Page 25 of Slow Burn
My gaze followed the sharp lines of his ink as it crawled along his thick, corded arm and disappeared beneath the fabric hugging his bicep. My fingers twitched with a sudden need to touch.
Adam cleared his throat and I almost jumped out of my skin; my eyes immediately flicking to his. Jaw ticking, he was studying me with dark, serious eyes that somehow had a direct line to my lady bits.
How utterly stupid.
I'd found plenty of men attractive over the years. Hell, I'd even ended up in a few of their beds. But this, this almost galvanizing feeling, was new. No man had ever set my pulse on fire with a single glance.
Until I met Adam.
I didn't know what it was about him that called out to a bone-deep part of me that I had no idea even existed. Some dormant piece of my soul that had been patiently waiting for him.
He cleared his throat again and I blushed even deeper. "Sorry, I wanted—" before I had time to finish my sentence, Sheldon jumped up and stormed into Adam's house, who immediately turned around and bent over to scoop up my naughty pup.
I really wished he hadn't done that. The tangy taste of metal filled my mouth when I bit the inside of my cheek to stop the sigh from leaving my mouth at the sight of his downright sinful butt.
He straightened and turned while I furiously tried to reign in my thoughts. One look at Sheldon tucked under his arm and all my efforts were for naught. I swear, the image in front of me was equivalent to one of those on Frankie's firefighter calendars. Adam might've been wearing more clothes, but the warning label should've read the same:Warning!Panties in danger of spontaneously combusting.
"I'm sorry," I spat out when my brain finally decided to work. "He isn't like that with anyone else." It was quite possible that my little fascination with this man had rubbed off on my dog. Or maybe it was Adam's fault for being so damn enticing.
"Right," he said carefully. Without making a move to hand over Sheldon, his eyes flicked to my bare feet. Iwanted to curl in my purple-painted toes. "You shouldn't be walking on that."
I followed his gaze down to my ankle and shrugged. "I kept it still all day yesterday. I… uh…just wanted to give you these." Looking up, I hefted the plate in my hand higher. "It's cinnamon rolls. The best in town. Before you think I'm completely full of myself, I didn't make them, Frankie did." The word vomit just kept on coming. I wanted to bury my face in my hands but because I was still holding the stupid rolls, I couldn't.
I was also fairly certain the red covering my face had turned three shades darker.
Still focused on me, one of his eyebrows slowly quirked, "Frankie?"
"My friend. She owns Sugar Booger in town." Relief washed over me when I managed to keep it short this time.
I didn't think it was at all possible, but Adam's stare bore even deeper into mine. "Can't say that I've been."
"Oh, you're missing out. She makes the best cupcakes. People come from all over just to sample her boozy treats." I was doing it again. With a sigh, I squeezed my eyes shut. "Sorry, I'll stop."
He made a sound; it could've been a chuckle, could've been a grunt. I'd never know because when my eyes flew open his features were unmoving. Holding the plate toward him, I jerked my head in Sheldon's direction. "I'll trade you."
Those dark eyes eyed the plate. "I wasn't expecting anything."
Adam made no move to take the offering from me and I suddenly felt like a gigantic idiot. I mean, who the hell even gave baked treats as a thank you. I shouldn't have done anything. That's probably what the normal half of the population would have done.
"It's okay if you don't want them. I know Mr. Stevenson—"
"I never said that." His eyes narrowed the tiniest bit. "I want them." He said the words with so much conviction, my silly lady parts thought he was speaking about them.
My lips suddenly felt dry. I dragged my tongue over the bottom one before letting out a soft, "Okay." Thrusting the plate toward him; my breath caught when his fingers dragged over mine during the transfer.
With his eyes holding mine captive, he slowly brought the plate to his nose. Nostrils flaring, he dragged the delicious cinnamon scent straight to his lungs. "Smells good." His murmur was so soft and gravelly, I wasn't certain it was meant for my ears.
"Wait until you taste me…uh…I mean it…them." Rolling my lips inward, I used every single ounce of willpower I had not to keep babbling like an idiot. I seriously needed some action because the way I was reacting to this man was beyond freaking ridiculous. Hormonal, teenage Maddie hadn't even been like this.
And to make my embarrassment even worse, Adam's face remained an emotionless mask save for his ticking jaw that picked up speed.
I reached for Sheldon and almost let out a string of curses when my palms swiped over Adam's hot skin in the process. Almost immediately, I hugged him to my chest like a security blanket. The soft whimper that came from his tiny lungs warned me I might be holding on too tight.
Loosening my embrace on my pup, I told Adam, "I just wanted to drop those off. Hope you enjoy them."
His gaze flicked to my ankle for a long moment before he lifted his eyes to mine again. "I'll help you get home."
"No!" I all but yelled. "I'm okay, thanks." With the weirdness going on in my brain and body, there was absolutely no way I could let Adam touch me. Nodding once, I turned and slowly started hobbling down the cobblestone path.
