Chapter 25

TWENTY-FIVE

I stared at Adam, unsure how he managed to turn me on with such a simple command. Nobody looked at me like he did, as if he could see into the fibers of my soul. His eyes were the darkest they’d ever been, filled with lust, longing, and so much more. It gave me a newfound confidence to unleash the more dominant parts of me, ignoring my inner voice that told me I wasn’t sexy or bold enough to take the lead.

Not to mention, there’d been a mental block when it came to sex ever since I had Emilia. I’d become shy about chasing my own needs, feeling like my body didn’t belong to just me anymore. Even though it had been years, I’d still let this sexual side of me remain dormant, not able to reconcile the mother I was supposed to be and the woman who wanted to own her pleasure.

But that shy, insecure woman was nowhere to be found tonight, and I had no plans of cowering back into that role anytime soon.

Not with this beautiful man promising to go to his knees just for a taste of me. I lifted my hips, sliding my yoga pants down my legs. Adam let out a sharp hiss when he saw my lace thong, the center already drenched because of him. I left it on, wanting to see how much teasing it would take to break him.

I slid my middle finger along the fabric, savoring the warmth spreading through my limbs. My gaze never left his, almost daring him to break eye contact first. He didn’t—at least not until I shifted the lace to the side, baring all of me.

“Jesus Christ,” Adam sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. “God, baby, you’re drenched.”

“Felt too good,” I said, continuing to stroke small circles into my skin. “Having you in my mouth.”

“Tell me more,” Adam said, his voice lower and even more lethal to my self-control. As my fingers moved toward my entrance, I chewed my lower lip.

“Loved seeing you lose control,” I whispered. “Feeling you at the back of my throat. It was better than I ever thought it would be.”

“You liked sucking my dick, baby?”

“Yes,” I breathed, increasing the pressure. “I could have come right then.”

“Don’t you dare,” Adam snapped, moving so he could slide his hands along my thighs. “Not until I get a chance to return the favor. This pretty little pussy is begging for my tongue.” His eyes jumped up to meet mine, a heady need written on his features. “Can I taste you?”

I lifted my fingers, pressing them up to his lips. Tracing my arousal along his lower one, I smiled. “Go ahead.”

He didn’t hesitate, licking his lip before pulling my fingers into his mouth. He groaned around them. “Fuck, you really are perfect, you know that?” I blushed, trailing my fingers along his cheek. How this man could fill all the cracks in my heart with only a few words, I’d never know. But even though it scared me to need him this much, this quickly, I was all too willing to fall if he was there to catch me.

“I need more,” Adam said, reaching out to take the sides of my thong in his hands. He looked at me, waiting until I nodded before he pulled it down my legs. As soon as I was bare, I let my legs fall open, inviting him closer.

He didn’t hesitate, licking me from bottom to top, lapping up my arousal like it was his favorite snack. My head fell against the counter, unable to hold back the loud moan that ripped through me.

He tsked his tongue. “Turnabout’s fair play, trouble. If I couldn’t make any noise, neither can you.”

“Then find something to shut me up,” I laughed, picking up my head to look at him. “Because I don’t know if I can hold back.”

For a moment, I thought he’d put his cock back in my mouth, and I couldn’t lie—that idea sent thrills through my veins. But instead, Adam just smirked, taking my ruined underwear off the counter. “Open up, baby.”

I didn’t hesitate, which honestly shocked even me. If anyone else had tried this, I probably would have cursed them out. But with Adam, there was a level of trust I hadn’t experienced before. As the lace filled my mouth, he leaned down, sucking on my clit as he teased my entrance with his fingers.

I screamed around the fabric as he continued his ministrations, alternating between sucking my clit and licking every inch of my sex. Just as my head started to swim, he pressed two fingers inside me, crooking them along my walls.

“Fuck, Tor,” he groaned, placing his head on my lower stomach. “You’re so fucking tight. I’m getting hard just thinking about being inside you.”

My muffled cries must have told him to continue, because he went right back to work, torturing me with his twin movements. With a few more swipes of his tongue, I shattered around him, my vision going white with waves of pleasure. Adam continued working me through my orgasm, not letting a single drop go to waste.

By the time he was pulling me up off the counter, I was completely boneless, leaning on his chest to stay upright.

He smiled brightly down at me as his fingers brushed away my hair. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, right,” I chuckled, reaching down to hide my scar from my C-section. It was still hard to look at in the mirror, knowing my body would never be the same. But just as my arm slung across my stomach, Adam lifted it away, pressing his lips along the faded scar.

He pulled back to look at me. “Absolutely fucking perfect, baby. Every inch of you.”

I placed my hand on his chest, glancing up into his eyes. There was no trace of a lie, and despite my insecurities rearing up, I believed him. I let my hands fall to the counter, pushing up so I could kiss him again. I could taste my orgasm on his tongue, and it made my thighs clench, ready for more of him. I needed this man—inside me, in my life, and so much more.

Just as he helped me back down to my feet, a soft cry came from Emilia’s bedroom. “Mommy?”

“Crap,” I hissed, throwing back on my sweater and leggings. “I should go check on her. I don’t want her to wake up alone in a new place.”

Adam nodded. “Go. I’ll finish cleaning up here.”

I started to argue, but he silenced me with another soft kiss. “Go take care of your girl. I’ll be here when you get back.”

*****

It didn’t take long to soothe Emilia back to sleep, but it was just enough time to get into my mind, second-guessing my every move tonight. Was this a one-time thing? A culmination of the tension that had been simmering between Adam and me since the wedding?

Or— and possibly even more terrifying — was this the start of something more? As Emilia released me, slumbering back into a deep sleep, I pulled my arm slowly out from under her and crept toward the door. To my surprise, Adam sat on the couch, studying something on his phone. As soon as he heard me approach, he gave me a bright smile and tucked it back into his pocket. I stepped in front of him, and he placed his hands on the back of my thighs, pulling me into his lap.

“Did she go back down okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, just a bad dream or something. I rubbed her back for a couple of minutes, and then she was right back out.”

“Good,” Adam said, tucking some of my hair behind my ear. “And what about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you,” he chuckled. “Freaking out on me?”

I thought about lying to him, trying to play it cool when I felt anything but. The truth was, he had tilted my axis, making me see my world through a totally different lens. And for someone who didn’t handle change well, there had been a lot today—new temporary address, a new home, and a man looking at me like I was precious to him. While everything was a positive shift, there was no doubt I was starting to panic.

Looking into his ocean-blue eyes, I nodded. “Kind of. Today’s been a lot. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around being here, and now, there’s you.” His hands clenched on my thighs, holding me close even though I was dying to squirm under his stare. “I haven’t let someone get this close in a long time, and I’m nervous about what happens next.”

“Next...” Adam sighed, dragging his thumbs along my skin, tracing the seam of my leggings. “Next, I think we should spend more time together. Maybe go out on a proper date?”

I smiled wide. “You want to date me, Rice?”

“I want a hell of a lot more than that, trouble.”

Words lodged in my throat at his quiet admission, unwilling to voice how much they meant to me. But with the swell of excitement came its friend unease. Worry started to simmer in my stomach, wondering if this was too much too fast. As right as it felt with Adam, I’d been burned before. It was hard to fully trust words when I knew they could change so easily.

As if he knew where my mind had wandered, Adam’s fingers found my chin, directing my gaze back to him. “I mean it, Tori. I haven’t felt this way about anyone in a long time. But if that’s too much for you to handle right now, I can wait.”

“Wait?” my voice squeaked, and I hated how weak it sounded.

“Yeah,” Adam chuckled. “I’m not a patient man, but I know a good thing when I see it. You’re the best thing that has come into my life in a long time. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait as long as you need.”

I swallowed, forcing my fears into the back crevice of my mind. He was baring it all to me; the least I could do was tell him I was in this with him. “I don’t want to wait,” I whispered. “I want to date you too, Adam.”

His resulting smile was the kind poets wrote sonnets about. I didn’t think I’d ever had anything so breathtaking aimed at me, and I wanted to bask in its glow for the rest of my days. It was so different than his staged smile, the one I was learning to recognize. It was fine, perfect for presenting a front to the world, but after seeing Adam’s true smile, the other was nothing more than a poor facsimile.

As much as I wanted to keep this moment going forever, there was something else we needed to discuss. “What are we going to do about Cole?”

Adam instantly set up straighter. “What about him?”

“I want to wait to tell him,” I admitted, shifting so I could look Adam in the eyes. “Not because he should have any impact on our relationship. I’m a grown woman, and my brother does not get to dictate who I can or cannot date. But I want to see what this is before we bring other people into it.” I paused, looking up at the half-closed bedroom door. “And I also want to wait to tell Emilia as well.”

Adam nodded, but I could see my words struck a nerve. I placed my hand on his cheek and asked, “What’s going through your mind?”

“I get it,” Adam sighed. “And I agree, especially with Emilia. Once we tell people, there’s no going back. And I also want this time, just us, to figure out how we work together.” He exhaled slowly. “But it’s going to be hard not telling Cole. The guy’s my best friend. He deserves to know what’s going on before it comes out. I don’t want him to think I’m taking advantage of you.”

“If anything, I’m taking advantage of you,” I chuckled, trying to erase the frown from his face. When it didn’t work, I leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his lips. “We’ll tell him first. After we decide this works between us.”

“Deal,” Adam said. “But does that mean I have to keep my distance from you when you’re with Emilia? Because I’d like to get to know her better, especially if I’m hoping to be part of her life.”

“You want to spend more time with her?”

“Yeah, of course,” Adam chuckled. “How else am I going to score more invites to these exclusive tea parties? I have competition now, baby.”

“I’d like that,” I said. “Maybe we can go apple picking next weekend? Em’s been talking about it non-stop since you brought it up at the house.”

“It’s a date.”

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