Chapter 16 #2
“Please,” she whispered. The word fell from her mouth, and the desperate tone of it brought a flush to her cheeks.
“Are you sure?” he asked, again reading her response with his eyes.
“I’m sure.”
He cupped her cheeks with both hands and brushed his lips over hers, once, twice.
The third time, he sealed his mouth over hers, and the gentle kiss turned demanding.
A small moan escaped from low in her throat.
At the sound, Adam slid an arm around her lower back and pulled her body flush with his. She melted against him.
When they came up for air, he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Let’s move this upstairs. We seem to have an audience,” he said, glancing over at Fluff.
While the dog was sprawled contentedly in his oversized bed in front of the French doors, his alert brown eyes tracked their every move, and his big, furry tail thumped heavily against the wood floor.
Josie let out a small laugh. “He really is watching us.”
“He doesn’t miss a trick,” Adam said, and then he took her hand and led her up the stairs.
Josie’s racing heart stuttered when she stepped into Adam’s bedroom. She took in the space with interest and more than a little apprehension. Adam noticed her shift in mood immediately.
“Are you okay?” he asked, bringing one of her hands to his mouth and planting a soft kiss on the palm.
She didn’t quite know how to articulate her feelings.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. Whatever it is, it’s okay. I promise,” Adam said. The sincerity of his tone had her letting out a long breath.
“This is the room you shared with your wife. Are you sure it’s all right for me to be here?”
Adam’s expression filled with understanding. He kept hold of Josie’s hand and led her to the bed, then took a seat beside her. His eyes drifted around the room and Josie’s followed.
The walls were a soft cream color, and the comforter and curtains a deep shade of blue.
The nightstand, dresser, and bedframe looked to be a matching set, all a weathered gray.
There was a single painting on one wall depicting a lighthouse, with the ocean behind it.
To the right, an open door revealed the master bath, and to the left, a walk-in closet.
It was an attractive space, but it didn’t have much personality.
“When Allie died, the kids slept in here with me for a few weeks. Then Fluff came along and helped ease them back into their own rooms. For another couple of months, I kept everything the way Allie had it. Pictures on the walls, colorful blankets and pillows, her jewelry on the dresser, her stuff in the closet. I wasn’t ready to let any of it go, but a little before the one-year anniversary of her death, I knew surrounding myself with the past wasn’t helping.
I want my kids to talk about her, I want pictures of her in the house, I want to think about her with love, but having so much of her here in my most personal space wasn’t helping me move forward. ”
Josie listened intently, the therapist in her impressed with Adam’s self-awareness and emotional strength.
“I kept a few of Allie’s things that I think the kids might want someday and donated the rest. I sold the furniture and bought a brand-new set, painted the walls, and redecorated. Well, sort of redecorated. It’s still a little sparse.”
He gave a self-deprecating laugh and turned to face Josie, both her hands still caught in his.
“You belong here, Josie. I want you here,” he said, the intensity returning to his voice and the heat to his look.
His reassuring words eased her mind and the tension faded from her body. In its place, desire warmed her from the inside.
Adam closed the distance between them, covered her lips with his, and resumed kissing her. When his mouth left hers, he trailed his tongue along her throat. Josie’s head fell back, exposing more of her neck. His warm hand found its way under her shirt and caressed the soft skin of her lower back.
“What do you like, Josie?” he asked. “Tell me.”
“I like this,” she whispered.
“Good.”
With ease, Adam shifted her further on the bed and onto her back. He lowered himself carefully over her, supporting most of his weight on his forearms. His hard, pulsing erection pressed against her center and without thinking, she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“I’ve dreamed about these legs wrapped around me,” he said.
He ground against her and her hips thrust upward to meet his.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he said.
“You are too,” she answered, pleased and somewhat shocked by her own forwardness.
“Let’s fix that, shall we?”
Adam lifted himself off her and she immediately missed his warmth, his touch, his weight pressing her into the mattress. She sat back up and he helped her lift her sweater over her head. His low, approving growl at the sight of her lacy bra had her cheeks flushing with pleasure.
“Gorgeous,” he whispered.
Some magical combination of reverence and arousal filled Adam’s expression, and Josie blinked at him.
She swallowed back the unexpected lump that clogged her throat.
Of course, the man didn’t miss a thing, not the hint of disbelief in Josie’s eyes, or the blush of pink coloring her skin, or the rapid beat of her pulse.
He brushed the back of his hand gently down her sternum, and she shivered at his touch.
“What’s going on in that big, beautiful brain of yours?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
She hesitated, took a breath. “No one has ever looked at me like this before.”
A shadow fell across his face. “I can’t believe that’s true.”
“Oh, it is,” she insisted.
Josie didn’t want to break the erotic spell he seemed to be casting, but honesty between them felt crucial. “I don’t have much experience with, um, men, but I always got the feeling I was a disappointment to them.”
Her face heated now for an entirely different reason, and humiliation had her squeezing her eyes shut.
“Don’t hide from me, Josie,” Adam said, brushing the softest kiss over her lips.
She trusted him completely, with her feelings, with her insecurities, with her body. When she opened her eyes, she allowed him to see that trust reflected in her expression. Her vulnerability was raw and terrifying, but it was also freeing not to have to hide it.
“I see you, Josie Callahan, and what I see takes my breath away,” Adam said.