Page 50 of Adoring Delaney

I rolled out of bed and went in search of something to wear.

I was sitting in Carter’s truck outside a shitty hotel while he ran in to change and grab his workout bag.

I hated this place.

I hated that Carter was living here.

Okay, the hotel wasn’t total shit but it wasn’t the Four Seasons and Carter certainly didn’t belong here. It was one of those places where all the doors faced the outside. You could open the door to your room, step out onto the walkway and your view was the parking lot.

It was also old. I’d driven by it millions of times and the building had been here for as long as I could remember. The name had changed over the years but no improvements had been made when the hotel changed ownership.

God knows what the inside looked like. Gauging by the outside the furnishings were probably twenty years out of date.

There was no way he should’ve been staying there. My Carter was way too good for this place. I saw him come out of his room and made a decision to talk to him about moving in with his parents until he could find a place of his own.

We pulled through the security gate of Triple Canopy and I still hadn’t found the courage to talk to Carter about moving out of the hotel. It was stupid but I felt like I’d be out of bounds. It wasn’t my place to tell Carter where to live but it was bugging the hell out of me.

He parked next to my dad’s truck, left his running, and jumped down, coming around to my side.

I always waited for him to help me down. Not that we’d gone a lot of places together, never out to dinner or on a date, but we had gone to the store together a time or two. And the first time I’d opened my own door and gotten out, Carter lost his mind.

I thought it was a little crazy and overboard but who was I to argue if he insisted on opening every door for me? I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d open the door to a public restroom for me if he could get away with it.

I was out of the truck, in his arms, and before I could protest his mouth was on mine.

It wasn’t a sweet goodbye kiss, it was deep and wet and included a good amount of tongue. In less than a second I was lost in the magic he created. I loved the way he kissed me. Always had. And now that I’d kissed another man and had something to compare it to, I had confirmation Carter Lenox was the world’s best kisser.

“I’ll be done at four but I’m gonna work out after. If you can’t pick me up around six, I’ll find a ride home.”

“You’re gonna work out for two hours?”

“Every day, Laney.”

“That’s a lot.”

“You like what you see?”

My mind was still muddled from the kiss, therefore my filter was nonexistent so I answered honestly. “Well, yeah.”

“Then two hours isn’t a lot.” He smirked.

I didn’t have time to be embarrassed, something caught my attention and my gaze moved beyond Carter.

Great.

My dad.

And he was walking our way and Carter still had his arms around me.

I tried to step away but his arms locked tight.

“No more hiding,” he said.

“My dad’s coming.”

“I know.”

“Morning,” my dad greeted like there was nothing abnormal about Carter holding me close.

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