Page 229 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

He sighed heavily. “Fine, but only because you’re pulling it out of me.”

She patted his jaw. “Since you’re pretty much already packed, I’ll leave the kitchen clean-up to you, while I get ready.”

He watched as she traipsed out, her hair moving in rhythm to her steps.Talk about a long, lean stick of dynamite. They broke the mold when they made Addie.He glanced at the ingredients of the unmade salad, spread over the counter. He reached for a diced tomato and plopped it into his mouth. “This is the second time today you’ve waltzed out, leaving me with clean-up duty,” he said mostly to himself.

“I heard that,” she chimed from the hallway.

“The vixen has owl ears too,” he said loudly, then grinned when he heard her grunt in response.

Chapter Fifteen

Addie rubbed an appreciative hand over the vanilla leather upholstery on the plush seat as her gaze trailed over the patterned, monochromatic carpet and glossy, mid-toned wood accents of the sleek private jet. Maddox was sitting across from her, a small table separating them. She reached for her glass of ginger ale and stirred her straw through the ice before taking a drink. Had they not been traveling to New Jersey to question the man who most likely killed Jordan, Addie might’ve thought she was in a dream. Working for Sutton certainly had its perks.

She placed her drink back on the table and sat back in her seat, pulling a travel magazine from a nearby rack. She spread it over her lap to appear as though she were reading it, while surreptitiously glancing at Maddox. He was staring out the window as if lost in thought. She smiled inwardly at his unruly curls that went in all directions. A lock fell over one eyebrow, giving him an adventurous, boyish look. Mentally, she circled a dot on the spot on his cheek where his dimple appeared when he smiled. She allowed herself one glance at his muscular biceps before her eyes swept to his torso. His t-shirt formed to the definition of his pecs and flat abdomen.

Heat simmered through her as she looked at the clean lines of his chiseled jaw. Then her eyes settled on his lips, remembering the burn of them against her own. She felt a smidgen of guilt for slapping him. Mostly, it was a knee-jerk reaction when she realized that she’d let her guard down, once again, and was kissing him with reckless abandon that would’ve made Madonna blush.Geez.Did she have no self-restraint whatsoever where Maddox was concerned? She knew he had a girlfriend, meaning that she’d been relegated to the role of the “other woman.” When Maddox was kissing her, that meant he was two-timing Felicity.

Maddox felt her gaze and gave her a slow, leisurely smile that unleashed butterflies in her stomach. She was hyper aware that the only other person on the plane, besides the two of them, was the pilot. Dang Maddox! All he had to do was smile and she turned to a puddle of mush. This had to stop! She took a deep breath, mustering up her resolve. It was time to talk turkey.

“How ya doing?” Maddox asked.

“Okay.” She homed in on him with a laser focus. “You were going to tell me about your thing with Felicity.” She didn’t try to hide the accusation in her voice. It was the make-or-break moment in the game when all gloves were off.

He scratched his forehead. “Um, yeah.” He motioned at the sofa to their right. “Shall we?”

Her pulse bumped up a few notches. The idea of sitting beside Maddox in a private jet was the stuff dreams were made of. Him having another woman—the stuff of nightmares. She frowned, a thundercloud of irritation rolling over her. “I’m fine where I am.”

He stood and came around the table. “Come on.” He reached for her hand.

She tried to jerk it away, but he held on tight. Her eyebrow shot up as she gave him a questioning look.

“Come on,” he urged. “I don’t bite.”

“It’s not biting that I’m worried about,” she retorted.

He pulled her to her feet and to the sofa. She gave him a hard look. “I’m only going along with this because I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. I figure I owe you that much for protecting me.”

An amused grin slid over his lips. “That’s mighty noble of you, Adelaide Spencer.”

The taunting edge in his voice came at her like a thousand needles pricking her all at once. “You think this is funny?” She gritted her teeth. “I don’t appreciate being made a fool of.”

Concern filled his eyes, all joking vanishing in an instant. “What’re you talking about?”

She balled her fist. “You have no right to kiss me the way you did when you have a girlfriend.”

He rubbed his neck, blowing out a long breath. “It sounds like my thing with Felicity’s getting under your skin.”

She rocked back, hardly believing the words that had come out of his mouth. “Now you’re taunting me about it?” The nerve! Heat burned up her neck, making her feel like her head would explode as she jumped up. “You think this is all a big joke?”

He sprang to his feet. “No, I don’t think it’s a joke.” His jaw tensed. “I didn’t think it was a joke when you dumped me.”

“Well, you couldn’t have taken it too hard because you found another woman a day later!”

“Sit down, so we can talk about this like rational adults.”

She slung back her head as she barked out a laugh. “Ha! You would pull the adult card!”

“Addie, sit down, please.”

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