I thought I could call on the payphone, but you don’t have a payphone. Then I needed to go to the ladies room.” Jane swept one arm toward the restroom, threw off her balance and swayed.

  He reached out with both hands to steady her. “Whoa. Easy. And just so you know, I always have numbers for cabs behind the bar. I even would have called one for you if you’d asked me.”

  When he was certain she was standing okay on her own two feet, he let her go, not that it was any hardship holding on to her. Not at all. Of all the women who came to hang out at his bar, Jane was always a pleasure to be around, not to mention to look at.

  “I didn’t want to bother you. You looked busy, with that big…thing of yours.” Her face colored. “The thing you carried, not your big thing.”

  Damian laughed. “Yeah, I got it. You meant the rack of glasses.”

  “Yeah, that must be what I meant. Because it would be rude to talk a
bout, you know, your other big thing.”

  Usually drunks were annoying. However Jane drunk was proving to be absolutely adorable. He smiled. “Oh, I don’t know. I never mind talking about any thing, my thing included, when it’s with a cute girl.”

  A scowl creased her brow. “Unfortunately, I’m not a girl anymore.”

  “You’re right. You’re definitely a woman.” A successful, smart, attractive, funny and very inebriated woman. One he should be putting in a cab home rather than noticing how one of the buttons on her blouse had opened. He could clearly see the lace of her bra. She wasn’t big up top, but what was there was really nice. Huge tits, especially the fake ones, were overrated in his opinion.

  Jane frowned and touched her head. “I think I had too much to drink.”

  “Mmm hmm. I think you’re right.” And that was his fault. He’d been having so much fun mixing drinks for them he hadn’t realized what the combination of liquors, as much as the amount, would do to two women. Candice had gotten into her cab fine. Drunk yes, but functioning, but Jane seemed to be handling the alcohol less well. He’d keep that in mind when pouring for her from now on. She required a lighter hand.

  That thought had him thinking other far from bartenderly thoughts about his hands on her.

  “Damian?”

  “Yes, Jane.”

  “I’m attractive, aren’t I?”

  He nodded. “Yes, you are. Very.”

  “Then why am I alone? I mean I’m not even talking about being unmarried. I mean alone like I burnt out the motor on my vibrator last week and now I have to buy a new one.”

  And now he had a hard-on. Wow. That was some piece of information. It put a hell of a visual in his head. Jane, splayed out on her bed, working herself to an orgasmic frenzy. Damn. He took one look at her distraught expression and squelched the porno-worthy reel starring her playing in his head.