To Hate Adam Connor

He took a step back, looked at me with those big green eyes, and then nodded as his lips started wobbling. I pressed a hand to my rapidly rising and falling chest and dropped on my ass. “You practically gave me a heart attack, kid.”

His face crumpled and the tears started coming down. It sounded pretty bad too as he was still having a hard time catching his breath.

Not knowing what else to do, I hugged him, and he buried his face in my neck. “Ah, don’t cry, kiddo. You’re okay now.”

Then there were shouts and Adam Connor was running toward us. Aiden heard his voice and let go of me, propelling himself into his father’s arms as his sobs became louder. Then the bodyguard and the nanny came running just behind him. I got up and tried to force a smile on my face, but I was not feeling smiley at all.

I wasn’t sure if I should start yelling at the idiot nanny or the DILF himself.

Adam crushed Aiden against his chest and wrapped his legs around his waist, all the while keeping his palm at the back of his head. The kid looked even smaller in his father’s arms as his body rocked with barely held back sobs. Adam’s eyes met mine, and the stupid me thought he was thankful, so I smiled a little bigger. And…well, don’t shoot me, but the guy was seriously one of the finest guys I’d ever laid my damn eyes on, so there might’ve been some tingling going on in the lower regions of my body, too.

The smiling, though…wrong move.

“Dan.” Adam gritted his teeth and the giant of a bodyguard stepped in front of them like a big bear protecting his cubs. “How did she get in here?”

Ticked, hurt, and dripping wet, I said, “She is standing right here, and you’re welcome.”

His eyes threw daggers at me as if I were an unwelcome rat in his house—and, well, when you put it like that, maybe I was, but I hadn’t tumbled into his backyard for shits and giggles; I had just saved his son’s life.

Keeping Aiden in his arms, he turned to the ditzy nanny and ordered, “Call the cops, Anne. Tell them we have a situation with a stalker.”

“A stalker?” I balked, coming out of my trance.

Adam sliced his eyes to me and then barked at Anne. “Do it!”

“O-kay. Okay. I’m so-rry, Mr. Connor.”

“You should be sorry,” I said, taking a step forward. Her eyes met mine, but then she quickly looked away and got on with calling the damn cops. Taking a step toward them was apparently the wrong move. I didn’t even get to fully take my little step because the giant put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me back.

“Hey!” I screamed as I tumbled back, my hand rubbing the spot. “Are you crazy?”

“Step back.”

While I was fighting for my life, Anne finally did something right and invited the cops to our little party. I wanted them to come and arrest someone. Adam turned and handed the crying boy over to her and told her—not so nicely—to get him inside. I’m telling you, the whole thing was playing out like a bad movie, and somehow I had ended up being the villain.

“I just saved your son, you idiot, and this is how you say thank you? By calling the cops?”

“Don’t talk,” the giant said, standing like a brick wall in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest, obscuring my view of Adam.

“What do you mean don’t talk?” I asked, my voice getting higher. “All of you just left him here, and he was going to drown. Look at me!” I yelled, opening my arms wide and looking down at myself. “I didn’t just decide to break in to take a dip in the pool. I was trying to save his son.”

“So you admit to trespassing.” The bodyguard shook his head while looking at me like I was the nastiest bug he’d ever seen.

Goddamn it!

“I’ve had it with you people,” Adam said finally, coming to stand next to his bodyguard. He looked just as majestic next to the giant.

Imbecile hormones.

“Look,” I started, trying to calm the situation down. “Why don’t you go in and ask your son? I’m sure he’ll tell you exactly what happened.”

“The hell I will. Do you know how scared he gets when something like this happens? I tolerate this shit when it happens to me, but you went too far by getting close to him, touching him.”

“Oh my God, touching him? You’re making it sound like I was doing something to him! Are you all crazy? He was all wet too, didn’t you see? He got in the pool after you left. I just scaled a damn wall to get to him because you idiots are the ones who left him here alone.”

Adam shook his head and gave me a disgusted look. “Tell your story to your lawyer when he visits you at the station.”

I groaned and ran my hands through my wet and tangled hair. “You’re not hearing me,” I said through my gritted teeth as anger pulsed through my body. “Your son was drowning. I saw him panic and disappear under the water.”

“You saw him? So you were watching us. Great.” He turned his head and said, “Dan, find her camera. I don’t want any shots of Aiden to leak.”

The bodyguard left, and I stomped, actually stomped. The other option was to do something else, something that would cause bodily harm, and I assumed that wouldn’t go over too well with the bastard and the giant.

“That’s what you heard from what I just said? On top of everything else, are you deaf too?”

Something changed, sharpened in Adam’s face, and I clamped my mouth shut.

“I found her phone, boss.”

My hand flew to my chest, and I realized my phone wasn’t nestled in there anymore.

Adam’s eyes narrowed on me. “Check her photos.”

I avoided his eyes and went for my phone. Adam’s hand clamped on my wrist, and he stopped my forward movement by twisting my arm up and between our bodies. The second I tried to wrench it away, his fingers tightened, and he pulled me to his body, holding his face inches away.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Take a deep breath, Lucy. Calm down.

Clenching my fist, I drew in a deep breath and released it before speaking. “You have no right.”

He raised an eyebrow and looked deep into my eyes. Shit! He had no right to have such deep green eyes. What a freaking waste on this schmuck. Hottest celebrity my ass.

“Right? You’re talking to me about what right I do or do not have?”

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best argument to make, but he still had no right to go through my phone. Right?

I gave him the dirtiest look I’d ever given any living or dead creature and quietly said, “Fuck. You.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You’d do anything to take your fucking.”

My mouth dropped open. The audacity of the asshole! Before I could say anything, his bodyguard came to stand next to us.

“Looks like there are a few pictures of you with Aiden, Adam, and not all of them are from today.”

Adam’s hand tightened around my wrist, and he glared down at me.

I lifted my chin high up and didn’t give any explanations.

“The cops are here.” Anne’s voice came from inside the house, interrupting our stare down. Little bitch. The asshole should’ve thrown her to the cops, not me.

“I don’t want them to walk her through the house. Tell them to come back here through the side,” Adam instructed, and Anne scurried away.