Chapter Seven

“Uh, I think maybe we should try someplace else,” Mel said, looking around the trendy boutique they’d stepped into. It was packed to the shiny mirrored ceiling with pants and tops and skirts and sweaters in an array of fashionable hues straight out of the latest style magazines she’d started reading on her breaks at the library. All the clothes looked expensive and adorable and way too intimidating for Mel to even touch. “I doubt these will fit.”

“What? Don’t be silly.” Adam took her hand and tugged her forward, his expression serious. He gave her a side-glance once-over that had her toes curling in her sandals, and her blood fizzed anew. “These will fit you. Trust me.”

He stood to the side while she carefully flipped through the racks, pulling things out and draping them over her arm. She smiled benignly at the sales staff milling about, praying they wouldn’t approach. They all looked perfect and polished and would no doubt find her lacking in the worst way. They moved through the store until she had an armload full of garments, and Adam followed her toward the dressing area in the back.

“May I help you with those?” a sales clerk finally asked, probably sensing a sizable commission, though her tone seemed sincere. She unlocked one of the dressing rooms, then helped Mel hang everything on the hooks inside. “My name’s Andi, and I’ll be outside if you need anything. Let me know.”

Adam took up guard position beside the door, and Mel shook her head. “I’m telling you, if you’re right and I fit into even half of these, I owe you a beer.”

He leaned a shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms, pulling the material of his shirt tighter across his chest. Mel’s mouth dried. “Okay. And what do I owe you if I’m wrong?”

The slight flirtation in his tone made her pulse thud.

A kiss.

The words teetered on the edge of her lips, but she chickened out. “I don’t know.”

“Hmm.” He turned away again. “Get to changing.”

She shut the door, then stared at all the clothes on the hooks. Since high school, she’d worn the same style, the same size. She knew what worked for her and what didn’t. Handing him back the stuff after she was done and making him take her to a different store because she’d been right would be sweet revenge. Those thoughts warmed her chilled skin as she slowly undressed.

“How’s it going in there?” Adam called a short time later.

“Dandy.” She pulled a pair of jeans off a hanger and tugged them on. “Give me a minute.”

“You’ve had five already. Not that I’m counting the seconds out here or anything.”

Mel sighed, picturing him leaning against the wall, looking effortlessly gorgeous and drawing all sorts of female attention without even trying. He’d always been far too sexy for his own good.

Surprisingly, the jeans slid up her legs and over her butt with ease, like they were made for her alone. She buttoned and zipped them, then turned to look in the mirror, her mouth open in shock. They fit. Like a second skin.

Mel glanced at herself in the mirror again, checking all the angles and finding nothing amiss. No muffin top, no pinching, nothing but a perfect fit.

He knocked on the door again. “Are you stalling because you owe me a Bud Light?”

“Maybe.”

His deep chuckle soothed her in all the right places.

She grabbed a light blue top off another hanger, the fabric a silky rayon jersey with a cowl neck and cap sleeves. A far cry from her usual twinsets and pearls. She pulled it over her head, then wriggled it down to her waist. The clingy material hugged her curves without being too revealing, and the color made her skin glow.

“All bets are off until you let me see you…” His words died off as she opened the door. Adam stood frozen, his gaze moving slowly upward from her bare toes, his blue eyes darkening as they trekked over her hips and thighs to her chest. Mel had long since stopped breathing. The backs of her knees tingled, and time seemed to slow. Each flicker of his eyes felt like warm honey on her skin, all slow and sweet and delicious. He swallowed hard, and she tracked the movement of the muscles working in his strong, tanned neck, wishing she could nuzzle the hollow at the base of his throat.

Yep. She’d buy this outfit and wear it whenever Adam was around.

He raked a hand through his hair, his cheeks flushed. “Told you they’d fit.”

“Guess I owe you a beer then.” Mel crossed her arms, the move thrusting her boobs up higher, which drew his attention once more. Nervous, she uncrossed them and smoothed her hands down her sides instead.

“Good thing, because I could damn sure use a drink right now.” He chuckled.

The deep, husky, self-deprecating sound was about the sexiest thing Mel had ever heard. It rolled over her like a spring storm, and she rested a hand against the wall of the dressing room for support. She’d always loved his laugh, even all those years ago, but it had never affected quite as much as it did today.

He blinked, frowning slightly, apparently still spellbound by the sight of her.

“Since when did you become an expert on women’s clothes?” Mel asked, desperately trying to change subjects to avoid tackling him to the marble floor of the boutique and kissing him silly. “James wouldn’t know a cute top from a turnip.”

Mention of her older brother seemed to break Adam out of his daze. He shrugged and turned away, but not before she caught a hint of guilt in his eyes. “I spend a lot of time around females. I pay attention to what they like.”

“I bet you do.” She shifted her weight. That had come out a tad bitchier than she’d intended. His experience was part of the reason why she’d wanted his help, right? The fact that it bothered her now made no sense whatsoever. Still, her heart ached, thinking about all the women who’d come before her and how she’d probably never be able to measure up.

If his silence was any indication, Adam seemed just as uncomfortable with the situation. He rubbed the back of his neck, his hand shaking slightly. And now her heart ached for an entirely different reason—tenderness.

The bad boy of Point Beacon was as affected by her as she was by him.

Her goal with Adam initially had been to have him take her virginity, a quick, fun fling, but now she felt encouraged and wondered if there couldn’t be more. He’d made it clear he didn’t do love, but perhaps…

She decided to ponder that possibility and savor his reactions a little bit longer as she glanced back into the dressing room mirror again, moving this way and that to see all her angles. “You’re sure this outfit isn’t too tight?”

“No.” His voice sounded strained, and he licked his lips. The air between them seemed to sizzle as his gaze met hers in the mirror. Then he stepped forward to nudge her fully back inside the dressing room. Her skin tingled from his touch. “It looks great. You look great. Trust me.”

He was standing so close now, his body heat sank into her skin, as if marking her as his. Mel closed her eyes and swayed toward him before she could stop herself, forehead bumping his chin.

“Please, Mel,” Adam growled, the sound tight with tension. “Try on the rest. Pick out a few that you like. My treat this time.”

He hurried out, shutting the door behind him. Mel bit her lip, wondering when in the heck things had gotten so crazy. More importantly, she wondered what she’d have to do to make him lose all his control and finally kiss her.

“Okay, so I answered your questions back at the restaurant about my service. How about you tell me something in exchange?” Adam said through the door.

“Um.” Mel swallowed hard, her stomach nose-diving to her toes, her thoughts swerving back to the side of caution. “What do you want to know?”

“How are you still single?”

She snorted, toying with the price tags attached to the sleeve of her top. “Just picky, I guess.”

“Picky how?” His tone was thoughtful. “I mean, I should probably know if I’m going to help you get a guy. Tell me what you’re looking for in a boyfriend.”

You.

She slumped against the wall of the dressing room, eyes closed, forcing herself to focus on the question, not the man asking it. “Let’s see. I want someone who’s smart and funny and kind and sweet. Someone who makes me laugh and makes me feel protected and cherished. A man who’s loyal and honest and steadfast. A guy who won’t run at the first hint of trouble. It would be nice if he had a great smile and beautiful eyes, too.”

It would be nice if he were you.

“That’s a tall order,” Adam said after a moment. “Not sure we can find a guy like that.”

Mel straightened and slipped her feet into her shoes. These clothes were comfortable, and after the look Adam had just given her, they’d have to pry them off her cold dead body before she’d take them off today. She could live and die in his heated gaze and be a happy woman.

Except she couldn’t.

Adam had made it perfectly clear that this was a project with a definite deadline. Dating and love were both off the table. The sooner she remembered that the better. “Well, if we can tick most of those boxes, we’re good.”

Never mind the fact that Adam ticked every single item on her list without even being aware of it. After the way he’d shared with her at the restaurant and how great he’d been today, she felt like she was finally on the right track with him. The road to seduction, the road to sexy times. Then they’d part ways, still friends, on her birthday. Until then, though, they had a few more weeks, a few more hours left together today, too, a few more chances for her to break down his walls and get him to let her inside.

…

Adam had started out the day with a positive attitude, but it was fading fast. Not that he wasn’t enjoying his time with Mel. On the contrary, he was enjoying it too much. That was the problem.

He kept his eyes straight ahead as he drove Mel’s Camry back toward Point Beacon, merging onto the exit ramp from Interstate 465 to 69 North and willing his adrenaline-fueled libido into submission. Lord help him, every time she stared at him with those big brown eyes, touched him, brushed against him, his body threatened to betray him. Seemed she was a natural aphrodisiac where he was concerned.

And if he couldn’t resist her, what about the rest of the male population in their zip code?

Worse still, each time he closed his eyes all Adam saw were those pouty pink lips, those long dark eyelashes, those soft cheeks of hers that flushed a little pinker each time she did something else outside of her comfort zone. God help him, he hadn’t even thought of his buddies back at Victory Vets all day. What kind of boss did that make him?

A messed-up, horny one. That’s what.

Adam glanced at the speedometer and realized he was going well over the speed limit. He eased up on the accelerator. They’d left that store an hour ago, and he was still thinking about the way Mel’s butt looked in those jeans—even though her nonstop chatter from the passenger side of the vehicle should’ve doused his lust like a fire extinguisher on the ride home. He sighed and shifted in his seat, staring at the endless farm fields surrounding them once more. When he dropped her off at her place, he should get on his bike and go, forget about that promised beer she owed him. Because accepting it meant being alone with Mel again. In her house. In her kitchen.

And yeah, Adam liked to live on the edge as much as the next hellion, but this was insane. His throat dried as the miles flew past, and by the time the Welcome to Point Beacon sign showed in his headlights, Adam felt as parched as the deserts of Kandahar. He pulled into Mel’s driveway a few minutes later and jammed the transmission into park with a bit more force than necessary.

She got out and walked around to the trunk. He followed, his Harley mocking him from the side of her driveway where he’d parked it this morning. For a crazy second, he considered making a break for it and hurtling home on the bike at breakneck speed, but that idea was soon nixed as Mel handed him bag after bag from her shopping spree.

The sun had set about a half an hour prior, and the last lingering streaks of violet were fading in the indigo sky. A warm breeze stirred, but it did little to cool Adam’s stress. The weight of all the stuff in his hands also did little to distract him from the sway of Mel’s hips as she walked in front of him toward the door. Man, she’d worn those jeans home.

She stopped on the porch and smiled at him over her shoulder. “Excuse the mess, please.”

“Sure.” She’d mentioned that the first time he’d been over, too, but the place was neat as a pin, far as he could see. Compared to his home, it looked like the frigging Taj Mahal. She opened the door, putting out a foot to keep that fluffy cat of hers inside.

They walked into the living room, and he put the bags on the sofa, per her direction, then glanced over at the coffee table, where a copy of some Cosmo sex guide sat, several tabs marking the pages. His temperature went up several more degrees. He’d known she was serious about finding someone, but that took things to a whole new level.

“How about the beer I owe you?” Mel called from the kitchen.

“Uh, actually I should probably go,” he called, rushing away from the book like his butt was on fire.

“I’m sorry?” she said as he peeked into the kitchen. “I didn’t hear you.”

“Oh.” She’d already pulled two Bud Lights from her fridge and twisted off the caps. He stood, torn. It would be a waste now not to at least take a sip or two, right? She passed him a bottle, then drank hers, nose wrinkled. He chuckled. “Not a beer fan, huh?”

“Not really.” He wondered why she’d bought these then, but feared he already knew the answer. She tossed the caps in the recycle bin. “Wine’s more my thing.”

Adam nodded, sitting on the edge of a stool at the island. “Lilly and Dom seem pretty solid.”

“Yeah. They’ve been together a whole month. New record, I think.” Mel set her barely-touched beer on the island and leaned against the edge of the granite top. “She’s lucky.”

Her voice went soft when she said that, as did her eyes. Something pulled taut inside Adam, sending a pang of yearning deep into his chest.

He gulped more beer to cover it.

She moved in closer beside him, close enough he could smell her cherry scent and shampoo again. Close enough that if he reached out, he could pull Mel between his legs, draw her head closer for the kiss he’d been dying to give her all day. The side of her breast brushed his arm, and Adam nearly choked on his tongue.

Mel tilted her head and squinted at him. “Are you okay? You got awfully quiet.”

“Lots on my mind. Garage stuff.” He lied through his teeth. “I really should go.”

He rose and stepped gingerly around her, careful not to make any more bodily contact.

“Guess I’ll see you next time,” she said, one eyebrow raised. “You’ll call me, right?”

“Right.” He made a beeline for the front door. Somewhere between the clothes and the shoes and the lunch and the lust that afternoon, he’d agreed to take her out to one of the clubs he and the guys frequented in Indy. Why? He couldn’t say, but he blamed the pheromone-fueled fog in his brain that worsened whenever Mel was around.

He’d almost reached the front door and freedom when that cat of hers crossed his path, twining about his ankles and nearly tripping him. Adam caught himself against the wall and did his best to disentangle himself from the frisky feline.

Mel bent and picked up her cat, kissing its head, then cuddling it under her chin.

Lucky cat.

“I’ll call you, I promise,” he said, one hand on the doorknob.

“I’ll be waiting. As usual.” She sounded so forlorn, his heart caved.

Unable to stop himself, Adam slipped his fingers beneath Mel’s chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. She inhaled at his touch, drawing his attention to the rise and fall of her chest in that slinky blue top. Before he could rethink his actions, Adam leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, so lightly they were hardly there at all. Mel’s mouth moved beneath his, sweet and soft, just like he imagined, and he drew back before he couldn’t any more.

“Talk to you soon,” Adam said, then rushed out into the warm summer night.