Rushing through the rest of his shower, he went through all of Hadley’s suspicious behavior that had added up to reveal her true motives. The way she’d insinuated herself into Web’s orbit so suddenly, there was no way it had been an accident. How she politely objected to Web picking up her tabs around town but then always gave in.
The fact that she avoided sharing any information about her family or where she’d come from with anyone but Web—okay, at least not with Will. Her unsubtle hints about how nice it would be to live “the good life” of someone who didn’t have to worry about cash flow.
Then there were all her ideas about the Holt Foundation and how its charitable efforts could be improved. She’d obviously done her homework on his brother, investigating until she found out what made him tick and how much he really, honestly cared about helping people with the foundation. Really, she was following the same path Mia had with him, right down to acting like she gave a shit about his work. There must be a gold-digger playbook somewhere that outlined it all.
By the time he’d wrapped the towel around his waist and had finished mentally cursing himself for forgetting to bring fresh clothes into the bathroom with him, he was back to his regular self, no longer obsessed with how much he wanted Hadley. Determination renewed, he opened the door and strode out, nearly running down the woman haunting him.
“Oh, sorry,” she said, jumping back. “I didn’t mean…”
Her words died off as her gaze traveled over him, not missing a single inch of bare skin. Lust, tangible as the towel he was holding in place with one hand, rolled off her in waves, tempting him beyond measure. The way she bit down on her bottom lip as her brown eyes darkened didn’t do a damn thing to help him maintain his equilibrium around her. He glanced down, clocking her towel and change of clothes. No doubt she’d been about to knock to see if the shower was free yet.
She’d be naked under the water soon. Hands soapy. Body wet. Alone only for a few minutes. Would she take advantage of the privacy, too?
“Bathroom’s all yours,” he said, his voice sounding rougher than he meant it to as he stepped out of the still-steamy room so she could walk in.
She paused just inside the bathroom, her hand on the door. “I put your suitcase in the bedroom so you can get dressed without having to worry about someone walking in.”
He nodded, not sure he could do more than that at the moment. “Thanks.”
One long, lingering look later, she closed the door, leaving him alone in the hallway, already halfway to forgetting why he was here.
Fuck. He was in so much trouble.
…
The drive had seemed like a better idea last night. Now all Hadley could picture as they sped down the stick-straight highway was the water droplets clinging to the dusting of hair on Will’s obnoxiously well-muscled pecs. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have had a moment’s hesitation. Her panties would have been floor-bound.
But, of course, it had to be Will.
And, of course, the towel he’d had wrapped around his hips had been deliciously small.
So that meant, of course, she’d just spent her entire shower weighing the benefit of masturbating and releasing all that totally inappropriate tension versus the just-her-luck likelihood that she’d slip at exactly the wrong moment and would be found—by Will—knocked out cold on the shower floor with her fingers on her clit.
In her moment of shower indecision this morning, she’d opted for imagined dignity over orgasmic relief. Regrets? Oh yeah, she had lots. All of which added up to her being overwhelmingly horny and stuck in a car for three hours with the man she totally hated all while she couldn’t help thinking about all the ways she’d climb him like a tree if given the chance.
But lucky her, she only had an hour and a half left of the three-hour drive with a guy who—she glanced over from the corner of her vision—was starting to turn green and had a white-knuckle grip on the can of ginger ale he’d grabbed from her mom’s fridge. Good. He was her nemesis and he could stand to be as miserable as he’d made her after the incident.
So Hadley kept her mouth shut, just as it had been since they got into the car and she turned on