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was hotter than the Sahara in mid-summer. Thankfully, this time she answered on the first knock.
    Instead of inviting me in, she leaned her hip against the door jamb and crossed her arms. “If it isn’t the Patron Saint of Assholes.”
    Damn she looked good, even with no make-up and her hair pulled up in some kind of funky twist. The light sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose added the perfect amount of character. And that smart mouth of hers with those full and red lips—instinct told me if I ever planned to get past its bitterness, it’d be the gateway drug to her essence.
    My glance slid lower. This time she was wearing a bra. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Either way, it was a fight to move my eyes back up on hers.
    “Stop staring at my breasts,” she said.
    As if it were that simple. “Put the claws away. I came with a peace offering.”
    “You think that’s going to make up for dry humping me in my sleep?”
    She was being dramatic. There’d been no humping. “What? A free AC isn’t good enough? You holding out for five carats from DeBeers and a marriage proposal to restore your good name?”
    “Wonder what Quinn would say if I called him up and told him how you attempted to steal my virtue?”
    Now that got to me. I hadn’t been the only one last night feeling a certain something. “The way you wrapped yourself around me, Wheels, and how I distinctly remember you carrying on and on about how much you wanted me, makes me think your perception of my actions is a bit off.”
    Her nostrils flared. She knew I had her. “You’re lucky I’m in a forgiving mood today, Noah. At the moment, I’d take cold air over anything…except maybe an emerald cut, six-carat canary. I have higher standards than five.” Laughter lit her baby-blues.
    Should’ve known she was trying to goad me. “Look, I didn’t come here to word-spar. Do you want the AC or not?”
    “Depends. What’s it going to cost me?”
    That was a loaded question. “Have you considered Lucas’s deal?”
    “What if I say I’m weighing my options? Will you let me have the AC anyway?”
    “Are you at least weighing them with an open mind?”
    A slight smile turned up her lips and she stepped out of the way. Something I took to be a good sign.
    After pulling the dolly through the door, I raised the bottom of my shirt and wiped sweat from my upper lip. When I looked back at Ashlyn, her gaze had dropped to my bare stomach, the shade of her eyes teetering on midnight. “Now who’s staring, Wheels?”
    For a split second I would’ve swore her cheeks flushed.
    “What?” she asked, her face returning to the picture of innocence. “You have a sexy stomach. I mean, it’s not all ripped like a Men’s Health model, but it’s not bad, either.”
    Knocked off-balance by the compliment, albeit a back-handed one, I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to collect myself and calm the growing situation in my pants.
    “What’s the matter, Noah? Can’t handle it when the shoe’s on the other foot?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You can stare at my breasts, but I can’t return the favor?”
    “My breasts aren’t nearly as attractive as yours.”
    “Which is why I was forced to look lower.” She flashed that big-toothed grin that made a man want to bend to her will. Or just bend her over.
    Jesus, she was killing me.
    I cleared my throat. “You know, a gracious hostess would offer her guest something to drink.”
    “You’re right,” she said, still smiling. “Forgive me.”
    I wanted to wipe that smirk off her lips. Or kiss it off. Instead, after following her into her apartment, I quietly waited for her to get a water bottle out of the fridge. I took the cold drink she offered and ignored the extra charge I got at the center of my gut when our fingers brushed in the exchange. I drained the water in three gulps, then nodded to the AC unit. “Want me to hook this thing up or not?”
    She replaced the lid