“No Adam. I think he would have, but he didn’t. I woke up four days later. James told me my phone was destroyed. I didn’t have your number anywhere else,” I sob. “I didn’t know he used it to
send you that text.” My chest literally aches from the memories, from the pain I’m inflicting on Adam, from the way he’s cringing as I describe that terrible day. “He must have seen our calls, or read our texts. He knew. That bastard knew about us and lied to me. Used my fear of Callum to keep me with him.” Tears finally break through and I swipe them away angrily.
“It’s my fault you were attacked, El. Danny, he hired Callum to attack you because I cut him off.”
“What do you mean?” I never could understand how Adam’s brother knew Callum Murray or his history with Adam and me.
“Remember in school when I paid my brother to keep Callum away from you?” Adam rubs his hands down his face, scraping them over his dark stubble as they move.
“Yes. I remember.”
“I never stopped paying him to look out for you,” he admits, guilt evident in his eyes. “When you told me at the hotel that Callum attacked you… twice, both times while I was paying Danny to keep you safe…” he huffs loudly and clenches his jaw, “I paid him a visit and cut him off financially. That’s why he had Callum go after you, because I confronted him and took away his money.”
“Adam,” I reach over and take his hand, pulling it until it rests against my cheek, “it’s not your fault. They’re both criminals, violent ones. Callum would have come after me eventually no matter what. Now he’s in prison and he’s not a worry anymore.”
“Yeah, but Danny’s not,” he rasps, clearly harboring the guilt for the assault even though it’s not his burden to bear.
“He will be. Criminals like him are always caught in the end,” I say confidently. I move closer, shifting until I’m straddling Adam’s lap, my arms wrapped around his neck. My fingers gently brush across his neck, through the thick hair that barely touches his collar.
“El…” He slides his arms around my waist to pull me forward until we’re connected from hips to chest, our mouths just a fraction of an inch apart. “I need to feel you, know you’re safe, want to make you mine again.” His breath caresses my throat, sending shivers over my skin.
“Yes,” is all I need to say. I have faith that everything else will fall into place for us, like two puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly.
Adam’s hands tighten on my lower back as he stands and turns, ending up on top of me on the plush sofa. The weight of his body, the hard length pushing against my thigh as my dress rides up, the hungry kisses he takes, are all so overwhelming that within minutes I’m panting and writhing beneath him. I run my hands over every inch of him, tugging his shirt out of his waistband so I can feel the firm muscles of his back as they shift powerfully over me.
“I’m not letting you go again,” Adam rasps in my ear. I shiver at the warmth of his lips on my skin me as he speaks.
“Then don’t.”
Adam pushes up on his hands until he’s kneeling between my legs. He grabs the back of his shirt and tugs it up and over his head, exposing his gorgeous, chiseled torso. Without speaking he stands, offering his hand to me. I take it, reveling in his physical beauty. His dark hair is disheveled from my wandering hands, his cheeks and neck are flushed red, and his gorgeous mouth is swollen from our desperate kisses. But it’s his eyes that catch my attention. Adam’s pupils are so large that only a sliver of the color-shifting hazel is visible.
I shudder in anticipation as he hauls me to my feet and moves behind me, pressing the length of his body to my back. He swiftly reaches up, tugging down the zipper on my dress. Going so slowly that I feel as if I might burst into flames from the anticipation. When he reaches the bottom his warm fingers trail from my lower back up my exposed spine, sending goose bumps over my sensitive skin. Instead of pushing the dress off of my shoulders, he stops midway and slides his hands under the silky material, around the front to gently cup my breasts.
“No bra?” he asks, a hint of humor in the question.
“Can’t, straps would show,” I pant, groaning when his hands find my taut nipples and he deftly rolls them in his fingers. I throw my head back onto his shoulder and lean on him, afraid that my legs will give out without the support.
“You’re so fucking sexy, El. God I need you,” Adam murmurs as his teeth scrape along my exposed neck.
Suddenly, he stops, his hands vanishing from my tender flesh. Before I can ask why, he spins me around and grips my waist. “Bedroom, now,” he snarls.
I nod and he accepts that as my answer. Adam grabs my hand, pulling me along behind him, the urgency in his actions apparent. Just as abruptly as he maneuvered me into the bedroom, he stops to divest me of my dress and to shed the remainder of his suit.
Once we’re both naked, Adam leans in and kisses me tenderly, running his hands up and down my body until they settle on the back of my head, tangled in my pinned-up hair. He walks me backwards until I feel the bed behind my knees. Then he pushes gently, so I sit down and wait to see what he does next.
“I want to see you with your gorgeous hair spread out over my pillow.” His deft fingers start plucking pins out of my hair until it tumbles softly down my back. Adam stands back, regarding me with a look of such reverence that I feel my skin heat up. I have to avert my eyes from the intense scrutiny. “Don’t.” He reaches out to pull my chin up. “I haven’t laid eyes on you in so long, I need this. You’re beautiful El, let me see you. I love looking at you.”
He steps back again, and this time I manage to keep my gaze steady, taking the opportunity to study Adam as his eyes glide over my body. He’s just as stunning as he was years ago. My hands itch to touch the ridges of his abdomen and the defined muscles of his shoulders. I want to lick every inch of the dark, swirling tattoo that goes up one arm and now reaches down over the left half of his chest.
“When did you add to your tattoo?” I urge him closer so I can trace the black ink with my fingers.
Adam closes his eyes and throws his head back as my hands lightly glide over his chest. “After the hotel,” he rasps, his hands clenched at his sides.
I stiffen up at the mention of our last encounter, my hands frozen in place on his skin. “Why?”
He brings his chin down and our eyes lock together. “Because I knew I’d never love anyone else. Only you.” Adam places his hand over one of mine and guides my fingers over the black curves. “I put it over my heart,” he whispers as he traces our hands along the curved lines, “because that’s where you’ll always be, even when an ocean separated us.”
He lets go of my hand, letting his drop back to his side. I look closer, retracing the path that he followed and gasp. “That’s my name,” I say softly, running my finger over the letters that are hidden within the tribal design. It would be difficult, if not impossible to spot if you didn’t know what you were looking for.