Page 85 of Cocky Prince
Adam stands and places the extra wood off to the side, then brushes off his hands and walks over to me. He enters the tent and sits beside me, snaking his arm around my hips and pulling me closer. “Better?”
The heat of the fire is making its way to me, but it’s nowhere near as heat-inducing as his presence. “Much better.”
In this world, where it’s just Adam and me and no one else, everything is perfect. But this isn’t real life. “What happens tomorrow?” I say.
We’ve done a lot of kissing and not much else. Not that I’m complaining, because there were words exchanged in those kisses. I translated them as:Hayden, I’m sorry. Hayden, I love you. Hayden, you are beautiful and I bask in your glory.Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it’s how he made me feel.
He rests his elbows on his knees and stares at the fire. “We go to work, and we do our jobs. We go home”—he looks over—“toyourplace. And we make out some more.”
I lower my eyes. “Just make out.” I’m all for kissing, but I’m curious about why he hasn’t taken things further. Adam is normally much more, uh,assertivein that regard. And okay, sure, things were tense there in the beginning, but we made up via heavy lip contact and silent communication.
His jaw shifts and he lets out a sigh. “Only kissing.”
Whoa, what? “What do you mean?”
He shifts and faces me, a forearm propped on one knee. “There are things I can’t tell you right now, but I want to be with you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re my girlfriend, but you’re right.”
“I am?” What am I right about? Because I was just getting warmed up and looking forward to the next course. Especially after Adam’s very masculine fire-building display. And I’ve missed him. A lot—like awholelot.
“I can’t tell you what you want to know about Blue and the Bliss project right now. Until I can, we shouldn’t be intimate.”
“Have you lost your mind?” That sounds desperate, but shit, what’s he talking about? We can barely keep our hands off each other at work, and now he wants to ban physical contact at home?
His mouth turns down in a crooked frown. “Possibly.” And then he swoops in and captures my lips, stealing a kiss and my breath and whatever logic I was constructing to get him to reconsider. “I want you,” he breathes, pulling back. “But I don’t want you to have to question my feelings and whether or not you can trust me.” He turns to the fire. “And I can tell that you do.”
Well, damn. He’s right.
And that makes sense. Though I don’t like it. Not one bit. “So how long are we abstaining while sleeping in the same bed…and making out?”
He breathes out a frustrated sigh and glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “Hopefully not long.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Adam
Thank fuckingGod it’s Saturday. The auction and burlesque show and the Bliss grand opening tonight need to be over before I lose my mind. I’ve stayed at Hayden’s place every night this week. We’ve watched movies, eaten takeout, and made out. Lots of heavy making out. I’m about to explode. And the worst part is, I have no idea when my self-imposed abstinence will end, because for some shit-poor reason I’ve got it in my head that I can’t touch her until I’m able to be open about the Bliss venture.
It seems right. I want to take a step back until we can be totally honest with each other. I’m trying to be a good guy for once. But for the love of God, this is torture.
I should quit my job. My father can keep his trust fund. I’ll take up handyman work for Hayden on her ever-growing honey-do list. She likes it when I use my hands.
My hands…on her body…
I mutter a curse, just as my new assistant walks in. “Excuse me?” she says.
“Nothing, Diane.” I clear my throat. “What can I do for you?”
“Oh.” She brightens and walks to my desk, her plastic reading glasses dangling from a cord around her neck.
Diane came on board a few days ago, and she’s lifted a load of administrative crap off my shoulders. After the Bridget disaster, Blackwell relented and allowed Hayden to find a replacement. Hayden found Diane, so of course my new assistant comes highly qualified. Whenever possible, I will happily hand off hiring good people to my girlfriend from now on.
“I confirmed that a Mr. Aldridge checked into the casino.” Diane rattles off his room number.
“Thank you. I’ll take it from here.” I pick up the phone and dial Eve’s extension while Diane exits my office.
“Hello, Adam.” Eve answers on the first ring. Her sultry voice has me mentally rolling my eyes. Eve is beautiful—and I have never been attracted to her. She’s sleeping with Blackwell, but that’s not the reason. I’ve watched Eve lie her way through a meeting at another’s expense, and manipulate coworkers out of bonuses for her own gain. Working with her has been a means to an end. She’s one of Blackwell’s top executives, and she’s also heavily involved in Bliss.
“I’ve got one more for tonight. An ex-quarterback who’s a frequent host on ESPN. He’s booked in a room on the same floor as the others.” I give her the room number. “Please deliver the introduction basket and agenda. He’s already arrived.”
