Catching Caroline (Silver Falls Book 1)

by Megan Nugen Isbell

“Mind if I grab a quick shower then?”

  “Of course not. It’ll be ready when you come down.”

  He took my hand and then held the back of it to his lips, kissing it softly before letting go so it fell back to my side. Just the simple act of his kiss on my skin had my mind going to all different places and thoughts about what I wanted him to do to me.

  “Be right back,” I said softly, forcing myself to walk away before I wouldn’t be able to.

  I took a quick shower and then went to my room to decide what to wear. Normally after work, I threw on sweats and a t-shirt. That wouldn’t do tonight though, not after seeing the way Adam was dressed. I knew that wasn’t his usual lounging around the house attire. I’d seen that before: basketball shorts and a t-shirt without a second thought to his hair. That wasn’t the case now though. He looked like he’d walked off a page of a magazine and he’d made me dinner to boot. I hadn’t expected that, not at all, but he’d done it and he was waiting downstairs for me.

  I looked through my closet, finally deciding on a pair of my favorite jeans and a white, linen blouse. It was loose and comfortable and I was aware of the deep neckline. I thought for a second it might show too much, but I quickly discarded that thought from my mind. Part of me wanted Adam to see it.

  I quickly applied a little make up. Not much, just some powder and mascara and then ran the blow dryer over it until it was nearly dry and hanging loose down my back. I looked in the mirror when I was done and I took in a deep breath before going back downstairs.

  Adam had set the table and was pouring us each a glass of wine when I walked in. He turned his head when he heard me enter and if he was trying to be discreet when his eyes ran over my body, he had failed epically.

  “You’re just in time,” he said and I stepped into the kitchen, handing me the glass of wine he’d just poured.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking it and making my way to the table where two plates of risotto waited for us along with a salad. I was surprised when he pulled my chair out for me. I didn’t expect Adam to be such a gentleman.

  He sat down across from me and then gestured to the salad bowl in the middle of the table.

  “Do you want some?” he asked and when I nodded, he filled my bowl and then his.

  “You really didn’t have to do this, Adam,” I said softly, meeting his gaze across the table.

  “I wanted to,” he said and then raised his glass, holding it out towards me. I picked mine up and we gently touched them so a quiet tinkling sound flowed through the room.

  “You know the last time a guy poured me a glass of wine, he went full frontal on me,” I said with a laugh. I watched as Adam smiled and took a sip.

  “You’re safe with me, Sweet Caroline,” he said and I smiled back at him.

  “Did you and Sawyer have a good day?” I asked as we started eating.

  “As good a day as one can have on a dairy farm,” he said, which made me laugh again. “I’m glad you’re home now though.”

  “Me too,” I said, gazing at him across from me. “This is delicious.”

  “Thank you. My parents weren’t into cooking much when I was a kid, but my grandmother was. She was taught by her mother, who was from Italy, and sometimes I’d hang out with her in the kitchen. I picked up a thing or two.”

  “I’d say you picked up more than that. This is amazing.”

  “I think if baseball hadn’t worked out, I might’ve gone to culinary school,” he said and I felt my fork rest on the edge of my plate as I tilted my head quizzically at him. “What is it?” he asked me.

  “I’m just starting to realize how much there is I don’t know about you, Adam. I’ve known you almost my whole life and yet, there’s still so much more I have to learn.”

  “I’m not a complicated man, Caroline,” he said softly, reaching across the table and taking my hand for a moment. I looked down at our hands, the way his dwarfed mine and I could feel my heart beating fast again before I looked up to meet his eyes. “But I’m looking forward to learning everything about you.” His hand slid away, but our eyes stayed locked on each other for a few seconds before I smiled, looked away and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. I felt his foot brush mine beneath the table then, forcing me to look at him again. It was hard to look at Adam for too long. When I did, all I could think about was the things I wanted him to do to me and the things I wanted to do to him.

  “I’m not very interesting, Adam,” I said softly, but he shook his head.

  “I have to disagree with you, Caroline. I find everything about you interesting.” He took my hand again, his thumb stroking the back of it as he said the words. “You always have been.”

  I felt my face curl up in curiosity and he smiled sweetly at me from across the table.

  “I thought you only thought of me as Sawyer’s little sister.”

  “I did, but even then there was something about you that made me want to be around you. You were funny and stubborn and even though you could be a brat,” he said with a soft laugh, “you were probably the sweetest girl I’d ever known. No matter what Sawyer and I did to you, you never held it against us. You always forgave us.”

  “What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment.” I smiled at him and then squeezed his hand. “Really, I just wanted you guys to like me. I idolized you and Sawyer growing up, but I was just the pesky little sister who tagged along.”

  “Well, you’re not that anymore,” he said, a slow smile forming on his face. “You have no clue what you do to men, Caroline, do you?” he asked softly and I felt myself blush again. “You were with Caleb so long you never gave yourself the chance to see the affects you have on men.” His foot was touching mine and my heart was starting to beat faster again by the way he was looking at me. “You’re all I’ve been able to think about since I got back here; since the first time I saw you. You have no idea what kinds of thoughts I’ve had about you,” he said, his voice lowering so it had that rasp I liked so much. I wanted him to tell me about those thoughts. I wanted to know if they matched mine.

  “I’ve had thoughts about you too, Adam,” I admitted quietly and one side of his mouth raised up. He liked knowing he’d been on my mind. He liked knowing I wanted him to touch me.

  I was surprised when he let go of my hand and stood up from the table. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him when he started towards me, walking slowly until he was towering over me. He held his hand out and I took it. He pulled me to my feet as he threaded his fingers into the back of my hair, gently pulling until my face was tilted towards his. There was hunger in his eyes. He wasn’t looking at me in that sweet way anymore, but rather he was looking at me with desire. I was a woman he wanted to possess and I wanted to give everything to him.

  He came closer to me and I waited to feel his lips on mine, but instead, I felt them on my neck, burning where they met my skin. He kissed me gently and I could hear myself moan softly as he made his way over my throat. Then I felt the warm wetness of his tongue, tracing a line on my jaw.

  “Is this how you wanted me to touch you?” he whispered into my ear. I couldn’t speak though so I just nodded as he started nibbling on my ear, his warm breath consuming everything as I felt my knees becoming weak from his touch. “What about this? Did you want me to touch you here?”

  I felt his hand slide onto my ass, gently cupping over my tight jeans and pulling me close. His lips left my ear, moving slowly onto my cheek and then they found their way to my mouth, resting them there so still that after a few moments, it was driving me out of my mind.

  “Kiss me,” I begged in a quiet whisper.

  He started running his tongue slowly over my lips. He knew what he was doing. He liked taunting me, but I decided to take matters into my own hands and pushed my tongue into his mouth, trying to get as deep as I could. This had excited him. I could tell by the eagerness of his tongue. We started moving then, our mouths never disconnecting as we fumbled through the kitchen, only stopping when I felt my back crash
against the counter, forcing us apart. We stared at each other for a few seconds. The fire in his eyes was even stronger now as I felt his hands on my waist. A second later, he’d lifted me as if it were nothing, and set me down on the counter so we were nearly eye to eye now, so different than when I was on my feet.

  He didn’t break my gaze and his breath quickened, just as mine had. His hands came up then, resting on the top button of my blouse that was already showing my cleavage. Slowly, he undid the top button. He met my eyes after it was undone, silently asking if it was alright what he’d done. When I didn’t say anything, he undid the next one, once again checking with me that it was okay. I could feel myself biting my lip as he undid the last few buttons until it hung open. He gazed down at my nearly exposed chest and then raised his hands slowly, easing my blouse off so it hung at my elbows and I sat before him in nothing but my lacy pink bra. My heart was pounding now simply because of the way he was looking at me. Slowly, he raised his hand and began tracing his fingertips over the mounds of my breasts that were peeking out the top of my bra. I felt the goosebumps explode on my skin when he touched me. I gasped when he cupped one of my small breasts in his large hands. It felt so good and I wanted him to do more. The space between my thighs was burning, begging to feel him inside of me. It’d only been two days since Adam kissed me, but I wanted so much more from him.

  His lips were on my neck again as he continued to tease my breasts, soft moans escaping my mouth each time he made contact with my skin.

  “Adam,” I whispered and I found myself reaching for the waistband of his pants, gently starting to slide my fingertips inside. I could feel his sensitive muscles tighten and I heard a quick moan in my ear. I reached for his zipper, but then I felt his hands leave my breasts and gently take my hand that was resting precariously on his jeans. We were both breathless and when our eyes met, gone was the desire from earlier. Now all I saw was concern.

  “I’m sorry, Caroline,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry for losing control like that.”

  “Why...why’d you stop?” I stuttered, trying to push down the sting of his rejection.

  “Because I had to before we went too far,” he said, gently sliding my blouse back on my shoulders and doing up the buttons for me. “Because you aren’t an object. You’re not some meaningless fling. You’re you. You’re Caroline,” he said with a shy smile as he traced his thumb over my jawline. “I can’t risk ruining this thing between us just as it’s getting started, even if I want nothing more right now than to scoop you up and take you to my bed.” The fire was back in his eyes and I could see the struggle in him to fight it. “You’re so beautiful. You’re so special,” he whispered, looking into my eyes again. “And I just want to do this right.”

  I was taken aback by his response. I didn’t expect this side of Adam, but his actions answered undoubtedly the question Erica had asked me earlier whether this was serious or if this was just a fling? If it’d been the latter, he’d be making love to me right now with no regard to what it would do to us, but he wasn’t. It was deeper, just as I’d thought, but I had a feeling it was even more profound than I’d suspected.

  His hands slid around my waist again, easing me off the counter.

  “Are you okay, Caroline?” he asked me, looking down from where he towered over me once more.

  “Yes,” I said softly, reaching up and resting my palm on his smooth face as I smiled up at him. He smiled back and then brushed his lips tenderly over mine and I realized this was what I needed from him, to know I was more to him than a summer conquest. I meant something to him. I was worth waiting for and when he pulled away and I met his eyes again, I was startled because I suddenly realized just how much more he meant to me. The boy I’d grown up with was now the man I could see myself falling in love with.

  “I don’t want you to think I don’t want to, Caroline,” he said gently, taking my hand and kissing it. “I want to. I want to know every bit of you, but,” he continued and paused, holding my hand close to his chest, “but I just want this to be right. I don’t want you to think this is all I want from you.”

  “What do you want?” I asked quietly, needing to hear it.

  “To know you. To really know you and for you to know me. To see where this can go with us. My life,” he began softly and then slowly ran his hand over my hair, “it can be crazy, Caroline, and it can be lonely, but with you…it doesn’t feel that way. When I’m with you, it’s like the world makes sense.”

  I reached for him, pulling him close to me and brushing my lips over his slowly before easing back and looking into his eyes.

  “Then let’s see where this goes because when I’m with you, my world makes sense too.”

  He rested his forehead against mine for a second, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply.

  “I think this could be good, Caroline.”

  “Me too,” I said, softly and then he pulled me into his arms. Everything about the moment felt right and I couldn’t wait to see where it went from here.

  Eighteen

  Adam was sitting on the chair across from me. It was killing me having him so far away and pretending like nothing was going on between us. I tried not to look, but I couldn’t help myself. My eyes kept drifting over to where he sat sprawled on the chair, looking relaxed in his long khaki shorts and black t-shirt. He’d run his hand through his hair sometimes and I wondered if he had any idea how good he looked when he did that, the way his dark hair would fall back onto his forehead in the messy way I found so enticing. I knew his eyes kept drifting to me as well because sometimes they’d meet. He’d smile at me discreetly, but then turn his attention back to the TV screen and the movie we were watching.

  It’d been a few days since the night Adam made me dinner. Since then I’d made sure to get up early and help with the cows. It was the perfect excuse to see Adam before I left for the restaurant and in the evenings, we’d watch TV or talk.

  Now though, we had company. It was a rare night that Sawyer was home and he’d suggested pizza and a movie. It was the first time we’d been around him for any substantial period of time since Adam and I had gotten together and neither of us quite knew what to do with ourselves.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been gone so much lately,” Sawyer said to me when the credits started to roll and Adam went to use the bathroom. My brother was sitting next to me on the couch, preventing me from sitting next to Adam how I’d wanted.

  “You don’t need to apologize about anything, Sawyer,” I said, standing up to start cleaning up the mess we’d made in the living room. “I don’t need you home to entertain me.” I felt the smirk on my face that I kept hidden from him, since I’d had plenty to entertain me while he was gone. While Sawyer was with Lindsey, I was with Adam and I was definitely okay with that.

  “I know that, but still, I feel bad that you’re alone here since Mom and Dad are gone.”

  “I’m not alone, Sawyer. Adam’s here,” I said.

  “He’s been watching out for you then?” he asked and I hoped my smile didn’t give it away.

  “Yeah. We hang out sometimes. Watch TV and stuff,” I said, shrugging my shoulders as he followed me into the kitchen.

  “Good. I told him to keep you company,” he said and I had to stifle the laugh I felt in my throat. Little did my brother know Adam was more than keeping me company. Part of me actually felt a little guilty we hadn’t said anything to Sawyer yet. We hadn’t come right out and said we wouldn’t, but I knew we were both too afraid of how he’d react.

  Before I could say anything though, I heard Adam’s footsteps walking down the hall and then he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. Our eyes met for a split second before parting.

  “I thought you guys had disappeared on me,” Adam said, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.

  “Just cleaning up,” I said.

  “I actually need to talk to both of you,” Sawyer said and mine and Adam’s eyes immedia
tely drifted to each other. I was instantly intrigued and partially fearful about what he was going to say. “I was hoping it would be okay if I’m gone over the weekend. I want to take Lindsey down to the coast and I just wanted to make sure you guys wouldn’t mind picking up the slack while I’m gone. It’ll only be for two days.”

  “No problem,” Adam answered quickly, almost too quickly actually, because I saw a curious expression on Sawyer’s face before he shook it off.

  “You don’t mind, Caroline?” my brother asked.

  “No. It’s fine. Gram won’t mind if I cut back at the restaurant to help you out,” I said and I couldn’t help my eyes from finding Adam’s. My heart was beating faster just thinking about the prospect of two uninterrupted days with Adam.

  “I know it’s a lot to ask,” Sawyer continued and I knew it was difficult for him to relinquish the power of the farm to his sister and his just slightly competent best friend.

  “We’ll be fine, Sawyer. Go to Maine, show your girl a good time and the farm will still be standing when you get back, I promise you that. Right, Caroline?” Adam raised his eyebrows and looked over to me. I thought I felt my cheeks blush, so I turned my head in order to prevent my brother from seeing.

  “Right,” I answered. “We’ll be totally fine here.”

  Sawyer seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he nodded reluctantly.

  “I’ll head out Friday morning then. Thanks for helping me out,” he said as he started to load the dishwasher.

  “Don’t mention it,” Adam replied, looking over to me and holding my gaze now that Sawyer’s attention was on the dishes and I quietly went about tidying up the rest of the kitchen. Adam decided to take out the garbage bag that was overflowing and I smiled when I felt his hand on the small of my back for a moment before he stepped outside. It was his covert way of telling me he was thinking about me and when I turned towards the sink, I knew Sawyer was none the wiser.

  When the dishes were done, Sawyer headed for the door. This meant Adam was going too. He couldn’t stay behind obviously and I hated to see him go.