I keep my mouth shut because there is no use talking to Adalyn about Logan. She knows what he did, she knows deep down the kind of coward he is; I don’t have to point that out. I would rather spend the rest of the evening with this woman snuggled into my side, the scent of her sweet shampoo slowly eating me alive, and her small hand playing with the buttons of my shirt.

No need to dwell on someone who has nothing to do with us.

Yes . . . us.

There is no doubt in my mind we are becoming an us, at least I’m hoping we are becoming an us, because with every touch and conversation we share, I’m becoming more and more addicted to this woman.

It isn’t only her beauty that has captured me—those golden eyes and luscious lips. It’s the way she smiles so innocently when her eyes light up with sin, or the way she beautifully cares for others but easily keeps me on my toes with her wit.

Racer was right to try to protect Adalyn from me because right now, I feel like a wolf, stalking his prey.

Back and forth, back and forth we rock, our breath mixing together, falling in rhythm. Adalyn’s fingers start to slow, her body pressing heavier into mine.

“Hey,” I whisper to see if she’s awake.

No response.

“Adalyn.” I press a kiss against her forehead.

“Mmm . . .”

“Are you sleeping?”

“Maybe,” she grumbles.

Knowing how hard she works and how long her shifts are, I don’t think twice when I scoop her into my arms and take her inside the house. Her head lulls into my chest. No doubt the wine and long hours conked her out.

I have three options here: I can drive her back to her place and help her get into bed, I can walk her into the guest room and tuck her in, or . . . I can take her to my room and spend the rest of the night wrapped around her lithe body, running my hand over her soft skin, smelling her delicious lavender scent.

I’m a good guy, but I also have my selfish moments and spending the night wrapped around Adalyn is going to be one hell of a selfish moment I’ll capitalize on.

Turning the lights off, not worrying about the wine glasses outside, I do a quick lockup and carry Adalyn to the back of the house where I lay her on the bed. As I remove her shoes, her eyes flutter open, lazy and sexy, and she asks, “What’s going on?”

“Just getting you ready for bed.”

Instead of putting up a fight like I thought she would, she nods and lays her head back down. Chuckling, I finish up with her shoes and head to the bathroom where I brush my teeth, shuck my jeans and shirt, and grab a cup of water and toothbrush for Adalyn.

She’s half awake when I offer her the toothbrush, running through the motions of brushing her teeth. But to her credit, she doesn’t forget to brush her tongue. She’s high-functioning when practically sleeping, her eyes closed the entire time.

When I return from dropping off the spare toothbrush I had, I find her struggling with her jeans, the zipper giving her a run for her money. Okay, not as high-functioning as I thought.

“Do you want your pants off?”

“Mmm,” she answers with a sleepy nod.

“Okay.” I assess the situation and wonder how I’m going to make this happen when she flops to her back, arms spread, giving me easy access to the button and zipper. “Well, that’s one way to do it.”

Without trouble, I undo her pants and ease them down her legs, her tight black shirt painted onto her stomach, a few inches higher than the waistline of her . . .

Oh fuck.

She’s wearing a thong.

For the love of God, don’t flip over. Please don’t flip over.

Turning my back to her, I fold her jeans and place them on the bench at the foot of the bed and work my way to my side of the bed. She’s going to be covered in blankets. This brilliant idea is not going to turn into a painful one. I know it won’t.

I sit on my side of the bed, plug my phone into its charger, take a deep breath, and turn to find Adalyn curled up in a ball, her backside to me, her black lace thong burning a hole straight into my soul.

Her ass . . .

Fuck.

Smooth, round, begging for my hands.

No, you’re not going to feel up a woman who’s passed out in your bed. Get ahold of yourself.

I glance at her ass one more time and inwardly grown; there goes the snuggling I had planned. There is no way I’m going to press against her when I have a fucking growing hard-on in my boxer briefs. That just spells out creeper.

Grumbling to myself, I flip off the light and turn away from Adalyn. I try to erase the images of her ass that’s only a foot away from my memory.

This is going to be one long fucking night.

Have you ever had a dream that felt so real? Like it was actually happening in real life?

That’s what is happening to me right now.

I’m in some kind of dream haze where my mind is making everything feel so damn real it actually feels like Adalyn is touching me.

Touching me all over.

Her small, thin fingers running under my pecs, scraping my nipples with her fingernails, pressing her palm against my thick chest.

Her nails scraping down my abs, one divot at a time, making me so damn hard that I can feel a sweat break out over my skin.

Her fingers linger back to my chest where they play with my nipple, causing a groan to erupt from my throat.

Her feather-soft hair tickles my chin, her scent so strong, it feels so real.

Scanning, scraping, touching, exploring, her fingers move up and down my torso, my dick growing harder with every touch until her fingers play with the edge of my waistband, my cock inching to be released.

My hips thrust up, begging, pleading, needing to be satisfied.

Fingernails scrape along the waistband, dipping in right near my cock. So close, so goddamn close.

“Fuck,” I mutter, the sound loud on my ears.

Eyes fluttering open, I notice the light streaming in through the windows of the small cottage, the white curtains barely blocking the morning sun. My body tightens when I shift to the side. My hand is wrapped around Adalyn, my wrist trapped by a piece of fabric, my hand full of soft, luscious skin.

My cock throbs.

My skin tingles.

My breath is erratic.

My balls tighten as innocent fingers continue to play with my boxer briefs.

Trying to blink away the fog I’m in, I realize I wasn’t dreaming. Adalyn is in my arms, my hand is gripping her bare ass, her hair is spread across my shoulder and chest, and her hand is inching closer and closer toward my cock.

But when I think she might be awake, doing some early morning exploring, I look down at her beautifully sweet face and notice her eyes are closed. Eyes closed, mouth barely parted, blissful sleep consuming her.

Fuck, she’s asleep—caressing me—and it’s killing me.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I take in a deep breath, willing my body to relax, but when Adalyn’s finger grazes the tip of my cock, my eyes shoot open and my balls tighten so goddamn hard that I’m scooting out from under Adalyn before I can stop myself.

Dick hard as a rock, I shuffle to the bathroom, turn on the shower, and keep the bathroom door partly open as the water starts to warm up. From the mirror, I can see Adalyn plain as day. Eyes still shut, she flips to the side and curls into her pillow, the sheets covering that pert ass of hers.

Stripping out of my boxer briefs, I hop in the shower, grab some soap, lather up, and lean against the tile of the wall as I start to work the soap up and down my hardened length.

Hissing between my teeth, I grip the back of my head, my elbow pressing against the cold tile, my legs feeling wobbly. I’m already there, a few seconds from coming, just from some innocent touches, just from the memory of her scent floating past me, of the way her hair felt against my bare chest.

Up and down.

Up and down.

“Fuck,” I grunt, squeezing my eyes shut, biting down on my lower lip.

Her lips, those fuckable, kissable, sexy-as-sin lips.

Up . . . and . . . down.

“God . . . shit.” My head falls to the tile, my hand relentless on my cock, my forearm burning from the erratic motion. My abs tighten, a euphoric feeling working its way up from my toes to my gut, to my balls.

Up.

Down.

Up . . .

“Goddamn it,” I press my head harder into the tile, trying to keep my groans together, the head of my cock ready to burst.

Her smile.

Her laugh.

Her caress.

Those long legs.

That . . . ass.

Inexplicably groaning, my hand pulls on my cock as my orgasm takes over, my vision tunneling, my legs shaking, my grip squeezing so goddamn tight I’m almost positive I’m about to black out.

My hand stilling, my cock throbs in my palm, my come pouring out of me until I don’t think I have any left. Spent and partially satisfied, I take a deep breath, the steam of the shower opening my lungs, rejuvenating me.

I might just be able to get through this morning without jumping Adalyn unexpectedly. Because I want to fucking jump her. God, how I want her.

Quickly, I soap up my body, wash my hair and face, then turn off the shower. Peeking past the shower door, I glance into the bedroom to find Adalyn still sleeping. Man, she must have been really tired. That or she’s the heaviest sleeper I know.

I towel off, put on a pair of Nike shorts, and head into the bedroom, droplets of water careening from my hair, down my chest. I make sure one last time she’s fully asleep, snag my phone, and walk to the kitchen.

What should I make for breakfast?

I rub my hands together and take a look at the time. Eight o’clock. Wow, I never sleep in this late. I must have been extremely comfortable sleeping with Adalyn.

Well, that was until she started skimming her fingers over my cock.

Shaking those thoughts out of my head, not wanting to get excited again, I pick up a box of waffle mix from the pantry and scan the ingredients. Just add water, that’s easy.

While I’m searching for a waffle maker, my phone rings in my pocket. I answer without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Hey, man. What are you up to today?” Racer, shit.

“Hey Racer, uh . . . not much. Just making some breakfast.”

Where the fuck is the waffle maker? Ah, there it is.

“Breakfast? Dude, it’s eight.”

“I’m aware. I slept in. I’m allowed to do that when it’s the off-season, you know.”

Racer tsks into the phone. “Not if you’re dedicated to being the best. The best wake up at five every morning for an early morning workout.”

“Shut the fuck up.” I laugh into the phone. “What do you want?” I plug the waffle iron into an outlet, set the temperature to medium to be safe, and start stirring the mix together with water. I know I have some strawberries in the fridge I can cut up and put on top of the waffle, making me look like a goddamn professional. My mom would be proud.

“I was hoping you might be available for some hard labor later tonight.”

“Hard labor? Why would I want to do that?”

“Because I need your help desperately, and I would have to pay anyone else, but I know out of the goodness of your heart, you would help me for free, because you’re such a good guy.”

“Really trying to pull at the heartstrings, aren’t you?” I spray the waffle maker with some PAM, and pour half a cup of batter onto the hot irons.

“Never.” He pauses. “Did I ever tell you you’re my best friend?”

Rolling my eyes, I turn on the toaster oven and set it to warm so I can store the waffles in some heat when they’re done cooking. “You must be really desperate if you’re willing to throw down the best-friend card.”

“I can offer you some good tunes, an artfully crafted peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner, and some good old-fashioned jokes.”

“Damn, how could I ever turn down a night like that?”

“I know, I offer up a good bargain, don’t I?”

“Practically irresistible.”

“What do you say?” Racer sounds like he’s holding his breath, awaiting my answer, as if I say no, it will really put a damper on his evening.

A part of me wants to say no because it’s a stolen opportunity I can spend with Adalyn, but from the sound of Racer’s voice, I’m going to assume this would mean a lot to him. He needs me. Given I’m hanging out with the girl he told me to stay away from, I’m going to need all the good vibes on my side when shit goes down.

“Yeah, I can come help. Just shoot me a text with all the information, and I’ll be there.”

“Really?” Racer sounds shocked.

“Of course, but you owe me a Little Debbie snack.”

“Oooo, cheap shot, man, but I’ll allow it. See you tonight.”

Hanging up, I put my phone on the counter as the waffle iron beeps. Flipping open the top, I use a pair of tongs to remove the golden-brown waffle and put it directly in the warming toaster oven.

“Perfect,” I say to myself, excited to making breakfast for someone else.

“Smells good,” a sleepy voice says from behind me.

Spinning around, I find Adalyn leaning against the counter, palm pressed to one of her eyes, hair a beautiful disaster, those long, toned legs completely bare. Not even the slightest bit bashful, she walks toward me in nothing but her thong and T-shirt and circles her arms around my waist, pressing her face against my chest.

Surprised, it takes me a second to realize I should hug her back, but when I do, she snuggles in even closer.

“Thanks for not making me drive home last night. I’m not sure I would have made it. I’m kind of a heavy sleeper.”

Yeah, I gathered that from the way she was practically stroking my cock without batting an eyelash.

“It wasn’t a problem at all. I liked it.”

“Yeah?” She looks up at me, her chin to my chest, a bright smile on her face. Studying me, there is a little pinch in her brow when she asks, “Did we kiss last night?”

“No.” I chuckle. “We didn’t.”

“Hmm, I must have had some dreams about you last night. It felt like we . . . you know . . . fooled around.”

I cough, choking on my saliva, remembering the way she innocently explored me in her sleep.

“Uh . . .” I pull on the back of my neck, my flexed bicep pulling her attention. “We didn’t fool around, but I woke up this morning to, uh . . . to you feeling me up.”

Her mouth drops open, and she presses her hand to her chest in shock. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing. I would never do that.”

Shit.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” I try to recover. “It’s just, your hand was kind of wandering.”

“You’re ridiculous. I would never.” She steps away and folds her arms over her chest, anger clouding those chocolate-stained eyes of hers.

Not wanting her to be mad, I try to backpedal. “I mean, I’m not mad about it, but you asked and I thought I’d let you know, it was . . . fuck, it turned me on.” Shit, don’t say that. “I mean, it was nice, your fingers were gentle . . . errr, I mean they were . . .” Fucking hell.

Christ, man. Keep digging the grave.

I glance at Adalyn to gauge how mad she really is when I see her giggling to herself, her shoulders shaking, her hand over her mouth. “Why are you laughing?”

“Watching you squirm. It’s cute. Of course I remember touching you. I like to do a quick test drive before I actually buy the car, if you know what I mean.”

“Sooo, you were awake the entire time when you were running your fingers over my nipples . . . over the tip of my cock.”

She nods, a giant smile on her face.

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

She shakes her head. “And hearing you come in the shower, that was seriously hot. But don’t worry, I passed out again shortly after that.”

What.

The.

Hell.

The sound of my fingernails scraping over my short scruff fills the silence between us.

Walking past me, her bare ass swaying back and forth catches my attention. “So that means you felt me gripping your ass this morning.”

She’s looking through the cupboards when she says, “Mm-hmm.” Looking over her shoulder, she says, “You have quite an impressive grip on you, young man. It left me intrigued, looking for more.”

Perplexed, I drag my hand down my face.

“Aha.” She takes a mug from a shelf and goes to the coffee maker where she starts making a pot of coffee. “Don’t look so distraught. This is a good thing.”

With her back toward me, she scoops coffee grounds into a filter, followed by filling up the coffee maker with water.

This is a good thing?

No, a good thing would have been NOT pretending she was asleep and letting her hands do some more wandering, some seriously dangerous wandering.

Instead, I had to take care of business, and it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as the real thing.

Growling under my breath, I walk up behind her and place my hands on her hips, my thumbs tucking under the hem of her shirt.

She gasps and arches her back against my chest. Leaning forward, I murmur into her ear, my lips pressed against the side of her head. “Do you realize how much you drove me crazy with your hands?”

My thumbs move upward over her ribs until I reach her bra.

“Do you realize how impossibly hard you made me with just the light graze of your fingers?”

I pull her closer, her ass hitting my hardening cock.

She gasps, her head falling to my shoulder.

“Do you realize how difficult it was to remove myself from that bed, to remove your warm body away from mine to be the gentleman?”

Without warning, I spin her in my arms, easily pick her up, and place her on the counter. Spreading her legs, I step into her personal space and glide my hands up her silky thighs until they reach her hips where I slip my thumbs under the fabric of her miniscule thong.

Her eyes become heady, her chest rising and falling at a rapid pace.

“Do you realize how incredibly hard I came in the shower, thinking about your touch?” I drop the tone of my voice to a low rumble. “Thinking about the feel of your sweet ass in my palm, or the way you looked last night, under the dim lights of the deck?”

Eyes closed, leaning into my touch, her mouth parted, a light flush stains her cheeks.

“And then you walk out here, wearing nothing but a shirt and thong, tempting me, teasing me.” I move my thumbs down, closer to the juncture of her thighs. She hisses through her teeth, her eyes widening, connecting with mine. “Do you think that’s fair, Adalyn?”

Shaking her head no, she licks her lips and whispers, “No.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so either.” I lean in closer, our bodies so damn close, her legs wrapping around me, her core pressing against my cock. She fits so perfectly. The tips of my fingers bury into her round ass, marking her.

Running her hands up my bare chest, she links them together behind my neck, pulling herself closer. She wants to kiss me. She’s wetting her lips and her gaze is intense.

Soft and warm. I crave her. I want this. I want to kiss her.

“What do you want?” I ask her, pressing my forehead against hers.

She doesn’t skip a beat. “Your lips on mine.” Threading her fingers through the soft strands of my hair, she pulls, our lips seconds from touching when I slip out of her grasp and turn away.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asks, sounding shaken.

Smiling, I turn back around, both hands behind my head, my shorts riding low on my waist, a very clear bulge pushing against the fabric. Her eyes roam my entire body from my toes to my lips.

“Giving you a little taste of your own medicine.”

Her eyes sharpen as she grips the edge of the counter and propels herself forward toward me. Laughing, I back up until the backs of my legs hit the couch, and I tumble backward.

Taking advantage of the situation, she runs toward me and hops onto my lap, her legs straddling my hips. Placing both her hands on my chest, she leans down.

“Lesson learned. Don’t tease Hayden.”

I raise my eyebrows in shock. “Really? It was that easy?”

She chuckles and says, “As some misogynistic men like to think, I’m not some ‘stubborn female.’ I can find fault in my wrongdoings.”

“Damn.” I chuckle and grip her hips as she grinds down on me, positioning herself closer to me, her hair forming a curtain of silky brown strands around her face. “So what now?”

“You tell me. Are you going to continue to hold out on me?”

I twist my lips to the side, holding back my smile. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?” Exasperated, she lets out a long sigh. “Are you trying to torture me?”

“No, just looking for the right moment.”

Eyeing me suspiciously, she asks, “Are you a closet romantic?”

“Possibly.”

Slowly nodding her head in understanding, she says, “I can respect that.” And as quick as she jumped on top of me, she hops off and holds out her hand to help me to my feet. “If you’re waiting for the right moment to kiss me, I’ll wait with you.”

“You’re going to wait?”

“I’m going to wait for you.” Who is this girl? How did I get so lucky? For the second time today, she wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me tightly. And for the second time today, my heart stutters in my chest, my body melts into her, and I take one more step to becoming addicted to her sweet embrace. And this is also when I realize I’m so fucked.