Chapter 9
Ian
I could see Adalyn’s struggle to gain control over her mind. She had a look on her face of intense concentration, her eyebrows scrunched together and a scowl on her face. Getting her in my car had been quite a struggle. Even when she could barely walk she still put up a good fight. That flirty, cute Adalyn that had walked out of the club with me was long gone. Cold and closed off Adalyn had returned yet again.
“Quit looking at me and keep your eyes on the road, dumbass. I’d like to make it back to my apartment alive. I may not have a job, a boyfriend or any idea what to do with my life, but I still have a life and I’d like to keep it that way.”
She was hunched over, arms crossed, looking straight ahead. It was adorable. I bit the inside of my cheek to try and keep from smirking but it didn’t work and when she caught me smiling she became even more agitated.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Laugh it up, buddy, because this is the last time I’ll ever let myself be in the position to take any kind of help from you. I don’t need a knight in shining armor, so quit trying to weasel your way into my life. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I’m not going to give in to your manipulations. Save it for one of your floozies who are too dumb to see through your bullshit.”
“Okay, I don’t even know where to begin with what you just said. First of all, I wasn’t laughing, I was smiling. It’s not my fault everything you do makes me smile, even when you’re being a giant pain in my ass. Second of all, what game do you think I’m playing? I’m not trying to weasel my way into anything and I can certainly tell you don’t need saving. Why does my wanting to spend time with you have to have an ulterior motive? And lastly, why do you assume all the women I date are dumb? That’s pretty judgmental of you. Although, based on the assumptions you’ve obviously already made about me, I should have deduced just how judgmental you could be.”
She visibly winced and I could see the guilt on her face. Finally, some real progress. This facade of being a bitch was easy to see through, as much as she wanted to believe otherwise. Although I hated the thought that I’d only managed to make progress because she was drunk, I still chose to view this as a win.
“I’m sorry,” she said turning to me, “I know I’m a bitch. I’d say I can’t help it, but I can. I’d say I’ll try harder not to be one, but I won’t. However, just because I’ve accepted I’m a horrible person doesn’t mean I relish in hurting people and am too proud to apologize. So again, I’m sorry. Hopefully when we wake up tomorrow we can just put all this behind us.”
“I accept your apology. But you’re wrong.”
“I know. I have no idea the IQ level of the women you date and I shouldn’t have assumed as much. Based on what I know of you so far, it’s easy to see that you could obviously find a woman who is the whole package.”
“Thank you, but that’s not what you’re wrong about.” Ah, that got her attention. Her eyebrow rose and she looked at me with confused annoyance. I didn’t give her a chance for a smart ass reply this time. “You aren’t a horrible person. And you’re not a bitch. There is a reason you put on this don’t-give-a-shit front, and I’m going to find out why. Eventually you’ll see that you can be real with me, Adalyn. You can keep trying to push me away, but I happen to enjoy a good challenge.”
“Oh, so that’s your game,” she snapped at me, and without having to look I could feel her piercing eyes. “I don’t cream my pants at the sight of you and you can’t stand that. Are you seriously so cocky that it’s so unfathomable that a woman wouldn’t be interested in you? You want to know why I’m a bitch? It’s for that exact reason. Assholes like you who think your games don’t have the power to destroy people.”
“Another piece of the puzzle. I take that to mean that some dumbass has done that to you in the past? You can elaborate on that later, but let me assure you, that’s not what’s happening here. Is it so hard to believe that I find you interesting and want to get to know you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Silence. I could tell she wasn’t going to say any thing more, so I dropped the subject. For now. I’d already gained valuable insight from this little exchange alone. Apparently the trick was to keep her talking, if you could keep her in one place for long enough, that is. She had made a bad habit of running away from me already. For someone who was so obviously guarded, she wasn’t very good at hiding her feelings. It may not be intentional, but my guess would be that deep down she’s desperate for someone to really understand her.
With that thought, I realized it was time to admit to myself that I was already in way too deep when it came to Adalyn, and I had no plans of getting out.
It wasn’t until I pulled up to her apartment that it dawned on me. Her purse was stolen. That meant we didn’t have a key to get in. She was already starting to unbuckle her seat belt.
“Slow down there, Sunshine. You’re coming home with me. We…”
“The HELL I am,” she interrupted before I could explain. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I am not near drunk enough to sleep with you. I was actually starting to think you might not be as big of an asshole as I thought you were, but if you’re willing to take advantage of someone not in full control of their decisions then you are an even bigger asshole than I originally thought.”
“Whoa, calm down. If you had let me finish, I would have explained that you don’t have a key. Your purse was stolen, remember? So unless you want to park your cute little ass on the lawn and wait for Stacy to come home God knows when, then you don’t have a choice.”
You could see her mind working, trying to figure out a way to avoid coming to my place but not have to sleep outside like a homeless person. I think she was actually contemplating sleeping outside, but it was freezing out, so I waited patiently for her to finally give up. After what felt like an hour, she finally huffed a sigh of resignation and sank back into her seat.
“Fine. But if you put your fucking hands on me I will seriously have your ass thrown in jail. You get to sleep on the couch while I sleep in your room with the door locked. I don’t want you trying to sneak a peek at my lady bits while I’m sleeping.”
“Lady bits?” She actually smiled a little. It was brief and was barely noticeable, but I still saw it. “Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’d love to have you in my bed, any way I can get you.”
Chuckling when she groaned in response, I turned the corner and headed to my apartment.
Adalyn was passed out before I made it halfway to my apartment. I didn’t have the heart to wake her, so when we pulled up to the front I handed the valet my keys and turned to scoop her up. The bellman gave me a questioning look, no doubt thinking my carrying in a woman clearly passed out into the building was bizarre. I’d never had a woman here, let alone an unconscious one.
Getting my apartment door unlocked without dropping her was somewhat of a challenge, but once I managed to make it inside, I carried her straight to my room. Yeah, I had two really nice guest rooms that had never been used that I could put her in, but I liked the idea of her in my bed. As much as I wished I was going to be in that bed with her, just having her in there, knowing the next time I laid down her scent would still linger was enough to make my cock hard.
Down boy. Now’s not the time.
She mumbled something I couldn’t understand as I laid her down, but I could hear it clearly the second time as she rolled over. My name. And if hearing my name come off her lips while she lay in my bed wasn’t enough to make my soldier stand at attention, then the moan that followed it definitely was. Was she having a naughty dream about me?
It took every ounce of self-restraint I had, but I managed to pull the covers over her and retreat from my bedroom with one last glance. I may have been trying to prove how much of a gentleman I could be, but I was still a man and leaving her in there after hearing the sounds I’d just heard was extremely difficult, to say the least.
Pulling a couple of blankets and a pillow from the linen closet, I started to make my bed on the couch. Sure, I could have used one of the guest rooms, but Adalyn had demanded I sleep on the couch and I didn’t want her to wake and not know where I was. I knew she would feel better knowing where to find me and knowing I had listened and obeyed her demands.
I had no idea what would happen in the morning. Multiple scenarios ran through my head as I lay there, staring at the ceiling. She could wake up embarrassed by the events that happened tonight, though I doubt that would happen. Even if she was embarrassed she wouldn’t let me know it. She was hands down the most stubborn woman I had ever met.
She could wake up with no memory what-so-ever, but I didn’t think she was drunk enough to completely black out everything. No, my bet was on her waking up angry. Chances were, as soon as she woke up and realized she was in my bed and started to remember everything, she would come storming out there demanding I take her home. Or maybe she would just storm out without a word.
I’d never met someone so unpredictable. Under any other circumstances, being subjected to these types of unforeseen mood swings would test my patience to no end. But Adalyn wasn’t like any other woman I’d ever met. As I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face, anxious to see what tomorrow would bring, I couldn’t help but think that it had only taken this girl less than twelve hours to flip my life completely upside down.