“Oh, boy, I think we’re destined to be in here forever,” she whispered, leaning back to look at his handsome face. “I don’t have the strength to move one muscle.”
“Well, that makes one of us.” Adam angled his hips, his arousal still hard and strong against her backside.
Her face flamed, but she loved the deep chuckle that filled his chest. “Okay, maybe we should get washed up.”
Adam didn’t say a word when she reached for a nearby bar of soap. Instead, he sat back, laced his fingers behind his head and watched as she released the plug to let the water drain.
When she held out the soap to him, he only slowly shook his head. Unable to hold back her own smile, Fay rose to her knees before him instead and with the help of a washcloth and the handheld shower nozzle, proceeded to get the both of them very clean.
And very aroused.
Not that Adam had very far to go.
Wrapped in an oversize bath towel, she held firm to his hand when she stepped out of the tub. Adam followed and seconds later, the ground disappeared from beneath her feet when he swept her into his arms.
“Adam!” She clung to his muscular shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Just trying to make sure you get safely to bed,” he said, walking out of the bathroom. He paused to hit the light switch with his elbow on the way out; the only light in the bedroom was the small bedside lamp.
“But you’re still all wet.” Reaching up, she ruffled his hair, sending droplets of water raining down on his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, you will be, too.”
A thrill shot through her all the way to her toes at his suggestive words. “Adam…”
“Is this…” His words trailed off as he walked to the edge of his king-size bed and slowly lowered her to the blankets, stretching his naked body out beside hers. “Are we allowed to do this? I don’t want to do anything to hurt you.”
“You won’t hurt me. Or the baby,” she quickly added, her voice a hushed whisper, correctly guessing the unasked question in his eyes. It amazed her how he continued to put her—and their child—ahead of anything else.
“Stay with me, Fay.” He leaned closer, pressing hot kisses along her collarbone, his hands pulling the edges of the towel free from where she’d tucked them together over her breasts. “Please, stay. I need you.”
“I need you, too.” She laid her hands on his jaw, loving the rough texture of his beard that had grown in during the day. “Kiss me, Adam.”
He did exactly as she asked. Sweeping away the towel, he angled his mouth over hers, doing the same with his body until they were skin to skin.
She opened her legs, wanting him as close as he could be as she wrapped her arms around his back. A deep pulsing desire clawed at her, a feeling she’d never experienced before in her life. Adam left a trail of wet kisses across her breasts until he captured the hard tip of one in his mouth and sucked deeply. She arched, reaching until she gently closed her hand around his erection, marveling at the heat of his skin.
“Please, Adam…now.”
He rose over her and in one slow and smooth motion joined his body with hers. She clung to him as he pressed deeper, then withdrew only to come back to her again and again. Her fingers dug into his waist, desperate to hold on as he took her higher and higher.
Cupping her head with his hand, he brought her mouth to his, their breathless pants becoming one as his mouth hovered over hers.
“With me…” he commanded, no, pleaded. “Now.”
“Yes…”
Powerless to stop her heart from following her body’s demands, Fay gave into the love that had blossomed and grown inside her over the last days, weeks, every moment she’d spent with this amazing, wonderful man.
“Always, with you.”
Adam shuddered and cried out her name and she was right there with him as they gave into the passion, pleasure and promise of each other.
Their chests rose and fell afterward in matching breaths until a shiver raced through Fay. Moments later, Adam had the two of them nestled beneath the covers, pulling her to his chest as he leaned against the pile of pillows.
“Hey, you’re not falling asleep, are you?” he teased.
As much as she tried, Fay wasn’t sure she could stay awake. “Yes, I think I’m halfway to dreamland,” she said before pressing a kiss to his skin. “But I’ll make you breakfast in bed come morning. How’s that sound?”
“That sounds great, but…” Adam’s voice trailed off as he leaned away from her. It sounded like he’d opened a drawer but Fay was too pleasantly exhausted to open her eyes and see if she was right.
“Fay?”
“Hmm?”
“Fay, open your eyes.”
She tilted her head back as if she was looking at him, but still kept her eyelids closed. “Oh, do I have to?”
“Yes, you have to.” He gave her a gentle squeeze with the one arm still wrapped around her. “Please.”
“Oh, all right, since you said—”
The rest of her words caught in her throat as she did what he asked only to find a velvet box literally under her nose.
“What? What are you doing?”
“Proposing.” Using his thumb, Adam flipped open the hinged lid of the box one-handed. “Again.”
Fay gasped.
A large solitary diamond ring sat nestled in a white satin backdrop. The stone’s square shape, officially called a Princess Cut, showed off its beauty in an elegant and dramatic fashion.
“I want to make you happy, Fay. I know I can, if you only let me.” Adam’s tone was low, but strong. “You said we were going to be parents, and you’re right about that, but we’re also going to be a family. I want you to be a part of my family. I want to give you, and the baby, my name. I need you in my life.”
Oh, she never expected this.
She probably should have, because of the kind of man Adam was.
She cared deeply for Adam—who was she kidding? She’d fallen in love with him—but marriage…
The first time she married she’d been too young to understand the level of commitment, the selflessness required to make a marriage work. She knew now she’d been looking for a place to belong, a family where she was wanted fully and completely. She’d foolishly thought that was what she’d found with Scott
Commitment and selflessness were part of being a parent, too. Fay knew she was ready and willing to do both—do anything for her child. But to risk her heart again?
Especially from someone who hadn’t told her he loved her? Adam had never told her what he and her father had talked about, but she knew her parents, their conservative beliefs. Was he proposing now because her father had told him to?
Fay sat up, her heart aching as she clutched the sheets to her chest. She stared at the ring, then shifted her gaze to Adam’s face as he slowly lowered the box to his lap.
“You don’t have to say anything. I can read your answer on your face.” He snapped the lid shut and placed the box on the table next to the bed. “I thought maybe after today, after tonight, that you wanted this…wanted me. I guess I was wrong.”
“I do want you, Adam.”
He reached back farther and shut off the light, enveloping the room into darkness. “That’s okay, I understand. Too much, too soon.”
No, he was wrong.
All the words he’d just said had been wonderful, but the ones she wanted to hear most of all weren’t there.
Because they weren’t in his heart.
* * *
“Geez, who pissed in your Wheaties this morning?”
Adam ignored his brother and climbed into the passenger side of the helicopter, taking the headset Devlin held out to him.
&
nbsp; He still wasn’t sure how he’d gone from feeling like he was on top of the world to getting a hard kick in the ass. All in the span of just a few hours.
Saturday had been an amazing day.
A day that ended with him and Fay finally together, making love, just like he’d dreamed of for so long. He’d been so sure the moment after had been the right moment to ask her again to marry him, to create a family with him, to live and love together all the days of their lives…
“Look, I’m not going to ask for any details—”
“Good, because you wouldn’t get any.” Adam cut off his brother, not in the mood for Devlin’s offbeat sense of humor. Not this morning. “Don’t you have some preflight stuff you should be doing?”
“Already done. You’re running a bit late.” Dev’s hands flew across the instrument panel. “Have a hard time getting out of bed on a Monday morning?”
Yeah, he had.
Because last night had found him once again sleeping alone.
“Sorry about ruining your Sunday. I’m sure the last thing you wanted yesterday was to spend the day on the job site,” Dev said, as the helicopter lifted into the sky.
Adam braced one hand against the window, something he did every time the bird went airborne, but then he pulled in a deep breath and relaxed.
“I’m just glad those kids were okay.”
Liam had called the house early yesterday morning after a group of teenagers had broken into the log home still under construction for Dean Zippenella to have a party. A few too many beers later, and an unsecured inner wall had collapsed causing three teens to be trapped.
Between the Destiny fire department, the sheriff’s office and Adam’s crew, they’d gotten everyone out safely, but it’d been after dark before he’d gotten home last night.
Fay had already been asleep.
In her own bed.
Adam had no idea how long he’d stood there and watched her. When he’d finally left and gone back to his own room, he found the diamond still sitting on his bedside table.
Dammit, he loved the woman and wanted her to be his wife!
Why couldn’t she see that? Why had she turned him down?
For a long time, Adam watched the scenery go by below them, lost in his thoughts.
“Houston, I think we have a problem.” Dev’s voice came through the headset and Adam immediately picked up on the alarm in his brother’s voice.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.” Dev’s hands deftly maneuvered over the controls. “My instrument panel is dying and we’re losing power. Fast.”
Outside the windows was nothing but miles and miles of dense forest. Adam was surprised to see that they’d been in the air for over thirty minutes already. “Can you get us back to Destiny?”
“I don’t think so.”
The helo jerked and dropped several feet. Dev cursed and tried to control the wayward machine. “If you’re a praying man, I suggest you start now,” he said.
“That’s not funny, Dev.”
“Who’s laughing?” His brother glanced at him and Adam read the seriousness of their situation in his eyes.
“Send out a distress call.”
“The radio’s dead, too.”
Adam’s mind raced through the detailed emergency situations his twenty years in the military provided. “Is there a locator beacon on this craft?”
“All my electronics are shot.” Dev fought to keep them level as they seesawed through the sky.
Adam reached for his cell phone. No service. He scanned the horizon looking for any open area to attempt a landing. “There’s nothing but trees out there, man.”
“Yeah, and we’re heading straight for them. Hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy landing.”
Chapter Fourteen
“What do you mean they’ve disappeared?” Fay rose from where she’d just sat on one of the oversize leather couches in the main room of Murphy Mountain Log Homes. “People in helicopters don’t just disappear.”
“Dev and Adam flew out this morning for a trip to Jackson Hole.” Alistair Murphy stood near the fireplace. “They planned to be gone until after dinnertime.”
“I know. Adam said he wouldn’t be home until late.”
“Devlin should’ve checked in with a local airfield two hours ago,” Liam added. “He hasn’t and we can’t reach them on the radio or their cell phones.”
Fay pulled in a deep breath and looked at Elise, who was doing the same thing. She needed to stay calm, they both did. She looked at her watch. It was almost four o’clock.
“So, no one has heard from them since this morning?” she asked.
Silent nods from the rest of the Murphys were her only answers.
“So what’s next?” Elise asked. “Where do we go from here?”
“Sheriff Steele is coordinating efforts with the county, search-and-rescue units and the National Park Service,” Nolan said, joining the group with his cell phone to his ear. “We’ve still got a few hours of daylight so we’re ramping up right now.”
He paused and turned away, obviously listening to whomever he’d been speaking with on the other end of the line. “Right. Got it.”
Nolan faced them again. “We’re going to set up a command post near the east end of the Grand Tetons, about two hours from here by car on the outskirts of a town called Chapman Falls. We assume Devlin headed straight for Jackson Hole and if they had to land in the forest…”
He didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have to. All of them knew how difficult it was going to be to find two men in that amount of acreage.
“Bryant, you and Laurie coordinate things from here,” Liam said. “Nolan, Ric and I are going to the command post.”
“So are we,” Alistair and Elise spoke in unison as Elise got to her feet, still talking. “They’re our sons. We’re going.”
Fay stood as well. “I want to go, too.”
The arguments started right away, but Fay was determined. “Look, we’re wasting time. I’m going back to the house to get a few things. I’ll be back here in thirty minutes.”
“You boys head out and take your mother with you,” Alistair said. “Fay and I will follow.”
Silence filled the room for a moment before Elise leaned over and gave Fay a quick hug. Then everyone scattered. Fay waited until it was just her and Al alone in the room before she spoke.
“Please don’t try to talk me out of going.” She laid her hands over her belly. “I would never do anything to put my child in danger, but I have to be there. I can’t lose him, Al. I just can’t.”
“Fay—”
“I love him.” She cut off whatever Adam’s father was going to say. “I am in love with your son and I was stupid not to tell him when I had the chance.”
“You’re going to get that chance, I’m going to make sure of it,” the older man said. “But I need you to promise me you’ll do your best to stay calm and if there is the slightest hint of any trouble—for you or the baby—you let me know right away.”
Relief flooded her veins. “I will, I promise.”
“Adam would never want you to put yourself or the baby in harm’s way.”
“I know that.”
“You do realize I’m going to be your shadow until my son gets back here to relieve me of my sworn duties?”
Fay smiled. “You are a good man, Alistair Murphy. Adam is very lucky to be just like you.”
“You make sure you tell him that once we’re all back together.”
* * *
Adam tugged hard on the nylon rope, making sure the tarp he’d strung between the two trees was secure. Then he looked skyward, thankful for the warm and clear summer evening, even t
hough he expected things to get cool overnight.
“Hey, bro. You’re missing a great sunset.”
He looked down at Devlin, concerned because other than a few moans when Adam had pulled his brother from the wreckage that once was their helo, Dev had fallen into unconsciousness.
Which was probably a good thing.
Adam was sure Dev had broken both his arms and his right leg in the crash. They’d come down hard, but he credited Devlin for the fact that both of them were still alive. The helo had broken into pieces, but thankfully the survival kit stowed beneath the rear seats had landed not too far from them.
They had fire-starting materials, two sleeping bags, a signal mirror, nylon cording and a weatherproof tarp that Adam had just used to create shelter for them for tonight.
He checked his watch. It’d been almost nine hours since they’d taken off. Someone must have noticed by now they were missing and if he knew his family, a search and rescue was already underway.
His training told him the best thing to do was to stay as close to the wreckage as possible and keep his brother comfortable, no small feat seeing how he had to splint both of Dev’s arms and his leg in hopes of keeping them stable before wrapping him in one of the sleeping bags to keep him warm.
“Don’t worry, Dev. We’ve got enough water for a few days and some trail mix and granola bars. We’re going to make it through this.” Adam knelt at his brother’s side, worried when his forehead felt warm to the touch. Suddenly, Dev moaned and started moving his head.
“Hey, take it easy. You’re fine. We both are.” His brother opened his eyes and Adam read confusion and pain there. “Hey, bro. You with me? Can you hear me?”
Devlin groaned. “Damn, I hurt.”
“Well, don’t move. I mean it,” he said, putting his hand back to his brother’s forehead. “You’re busted up pretty good.”
“Where?”
Adam told him about his suspected injuries and Devlin closed his eyes.
“Just some scratches and bruises.” And thankfully no signs of post-traumatic stress. “Hey, I’ve found some ibuprofen here. Think you can get a couple down? It’s all we’ve got.”
Having Adam's Baby (Harlequin Special Edition) Page 17
