I shifted my attention away and upward.
The sky was a map of the stars; constellations glittered above our heads. It was serene, and kind of perfect. The fire licked the air, rising between us as flecks of red sparks shot out and brushed against my marshmallow stick.
I brought the stick closer and peeled off the gooey, white mess at the end, popping the entire thing into my mouth, which produced a laugh from Chloe. “Mmm,” I exaggerated as I chewed, looking at her.
“You’ve got it on your face.” Chloe pressed her hands to her lips, allowing her innocence to come forward.
I brought my fingers to my mouth, smiling. “So do you,” I responded. I licked my lips and then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. As I looked up, my eyes locked with Adam’s. His elbows rested on his knees as he sat slouched forward toward the fire. The light from the flames danced off his blue irises, mesmerizing me.
Looking at Adam was like an addiction. Every time I did it, I wanted more and more.
“Let’s tell ghost stories.” Conor’s voice broke my reverie. Thank God.
“How about a story about Ireland, instead? Ya know, since I’m a foreigner and all.”
Chloe tapped a pink fingernail to her lips and pursed them together in thought.
“I’ve got one,” Conor said, not giving poor Chloe any time to come up with something. “You see that tree over there?”
I looked over my shoulder to where Conor was pointing. A tree, small in size but with a lot of branches still covered in green, sat alone in the middle of a field. A pile of stones surrounded it. “Yeah?” I looked back over at Conor, who was standing before the group, prepared to enlighten me. “What’s the big deal?”
Conor smirked. “Oh Anna,” he deepened his voice, trying to sound older, or like Adam—which was adorable. “If you cut one of those trees down, you’ll have bad luck. You don’t want to piss off the wee folk, the fairies. Those trees are their meetin’ points between worlds. You chop a Fairy Tree, and you won’t sleep another good night for the rest of your life.” Conor showed me his palms and shrugged. “They’re special. I promise ya.”
I smiled at him. “Good to know. I’ll do my best to avoid cutting any down before I go back to Kentucky.”
“Why do you have to go back?” Chloe asked, her eyes large and on me.
“Um.” They were mostly teenagers, not five-year-olds, I had to remember. I could be honest with them. “Well.” I looked up at Adam, and he was studying me. I thought I could see a hint of curiosity on his face, or maybe it was just the light casting shadows. “I only have a job here for another few months. I might have to go back to the U.S. after it’s over.”
“Oh.” Chloe kicked at the dirt and dropped her stick to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She moved past me and began sprinting toward the Fairy Tree.
Conor came around in front of me. “A lot of people come in and out of her life. I guess she was hoping you’d be different. She really likes you.” He shrugged his shoulders, and then Jenna and Conor went after her.
Adam was on his feet now, but he remained standing. He must’ve decided to let Jenna and Conor talk to Chloe.
I scanned the eyes of the rest of the group, trying to figure out what to do or say that would make things better. “Tell Adam here to offer me a job at his company, then,” I joked.
The rest of the group jumped up. “Yeah. Yeah,” some of the kids hollered.
Adam raised his hands in the air, smiling. “We’ll see.”
“No pressure,” I teased, facing him.
“None at all.” He cocked a brow at me. “Maybe everyone should go get some shut eye. We’ve got an early morning.”
I had hoped to talk to the group tonight, to try and get some information out of them about that girl outside the center, but it looked as though right now wouldn’t be the best idea.
“Adam’s right. It’s late,” I finally said. I took a step backward but forgot my proximity to Adam—he was too close to me. I staggered back slightly and stumbled into the log that had been my seat. Adam swooped his arm down to wrap around my waist, keeping me upright.
“Thanks.” I sucked in a breath, taking in some of the crisp air as I got my feet under me again.
His hand dropped to his side, and he stepped away from me. “Come on.” He waved his hand in the air, motioning for the group to gather and head in for the house. “Guys. House. Now.” His monosyllabic commands were kind of cute as he herded everyone together.
I remained standing in front of the fire, staring at it as if the answers to my life, my future, were there.
“You coming?” Adam asked as the kids started to head to the house.
“I’ll be in soon.” I kept my eyes on the orange flicker of light as it captured oxygen from the air.
“I don’t want to leave you out here alone.”
The crunch of his shoes on the leaves signaled his return. “I need a minute—I’ll be fine. Just have a lot on my mind.”
Like Dublin. My home. My life in ten weeks. Not to mention the text from Jax today.
Oh and him, too, of course. Adam McGregor.
I shouldn’t have ever met him outside of work, and I had no business developing feelings for him. Yet, as much as I wanted to brush off whatever was going on inside me as a purely physical reaction to a handsome man, to call it lust because he was muscular and sexy and gorgeous, I couldn’t. There was more to it than that. But I couldn’t even allow myself to find out whatever that was.
“I don’t think staring into that fire will give you whatever answers you’re looking for.”
“Where can I get them?” I faced him.
The back of his hand came toward me, and I flinched a little and took a step back. His eyes narrowed at me, and he angled his head to the side. “Anna.”
“What?” I folded my arms across my chest.
“Who hit you?” His jaw tightened, his eyes intensely blue despite the darkness.
My stomach shriveled at his words. “What are you talking about? Are you nuts?”
“Someone hurt you before,” he said with conviction in his voice.
All I could do was take a step back and spin away. I couldn’t let him read the emotions I knew would be painted thickly over my face.
“I should get to bed. Like you said, early day.”
“Anna, wait.” His gruff call sailed through the cool air, but I didn’t dare turn. I rushed back to the house, my body shivering as my mind dragged up images of my past.
After a quick check on the kids, I went to my room. I locked the door and leaned against it, lowering my head, shutting my eyes.
I’m not sure how long I stood there before a slight dizziness compelled me to lie down.
A few minutes later, I sat up at the sound of steps in the neighboring room. Light appeared beneath the bathroom door.
Not long after, there was a quiet rap at the door.
Adam wasn’t giving up.
I stood up and walked over, not sure what I wanted to do. I pressed my palm to it. “Yeah?” My bottom lip tucked between my teeth as I tried to lower my heart rate.
“Anna, please talk to me.” His voice was soft. Pleading.
Tempting.
God, I would love to open up to someone, I thought. To pour my problems out after all this time. But if I couldn’t tell my best friend back in Kentucky, how could I tell a man who was practically a stranger?
The knob was twisting, and I dropped my hand to my side and stared down. “I’m coming in.”
I could turn the lock to keep him out, but I didn’t. My mouth parted open with the door, and I stared at the man in front of me. A rush of adrenaline spiraled through me, despite the pain that clawed at my chest.
I was beginning to feel as if I was blindfolded on a roller coaster and had no clue when I would fall, flip, or be jerked to a complete stop. Yet it didn’t bother me—the feeling of not knowing was almost seductive. The feeling I had around Adam
, never knowing what might happen even though I knew what I should and shouldn’t do, was a natural high, and one I’d never experienced before.
Adam was standing in the doorframe wearing gray sweats and a white tee. His eyes were a storm of blue, the kind that pulls together right before lightning strikes—a dangerous, threatening blue. But I knew the anger wasn’t intended for me. It was to whomever he thought had hurt me.
“Tonight wasn’t the first time you pulled away from my touch. Or flinched when my hands came near you.” He cleared his throat, and I averted my attention to the floor, but he tipped my gaze back up with his hand. “I’ve seen it before. Someone hurt my sister when she was younger . . .” I watched him swallow, and the flash of anger in his eyes grew even more intense. I hadn’t thought that was possible.
If Adam could trust me with something personal like that about his sister, then maybe I could . . .
No, Anna. Don’t.
I took a step back, and his hand dropped to his side. My eyes were drawn to the tattoo on the inside of his arm, and I simply stared.
The ink. The veins there. His strength.
Without realizing it, I moved back closer to him. Right now, all I wanted were those arms, his strong and safe arms, wrapped around me. I needed something to calm the swell of fear that was brewing inside me.
His chest lifted up and down with slow, deliberate breaths as if he was attempting to control his emotions. “Anna, why don’t you get undressed?”
Shocked, I blinked at him. That was not where I had thought this was going.
He smiled. “Sorry, love. I meant that you should get more comfortable and get some rest.”
I nodded, breaking away from his eyes, and he turned back into the bathroom. “Goodnight, Anna.” He tipped his head and closed the door.
My hands pressed to my face as I sank to my knees. Was I losing my mind?
Somehow, I still felt better than I ever had in the last year I’d lived in Kentucky. Adam brought something out of me that I hadn’t had in so long—my confidence. I didn’t know how he did it, or why it happened, but my shoulders didn’t shrink around him. In fact, around him, I was taller. And my words didn’t get jammed up in my throat out of fear. Although sometimes he had me tongue-tied for completely other reasons . . .
Was it Ireland or Adam that had put a little bit of a bounce back to my step? Or maybe it was that the person I had become around Jax was fading now that there was an ocean between us.
Trying to regain control of my emotions, I set about the everyday tasks of going to bed. I peeled off my clothes and went into the bathroom, locking the door on the other side so Adam wouldn’t accidentally come in.
I changed into my silk shorts and matching blue top. I stared at myself in the mirror. The blue of the silk reminded me of Adam’s eyes tonight. Then my gaze flickered to the door. The light was still on, but it had only been a few minutes since he’d been in my room so he was probably still awake.
My hand rested on the knob of his door. Shit, what am I doing? But before I could stop myself, I unlocked it and turned the knob. It wasn’t locked.
Was I nuts?
I pushed open the door and released a deep, nervous breath.
Adam was on the floor doing push-ups. He’d taken off his shirt, and his hard and muscular back was bare, except for the black tattoo on his shoulder. A light sheen of sweat had already gathered on his spine.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away as his shoulder blades flexed, the muscles greeting each other in the center of his back as he lowered his body.
He finally looked at me, his body tense as he pressed up from the floor. “Anna.” He hopped upright. “You okay?” His gaze had dipped down to my bare legs, lingering there a moment, before meeting my eyes again.
“I need a favor.”
He closed the gap between us. My nipples hardened, and my stomach muscles tightened as his hand came down on my shoulder. Oh, how I wanted this man.
Scratch that—I needed this man. But we were down the hall from eight impressionable teenagers. What if they needed one of us in the middle of the night and knocked on the door while we were . . . No, I’d have to tuck my desire away, deep and safe where it belonged.
But maybe there’d be no harm in getting something else I needed. “Can you hold me?” I asked, my voice not weak or breaking as I’d worried it would.
His brows pulled together, and I could tell he wasn’t sure what to make of my question. I stepped around him and out of his grasp and walked over to his bed, which had a rich, burgundy bedspread on it.
I pulled back the covers, which hadn’t been touched, and sat down. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.” Jax’s text came back to my mind.
He dragged a hand down his face and throat before it settled on the hard planes of his chest. “I’ve never, um, just laid in bed with a woman before.” He gripped his throat a little, pulling at the taut flesh.
My focus shifted down to his chiseled abs before dipping lower. I pulled my knees together beneath the bedspread.
I wanted his hands on me, to cover every inch of me.
I hadn’t been able to erase the memory of how tightly he’d gripped me that night in my hotel room. The way he had held on with such intense need . . . God, I wanted it again. And again.
Not here, Anna. Maybe never.
He was scratching the back of his head now, and I could tell he was unsure about what to do. “There’s a first time for everything,” I said, scooting to the other side of the bed, offering him room.
“I thought you were afraid of what people might think.” He lifted a brow and took a few steps closer.
I looked to the left and then to the right in an exaggerated manner. “I don’t think those people are here right now,” I whispered, allowing a smile to meet my lips.
He stepped up to the bed and his hands went to the waistband of his sweatpants. “Um. I can’t sleep with these things on.”
“Oh.” My eyes found the sexy V beneath his abdomen. “Anything on beneath those?”
“Love, I wouldn’t dare get into bed with you otherwise. I have restraint, but I’m not a feckin’ priest.”
I laughed. “I don’t think the words feck and priest really work well together.”
He grinned and lowered his sweats, revealing navy blue boxer briefs. Of course, he might as well have been naked . . .
I moved to my back and looked away, staring up at the popcorn ceiling. His incredible body was going to give me heart failure if I kept ogling it.
The weight of the bed shifted as Adam lay himself down. And then he did exactly what I needed.
One hand slipped beneath me, and he guided me to my side so my back was to his chest. He pulled me tight against him as his perfectly sculpted arms wrapped around me.
My chest fluttered, and chills floated across my skin.
“Sweet dreams, love,” he whispered into my ear. His face nuzzled against my neck, and I relaxed into him, allowing Adam and the serenity of Ireland to wrap me in the warmth of the night.
Seventeen
Adam
Something smelled good.
Coconut, maybe? What was it?
I opened my eyes—it was Anna’s head. Her thick, reddish blonde hair was as bright as a sunset on the beach. I pushed my face closer and sucked in another breath.
She was on her side, her back to me, and I was stiff against her. My hard cock settled against her firm arse. I didn’t want to lose my hold of her, but it probably would be best not to advertise my hard on, which was stirring, ready for action with her so near.
I tried to shift back, but she repositioned herself against me. Her body shifted and moved and pressed.
I shut my eyes, trying to calm my erection.
No such luck.
When her hand came down on my arm, and she guided it tighter around her to the peaks of her silk tank, I was done for. I swallowed as I felt the swell of her full breast beneath my palm. Only thin material separated my hand from her
flesh. “Jesus Christ,” I muttered, closing my eyes.
“Adam.” My name was a moan from her lips as she shifted to her back, her head dropping to the side. She was still asleep.
Goddamn. I retracted my arm from her chest and pulled it across my own, feeling as though I’d violated her.
Was she dreaming about me? Her hands went up and crossed over her breasts. Her breathing was slow at first but started to increase. Her lip tucked between her teeth and her hips bucked up as she started to squirm from side to side.
Feck me.
“Anna,” I whispered, needing to stop this torture. “Anna,” I said louder as my body pulsed with need. God, I wanted her so fecking much. I wanted to rip her tiny silk shorts off and put my mouth between her thighs.
I gripped the sheet on the other side of me as Anna jerked in the bed again, riding whatever wave of pleasure had been given to her in her dream. And if she was dreaming about me fucking her . . . I would be damned if I said I didn’t want to make it a reality.
I pulled my hands up to my face and dragged them down as I released a breath.
The top sheet and comforter were crumpled at the bottom of the bed, and she shifted, her hand coming down on top of me now. Her short nails scratched lightly against my hip bone, and I flinched at her touch. “Anna,” I said again, my voice panicky as the situation seemed to slip further from my control. She rolled to her side and her fingers slipped further down.
I grabbed hold of her wrist.
Her long lashes fluttered open and her beautiful, almond shaped eyes—the color of a pale emerald—focused on my face. “Adam?” I was still gripping her hand between our bodies, and I released it as her eyes widened.
“Shit.” She sat upright, looking around the room as I sat up next to her. “Did we—?”
“No. Except maybe in your dream.” My voice was rougher than I had meant for it to be—but I was in damn pain.
Her cheeks deepened to a beautiful pinkish red. Jesus, she was gorgeous.
“That was the best sleep I’ve had in years, though.” I scooted down to the bottom of the bed, trying to maneuver around her and hide my arousal at the same time. I stood up and grabbed my sweats.
Forever Dublin (Forever #2) Page 14
