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Thirteen
Micah crouched in the trees,watching as Maddie ran up the road by his hotel. He’d spotted her when she was still a speck at the bottom of the hill and knew it was her, recognized the movement of her body from seeing her run around on set. He watched through the dark lenses of his sunglasses, enraptured as she neared him, her firm legs striding easily up the hill, her breasts bouncing rhythmically in her light blue sports bra. His cock stiffened at the sight. Fuck. That was going to make his next move real uncomfortable.
After she passed him he counted to three before he pulled his baseball cap lower on his head and jogged to catch up withher.
“Hey,” he said when he’d reached herside.
She pulled her ear buds out and looked at him. Realizing who he was, she jolted. “Are you fucking kiddingme?”
Yeah, she was pissed. He knew she was. He’d tried to find her before he left set the night before with no success. He’d called her cell phone. No answer. He’d called her room. Again, no answer. When he awoke that morning he had tried again. Still no answer. She was avoiding him. Why was he surprised? He had seriously fucked up with his behavior onset.
He had to talk to her, had to apologize, and since she was avoiding him, he’d have to resort to other methods. Including running. “What? I’m just getting some exercise. Enjoying the scenery.”
“Then you can do it someplace far away from me.” She looked both ways down the street then started toward the otherside.
“Wait.” He grabbed her wrist.
Yanking her arm away, Maddie turned on him, venom in her voice. “Don’t touchme!”
“Sorry, sorry!” Her response to him—as if his touch was loathsome—felt like a knife in his chest. “I’m sorry. I need to talk to you. This is the only way I knewhow.”
She shook her head, her jaw set firm. She didn’t speak but resumed running her original course.
Micah took that as a good sign and fell into a run beside her. As he adjusted to her stride —a punishing pace at this altitude—he tried to think of what to say. He had thought the right words would just come, that he’d be able to explain his actions. But now that he was with her, all he could think about was what had happened after the shoot, when her body was beneath his and his mouth and hands were everywhere onher.
And then she was gone, leaving him with her scent in his nose and a hard-on in his pants. When he spoke, that was what he asked about. “What happened?”
“When? When you fucked with my focuses?”
Even though she didn’t look directly at him, he felt the daggers in her eyes. She had been mad last night too, but then they had kissed and so much more—didn’t that mean anything?
“Did you really think that groping me against your trailer changed that you pretty nearly lost me myjob?”
Shit, did she just read his mind? Truth was he’d hoped that kiss changed everything. Obviously not. He had to come clean. “Okay.” He spoke in short sentences, the only way he could speak as they climbed the mountain. “I missed mymark.”
“On purpose?”
He didn’t do it on purpose, at first. It was dark and he was distracted, as usual, by Maddie, who was ignoring him. So missing it was a natural mistake. But after that… He lowered his eyes. “Yes. I missed it on purpose.” There. He’d confessed. Why was that so hard? She already knew. “I’m sorry.”
She stopped running, her ponytail hitting her in the face as she spun on him. “You’re sorry?” She stepped toward him, hands balled at her hips. “That’s all you have tosay?”
He raised his brows. “I’m very sorry?”
She whipped away from him and started walking up the mountain road. “You’re such an ass. You ask me to respect your career but you can’t respectmine?”
Man, she was hot when she was angry. Hotter than anyone had a right tobe.
He followed her, grateful for the easier pace. “I know, I know. It was shitty.”
She didn’t speak and he felt helpless in her silence. He wished to God he could take back his actions, wished he could go back to—to what? Avoiding her? Ignoring her? Chasingher?
He’d been a shit to her all around. He removed his glasses and hung them on his shirt. “I’m really very sorry,” he said softly.
She glared at him sideways. “Why?”
He creased his brow. “Why am I sorry?”
“Why did you do it?” She swallowed and he suspected she was choking back a sob. “That was one of the absolute meanest things anyone’s ever done tome.”
