Asha King (5 page)

Chapter Six

Oh, Adam had been watching her.

In fact, he was having trouble taking his eyes
off
of her the past few days.

He told himself he was just watching to see if she was doing anything
new
that was stupid, but after the first two days, she’d managed to follow instructions without screwing up too badly. So that wasn’t it.

No, he enjoyed too much watching her strut around the farm in jeans that clutched her tight enough to show off every curve and the bit of cleavage peeking out from her tank top. He liked her eyes getting angry and pretty mouth pulling into a frown. Energy came off her in waves when they got arguing and he wanted to grab her, claim her, kiss her until they were both lost.

But something niggled him, still. Something Gus wasn’t telling him. Why she was really here—what was going on. And, too, there was the small matter of her quite blatantly saying she hated him more than a few times while he was in earshot.

No, nothing could—or
should
—ever come of this attraction, so he shoved it from his mind and focused on the task at hand. They nearly had the repairs done to the training ring—that had to be done first. Two more racers—a pair of twin sisters who’d been at it for years—were expected within the hour, and they had to get things done.

“I think Dewey’s got it,” Gus called, and gestured to the building farther down the path between the house and barn. Empty beneath for social gatherings, and upstairs was Adam’s quarters. “Get Dani working on decorating the meeting house. I want that done so there’s nothing to worry about tomorrow.”

He nodded and avoided Gus’s gaze. Tomorrow everyone would be run ragged and decorating would be the last thing on anyone’s mind.

Adam grabbed his T-shirt and dragged it over his sweat-soaked neck as he stalked back to the house. No voices sounded inside, but the rustle of bags drew him to the kitchen.

Carlee was in there instead of Danyiah, gathering up empty bags and rolling them together. She grinned at him, left the bags on the breakfast bar, and strolled over. “Hey.”

“Hi.” He glanced around again. “Jackson?”

“Taking some things to the freezer in the basement.” Carlee leaned in the kitchen doorframe, her thick bangs shifting and nearly cutting over her eyes. “She’s not very friendly.”

“Friend of Gus’s or something,” he said mildly.

“How long is she here?”

Yet another question he’d been unable to ascertain an answer to. He parted his lips to speak when the basement door slammed just behind him.

Speak of the devil.
She had a demonic glare to her eyes, too.

Yep. Nothing going anywhere between us
.

He cleared his throat and tried to look just as stern. “Gus wants you to decorate the meeting hall for the dance and that tomorrow.”

“With what? Am I supposed to make decorations with toilet paper and glitter?”

Jesus, she was in an even pissier mood than usual. He ground his teeth. “No, there are decorating supplies
in
the damn building. Of course,
I
could decorate it, if you’d rather head out there and build a fence in my stead.”

She glowered.

Carlee wisely took a step back.

“Fine!” Dani gestured toward the door and gave a mock bow. “Lead the way.”

Adam was going to pull his hair out at any minute.

He strode out the front door, into the almost liquid June heat, still carting his T-shirt clutched tightly in his fist. She followed, all but right on his damn heels, down the winding path to the building in question.

The wraparound porch groaned under their steps. He swung the screen door open and unlocked the inner one to let her inside.

Bulbs hung from the open rafters. He didn’t bother turning them on—it wasn’t needed with the bright sunlight streaming through the open windows. Several long tables were stacked to one side while chairs were stacked to the other. Half a dozen boxes sat on the floor near the door, all marked DECORATIONS.

He pulled the spare key from his pocket and pressed it into her palm. Desire snaked through his body at the contact, at having her so near, and his heart thumped hard. For several moments, as she gazed up at him, kissable lips slightly parted, he completely forgot what he’d been planning to say.

Adam gave himself a mental shake and dropped his hand again while her fingers coiled around the key. “You’re in charge of this room tomorrow.
Lock up
today when you leave, and tomorrow before the guests arrive. The room will be open to the public in the evening, so you’ll need to make sure the food and drink supplies are in there then.
No one
goes in or out until then. Got it?”

She nodded and tucked the key in her pocket.

He gestured to the boxes. “There you go. Have fun, princess.”

To the far left, behind a curtain, lay the stairs to his loft apartment above, and he brushed past her, headed straight there.

“Where are
you
going?” she said immediately.

Like it was any of her damn business. “Upstairs—where I live—to shower. Can you not handle some balloons and streamers on your own for a bit?”

She glowered and bent over in answer, jerking the lid off the box and offering him a view of her extremely fine backside.

Adam shook his head and jogged upstairs in a hurry. Yes, a shower.

A very, very cold one.

****

Dani heard Carlee’s laughter outside and the splash of water. Days had been so exhausting, Dani hadn’t made it to the pool yet, and now her opinion of it was quite sour. Dewey certainly
implied
there was something there between her and Adam, right? The way Carlee looked at him...

All day, she put up with it. Carlee helping—with utter grace and ease,
of course
—with the horses. Hanging off Adam’s every word. Following him around. It was hit or miss having him around at dinner time, but he sure as hell was there tonight—all showered and shaved, cleaned up, sitting next to Carlee.

Dani kind of wanted to stab the woman with a fork, which wasn’t fair at all, but then she didn’t have two hundred thousand monthly visitors to her blog by being nice and fair about things.

She rolled over in bed, letting out a frustrated growl, and gripped her pillow as she glared into the darkness. It shouldn’t bother her.
Shouldn’t
. She didn’t like Cooper, after all. And he had nothing but contempt for her as well.

But she couldn’t deny how her body warmed at the sight of him, or how an electric current seemed to run through her skin at any physical contact. He was a cocky son of a bitch, yes, but her body craved him more and more every day.

She couldn’t sleep. Not with the damn noise out there. She crawled out of bed in her short shorts and tank top, and padded over toward the window to close it. It might get stifling in there, but there was an overhead fan to turn on at night when the A.C. was off—she’d just have to use it.

The gauzy curtains fluttered in the night breeze as she reached the window, parting so she could see outside. The pool wasn’t far from her bedroom window, the interior of it lit and giving the space there a blue hue. Carlee was laughing and treading water in place, looking up. Dani followed her gaze to Cooper.

To Adam.

Shirtless, in just a pair of swimming trunks, it was clear—again—how well he was cut: corded muscle, broad shoulders, skin deliciously tanned. Her gaze traveled over him, taking in every inch, settling on his ass beneath damp shorts clinging to him.

She swallowed dryly, realized every part of her was warm—and getting pretty wet. Dani gave herself a mental shake and pulled the window closed at last, and slumped against it with a sigh.

Damn it. She wanted Adam Cooper.

She didn’t
like
him. Insisted she didn’t, would never
believe
that she could. But the other side of hating him seemed to be desire.

Stupid. Stupid. Think of something else.
Anyone
else
.

Dani yanked on the cord in the center of the room and the fan began to spin. She slumped back on the bed and under the sheet, her head sinking into the fluffy pillow, and closed her eyes.

But Adam Cooper was still there and she couldn’t get rid of him.

She imagined standing at the window, staring longingly at his wet, taut body moving in the lights from the pool, and how her nipples pebbled and breathing went staccato. He’d sense something amiss, turn and see her there. She would blush hotly, terrified to move, and then he’d disappear from the poolside.

A moment later, her bedroom door would open, creaking softy in the still night. She’d be by the window, still, as he shut the door and said nothing as he crossed the room. Oh, she’d tell him to get out, but wouldn’t mean it—and he’d know it. He’d reach for her and her body would yield, arching into him as he kissed her at last.

Her hands moved up to massage her breasts through the thin fabric of her tank top, imagining they were his hands grasping her roughly. Her nipples ached and she dipped her hands under the shirt next to touch them.

She bit her lip to keep in a moan. Adam would drag his teeth down her throat, his five o’clock shadow sending shivers over her soft skin and he’d whisper against her ear, saying he wanted to hear her. In reality, she wasn’t about to make a sound and kept her lips sealed tight, but in the fantasy she cried out his name.

He’d be hard against her, erection thick and long, aching to be in her as much as she wanted him. As her own hand delved down, under the sheets and past the waistband of her pajama shorts, she imagined his doing the same. Her own fingers were soft and small; his would be large and calloused, circling her clit.

Adam would tell her to say it, tell her to admit she wanted him. She’d deny. Tease. But pinned against the wall under his weight, two of his fingers thrusting into her, she’d come undone and say it all. That she wanted him. Needed to feel him inside her over and over again until she came.

Her pajama shorts would give as he wrenched them away, baring her to him, then his would fall and he’d be there, at her entrance, sliding past her folds in one swift thrust.

She parted her thighs, her fingers delving into her pussy as her hips bucked to meet them. He’d pump into her with just the right amount of frenzy, past tenderness but not brutal. He’d kiss her savagely, his mouth eating her scream as warm tingles gathered in her—

The phone on the nightstand buzzed.

Dani blinked and stared up at the dark ceiling, suddenly becoming aware of herself. Jesus, was she
actually
getting off thinking about Cooper? About to bring herself to a shattering orgasm over
him
?

What in the hell was
wrong
with her?

The phone stopped buzzing but her body had cooled, breathing had slowed. She firmly put Cooper out of her head and grabbed her mobile from the nightstand. The time flashed only 10:37—early mornings around the farm were definitely leading to earlier and earlier bed times than she was used to. She’d missed an email, of all things, to her one private account she was allowing herself to still check. No fanmail or anything, just stuff from close friends and family.

She didn’t immediately recognize the name and clicked the empty subject line to open it. Probably some poor Nigerian prince or—

NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, I’LL FIND YOU, DANI GIRL.

Her throat went dry, blood went cold, as she stared at the message. Terror wormed its way through her, her heart beating hard and fingertips beginning to tremble.

No one was supposed to have that email address.
No one
.

The room seemed too dark now, too full of shadows—too foreign. She sat up in bed, turned on the light, and glanced around. No one was in there, obviously. She knew there wouldn’t be, logically, but she felt...

She felt, for the first time in days, like she wasn’t safe anymore.

Publicly bothering her was one thing. She was used to it—expected it. Trolls, flamers, douchebags—the internet provided anonymity and people just loved trying to tear down others. She was used to it after all this time. And this guy everyone was worried about—he seemed a distant threat or not a threat at all. It was Therese and Randy who insisted she see a threat assessment expert, since she just kept laughing it off.

But he’d never come this close before. His emails to her previously were intercepted when she hired someone else to go through her public messages. Aside from some snail mail letters to her home—and really though she guarded it, that kind of info wasn’t hard to figure out—he’d never come this close before.

Danyiah cast the phone on the dresser and drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them as she curled her head down.

I’LL FIND YOU, DANI GIRL.

Cleary she didn’t feel safe because she
wasn’t
. And might not ever be again.

Chapter Seven

It was still dark outside by the time Adam climbed out of bed at five in the morning, though birds chirped eagerly. He didn’t sleep well the day before an event. Honestly, he’d do away with them completely but Gus liked it—said it was good for the farm—so Adam played along, even if he preferred the “boring” work days instead.

He showered, shaved, and dressed in clean work clothes. He did his best to stay out of view, working behind the scenes when there was an event, but would endeavor to be presentable later when the horses were settled and the focus was on entertaining the people who stayed.

He’d endeavor to be presentable for
her
. Even if it wouldn’t do any good, something the past few days had been making him pause a bit longer and take more care getting dressed, using aftershave, and hope he didn’t perpetually smell like a horse. He
wanted
her to think well of him.

I’ve lost my goddamn mind—that’s why my problem is
.

Adam’s steps thumped down the stairs, the dampness from the shower still in his hair growing heavy with heat. There was no air conditioning in his personal quarters, nothing to cool him off but fans in the summer—not like the main house. He could’ve had a room in the main house, but he did like his space, after all.

He parted the bright orange curtain and stepped into the dark, open room below, then reached over to flip on the lights. The night before, he’d paused there to admire Danyiah’s work—she’d put a lot of care into arranging what were actually cheap party supplies.

Now he stared around in horror, blinking in the bright lights.