Page 26 of Not That Complicated

“That sounds very illegal.”

“It is.”

He was utterly unrepentant.

“Let’s make it fair,” he said. He lifted his hips and took his phone out of his back pocket. Holding it up at an angle, he pulled a ridiculous face and snapped a photo. His fingers flew, and from out in the hallway where I’d left my own phone, I heard a faint ping. “There’s my numberanda great photo for your contacts.”

I gave a nervous laugh and turned back to my very important drink making preparations.

My heart was still racing. There was some lingering fear from earlier in there, but I wasn’t kidding myself. It was ninety-five percent Adam-induced.

This didn’t happen to me. Hot guys tracking me down at arse-o-clock in the morning for…oh.Ohhh.

Was this a booty call?

I’d never really done the booty call thing. How would I know?

…did I want it to be a booty call?

“Everything okay over there?”

I jumped at Adam’s voice. “Everything is great,” I said breezily.

“Mm-hmm. The reason I ask is because you’ve been staring at the kettle for two minutes. It’s already boiled.”

“Right.” I clapped my hands together. “Yes! Hot chocolate, coming up.”

I added the water and stirred until I couldn’t put it off any longer, stiffened my backbone, and carried the mugs over to the table. Adam lounged at his leisure, looking all princely with his hair and his face and everything, completely relaxed.

I’d have been irritated by how much more at home he was in my kitchen than me, except his eyes were soft as he watched me cross the room.

“Here you go,” I said. “Now, it’s not freeze-dried, like I know you prefer your beverages, but itispowdered and itdidcome out of a jar. Enjoy.”

Adam grinned as I passed him a mug. It was my very best Cornishware, with distinctive thick bands of blue and white, and I was not trying to impress him.

If I was trying to impress him, I’d have offered him some marshmallows.

“So,” I said, sitting opposite him. “What can I do for you at one o’clock in the morning?”

If he said blow job…I was probably going to give him one.

“It’s more a case of what I can do for you, actually,” he said.

IfIsaid blow job, would he…?

Eyes on mine, Adam set his full lips to the rim of the cup and took a long sip of the hot chocolate. He made a strangled noise and lunged for the sink. He spat it out, ran the tap, and drank from it.

I followed him over to the sink and dithered beside him. “Are you okay?” He grunted and gave me a short nod, but he didn’t stop drinking from the tap.

I laid a tentative hand on his back and rubbed it in soothing circles.

Adam turned off the tap. Slowly, he straightened, dragged his sleeve over his wet mouth and jaw, and stared at me.

“It’s calledhotchocolate for a reason,” I told him. “You’re supposed to blow on it—”

Adam’s eyes flashed, he pushed me up against the counter, held my face, and kissed me.

“Ow, fuck,” he said, pulling back.

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