“I hate lawyers!” I growled as I hit end on my phone and flopped back into the booth. I’d been trying to reach Mack’s lawyer in order to get information about his upcoming hearing, without much success. It had been three weeks since Rollins attacked me, and I was told that he’d been put on administrative leave while internal affairs tried to determine what to do with him.
It had also taken another month for Mack to get a trial date, and the lawyer wasn’t very forthcoming with information since I wasn’t a relative. All I had to go on was what Brando told me, and I was pretty certain he wasn’t telling me everything.
“Oh, what time is it? Aren’t you supposed to see Brando tonight?”
“Yeah, he should be here in a few minutes,” Tayia answered as she smoothed her long hair away from her face. In the nearly two months since Mack was arrested, Brando and I had formed a comfortable relationship. He would often call me or come to Catch for a visit. He’d also developed an interest in Tayia. It was an understatement to say that I was shocked when Tayia agreed to go out with him, except she never let Brando pick her up from her house. It seemed that Blake had a problem with the whole situation, and Tayia was avoiding him, which was the reason she was sitting with me in a booth at Catch waiting for Brando. I thought she was giving Blake way too much power over her dating decisions, but again, it was sensitive territory so I left it alone. I was just happy to see her finally taking an interest in someone.
When Brando strode in, he reminded me so much of Mack, my heart ached. They shared the same confident walk and panty-dropping grin.
When Tayia saw him, her back straightened, and her smile widened.
“Hi, Brando,” she said when he reached our table.
“Hi, Tayia.” He smiled at her, then looked at me. “Hey.”
I waved, then started scrolling through my phone for the lawyer’s number again. “Mr. Wallace was supposed to call me back and he hasn’t. Have you heard anything?”
“Don’t worry,” he said with a reassuring smile. “You’ll know something soon.” Then he turned to Tayia and held out his hand. “You ready to go?” She nodded and stood. I knew they were going to a fancy restaurant in Key City and that Brando was using Mack’s boat to take them there. He’d also been staying at the house there too, since Rollins raided the place in Charleston. They’d also checked the Key City house but didn’t find anything to help their case.
Brando grabbed Tayia’s hand and led her to the door.
“Have fun, kids!” I called behind them as they walked away, then returned to waiting on my tables. Mama gave me my job back, but not before reminding me that I wasn’t allowed to quit. She did say that I was entitled to a break every now and then, though. She was also really supportive with the Mack situation, in fact, all of the family was. Woody seemed to be staying out of trouble and was helping out more with the rental properties and renovations. He was always good at woodworking and building things. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf.
Knight was currently running the street racing game and had been reportedly making a lot of big changes. Most of Mack’s list had been replaced with Knight’s friends. Woody and Drew refused to race by Knight’s rules, so they were kicked completely off the list. It burned me up that in the span of two months Knight had managed to completely destroy what took Mack years to build. I’d also learned that the blonde who had been bankrolling everything for Knight was Madelyn Risto, Carina’s mother. There was a story there, and I couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of it.
After closing down the restaurant, I went upstairs to my apartment and had a nice long shower. I’d spent a lot of time in here the last couple of months. Sometimes I would cry, sometimes I would think of legitimate plans to break him out of prison, and sometimes I would alleviate the ache between my legs when my need for him was too much to handle.
I’d just finished putting moisturizer on my face when I heard a light tapping at the door. It was almost three in the morning, and I wondered if Tayia was back from her date with Brando since she’d been staying over with me most nights.
When I reached the door, I couldn’t see anyone through the peephole so I backed away, thinking maybe I’d been hearing things. Then I heard the light knocking again. So I looked once more and saw nothing. Alright, now I was starting to feel creeped out. My mind started to go crazy with thoughts of Rollins returning to pick up where he left off, or Travis coming to give me more sleazy poems.
That’s when I’d reached my limit of being stalked and victimized. I reached in the dresser drawer and got the mace I’d been carrying around with me for weeks and stomped to the door. Enough of this shit. I unlocked the latches, put my finger on the mace trigger and flung the door open wide.
“I fuckin’ knew you were gonna open the door,” the voice I’d been waiting two months to hear said. “It’s three o’clock in the morning. I told you dumb shit happens all the time, Jonna.” Mack was standing there grinning at me and shaking his head. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t, so instead I dropped the mace, flung my arms around his neck, and wrapped my legs around his waist.
“Hey.” He laughed as he steadied himself against the doorjamb.
“You’re here. How?” I said and then put my mouth on his and kissed him hard. He instantly responded by kissing me back.
“I missed you,” he said between breaths. “I missed you so fuckin’ much.”
“Mack . . .”
“Adam. Call me Adam.” I furrowed my brow and stared at him. “A whole lot has changed, baby. A whole lot. Except for one thing, I hope.” Then he rubbed his nose across mine, and I felt that familiar warmth travel through my body, something only he was able to make me feel. When he pulled back to look at me, he smiled.
“Thank fuck. It’s still there. That look from the girl I love.”
Chapter Twenty-One
He pushed us back into my apartment and shut the door.
“How are you here right now?” I repeated my question. “I knew you had a hearing this week, but I didn’t know you would be getting out.” I could tell that he’d lost weight, his face was a bit thinner and his arms were less bulky, but he was still gorgeous. Maybe even better looking than before.
“Wallace was able to get most of the charges thrown out. It looks like Rollins has gotten into some trouble of his own. He was a little too anxious to catch me and cut a few corners that are going to cost him big. It’s not completely over, but I was able to make bail while Wallace works on what’s left of the case.”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe it. Brando knew, didn’t he?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Yeah, he picked me up this morning. I wanted to surprise you so I asked him not to say anything.”
I buried my face into his neck and held on to him. It felt too good to be true. I’d dreamed about this moment for two months, and now that it was here, it was hard to imagine how I ever went that long without touching him.
“Jonna,” he said softly, and I looked up at him. Tears were falling down my cheeks and that’s when it hit me.
That look from the girl I love.
“Wait, you said you loved me,” I said as I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands.
“I did.” He nodded, then brushed my hair away from my face just the way he used to. “I’ve loved you since the first night I saw you. Everything about you was beautiful, and you just seemed to glow. Since then you’ve added light to the darkest and most forgotten places in my heart.”
“Mack . . . er, Adam. God, it sounds so weird to call you that, but I like it.” I giggled and cupped his face with my hands. “Oh, Adam,” I said his name more confidently, then kissed him softly.
“You said that you loved me once. Is that still true, or has that changed?” The uncertainty in his eyes nearly undid me. I studied his face and thought about how not a single hour of the day went by where I didn’t long to feel his touch, hear his voice, or kiss his lips.
“Adam, what I feel for you is so much more
than love. That hasn’t changed.” He let out a breath as his shoulders relaxed.
“I know, there are no words strong enough to express what I feel for you either, but I can start with I love you,” he said. Then he kissed me tenderly, and I let my body melt into his. Finally, he pulled away so that we could take in air, then he moved us so that we were sitting on the couch.
“I know that I’ve put you through a lot these past couple of months. I wanted to see you, God knows, Jonna. But I couldn’t let you see me like that. I needed to make some serious changes in my life. For years, I only ever cared about two things, cars and pussy. I’d hurt people in the process and I didn’t care about that either. I’m twenty-six years old and I don’t have anything legit in my life, except you. What we have is the real deal. I knew you were talking to Brando, bugging the hell out of Wallace, and that you tried to see me every Sunday for a month. I almost cracked and added you to the list, but I was worried that you’d run. That you’d see me for who I really was and you would run as far away as you could. I just couldn’t see that look in your eyes fade away. I couldn’t handle finally finding the girl I belonged with and then losing you. It would have killed me.”
“But I wouldn’t have done that.”
“I didn’t want to take that chance. Jonna, you stuck by me when most would have turned the other way. So I promised myself that if I was lucky enough to get a second chance with you, there would be no more playing around and no more waiting. Mack is my racing name and racing is no longer the most important thing in my life. It’s time for me to be Adam King, and I’ve never been him with anyone else but you.” He slid to the floor so that he was kneeling in front of me.
“I’ve always believed things happen for a reason. I’ve been fucking my life up for the past ten years and I’m paying the price for it now. You came at a time when I was ready to make a change, and for the first time I felt something I never had before. Love. I fell in love with you, Jonna. Hard. And I also knew that you loved me back, and it wasn’t because you said the words to me on the boat. It was in the way you made me feel and how you looked at me, like I was special. Part of me expected you to grow tired of my shit and leave. But you stayed.”
My heart felt so full. Tears were streaming down my face, and my lips trembled. I loved that he was baring his soul to me like this, and I thought about all the times I wished that he would open up to me, but I wouldn’t have traded this moment for anything. When I put a hand to his cheek, his eyes closed briefly as he tilted his head into my palm. When he opened his eyes, the tenderness there took my breath away. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box.
“I went to speak to your father and brothers before I came here, because it was the right thing to do.” When he opened the box I saw a beautiful sparkling diamond ring. “Jonna Lee Fox, I know this seems crazy and that you’re still young, but it’s how I do things. Zero to one hundred and twenty in eight seconds. I can’t start my new life without asking you to be mine forever.” Then his eyes grew intense as he leaned forward. “Say yes, Jonna. Please.”
Wow. I was completely dumbstruck. The man I’d crushed on for the last four years, the one I knew could have any woman he wanted was down on his knees, right now, choosing me. The hope and uncertainty in his eyes nearly undid me. I knew the answer and I didn’t even need time to think.
“Yes,” I said and placed my mouth on his, and I felt his lips turn into a smile. He grabbed the back of my hair and pulled me tightly to him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Firefly. I can’t wait, need to feel you.” Without hesitating he pulled my tank top over my head and pulled one of my nipples into his mouth. “So beautiful. So sweet.” He licked and sucked each nipple while he slid my panties down. “I’ve missed the taste of you.” He kissed his way down my rib cage and over my abdomen as he grabbed both legs to rest them on his shoulders. His tongue slowly teased my wet folds. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get to the place where I ached for him the most.
“Adam,” I moaned as I wiggled my hips impatiently. “Please.” I felt his finger caress my sensitive flesh as he spread my wetness around.
“Mmm, you taste better than I remember.” Then he moved his tongue over my clit with long glides. I cried out and grabbed a hold of his hair, which was longer now, but the perfect length for me to get a good grip on him as I moved myself against his mouth.
“That’s it, fuck my face, baby.” He groaned, and I was lost, completely gone. My body was pure want as I raced higher and higher, chasing after the sensations, until I’d reached the highest peak. Then I fell over the edge.
When I opened my eyes, he was carrying me to the bed and laying me down. He quickly shed his clothes and was climbing on top of me and spreading my legs. I reached between us and grabbed his hard cock and guided him to me.
“It’s been awhile, baby. I don’t think I can be gentle.”
“Just the way I like it.” He grinned down at me.
“God, I fuckin’ love you.”
“I love y—” I hadn’t even finished the words before he entered me with one hard thrust. My eyes rolled back into my head, and I arched my back off the bed. He pulled one of my nipples into his mouth as he pumped his hips into me over and over. His pace was strong and measured. He knew my body and the exact places I needed him. Soon I was making a second journey to the point of bliss, and I lifted my legs higher to feel him as deep as I could and as much of him as possible.
“Ah, I can’t hold it. I’m almost there.” His breaths were ragged and his voice hoarse. Sweat covered our bodies, and it reminded me of the first time we were together. The need we felt then only grew stronger over time, and I had no idea this is where would be nearly five months later.
“Me, too. Mmm . . . now. Oh God.” My inner muscles contracted and squeezed him tightly as he stiffened and then shuttered above me with his face buried into my neck.
“Fuck, fuck. Oh, Jonna. Fuck.” We stayed there in each other’s embrace as we shuddered together while breathing heavily. Then Adam shifted so that he was on his back, and I was on top.
I moved my hand up to trace the tattoo on his chest and noticed that my ring finger was bare.
“I’ll take that ring now, Mr. King.” He got out of bed and was back under the covers a few seconds later. He grabbed my left hand, slid the ring onto my finger, and then placed a kiss over it.
“You can have anything you want, future Mrs. King.”
“Is now a good time to mention that my middle name is not even Lee?”
“What?”
“My middle name is Maryann, after my grandmother.”
“Why the hell would your mother call you by a different name?” He laughed and lifted up on his side to look down at me.
“She thinks Lee sounds better but knew it would crush her mother’s heart if she didn’t follow the tradition of passing on your mother’s first name as your daughter’s middle name.”
“That is the craziest thing I’ve heard in a while and trust me, I have heard some crazy shit.”
“Well, I just want you to be aware of the craziness that you’re marrying into. Speaking of crazy, you talked to my family?”
“Yeah, as soon as I got here I went to see them. I’d be lying if I said they were thrilled and welcomed me with open arms, but I’d also let them know that I was determined with or without their blessing. They just want you to be happy, and I promised them that I would do everything in my power to make sure that you were.”
“You know it’s not going to be easy with them.”
“As long as I have you, Firefly, I can handle anything.”
I smiled at him, kissed his lips, then rested my head against his chest. I stared at the ring as it sparkled in the moonlight. It all felt like a dream except I knew I was awake and now I had everything I wanted and more than I ever thought possible.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
Three months later
It was t
he middle of spring, and I was standing out on the front porch admiring the flowers I recently transplanted along the walkway of the house. They were a perfect contrast to the red door we’d installed a few days ago.
After Adam proposed, and he insisted on being called Adam now, I moved into the house in Key City. Mama flat out refused to let me go, but Daddy once again had to talk her down from near hysterics. It also didn’t help that we’d gotten married four weeks later. There was no point in waiting. We loved each other, and nothing else mattered.
It wasn’t hard to convince Mama to help me put together a small ceremony on the beach. I knew it was difficult for her to let go of her baby, but having her involved in my grown-up life and planning my wedding soothed some of the hurt. The day turned out beautifully with just the important people in our lives. Afterward, Adam and I spent three days on the boat anchored to our quiet cove.
He’d also gotten a tiny firefly tattooed just above the crown on his chest. I’d never felt so much love and happiness. It didn’t seem real but when I looked into those dark brown eyes with tiny gold flecks every night and kissed his lips, I knew this was my reality and it was perfect.
I still agreed to work at the restaurant a few days a week, and that seemed to help things a little with my family, but it was still going to take time. Drew wasn’t happy with the way things had played out between Adam and me, but not for reasons I’d expected. He’d wanted to propose to Harley for a while, but he was pretty sure she would say no. And if I knew anything about Harley Wyatt, things were never easy where she was concerned, so he was probably right.
Adam cut all ties with his life in Charleston by selling the old house and was now using his massive garage at the Key City house as a performance shop. He knew how to make cars fast, and that kept his services in high demand. Brando moved into one of the empty bedrooms and was an equal partner in their first ever legitimate business. While Adam wasn’t completely done with racing he still had a trial pending, so he was trying to lay low for a while. He was downright insulted by what Knight had done to his list, and I knew he wasn’t going to let it go on for long.
Carolina King (Drive Me Wild Book 2) Page 13
