Troublemaker (The Men of Matiz 2)

I don't respond. I don't want to think about the time we spent together. Damaris is my past. Adley is my future. Neither of those points is up for discussion.

Chapter 37

Adley

"I told you I had plans." I stand in the doorway to my apartment. "I need to leave in a few minutes, Crew."

I didn't expect to see him. I told him last night after he got back from Boston that I had plans for tonight too and yet here is, with a bouquet of wildflowers in hand and a devilish grin on his face.

"I brought these so Sydney could put them by your bedside." He brushes past me. "I suppose now that you're here, I can do it myself."

"I'll do it." I reach for the vase and tug it from him. "Thank you for these, but it wasn't necessary."

"It was necessary." He leans forward to give me a soft kiss on the lips. "I want you to wake up to something beautiful every morning."

It's a sweet sentiment, and at any other time, I'd tell him that I would love to wake up to the sight of his handsome face, but right now my focus is singular and it's not on him. "I wish you would have called first."

Those words send his brows shooting up. "Why is that?"

I move to set the vase down on my coffee table. I'm agitated. It started this afternoon with a woman who made it clear to the entire clinic that she thinks I suck majorly at my job. Then I missed the train I wanted to catch to come home, so I had to board a bus, which was overcrowded. I made it home with just a few minutes to spare, so I changed into a simple outfit of black pants and a white blouse without the benefit of a shower or any makeup beyond a light coat of mascara and a swipe of clear gloss over my lips.

"You knew I had plans."

"I didn't think you would be here."

He's right. It's not as though he made a point of coming over here to distract me on purpose. "I'm sorry, Crew. I'm on edge."

He moves to rest his hands on my shoulders. It does little to calm me. It just notches up my uneasiness in an entirely different way. I'm still sore from what we did two nights ago. The ache between my legs is nothing compared to the pounding of my heart when I feel his hands on me.

How could I not want a man who made me feel things I've never felt before?

"Take a deep breath." He bends at the knees to rest his forehead against mine. "Slow and steady breaths, Ad."

My phone chimes on the table next to the vase.

I rush away from him to pick it up. I read the message and it just ups the tempo of my heart all over again. "That's the driver. I need to go."

"A driver?" He walks over to where I'm standing, canting his head to get a look at my phone. "You ordered a car?"

"No." I shake my head. "John sent it."

"Ad." He touches my chin and tilts my head up so our eyes meet. "Assure me again that John is not someone I need to punch in the throat."

I laugh because his smile says more than his words. "He's helping me figure out a few things."

"That's cryptic." He stands back and looks at me. "I'm always here to talk too. You know I'm the best problem solver around."

I drop my gaze. "It's not a problem. It's a dream."

"A dream?" He moves closer pulling me into his strong embrace. "What dream?"

A soft knock on my apartment door takes me from his arms. I cross the room quickly and swing open the door to see the familiar face of John Tate's driver.

"I need to go." I look back at Crew. "I can do anything I set my mind to, right?"

"You know it." He moves toward me with a confident stride. "I believe in you more than I believe in anyone. Follow your dreams, Adley. I'm right beside you every step of the way."

"You don't know what the dream is yet," I whisper as I arch up on my heels to kiss him.