Adored

by Tina Donahue

  So, he’s busy. It happens. Deal with it.

  Danni settled back to work, refusing to torture herself as she’d done in the past with Matt and Bryan. No matter how much she’d worried about their feelings for her, it hadn’t changed reality. If Adam still wanted her, and she couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t or what might have changed, he’d be pulling her back into the storeroom for some X-rated R&R…. as soon as he finished with whatever in the hell he had to do. Until then, she had her own life to lead.

  At two, she called her mom. “Hey, it’s me.”

  “Danni? Let me turn down the television.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll call back after your program.”

  “Nonsense.” The background noise faded. “What’s the matter, honey?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re sure? You sound kind of blue.”

  Tears filled her eyes, triggered by her mom’s sweet, intuitive question. Danni squeezed her lids, willing the sadness and doubt to leave, knowing it wouldn’t. Busy or not, in all the years she’d known Adam, he’d never been distant as he was this morning. Even when he first arrived at the company, he’d been jealous whenever she spoke to Jacob and he’d called her into his office despite having the intercom to talk. Sunny said he’d watched her. He’d been interested.

  She rubbed her forehead, dizzy from confusion. “I’m fine. It’s just PMS and the stuff with the launch. Actually, that’s why I’m calling. For the moment, I’m caught up with work, and I thought if you weren’t busy this weekend, we could go antiquing. It’s been a while.”

  “Oh honey, I’d love to. But I don’t want to be taking up your time. Shouldn’t you be thinking about dating again?”

  Danni pinched her nose to stop her tears. She hadn’t told her mom about Adam, reasoning their relationship was too new. Considering her dad was cheating more flagrantly than ever, it wasn’t cool to brag about her own love life. Lucky for her, she hadn’t. No way did she want to burden her mom with yet another problem. “Next weekend I’ll jump back into the scene. This Saturday and Sunday, it’s going to be just you and me, okay?”

  “Want to come over for dinner tonight and stay over? We can get an early start tomorrow.”

  “You bet.”

  “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  She had to be. No matter what she wanted or feared, it wouldn’t change whatever was going on with Adam.

  Adam finished with the finance team at seven. Their quick goodbyes and have-a-nice-weekends faded quickly, leaving a deafening silence. On Friday nights, no one lingered unless they absolutely had to or something special kept them there.

  He leaned against his secretary’s desk to better see Danni’s office. The lights were off. She’d left at six, without a farewell.

  He couldn’t blame her. It would be a long time before he forgot the puzzlement and hurt on her face when he’d canceled their plans, offering nothing except a vague explanation. She didn’t know what had changed between them and he’d been too cowardly to tell her. He hadn’t even thanked her for the food.

  Only half a muffin and one scrapple bar remained. He unwrapped the salty treat and devoured it in three bites, hoping for a coronary. That way, he could call her, insisting she come back to give him CPR. After she did, she’d be more likely to forgive his many lies.

  Four-and-a-half weeks ago, the truth would have been far easier for her to take, yet his hope won out over reason. Even now. His rational side told him to call her and ‘fess up. His heart wouldn’t allow it.

  At least not until he got an unfavorable answer from Roger.

  Quintana, a Mexican restaurant in touristy Sausalito, had its usual overflow guests for Sunday brunch. A strolling mariachi band serenaded delighted diners. Servers in peasant blouses and colorful skirts delivered champagne to the tables. Sweet corn, beans, and spicy meat scented the air. Adam asked the hostess for Roger Boyce. She pointed him toward the bar where patrons waited for her to call their names.

  Roger and Sunny sat at a small, circular table bordered by philodendrons.

  Dressed in a gray hoodie and faded jeans, Sunny managed to look lovely. She turned a page on her menu, her shoulders bobbing to the spirited music.

  Yawning, Roger cleaned his glasses on his sweater.

  Adam cleared his throat. “Sunny. Roger. Hi.”

  Roger flinched and hurried his glasses back onto his face.

  Sunny’s eyes widened. “Hey, Adam. I didn’t know you were here.” She looked past him. “Where’s… ah…” Her gaze shot to Roger and back. A rabbit facing a barreling sixteen-wheeler couldn’t have looked edgier.

  Adam hadn’t a clue why.

  She gave him a wan smile. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “Have to eat.” He spoke to Roger. “I need a minute. Something came up.”

  The man didn’t budge. “Can’t we talk about it tomorrow?”

  “’Fraid not. It’ll only take a minute. Let’s go over there.” He gestured to a quiet area off the entrance near public phones. “You don’t mind, do you?” He looked at Sunny.

  She glanced at Roger then him. “Actually, I have to go to the ladies’ room.” She hurried away.

  Roger got his pissy look. “I haven’t had time to read your report, all right?”

  It wasn’t, and Adam couldn’t wait any longer for the SOB to make up his damn mind. “I can tell you what it contains while you wait for your table.”

  “What if Sunny comes back while you’re still talking?”

  “She’ll finish reading her menu. She’ll order another drink. Let’s get this over with now.” He struggled to contain his annoyance. “I want to get this over with now.”

  “Fine.” He followed Adam to the entrance. “Go on.”

  Carefully and calmly, he detailed what he had in his report. How Danni’s take on consumer preferences increased profits every year she’d worked for the company. Her steady progression through the ranks was well-deserved due to her great ideas. He couldn’t say the same for Elaine Kenneski, the young woman slated to take her spot. Kenneski didn’t have an eye for detail. Her performance evaluations were good, not great. She followed, rather than led.

  Danni’s greatest strength was innovation, which the company couldn’t do without, especially now. Every business had to reinvent itself daily to keep consumers interested and coax them into spending money they barely had. Sure, Roger would see immediate savings if Kenneski took over, just as he would when consolidating the accounting and finance departments of Painted Ladies and His Woman’s Pleasure. In the end, though, firing Danni wouldn’t pay off. Someday, Kenneski might be better at product development, but she’d never be great. She’d lose them valuable market share.

  Roger countered. “You keep talking about the future. I’m worried about now.”

  Adam warned himself to reason, not scream. “You think I’m not? I saved us a bundle on the fabric vendor and the computer geek who’s going to upgrade the system. I was the one who suggested we move Painted Ladies to a less expensive location. You weren’t doing me any favors by having me tag along while you checked them out. It was my idea. Repeatedly I’ve saved you money, and I’ll continue to do so in the future. I’m not asking you to put me in your will, Roger, just to keep Danni on board. What I told you on the day you met her hasn’t changed, we need her.”

  “So you keep saying, but I still have to read your report and have the accountants pore over—”

  “No. You want to delay this until after the launch and then you’re going to go over my head and fire her, as you’ve planned all along.”

  “Well hell, it is my business.”

  Adam stepped back. “That it is. And you can damn well run it any way you want once I’m gone.”

  Roger blinked. His eyes looked huge and watery behind his thick lenses. “What?”

  “I either run the place my way or I walk. Danni stays or I walk. I’ll give you until tonight to decide. Call me when you do. If you insist on firing her,
then I won’t be coming in tomorrow.”

  He left the restaurant.

  Chapter 13

  Danni glanced at the time on her computer. 10:30 a.m. She’d been at her desk for three hours. It felt like twelve. At this rate, she’d never make it to Tuesday.

  Her attention kept drifting to Adam. So far, she’d stayed away from his office, determined to let him make the first move, like they were in middle school. Damn. She hated when relationships evolved into stupid BS, and ached to do the adult thing, asking him if he wanted to see her again. A simple yes or no answer. At least she’d have something. And so what if it made her seem needy? Sometimes she was. If he cared for her at all—and God, he surely behaved as if he did, at least until last Tuesday—then her loving him should be something to celebrate, not fear.

  She had to know and wasn’t about to wait any longer. She deserved better.

  She hurried past Jen’s desk and spoke over her shoulder. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes if anyone needs me.”

  “Sure. See you in a few.”

  Jen made it sound so easy, and it should be unless things went south fast. Danni’s steps slowed. If Adam told her they should cool it, which essentially meant they were over, she’d need time to pull herself together. She wasn’t certain how long this broken heart would take to mend. Six months didn’t seem lengthy enough. A year sounded like a permanent visit to hell. Never was even worse. She’d see him every day, while still loving him. Shit. She loathed this stupid crap and returned to Jen’s desk. “I might be gone longer than a few minutes, but I will be back for my meeting.”

  Jen nodded, her youthful face untroubled as if she hadn’t a care in the world, especially when it came to men.

  Lucky her.

  Danni reached Adam’s office. The closed door and darkened interior surprised her. She turned to his secretary. “He’s not here yet?”

  The older woman shook her head.

  “When will he be here?”

  She lifted her shoulders. “All I know is his one o’clock meeting was canceled.”

  That didn’t sound good. “Did he say where he is or what he’s doing?”

  “Not to me.”

  Danni’s apprehension swung from her own problems to his. He never missed work. She worried he might be sick. The flu was going around, and the last time she’d seen him he looked beyond tired.

  Back in her office, she called him and got voicemail. She killed the connection and tapped his number again. To hell with games. The voicemail prompt came on.

  “Hi, it’s me.” She sounded more breathless and concerned than she wanted. “I’m at work. Are you okay? Do you need anything? Call me, please.”

  He didn’t.

  Her meeting stretched endlessly. She found it impossible to concentrate. The team members kept waiting for her responses to questions she hadn’t heard. Lunch came and went. She didn’t eat. Another meeting trapped her there until three. At 3:05, she closed her office door.

  “Jen, I may be back later, I don’t know. Call me if anything comes up.”

  “Sure.”

  Danni raced to the parking garage, hurried down the stairwell, and nearly ran into Adam. “Oh my God.” She jumped back, hand to her heaving chest.

  “You okay?”

  Her first reaction was to be honest, her second to be cool. She went with her heart. “No, I was worried about you. You weren’t in the office. That’s why I’m here. I was going to your place. I thought you were sick.”

  “From the scrapple?”

  “What? No.” She slapped his biceps.

  He grinned. A genuine, I-really-like-you smile. For the first time in nearly a week, he looked well-rested and at peace. “I’m fine. Take the rest of the day off. Come home with me.”

  She stared, then looked over to see if anyone had come down the stairs and heard. The steps were empty. “You’re not coming in to work at all today?”

  “I’ve been working since eight with the owners of the building we’re planning to purchase for Painted Ladies. I only came back here to get you. Whatever’s in my office can wait until tomorrow.”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Do you hear me laughing?”

  “I meant about wanting me to come home with you.”

  The devil was in his striking blue eyes. “Let’s say I’m demanding it.”

  Her hope soared. The old Adam was back. There hadn’t been a thing to worry about, yet she had. Because he’d canceled on her. He’d acted so weird. Unexpectedly, irritation filtered through her relief. He should have told her what had been eating him, or at least assured her the problem had nothing to do with them. She wanted to ask for an explanation, yet feared overreacting. Maybe he felt uncomfortable sharing his problems. Most guys did. Could be he was clueless as to how his behavior affected her. She’d yet to meet a man who was completely attuned to a woman’s feelings.

  She should also work on her own trust issues, and would, after their coming good time. She gave him her coyest look. “So you’re demanding I go to your place.”

  “That’s right.”

  Pushing doubt aside, she arched one eyebrow, ready to resume their carnal games. “Make me.”

  Once Adam had Danni back in his bed, wrists tied to his headboard, her alluring nudity entertained him. A mole he hadn’t noticed before graced the area near her left nipple. His tongue welcomed it. Her smooth sex plumped at his touch, her labia blushing, its pink tint nearly deepened to red. Silky moisture filled her opening, streaming to her anus. It and her channel constricted, as if trying to form words, beckoning him inside.

  He made love to her slowly, tenderly, immersed in every nuance. Her tight walls sheltering his cock, her damp heat, and sweet fresh scent amazing him, as always, urging him to go faster. He held back, not wanting to rush.

  Tears slipped over her lids.

  With great effort, he managed to stop. “What’s wrong?” His voice rasped.

  She shook her head. “Nothing. Keep going.”

  “With you crying?”

  “I’m not. A lash got in my eye. It hurts like hell when there’s mascara on it. I must have blinked it away. I’m fine now. Don’t stop.”

  He certainly didn’t want to, now that she was in his life for good. Roger had caved, leaving three voicemails for Adam before he returned home on Sunday. The man didn’t exactly apologize. Hell, he was barely civil. He did say what Adam had waited too long to hear. Danni’s job was safe. Roger wouldn’t interfere with her again.

  Adam stroked her cheek. “You’re sure about continuing?”

  “Yes. Please.”

  He pumped again, making love to her as he hadn’t since arriving in San Francisco. When her job had been in jeopardy, desperation obliged him to take what he desired as quickly as he could before he lost it. Now there was time to savor what they had. To build on it.

  She followed his lead, yielding to his tenderness and then to his dominance when it came time to act out another of her incredible fantasies. He played a soldier of fortune this time. She pretended to be a spy he’d caught. He tortured her with kisses, strokes, licking, and suckling, followed by vigorous spanking, then back to more intimate carnal acts.

  Her impassioned moans and lusty shouts were his reward.

  For dinner, he ordered a pepperoni pan pizza, marinara sauce on the side, which he smeared on her nipples and mound, then licked and sucked her clean. Satisfied with his appetizer, he untied her and took a piece of the pie.

  Danni finished her stretch and labored to a sitting position. Eyes hooded, she looked left then right. “Didn’t you order breadsticks?”

  “Didn’t know you wanted them.”

  “That’s okay, this will do.” She cradled his cock and dipped the crown into the sauce.

  He started.

  She froze. “Does it burn?”

  “A little.” They’d gone at it so much, he was sore. “If you plan to eat me, I’d appreciate you doing it now.”

  Holding her hair in
one hand, she swirled her tongue over his cock as she would an ice-cream cone. “Better?”

  He nodded quickly and swallowed even faster. The sting tapered off, followed by pure ecstasy. After tossing his unfinished slice in the box, he fell back on the mattress and allowed her to minister to him.

  They didn’t finish their bed play and meal until midnight.

  Sagged against the pillows, he cradled her in his arms and stroked her back, toying with the idea of asking her to move in. He sensed she wanted him enough to consider it, unless her bad experience with those other guys made her cautious. She might have told each she loved them.

  During these last weeks, she hadn’t come close to saying the same to him. He couldn’t blame her. Their relationship was still in its early stages. She might be waiting for him to declare his feelings first. He would have, except he’d had the crap with her job. Now that it was settled, he didn’t want to ruin the moment by having her tell him something he didn’t want to hear. Namely, she liked him a lot, but didn’t love him. It was probably better to start slow. “Want to stay over?”

  Her breath warmed his shoulder. “You sound like my mom.”

  “Is that good or bad? By the way, is she doing all right?”

  Danni nodded, rubbing her cheek against him. “We went antiquing this weekend. She asked me to stay over.”

  “Did you have a good time?”

  “I wouldn’t compare it to this.”

  He laughed.

  “I can’t stay.”

  Her comment surprised him.

  Grunting, she pushed away and crawled across the bed to her bra and panties. It was the first time she’d worn both to work since they started sleeping together. She hadn’t put on the karada today either.

  He didn’t want to worry about what that could mean, but did. “Why can’t you stay?”

  She slipped her arms through her bra straps. “I can’t show up at work without makeup and fresh clothes.”

  “You could shower here and go back to your place before coming to work.”