Chapter Twenty-Nine
Liv
Icried all the way back in the taxi like a bloody fool. Then, when I got home, I headed up to my room, opened the window so I could get rid of the smell of my perfume that I’d sprayed earlier that still lingered like a sad reminder, and I jumped in the shower. The water mingled with my tears, but I let them fall. I had to get my emotions out some way, and on my own in the shower seemed like the perfect place.
After a few minutes, I shut the water off and grabbed a towel to wrap around myself. When I opened the bathroom door and stepped back into my bedroom, I screamed. There, stood in the middle of the room, arms folded over his chest and a scowl on his face, was Adam.
Jesus, he really wasn’t giving up, was he?
“What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling my towel tighter around me defensively.
“You forgot something.” He kept his scowl in place and took a step towards me. I didn’t move. I didn’t want him to know he was getting to me.
“What did I forget?”
“Me.”
I felt my heart flip in my chest, and it suddenly became hard to breathe again.
“Adam, I don’t… I….” I was lost for words. “How did you get in here?”
“You left your window open.” Then his scowl turned to a slight smirk. “You really need to be careful about that, you never know what kind of crazy stalkers are lurking out there.”
“I’ll bear that in mind next time I take a shower and leave my bedroom window open. I guess I should’ve known better. I do have extensive experience of dealing with crazy stalkers, after all.”
He smiled and dipped his head then looked up at me through his lashes. I’d never seen him look at me like that, like he was wrong and wanted my forgiveness. This was new.
“Olivia, can we talk?” he asked, gesturing to the bed and then sitting down on the edge and looking back up at me.
“I don’t think we have anything more to say to each other.”
He sighed and ran his hands over his face.
“You might not have anything to say, but I do.”
I didn’t sit on the bed next to him, but I needed to sit down, so I went over to my dressing table and sat on the chair there.
“This, all of this,” he went on. “It was never about sex for me. Sex is a bonus, I won’t deny that, but me wanting to get close to you wasn’t because I wanted a one-night stand or whatever you think that was tonight. I wanted to get to know you. Be with you. Even if we never have sex again, I’ll still follow you, Olivia. I’ll still be there, waiting, wanting you. What happened tonight, it changes nothing. Not for me, anyway.” He sighed again and the way he stared right into my eyes made me feel something I hadn’t ever felt with a guy before.
It made me feel hopeful.
Wanted.
Loved?
“Colton said you thought I only wanted you for sex. In case I haven’t made it clear, that’s bullshit. I want you, Olivia. Back at the club, I asked you to come back to my room because I wanted to have you in my bed, hold you and fall asleep with you. You make everything… quieter.”
I had no idea what he meant by that, but I stayed silent.
“So, I decided I’d come here, to you. If you don’t want to wake up at my place, then I’ll wake up at yours, but I’m not going anywhere. I never will.”
I didn’t know how to process what he was saying. We’d had sex, and he still wanted more? He didn’t care if we never had sex again? I didn’t know whether to believe him, but then, why say those things if he didn’t mean them? I supposed actions spoke louder than words, but again, his actions spoke volumes. He’d come all the way over here, climbed up the side of my house and through my window, just to tell me this. No one had ever done anything like that for me, ever. And those tears that I thought were all cried out in the shower were threatening to burst free again.
“What is this?” I pointed between the two of us. “What is happening here between us?”
“Well, I hope…” He stood up now and gave me a pointed stare. “That we’re building a relationship. One where I get to be a little bit closer to you than I have been these past few months. I just want a chance, Olivia. Please.”
He looked so sincere and so honest that I could feel my walls cracking, each brick falling away with every word he spoke.
“How can I trust you?” I asked on a whisper. Fate hadn’t exactly been kind to me over the years, and I found it hard to trust.
“I can tell you to, but would you listen? I doubt it. Trust is something I have to earn. Something I have to show you. But I will, if you’ll let me.”
The little angel on my shoulder chose that moment to pipe up and say, ‘he could be the best thing to ever happen to you. Diamonds are found in the darkest places. Just because he is one thing to the outside world, doesn’t mean he can’t be something completely different to you.’ This felt like a defining moment for me. One that I could love or live to regret for the rest of my life, and if there was one thing my gran had always taught me, it was to never live with regrets.
“You can stay,” I announced, and his face lit up. “But one wrong move and you’re out.”
He held his hands up in surrender and smiled. “I’ll kick my own ass if I hurt you again.”
And then he yanked his T-shirt over his head and pulled his sweatpants down, kicking them off and standing in front of me stark naked.
“Oh my God, what the hell?” I gasped.
“Come on…” He laughed and then winked. Adam Noble fucking winked at me. “It’s not like you haven’t felt every inch of my body tonight. Don’t start acting shy. I’m here to sleep, so lose the towel and get into bed with me.”
He lifted my duvet and climbed in. I stood there with my mouth open, not quite believing how big his dick looked in the light. That, and he’d just blown me away with his little speech and then climbed into my bed like he hadn’t just laid his heart out for me to stomp all over. Maybe he trusted me a lot more than I realised.
I dropped the towel on the floor and saw his eyes darken as he watched me walk across the room and climb into the bed to join him. I switched the bedside lamp off and the room went dark, and he snaked his arm around me and pulled me back to him, being the big spoon to my little one. He feathered kisses over my shoulder and onto my neck then whispered, “Are you feeling okay? Are you sore?”
I reached my arm back to stroke his jaw and run my fingers through his hair.
“A little, but it’s fine.”
“I won’t fuck you again tonight then. I’ll wait until morning.” He kissed me gently on the cheek then lay back down behind me, holding me close to him.
I lay there, barely breathing, struggling to get my head around the journey I’d been on tonight, and when I heard his breathing deepen, I knew he’d fallen asleep. A warmth spread through me, knowing that he was here. He’d come to me, and he wanted me. No strings. No more games.
Was this my chance to finally find something?
I closed my eyes and let the rhythm of his breathing send me to my own sleep. Life was certainly surprising, and I had a feeling that fate wasn’t done with me yet.