by Raquel Belle
“I can’t believe Noah,” she said.
“He means well,” Sarah said. “Remember that he has no idea about why you and Bryce broke up.”
Jenna scowled, still furious and still very much wanting to throttle Noah. “Don’t get him riled up, Jenna. He’s nervous enough about the wedding. He tries to hide it but I know him too well. An argument with you might send him over the edge.”
“You’re lucky I love you,” Jenna said. “Fine, I won’t confront my idiot of a brother, but you really should tell him to stay out of my life.”
Sarah sighed. “I’ll do my best. Do you want me to go tell Bryce to get lost?”
“No, I can do it.”
Jenna reluctantly made her way across the room to the exit. She caught Caroline glaring daggers at her and lifted a brow before stepping outside.
“Jenna, I was worried you wouldn’t come out.”
She let out an impatient sigh. “What are you doing here, Bryce. This is a rehearsal dinner for the bridal party only.” She frowned when he only stood there with his hands in his pockets and stared at her. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to talk.” His tone was too sugary, much too nice compared to the last few times she’d had any conversation with him. “You look amazing.” His eyes running over her made her skin crawl. His appraisal was nothing like Adam’s which always left licks of flame on her skin.
“Funny, that wasn’t your sentiment a few days ago. I believe you called me fat.”
“I did not.”
“Not in so many words,” she said. “Well, we’ve talked. Bye Bryce.” She spun around to head back inside. She was stopped by a hand around her arm.
“Jenna, wait. You’ve never been like this.” Bryce closed the distance between them to hover over her, forcing her to bend backward.
“Let go of me,” she said.
His hold only tightened painfully, making her wince. “Just give me a few minutes, Jen.”
“How dare you touch me? You’re lucky I don’t knee you in the balls.” Shock caused him to loosen his grip, and she pulled away with disgust, rubbing her arm. “We have nothing to talk about.”
He opened his mouth as if to argue but he snapped it shut, and glanced over her shoulder with fear shadowing his features and a hint of annoyance. Adam stood in the doorway, his face a stormy mask. Bryce backed away, and she gave him a dismissive glance, and went back inside.
“Adam ….” As always, she seemed to have lost her breath.
“Jenna,” he said, lowly, accusingly, his eyes suddenly unreadable.
“I was just …”
“I saw.”
Confused by the steel in his tone, she tilted her head to study him closely.
“Sarah is going to take you home, and I’m going to head out with Noah and the others.”
Disappointment surged through her. The bachelor party. She had hoped to get some alone time with Adam. They hadn’t gotten a minute of privacy since Sarah and Noah’s totally unnecessary outing two nights before.
“Okay.” She nodded, trying to hide her displeasure.
Adam turned on his heels and walked off without another word and with stiff shoulders, leaving her baffled and more than a bit concerned.
Chapter Fifteen
Adam
It was still early, way too early to be parked outside of the Benson’s house instead of enjoying Noah’s bachelor party. But, as Noah had promised, he and Adam had slipped away early, and no one noticed. The free bar and strippers ensured neither man would be missed. Adam drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, as he contemplated confronting Jenna or driving back to the hotel.
In the end, his jealousy and curiosity got the better of him. With a muttered curse, he picked up his phone and called her. To his surprise, she answered on the first ring. He felt some satisfaction that perhaps she’d been awaiting his call.
“Adam.”
He loved the way his name sounded coming from Jenna's lips. Somehow, she made his simple, common name sound exotic with her breathy, sultry voice. He especially loved when she moaned his name. The memory of how she had sounded when she came apart returned to him in a rush. Adam swallowed the groan that threatened to come out. “I’m outside.” He expected to see her appear at the door. He was too on edge to be polite. What he wanted to do was grab her, kiss her senselessly, and then demand to know what bullshit Bryce had whispered in her ear, and then show her in many ways why she didn’t need her asshole of an ex.
As expected, the front door opened, and Jenna stood peering out into the darkness with a frown. She wore too short shorts and a tank top that barely constrained her delectable breasts, and he had to stifle another groan. As soon as she spotted his car, she bounced down the steps and barreled towards him. Yanking the door open, she peeked inside.
“Adam, are you okay? You sounded strange on the phone.”
He was touched by her concern, but that did nothing to lighten his mood. “Get in.” Suddenly, he wanted to take her away to have her to himself.
Jenna slid into the car and held up her phone to study him with the dim light. “You aren’t drunk, are you? If you’ve been drinking, give me that car key right now and …”
“I haven’t had a single drink.”
She let out a breath and frowned. “Oh, in that case, I’m sorry for going all-mom on you. What’s wrong? You’re in a weird mood. You have been since the restaurant.”
He drove off without a word and Jenna gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you with me.”
Jenna looked at her attire with a frown. She opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. She stole a glance at his profile, noting his brooding expression. She didn’t say anything further, just waited until he was ready to talk.
Only when he parked in the hotel’s lot did Adam speak. “I was surprised you were still awake. I thought you’d be getting your beauty sleep before the big day.”
“I’m not the bride,” she said with a small smile. “I don’t need to be radiant in the morning. Besides, I couldn’t sleep. I was worried about you.”
His brows lifted, as he glanced her way. “Me? Why?”
“You seemed upset at the restaurant, and you just left without a word as if you were angry with me. But why would you be angry with me?”
A muscle ticked in Adam’s jaw as he reined in his temper. It was a difficult feat with the memory of Jenna and Bryce standing so close together running through his mind.
“Are you going to take him back?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Bryce,” he said. “You two looked pretty cozy tonight. Your brother wouldn’t mind if you two gave things another try.” Bile rose in his throat. Or was it jealousy rearing its ugly head again?
“My brother is an idiot,” Jenna said, outraged. “So, what? You’ve been in a sour mood because you’re jealous?”
“No. Yes … I don’t know.”
“Unbelievable.” Jenna sat forward and folded her arm defiantly. “We’re done here. Take me back home.”
“We’re not done. We haven’t talked.”
She rounded on him with eyes narrowed to slits and blazing with fury. “Now you want to talk? As opposed to telling me what was up at the restaurant? Instead of ignoring me and robbing me of much-needed sleep? To think I stayed up wracking my brain for what I could have done wrong. Take me home.”
Adam sighed, his own anger dissipating. “Okay, maybe I was jealous. He had his hands on you.”
“So that automatically means I’m taking him back?” She asked. “You insult me.”
Adam killed the engine. Hell if he was going to take her back to her parents’ place without fixing things. “We’re going inside to talk.”
“I’m not going …”
He jumped out of the car and slammed his door, cutting her off. Marching around to yank her door open, he stated, “Let’s go.”
“What part of ‘take me home’ didn’t you understand?”
<
br /> “So, we’re having our first fight as a fake couple. Interesting.” He was hit with a furious glare and had to bite back his smile. “I’d rather we didn’t do this in a parking lot.”
“We’re not doing anything anywhere. What’s going to happen is you’re going to take me back to mom and dad’s.”
“Or I could throw you over my shoulder and haul your ass inside and really give the town something to talk about.”
Jenna went quiet and gazed up at him. He watched her uncertain expression with a humorless smile, as she pondered if he was being serious. When Adam lifted a brow in challenge, she growled and stepped out.
“Good girl,” he said.
“Don’t make me kick you somewhere important.”
He couldn’t hold back the smile that lifted his mouth as Jenna brushed passed him.
In the privacy of his room, Jenna turned to face him. “You’re not jealous, or you are jealous, or you don’t know if you’re jealous. Which is it, Adam? You don’t do relationships, yet you care so much about me possibly getting back with Bryce. You’re giving me emotional whiplash here.” She let out a breath and shoved her fingers through her hair, tousling the silky strands. “I never should have talked you into the whole fake relationship thing. Now, we’re both miserable and confused.”
Adam pulled in a deep breath. He’d admitted earlier that he was a coward when it came to matters of the heart. And he was starting to resent that about himself, so he had to fix his problem somehow. “You’re right about the confusing part. I’m not good at the emotional aspect of things, Jenna. I’ve always gone out of my way to avoid this.” He waved a hand between them. “And you’re one of the very few people who know why.”
She sighed. “I understand your fears, and I always have, but you’re not your father, Adam.” She chanced a look at his somber expression. “We’re not our parents.”
Silence ensued, long but not uncomfortable. The realization hit him then that he’d always felt at ease with Jenna, unlike how he’d ever felt with any other woman. She knew his past and never held it against him. She understood him. Adam swallowed. “Seeing you with Bryce made me jealous.” When he didn’t break out into hives after his admission, he took a step towards her. It was a minor confession for most, but for him, it was like climbing Mount Everest.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Adam, stop looking at me as if I’m a ticking bomb. I’m hardly expecting a declaration of love.”
Taken aback, he froze and then laughter erupted. “Thank God. I’ve never done this before.”
“Gee, I couldn’t tell,” Jenna said, sarcastically.
He smiled. “This doesn’t mean I want more, as in a relationship. I meant what I said before, that I don’t want to hurt you.”
“And as I’ve said before, I’m a big girl.” Her shoulders lifted. “What makes you think I want a relationship with you?’
Adam stilled, took note of the pang of hurt that passed through him brought on by her words. It made him realize that perhaps he wasn’t worthy of a real relationship with anyone. But, he took the uncomfortable feeling and locked it away, as he’d always done. “I didn’t bring you here just to talk. I want to finish what I started. What we started.”
Her intake of breath, and the pretty flush of her cheeks aroused him. It amazed him how the simplest of reactions from her enticed him. It made no sense. “Then why are we still talking?”
He nearly reminded her not to expect some great romance after they had sex, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to risk ruining the mood. There was a sexual tension sizzling in the atmosphere that excited him, and he remembered Jenna once telling him that he hadn’t found the right thing to be excited about. It seemed he had. Her.
Adam decided to stay where he was and willed her to come to him, to make sure she wanted him as much he wanted her. To his satisfaction, she took slow steps towards him.
“Are you still worried about Noah?”
“Let’s not discuss your brother right now. There’s only one thing I want to focus on at the moment.” His gaze dropped lower, lingering on the tiny points peeking through her top. “Well, a few things.”
As expected, a pretty blush accompanied her smile. She had looked so enticing the first time he’d made her come, and he couldn’t wait to bring her to that point again just so he could watch. But first, he wanted to bring out the side of her that was hidden from the world, the wild side he’d gotten a glimpse of the other night, the side that had almost tempted him into fucking her against the wall in an alley. He suspected that he was the only one to have ever witnessed that side of Jenna and a wave of male satisfaction swept over him. There was also possessiveness, that animalistic nature that made him want to snarl viciously at the thought of her being so uninhibited with any other man.
“I want you to strip for me, Jenna.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
A wicked smile curved his mouth. “You hate that I see you as innocent. Show me how sinful you can be.”
She gulped. “I thought you said you were the boss in bed.”
Adam smirked and shrugged. “I’m already breaking so many rules with you, why not break one more?” He plopped onto the bed and leaned back with a wide grin. “Go ahead. I liked the little I saw the other night. Show me everything. Show me that temptress from the other night.”
“Adam,” she said, “it was dark, and I’d had plenty to drink. I’m not really that woman.”
“I think you are. Show me.”
Her eyes locked with his, and it took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to get up, throw her on the bed, and bury himself so deep inside of her, that he’d never find his way out.
“Fine,” she whispered, reaching for the button of her shorts. With deliberate slowness, she eased it over her hips and down her thighs. Adam’s mouth went dry. Underneath her shorts, she wore nothing. His strangled groan made the corners of her mouth twitch.
“Seductress,” he said.
“I’ve never been called that before,” she returned, breathlessly.
His eyes slid up to her face. Her lips were parted, her breathing unsteady, and her eyes wild with desire. She was just as aroused by him watching as he was … and that made the tent at his crotch grow to larger proportion. Her attention was on his growing erection, and it twitched as if calling her to it.
Jenna lifted her top over her head and stood before him fully exposed. She fought the urge to hide from him. “I’ve never done this before … having someone watch me like this.”
“Would you believe me if I told you that you're the most exquisite creature I’ve ever laid eyes on?”
“The way you say it, and the way you look at me would lead me to believe you. But it can’t be true.”
“Maybe you’d believe me if I showed you.” His words were an invitation, and she took it. Eyes fixed on her, he waited for her to reach him. He couldn’t get enough of looking at her. It was different with Jenna. Usually, he’d be buried balls deep inside whichever woman he was with after minimal foreplay. With them, it was simply about satisfying his sexual urge. With Jenna, it was more than that; it was a raging need that made him want to see everything, to explore everything, to make each moment last forever. His desire for her almost catapulted him into a panic. Why did he have to feel so much with her, for her? What he felt, and what he told her were complete contradictions, and he would probably, eventually, lose his mind, if he hadn’t already.
Jenna straddled him, her modesty apparently gone. He couldn’t help touching her, running his fingers over her bare skin, as she helped him out of his shirt. “I love these …” She outlined the images on his skin with her fingers.
“My tattoos have never incited love before,” he said.
Her lashes lowered to veil her eyes. She shrugged. “They enhance that bad boy edge you’ve always had.”
His brow shot up. “Bad boy edge?”
“Why do you think all the girls flocked to you in high school?”
“Bad boy charm,” she said, her roaming hands going lower to undo his belt. “Most girls love a bad boy. That sense of danger.”
“Do you?” Even carrying on a conversation with Jenna while she teased him with their fingertips was intriguing … and again, something he’d never done before.
“I suppose I do.” She pulled his belt off with a loud swish and yanked his pants open.
He inhaled sharply and had to force himself to stay still, as she finished undressing him. He was supposed to take charge after nudging her out of her comfort zone a bit, but he was too intrigued by everything she did not let her continue. He was far too curious to see what she would do next.
Jenna began her exploration with her mouth on his chest, as she moved downward. He held his breath, fire building and raging inside of him, as he watched, entranced, as her mouth moved dangerously close to his pulsating cock.
“Jenna,” he said when she grasped his length and flicked the tip with her tongue. He hadn’t expected that, and the small gesture alone nearly sent him over the edge. Adam fought for control all the while watching her pleasure him. Her movements and strokes were hesitant at first, a sign of her inexperience, but it was the most pleasure any woman had ever given him. Jenna with his cock in her mouth was the hottest thing he’d ever seen and the image would remain in his mind for the rest of his life. There was no way he could allow her to continue, however, not if he wanted to last even another second.
“No more Jenna. You’re driving me crazy.” Grasping her chin, he stopped her maddening movements.
“How was that?” she asked, her face flushed, and her eyes eager for a response. “I’m no expert.”
“It was too good,” he said. The sight of her stirred something in his heart that he would rather not analyze anytime soon. To distract himself, he flipped them over. Pinning her beneath him. If he took charge, did what he did with every other lover, maybe the strange and frightening kick in his gut and the fluttering of his heart would stop. But, Jenna only managed to throw him for a loop again.
