Slide(Boosted Hearts Book 3)(12)

“Ow!” He hissed and stared down at her. “What the fuck?”

She smirked back and released his nipple that she’d just finished twisting the fuck out of. “And for future reference, sweetums, I can take care of myself.” Her gaze grew intense, those emerald orbs damn near hypnotizing him. “I’m not an idiot. I saw Brian for what he was the moment I walked into his office.”

“Hey!”

“Shut it, Brian,” they both said at the same time.

Of course she did. Lucy was no fool. Now he felt like an asshole. “Lucy—”

She shoved at his shoulder. “I’m not as naive as you think.” Then she stormed up to her apartment.

Brian snorted and shrugged. “Whatever. Good luck with that one.” He climbed into his truck and drove back to his crappy garage.

Adam stood there for the longest time, not sure if he should go after her and try to explain his messed-up behavior or leave her alone. He was about to head back into the garage when her door opened. She was in shorts, a T-shirt, and running shoes, and after popping earbuds in her ears, she came down the stairs.

“Luce…hang on a minute. Can we talk?”

She pointed to her ears and shook her head. “Sorry can’t hear you.”

He grabbed her arm, stopping her from running past. “Lucy.”

She yanked her earbuds out. “What?”

“That stuff with Brian…”

“Yes?” Her face was flushed with anger, eyes bright.

He imagined her underneath him, looking at him just like that, and his dick got hard instantly.

“I’d love to hear the excuse for what you just did. Go on, wow me.”

“Excuse?” Not explanation. His gut tightened.

“Yes, excuse, sweetums.” She moved in closer. “Why don’t you tell your girl exactly what was going through your head?” She poked him in the chest, fire exploding in her eyes. “I dare you.”

His mouth went dry. He wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all Lucy. But he couldn’t tell her the truth, the real reason he’d stormed out there, pulling that macho shit. “I wasn’t going to let him use you to get to us.”

“And you had to pretend to be my boyfriend for that?”

Those eyes, full of challenge, never left his. He hated himself in that moment, more than he ever had, for what he was about to say. He let a smirk curl his lips. “I care about you, baby girl. You’re like the annoying little sister I never had.” Then he did what Brian had, and tweaked her nose.

She jerked back, goddamn deflating before his eyes.

Her lips parted and she glanced away. When they came back to him, the challenge and fire were gone and in their place was…fuck. Disappointment?

“Right, well…” She shook her head. “I don’t need another big brother. And honestly, I’m kinda sick of men telling me what the hell I can and can’t do.”

Now it was his turn to jerk back, because even though Hugh and Joe could be bossy assholes, he somehow knew she wasn’t talking about her brothers or him. “Luce—”

“See you around, Adam.” She popped her earbuds back in and jogged away.

The urge to go after her was nearly too damn hard to resist.

He curled his fists. Thankfully, one of his leads had come through. At least now he knew where his cousin’s car was.

Boosting the bitch back and getting the fuck out of this city couldn’t come at a better time.

He was weakening, there was no point denying it. All it would take was dropping his guard, just for a moment—and he could destroy everything.





~ * ~





“Just ignore Joe. He’ll get over it,” Darcey said, leaning over to get another piece of garlic bread.

Lucy sipped her beer. “Yeah, I know he will. Hugh on the other hand…” She turned to Shay, who was sitting beside her. “Your fiancé is a giant pain in the butt.”

Abella’s was crowded like it often was on a Saturday night, but she had no trouble hearing her sister-in-law-to-be over the chatter and music. “Oh, I know he can be a pain in the butt. But he’s also a big softy. Just give him a little time and he’ll stop being an overbearing ass.”

Lucy snorted. “That’s a lie and you know it.” She giggled. Yep, the beer was going to her head. Awesome. She was all about drowning her sorrows tonight. So far so good. “How many times has he texted you already tonight?”

Darcey laughed and Lucy spun on her. “And you can talk. Joe’s like a sad puppy when you leave him alone. When are you coming home? Bring me snacks. I need a belly rub…um…ew, not a mental image I want.”