"I just wanted to meet your man, honey. I need to get back home to make sure your father hasn't burned it down. Or severed a limb. Again."
"Again?" Ross asked, lips twitching.
"That man," my mother said, shaking her head fondly. "But this works out perfectly," she said, giving me a knowing look that silently said something about how I shouldn't be able to help myself around Ross.
"I came with Ross," Adler said. "How about I drive you back to the hotel in Addy's car?" he asked, then went to lead her away, looking over his shoulder to inform me, "Don't worry, I have a place to stay tonight."
"So," Ross said, leaning a bit on me after he put his arm over my shoulders, making me realize for the first time how well he was holding it together for appearances, but was definitely still hurting if he was willing to show he needed a little help. "I need to apologize."
"For what?" I asked as we closed in on his car.
"Apparently, Adler unearthed my competition."
Oh, good lord.
I could feel my cheeks burning when we stopped in front of his car, him pulling away so he could look down at me. "Maybe that particular toy needs to find its way back to my place soon, huh?" he asked, making my stomach flutter.
"I can arrange that," I agreed, the idea of him using a toy on me before, or during, sex was maybe the hottest idea I had ever had cross my mind. "What are you doing?" I asked when he moved toward the passenger side.
"Adler and I carpooled because I can't twist to back out or check blind spots without damn near blacking out. So you're driving home, doll."
"Ah, no."
"No?"
"No. I can't drive your car."
"Why not?"
"Because it costs more than a modest house!" I insisted.
"It's insured," he informed me, opening the passenger side door, and dropping inside, the debate obviously over.
Heart pounding hard, I let myself into the driver's side, knowing that if he was hurting, I had to swallow my fear, and do what needed to be done. Reaching down, I shifted the seat up and closer so I could actually see over the wheel. I probably spent three minutes trying to adjust the mirrors to get rid of blind spots.
I didn't stop, in fact, until I felt Ross' hand slap down on my thigh, giving it a squeeze.
It was chaste, but I still felt a thrill of desire at seeing his hand so high on my thigh, just inches from where I had been dealing with a nearly throbbing need for him.
"Fuck, baby, don't give me that look," Ross rumbled, voice already getting thick.
"I can't help it," I admitted, feeling the weight start to press on my lower belly.
"I know the feeling," he confided as well. "How about we get back to the hotel, baby? Can't do anything about that here."
I had a feeling nothing could be done about it at his place either if his ribs hurt too much to be able to drive home.
But we needed to get there regardless, so I enjoyed the very decadent feeling that was a push-to-start, and white-knuckled it like a soccer mom with a van full of precious cargo in a snowstorm all the way back to the hotel.
"You look like you're going to be sick," Ross teased as I joined him outside the car.
"I did that because you needed it, but never again."
"It's just a car, Addy."
"My car is just a car. Your car is practically a five-star retreat," I countered, putting an arm around him, walking toward the entrance. "Thank you for having dinner with my mother."
"What did she say in the bathroom?"
I waited until we were in the elevator, turning to him with a smirk. "She thought I split your lip in, ah, enthusiasm," I told him, feeling my belly go liquid in response to his low, deep, rumbling chuckle.
"I've never seen Adler as soft as he was with her. He even pokes at you."
"I guess there are, um, mother issues in his past?"
"I wouldn't even know," Ross admitted. "He doesn't talk about his past. I learned more about him tonight than I did in years in that basement."
"Mom thinks he needs a good woman to soften him up, show him some goodness in life."
"Now that I know what that's like," he told me, pressing a kiss to my temple as we made our way to the bedroom, "I have to say I agree with her."
"Someday."
"Come here," Ross demanded, sitting off the edge of the bed, holding an arm out.
"Nuh-uh," I said, moving back a couple steps even if everything inside me was begging me to go to him.
"No?" he asked, brow raised, hands going toward his shirt, slowly undoing the buttons.
There wasn't a force on earth that could stop my eyes from watching his skin get exposed little by little.
"Ross..."
"Just getting myself ready for bed, baby," he said with a smirk in his voice as he slowly stood, keeping from going fully straight so he didn't hurt his ribs, reminding me why I needed to keep my libido under control.
He needed to rest.
With his clothes on.
And I needed a cold shower.
And a chastity belt.
And an Ambien to knock me out.
"Are you planning on sleeping in that dress?" he asked, discarding his jacket and shirt, undoing his watch, then letting his hand move downward to work off his belt. He pushed his button through, then paused. "Let me help you with the zipper," he offered, moving toward me.
"No, it's fine. I can..." Find a clothes hanger, and undo it? My mother had zipped me in, and I had figured she would be around to unzip me as well.
"You can let me help," he offered, one hand going to my hip, the other snagging the zipper pull as he leaned down, pressing a kiss into my neck.
"Ross, we can't," I insisted.
"Why's that?" he asked, pulling the zip down slowly, the air making my skin goosebump, and a shiver to move through me.
"Your ribs," I supplied.
"How about you let me worry about my limits? You just enjoy," he suggested, his hands sliding up my back to push the dress forward off my shoulders. It whooshed over my stomach, hips, then thighs before falling to the floor, leaving me there in nothing but a black lacy thong.
There was a rumble of approval from deep in his chest as his hands moved up my belly, cupping my breasts, thumbs moving over my nipples until they were straining points.
His hips shifted inward, and I could feel his hard cock pressing into my ass, promising an end to the unbearable pressure in my core.
Maybe I could just forget about worrying about him for a couple of minutes.
And enjoy.
Enjoying sounded really good.
He pushed me forward toward the bed, moving around my body. I heard the whoosh of his pants going down, then felt his hands moving up to snag my panties, dragging them down my thighs, then pulling me backward onto his lap.
"Plenty of ways to be inside you without hurting my ribs, baby," he told me, reaching to the side to snag a condom out of his nightstand, then rolling it on.
His hand moved between my thighs, working my clit until I was writhing against him, lifting up my hips so he could position his cock for me to slide down on.
I took him deep and slow, squeezing him tight as he filled me to the hilt.
"So fucking tight," he growled in my ear, nipping into my earlobe even as I planted my hands on the mattress beside his thighs, curling into the edge to help leverage myself as I started riding him, slow at first, trying to be careful, trying not to jostle him too much.
But soon, there was nothing I could do to stop the need to take him harder, faster, driving myself up as fast as my body would allow.
"Fuck, baby," he growled, hands gripping into my hips, helping me fuck him even faster, his breathing getting harsh. "Come," he demanded, one of his hands slipping forward to work my clit until the orgasm ripped through me, making my body lurch as the waves crashed through my system.
I was still riding the end of it when I felt him yank me back hard, hissing my name as he came.
It was a
n almost embarrassingly long time before I could force life back into my limbs, pulling myself upward, then dropping right back down on the bed when Ross got up to go to the bathroom.
He came back as I slid under the blankets on my side, facing the side of his bed where he slid in, pulling me close.
"Are your ribs okay?"
He gave me a squeeze.
"They're fine," he assured me. "I like that you ask," he admitted. "I could get used to someone giving a shit."
Ah, there was that ache again.
With an accompanying soaring feeling inside.
Someday, I hoped it would only be the soaring.
"You have plenty of time to," I told him, snuggling in. "I'm not going anywhere."
EPILOGUE
Ward - two weeks
"Would you like a tray?" the kid asked Adler who looked down at the six coffees he had ordered.
"Ah, naw, mate, I'm a fucking octopus," he said dryly, then rolled his eyes when the kid actually didn't reach for a tray. "Of course I want a tray," he added, exhaling hard while he looked at me. "What? Still can't fucking stand kids at his age. Got nothing but memories of the whining."
He was buying coffee for us, Laz, Pagan, and Igor.
Somehow, the fuck had just forced his way into just about every aspect of my life.
Yes, forced.
Just like he forced his way into mine and Addy's apartments, and into dinner with Addy's mom, and even the occasional fight at Hex.
For old time's sake, he had told me when I asked what would possess him to do that since he had effectively stayed away from the fighting world since we left that basement.
He hadn't lost it either.
He didn't have the same hunger he did as a kid, but he still knew how to deliver a blow.
He had won his first fight against Brady, then lost his next against Slate.
But for some reason, his ass was coming to my meeting with the men I trusted the most.
I guess he figured he belonged seeing as it was a meeting about new security measures and at least three of the things I would be implementing were ideas he had given me.
He knew a lot about security systems since he spent a lot of his career avoiding them.
For all intents and purposes, he had pretty much moved into Addy's place since she spent most of her time at mine.
And it just happened.
Nothing in my life ever just happened.
It always took work.
It always took effort.
It never just went along seamlessly.
Until her.
In fact, I found myself using that phrase a lot.
Until her, I didn't know how nice it was to fall asleep with a woman in my arms.
Until her, I didn't know how much better sex was with someone who you spent some time with, whose rhythms you learned, whose fantasies you got to explore together.
Until her, I didn't know what the fuck it was like to have someone to come home to, someone to tell about my day, someone to fuss over me, or even bitch at me about how she wanted to be woken up when I came in at night.
I learned she liked to be woken up to my cock.
And I damn sure wasn't complaining about that.
I was doing what she said, too.
I was getting used to her.
And I liked it a lot more than I ever could have imagined.
"Can I help you?"
It was the same kid who had just given us our coffee.
Adler's brows went low as he shook his head at the kid. "Any chance ya are related to someone with the last name Cohen?" he asked, and I felt myself chuckle.
In less than a month, so much had changed.
I went from completely alone in the world to having a woman to come home to at night and a friend who held parts of my past, and was going to be around for my future.
It was surreal if I gave it too much thought.
So I didn't.
I just accepted it as it came.
It was working so far.
And it was the best fucking decision I had ever made in my life.
Adalind - 7 months
"Adler, I love you and all, but shut up," I demanded in as sweet a tone as I could manage. Which, to be honest, wasn't all that sweet.
But we had all been cooped up in a car for seven and a half hours. And Adler had been speaking for every single moment of those hours.
About food.
Food.
Au gratin this, cheesecake that.
I was actually almost completely turned off of all Thanksgiving foods right about then.
I didn't even think that was possible.
It had been grating after an hour, but I had originally found it sweet.
I knew he was excited.
I knew this was all new for him.
He was like a kid on Christmas.
Which reminded me that, yes, I would likely see him acting like a kid on Christmas.
But I really did try to keep conversation with him, explain when he had questions, encourage his enthusiasm.
Seven and a half hours, though, was my max.
"Love me, huh?" he asked, and I could see him in the mirror I was glancing in, looking almost taken aback.
And it occurred to me right then that maybe, possibly, he had never actually heard that from another person before.
My heart seemed like it would never stop aching for him. Even though I didn't know the whole story, I was piecing it together. If he had never had a home-cooked meal, and he had never heard someone tell him they loved him, well, then his childhood was even worse than I imagined.
Ross' mom was a drug addict who was ruled by her addiction, but I think even he knew that when she could, she did love him. She just didn't love him more than she loved the escape from reality the drugs gave her.
So while he looked positively stricken the first time I told him that I loved him, he didn't shock back, he didn't disbelieve it.
In fact, he took a long pause then told me he loved me as well.
But something about how Adler slammed back against the seat, silent, looking off out the window, made me think he not only didn't believe me, but was angry at me for what he thought was a flippant, ingenuine comment.
As if sensing the moment, likely because he knew Adler better than I did, Ross' hand went to my thigh, giving me a reassuring squeeze.
Reassured by him, I turned as much as my seat would allow to look back at him.
"Adler?"
"Yeah?" he asked, tone a little dead.
"Look at me," I demanded, waiting until he did so, his gray eyes more guarded than I had seen them in a long time. "I don't throw words like that around," I informed him. "I have said that to exactly five people: my parents, my grandmother, Ross, and you. And I meant it every last time."
"It's sweet, duchess, but ya don't know me."
"Sure I do," I countered. "I might not know every detail of your past - though I would be happy to learn about that if you want to share. But I know you plenty to be able to tell you that I love you. Even though you are a complete and utter pain in my ass."
"Hey, look at that," he said, giving me a strange smile, "ya do know me."
I knew he still didn't believe me, that he still had a long way to go in thinking he was worthy, that anyone could love someone with a past such as his.
I thought that maybe watching Ross and me together would help, would make him see that there are women out there that could accept you for all that you are, who didn't think that darkness made you unlovable. In fact, just the opposite. I felt like I maybe loved Ross more because he had had so much darkness, because he had never known light and softness and love.
And, it seemed to me at least, because of all of that, he loved me deeper as well. He had never thought a relationship was in the cards for him, that he could have someone to come home to, someone to worry about his happiness as much as their own.
So when I say that Ross didn't slack, I meant that. Every single d
ay, I knew he wanted me around. He always made me a priority. He never made it seem like my presence was a nuisance, or keeping him away from something he wanted to be doing.
Hell, he hardly ever even took work calls at home anymore. And, before I came around, work had been his entire world.
I mattered to him.
He always made it clear how much.
I had a feeling that someday, Adler would find a woman who would find her way under his guards, and show him that she could take all the dark, that she could shine light into it.
Then he would spend the rest of his life showing her how much that meant to him.
"Is there going to be eggnog?" he asked, clearly wanting to move the conversation to something more comfortable.
"Ah, no. That's Christmas," I told him, giving him a smile when he looked absolutely crushed. "I'll make sure she makes it for you on Christmas," I assured him, making it clear he was welcome for that holiday as well. "But today, I think you can look forward to some spiked cider."
Ward - 1 year
I had needed to have four fucking meetings with the owners and managers of the hotel before I could convince them to let me do it.
In case it wasn't clear, 'convince' was just another way to say 'bribe ostentatiously.'
It was goddamned highway robbery what it took to get them to agree. Especially considering I paid a fucking fortune for the penthouse already.
The rules are very clear, Mr. Ward.
Sometimes my favorite thing about being financially stable was wiping that smug fucking look off of condescending asshole's faces.
Everyone could be bought off.
It was just a matter of for how much.
But whatever it was, I knew from the jump that I was going to pay it.
See, Adalind wasn't like many women I knew.
She didn't want flowers.
She sure as fuck didn't want jewelry.
She didn't want me spending money on her at all.
She was happy to let me indulge her on nice food and the occasional vacation when I could get away for a few days at a time, but that was where she drew the line.
I learned this when, for Christmas, I thought she might like a new car.
Grudge Match Page 21
