Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Ada stood on Jonny’s doorstep, staring at the closed door, blinking, incredulous and infuriated. Had he really just slammed the door in her face like that, after all she had done for him? Risked everything in her life for him?
She didn’t even bother knocking this time. Instead, she pushed the door wide open.
Jonny whirled around as she stormed into his house, his face twisted in anger. "What the hell, Ada?"
"Don't you dare shut me out after I just stuck my neck out for you!
" she said in what she hoped was a calm voice, but it was measured, seething with her fury over being dismissed like that.
She slammed the door behind her, her cheeks burning hot as she stalked toward him.
"Do you have any idea what I risked by telling Finch the truth? "
"I never asked you to do that!" he snapped, hazel eyes flashing as he stood his ground, arms crossed over his chest. "I told you to stay out of it."
"And let you take the fall for something you didn't do? I should think not." She jabbed a finger at his chest. "You're too damn proud for your own good, Jonny Tate. Can't you see I'm trying to help you?"
He caught her wrist, his grip firm but not painful, the warmth of his hands sending thrills through her body from where they touched, but she ignored it in favor of the hot spikes of fury that came from within. "I don't need your help. I can handle this myself."
Ada let out a harsh laugh. "Because you were doing such a splendid job of it before I stepped in. Admit it—you need me."
Jonny's jaw clenched as he glared down at her, a muscle ticking in his cheek. She glared right back, refusing to be cowed. They were so close she could feel his ragged breaths fanning her face.
"You have no idea what you've done," he said tightly. "The kind of danger you've put yourself in by getting involved."
"I'm not afraid of Sharpe or Will or any of them," she retorted, lifting her chin.
“And now your reputation is ruined,” he continued. “All of society will think we’re…”
“What?” she challenged, her brows raising. “Do you think I care so much about my reputation? It’s far better than you being thrown in jail for a crime you didn’t commit. I'm certainly not afraid of a little gossip."
“By sacrificing yourself?” He ran a hand roughly through his hair. “Dammit, Ada, I’m not worth that.”
“Well, maybe I think you are!” The words burst out of her, raw and honest, hanging in the air between them.
Something flickered in Jonny's eyes, an emotion she couldn't quite name. His gaze dropped to her mouth, lingering there. "You should be afraid of Sharpe," he murmured. "And very afraid of what being with me could do to you."
Ada's heart stuttered in her chest. Being with him. The words hung in the charged air between them, heavy with unspoken meaning.
Jonny stared at her, chest heaving. Something shifted in his eyes, the anger draining away, replaced by a different kind of heat.
"You shouldn't have done it," he said, but his voice had gone low and rough. "We can't... I can't let you..."
"Let me what?" Ada stepped closer, tilting her chin up defiantly. "Let me make my own choices? Decide what risks I'm willing to take?"
He shook his head, but he didn't back away as she could feel the warmth radiating off of his body. Her gaze dropped to his mouth.
"I'd do it again," she whispered fiercely. "For you, I'd do it a thousand times over."
“I never asked you to.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
A muscle ticked in Jonny's jaw. His eyes bored into hers, dark with warring emotions. Ada's heart pounded against her ribs. The air crackled with tension.
Then, with a muttered oath, Jonny seized her face between his hands and crashed his mouth down on hers.
Ada gasped, but the sound was swallowed by his bruising kiss.
His lips moved over hers with a desperate hunger, his tongue sweeping inside to taste her.
She met him with equal fervor, clutching at his shoulders, his hair, anything to pull him closer.
She wound her arms around his neck, pressing herself against the hard planes of his body.
All the anger and frustration between them transformed into a searing heat, a desperate, clawing hunger.
Jonny walked her backwards until her shoulders hit the wall, his body pinning her there.
His hands found her hips, fingers digging into her flesh through the fabric of her dress.
She arched into him, needy sounds catching in her throat.
She gasped as he nipped at her bottom lip, soothing the sting with his tongue.
His hands roamed down her sides, skating over her curves, setting her nerves alight.
He tore his mouth away to trail open-mouth kisses along the column of her throat, his stubble rasping deliciously against her sensitive skin. Her head fell back against the wall, a moan escaping her parted lips. His tongue flicked out to taste her racing pulse, his teeth grazing her collarbone.
Ada's fingers scrabbled at his shirt, desperate to feel his bare skin against her own. She tugged the fabric free of his trousers, her hands slipping beneath to splay across the hot, hard planes of his back. Jonny groaned against her throat, the sound sending shivers skittering down her spine.
He slid a thigh between her legs, pressing intimately against her center.
Sparks of pleasure burst behind her eyelids.
She rocked against him shamelessly, chasing the delicious friction, needing more.
His hands found her breasts, palming the soft weight, thumbs brushing over the peaked nipples straining against her bodice. Ada whimpered, arching into his touch.
"Jonny," she gasped, hardly recognizing her own voice, husky with need. "Please..."
He claimed her mouth again in another kiss, his tongue stroking against hers. She clutched at his shoulders, feeling the flex of his muscle beneath her fingers. Heat pooled low in her belly, her body aching, empty, desperate to be filled by him.
Jonny's hands slid down to cup her bottom, squeezing, pulling her harder against the rigid evidence of his own desire.
Ada nipped at his bottom lip, drawing a growl from deep in his chest. Her blood sang with reckless wanting, all rational thought drowned out by the pounding demand for more, closer, now.
“Fuck, I want you, Ada,” he groaned out, and while she knew that a great deal of his need was likely driven by anger at her and not actually wanting her, she couldn’t deny the need that simmered deep within her, that wanted him in turn.
“Take me, then,” she said, clutching his shoulders, lifting her skirts.
He stared at her incredulously for a moment, his eyes hooded and heavy, pausing, and she could tell his mind was at war with his body as to whether he should continue this or not.
She made the decision for him, reaching down and undoing the fall of his pants. He leaned his head forward, resting it against hers as he breathed heavily.
He pushed his trousers over his thighs and, in almost one swift movement, lifted her up onto the heavy wooden table behind her. Big hands encircled her thighs as he pushed her dress up higher over them until he was there, thick, hard, and heavy against her.
Ada let go of all her uncertainties, concentrating on the need and tension stretching between them as she arched up, inviting him in.
And he answered by gripping her bottom and lifting her toward him as he sheathed himself within her in one fluid motion.
She hissed for a moment at the pressure of his filling her so abruptly, and his brows lifted as he stared at her in surprise, likely uncertain of just how much experience she had.
But she wouldn’t give him cause to think of that at this moment.
Right now, she wanted to stop thinking and just feel.
He was angry? Good. Best to get it out now.
She gingerly tried to move back and forth beneath him, and he groaned, his hips moving against her, but apparently that wasn’t enough as he gripped her and began to move, in and out, his jaw tight, leaving her to wonder if he was holding back.
“Give me everything,” she gasped out. “Don’t hold back.”
He picked up his tempo then, in and out, slower, faster, until the table was moving beneath them, sliding along the floor, back until it hit the wall behind them.
One hand encircled her waist, holding her against him, the other lifted and moved beneath her skirts.
Ada gasped when his fingers found her, circling the sensitive bud of nerves right above where they were joined.
He added pressure, moving back and forth, up and down, until all she could do was hold onto him, throw her head back, and enjoy the ride.
Her body was winding around him, climbing higher and higher as a headiness filled her, until it felt like her soul was leaving her body to sit above and watch.
She cried out his name as she pulsed around him.
His face scrunched in pain until she finally began to come down and slumped against him, causing Jonny to hold her tighter as he stilled, losing himself within her and coming himself.
They finally stopped moving, both of them panting, until he lifted his head and his gaze met hers.
“Fuck,” he said, the words falling off his lips as he looked around, as though just realizing what they had done. “Fuck, Ada.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He waved his hand between them. “I never meant for this to happen. I got carried away, and I—”
Distantly, she registered the creak of floorboards, the scuff of footsteps beyond the door. Panic cut through Ada, bringing her back to the moment.
"Jonny," she hissed, pushing him away. "Someone's coming."
He froze, his breath ragged against her kiss-swollen lips. For a moment, his distress still seemed to overwhelm him, and Ada didn’t know if she should be insulted or infuriated. Then the fog cleared, awareness and alarm snapping into place.
Hurriedly, they disentangled themselves, straightening rumpled clothes with shaking hands.
Ada finger-combed her mussed hair while Jonny rubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw, both of them carefully avoiding each other's gaze.
Her heart still raced, her body humming, aching yet sated.
What had she been thinking, letting things get so out of control?
A knock sounded at the door, making them both jump. Jonny shot her a loaded glance before striding over to answer it, his shoulders tense. Ada held her breath, expecting the worst – her father, or David, although what he would be doing here, she had no idea.
“Miss? Is everything all right in there?”
Jonny shot a glance over to Ada.
“The coach driver,” she said, slapping a palm to her forehead.
“He and my maid are waiting. I had to bring someone…” She lifted her hands in the air, smoothing them over her hair one more time.
The driver might have suspicions, but she couldn’t see him saying anything to her father without proof. “I best be going.”
“Ada—”
“Goodbye, Jonny,” she said, walking out of the door, head held high.
She had no idea what had just happened. She stared out the window at the nondescript door as they drove away. It had been the most confusing moments of her life.
And also the most glorious.
But she had to forget it. Nothing could come of this. She would catch feelings for him — not that she hadn’t already, but she could at least try to ignore them — and he would leave her, looking out for himself, as he always did.
She had promised to help him avoid jail. She had done this.
Now this had to end. And it had to end now. Before she lost everything.