Page 41 of Taking Root

The doorbell buzzed again.

Adrian peered out the peephole, and he swore out loud even as relief crashed through him. “You can put your pistol down,” he said as he reached for the door.

Danny tucked it away even if the tension in her shoulders didn’t dissipate. He noticed her hand remained glued to her pistol while it remained out of sight. Adrian opened the door, bracing himself for one nails-on-the-chalkboard conversation.

Betty stood in his doorway, with her curls pinned back, a blaze of red lipstick like war paint, and a pantsuit that meant business. She wore heels to make her stand a bit taller, and her stare was sharp.

“What are you doing at my house?” Adrian asked, leaning forward into the doorway. No way in hell did he plan on inviting his ex inside.

“You mean our house?” she stated, the emphasis on the word setting his nerves ablaze. “I came to chat, Adrian. No need to be on the defensive.” The heavy coating of implication behind the words made it clear she didn’t have any loyalty to her current beau—though he knew that from experience. Betty’s gaze oozed sensuality as she stared him down, but Adrian hadn’t been swayed by her for some time. Betrayal happened to be a major turn-off.

“This became my house when I bought you out of your part. That was a one-time transaction, and I don’t backslide.” His gaze flashed. He wanted to spend the rest of the night nestled with Danny as they tucked into their takeout and laughed together in spite of the crushing weight of tomorrow. The years with Betty had corroded him—rarely direct fights but instead snide comments and a lingering sense of disapproval. She always managed to have a headache or some sickness during family dinner, or hell, most family obligations.

Danny ducked beneath his arm to step out onto his front porch. “You selling Girl Scout cookies? I’ll take some Thin Mints,” she said, her hands in her pockets as a devil’s grin spread on her face.

“I didn’t realize you had company over,” Betty said, her voice stiff. The way she said company she might as well have spat out whore. Adrian’s hand balled into a fist. Betty might’ve smashed a wrecking ball into his life, but she’d cleared out the remains of a desiccated building in order for him to build something better.

Adrian placed a hand on Danny’s shoulders as he drew her close to him. “Betty, you’re going to have to move on. You cheated on me, we split up, and that change was permanent.”

“Hey,” Danny said, slipping from his grasp to step between them. Betty tensed, her hands balled into fists, and she cast a glance back to the walkway as if she might bolt. “Look, I get it. If I fucked up things with him, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. But I’ve staked my claim, and a hurricane couldn’t blow me off this port. You need to drop this petty bullshit, because if you want to start whipping out ‘who’s the bigger bitch’ card, I have a lifetime of bar fights and burning bridges to back me up. And I don’t give a damn about my reputation.”

Her words made his throat tighten at how she casually dropped those truth bombs. The fierce way she proclaimed her affection for him was so different from the chilled distance he’d grown used to with everyone he dated.

Betty took a step away from the door, her arms crossed in front of her. “Well then, I hope you’re both happy.” Her mouth formed a tight line, but he caught the glimmer of tears in her eyes. She might have been conflicted and lashing out because of it, but Adrian wasn’t. He knew what he wanted. He’d known from the moment he first laid eyes on Sam Peterson in high school.

Betty tossed a hand in the air as she walked toward her car, her heels clicking down his pathway. She’d gotten caught in the greener grass on the other side, but they couldn’t come back from the way she’d cheated and ditched. Even if she came to the realization of what she missed out on now, her new attitude didn’t matter.

Danny Reynolds was his laughter and light. She was a nuclear bomb of restrained emotion and steel strength. He wouldn’t return to the past when he could only hope for such a beautiful future.

Danny hopped inside the house, and Adrian shut the door, clicking the lock shut. Obi-Wan crept up to headbutt his leg, as if the cat could sense the distress.

“Now all I need is my nosy family to come barging in and it’s my average Tuesday,” Adrian muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Her lips pursed. “If your family comes calling at this hour, they’re getting the boot. You’re mine tonight.” Her eyes glimmered with amusement.

Adrian lifted his phone, which he’d turned off the moment she’d come over. Danny and Cal’s words had sunk in, and even if it was for maybe an hour a day, he’d begun the simple act of shutting off his phone. The moment he popped it back on, he fielded calls and texts from the family like always, but the time for himself had made a huge difference.

He glanced at Danny, who watched him with an unreadable expression in her eyes. Adrian stepped up to slide his hands around her hips. “You don’t need to worry about her,” he said, unsure if her quiet came from a brush of jealousy or not knowing where they stood. “It’s funny. Betty always complained I was too stagnant, that I didn’t push forward in my career, my life, whatever. But around you, I want to reach higher, to do better. You inspire me, Danny Reynolds, in a way no woman ever has.”

Danny’s green eyes shone, glassier than normal as a breath escaped her. “I’m not worried,” she murmured. Her hand balled into a fist over her heart. “For the first time in far too long, I’m happy.”

The sight punched him in the gut, and an urgency rammed through his veins. Holding her wasn’t enough. Not tonight, when they didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. He clasped the back of her neck as he leaned down to claim her mouth.

Tension descended, the weight of it stealing his breath away when their lips touched. Danny responded at once. Her mouth was hot and hungry, and he drove his tongue in to enjoy the way she melted into him. Danny twined her arms around his neck, kissing him like she needed the contact to breathe. Her scent, all lavender and honey, turned him on like nothing else, and he gripped her hip with clear intent.

When she crushed in tight to him, brushing against his erection, no force in the world could stop their collision.

He pressed his lips to her neck, biting the exposed skin. She moaned, the sound setting him ablaze. Her fingers fumbled with his belt, and he slipped his hands beneath the hem of her shirt to glide across her soft as sin skin. In seconds, her bra was snapped, and he cupped her breasts, gliding his thumbs over the tips of her nipples. She arched her back in response, letting out a livewire gasp at his touch.

“I bet you’re already soaking wet,” he murmured against her mouth, to which he got a throaty “Mmm” in response. His belt clicked as she flung it open and snapped the button of his jeans to follow. He shucked them to the ground, kicking off his boxer-briefs a second later. Danny slipped her shirt and bra off, the fabric tumbling to collect with his.

Adrian didn’t bother messing around with her maxi-skirt—he yanked it down and brought her panties along. Danny stood in front of him stark naked, her wildfire hair tumbled around her shoulders in seductive curls, freckles covering every spare inch of her, and a flush across her skin that reminded him of the way she looked when she came. Her hips were made for gripping, and he wanted those strong, muscular legs wrapped around him as of yesterday.

“You’re fucking beautiful,” he growled. She tugged at his shirt, yanking it up and over his head until they both stood stark naked in his foyer. Not like he gave a damn if the neighbors gawked.

“And you’re gorgeous, babe,” she murmured back. “Now fuck me until I can’t feel my legs anymore.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, a grin stealing his lips. He gripped her ass, lifting her up. Her thighs wrapped around his hips in seconds, and her mouth pressed to his. His erection brushed across her slick folds, and a shock of pleasure rolled through him. Adrian carried them over several steps, his fingers digging into her creamy thighs, her nipples brushing against his bare chest, the sensations so fucking hot his balls tightened.

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