Unexpected Adventures (New Adventures Book 1)

by Laura M. Baird

  “I think we both had a part in it.” He kisses my temple.

  “Sorry not sorry?” I tease as I burrow my head into his chest.

  He chuckles. “It was well worth it.”

  “It certainly was.”

  He carries me into the bathroom and opens the shower door, taking us both inside. The warmth of the water feels heavenly. He lowers my legs, holding onto my shoulders to make sure I’m steady. “Doing okay?”

  “I’m doing wonderfully,” I say. I open my eyes. My vision is crystal clear as I look at Shaun. “Thank you.”

  He raises an eyebrow.

  I bring my hands to his glorious chest as he keeps his hands on me. “Thank you for being as gentle as you could be. For giving me one earth-shattering experience I’ll never forget.”

  “You’re welcome.” He kisses me, slowly, thoroughly. As the water falls over us, around us, the kiss grows more intense, and the steam being made is just as much from us as it is the hot water.

  He pulls his mouth away, moving to my ear. “I’d love a repeat in the shower, but I think that should wait for another time.”

  I begin to protest, only to have him lay a quick one on my lips and a light smack on my rear.

  “Hey!” I laugh.

  “Let’s get washed and dried. I have some sheets to change.”

  I blush deeply and try to hide my embarrassment, but Shaun intercepts me, holding my face so that I have no choice but to look at him. “Hey, don’t be embarrassed. Fact of nature.” His lips move to mine and my eyelids droop. He lingers for a moment before he speaks again. “I hope it was all you could hope for, Abby.”

  I lick my lips as I watch him. “It was more.” His smile nearly makes me come undone. I rise up to kiss him this time, wrapping my arms around his waist. I break the contact of our lips and press mine into his chest, above his heart. We hold each other for a second before each of us steps back.

  Shaun reaches around me for the soap and squirts it across my breasts. I grin as he sets the bottle down and begins to work it across my chest and shoulders.

  “You’re really working up a lather there,” I tease.

  “You have no idea,” he groans.

  “Shaun…” My hands try to reach his groin.

  He halts his movements, his gaze intense. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” I lick my lips. I gently squeeze his already thickening rod, coaxing a long sigh from him. “If we’re going to change the sheets, might as well really make it worth it.”

  His wicked grin sends a thrill through me. He quickly turns me around to rinse the soap before turning off the water. He ushers me out of the shower and we don’t even bother to grab towels.

  I race ahead of him to the bed, jumping on it, grinning wildly. Shaun stops at the night stand to retrieve another condom, his penis erect. Ready and eager. I watch as he covers himself again, anticipating him over me… penetrating me, bringing me to pleasurable heights.

  What he does next shocks me, thrills me. He stalks to the bed and flips me onto my stomach. His right hand reaches under my belly, lifting me. As I go to my knees, his left hand slides across my back and bottom, teasing the folds of my rear. I gasp, and before I can protest, he continues his slide down the back of my thighs, all while his right hand finds my slick heat. He teases, flicks, pinches, sending my body into a rhythmic dance he keeps pace with.

  He’s charging my body, bringing it up to full power. He guides himself between my cheeks, lifting me higher with is hand on my abdomen. I rear up, literally, giving him easier access to my center. He pushes inside me, eliciting groans from both of us. I clutch the sheets, dipping my head. He strokes in and out while he lovingly tortures my clit.

  Again the pressure builds, the feeling of euphoria already threatening deliciously. We move in sync, our slick skin nearly fusing together. One more flick of his finger and my world is exploding, my insides clenching. One more strong thrust from him and we shatter.

  We vibrate together, mini-thrusts keeping our bodies locked with one another. As the tidal wave subsides, Shaun leans down, pressing a kiss to my back before pulling out. I collapse on the bed, turning my face to the side. Once again, he goes into the bathroom to rid himself of the condom. Only this time he returns and manages to usher me under the covers. We don’t bother with anything else other than holding one another close as he places an arm over my head and the other around me. I snuggle into him, and I can’t help but think of Denise’s words before sleep claims me with a smile on my face.

  Lightning has struck.

  ****

  Good Lord, did someone get the license plate number to the truck that ran me over? There had to have been plenty of time, seeing as they backed up and did it again.

  Consciousness is coming around. Slowly. I hear breathing behind me. My mouth feels drier than Palm Springs. And my mind is beginning to register the ache and fatigue as a result of my first sexual encounter—make that, encounters—mere hours ago.

  But am I going to complain? Well, maybe just a little bit. As glorious as it was, who knew it’d feel as if I just went three rounds with former MMA Champion Ronda Rousey, who almost always finished her opponents in the first round.

  And what, you ask, do I know about MMA? Well, turns out another client’s grandson had trained at Gym 445 in San Fran, and made an appearance on that reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. So yeah, I found all this out after a rather enlightening and excited conversation with my very proud client. Hence the interest and subsequent viewing of UFC.

  But, back to my night with Shaun. As I begin to awaken I want to focus on the pleasure, on all the wondrous feelings that he gave me, rather than the soreness. I inadvertently let out a contented sigh, causing the man behind me to stir.

  “You can’t possibly be ready to move out of this bed,” Shaun mumbles.

  “No, but yes.”

  To that he gives a chuckle and kisses the back of my neck.

  “I really have to pee and find some Ibuprofen,” I say.

  “Sorry,” he starts, but I interrupt before he can say more.

  “For what? There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”

  “You’re sore, of course.”

  “Given what you put me through, I’ll take it.” I wiggle my way free of his embrace, only to turn around and kiss his chin. “I’m going to help myself to your bathroom.”

  “Absolutely.”

  As I gingerly make my way off the bed and into the bathroom, I hear Shaun say, “I like seeing you naked.”

  “I’m a mess. And those sheets still need changing,” I call out, laughing.

  “Can I just say then, you’re a hot mess?”

  “Uh huh,” I say skeptically. I turn on the shower, drowning out any further response from him. I step under the soothing, warm spray. And yes, I empty my bladder in the shower. You say gross. I say efficient. You’re using water either way…

  Once I’m showered and wrapped in a towel, I make my way back into the room to see Shaun putting fresh linens on the bed. I notice the pile of rolled up sheets off to the side.

  “I hope it wasn’t too bad,” I say sheepishly.

  “They’ll have to be burned,” he says deadpan. When he sees my eyes widen and my mouth drop open, he quickly adds, “No, no, Abby, I’m just kidding.” He hurries to me, folding his arms around me. “I’m sorry. Bad time to drop a joke.”

  “You got me.”

  He inhales and hugs me tighter as he sighs. He actually sighs. “I certainly do.”

  While I’d love nothing more than to stay in his arms, I’m sure he must also want a shower, and I guess I need to see about getting back to Denise’s. Although spending more time with Shaun is very enticing.

  Before I can make up my mind, he does it for me.

  “Let me grab a quick shower and we’ll get breakfast.” He pulls away to look at me. “And I’ll find some Ibuprofen.”

  “Okay.”

  A quick kiss and he makes his way to the bathroom.
<
br />   “I’ll get dressed and meet you downstairs,” I say.

  He turns around and grins. “Okay.”

  Good morning, Sunday…

  Chapter Twelve

  After gathering my clothes, I make my way back to the silver room for fresh ones. Luckily, there’s plenty to choose from, so I stick with what’s comfortable: shorts and T-shirt. After drying my hair, I head down to the kitchen and see it’s already nine.

  There’s no sign of Sarah or the dogs, so I assume they’re out for a walk. I make myself useful and start a pot of coffee. As I start to gather the makings for eggs and toast, I hear a relentless buzzing. Following the sound, I realize I left my bag down here, and my phone is going crazy. Just as I reach for it, Sherri’s house phone starts ringing. Habit has me wanting to answer, but it’s not my house. They must have an answering machine, right?

  I grab my own phone and see that it’s Denise.

  “Abby!” Denise says once I slide over to ‘accept’ on the phone. I try to make sense of her rambling, but I have to pull the phone away from my ear because she’s so darned loud. After a moment, I try to interrupt her, but she continues to spew information too quickly for me to catch it all.

  “What? Slow down, Denise. What!”

  Suddenly, my good-morning-Sunday is crashing at my feet and dread settles like a bad stomach ache inside me.

  “Sylvia? When? How—no, I haven’t had a chance to check my phone. It was down in the kitchen and I just got to it!” I pause as I let her ramble on. “Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

  I disconnect, shock barely registering. I look up at Shaun who’s made an appearance, a worried look on his face. I’m unable to voice the words Denise just relayed to me.

  “Shaun…”

  He pulls me to him. “I know, Abby. The call, it was your supervisor, Heather, looking for you. She got ahold of Denise, trying to locate you. She asked you call as soon as you could. It had to do with Sylvia.”

  I pull back to look at him. “You know what happened to her?”

  “No, she didn’t give me any details, but from the sound of it, it didn’t seem like good news. What’d Denise say?”

  I begin scrolling through my call log, seeing that I missed several calls from Heather, Denise, and Sylvia’s friend, Millie. “She fell.” I look up at him again and continue quietly. “Millie found Sylvia. She was picking her up for church. They go every Sunday together. She had to call an ambulance.” My voice hitches and I have to choke back a sob.

  “Hey, hey.” He tries soothing me, rubbing my arms. “Don’t work yourself up. Not until you know what’s going on. And even then…”

  “Then I can get hysterical?”

  “Do you want me to call Heather for you, or can you do it?”

  I clear my throat and swipe at my eyes that are filling with tears. “I’ll call. Denise is already on her way over. She called while en route.”

  Shaun nods and steps back, allowing me to make the call. He slips bread into the toaster and pours the ready coffee into mugs, taking a healthy drink from one, all while casting glances at me.

  Once connected with Heather, I get an update on Sylvia. I begin to inform Heather I’ll return today. After a short exchange, we disconnect.

  “You’re not driving yourself back,” Shaun says. “Not alone. I’ll take you home.”

  I stare at him, dumbfounded. “You can’t. You’re here to visit your sister, and your car needs …”

  “I can and I will. My car can wait… it’s the least of my worries. You were here to visit your sister too. Things change. We deal with it.”

  “But Shaun, I…”

  “No, Abby, don’t.” He shakes his head. “You’re upset. I can’t let you go alone. You…”

  “I’ll be fine,” I say rather abruptly. “You don’t need to change your plans for me… that’s ridiculous. You hardly know me.” I grab my bag and begin to stomp past him, intent on gathering my few possessions from upstairs.

  Shaun slams his coffee mug on the counter and stops me with his hand on my arm. He’s practically glaring at me. “Really, Abby? You’re going to go there? After what we shared last night, you think I hardly know you? You think I can just watch you go through this mess, knowing you’re upset, and your concentration won’t be on your driving?”

  His upset startles me, then annoys me. Who is he to think he can suddenly start making decisions for me? So we had sex. Granted, it was out-of-this-world sex, and since I finally decided to punch my virginity card, I’m certainly glad it was with Shaun, but still…

  “Punch your virginity card?” he says incredulously.

  Oops! I said that out loud?

  “Is that all you thought about our night together?” He chokes out a strangled laugh—although it’s anything but funny. “And here I thought guys were the crass ones. And I don’t think I can suddenly start making decisions for you. I was trying to be thoughtful. Because for some insane reason, in such a short time, I’ve come to really like you, Abby. Because I care about you making it back safe and sound. Guess that doesn’t really matter now, does it?”

  “Shaun, I’m sorry, last night meant more than that. I’m just upset so I’m not thinking clearly.”

  “Another reason for me to take you back,” he says hastily.

  Still I refuse. “You don’t have to. I can handle this.”

  Just as he’s poised to argue more, Sarah and the five fur balls come through the patio door.

  “Oh, hey guys. What’s up?” She must realize not all is well as her smile falters while she looks at our grim faces. The dogs follow their routine of running to their water bowls, then into another room, presumably onto their beds.

  I take a step away from Shaun to say, “One of my clients had a fall and is in the hospital.”

  “Oh, no! Is she okay?”

  “She’s stable. I don’t know the extent of her condition. I’m going back today.”

  Shaun still thinks he’s going to sway me by saying, “We’re going back today. I don’t want her driving, being alone.”

  “Good idea,” Sarah agrees. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

  Only I disagree about it being a good idea. “No, and I’m going back by myself. I’ll be fine.”

  “Goddammit, Abby, why are you being so hard-headed about this? Why won’t you let me help?”

  His outburst shocks me but his anger only riles me more. “Because I don’t need help. I’ve been doing just fine on my own up to this point, thank you very much. Maybe I am being hard-headed, but I’m not weak or incapable. I don’t need some Prince Charming riding in to save the damsel in distress, because that’s not me.”

  Through clenched teeth, Shaun says, “I never once thought you weak or incapable. I…”

  My impatience is getting the better of me. “Look, this is getting us nowhere. I’m sorry I can’t stroke your ego by allowing you to come to my rescue. Denise will be here any moment and I want to be ready to go.” Before I turn away I catch sight of his stricken face, and it takes everything inside of me not to try to soothe him. But dammit, I can handle this.

  I stomp off and run up the stairs, more tears threatening.

  I reach the room and gather my clothes, realizing I don’t have a bag to toss them into. I go into the bathroom, looking for something beneath the counter, and spot a roll of waste basket liners. As I tear one off, I hear Denise yelling for me. Just as I reenter the bedroom, she’s hurrying to me, gathering me in a tight hug.

  “Abby, I’m so, so sorry about what happened to Sylvia. I’m sure she’s going to be fine.” She pulls away, thumbing the tears off my cheeks. “Hey now, it’ll be all right. Come on, let’s get your things. I’ve got your bag from my place down in my car.” She takes the plastic bag from me and starts to place my items inside as I sit down to remove the borrowed sneakers. “Hey, don’t worry about those. You can keep them on… Sherri won’t mind.”

  “No, I don’t want to take them. I’ll just grab my own from your c
ar.”

  “Abbs,” she starts.

  “Denise, it’s fine. I just want to go. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get to Sylvia.”

  “And what about Shaun? He didn’t look very happy when I rushed by him and Sarah. Are you two okay?”

  I don’t even spare her a glance as I remove the shoes and socks, placing them by the dresser. I then grab the bag from her and begin to change back into the clothes I wore yesterday. “There is no us two. He’s here to visit his sister and I’m returning to see to a client. End of story.”

  “Hey, Abby, what’s going on?” Her voice is soft, full of concern. “Yesterday, you were so looking forward to your date, and now, it’s as if you two can hardly stand the sight of one another.”

  “Yeah, well, he thinks he needs to take care of me when I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” My words are starting to sound like a broken record, even to myself… and it’s sounding pretty pathetic.

  “What do you mean?”

  I stare at my sister. “He wanted to drive me back. He said I shouldn’t be alone, that I shouldn’t face this mess alone. But I’m fine. I don’t need to rely on him. On anyone. And I basically told him so.”

  “Oh, Abby,” she starts, shaking her head. “Silly goose. Can’t you see he cares about you and just wants to help?”

  “But I don’t need help, Denise,” I pout.

  “You may not need help, but wouldn’t it be nice to have the support? I’d go with you if I could, but I’m sorry I can’t miss work tomorrow.” She studies me. “What are you afraid of?”

  “I’m not afraid of anything,” I answer hastily. I throw the borrowed clothes on the bed, unconcerned that I should be the polite guest and find the laundry room to put them in.

  “Yes you are. You’re afraid of letting someone in… afraid his feelings may be too good to be true, and you don’t want to risk the hurt. So, you’re going to be the one to push him away and, what? Spare your feelings?”

  “Don’t, Denise. I don’t have time to delve into all this shit.”

  Denise gasps, because, damn, I really don’t talk like that, and it surprises us both.