To Hate Adam Connor
: Chapter 10

Adam

After my argument with Adeline, I headed toward the back door of the venue so I could escape and go home. I had known going there wouldn’t change anything, but I had still needed to talk to her. Taking her to court for full custody of Aiden was the last thing I wanted to do, but Adeline…she was forcing my hand. She had no business being Aiden’s mom.

The paparazzi were lying in wait at the front of the venue, so leaving that way was out of the question. It was already bad that they had taken shots of me and Adeline in a heated conversation—God knew how they would spin those shots—and the last thing I wanted was them capturing me storming out of the place.

I headed toward the back of the loft, rounded the corner, and found a couple going at it at the mouth of the hallway. Keeping my head down, I walked past them. Turning right, I pushed open the steel doors and felt the fresh air on my face. Right as I took my first step out, I heard someone scream.

My head snapped back, and I saw another couple in a compromising position. The way the guy was towering over the girl, I couldn’t see anything, but I thought I saw something…

I glanced outside. Maybe I had just misinterpreted the scream? Adeline wasn’t a screamer in bed; she barely moved under me. Maybe I’d forgotten what a pleasure-filled scream sounded like?

Still, my feet took me toward the couple, and the closer I got to their cozy little hidden spot, the more I felt like a creeper intruding on something.

I saw a flash of a nude fabric, similar to the one Lucy had on when I had last seen her then another muffled scream and my steps quickened.

“Hey,” I yelled so I could be heard over the music, and the guy looked at me over his shoulder, giving me a glassy stare. I frowned and my gaze strayed to the girl trapped between him and the door.

The first thing I noticed was the tears; then I realized it was Lucy with her stormy gray eyes, the blue completely gone. Her fear-stricken eyes lifted up to mine and something loosened inside me.

Call it a release of anger; it was to be expected after the night I’d had.

“Adam Connor,” the guy said with a big smile. “Welcome to our private little party. Care to join in on the fun?” It was Jake Callum, an up-and-coming actor, a douche who thought he was the shit just because one of his movies had done okay at the box offices.

I noticed Lucy trying to push him off and my scowl deepened.

Prying him off her by gripping the back of his shirt, I slammed him against the wall.

“Easy, dude.” He laughed, lifting his hands up between us. “I have a contract. Take it easy.”

I looked down at his pants and sighed in relief when I saw he was all buttoned up, but then I noticed Lucy trying to wipe off her tears at the same time she was pulling down her skirt and my anger came back tenfold.

“Care to tell me what was going on here?” I asked, getting in his face and pushing at him.

Jake shrugged with a smirk. “Just having a good time with the lady, dude. Relax.” His eyes slid to Lucy, and I tightened my hand on his shirt to get his attention.

“Don’t look at her! I asked you—”

I didn’t have time to finish my sentence because the little pain in my ass who was dressed as every guy’s wet dream was pushing on me to move away. I looked down at her over my shoulder. When I didn’t budge, her frown deepened, and she gave it another try. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked, glaring at her.

She quit trying to push me away. “Get out of my way,” she growled.

“I’m trying to help you, for fuck’s sake!” I bit out.

“I said,” she growled. “Get. Out. Of. My. Way.”

Well, I thought, she’s already proven she’s a lunatic, so maybe I misunderstood the situation? Maybe they were in the middle of a lover’s quarrel? Apparently I knew nothing anymore.

I let go of Jake and took a step back. “My mistake then. Excuse me for interrupting.” Lucy’s eyes narrowed on me, but as soon as I was out of her way, her focus was on Jake. My eyes dropped to her chest, just momentarily, and I saw how sharp her breathing was.

I nodded at her, raked my hand through my hair, and reluctantly took a step back as she leaned toward Jake and crooked her finger at him as if she was about to whisper something in his ear. Why did that simple move make me even angrier? I was about to turn around and leave when out of nowhere her little fist flew in the air and landed squarely on Jake’s nose. Cupping his nose, he groaned in pain.

“You bitch!”

Without any pause, Lucy kneed him in the balls.

I winced. Ouch.

She was about to get in another punch when I caught her hand before it could land.

“Whooaa, easy there.”

It was a stupid move on my part. Never get in the way of Lucy Meyer. Ever. She stepped on my foot.

With her heel.

Very hard.

“Jesus, woman!” I yelled, momentarily dropping her arm.

“You little piece of shit!” she screamed at Jake before landing another punch on his shoulder.

“You crazy bitch,” Jake hissed back, letting go of his nose so he could capture her wrist. Lucy stopped with her tirade, and he started twisting her hand. At a loss for words, I wrapped my hand around Jake’s throat as I tried to keep Lucy away with the other.

“Drop it,” I said to him as calmly as I could manage. What had I gotten myself into?

Jake’s eyes hardened, and he twisted her wrist farther, causing her to gasp and twist her body to lessen the pain. I tightened my hand around his throat and pushed his head back into the wall until his face started to turn red and he was having trouble breathing. “I won’t repeat it, Callum. Let her go!”

He shoved her hand away and a second later, Lucy was on him again, screaming obscenities, cursing him all to hell. I let Jake go and turned my back to him as he kept coughing.

“Stop it,” I said to Lucy and got a light punch on my shoulder for all my troubles.

Jesus.

Did the woman listen to me? Of course not. I doubted she ever listened to anyone.

“I’m gonna kill him,” she kept yelling while trying to hit Jake by reaching around me.

I glanced at the end of the hall to see if I could spot Jason, but there was no one near us, not even the couple who had been in a kissing frenzy just a few minutes before.

Her eyes were focused on Jake. “Who do you think you are!” she screamed again, pushing and pulling at me to get to him. “You little bastard! How dare you!”

“You either get her out of my face or we’re gonna have a problem here, Connor,” Jake croaked from behind me, his voice fucked up. Maybe I’d squeezed a little harder than necessary—not that I felt sorry for the guy.

“Shut the fuck up,” I growled at him and finally caught Lucy’s flailing arms.

“Let me go, Connor,” she screamed and lifted her foot again. She must’ve been exhausted because she was starting to move much slower, and I knew her game, so I managed to move my foot away before she could replace her target. I twisted her body as gently as I could and held her back against my chest, trapping her arms.

How nobody had heard the whole mess, I had no idea.

I braced my chin on her shoulder and whispered to her, “Calm down, Lucy. Calm down.” She smelled of pink roses and a subtle hint of citrus, soft and sharp at the same time. I shook my head to clear my mind.

After a slight hesitation, she started squirming against me. “Don’t tell me to calm down, goddammit! I’m gonna kill him. Let go of me.”

“No. I need you to calm down for me, Lucy. Can you do that? Please, sweetheart. Calm down and tell me what’s going on here.”

Her chest falling and rising rapidly, she curled her hands around my arm. I was expecting her to try something on me, or simply push me away, but she surprised me by just holding on to me. “I told you…” she said slowly “…not to call me sweetheart.”

“If you promise to calm down, I’ll never call you sweetheart again. Will that make you happy?”

She took a deep breath with difficulty and nodded. Her hands were still gripping my arms, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate me pointing that out.

Jake chose that moment to slither away from the wall and walk away from us. He faced us and kept walking backward. When he shot Lucy a quick salute and grin…Lucy went rigid in my arms for a second then let out a frustrated scream and tried to go after him.

I sighed and lifted her legs off the ground. “That’s it. We’re leaving.” Carrying a kicking and screaming Lucy, I walked outside.

The moment I let her go, she tried to run past me and back inside again. I cut her off before she could manage that.

“Why would you do that?” she screamed, her chest heaving. Apparently it was time to attack me again.

“I save you and that’s how you say thank you?” I asked, blocking the door so she wouldn’t try something.

A security guard came running toward us. “Is everything okay here?”

Lucy turned her murderous eye on the guy and growled, “Yes!”

The guy ignored her and turned to me. “Everything good, Mr. Connor?”

She stepped in front of him and waved her hands. “Hello? Why are you even asking him? Maybe I’m the one having a problem with him?”

Ignoring Lucy yet again, he waited for an answer. I rubbed my neck and nodded. What was I even supposed to say? As soon as he left, Lucy whirled on me.

I raised my hand to stop her before she could start all over again. “Shut it.” I was seconds away from getting in her face and yelling right back at her, but I made the mistake of noticing her shaky hands and all the fight I had left in me drained away.

“Look.” I closed my eyes and tried to replace the right words to say to her. “Look, it seems like neither one of us is having the best night here. I’m just trying to make sure you’re all right, nothing more. Then I’m leaving, and you can go kill whoever you want to, okay?” I took a deep breath to give her some time. “If you don’t want my help, that’s fine. Just calm down a little so we can both go on our way.”

Surprisingly, she nodded and turned her back to me. I won’t lie, it was tempting to wait a few more minutes in silence and then just leave when she was feeling more like herself, but when she hugged her elbows to hide the fact that her body was starting to shake uncontrollably, I knew I couldn’t leave her there.

Shit!

I thought about putting my hands on her shoulders and…consoling her? Warming her up? Just something to ease her, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate that, so instead I faced her and tilted her chin up with my fingertips.

“Lucy?”

She opened her eyes and what I saw broke my heart: a single tear that followed an almost straight line down to her chin. Instinctively, I wiped it away. I didn’t know shit about this woman, about who she really was inside, but from what I’d seen so far, I knew something was seriously wrong.

“I’m not crying,” she announced.

“Of course not,” I said softly.

“I’m not.” She wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand and looked up at me. “These are just angry tears.”

“Of course,” I repeated. “I wouldn’t expect anything else from someone like you.”

Her face flushed and her posture stiffened even more. “And what is that supposed to mean? Someone like me?”

Of course she’d twist my words. How else could she manage to start another fight? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she fed on making me miserable.

I shook my head. “I’m not doing this with you. Good night and have fun, Lucy.” I turned around to leave, but she put her hand on my arm and stopped me.

“Just wait a minute. What—”

“I meant someone as stubborn, strong, and willful as you, Lucy,” I explained, cutting her off. “I’m not looking to start a fight with you. Not tonight.”

She took her hand off my arm. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well then, I’m sorry.”

“How unexpected of you. Was that the very first time those words have ever left your mouth?”

“Don’t push it.”

My gaze dropped to my arm, specifically to her hand that was keeping me from moving. “I’d like to leave now, if that’s okay with you?”

She followed my gaze then seemed surprised to replace her hand on me. Taking a few steps back, she said, “Of course. I didn’t mean to touch you. Hopefully you won’t call the authorities on me.”

The way she said it…God, she infuriated me.

“Like I said, have a nice evening, Lucy.”

I walked away from her. I walked away and it didn’t feel right.

You must really be itching for a fight, Adam, I thought to myself as my steps slowed down. As if the first round with Adeline hadn’t been enough, I was going to spend some more time with this crazy one. In a car. Where I couldn’t escape.

When I looked back, Lucy was exactly where I’d left her. Her face was tilted up to the sky, her eyes closed. Moonlight looked good on her. Her features looked soft, her slightly pink lips inviting. My feet took me back to her.

“Do you want me to go in and get your friends?”

She opened one eye and gave me a defiant look. “No.”

I tilted my head and waited for an explanation that never came.

“Okay then. Would you—”

“You can leave, I’m fine.”

“Would you like to leave with me?”

Both of her eyes opened, and she seemed to consider my offer for a moment. “Yes,” she said finally. “Yes, please.”

“Would you like me to drop you off at Jason’s place or somewhere else?”

“Jason’s. If it won’t be too much trouble for you, I’d appreciate that.” The fight seemed to have left her and her shoulders dropped a little. I wanted to put my arms around her…close my eyes, put my arms around her, and just breathe.

I shook my head. “You want me to wait while you let your friends know you’re leaving?”

“I don’t want to bother them. I’ll text Olive on the way.”

“My car is this way,” I said, motioning to the row of cars with my head. She followed me without a word.

I managed to avoid the paparazzi by taking the long way back home. A shot of a strange woman in my car would’ve given them too much ammunition.

The car ride was unexpectedly silent. I kept glancing at Lucy, but she kept her focus on the road. I noticed her rubbing the back of her hand on her dress, so I reached out and grabbed it to have a look.

“Hey,” she protested, trying to pull her hand from my grasp. “What are you doing?”

“Keep still for a second.” Her knuckles were all red. “You need to put ice on this.” We stopped at a red light. Unconsciously, I ran my thumb over the bruised part. “Where did you learn to hit like that?”

She grunted. “It wasn’t a good hit. I didn’t even break his nose.”

“Oh, so that’s what you were aiming for.”

“Well, yeah. Why else would you hit someone? I wanted to see some blood.”

On top of everything else, she was bloodthirsty too. Strangely, it suited her.

I let go of her hand and forced myself to put it back on the wheel. “Are you ready to tell me what was going on in there?” I asked. “Things got out of hand with Jake?”

“Jake? His name is Jake? You know him?”

“Jake Callum.” I frowned and glanced at her as the light turned green. “You don’t know him?”

“Oh yeah, I let him force his tongue down my throat because he was Jake Callum. Did it look like I knew him to you?” She angrily smoothed down her dress and then mumbled to herself, “I knew I recognized him from somewhere.”

“How should I know whether you care to ask for a name before you start making out with a guy?”

Her head snapped to me, and I felt her eyes boring into the side of my face.

I sighed. “I’m sorry, that was wrong of me to say.” Her answer had angered me; it shouldn’t have.

“Apology not accepted.” She looked back at the road again. The streets were empty.

After a few moments of silence, she spoke up, “Not that you need to know, but for your information, I don’t even remember talking to the guy. When I got out of the restroom he was just there and on me.”

I pulled my foot from the gas. “What are you saying?”

“You have trouble hearing?”

I pulled the car to the side and turned to face her. “What do you mean he was on you?”

“If you’re not gonna get me home, I can replace my own way.” Before she could even touch the handle, I locked the doors.

“Are you saying he forced himself on you?” I said through gritted teeth.

Her face was flushed with anger when she looked at me. “What did you think was going on?”

I processed that for a second, then nodded at her.

“Can we go now?”

“No,” I said shortly. After checking the mirrors, I made a quick U turn.

“Whoa!” she gasped, holding on to the window and her seat. “Where are you going?”

I didn’t answer.

“Adam?”

We would be back at the loft in ten minutes.

She raised her voice. “Adam!”

I gave her a quick look. “We’re going back to replace Callum.”

“No, we’re not,” she argued, her brows drawing together.

I ignored her.

“Hey.” She hit my arm, trying to get my attention. “I already kicked his ass, what else could you possibly do? Or what? Are you going back there to thank him for putting me in my place? Just when I think I can’t possibly hate you more than I already do—”

I hit the brakes so hard Lucy flew forward, slamming her hand on the dashboard to catch herself.

“Put your fucking seat belt on,” I snapped at her.

“Are you fucking crazy?” She looked at me like I was the one who had lost his mind, but the yelling worked, and she obediently did what I asked without another peep. Thank God there were no cars behind us.

“If you ever tell me anything like that again, I’ll make you sorry, Lucy. I won’t even care that you don’t know anything about me.”

“What are you gonna do? Spank my ass?”

“Don’t go and give me any ideas now.”

Her eyebrows rose, and she opened and closed her mouth a few times.

“What did you think was happening there?” she asked in a calmer voice when I started driving again.

I clenched my jaw. “I thought you wanted him to slow down. I didn’t think he was full-on trying to rape you, for fuck’s sake!”

With the speed I was going, I’d be back at the loft in just a few minutes. Then I could smash the bastard’s head in. If I’d realized what he was doing to her, the extent of it, I wouldn’t have held her back.

I barely heard Lucy mumbling next to me. “Okay. Okay. Adam, I need you to take me home now.”

“No.”

“Adam?” Something had changed in her voice, so I gave her a quick glance.

She had paled and was looking at me with those big gray eyes.

Fuck.

Fuck!

“I want to go home now,” she repeated, keeping her eyes on me. “Please.”

I slowed down and pulled over carefully.

“Please,” she repeated again.

I looked at the road then back at her. “We’re almost there, Lucy.”

“You’re not hearing me. Either take me home or unlock the doors so I can replace my own way.”

I gave her a long look, studied every little expression on her face. The way her lips were pressing together, the way she was trying her hardest not to blink too many times. That little vein that popped up on the side of her forehead when she was angry, frustrated, or anxious. I didn’t like the fact that I knew about that vein.

I shouldn’t have noticed it.

I should’ve ignored it.

As our wills battled, she lifted her chin ever so slightly and ordered me to unlock the doors.

When I didn’t, she started pushing all the buttons, trying to replace the right one.

“Okay. Fine.” I reached for her hand and touched her, curling my hand over her cold one. When she didn’t punch me, I placed it back on her thigh. “We’re going home. I’ll take you home.”

The rest of the ride was…long. Long and quiet and painful. The city was surprisingly quiet that night. I still kept my hand on hers, hoping she’d warm soon enough and stop shaking. The fact that she didn’t push me away…

I stopped the car in front of Jason’s gate and hesitated before I unlocked the doors.

Lucy waited with her hand on the handle, ready to flee.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked into the heavy silence.

“I’d like to get out now.”

I could understand that. I unlocked the doors and watched her shimmy down from the car. Before she shut the door, she mumbled a thank you and walked away.

How could a night out go so wrong?

I waited for her to get inside. Just to make sure, I told myself, nothing more. Instead of entering the code for the gate, she hiked her dress up a little and sat her ass down at the curb.

What I should’ve done was look away and go home. She’d call her friend, get the code, and go wait in the backyard or do whatever the hell she wanted to do. She had been nothing but trouble since the day I’d found her dripping wet in my backyard. She was the last thing my life needed. Quite aware of all that, I turned the engine off to go and join her on the curb.

Neither one of us spoke for a few minutes as we sat next to each other. It was a chilly night, barely any clouds in the dark sky.

“Let’s go home and put some ice on that hand,” I said, tiredly.

She sounded equally tired, if not more, when she said, “I don’t have a home.”

“Tonight you do.”

***

I woke up to the sound of laughter ringing through the house. A woman’s laughter and a kid’s—my kid’s, to be more specific. But Aiden was supposed to be with Adeline; it was her weekend. Had she brought him back? Frowning, I got up to replace out what was going on.

The night before had ended abruptly after I’d helped Lucy ice her hand. One second I was holding her fragile hand in my palm, getting used to its weight in my hand as we stood almost nose to nose, and the next she was scrambling away from me. The moment she could, she’d fled to her room. Knowing there was nothing more I could do, I’d gone to bed, too, but I couldn’t fall sleep. Apart from worrying about what I was going to do about Adeline, I’d worried about Lucy too because she’d managed to work her way into my life somehow.

Getting out of bed, I had spent some time in the kitchen, thinking maybe she’d join me. I’d seen the light coming from under her door, so I knew she was having trouble sleeping too.

She hadn’t come out, so after a while I’d gone back to bed, and I thought it was for the best.

I made it to the living room and spotted Dan watching Lucy and Aiden with a fleeting smile on his face.

Aiden and Lucy? They were laughing uncontrollably, completely oblivious to their surroundings.

They didn’t even notice me walking up to Dan. “What’s going on here?” I asked.

His lips quirked up even more and to hide it he took a sip from the coffee cup he had in his hand. “They are practicing their laughter. Lucy thought Aiden’s needed a little more kick.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup.” He gave me a quick glance. “He was feeling sorry for himself, so she said she wasn’t feeling all that great either and thought it was the perfect time to practice how to laugh better.”

I smiled. That sounded exactly like something Lucy would do.

“And what’s Aiden doing here?”

“The little bugger tricked me.”

I didn’t have time to ask how he’d been tricked because Aiden finally noticed me and jumped off the couch, running toward me.

“Daddy!”

“Got you,” I grunted, lifting him up in my arms.

“I missed you like crazy. You missed me too?” he asked into my neck, his thin arms holding on tight. I hugged him even tighter and dropped a kiss on his head.

“I missed you too, little man. What are you doing here?”

His head came out of my neck, and he held my face between his hands.

“Checking on things. You haven’t shaved?”

I laughed. “What things are you checking on exactly?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“I don’t like you being all alone here. I think about it so much that sometimes I can’t sleep at night. I know you miss me, so I came to check on things. Since I worry about you so much, maybe I shouldn’t leave you alone here?”

“I thought you said you forgot to take your favorite book with you and that was why we came here, little guy,” Dan said, grabbing Aiden’s attention.

As he was weaving more tales to Dan, I glanced at Lucy, who was off the couch and watching us quietly. I tried to figure out her mood, but she was good at not giving away too much. She still had a smile on her face, but other than that, I couldn’t even begin to guess what she was thinking.

“And then I said to myself, Dan is protecting Daddy, so he’d want to check things out too.” Aiden was still talking.

“Oh, so that’s what you said to yourself.”

“Uh-huh. I knew you wouldn’t say it because you’re a big guy and big guys don’t worry, so I said it for you. And now that Lucy lives here, we have to protect them both.” He put his hand on my cheek again and turned my face so I’d look at him. “You wanted to see me too, right? Tell Dan I did good.”

“You didn’t do good, Aiden,” I corrected him, trying to keep a straight face. “You can’t lie to have your own way.”

“But I didn’t lie. I came to check on things!”

Dan’s phone pinged with a new message.

“Okay, little liar, your mom texted. Grab your things, we need to go.”

“But, Dan, we need to—”

“You don’t need to do anything, buddy,” I said, interrupting him. “You don’t want to worry your mom, do you?”

His face fell. “No, but—”

“No buts, Aiden. You can’t lie to Dan, okay?”

“Am I in big trouble, Daddy?” He averted his eyes and his hand started to draw shapes on my skin, a new nervous habit he’d picked up.

“Not this time.”

He lifted his eyes and smiled a brilliant, wide smile. “You’re happy I came to check on things, aren’t you? You aren’t angry with me.”

I smiled back at him. “I’m always happy to see you, buddy.”

He looked back at Lucy over his shoulder then back at me again. “Lucy said she was happy to see me too.”

I shot her a quick glance then slowly lowered Aiden down.

“It looked like she was very happy to see you.”

He nodded. “I think she likes me.”

Even though he was trying to be very careful and talk quietly, I knew Lucy could hear everything he was saying. I could see her smile slowly widen, and it made me happy to see she could still smile after the day before. It made me happy that Aiden was there to make her laugh. I only wished I could’ve woken up earlier to see more of that.

“I agree,” I said. “I think she likes you very much.”

“Can you protect her for me? She isn’t feeling well, and I want her to be safe.”

My eyes shot back to Lucy. Had she told Aiden something?

“Of course,” I replied to Aiden roughly. He was growing up, worrying about others. Then I looked at Lucy so she could see I meant the words. “I want her safe, too.”

I saw her roll her eyes and knew she’d be okay.

Turned out, Aiden really had forgotten to take his favorite book with him, so after he ran off to get it from his room, he left with Dan, leaving me alone with Lucy.

I headed toward the kitchen to brew some coffee, and she followed me. I knew she had something to say.

“I can protect myself, you know. You didn’t have to promise your son you’d protect me.”

“Of course you can. I just thought it would be easier to give him my word than to explain that you wouldn’t want my help because you hate me.”

“Yes, I hate you.” She nodded as if she was convincing herself. Her eyes roamed my chest and then she looked away. She was standing on the other side of the kitchen island, tapping the marble with her fingers.

I added water to the coffee machine, pressed the start button, and calmly waited for her to say whatever was eating at her.

“You should wear a shirt,” she said finally.

I decided to tease her to make her smile. She had laughed with my son, so it was only fair if she gave me some smiles too. “What?” I asked her, peering down at myself. “You don’t like me naked from this close? Every one of those photos in your phone was of me naked and zoomed in.”

“That was then. Now”—she gave me another look, and I caught her swallow—“not that attractive, I guess.”

“Ah, right. Not after I sent you to prison, right?”

She squinted at me. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t dare.”

Satisfied, she nodded. “Good. Be scared of me. That’s smart of you.”

I nodded and rounded the kitchen island to stand in front of her. She followed me with her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“I assume there is something you want to tell me, so I’m getting closer so I can hear you better.”

“And you couldn’t hear me from there because…?”

“Because I want you to know that I’m taking you very seriously.”

“Go take me seriously from over there, buddy.”

She put a hand on my chest to stop me from moving closer to her. I stopped and looked down at her small hand that was planted on my chest. I liked how she felt on me, her skin on mine. She looked down at it too and seemed surprised by it. I didn’t even try to hide my smile.

“And I wanted to thank you,” I explained. When she looked confused, I continued. “For making Aiden laugh like that. As I’m sure you’ve already noticed, he’s having a hard time with the divorce.” I placed my hand over hers, which made her frown deepen. “So thank you.”

She pulled her hand away and rubbed it on her thigh. “Well, someone has to make him laugh. Since you’re not doing the job…” She shrugged, and I laughed.

“Thank you for that too.”

“You’re welcome. Now go put on a shirt.” She waved at me with her hand. “I shouldn’t have to look at your naked…bare…unclothed…muscular chest. You’re ruining my view.”

I tilted my head to the side a little to capture her eyes. “It’s my home. You’re free to look away, Lucy,” I suggested softly. When she met my gaze, her eyes lit up.

She put her hand on the island and slightly leaned forward. “Are we playing a game, Adam Connor? Because I love games.”

I raised an eyebrow, but otherwise stayed silent.

“Oh, poor Adam.” She made a sad face and my lips twitched. “You don’t know me at all, do you?” She took a step forward and placed her hand on my chest again, making a big show out of it.

Little minx.

When I didn’t object, she started moving a finger downward, her touch as light as a feather.

Our eyes stayed locked.

This time, I took a step toward her, raising the stakes. I wanted to see where she was going with the act.

“Does it feel good?”

She frowned at my question and her hand halted on my abs.

“Does it feel exactly like you imagined it or better? Too soft?” I flexed my muscles and leaned closer to her. “Too hard?”

She curled her fingers and lightly grazed my skin with her nails. I couldn’t be sure if it was involuntary or if she was still playing, but with the way her chest was rising and falling rapidly…I could see I was affecting her.

She blinked. Twice. Other than that, her expression didn’t waver. Then she licked her bottom lip and gently dragged her fingertips up and down my stomach, tracing my muscles, stopping when she reached the band of my sweatpants.

I dropped my eyes to her hand, just for the briefest second, and missed the moment she decided to rise up on her toes to whisper in my ear. I kept my head down and waited to hear what she would say.

“You’re right,” she whispered, a little too close to my ear to be accidental. Oh, she was good. Not quite as good an actor as me, but she was holding her own. “I did spend some time by myself, imagining how you’d feel under my hands.” She rested her palm on my chest, and I closed my eyes so I could focus on her voice, focus on how good she sounded when she wasn’t yelling at me. “Between my legs.” My lips quirked up, my dick pulsing with need. I liked this Lucy much better.

“Do you think…” She paused. “Can I touch you?” Another short pause. “To see if it’s hard? And big…”

I opened my eyes. If she thought I’d call her bluff, she was quite mistaken.

She leaned back, heated eyes meeting mine. I grabbed her hand and lowered it for her, making sure her palm stayed flat against my skin all the way down.

When our connected hands reached my sweatpants, I stopped.

She waited to see what I would do with an eager look on her face. She thought she had me.

Think again, my little stalker.

I walked into her and forced her back against the island. She wasn’t expecting that, so she had no choice but to follow my movement. I dropped her hand and placed my arms on the counter, trapping her in. She could escape if she wanted to, our bodies weren’t touching, but she didn’t look as confident as she had just seconds before either.

I lowered my head, ripped a page from her book, and whispered into her ear, “It’s big, Lucy. And hard.” I gently touched her skin with the tip of my nose and inhaled her fresh scent. She was all soft, nothing sharp about her. “Touch me.”

While I waited for her next move, I felt the urge to touch her chest, to slow her frantic heartbeat down, to take it…and maybe taste that inviting pulse on her neck.

A pretty pink flush took over her skin, and I smiled to myself. Granted, I wasn’t sure if she’d go ahead and dive into my sweatpants, but even if she was brazen enough, she’d replace exactly what I’d said she would replace.

A moment passed. Then another.

I leaned back and met her eyes. She was pissed. I could see it in her eyes. She was planning a murder in her mind. A bloody one. I remembered why I found it so sexy when she was all fired up.

Trying her best to look nonchalant, she shrugged her tense shoulders. “I doubt it’s anything that big, so I’ll keep my illusions, thank you very much.”

I didn’t say anything, and she didn’t look away.

The coffee machine pinged, breaking the thick silence.

“And now you’ll never know,” I said, backing away. I poured myself a cup of coffee and watched her out of the corner of my eye. She was still plastered to the island. “Coffee?”

She turned to look at me. “What?”

I raised my eyebrow, barely holding back my smile. “Would you like some coffee?” I repeated, lifting my mug.

“No.” Her eyes dropped to my chest for a second then she shook her head. “I wanted to tell you something.”

“Before this goes any further, I should tell you something.”

We said at the same time.

She huffed. “You first. Nothing is going anywhere, by the way.”

She could believe that as much as she wanted.

“Those first few days you looked after Aiden after school?”

“Yes. What about it?”

“There was a listening device in his toy so Dan could listen to what was going on.”

She seemed to process it for a while. Her eyes slightly narrowing.

“Because…”

“Because you were a stranger. You didn’t expect me to do nothing, did you? As much as I’d trust Jason looking after him, all I knew about you was that you enjoy climbing walls to watch other people.” I took a sip from my coffee, keeping my eyes on hers. “Dan enjoyed himself immensely during the singing parts.”

Her eyes seemed to narrow further. “You know what. I should be pissed. Hell, I’m pissed, but I get where you’re coming from. I guess I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes. You’re not the worst dad after all. So, there you go. You can stop feeling guilty about how wrong you were about me.”

“I didn’t say I was feeling guilty. I just wanted you to know.”

“Now I know.”

We stared at each other some more then Lucy was the first one to look away.

“Your turn. I’m listening.”

“Now you can hear me from all the way over there?”

“Would you like me to come closer? Because I can.”

Her eyes sparkled. “No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“You know what? Forget about it.” She stormed out of the kitchen.

I put my mug down and caught up to her as she stepped out into the backyard.

My tone was gentle when I asked, “What is it, Lucy?”

I didn’t think she would stop or even answer, but she did both.

“I want to press charges.”

I stilled. She wanted to press charges against me?

“You know, for assault. I know nothing will come out of it and he’ll just shrug it off, or the cops will think I’m just one of his groupies or something, but at least—” Her forehead furrowed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“He?” I managed to ask.

“Jake Callum.” Her expression hardened. “Don’t tell me he is your friend and you don’t want me to go to the cops.”

How could she even think that?

“Did it look like I was his friend when I wrapped my hand around his throat?” I growled at her.

“I didn’t think so, but…you never know.”

“I’m not his friend, Lucy. And yes, press charges. I’m your witness.”

She pushed her hands into her pockets and looked at my face, not quite into my eyes.

“You’d do that?”

I wanted to go to her, embrace her, but I stopped myself. “Of course I would do that,” I replied gruffly. “In fact, I’m going to call Dan, and you’ll go down to the station with him. If they want me to make a statement too…” I checked my watch. “I have to be on set in two hours, but I’ll drop by before I come home. It’s our last day of shooting, otherwise I’d come with you, but—”

“That’s okay,” she interrupted me. “I wasn’t asking you to come with me, and I don’t need your bodyguard either, but…but thank you. And I know they won’t do anything about it, nothing happened after all and…and maybe I’d had too much to drink. They’ll think I’m lying.” She bounced on her toes and looked away from my gaze. “I just want them to have something on file or whatever. In case he really does something to someone else. So they’ll see it’s not his first try.”

At that moment, with those words, I fell for her a little.

“And,” she started, her hand gingerly touching her breast. “He kinda gave me a bruise, so maybe that’ll help.”

I was surprised at how hard it was for me to actually stay in place and not go to her side to make sure she was okay.

“He left a bruise?” I asked, or more like growled. My words were barely audible.

She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, her expression closing up. “I’m fine.” She looked over her shoulder, toward Jason’s place.

“Did you tell them?” I asked, almost certain she hadn’t.

“Not yet.” She lifted her chin, standing strong. “And you won’t either.”

“Only if you take Dan with you. Believe me, he’ll help.”

“They’ll take me more seriously, you mean.”

I didn’t reply, but she already knew the answer anyway.

She seemed to think about it for a minute then let out a long sigh, averting her eyes from mine. “Fine.”

The New Post-Divorce Adam Connor

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you must’ve already seen the pictures of Jake Callum with a broken, bloody nose making the rounds all over the Internet. Now, don’t get us wrong, even though he is new in the industry, we welcomed him with open arms and promptly fell in love with his charming smile. Even so, we have to admit, a broken nose is not a good look for the new actor. Granted, he wasn’t aware he was being photographed as the shots show him speeding away from the studio lot where he was supposed to start filming this week, but still…

Now let’s get to the juicy stuff. At the time the candid shots had gone viral, no one knew how he happened to sport a broken nose, but after a little diggin’ we found out that the new actor had a violent altercation with none other than the newly divorced Adam Connor.

Unfortunately, at this moment we have no idea how or why the fight started between the actors in the first place. What we do know is that Adam Connor is filming the last scenes of his movie at the same lot as Jake Callum.

To say that we are shocked would be an understatement at this point. Adam Connor grew up in front of the cameras, and as far as we know has never been involved in an altercation like this before. If it had happened, trust us, we’d know.

An eyewitness that happened to be near Jake’s trailer claimed Adam was already livid when he approached the actor. “There wasn’t even enough time for the fight to accelerate. Jake was just coming back from a table read, and Adam stopped him before he could go into his trailer. I couldn’t hear their exchange, but as soon as Adam was close enough, he threw the first punch, which must’ve broken Jake’s nose. The next thing I knew, Adam had Jake up against the trailer door. After they exchanged heated words, Adam let him go and just left. It was the weirdest thing.”

The rumor out there is that Adam’s ex-wife, Adeline, was having a fling with Jake, and Adam snapped when he heard about it. You should also know that Adam was photographed having a heated conversation with Adeline at the premiere of Soul Ache just the day before. While this sounds believable and it wouldn’t be the first time it had ever happened, we’re not so sure that was the case here. First of all, ever since the divorce, Adam has stayed away from everything involving Adeline. No press conferences, no interviews, no photo ops. Plus, there were rumors circulating about Adeline and her involvement with the celebrity trainer Mike Trevor, and Adam’s only comment has been “I wish her the best.” Now, does that sound like someone who is pining after his ex-wife to you? For all we know, he is quite happy about the divorce.

No, we think something else was going on with these hot hunks, and we’ll try our best to replace out more for you.