Chapter 18 #2
Finally, he started to press inside her. She widened her thighs, wanting more of him, but he went slow. Carefully, letting her body adjust. Finally, when he was balls deep, she felt overwhelmed.
He gently slid out and then tunneled back in. “Are you going to behave?”
She grabbed his head and clasped her ankles at his back. “You talk too much.”
He bit her bottom lip. Then he licked along her jaw. “I could stay here all night.”
“Yes. I’ll stay out of danger.” It was the best she’d do. She would not use the word behave. At least not tonight. Something told her she’d just glimpsed the dominance in the man, and her body seemed totally on board.
“Good girl.” He pulled out and hammered back inside her, sparking nerves alive. Her internal walls squeezed all around him.
Had anything ever felt this good?
He slid one arm behind her thigh, lifting one leg, and began to pound. Powerful and wild, he hammered inside her until all she could do was hold on. She fought her body and him, trying to keep some control, but he just increased his power.
It was too much. She broke on wild waves, jerking against him, moaning his name. He followed her, biting the soft area between her neck and shoulder, leaving his mark.
There was a good chance she’d always feel it there, even when she moved on.
If she could.
Morning rain pattered softly against the windows as Adam strolled into his living room to find Bianca curled up on the sofa. Her phone rested on the coffee table, and the fireplace crackled gently nearby. He’d heard her get up earlier but figured she needed some space, so he’d given it to her.
Wearing only his boxers, he crossed the room, lifted her easily, sat on the sofa, and settled her into his lap. Then he reached for the blanket Mrs. Hudson had given him and draped it over them.
He kissed her neck. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Was I too rough with you last night?”
Bianca snuggled deeper into him, still staring at her phone. “No. You were perfect.”
Adam stretched his legs onto the coffee table and settled her more securely against him, feeling more content than he had in far too long. “What are you doing?”
“I need to call my cousin Randi. I hate to let her down, but I’m not sure what to do.”
“Who’s your cousin Randi?”
Bianca tipped her face up and kissed beneath his jaw. “She owns the production company I’m working for. This is her first film, and she’s put a lot of money into it. I let her down.” She shivered, sadness radiating from her.
Adam tucked the blanket over them. “What do you mean?”
“I couldn’t find the ranch.” She sounded defeated.
He closed his eyes briefly. “This is for your cousin’s movie?”
“Yeah. I have a couple of secondary locations, and the studio’s ready for filming, but the ranch setting… I couldn’t make it work.”
Adam exhaled. “You can use my ranch.” The words were out before he could stop them, and a headache immediately followed.
Bianca jerked upright and drew back to look at him. “What?”
“You can use my ranch,” he repeated, more firmly this time, even though he wasn’t remotely looking forward to having people running all over his property. Not to mention the ribbing he’d get from his friends.
Her lashes lowered. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
Adam laughed softly. “Seriously?”
She smiled faintly. “Yeah. Just because we slept together—”
He sighed and glanced out the window toward his peaceful yard stretching down toward the creek. “I screwed up your deal with the Willoughbys because we really don’t need that kind of activity where our ranches meet,” he said. “But I don’t do much ranching near this house.”
Excitement lit her face instantly. “Are you serious? Do you mean it?”
“Yes. But you get one week. Seven days. No more.”
“We can do that,” she rushed. “In and out. Totally.”
He was such a sucker. “Okay.”
She bit her lip. “Counterproposal.”
“What?”
Her eyes gleamed. “I get to plant flowers and bushes around your house and by that barn I saw.”
“Knock yourself out.” He didn’t mind that at all. “Mrs. Poppins, Mrs. Hudson, and Mrs. Schiller get to be extras.”
Bianca smiled. “I’ll get them in whenever I can, but you know my limitations.”
“I know. But even if they just think they’re being filmed, give them a chance.”
“I will. I promise.” She shifted onto his lap and smiled down at him, radiating happiness.
“If I make sure they’re at least filmed, if not in the final movie, can we film once at the bar?
Just one total day. We’ll be done before the bar opens at seven.
Please?” The words came so fast he had trouble following them.
He dropped his head back against the sofa. “Okay. One day only at the bar, but you change the name. I don’t want it to say Adam’s. I don’t want tourists coming here. I want a completely different name and a different look out front.”
“Hm.” She tapped a finger against her lips. “I can do that. We can change the name and have the prop guys build a different front so nobody recognizes it.”
His shoulders relaxed. “All right. Deal.”
“Yay!” She hugged him tightly. “Will you take me outside?”
“Outside?”
She jumped up. “I need to see where we’re putting flowers.”
“It’s raining.”
She hopped up and ran toward the door wearing nothing but one of his shirts. “I don’t care.”
“Hey. Put some clothes on,” he said, standing and following her.
She flung the door open and stepped onto the porch. Cold rain misted against the wood. “We could put big pots over—” She stopped talking.
Adam moved instantly, pulling her behind him.
A massive bouquet of red roses sat on the porch, the petals glistening in the rain, dark crimson against the wood planks.
He scanned the yard, seeing nothing but his truck and the land stretching toward the barn. There was nobody out there right now. He stepped forward slowly and picked up the card tucked into the bouquet.
Bianca’s hands flattened over his back. “Adam?”
He opened the card, and his stomach dropped.
I was a bad shot the other night. Didn’t mean to hit the tire.
He flipped the card over to read the second line.
Next time it’s between your eyes.