Page 18 of Play Maker

I wasn’t completely oblivious—I knew Shad was hitting on me—but after the disastrous first meeting at his dad’s house, I’d hoped he was only doing it out of habit. Now that our parents were engaged, I assumed he was doing it out of spite.

Adam’s gaze traced my face, then his shoulders relaxed. “I never said it was your fault, but that asshole was seconds from putting his hands on you. If I’d known what was going down, I would have been here earlier.”

I let out a huffy breath. “I didn’t know he was going to be here today.”

“We know now. You’re not coming into this building by yourself again.”

“You’re not being practical,” I tried to reason with him.

“Fuck practical. I’m not letting that walking red flag manipulate you into being alone with him.”

My hackles rose at Adam’s commanding tone. “I wasn’t aware my request for your services came with bodyguard privileges as well. Do I pay extra for that?”

A growl escaped him, and he shoved his hand into his hair. “No wonder you and Eva get along. Your tongue is just as sharp as hers.”

I lifted my chin, surprised by how much this frustrated side of him struck me as sexy. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.” He shook his head, staring at the stairs over my shoulder. “I’d do the same for her. For anyone I thought might be in an unsafe situation. Let me walk you to and from class, please?”

His eyes caught me, dark with need, and the world shifted under my feet. Frustrated Adam made me hot, but pleading Adam broke down all my defenses. Under no circumstances could I let him know the power he had over me.

“Okay, but I can’t imagine Eva ever needing you to protect her from an unsafe situation.”

“She didn’t need me at all,” he muttered.

“Is that why your relationship didn’t work out? Because you wanted her to need you and she didn’t?”

Adam shifted from foot to foot, and I wondered if this was another one of those questions I wasn’t supposed to ask. He’d claimed to like my style of unvarnished truth, but he wouldn’t be the first to change his mind.

Instead of making an excuse and leaving, he let out a dry laugh. “I don’t know. We didn’t discuss it.”

“Not even when she left?”

His jaw tightened. “No. She told me we were done, then took off without telling me. Didn’t even say goodbye.”

“Maybe…” I trailed off, for once thinking about my words before I spoke them aloud.

Maybe it was the sex…

My last comment over tacos filled the space between us. Adam heard it as well as I did even though nothing broke the silence, and strangely, my awkward analysis brought him out of his sadness.

He waved his hand, dismissing the idea. “Definitely wasn’t the sex.”

“How do you know if you haven’t talked to her since she left?”

“Because I’m good at sex, Sunshine.” The easy confidence in his words made my breath catch.

“That’s what they all say,” I teased, but truthfully, I had no idea what anyone else said about their bedroom skills.

Adam’s lips curled in a slow smile as he moved toward me, deliberate and unhurried. I had plenty of opportunity to evade him, but the burning curiosity inside me whisperedwhat if…He stalked forward, and I retreated until my back hit the cool wall.

I shuddered out a breath when he stopped with mere inches between us. His gaze stayed locked on mine as he lowered his voice.

“You sound concerned, so let me put your mind at ease. Sex should be fun for all parties, and I make sure everyone leaves satisfied.”

“How?” I breathed.

“I ask what the lady wants, then I listen and deliver. It isn’t rocket science.”

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