Ripple Effect (Effect 1)

A huge weight lifted off my shoulders. “Can we go back to my place now, baby? I want you to stay the night with me.”

“I’d like that as long as you still plan on pleasuring me.”

I cranked and gunned the car out of the parking lot. “I think I can manage that.”

My mind was still trying to process everything that had happened. Adam was willing to do a relationship. That had never been my plan, but the hurt from this morning had shown me that there was no way I could personally disconnect from a person I was having sex with.

Adam grabbed my hand as he drove like a crazy man through the streets on the way to his place. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I wa

s happy. Jarrod had never made me happy like this. He had become more of a security blanket, so I wouldn’t be totally alone. At the time, I hadn’t realized that was the case until our relationship was over. Jarrod had used me.

Adam pulled into his garage, and I got out of the car. He grabbed my hand and started walking quickly toward his bedroom. A golden retriever lifted its head as we walked by.

Adam issued a command, “Stay, Lindy.”

Lindy’s head went back down.

Adam’s house was what I would expect a bachelor pad to look like—brown leather furniture, a large television, and a few pictures on the wall.

Adam closed the door behind us. I stood there, letting the moment take over, as I wondered what approach he was going to take. I shut my eyes. Moments passed. Time stood still. Soft music began to play, and Adam placed his hands on the back of my dress and slowly began to unzip it. My dress dropped to the floor. I stepped out of it and kicked off my shoes.

His hands went to my hips, and he slowly peeled my panties down my legs. He leisurely traced his fingers up the back of my legs to my ass and then to the clasp of my bra. He unhooked it, and I let it slide off my arms. My breath was quickening as he pressed himself against my body, and I realized he was naked, too.

Adam walked us forward, toward his bed covered in black satin sheets. His hands worshiped my body and worked their way to the apex of my thighs. His lips trailed kisses along my neck. Softly, his hand brushed against my clit, and I whimpered.

He turned me around and looked me in the eyes. “I want to make love to you, not fuck, with no barriers. Are you okay with that?”

“But when we forgot today, it seemed like it was a big deal to you.”

I needed his reason for wanting this before I said okay. It was something I wanted, but going without a condom was a big step, and it had come like a freight train on the heels of Adam deciding we should have a relationship.

We maintained eye contact as he replied, “I know I’ve seemed like a wishy-washy asshole in the last twenty-four hours, Ainsley. Feeling you was incredible, and the first time we make love, I want it to be only us. I trust you.”

Those words had meaning on so many different levels. “I trust you, too.” I stood up on my tiptoes and pulled his head down to meet mine. I kissed him gently and then whispered, “I don’t want there to be any barriers either.”

Lying me back on the bed, he crawled on top of my body. Adam used his strength and slid us up toward the top.

I love satin.

The silky blanket caressed me. Adam kissed me with more passion than I’d thought possible. Our tongues met each other in a sensual dance, colliding and entwining. Over these last few days, Adam had held so much back from me. He was capable of more passion than I’d known was imaginable.

In this moment, I gave him everything I had, every ounce of myself, as I ran my nails along his back. My legs opened as his tongue went down my neck and then across my right nipple. Sensations were spiraling out from his touch as his hand made its way down to my navel and continued on to my sex. My hips began moving in anticipation of what was to come as his tongue continued to assault the tight peak my nipple had become.

Adam was watching my every movement as his finger lightly skimmed over my clit. My breathing increased, and his eyes pooled with desire. He pushed two fingers in.

“Adam…”

“Shh…”

Soft, barely there kisses moved upward, away from my breast. When Adam’s lips made it back to mine, I could feel the tip of his hardened length near my entrance.

“Please, Adam.”

He entered me, and I gasped at the sensation as he looked into my eyes. It was intense as he filled and became a part of me. Making it all the way inside me, he stopped and leaned down to start kissing me all over again. My legs wrapped around him, needing him closer.

His body began rocking in and out as we found a sensual rhythm that hit all the right spots. It wasn’t heated or desperate, but slow and savoring. My body felt revered, and something formed between us, unifying us as a true couple.

Reaching its peak, my body released a powerful euphoric wave that crashed into my system. It was mind-numbing how marvelous it felt. Adam got harder. Then, I felt his warmness fan out within me. He continued pumping into me while maintaining eye contact as his heat spread within my body. I felt as if I had been claimed. We completely belonged to each other in this moment.

Adam collapsed to the side and then pulled me closely to him. The after-sex smell was a heady combination as I entwined my legs with his. We had made love.

“You’re amazing, Ainsley. That was indescribable.”

He kissed my neck, and I turned to kiss him. My heart blossomed at feeling this different side of Adam brought out. He was giving a piece of himself to me for safekeeping, and I knew it was a piece he hadn’t given in a long time. I wanted to ask more about his past, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. This was our moment.

Lowly, I whispered, “Thank you for fighting for me.”

“Ainsley, you are worth fighting for.”

His hand stroked my shoulder, and I smiled into his chest.

Some things are worth fighting for. Adam is one of them.

Sunlight hitting my face caused me to awake. Images of Adam making love to me over and over again trickled into my consciousness. Forgetting to shut the curtains, the moon had cast its glow over our bodies while we had made love. The sex had been unimaginable.

Adam was sound asleep beside me, dead to the world. I carefully slipped out from under his arm and headed to the bathroom where Adam had taken a shower yesterday. After freshening up, I slipped on one of his shirts. His shirt hit me mid-thigh, so there was no reason to find my underwear. I walked out to the garage, and I got my phone from my purse in his car.

Being in Adam’s home, roaming around while Adam slept, was slightly uncomfortable. I felt like a stranger as if I were intruding in his territory, but he needed to sleep.

I went back to the living room and sat on the couch. Taking a moment to myself, I glanced around to take in my surroundings. Decorations were at a minimum and his house was immaculately cleaned. Peering down at my phone, I noticed I had missed a few calls from my mom. It was a little after nine on Sunday morning. My mom was an early riser. It was our ritual to talk on Sunday mornings, so she would keep calling me until she reached me.

The reminder that I had missed three calls over the last few hours flashed across the screen and caused a smile. Every time I saw my mom’s name, I remembered the connection her name had to mine. She had wanted me to always have a piece of herself, and she had used her first name as my middle name, Christine.

As I was about to hit Send, Lindy walked through the door. I loved dogs. When I got down on the floor and leaned my back against the couch, she came up to me.

“Hey there, girl. You sure are pretty. I heard your dad call you Lindy last night.”

She was a gorgeous golden retriever. Lindy nudged my hand to start petting her, and I complied.

“You’re a good girl.”

I stroked her ears, noticing her soft fur.

“I’m going to call my mom real quick, so you have to be quiet, okay?”

Lindy laid her head on my lap. I had always wanted a dog that cuddled with me. A flashback from my father came crashing into my mind.

“Mommy! Mommy! Do I really get to keep her? She’s so sweet.” I held a cute little black puppy my mom had given me for my birthday.

We were going to be the best of friends. I would have something to hold on to at night when my daddy did things to my mommy that made her cry.

“Yes, sweetheart. Let me get the glasses down from the cabinet and pour the drinks before your dad gets home. We got back late, and I’m running a little bit behind.” With her brown hair swinging behind her in a ponytail, she rushed around the kitchen, trying to get things ready as fast as possible.

It was Wednesday, and my dad always wanted meatloaf on

Wednesdays. She remembered to push play on the CD player, and Mozart’s classical music began playing. We listened to it every night while we ate. I hated it.

My dad came into the house in his normal grouchy way and slammed the door. I moved to the far corner of the room. He threw all his stuff on the floor and looked at the bare table.

“Where’s my dinner, Christine?”

My mom sweetly walked up and gave my dad a kiss on the cheek while wiping her hands on her apron. “Welcome home, Gerald. It’s almost done. We got caught up in traffic. Have a seat, and I’ll serve the salads.”

He went to take his seat when my puppy made a noise.

His head snapped in my direction. “What is this, Christine?”

My mom put the smile she had perfected from the years of abuse on her face. “It’s Ainsley’s birthday. We had discussed that I could get her a puppy, so we went to get it today.”

“Is this why my dinner is late?” His dark tone matched his coal black hair and empty-looking dark eyes. I was convinced he was a horrible man.

It was two minutes after six. Dinner was always at six o’clock sharp.

My mom carried the salad and laid it on our black tablecloth. “We ran into traffic. The salad is ready.”

“This mutt is the reason my dinner is late, isn’t it?” He started walking my way, and then he took the puppy from me.

I ran after him, crying. “Daddy, Daddy, please no. I’ll be good. I’ll help with dinner all week.”

He tossed the puppy out the front door. “If it’s still there in the morning, then it’s a dog worth keeping. Go to bed for talking back to me. No birthday celebration for you.” He turned back to my mom. “Christine, you and I need to talk this evening.”

I turned and ran up the stairs as tears streamed down my face. My heart was broken. I couldn’t protect my puppy against my dad just like I couldn’t help my mom. In the morning, he’d act like nothing had happened and we were a perfect family.

When I awoke the next morning, the puppy was nowhere to be found.

My phone vibrated again as I stroked Lindy’s hair. It was my mom calling, and I tried to rid my voice of any emotion as I hit Talk.

“Hey, Mom.”