Page 42 of Cocky Prince
Hayden:Boundaries. Don’t you think enough of them have been crossed after Bridget’s illustrative text?
Adam:Touché. Until Saturday. Go to bed, Hayden. You have to work tomorrow.
Hayden:Go home, Adam. I know you’re still at Blue. My spies tell me so.
Damn.
Blackwell might alienate her, but Hayden knows more about what’s going on around this place than most. Which is a problem. Blackwell is a fool not to utilize her—she’s more talented than half his management crew—but I worry about the reason for his animosity. If I knew why he treats her the way he does, it would help. Since I don’t, it’s just better if she stays off his radar.
My heart is lighter as I pack up to leave. I try not to think about why. Jaeg was right to be worried, though I wouldn’t admit it. I’ve got to be careful when it comes to Hayden. As argumentative as she is, I sense the attraction is mutual. I also sense her vulnerability. And I know what I’m capable of.
Caring for a woman? Sure.
Loving a woman? Not possible.
Chapter Eighteen
Hayden
Ituckthe couch cushion I was using as a desk for my laptop back in place, and the sound of a car engine draws my eye to the window. Pushing the linen curtain aside, I peer at the red truck pulling up next to my seven-year-old compact SUV. The beater truck makes my used SUV look like a fine piece of machinery.
Adam said he was coming around ten, and it’s about that now, but there is no way this is Adam. For one, that beater truck is not an Adam-worthy vehicle. He drove a gazillion-dollar sports car to Zach’s dinner party. Nothing but the best for him. Second, the driver of this truck appears to be wearing a baseball cap.
Adam in a baseball cap? No way.
But the hairs on my arms are standing at attention, which is never a good sign if my instincts around Adam are to be trusted.
The man steps out of the truck, pulls off the baseball cap, and tosses it inside. And I have to give my body props. It detected Adam sight unseen from dozens of feet away and through a glass barrier. And he looks…whoa.
I am in so much trouble.
Adam is wearing worn jeans that hug the amazing ass I normally only glimpse when he takes off his suit jacket, which isnever. He has on a navy T-shirt that pulls taut over his shoulders and arms, and his jeans are gathered at the bottom over work boots. In short, he is mountain guy, mouth-watering hotness, and I am panting.
What the hell? How dare he come to my house looking like this? Adam in an Armani suit has my ovaries percolating—but dressed all rugged and sexy? Not acceptable.
He leans into the cab and pulls out a toolbox, his shirt riding up and exposing a swath of flat stomach and the thick muscle above his hipbone that has my jaw dropping. His hair isn’t combed, but mussed and slightly wavy, flipping out in some places. Several locks tumble over his temples, and I have the urge to grab those locks in my fist and ask him what he’s trying to do to me.
Goddammit. Casual, no-artifice Adam completely undoes me. And he’s walking to my door.
“Shit.”I turn left, then right, searching—for what, I have no idea.
Get it together.
Taking a calming breath, I scramble for the door, and catch my toe on the edge of the couch. “Ahh!” My face scrunches as I hop around, mentally shouting every expletive known to man.
I drop my foot to the floor and exam my red little pinky toe. Not crooked. Pain diminishing. Just a stub.
“You okay in there?” Adam’s baritone filters through the door with a tinge of humor.
Is he laughing at me?
I limp over and swing the door open. And suck in a breath. And look at the side of his head instead of his eyes. And take another breath.
There. That’s better.Don’t look into the eye of the storm, and everything will be okay.“Yes. It’s fine. I stubbed my toe.”
There’s a pause, and finally I look at his face, because it’s getting weird that I’m not. He’s smiling, and oh my God. There’s a dimple in his cheek I never noticed. It’s faint, but combine it with the mussed hair, the tight T-shirt across a thick, muscled chest, and I feel lightheaded.
His brow puckers, his expression turning serious as he scans my face. “You sure you’re okay? I could come back another time.”
