In the Boss's Bed (Harlequin Blaze) Read Free Page B

alcohol? Her reaction to the man? “What does it matter?” Maya finished her drink in one long swallow, dismissing it. “He’s a great kisser. But in this city? It’s not like I’m going to see him again.”
    Abby smirked, pursing her cherry-red lips. “Montreal might be the second largest city in the country, but I think it’s smaller than you think. You just might encounter him again.”
    Maya leaned back in the booth, the back of her head resting on the plush leather upholstery. She inhaled deeply. Yeah, the alcohol was definitely pumping through her veins. She quickly put the gorgeous man at the bar out of her mind. She was now ready to have fun. When a song she loved drove through the speakers of the club’s sound system, she stood quickly. A little too quickly, as evidenced by her slight wobble. She grabbed Abby’s hand.
    “Come on, we’re dancing!”
    Abby’s mouth dropped in surprise and she squealed with glee. “It’s about time, Maya. I love the new you.”
    At that moment Maya did, as well. The music pumped, as did her body to the beat. She focused on nothing else but how she felt at that moment. She dismissed all thoughts of her upcoming final exams and her 9 a.m. class, and she allowed Abby to pull her into the center of the dance floor. But neither her mind nor her body could forget the handsome stranger. In an attempt to shake his image from her mind and the feel of his lips burning on her own, she danced harder. But it was no use; he wouldn’t leave her. Perhaps instead of just kissing him, she should have talked to him, asked him his name, gotten his number.
    Maya stopped dancing, however, when some movement caught her eye. It was him, and he was standing on a staircase which overlooked the dance floor. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest. And she was transfixed when he raised his hand to scrub along the rough bristles of his jaw, before dragging it through his dark hair.
    It would have been her chance—to go up and talk to him. If only she had time to cross through the packed dance floor to get to him. She felt a sharp pang of remorse when he turned and walked up the dark staircase, forever relegating himself to her memory as the handsome stranger . She shook her head at the events of the evening. It was fun, but it was definitely over.

2
    T HE NEXT MORNING Maya awoke with the worst hangover of her life—not that she had many in her life to compare it to—but this was definitely the worst! She groaned at the buzzing alarm on her cell phone and, with her eyes tightly shut, felt around her night table for it. When she couldn’t manage to turn it off with her eyes still closed, she threw it into the pile of dirty clothes in the corner of her room. But much to her chagrin, doing so did nothing to silence the dreadful racket, and she pulled her comforter over her head.
    Once Maya managed to roll out of her bed, she pulled on a tank top and a pair of shorts. She padded barefoot to the kitchen, where she found Abby sitting at the narrow breakfast bar, with her head on the table—thankfully she had managed to make some coffee.
    “Can we just skip class today?” Abby pleaded, obviously not faring any better than Maya. “Also, can we just skip today, in general? And don’t answer too loudly. Please.”
    Maya poured herself a cup of coffee and sighed. “I wish we could do both of those things, but you know Carmichael is gonna test us somehow on the guest lecturer.”
    “Why is he so evil?” Abby whined.
    “Because he’s tenured.” Maya laughed quietly. “Also he’s a very sweet old man and not at all evil, and you know it. And he didn’t make us stay out last night until 3 a.m.” She closed her eyes and groaned. God, 3 a.m. It had been years since Maya had even thought about staying up that late. She brought the mug to her lips, holding back a slight wave of nausea as she sipped her black coffee.
    “Don’t remind me,” Abby groaned. “Oh, man, we were out so late. I