by Karen Booth
Adam pressed his lips into a thin line. “You know, my dad is receiving excellent medical care. He’s in great hands. He’s as sharp as a tack, stubborn as a mule, and still goes into the office every day.”
All true. All glossing over the reality, the one the Langfords wanted to hide. Adam had learned to handle the tough questions flawlessly.
“And at what point will you be taking over LangTel?” Billy asked, not seeming to notice that Adam hadn’t really answered his question.
“If that ever happens, it’s still a ways off. I try not to focus on it too much.”
“What was it like growing up in the shadow of such a formidable man?”
“You know, if I stand in the shadow of my dad, I’ll never measure up. That’s something I’ve come to realize over the years. He wants me to be just like him and we are alike in many ways, but I have to be my own man, as well. I can see where he’s coming from, though. If I had a son, I’d probably want the same thing.”
By the time Adam was offstage, it felt as though a massive weight had been lifted. His appearance on the Midnight Hour had been a triumph. She couldn’t have been any more proud.
“Well? I did okay, huh?” he asked. The smile on his face said that he knew very well he’d done far better than okay.
“Spectacular. I couldn’t have scripted you any better if I’d wanted to.”
“This calls for a celebration.”
“Flaherty’s? We can’t really go anywhere else without you being seen.” She strolled down the hall with him to his dressing room.
“We need champagne and Flaherty’s is not the spot for that.” Adam flashed her a look. “I was thinking my apartment. Just a nightcap. It’ll be fun.”
Adam’s apartment. Champagne. Melanie could see danger signs in her head. He was a temptation when she was mad at him—she couldn’t imagine mustering a shred of resolve when she was ready to nominate him for Man of the Year. “It’s late. You have work tomorrow, I have work.”
“And as far as I’m concerned, we’ve been working all night. We deserve a break and a celebration. I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
“Why do I have a feeling you think you’re always a perfect gentleman?”
“I don’t need to think it. I am.”
Fourteen
Pop. Champagne bubbles fizzed and sparkled as Adam filled two glasses. Maybe it was the high of having aced his appearance on the Midnight Hour, but it felt as though every sense was heightened. Or perhaps it was having Melanie in his apartment, alone.
Melanie clinked her glass with his. She sipped her champagne, vivid blue eyes gleaming. The look on her face was so familiar and damning—flirtation, invitation. It only made him want to try, again, even when it could end with her hand squarely in the center of his chest, her supple lips muttering, “I can’t.”
“You really were spectacular tonight. Truly,” she said.
He unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled up the sleeves, feeling as on top of the world as he’d felt in a long time. He’d kicked ass tonight, but more important, he and Melanie had kicked ass together. “Thank you, but it was all your doing. If you hadn’t gotten me centered before I went on, I could’ve easily flopped.” He trailed Melanie as she wandered into the living room.
“I knew you were going to be great.” She waved off his comment. “I always had complete confidence in you. We might disagree from time to time, but I always know one thing. When you say you’re going to do something, you do it.”
Whenever life or work got messy, a lot of people’s confidence in him seemed to waver—his father, the board of directors, even his own company had been tough on him lately. When it came right down to it, when push came to shove, Melanie had unequivocal faith in him. It was like a universal truth to her, a closely held belief.
She leaned against the frame of one of the tall windows, the city lights bringing out her singular radiance.
“And what if I said that I was going to kiss you?” he asked, acutely aware of his breathing. “Would you believe that, too?”
“Adam. You know that’s not what I meant.”
“But I want to. That’s all I can think about. That’s all I’ve thought about since we went to Flaherty’s. And now, looking at you in the moonlight, seeing you in that dress, remembering exactly how well my hand fits in the curve of your back...”
“That sounds like a lot more than a kiss.”
“If we do it right, then yes.”
She kept her eyes set on the city. “What about Julia?”
“She isn’t what I want.”
She laughed in a sweet, hushed tone. “I’m going to need more champagne to believe that. You said it yourself tonight. Any man would be a fool not to want to be with her.”
He shook his head. “No. I said that any man would be lucky to spend time with her. It’s not the same thing.”
“You’ve learned the art of the spin all too well.”
He grasped her shoulder, urging her to look at him. “Please tell me that you know it isn’t real. This was your idea. It was all your plan.”
She turned and studied his face, as if searching for the answer, when he was already giving her everything exactly as it was. “You said it yourself. You aren’t good at pretending. I’ve seen you two together. It looks real.”
“Pictures are only as real as the newspapers want them to be. You should know that better than anyone.”
She knocked her head to the side, releasing a wisp of her delicate scent. “I guess.”
“Pictures in a newspaper don’t make a relationship. You need a connection.”
“I know that. I do.” She nodded, but her eyes still showed doubt. “It’s just that it’s so convincing.”
He shook his head again. How would he get her to believe? “It’s all Julia’s doing. I’m only following her cues. She’s not the one I want. You are.”
Melanie reached out and took his hand. It was as if the earth stopped moving. “Maybe it’s the words that are tripping me up. Maybe I need you to show me.”
He took the champagne glass from her other hand and set it on the table, never taking his eyes off her. “I’ve been waiting to show you. All I want to do is show you.” He cupped the sides of her face with both hands, cradling it and gazing deeply into her eyes as his fingers caressed the silky skin of her neck. The blood was coursing through his body like a raging river. If there was any justice in the world, he would have her. It was the most basic and undeniable need he’d ever endured. “Let me show you all night long.”
* * *
Melanie’s breath caught when Adam lowered his head and kissed her. His mouth on hers was arresting. There was no mistaking what he wanted. He claimed her, and it electrified her, right down to her toes. She needed him closer and she pressed into him, craving his heat, arching into him, molding her lips to his as their tongues circled.
Weeks of holding back had her about to jump out of her own skin. She wanted to savor every touch, and at the same time nothing was happening fast enough. She frantically unbuttoned his shirt. “Watching you change tonight was torture.” She dragged her fingers across the flat plane of his abs, spreading her hands upward to his chest, eagerly crossing the small patch of hair and across to his firm shoulders, pushing the shirt to the floor. Even just having her hands on his skin was heaven. “All I wanted to do was touch you.”
“Just being around you is torture. I can’t think straight half of the time.”
He took her into his arms, holding her tight, the warmth pouring into her from his bare skin. It felt so right. He had her exactly where she was meant to be. It ushered in a war of relief and hunger deep inside her belly. Push and pull. Give and take. Her mind couldn’t help but obsess over finally having what she wanted, what she’d spent the past year wishing she hadn’
t walked out on—Adam.
He kissed her neck with an open mouth, unzipping the back of her dress and tugging it forward, his knuckles grazing her shoulders. It was one of the most expensive items of clothing she owned, and she couldn’t have cared less. She let it drop to the floor like a wet towel after a shower, then started on his belt.
He stopped her with his hands. “Not here.”
Her chest wobbled, as if someone had plucked a single string of a guitar. Was it his turn to be sensible and sane? Because for once, she wanted them both to be weak at the same time, both of them to give in. No more shouldn’t. No more can’t. “Please don’t tell me you’re turning me down,” she said breathlessly, her hands still on his belt buckle.
“Never. I just want you in my bed. I’ve waited long enough to make love to you. I want it to be perfect.”
He took her hand and led her through the living room, down the corridor to his bedroom. “Much better,” he muttered, gripping her waist with both hands and easing her back onto the bed. “I need to look at you.” Pale moonlight filtered through the windows, casting a glow around him. His eyes raked over her body. “You’re so beautiful, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.”
She couldn’t tear her sights from him either—his chiseled jaw and broad, defined chest called to her in every way. She wanted her hands all over him, his all over her, and then she wanted him inside her.
“Enough looking, Langford. I need you now.” Scooting to the edge of the bed, she sat up and rid him of his belt and pants. Every inch of him was rock-hard, especially what was right before her. She eased his boxer briefs past his hips, pressing the heel of her hand to the base and wrapping her fingers around his length.
Adam closed his eyes and groaned, clutching her shoulders then pushing her back onto the bed. He lay down beside her, rolling her to her side and unhooking her bra. He took the puckered skin of her breast into his mouth, sucking her nipple gently as he shimmied her panties down her hips. Goose bumps spread across her skin like a wildfire through the underbrush, anticipation now at a full boil. There was nothing else in the way. Their legs tangled, they bucked their hips against each other. Kisses came hot and fast and everywhere.
“Let me get a condom,” Adam said breathlessly, reaching for the bedside table.
“I’ll put it on.” She wanted every chance she had to touch him.
He handed her the foil pouch. “Have I mentioned that you’re perfect?”
“No, you haven’t.” She pushed him to his back, straddling his thighs, relishing the delight on his face as she took care of him. “So say it again.”
Adam chuckled quietly. “I thought we decided that I should show you.” He pulled her shoulders down to him and kissed her like he was making up for lost time and lost opportunities, passionately and deeply. “I need to feel as close to you as possible.”
Melanie lifted her hips and reached between her legs, taking him in her hand, guiding him inside. In that instant, it seemed as if neither of them took a breath, him filling her while she sank down and her body molded around him. By the time they succumbed to oxygen, they were one, and there was no having enough of each other.
Kisses came at full tilt as they rocked back and forth in a perfect rhythm. Pleasure coiled tightly inside her. The way he swiveled his hips built the pressure at a rate that her body struggled to keep up with. She knew the release would have her holding on with both hands. She’d waited so long for this and it was finally happening. Adam set every fiber of her being on fire—just like the first time, except so much better, because she knew him on a deeper level now. They had history.
Adam rolled Melanie to her side, threading his fingers through her hair, kissing her softly as he took long, slow thrusts. She hitched one leg over his hip, bringing him closer by pressing against his back with her calf.
“You feel so incredible,” he said between kisses. He swept his lips across her jaw, down her neck, stopping at her breast, which he gathered in his hand and squeezed, making the already tense skin harden. He licked and sucked, sending her barreling toward her peak.
His breaths became uneven. Hers were ragged. She was so close. The dam was about to break. Adam doubled his efforts, driving harder until she knocked her head back and gave in to rolling waves of bliss. Light flashed in her mind—a supernova, magnified.
Adam quickly followed, calling out as his body froze before he shuddered with his own release. He pulled her snugly into his arms as their breathing slowed. He kissed her forehead gently, again and again.
Was this real? Was it all a dream? She gave in to the warmth of Adam’s body and the tender caress of his unforgettable kisses. For the first time in a long time, everything was not only right—it was real.
“That was incredible,” Adam said. “Everything I’ve waited for.”
“Spectacular,” she replied, kissing him and running her fingers through his very messy hair.
“I have to say one thing, just so we’re clear.”
Melanie’s heart jumped. What was he going to say? “Yes?”
“You’re not going anywhere. I don’t want you to leave after what we just shared. I need you to stay the night.”
Contentment took hold again—he wanted her to stay. But just as quickly she realized the ramifications. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? There could be photographers outside your building. That’d be bad if I’m seen leaving in the morning.”
“Then we scope it out. I’m not letting you out of my sights. Tonight, you stay here. With me. The whole night. Deal?”
What was the old saying about going for broke? She’d already done the thing she’d sworn she would never do and it had been so worth it. If something went wrong, she and Adam would deal with it, together. For now, they had each other, and they had the whole night. “Of course I’ll stay. The whole night.”
Fifteen
Melanie awoke feeling as if she was floating inside a daydream. Did last night really happen? The morning sun beamed through Adam’s bedroom windows. She clutched the sheets to her chest. Adam’s sheets. Adam’s bed.
The distinctive sound of paws on the hardwood floor filtered into the room and Jack appeared. As soon as he spotted her, he rounded to her side of the bed.
“Good morning, buddy.” She rolled to her side, facing Jack.
He lowered his head, begging for scratches behind the ear, which she was all too happy to provide.
“Don’t you two make an amazing pair,” Adam said from behind her.
Melanie looked over her shoulder, drawn to the sleepy warmth of his voice. He knocked the breath right out of her, wearing gray pajama pants loose around his hips, no shirt, holding two coffee cups.
“Good morning.” It was impossible to fight her grin—he was too damn sexy.
He set his knee on the bed and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Morning, beautiful.” He handed her a mug. “Cream and one sugar, right?”
She nodded, incredulous. “You remembered.” Of the millions of things Adam had crammed in that gorgeous head of his, how he’d managed to remember the way she took her coffee was beyond her.
She blew gently on the coffee and took a small sip, feeling, well, conflicted. Last night had been absolutely glorious, and it had felt so good to finally surrender to him, but there was no question it had been born of a moment of weakness. She’d been so caught up in the moment, so swept away by Adam and weeks of telling herself she couldn’t have him.
And she still didn’t have him, even if she was fairly certain now that the illusion of Adam and Julia was exactly that, an illusion. He wouldn’t have slept with her if Julia was a genuine love interest. The Adam she knew would never do that. The Adam of urban legend might, but that wasn’t the real him.
What was first and foremost on her list of concerns was the contract with his father.
She’d made a pact with herself to honor the agreement, and she’d broken it. She hated making excuses. She hated the notion of giving herself a free pass or letting anything slide, and yet that was the only way around what she’d done.
“I wish we could spend the morning in bed.” Adam placed his coffee cup on the bedside table and crawled under the covers with her. “But I have a ton of meetings, starting at nine. If it was only one or two, I’d move them.”
“Meetings.” Melanie’s heart thundered in her chest. “Oh my God. What time is it?”
“A little after seven. Don’t tell me you’re late for something this early.”
“I have a nine-o’clock, too. But I have to get all the way down to my apartment, shower, change, then get to the office and make coffee. I’ll never make it if I don’t leave right now.” She threw back the covers, quickly realizing she had nothing to cover herself with. She grabbed a pillow and shielded her body, scanning the floor for her bra and panties.
“It’s a little late for modesty, Buttermilk. There isn’t a square inch of you I didn’t reacquaint myself with last night.”
“Can you please help me find my underwear?”
He reached to the floor on his side of the bed, producing the garments. “I don’t get to keep these as a souvenir?”
She scrambled over and snatched them from his hand. “Very funny.” She pinned the pillow to her chest with her chin and tugged on her underwear. She wasn’t exactly sure why she didn’t want Adam to see her naked right now. Perhaps it was the unforgiving nature of sunlight. Or worse, the unforgiving nature of guilt. “I have to get my dress.”
She cast aside the pillow and hurried out to the living room. Adam followed her. Seeing her dress and shoes cast aside on the floor brought back a flood of memories, the way she had felt when he’d rubbed her cheek with his thumb and placed that impossibly soft kiss on her lips, the heat of his hand on the bare skin of her back, the way he filled her so sublimely. It was all so perfect and all so wrong.
