Adam, Enough Said (This Can't be Happening) (35 page)

"Freckles, come here," I
ordered in a voice that was soft, yet still commanded her to obey, but like the hardheaded woman my Mia was, I got resistance. She didn't move a muscle, and her glare should have burned a hole through my skull.

Surprisingly,
this made me happy. I expected nothing less from my little redheaded terrorist.

"No, I'm staying right here. You stay over there.
While you're figuring out more ways to be an asshole, I have things to do so I can get out of here. I'll talk to the leasing office and see if I can move into another apartment while I figure out how I'm going to break my lease...and pay for the damage--"

"Fine," I
cut her off and her eyes widened when I moved. I saw her chest rise and stop as she held her breath. I lifted her face, bent at the knees and put my face in hers before taking her mouth with fierce need. The kiss was quick and hard, telling her exactly how I felt. When I lifted my head, her pink lips were swollen and her dark green eyes burned with desire...or fury.

"
I fucked up…again, and I’m sorry. You were right; I was trying to hurt you because I was angry. I’m still angry, but not at you, at the decisions we made. It’s only been two days and thinking about how much time we’ve missed out on together frustrates me more than you’ll even know. If something from the past comes up again, we’ll talk it out; we’ll work it out, but I won’t throw it in your face and you're not staying anywhere else but with me. No more about the past, agreed?"

J
ust when I thought she was about to agree without a fight, she shook her head. “I’ll try not to scream at you until I make your ears bleed, but that’s all I’m promising. And I’ll stay with you, but I’m sleeping in another room. You can be
such
an asshole sometimes,” she finished but she didn’t sound upset anymore. She sounded resigned to a lifetime of putting up with me being an asshole.

I
gave her a satisfied smile, moved my face closer and just before I kissed her lips, I mumbled, “Yeah, Freckles, but I’m
your
asshole. And you can sleep in whichever room you want as long as I’m in the same bed with you.”

As my lips grazed her
s, I heard, "Da-yum," smarted from my back and I twisted just as Mia moved to peer around my body. “I never knew that mouth of yours was so full of honey, Bryant. Full of shit, yes. Honey, no. I knew you
got
the hunnies, but now I know how you did it."

I
narrowed my eyes on Johnson and groaned. "You didn't have to come here, you know? We've got this under control. Feel free to leave."

"Pesh..." She waved my response away. "And miss seeing your face when I tell you hot boy Spencer
gave me some information to give you about Max? I. Do. Not. Think. So."

I stood then. "Goddamn it, Dee. Tell me.
"

Mia stood too and her hand grabbed mine. Dee's eyes locked on our hands and when her eyes hit mine again, she
grinned.

"I don't know much. IA
isn't being too forthcoming with information, but since Spence is our boy and he likes your girl, he shared a little. Apparently, whoever Max screwed over is big time...and I mean big time bad. A lot bigger than initially assumed. He wouldn't give me a name, but we're talking Mexican drug lord bad, dude, which is why everything is so hush-hush right now. Spence wanted me to tell you to keep an eye on your girl." She nodded toward Mia. "He got word from a reliable source that Max is alive and back in town, but they don't have a lock on him yet."

 
Mia's hand clenched mine so hard it almost hurt. I glanced down at her.

"Freckles, I won't let anything happen to you. Get your stuff and let's get out of here," I ordered
before facing Dee again.

"
I'll be back in the office tomorrow and Tuesday; we've got some work to do. Mia's gotta be in court Wednesday morning and I'm going with her. After that, I'm taking vacation for the rest of the week."

"What if the Lieutenant doesn't approve?"

"He will," I stated without a doubt, because if he didn't, I'd quit.

Twenty-minutes later, about ten trash bags and a few boxes were loaded in the back of my truck and I was ready to go home. I stood in the parking lot, waiting for Mia to come down and when I heard a door shut, I looked up.

And
I froze.

Fuck me.

I couldn't take my eyes off her as she walked down the stairs...no, bounced down the stairs. I'd never felt so turned on by looking at a chick's outfit in my entire damn life. I'd also never felt anxiety in my gut so strong either.

She'd changed out of my clothes, and straight into I'm-so-fine-you-can-kiss-my-ass-but-you'll-like-it
fitted, frayed jean shorts - not slut short - but definitely not to her fuckin' knees like they should be. Even though she wasn't tall, her legs looked a mile long with the help of the high, black wedge sandals she wore on her feet. I couldn't see it, but I knew the tattoo she had carved into her skin on the top of her right foot was on display.

You could tell her
sweet ass was nice and thick just by looking at her generous hips. Her skin tight, black with red lettering, Halestorm "Love Bites, But So Do I" tank top hugged her breasts in a way they looked twice their normal size...fuckin' huge. Her red hair was still wild, and wide, black-framed sunglasses shielded her eyes.

She walked right up to me, lifted her head, tilted it to the side and smiled.

“Ready,” she announced like she had no idea she was a walking wet dream.

"Baby, you can't wear that shit," I
responded, and even though I couldn't see her eyes behind the glasses, I knew she rolled them.

"And why is that, Adam
?" she asked sweetly, and I knew in that moment that she was wearing that outfit on fuckin' purpose. I wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, tangled my fingers in her hair and brought her face to mine. Her hands fisted the front of my shirt.

I
growled, "Baby, that outfit makes me wanna take you on the hood of your car in the parking lot."

"
Really? I’m down," she responded without hesitation, in a voice softer and huskier than normal.

I grinned and added, "You match your
car."

S
he grinned back. "That was kind of the point."

“Hmmm…
” I took in her outfit one more time with appreciation and then my eyes hit her foot. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about the tattoo. It’s sexy as hell, but what’s it mean?” I asked.

It was a perfectly placed piece
on the outer side of her right foot that enhanced the sexy curvature. The profile of a butterfly colored in turquoise ink about an inch long sat in the middle and a scrolling design was attached to both the top and bottom of its wings.

She glanced down at it quickly and shrugged. “
The top scroll is my initial ‘M’, the butterfly signifies growing up and spreading my wings, and the bottom scroll is your initial ‘A’. I got it so I’ll always remember to keep growing and learning from the past.”

I closed my eyes against the pain, but she cupped my face.

“Adam, no past remember? And it’s not a big deal. I didn’t get it to remember the pain. I got it to signify growth within myself, that’s all. Actually, it was more of a drunken night out with Eric and Kenny that ended at a tattoo parlor. You can’t even tell the letters are actually just that. They just look like scroll work.”

I looked in her eyes and knew she was telling the truth
, which helped me keep calm.

“W
ell, I love it even more so now,” I told her honestly.

She smiled.
“Glad to hear it.”

I
sighed and glanced to her car that was parked next to my truck. Had it been dark outside, I would’ve considered buffing the hood out with Mia's back while I lubed her, neighbors be damned, but it wasn’t dark.

"I really think you should drive my truck. I don't want anybody looking at what's mine.
And in that car, they're gonna fuckin' look."

Her grin, if possible, grew
bigger. “Again, that was kind of the point. I have to make Cat look good even though nobody will be able to see what I’m wearing while I’m behind the wheel.”

I stared at her
a second before giving in. “Fine,” I said through a sigh. “We’ll talk about the car later.”

“No, we won’t. There’s nothing to discuss
that has to do with Cat, but there is something…” her voice trailed off and I frowned.

“What is it?”

She pursed her lips. “Since my laptop’s destroyed and the program I use for booking trips was on it, and since it’ll take at least a week for another one to be set up, I was going to see I could get one of the other agents to take over my bookings so I can take a couple weeks’ vacation. I really need it after all this and I haven’t had one in a while.”

My frown deepened because she sounded hesitant and unsure of herself. “Baby, I
don't understand what you're really trying to say.”

“I just…I don’t have anywhere else to go and you’re going back to work tomorrow
. I don’t want to go to Eric’s house because I’m still pissed at him, and I know you’re all cave man right now about me staying with you, but…I guess I just want to make sure it’s really okay if I stay at your house while you’re not there.”

“
Jesus, Baby, it’s still
our
house.
Your
name is still on the mortgage. Take the time off work, relax, shop, get used to being my wife again and if you decide you don’t want to go back, don’t go. I’m gonna try to take some more time off work, too. I’m also gonna try really fuckin’ hard to knock you up as fast as I can, anyway, so you wanna be a stay-at-home wife and mom. As long as I got you back with me, I really don’t care what you do.”

Mia shook
her head and looked away, but not before I caught the longing in her eyes.

Family. She still wanted one. She could deny it
all she wanted, but I knew she still longed for one of her own.

I was gonna
give it to her.

I turned her face back to mine and I kissed her lips. “Don’t think about it anymore. Everything will work out.” I reached around her
waist, cupped her ass and gave it a squeeze. “Now get your sweet ass in that car so we can get home, Baby.”

Chapter
Twenty-Six

Mia Bryant

Stares.

That’s what I got when we pulled up to Adam’s
house. Lex, Landyn and Laura came out to greet us - I assumed Layla stayed back to watch the game - but as soon as I stepped out of the car, their eyes hit mine and never veered away.

I glanced at Adam who was just jumping down from his truck
, and when his feet hit the ground, he looked at me too. He gave a quick head shake, before turning to the porch.

“You gonna help me unload this stuff or you just gonna stand there and stare?”

“Do you
not
see her? In that car?” It was Lex that asked and I stiffened. “I think I’ll just stand here and stare,” she decided, and Landyn rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his wife’s small, yet very pregnant belly.

“Lexi,
Baby, I’m pretty sure he was talking to me. Your pregnant ass isn’t lifting anything.” Then he faced Adam. “I can’t believe you, Mr. that-car’s-not-safe..." he mocked Adam's voice, "...actually let her drive that car…dressed like that.”

I stiffened again
, before glancing down to see what the hell the big deal was about my outfit. I knew it was extremely flattering to my figure, but I didn’t look like a street walker. My black tank was fitted, but it didn’t hug me like saran wrap. My shorts were cut-offs, but they weren’t skin tight. They even had a decent amount of give around the thighs, and they weren’t too short but they also weren’t mid-thigh. And my black canvas wedges looked higher than they actually were because of the platform. Really, other than matching my car, there was nothing sexy about it.

“Y
ou should’ve seen her walking down the stairs from her apartment.” Adam started with a sly grin on his face. “The only way she’s leaving in that outfit or in that car again, is if I’m with her.”

Okay, this was really starting to piss me off.

“Seriously, you look hot. If I were a lesbian, I’d totally cheat on Trish with you,” Lex said before turning to Landyn and asking, “Can you buy me a car like that?”

He laughed, threw his head back and cracked up
like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. “Baby, you need a minivan at the rate we’re going with kids. You’re not getting a muscle car.”

“Oh
my God! That’s the coolest car
ever
!” Layla said as she ran out of the house, down the front steps, and straight to Cat.

“Layla,” Landyn called out. “The answer is no. You’re not driving until you’re thirty
, so don’t even ask if you can have one.”