To Hate Adam Connor

Lucy

“You’re a dog,” I said to Aiden, and he giggled, covering his mouth with his hand.

“I’m not a dog, Lucy,” he managed to sputter in between giggles. I smiled at him.

We were sitting out in the backyard, lounging as his daddy talked to his mommy. Geez, but I had acted like a complete weirdo when I saw her. I mean, she was an actress, even though she didn’t actually act in many movies, but still, she was. More than anything, she was known as Adam Connor’s wife.

So after the things the clever asshole had murmured into my ear, lifting my head and seeing his wife—ex-wife—had messed with my mind for a second there.

“Okay,” I gave in. “You’re more like a cute puppy.”

“If I’m a puppy what are you? A cat?” he asked, his eyes dancing with mischief.

“Why does everyone think I’m a cat? No, today I’m gonna be a bird. Now close your eyes.”

“But I wanna be a bird too.”

“You do?” I looked at him with one eye half-open. “Okay, then we are both birds today.”

He nodded enthusiastically and closed his eyes.

“Now, what would you do if you were a bird?”

“I’d fly away!”

“Where do you wanna fly?”

“You’re weird, Lucy,” Aiden announced.

“Good weird or bad weird?”

A moment of hesitation on his part.

“Good weird. I like you.”

“That’s good,” I said with a smile. “I like you, too.”

“Aiden,” Adam called out; I peered at him over the chair.

Handsome bastard.

He walked toward us with easy steps and my eyes took in everything that was Adam Connor. He looked at me, so of course I looked away, but damn those eyes of his.

He kneeled between our lounge chairs, his fingers holding on to the chair mere inches away from my face. He focused on Aiden.

“Dan is on his way over here. Is it okay with you if I leave you with him for a few hours?”

Aiden shrugged.

Well, well, well…isn’t that interesting?

“I need you to look at me, Aiden,” Adam said with a sigh.

Aiden’s eyes lifted up to his father, but I could see it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I need to go and see my lawyer. Will you be okay with Dan?”

“Why can’t I stay with Lucy?” Aiden asked.

Adam’s gaze found mine.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Because,” he started, looking back at Aiden again. “I’m sure Lucy has other things to do. I’ll be back as soon as I can, then I want to talk to you about what happened and how it’s never going to happen again, okay?”

Ah, so that was why the little human was giving him the cold shoulder.

Aiden shrugged again. “What are we gonna talk about? You didn’t want me, so Mom took me away to fly.”

My eyes flew to Adam, and I saw his entire body tighten in a scary way. “Is that what your mom told you, Aiden?”

Aiden’s answer was reluctant. “No.”

“Get up,” Adam ordered, and I realized I was intruding on another private moment, but heck, at that point it wasn’t my fault anymore. They should’ve stopped having those moments around me. So I stayed.

Aiden uncurled his body from the lounge and stood in front of his dad. His eyes dropped down to his shoes as he twisted and twisted those little fingers.

Adam gently lifted his chin up so he could look into his eyes. “I know you’re confused with everything that’s been going on, the back and forth between your mom and—”

Aiden scrunched up his face. “I’m not confused. You don’t wanna kiss and squish Mom anymore, so you got yourself a divorce.”

My lips twitched, but I kept it under control. Adam, on the other hand…Adam didn’t look all that amused, but, God, did he look sexy with that scowl on his face.

“We both wanted the divorce, Aiden. It wasn’t just me.”

Another shrug.

“So you still want to kiss and squish Mom?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Boy, was he screwing this up.

“I think your dad loves you very much, Aiden,” I jumped in. It wasn’t my place to say anything, but the sexy dad was taking too damn long to get to the point. Both the father’s and son’s gazes turned to me and it was my turn to shrug. “I know how upset he gets when you leave to spend time with your mom. I saw it myself. He sits around and cries all day.” I scrunched up my nose. “It’s pathetic, really.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Aiden said with bright a smile.

“Oh, he does, little bug. I saw it myself.”

He cocked his head. “Were you watching him over the wall again, Lucy?”

“Yep.”

He turned to his dad and threw his arms around his neck. “I don’t want you to cry, Daddy. I won’t leave you and go to fly again. I promise.”

Adam met my eyes as he held on to his son. “No, you won’t leave me. I’m not letting you go. Not anymore.”

I will not swoon.

I will not swoon.

I will not swoon.

***

“Did you put the note on the door?” Aiden whispered from his hiding place under the wood table.

I was hiding behind the couch. “I did. Don’t worry, he’ll see it.”

“You put the gun where he can see it too?”

“Yup.”

He giggled. “Do you think he’ll be angry?”

“Angry? Psshhh, he’ll have the best time of his life. He’ll thank us, trust me.”

After Adam left, I stayed with Aiden. An hour later when Dan the Man joined us, we convinced him to go out on a scavenger hunt for us. You know, so he could get the necessary things for a fun movie night: pizza, candy, snacks, M&Ms, burgers…the list went on and on. As soon as he was out the door—and I swear I saw a small smile playing on his lips—we hatched a plan to get back at Adam for letting Adeline take him away to New York. I knew he’d had nothing to do with it, but still, we were out for revenge—and a little bit of fun—so it was as good an excuse as any in our book. More importantly, it put the biggest smile on Aiden’s face when I first came up with it.

We called to find out when Adam would be home and left a note on the door.

Are you ready to cry all the tears, Adam Connor?

Catch us if you can!

PS. Just because we felt sorry for you, you can use the gun. It’s loaded.

Right under the note, there was the smallest size Nerf Super Soaker gun you can find. Aiden and I had the bigger ones. In fact, they were so big that Aiden kept having trouble holding his up.

We heard the door open and then Adam’s voice trickled in.

“Aiden?”

I held my finger up to my mouth and warned Aiden to stay quiet. He nodded, but couldn’t hold back the small giggle that escaped his lips. He looked so damn happy. I grinned at him and got ready to blast Adam with freezing cold water.

I tilted my head slightly up, only enough that my eyes and forehead were visible, and saw him walk into the big opening between the kitchen and the living room where we were hiding as quietly as we could.

“Dan? Anybody home?”

Another giggle from Aiden.

I checked again and saw that he hadn’t taken our game seriously: the gun was just hanging in his hand with the note we had attached to the door. So be it. We had warned him.

He walked farther into the room, closer to us.

I got Aiden’s attention and held up one finger—our signal. Then I opened my palm and mouthed Go.

We stood up at the same time, exactly when Adam was standing in between us, and blasted him with water from both sides. As the first stream of cold water hit his shirt, he opened his mouth in shock. I started laughing and pumping the gun to hit him with more water.

Aiden’s giggling was uncontrollable as he hit his dad’s stomach with more water.

Adam’s shocked eyes jumped between his son and me, then he lifted his little gun—no pun intended—and started shooting water at his son as he advanced on him. Aiden squealed when the first hit found its target and ran outside. There was another loaded gun waiting for him near the lounge chairs. That left me alone with his father.

He lowered his gun and turned to face me.

Big mistake.

“What is this?” he asked as his hand smoothed his wet T-shirt. He lifted his hand and shook off some of the water. We’d gotten him good. My eyes followed his hand because, oh Lord, I could see the outline of his abs and those pecs…Jesus. What a glorious view. He took a step forward, and I took a step back.

“Don’t come any closer.” I raised the gun.

He stopped, the expression on his face making my lady parts purr. Those eyes…goddamnit, those eyes!

“We’re cheering Aiden up,” I explained as I backed away from him since it didn’t look like he intended to stop.

“We? Looks to me like I’m the one doing all the work.”

“Well, you are the one who made him sad after all. It’s just a little water, Mr. Hotshot Movie Star, you won’t melt away.”

“I think you will—”

I didn’t let him finish and blasted him with more water, right on his crotch.

He stopped speaking and looked down at his now wet pants. When he glanced up at me with a raised eyebrow, I braced the gun at my hip and shrugged.

“Run, Lucy. Run for your life,” he murmured and then lunged at me. I saw him throw away his gun and before he could get to me, I turned around and ran.

“Incoming!” I yelled, letting Aiden know his dad was coming out. Another blast of water hit Adam’s face just before he could catch me. His fingers touched my arm, but with my ninja skills, I squealed and managed to slip away from him and the tingles his hand caused every freaking time he touched me.

Since my gun was empty, I reached for the fifth gun we’d hidden in the backyard and hit Adam from the other side.

Adam advanced toward Aiden, and he jumped up and ran away, laughing and screaming.

“Daddy, you can’t catch us!”

“Oh, trust me, I will.”

“You’re all wet now! We got you!”

“When I get my hands on you two, you’ll be singing a different tune.”

Adam pretended to catch Aiden, but then let him skirt away from him.

“You’re not catching Lucy! Catch Lucy!” Aiden screamed as he eyed his father to guess which way he’d run next.

“Hey now!” I yelled, but it was too late, my water gun jammed—the stupid thing. Before I could figure out what was wrong with it and fix it quickly, Adam quickened his steps and almost caught me.

Dropping the gun, I twisted away from him, but I was too slow. His arm sneaked around my waist, and he caught me just as I’d started running away. His chest cushioned my fall and I grunted with the force he drew me to himself. He circled his arms around me and whispered into my ear.

“Thank you for making him laugh, Lucy. But…”

I didn’t melt, nor did my heart quicken. Not at all. Zilch. I didn’t like him very much after all.

“I’m afraid I have to take you down. Aiden!” he shouted, and Aiden appeared in front of us, holding his weapon high.

“Aiden! Man down! Help me, little human!” I shouted.

“Let her go, Daddy!”

“Come and get her if you want her so much,” Adam replied, and his arms gave me a light squeeze as he leaned down and secretly pressed his lips against my neck.

The son of a bitch!

“I’ll save you, Lucy!”

Feeling free, safe, and happy, I dropped my head back on Adam’s shoulder and our eyes met. The smile that was stretching my lips slowly disappeared when I saw the look in his eyes.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit!

“You can’t look at me like that,” I whispered as he slowly backed us up. Despite all the cold water I’d shot at him, his body was surprisingly warm against my back. And firm. And mouthwatering. And heart-quickening.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not supposed to like you.”

The smile he gave me was soft and then suddenly his fingers were laced with mine against my chest. “But I like you very much, Lucy.”

And just like that, before I could curse him, there was cold water all over my face.

“Aiden!” I sputtered as Adam’s chest shook with laughter.

“I’m shooting at him, Lucy! You’re in my way!”

“Aim at his face!” I yelled back.

“He got you!”

“He is right,” Adam repeated his son’s words. “I think I got you.”

“Think again,” I muttered and gave him a pitiful push with my elbow. And then another. I was pretty sure I hurt myself more than I did him. Pathetic, I know…

He pulled me and we were falling back, and darn it, but I was still in his arms and couldn’t find it in me to complain.

We fell back into the pool with a big splash, and Adam let go of me. I swam back to the surface and gasped for air. As soon as Adam’s head was above the water, Aiden started spraying him with more water. I joined his son and splashed him as much as I could.

Adam lifted his arm and wiped the water off his eyes. After a mock growl, he yelled, “I’m coming for you, Aiden.”

I looked behind me to see Aiden squealing and running back inside the house. It was a good thing he’d remained fairly dry; I would’ve bet the hardwood floors and all those soft carpets had cost Adam some good money. When I turned my head back and saw Adam slowly swimming toward me, I panicked and tried my best to get away from him until my back hit the edge of the pool.

Adam dropped a little under water until all I could see were those glittering green eyes. Then before I could control my heavy breathing and give my heart a good shake so it could get itself together, he was on me. His arms held on to the edge and trapped me in between his body and the tiled wall of the pool.

“First, you,” he said and my eyes dropped to his mouth. He wasn’t breathing as hard as I was, but he didn’t look all that calm either. “You have anything to say? Maybe an apology so I’ll take it easier on you?” he asked and my eyes jumped up to his.

“Why would I apologize?”

“For ambushing me.”

I tilted my head and tapped at my lips a few times with my index finger. “Nope.”

“Good.”

And just like that his lips were on mine. I grunted and tried to push his chest off me, but then his hands grabbed one of mine from between us and laced our fingers again.

Damn him.

Damn him and his skillful tongue that had just pushed its way into my mouth.

I stopped struggling and kissed him back just as hard because who was I kidding? He was a freaking good kisser. He growled deep in his throat as if the contact wasn’t enough and he was dying to have more. Letting go of my hand, he grabbed me by the backs of my thighs and secured my legs around his waist. My arms rounded his neck as I got more into the kiss and then…

Then I felt his cock.

Holy shit!

His cock was most definitely not a small gun. Actually, it was nowhere near four inches. He felt thick; a cock that was that thick couldn’t be short. It would be more than disappointing if that was the case; it would be a lie! Not that I had really thought it would be four inches anyway, but it would’ve made my life so much easier.

Just when I tightened my legs around him—you know, so I could try and measure how long he actually was by rubbing myself all over him—he pushed my legs off and stopped kissing me.

Have I told you lately how much of an asshole he was?

Slowly I opened my eyes and met his hypnotizing green ones, which was very hard to do considering I was feeling more than a little dizzy. My only saving grace was that he was breathing just as hard as me.

We both heard Aiden’s excited voice at the same time, and I looked over my shoulder toward the house. He was nowhere in sight, and I hoped he’d listened to me and hidden in one of the kitchen cupboards just like I’d told him to do if things went sideways.

“Daddy, you can’t find me! I’m that good!”

I looked back at Adam.

He hesitated for a second, but then his eyes moved away from mine, and I swallowed.

Phew! It had been a close call. The fact that I hadn’t ripped off his wet clothes or licked any part of his body—especially a specific part of his body—was a big personal victory for me.

“If you don’t stay here tonight, Lucy, I’m breaking into Jason’s house,” he warned me, his eyes finding mine again.

My spine tingled. Hell, my whole body tingled…especially my heart.

I took a shaky breath and finally spoke, “I’d love to watch you try.”

He leaned in and pressed his mouth against my skin where my shoulder met my neck. I felt the soft touch of his lips, his warm breath as he softly exhaled on my damp skin.

Danger, Lucy. Run. Hide your heart.

Did anyone ever blow on your wet skin with their warm breath? No? Try it, it does amazing things to your ovaries.

“Stay here tonight, and I promise I’ll give you better things to watch.”

He pushed away from the edge of the pool and me, and got out of the pool to get to his son.