Page 104 of Cocky Prince
What the hell was I thinking?
I was single-minded, stubborn—whatever you want to call it. And now I wish I could take it all back, because I lost Adam. And nothing in this world is worth that.
Adam is a total stubborn ass, but he is a good man. The best.
Tears well up behind my eyes and I growl. “Dammit.” I set aside my laptop and walk into the kitchen, reaching for a tissue. A shadow on the back patio catches my eye.
“What the hell?” I swipe my cheeks and toss the tissue in the trash, my heart thundering in my chest. There’s someone out there…
I reach for a knife in one of the drawers—then slowly set it back down. Wait a minute. I know the back of that head, the shape of those shoulders.
Striding to the back door, I swing it open and gape at Adam. His arm is raised and he has a hammer in his hand. “I get that you’re mad at me, but don’t you dare make a hole in my wall.”
He cuts me a challenging look, cocks the hammer back, and slams it home—straight into a nail.
I step outside. “Hello?You want to tell me what you’re doing?”
He ignores me, damn him, and picks up a wooden box. No. Not a wooden box. A birdhouse. A pretty one, actually. He places the birdhouse on the nail, straightens it, and tucks the hammer through one of the belt loops in his jeans. He turns to me.
And oh my God, I’ve missed him. His face, his rough but gentle hands. “You shouldn’t come any closer,” I say.
I don’t know what I’ll do, but I’m pretty sure it will consist of me plastering myself to him if he’s not careful, and that would be humiliating. A girl can only take so much rejection. He brought me a birdhouse, but that doesn’t mean he wants to get back together. It could be an apology for the way he talked to me the last time we spoke.
His jaw sets. “You’re still my girlfriend.”
I gape.What the… Is he serious? “Says who?” I mean, this is what I want, but he’s lost his damn mind. We broke up. He’s not making sense.
Adam scrubs his face, then steps closer. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“Make what easy?”
He takes another step, until our toes are practically touching and I’m forced to look up. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything. His gaze tracks my eyes, my mouth—back to my eyes again. “You were right. After my father… I couldn’t lose you too.”
I press my lips together and let out a slow, hopeful breath. It’s not just an apology. It’s more. “You won’t.”
“I lose everyone I care about.”
So honest, and it breaks my heart. “You won’t lose me.”
His arms come around me. “I don’t know that.” I start to pull away to argue with him, but he doesn’t let me. “Though I won’t let it stop me from being with you. I’m going to do everything I can to make you happy, because I don’t want a life without you.” He pulls back just enough to look down at me. “I love you.”
I’m stunned for all of two seconds, then I reach up and drag his head down until my mouth is on his, taking what I’ve been starving for. “I missed you,” I say between kisses. “You scared the shit out of me.” More kissing. “Don’t ever do that to me again.” More lip-lock, but this time, he tilts my head and his tongue dives inside. He picks me up with one arm under my ass and throws the door open, entering the house, moving in the direction of my bedroom.
I pull my mouth away and hold his head between my hands. “Don’t you dare leave me like that again.”
“Never.” He drags my head back to his mouth.
Adam opens the door to my bedroom and enters. “No more working apart,” I say as he crosses the room. “We’re a team from now on. Agreed?”
“Team,” he says, and tosses me on the bed, following closely on top of me.
“That means trusting,” I point out. “Both of us.”
“Got it,” he murmurs, kissing my neck and the tops of my breasts.
“Adam.” I wrench his face up, my hands on either side of his face again. “Are you listening?”
He grabs one of my hands and kisses the palm. “Yes.” Then the other hand and kisses it too. “I am here for you. Always. No more dick maneuvers and pushing you away. In my adolescent, hormone-stricken brain, I think I fell in love with you the first time I noticed you on the steps of our high school.”
