Sin City Lights (Sin City #1)

Chapter 17

Adam

Adam watched as Tim removed the last screw, carefully placing it in a cup. He pulled up one half of the floor panel, then leaned in, shining a flashlight into the dark recesses of the G550.

“Found it.”

Tim leaned down farther, his whole upper body disappearing inside the floor. “Yeah, this will be no problem. Should have it fixed in no time.”

Adam felt the tension leave his shoulders as Tim expertly replaced the panel. The water leak in front of the coffee console had been going on for a while, and, of course, Tim was the one who finally pinpointed the problem. “Thanks, Tim.”

“You bet.”

To think he’d almost lost his friend and best mechanic. Adam shook his head. His cell buzzed, and he retrieved it to see his sister’s smiling photo fill the screen.

He tapped accept. “Who’s this?”

“You know who it is, Ug,”

came Jannie’s voice. She never failed to use his childhood nickname.

“What’s up?”

“The clear blue sky with palm trees, and fireworks every night, which, luckily for you, you’ll get to see real soon.”

Adam smiled. He already experienced fireworks every night, but he couldn’t say that to his little sister. Instead, he feigned ignorance. “Huh?”

A pause. “Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me you forgot again, or I swear, I’ll —”

“Gotcha.”

He chuckled.

“I hate you.”

“I hate you too.”

“Can you get here a day early?”

“Maybe. Why?”

“There’s a, uh, an event I want you to attend.”

He waited. Jannie didn’t elaborate. “And are you going to tell me what this is, for which I’ll need to rearrange my schedule?”

“Nope.”

He shook his head. It was useless to try to get it out of her, he knew.

“Ian is coming, and so are Mom and Dad.”

“Erik?”

“He’s a maybe.”

Adam wasn’t surprised, though he was disappointed. His youngest brother was frequently a no-show at these annual family gatherings, preferring to travel the world in pursuit of the ultimate prize photograph.

“Where the hell is he now?”

“Svalbard.”

Adam’s brows shot up. Erik was back in Norway? He hated Norway. Every year, Erik drove everyone crazy by grumbling incessantly about having to freeze his nuts off during the family trek to visit Grandma.

Adam laughed. “Why? He’s chasing polar bears up there?”

“That is correct. Or so he says.”

Adam suspected Erik had something else to chase. He grinned at the thought. This could get very interesting.

“OK. I’ll try to get there Friday. Want me to bring anything?”

He asked as a formality. Jannie was a control freak and always wanted to do everything herself.

“I do, yeah.”

A pause. “Bring that hot girl you’re seeing.”

Adam blinked. “What?”

“You heard me. We all want to meet the girl who finally melted your glacier of a heart.”

“Who told you—”

“Can’t say. My source is confidential.”

“For fuck’s sake,”

he muttered.

“Language, Adam!”

Jannie imitated their mother’s chastising tone so well, he had to laugh.

“I can’t bring her. She’s… It isn’t serious.”

“Too bad. I’ve already told Mom and Dad. They’re excited, and you have to bring her.”

Adam gave a noncommittal grunt. “See you next week, Freak.”

**

He’d never been nervous before a family get-together.

Adam did a last quick scan of the open sky, undid his harness, and extricated himself from the cockpit. “I’ll be right back.”

As usual, he cursed the engineers, who thought only of the passengers when allocating legroom on these planes.

A knowing smirk curled Devon’s lips. “Can I come watch?”

Adam growled. “Sick bastard.”

Devon guffawed. “Have fun.”

Adam was tempted to throw the headset at him. Instead, he tossed it to his seat, exiting the cockpit and sliding the doors firmly shut, then headed swiftly to the back in search of Eve. Nothing could de-stress him like having her writhing underneath him, and the tension caused by this upcoming visit with his family had kept him on edge for days.

He’d set up the bed in the back, just in case. He’d never been able to forget that time, flying to the Caymans. He aimed to fulfill her every dream, including that one, and now, he was really hoping she would want to.

He found her with her killer legs crossed, a study guide open in her lap. Her brown eyes immediately lighted with that glow he saw every time their eyes met, but he glimpsed a touch of concern. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the front, flying the plane?”

He grinned at her. “Nah. George is.”

Her delicate brows furrowed. “George?”

“It’s what we call the autopilot. Don’t worry. Devon is up there too.”

He watched as she relaxed, her beautiful eyes searching his face.

She’d dressed for Florida in a pale green halter dress printed with palm leaves, and he knew she wasn’t wearing a bra. He zoomed in on the V at her cleavage, and then his gaze flicked to her lips, painted with light pink gloss. Her small feet were encased in white wedge sandals, toenails pink instead of her usual red.

She looked fresh as a peach, and his pants were getting tighter by the second.

He leaned down, one hand on each armrest. She raised her pretty face, and he took her soft, sweet lips. She tasted of her strawberry lip gloss. The whine of the turbines was nothing compared to the sound of the blood rushing to his head and pounding in his ears.

Blood was rushing to other places too. “Come to the back with me?”

Her eyes grew wide. “Right now?”

“Right now.”

Her gaze dipped down to his throat. He smiled. That was encouraging.

He took her mouth again, tongue plunging deeper, kissing her until his fingers were gripping the armrests and his forearms were rock hard.

She grasped his biceps, then brushed her lips along his jaw. “OK.”

He reached down to her lap, unbuckling her seat belt with a click. He stepped back, and she stepped into him. He ran his fingers down her spine and found the small of her back, guiding her gently. “After you.”

She shivered, turning to make her way to the back, and he followed, watching every slight sway of her hips in that green dress.

And then they were there, in the same space where she’d blown his mind.

He started to reach for her, but she was already crawling on the bed, the green dress riding up her hips as she advanced. She stopped, flipping her hair to look back at him, and what he saw there literally took his breath away.

Her eyes were pure desire.

She began peeling off her panties, her backside shifting provocatively, and as he watched her gradually reveal herself to him, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

She got them past her knees, then to her ankles, where he took over to drag them over her shoes.

“I was like this.”

She leaned down on her elbows, hips high, and spread her legs a little.

“In your dream?”

“Uh-huh.”

Oh, she was ready. He thought he might explode.

He unbuckled his belt, shoving down his pants and boxers, wishing he had time to undress, but this way would have to do.

He crawled up behind her. Her back was arched, and she was shaking. It was now hard to get air into his lungs.

“Tell me what else you dreamed of.”

She didn’t turn to look, but her hips told him she knew that he was right behind her and in what state.

“Your arm around me.”

He surged forward, wrapping his arm around her waist, instinctively pulling her into position. “Like this?”

“Just like that.”

His front covered her back. Her breasts were pressed against his arm. Unable to wait any longer, he nudged against her. “Did I do this?”

She shuddered violently. “Adam, oh my God!”

“And this?”

He pushed in, just a fraction, rolling his hips.

“Yes, yes!”

She clawed at the sheets, bucking backward into him.

In one hard thrust, he was deep inside, sheathed in her heat to the hilt.

Eve gasped, then moaned, louder than he’d ever heard her.

Jesus.

Arm tightening around her, he began giving himself to her, trying to maintain some sort of control.

She would have none of it. “Harder!”

Gritting his teeth, he increased the pace.

“Faster!”

She was a wild woman. At this rate, he’d go before she had a chance to—

He felt her clench him, hard. The next second, she shattered, her screams overpowering the noise of the jet engines. In a daze, Adam slowed, his thrusts more shallow, saying things to her, he didn’t know what.

With one last long, guttural moan, she finally stopped convulsing. Then she was very still, except for a shudder every few seconds. With every one, she squeezed him.

Under his arm, he felt her chest rising and falling. He waited, gulping air in synchrony, his need now close to pain.

He thought to resume, but she tilted forward, trying to move away, and he let go of her and pulled out, confused.

She turned then, rolling to her back, small hands reaching to capture his face between them.

She looked at him intently. “Dreams do come true.”

And then she reached down for him, wrapping her legs around his waist and sheathing him again.

It didn’t take long for him either. He groaned with his long, hard release, feeling as if he were emptying his life inside of her.

For a few moments, he stayed like that, his eyes shut, lips parted, concentrating on regaining breath while his heart drummed in his chest.

He rolled to his side, taking her with him, not wanting to leave her heat just yet.

She heaved a deep sigh, snuggling against him. “That was intense. I thought about that dream, and you showed up.”

“Telepathy.”

He smiled against her hair. “I’ve thought about it ever since,”

he admitted. “Welcome to the Mile High Club.”

He felt her stiffen slightly. “You’re a member?”

He chuckled, pulling her closer. “Now I am.”

Her answering laugh was music to his ears. The sex had been phenomenal, as usual. But Adam still felt tense.

Because he wanted them to like her.

**

Eve

“Thank you for agreeing to do this.”

Adam let the rented Mercedes SUV coast, glancing at the swaying palm trees as he eased to a stop at a red light.

Eve smiled. “No problem. All in a day’s work.”

When Adam had asked her to accompany him to Florida for a family event, she’d been surprised because, other than what he’d told her in the Caymans, he had shared little about his personal life.

Only yesterday had he finally briefed her a bit and shown her pictures. When she had viewed the family photo, she’d burst into laughter.

“What’s funny?”

Adam had wanted to know.

“You’re all clones!”

“Never saw that, but I guess so. Although I’m the best looking.”

Of course she had assured him he was because she honestly agreed with him.

Adam gunned the engine, and the Mercedes roared. A satisfied smile curved his lips. He may have rented an SUV, but it was an AMG, just like his car.

“Ian is already here,”

he told her.

“Is Erik coming?”

“He might, and he might not. We never know. He doesn’t like to promise anything because, that way, he isn’t disappointing anyone. He likes to just show up. My parents arrive tomorrow morning.”

“You say your sister has room for all of us?”

“The house is huge. Six bedrooms on half an acre.”

“Wow. All for one person?”

Adam nodded. “She got divorced and got the house and dog. He got the plane.”

“Her husband was a pilot?”

“Still is. She hasn’t killed him yet.”

Eve was silent for a moment. She wondered what had caused the split but didn’t think it was her place to ask. She was following her resolution to enjoy him, and, oh, had she enjoyed him on the plane.

The memory made her grin.

“What’s that big smile for?”

She gave him her sultriest look.

He raised a brow and grinned right back, then took her hand to kiss it. “I vote for a repeat when we head back to Vegas.”

Soon, they were pulling up to an enormous Mediterranean-style house with a red barrel-tile roof and a stucco facade that reminded her of vanilla frosting.

The side door opened, and out sprinted what Eve could only describe as a female version of Adam. Her bright blonde hair was straight and silky, hanging past her shoulders, and her lithe body looked stunning in a white tank top and fitted jeans. She wore flip-flops, and her toenails were painted sapphire blue. Sapphire blue was also the color of her eyes, identical to Adam’s, and her perfect face reminded Eve of a porcelain doll’s.

She rushed to Adam, wrapping him in a warm hug. “It’s about time,”

she told him, giving him a peck on the cheek. She wasn’t that much shorter than he, Eve noted.

Adam hugged her back briefly, then took Eve’s hand. “Eve, meet my sister, Jannie. Jannie, this is Eve.”

He sounded somewhat irritated and gave his sister a slight frown.

Jannie shrugged dismissively. “Yeah, you’re annoyed, get over it.”

She looked down at Eve, a big smile on her face. “Excuse my rudeness, but I never get to see this guy. I’m glad to meet you.”

She gave Eve a brief hug. “You’re gorgeous. What are you doing dating my brother?”

Adam muttered something under his breath about luggage, then went to open the back of the SUV.

Eve laughed and hugged Jannie back. “Nice to meet you.”

Jannie tipped her head, watching Adam heft the suitcases. “Out of breath already, old man?”

Eve pressed her lips together. It was funny to see him treated like this.

She heard a deep woof and looked to see a black-and-tan German shepherd, now barking excitedly at the window.

“Oh!”

She smiled. “What a stunning…”

She looked more closely, then to Jannie. “…boy?”

“Yup, Rolf’s a he. Man of the house, now.”

“I could tell by the head. He’s beautiful.”

“Ah, you know shepherds. Do you have one?”

“I wish. My best friend has two. I’ve always wanted one but don’t have a yard.”

“He’s friendly if I tell him it’s OK for him to be, but I always ask. Do you want him put away while you are here?”

“Gosh, no. I love shepherds.”

Jannie looked at Adam. “I like her already, Ug.”

She reached for the black Rimowa. “Is there more luggage?”

“Those two are mine. Adam only has this one.”

“I’m surprised he even brought a suitcase,”

Jannie muttered. She started toward the house. “Leave those there; Ian will get them. Give me a sec to deal with Rolf.”

Eve paused in the doorway, her gaze swinging to Adam. “Ug?”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t ask.”

She stifled a laugh. This was the first time she had ever seen Adam roll his eyes. The weekend was going to be enlightening.

She felt his hand on her forearm. “I forgot to tell you. No shoes inside the house.”

Eve’s brows lifted. Before she could ask anything, the door opened again, and Adam stood in the doorway.

Except, it couldn’t be Adam.

Eve blinked.

Good God, there were two of them.

She’d seen the similarities in the photo, but in person, it was uncanny. The same sapphire eyes looked down at her, smiling, but without the fire that always burned in Adam’s.

“So, she does exist.”

The voice was a tad higher but not by much. She also noted, after the initial shock, that he was shorter by an inch or so.

“Eve,”

Adam said from behind her, “meet another rude family member, my brother Ian. Ian, this is Eve.”

“OK, dog’s good! You can come in now!”

Jannie called from somewhere inside the house.

Ian just stared down at Eve, and she thought she saw something of a shadow in his eyes, but it passed just as quickly.

“Are you going to let us in today?”

Adam drawled.

“Nice to see you too,”

Ian said. He stepped aside. “It’s great to meet you, Eve. Word had it that Adam was seeing someone, but we weren’t sure what to believe.”

What had Adam told them about her? Nerves coiled in her stomach.

“Hello, Ian.”

She kicked off her wedges, stepping down and feeling even shorter.

Adam handed her a little plastic bag, and she saw they were disposable ballet flats. She slipped them on, noting that Adam had put on smiley face slides.

She choked back a startled laugh.

Walking in, she noted the polished cream marble floors were immaculate, which was surprising given that Lauren’s home always had residual German shepherd hair.

It was also quiet. No barking. At Lauren’s, the dogs would jump all over and make such a racket, they couldn’t even hear each other say hello.

“Where’s Rolf?”

she asked Jannie, who approached with a friendly smile.

“Oh, I put him in a platz.”

She pointed. Rolf was on a large dog bed, sporting a white-toothed doggy grin, in a pose that reminded Eve of an Egyptian sphinx.

Her eyes widened. “He isn’t barking! And he’s—”

“He knows better. He isn’t moving from there until I give permission. Barking and rushing guests, not allowed.”

Eve shook her head in wonder. “Wow. I’m impressed.”

“A lot is not allowed here,”

Ian said, pointedly looking at Adam’s slides and snickering. “I can’t believe you gave him those.”

Jannie shrugged. “He needs to lighten up.”

She looked at Adam, who was smirking, and then at Eve. “Maybe there’s hope for him. Don’t stand there, come on in!”

Eve’s first impression was of light. Every surface seemed to reflect it: the shiny floors, the cream-colored walls, even the high ceilings.

The house had an open floor plan, and she could see straight to the back, where tall sliding glass doors opened to a spectacular lake view. The lake was so wide, you could barely see the houses on the other side of it. Just outside was a limestone patio showcasing a crystal-blue pool.

They passed through a large kitchen with painted off-white cabinets. On one wall, above an L-shaped cognac-colored leather sectional, hung a giant photograph framed in thick mahogany of a plane flying in front of a snowy mountain at sunset. It was breathtaking.

“Erik took that,”

Jannie told her, “in Alaska.”

“It’s beautiful,”

Eve said. “Your whole home is really beautiful.”

Jannie beamed. “Thank you. We like it.”

She shook her head once, her hand going to her lower belly. “I… I like it.”

Eve caught a look that briefly passed between Jannie and Adam.

Her eyes were sad.

His were compassionate.

“Where do you want us?”

Adam’s tone was gentle.

Jannie took a breath, exhaled, and then straightened her shoulders. “I have you in the master bedroom. All the way down the hallway. I tried to put everything I could think of in there for you, but if you need anything, just ask; don’t be shy.”

“Thanks, Freak. We’re going up to change.”

He picked up Eve’s white suitcase. “Where are the other two?”

“Upstairs. Ian already got them.”

“We expect margaritas when we come down.”

“You got it. We’ll be by the pool.”

**

“Freak?”

These nicknames fascinated Eve. Not having siblings, she found this family dynamic entirely foreign. How could anyone call Jannie a freak, with a face that looked like Adam’s?

Adam lifted her suitcase onto one of two wooden luggage racks. Eve had only seen those at hotels. “Yeah, Freak. She’s a control freak and a clean freak. Always was.”

Well, she could see that. “Why do you suppose she gave us the master?”

Adam hoisted his case onto the other rack and unzipped it. “She doesn’t sleep here anymore.”

He pulled out his pair of plain blue swim trunks. “Unless he visits.”

“Who?”

“Her ex.”

“How do you mean?”

Eve rifled through the clothes she’d packed and found her new white swimsuit.

He started on the buttons of his shirt. “She keeps trying to get him back, and sometimes, she succeeds. But only for a while. He leaves. Repeat.”

“How long have they been divorced?”

He opened the closet door behind him and tossed the used shirt into a hamper. “A year.”

“That’s kind of…”

Eve shook her head, but now, she was distracted. Adam, shirtless, never failed to make her look, no matter how often she saw him that way.

“Messed up? Yeah, no kidding. It’s tough to watch, so I’m glad I don’t have to. Still hate it for her, though.”

“No kids, right?”

“No, thank God. At least, not yet.”

Eve’s brows shot up.

Adam shrugged. “I don’t think she’d go that far. But there’s always the possibility of one, given their crazy dynamic. Thought you should know. I saw you noticed that weird moment she had downstairs.”

Eve nodded. Adam was briefing her on his family’s issues. What had he told them about her? She wanted to ask but didn’t quite know how.

“You’re my girlfriend,”

he said, uncannily reading her mind again.

“I’m your girlfriend?”

“Yup. Word got to them that I was seeing someone. Jannie wanted to meet you.”

He hadn’t told them the truth. Of course he hadn’t. Then again, no one had forced him to bring her here. Why had he?

He unbuckled his belt and started to unzip his fly.

Her body instantly reacted. She had stopped questioning what this man did to her and why. Over the months, her appetite for him had only increased. But there was more now. She enjoyed everything else they shared, and just being around him made her happy.

His hands stilled. Her gaze swept upward over his washboard abs and solid pecs. Adam, half-dressed, was just as hot as Adam wearing nothing. When she looked up at his face, his dark blue eyes were sparkling, and he was smirking in that sexy way she’d grown to know so well.

“OK, then, I’m your girlfriend.”

He grinned at her, and her heart did a little flip. This wasn’t the first time she’d played the girlfriend, but with Adam, it felt entirely different.

Adam

“Yeah, better to play inside, with air conditioning. Shuffle the cards. Let’s see how fast I can crush you.”

Ian finished his margarita, reached for the glass pitcher, and poured himself another. “Damn, these are good. Refill?”

“Sure.”

Adam slid his empty glass to his brother and picked up the deck, his eyes on the two women sitting outside in the summer kitchen, engrossed in conversation.

Of course, Freak did most of the talking, gesturing animatedly with her hands. Eve sat on a barstool, nodding and smiling, looking hot as hell in a white bathing suit that he had never seen before. The bottom looked like a miniskirt, and the suit was sheer at the middle, showing off her flat belly.

“Hey. Am I talking to myself, or…?”

“Huh?”

Adam looked back at Ian, who had refilled his glass and watched him in bemusement.

“I never thought I’d see the day.”

He leaned forward, staring at Adam over the card table. “You’re really into this girl, aren’t you?”

Rolf brought the ball to her, tail wagging, his round eyes worshipful as Eve took it and held it up, waiting for a sit. Adam smiled, shuffling the cards. Dogs were good judges of character.

Ian, too, looked at the three through the huge picture window. “Lucky for you, she sees something that I don’t see because the way she looks at you approaches three-alarm. So many eye fucks between you two, I’ve wanted to go grab that fire extinguisher Freak keeps in the kitchen.”

Adam’s lips twitched. “Yeah, well, she likes my body.”

Ian’s eyes narrowed. “It’s more than that, and well you know it. Still want to stick to escorts, big brother, or are you stopping at this one?”

Adam’s hands froze in mid-shuffle. “How did you—”

“Come on, man. You’re talking to the best. It didn’t take long to find out why you were suddenly so keen to get divorced.”

“You’d spy on your own brother.”

Ian shrugged. “I’d spy on anyone. Especially people with whom my brother suddenly became obsessed after seven years of living like a goddamn monk.”

Adam snorted. “Monk.”

He was the furthest thing from a monk that he could think of.

Ian gave him a sarcastic smile. “OK, then, uninvolved. Are we going to get hung up on semantics?”

Adam finished shuffling. “How deep did you dig?”

“How deep in are you?”

Adam glared at him and began dealing.

“Yeah, I thought so. You’re so far gone, I need a search-and-rescue team to find you.”

He paused. “So, here’s what I found. She’s worked for Eleet for three years. Mostly high rollers who want arm candy or a hot babe to sit on their laps and make them look good while they blow millions at the poker table. She has regulars that keep her schedule always full, and she rarely takes on new clients. We’re talking, almost impossible to book her, except if you pay to get on her waiting list.”

Yeah, well, Platinum Package.

Adam finished setting up, then picked up his hand and studied his cards, unable to suppress a smirk.

Ian swept up his own cards. “Whatever strings you pulled, you got her. The million-dollar question is, what are you going to do with her?”

Adam flipped one of the two single cards on the table.

Ian did the same. “Well?”

Adam shrugged.

“That’s your answer? You brought her here. Why would you bring her here if she was just another girl you hired?”

“Jannie bullied me into it. And, by the way, who told her I was seeing someone?”

Ian’s lip curled. “I’ll give you two guesses.”

Adam only needed one. “Blake.”

Jannie’s asshole ex-husband.

Ian nodded. “You were spotted at the Mile High. The word spread around the pilot community, and he forwarded me a picture someone snapped.”

Adam gritted his teeth. “Fuck that guy.”

“I didn’t tell them anything, in case you’re wondering.”

He looked at Adam over his cards. “I left that up to you.”

“Thanks.”

Adam hoped Ian would now drop it. No such luck, of course.

“Look, it doesn’t matter what she does for a living, but, again, what are you going to do with her? Do you expect her to quit her job for you? Because, knowing you, you sure as hell are not going to be OK with her continuing to—”

“You know damn well that I can’t do anything until we get the papers signed.”

“Jesus, man! Have you even told her about Ingrid?”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?”

“What good would it do to tell her?”

“I’ll tell you what not telling her will do. One of these days, something will slip, someone will talk, and she’ll find out. I don’t care how well you think you’ve buried everything. And if she does find out like that, you’re fucked.”

Adam had had enough. “You worry about drawing up an ironclad agreement and getting it signed.”

“I’m already working on it. But do yourself a favor and think about what I said, OK?”

“You done?”

Adam gave him the dirty look he’d perfected in childhood, deployed when Ian would not shut the hell up. No wonder he’d ended up a lawyer.

Ian glared back at him, but his lips betrayed a tiny smile. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

Adam threw down a seven of diamonds. “Let’s play some Speed.”