by Ally Blake
When he was only a few steps from her, Adam looked up. She knew the moment he spied her. The perpetually crinkled brow smoothed away, and he smiled. His pace picked up and he stood straighter. It amazed her that she could bring about such a sudden change in the demeanour of a guy like him.
‘Beautiful night for it,’ he said as he approached.
‘Mmm?’ she said, flinching at his unexpected words.
A beautiful night for what? For falling for someone who would never have you? For putting yourself through growing torment just for one more moment in someone’s precious company? For mad, debilitating terror that you were falling prey to something that would change you for ever?
‘Beautiful night,’ Cara agreed.
Adam shot her a sweet smile and she hoped she smiled back, though it felt more like a panic-riddled grimace. Then as he came closer he looked to her feet and spied her slippers. His glance shifted back to hers, his beautiful eyes questioning but still smiling and creating the most wonderful tumbling sensation in her stomach.
What could she do? She was undone. The girls were right. She’d had enough of yes-men. She wanted a real man.
The moment that she had missed by the pool and the moment that had been stolen from her at the races were not moments she could live with missing entirely. She had insisted that Chris have no regrets in his life; it was only fair that she do as she preached.
So in the quiet, air-conditioned stillness of the hotel lobby at midnight, Cara took the final two slipper-clad steps and threw herself into Adam’s arms, kissing him with every ounce of passion she harboured, as it would have to be her only chance.
Adam stiffened for only a brief, stunned moment before his strong arms wrapped her tight. This man spoke only when he had something important to say and his kisses held the same authority. Cara knew she was being treated to something special. Something significant. His indulgent, hot-blooded kiss told her he had longed for this just as much as she had.
Cara instantly buried her hands deep within his soft hair, as she had wanted to do since the first moment she’d laid eyes on him. She could feel the hardness of his chest through the softness of his expensive navy sweater, the fabric rubbing along her inner arms, the smooth sensation enough to make her melt her whole body against his. She delighted in the knowledge that his curves fitted against hers as though he had been carved just for her.
Waves of finally unbridled need crashed down on her and she lost herself in Adam’s luscious kiss as she never had lost herself before. Cara’s head felt light and empty. She would have happily endured the exquisite kiss until it sapped away her last breath. But as though sensing her imminent collapse Adam pulled away, ever so slightly, the heat not easing but shifting, slowing, burning slower and hotter still, so that now she could take the time to experience every nuance, every variance, every sensation he afforded her.
Her whole body ached as it craved ever more. It flushed from his desire, his skill, his reverence. She was so immersed in the kiss, Cara’s lungs felt ready to collapse. She had to take a breath. Though she felt willing to drown in the warmth of his lips, her lungs made the decision for her.
She pulled away, raking in great gulping breaths of air so cold it ached.
Adam looked down into Cara’s wild eyes. Her pupils were dilated, the glittering colour surrounding them deep and mysterious as emeralds. He leant in and placed a kiss on the end of her nose. He felt so much tenderness towards her in that moment it physically hurt. Endorphins whipped through his entire body, both relaxing and invigorating every part of him. And his chest ached, as though he was using muscles within that he had never used before.
‘We shouldn’t be doing this here,’ Cara whispered, drawing Adam back to the present.
Adam was infinitely glad she had added the word ‘here’. ‘There is nobody about,’ he said, his voice eloquently husky. ‘Everyone else is in bed.’
That word was enough for their combined temperature to rise. He could feel her heart beating through his chest, her beautiful, kind, heavily protected heart. But Adam felt her pull away, physically and emotionally. No! He wasn’t about to let her kiss him like that and then retreat. He dragged her back into his embrace but she would no longer look him in the eye.
‘I can’t do this,’ she said.
‘And why is that?’ he asked, running a hand up and down her straight back. He felt her shiver in his arms, the reaction flowing through him as well.
‘Because working relationships amount to trouble. And this job is really important to me. It’s a career maker and I can’t let anything stand in the way of that.’
‘From what I’ve heard you had a pretty darned good career to start with.’
She shook her head, refusing to listen to reason. ‘I will not jeopardise this job to indulge myself with some sort of holiday romance. This may feel like a walk in the park for you, a bit of relax time away from the office, but this is it for me. This is a career clincher. This job means more to me than you can know. So don’t make me blow it.’
She looked up at him then and her internal struggle shook him. It wasn’t that she couldn’t go to the next step with him, it was that she desperately wished she didn’t want to.
‘How can I make you do anything?’ he asked.
‘By looking at me like that. All sure and dark and brooding and strong and lovely and…’
He sensed her winding down as she went, as though with each word her desire became too much, piling up on itself, growing exponentially with every reason why she was attracted to him. Her words speaking less truth to him than her body, he leaned down to take up where they’d left off but she turned away at the last second.
‘What’s going on? You were the one who kissed me just now,’ he said, knowing it was a low blow. But he couldn’t help it. His body was singing and he couldn’t fathom why she would even want to fight it. Or even how she had the physical strength to do so, because he sure didn’t.
She swallowed. Hard. ‘So I was. And that was wrong of me so I apologise. But that has to be the end of it. That has to be enough.’
It wasn’t. Not nearly. But Adam was not one to push a woman past ‘no’.
‘Fine,’ he said, his frustration making the word explode from his mouth. Something inside him wrenched as he saw the intense relief wash across her face and he knew in that moment that if he had decided to push past ‘no’ there would have been no further resistance.
But then he also knew that she would have hated him and herself in the morning and though that once would not have concerned him, with her it did.
‘Come on,’ he said, his voice deliberately sympathetic. He held out a hand, shepherding her towards the open lift.
Low on resistance, she fell into step beside him. She didn’t look his way and he didn’t make her. He felt the abyss at his toes once more and the only thing holding him from falling was the most tenuous of reasons.
His greatest fear had been realised: that one kiss would never be enough. Now that he had tasted of her sweetness, he wanted more. He had to have more. Especially since it seemed it would be the only way to rid himself of the caving ache that had gradually taken up residence in the pit of his stomach.
Her kisses were honest, even if she was not. He knew she wanted more from him than one stolen kiss even if she could not admit it aloud.
The lift stopped on her floor. He led her to her room and when she couldn’t for the life of her get the key card to work he took it from her trembling hand and unlocked the door for her.
She took a step inside the room, turned and faced him, her cheek leaning against the edge of the door.
The carpet in the hallway was different from the carpet in the room, the line where they joined taking on one hell of a significance. If he took that one step across that line, they would spend the night in each other’s arms. If he kept himself on this side of that line, they could look each other in the eye in the morning.
The decision was suddenly easy. It was mo
re important for her to like him than for him to seduce her. Not to help Chris. Not for the good of the company. But for him.
‘Goodnight, Cara,’ he said. ‘Sweet dreams.’
Taking in a deep breath gave him the time to imprint her sweet, sleepy face on his memory. But that alone was one step too far. Before he could stop himself he took the leap into the abyss.
‘I’m in Suite 45,’ he said.
Cara’s eyes flared with suppressed desire. Her lips disappeared as she bit down on them hard.
‘Goodnight, Adam,’ she said, her husky voice wafting over him like the caress it was.
And as Cara closed the door to her room Adam’s whole body vibrated with the most intense, unresolved sensations he had ever experienced.
CHAPTER TEN
LYING in bed, still wide awake an hour later, Cara thought back to the promise she had made to the good fairies right back at the beginning of her adventure. If she landed the job, she would never want for anything else.
Her wish had been granted but she was not keeping up her side of the bargain. She had become greedy with her success. Her real potential was opening up before her as never before. She wanted the job and she wanted more. And she wanted it with Adam.
Gracie would tell her it was the age of safe sex. But Cara knew that sex would never be safe with Adam. To her, ‘safe’ also meant that she would come out of the episode unscathed. If she let herself be led into Adam’s waiting arms, she would be anything but safe. She would be lost. And once gone, she did not know if she would have the strength to find herself again. For a girl who had done it alone for almost ten years, the thought was terrifying.
Cara all but fell out of bed as a loud knock sounded at her door.
Adam’s sensuous voice saying the overloaded words, ‘I’m in Suite 45,’ reverberated with each of the continuing knocks.
Cara grabbed her delicate nightgown and wrapped it about her, looping the tie in a triple knot around her waist.
She opened the door, her expectant face switching to shock in an instant as Kelly’s husband stood before her.
‘Simon! What are you doing here? It’s one o’clock in the morning!’ She whipped her head around the corner, finding the usually bustling hallway magically devoid of crew. ‘Besides which, if I’m seen talking to you I’ll be sacked.’
Simon stuck his foot in the door so she couldn’t close it. Cara looked up at him in bewilderment.
‘Cara, it’s Gracie.’
She no longer needed Simon’s foot for the door to remain wide open. She was out in the hallway in a heartbeat. ‘What? What happened?’
‘It’s her mother. This evening, in Sydney…Gracie’s mother has been killed in a car crash.’
It took Cara half a second before she was off down the hallway to Jeff’s room. She banged on the door until Jeff finally appeared looking as bedraggled as always. ‘Do you have any idea what time it is?’
‘I’ve just had some bad news. A friend of mine has had some bad news and I have to go to her.’
Jeff shook his head and yawned. ‘Sorry, Cara. Can’t let you go. There’s only another three days left of the shoot. Wait until then.’
‘Come on, buddy,’ Simon said, appearing at Cara’s side, ‘don’t do this to her.’
That brought Jeff awake like a slap to the face. ‘Who is this?’
‘This is Simon. Another friend. He came to tell me the bad news.’
‘How did you get in here?’ Jeff asked, all five feet eight of him trying to outmuscle the much bigger Simon, and all five feet eight failing miserably.
‘That doesn’t matter,’ Simon said. ‘What matters is I’m taking her home with me now.’
Jeff’s eyes narrowed. ‘Fine. But if you do she’s not coming back. If you go, Cara, you will have broken your contract and we don’t have to pay you a red cent.’
Maya’s words tumbled through her mind. TV jobs are notoriously precarious. Don’t cause trouble. Do your job with a minimum of fuss and you’ll be fine. Having a stranger at Jeff’s door so late at night while wearing nothing but a nightgown would not be classed as a minimum of fuss in anyone’s book.
‘Jeff, you’re not shooting until this evening. I’ll be back by then, I promise.’
‘Sorry,’ Jeff said. ‘Just wait the three days and you’re free as a bird.’
Cara stared through him, biting on her lip as her mind whirled with the pile-up of bad news blocking her way to a clear decision.
Then she turned and ran. She wrenched open the stairwell door and took the steps two at a time, not even waiting to check if Simon was on her tail. When she reached the next floor she went straight to Suite 45. She banged on the door. Adam appeared, still wearing the same clothes he had been in at dinner.
Adam took in Cara’s attire. No matter his brazen invitation, he had never actually expected her to come knocking, especially decked out in such seriously gorgeous get up.
Her gown had slipped open, the tie dragging along behind her. Her hair was wild and curling about her face. And she huffed and puffed, her chest rising and falling as though she had run all the way to his room. He had never seen anything so sexy in all his life.
His body responded in an instant. He could feel a low growl of desire welling from within and he knew how the cavemen felt. He wanted nothing more than to reach out, grab a hold and drag her into his cave.
But only then was he able to see past his own desire to the state she was in. She wasn’t panting at his door in response to his invitation. Something was wrong.
He reached out and took her by the arm, his grip purposefully gentle.
‘Sweetheart, what is it?’
‘I’ve never asked anything of you before, and I wouldn’t now if it wasn’t an emergency, but you are my last hope. You have to convince Jeff to let me go.’ Her voice was ragged and her eyes wild, the green flecks flashing. ‘He won’t and I have to and he says that I can’t leave or he’ll renege on the contract and he can’t. I need that money. But if he does I’ll go anyway. But I was hoping you could help.’
‘Help what, sweetheart?’ he asked, pulling the poor haggard girl into a soothing embrace. Anything to stop her from quaking. He couldn’t stand watching her look so frightened.
‘It’s Gracie. You met Gracie.’
‘I met Gracie,’ he agreed, running one hand up and down her slender back, the silky fabric rising and falling through his fingers.
‘Her mother…’
She stopped and he could feel her gulping down a breath.
‘Her mother has just been killed on holiday in Sydney. Her stepfather is up there, and she never knew her real father, so she needs me. And there is no way that I am going to leave her alone tonight. There is just no way.’
‘Of course you’re not.’
Adam looked up the hallway to see a man he did not know striding towards them. Thinking the big guy was a security guard, he whipped Cara around behind him, putting his own bulk between her and any trouble.
‘Cara?’ the man said as he approached, and Adam knew by the care in his voice that this was no security guard. This guy knew her. But still, Adam kept her shielded.
‘What can I do for you, mate?’ Adam asked, his voice coming out so low and ominous it surprised even him.
‘I’m Simon. A friend of Cara’s. Kelly’s husband.’
At that news Adam relaxed immeasurably. Suddenly he had himself an ally, not a challenger. He put the thought of what that meant from his mind. There were more important things to do before that could even hope to be tackled.
‘Great,’ Adam said. ‘Take her back to her room for me and help her get what she needs. Then have her downstairs in fifteen minutes. OK?’
Simon paused for a brief moment and Adam knew he was being sized up. They were like two stags looking out for the same doe, though he knew instinctively that their motives were very different.
Obviously getting all he needed from Adam’s silent entreaty, Simon gave him one curt nod, then t
ook Cara by the hand and, with one arm wrapped about her slim shoulders, herded her to the lift.
Adam whipped inside his room long enough to grab his key card, then he headed off to do what he had to do.
Fifteen minutes later Cara was in a limousine heading back to St Kilda Storeys. Simon sat next to her, watching over her like a protective older brother as she stayed on the phone with Kelly the whole way. Kelly, who was at Gracie’s side back home.
As they pulled into the driveway Cara had the same view of her home as she’d had less than two weeks before. But rather than coming home and running up and hugging the warm stucco that belonged to her, and her alone, her heart ached with the knowledge that she would have to wait a good while longer.
But no matter.
Though it shocked the hell out of her to realise it, there were more important things in her life than a pile of bricks. And one of those things was upstairs nursing a broken heart.
Simon opened the door and went to the back of the car to get her luggage. Then as Cara stepped out she smacked into the large frame of Adam Tyler.
Momentarily forgetting where she was and what she was doing there, she simply stared into his big blue eyes.
‘I…I was up front,’ he said, his voice quiet and uncertain. ‘I didn’t want to crowd you. But before I head off I wanted to make sure you were going to be OK.’
‘I’ll see you upstairs,’ Simon said and Cara followed his voice. She saw the brief nods that Adam and Simon shared, then realised that Adam had done this all for her. He had organised the car. He was under the same contractual stranglehold she was, and likely had a hell of a lot more to lose from the deal than a few thousand dollars, yet he had left the hotel to make sure she was all right. She had asked for help and without argument he had come through for her. He had put in danger his company’s position with the station to help her.
