Adam, Enough Said (This Can't be Happening) (15 page)

“No. No money.”

“I won’t go with you unless I can give you money.”

He shook his head. “I won’t take
your money.”

I nodded, bent d
own and picked up my suitcases.

“
Fine!” he barked as I turned, and a tight grasp around my upper arm pulled me to a stop. I looked at my arm and then slowly up at Adam’s face. I gave his hand another pointed look indicating with my eyes that I’d break every single one of his fingers if he didn’t let me go.

“
You have got to be the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met,” he muttered, sighed and let go of my arm to take the suitcases from me. “Give me whatever money you want if it’ll make you feel better, but I won’t use it. If you leave, I’ll just give it back.”

“It’s
when
I leave, not
if
, and I won’t let you give it back.”

“Mia,
just be quiet so we can get the hell out of here,” Adam snapped.

“Don’t tell me to be quiet and
don’t ever grab me again, or I’ll drown your little swimmers with my foot,” I snapped back.

He was so fast I never saw him coming.

He dropped one suitcase, bent at the waist, rammed his elbow into my stomach and picked me up over his shoulder all while still holding the other suitcase.

“Oh
my God!” I screamed as he spun around. He bent at the knees and my head hovered over the suitcase he just dropped.

“
Mia, Baby, do me a favor and pick up your suitcase please. My hands are full of a whole lotta crazy at the moment.”

I gasped before shouting, “You’re the crazy one!”

He ignored me.

“Mrs. Hutchins,
ma’am, would you mind opening the door for me? It seems Mia is no longer in need of that room,” Adam said to the shelter secretary, who I hadn’t realized was even in the room. I had to blow the hair out of my face so I could see, and I saw right away that her gaze was locked on us, her face filled with adoration.

Oh no.

“I knew you sweet talked her!” I shouted at Adam before addressing the secretary. “Don’t do it, Mrs. Hutchins!”

She smiled sweetly
at me as she walked around the front desk and headed for the front door. “I’d pick up my suitcase if I were you, Sweetie. Somehow, I don’t think he’ll have a problem leaving it behind,” she said.

I ga
ped at her.

“Unbelievable,” I hissed as I grabbed my suitcase
, with one hand because the other hand held Adam’s shirt in a death grip. He walked out the front door with a kind, “Thank you,” to Mrs. Hutchins and I lifted my head to glare at her.

Her smile grew
bigger.

Why weren’t my silent threats working?

“You better not drop me or I’ll kick your gigantic ass,” I growled and Adam had the audacity to laugh as he walked down the sidewalk.

“
As my mother would say...Language! And to think she thought you’d be shocked by my foul mouth.”

“
Oh my God! You told your mother about me?”

“No
pe, one of her nosey friends saw me dropping you off. Ma called wanting to know why I brought a woman to the women’s shelter...small world.”

“Yeah, small world,” I
mocked him.

“Mia, Mia, Mia…I always get what I want. You should just give up and give in now.”

“Like hell!”

Chapter
Eleven

Six
Weeks Later

Adam Bryant

Like hell indeed.

She
was doing this shit on purpose. Had to be. There was no other explanation.

She was w
earing a scrap of black material that clung to her in all the right places and barely covered her ass. The front was cut into a U, and hung so low that I could throw a penny between her breast and they'd catch it. Of course, in that dress, I'd give her all the fuckin' money in my checking account, but that was beside the point.

I
f she bent over, her girls would fall out.

On her feet
, she wore black, shiny high heels that gave her about four inches, making her at least five-seven...still tiny. Her wavy red hair was wild, her lips were a few shades darker than usual, and her eyes were highlighted with makeup.

All she needed was
some gel and a white guitar.

I looked around the room. Surely
, Robert Palmer was going to jump out singing “Addicted to Love”. He just had to, because this was either a dream, or my worst fuckin' nightmare.

And
her dumbass best friend, Eric, had the nerve to call the thing she was wearing a dress!

“Bellissimo!”
Eric had said as he kissed the air when Mia walked out of my…no, her bedroom. Fucker wasn’t even Spanish…or Italian…or whatever the fuck.

There
was nothing to the damn thing!

And how
I got wrangled into playing designated driver for her, Eric, and his boyfriend Kenny, I’d never fuckin’ know. They weren’t even of age, but Eric and Kenny had devised some sort of plan to get drinks in the place. I’d make sure they were okay, but I wasn’t worried about them. Mia, on the other hand, wasn’t touching a drop of alcohol.

Scratch that
, I knew how I got wrangled into this. It was those big green doe-eyes. One look and I’d give her whatever she wanted. Plus, there was no way in hell I was letting her go out, looking like she did, without me there to protect her. Eric was big, but not half as big as me. He cared, but I cared more.

Cl
ubs. I hated ‘em. They were nothing but drama and I didn’t dance, which was exactly why I never went. Bars, I was down, but never clubs.

And now I had this
shit to deal with…Mia…dressed to kill…probably me.

“
What the fuck are you wearing?” Her beaming smile fell away and her eyes traveled from Eric to me.

“Excuse me?”
she asked in shock.

“Clo
thes, Mia. I know you own some - hell, they take up half my room - so why aren’t you wearing any?”

She glanced at
Eric again, who was shaking his head at me, but I didn’t give a shit. She belonged to me, not him.

Well, she hadn’t been mine fully yet, but…

Semantics.

“What’s your problem, Adam?”

“That thing you’re wearing is my problem, Mia.”

She glanced down at herself. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

You’re making my dick throb. I’m probably gonna have to kick someone’s ass tonight and I’m gonna try really hard to fuck you later... that’s what.

“Nothing,
Love,” Eric said. “You look absolutely stunning! Trust me. Count the number of men that tell you the exact same thing tonight and let me know the total when we get back.” He faced me and narrowed his eyes. “Isn’t that right, cop dude?”

“Hell no,” I growled. “Nobody’s gonna get close enough to talk to her.”

Eric shook his head and sighed. “Adam, I get it, I really do, but you suck at compliments. And why, oh why, do I find that whole growly thing so hot?” Eric said to the room, and as a whole, we rolled our eyes, even Kenny.

“She gets into any trouble tonight, it’
s your ass,” I warned.

“
When she doesn’t get into any trouble tonight, because you’re going to be all over her like peanut butter to jelly, you can kiss mine. I’ll even bend over,” Eric retorted.

“Uh, hello! I’m in the fucking room,” Mia shouted.

“Language, Freckles!” I shouted back in outrage and then I looked at her.
Looked. At. Her
. “Actually…you know what? Keep saying ‘Fuck’ in that dress, but only around me,” I decided and she let out an annoyed huff.

Two hours later, I was no happier than when we left the apartment.

I’d wanted to spend time with Mia tonight.
I’d known it was going to be hard with the cock-blocking duo around, but being in a loud club made it near impossible. I’d been working and studying so hard for the academy, and she’s been so busy with school and her part-time job, we hadn’t really had to have
the talk
like I wanted.

Hell,
my mom probably knew Mia better than I did. They even talked on the fuckin’ phone like best girlfriends. They even had plans for lunch and a movie and I was fuckin’ jealous.

Of my Mom!

I really needed a drink.

Six weeks.

She'd been living with me for six weeks. At week two, she found an apartment, but I wouldn't let her take it and threatened to lock all her clothes up in my truck if she tried to leave. At week three, she tried to leave, but failed again. At week four, she gave me money for her portion of the rent and I took it. I didn't even count it, just put it in my dresser and told her where it was if she needed it.

I'd never touch it.

Fact was, I didn't want her to leave. I liked having her around and I wanted more. She was only eighteen, which freaked me the fuck out, but at least she was legal. And in a few months, she'd be nineteen.

I turned in my seat and saw Mia
with Eric and Kenny. She was sandwiched between them dancing her ass off and I wanted to tear something apart - preferably Eric’s limbs from his body. I was even jealous of him!

It wasn’t that Mia didn’t give me hints. I knew she wanted me and I probably wouldn’t have to try hard to
get her underneath me, but I wanted it to be her decision. The first day I brought her home - or technically the second day - I’d promised her I wouldn’t touch her unless she wanted me to and I hadn’t. Shit, she was sleeping in my bed and I was sleeping on the couch.

Though, f
ive times - I’d counted - she’d asked me to sleep with her because she had a bad dream, but that’s all we did. I’d held her tight and we’d slept. Only slept. I’d hated it and loved it at the same time because waking up next to her had been torture. Every time, her body had been wrapped around mine, her head had rested on my chest, the smell of coconut had filled my nose, my arms had held her tight, her leg had been thrown over mine, and her sweet spot had pressed against my thigh.

My dick twitched thinking about it.

Not touching her had been the hardest thing I'd ever done in my goddamn life, and six weeks without a woman made it worse.

“Hey, this seat taken?”
I heard asked to my right and I shook my head as I continued to stare at Mia. When something brushed my arms, I looked over and all I saw was blonde, pink and sparkles.

Fuck.

I didn’t know her, but I didn’t have to. She had “any which way you want it” written all over her.

“I’m Sherry, what’s your name?” she asked and then stuck out her hand.

“Adam,” I grumbled and shook it to be polite. She was pretty, before Mia, I’d probably have thought beautiful, but now I knew better.

“So, you here alone, Adam?”

I sighed and looked back toward the dance floor.

Was I here alone?

Technically, yes.

Mia was laughing, probably at something Eric said, and her
eyes hit mine, but they skittered away a second later. She wrapped her arms around Eric's neck and whispered in his ear.

I wanted to be that fuckin’ ear.

“Depends on what you define as alone,” I muttered stupidly, my eyes still on Mia. Then, both Mia and Eric glanced at me and neither one of them looked happy.

I frowned.
Was she jealous? Would this make her hurry the fuck up and let me have her?

“I think you answered my question,” my neighbor purred so close to my ear I
snapped my head back.

“What?” I asked, momentarily distracted, and then I felt her hand
hit my knee. I felt it sliding upward and I didn't stop her, thinking a quick bit of jealousy might spur Mia on. Then sparkles grinned and brought her face closer to mine.

“I have VIP access
. We can go upstairs if you want…get to know each other better…”

Amazing to think that
before Mia, I’d have taken her up on that offer in an instant.

I glanced to the dance floor and Mia was staring at me, frozen.
When our eyes locked, she glanced away and my gut clenched.

I was just about to tel
l sparkles thanks but no thanks when a hand turned my face and lips hit mine. It didn't even last a second, before I shoved her off and she stumbled.

"You asshole!" she shouted, and
I wiped my mouth in disgust.

"L
earn some fuckin' manners," I barked at her and stood. I turned to the dance floor, but Mia and the guys were gone.

Fuck... Fuck!