Taking Root (The Eros Tales Book 1)

by Katherine McIntyre

  Adrian’s throat dried.

  Everything Betty had said was tangled with her own personal issues, but Danny zeroed right in on the heart of his problem. She didn’t demand he divorce himself from his family—simply offered the temporary reprieve he’d been denying himself.

  He blinked and then sucked in a shaky breath. “You’re right. Except right now, this time with you? This is for me too.” He flashed her a smile that traveled straight to his depths and turned off his phone, slipping it back into his pocket. “No interruptions for the rest of our date.”

  The waitress returned, this time carrying plates of burgers dripping with grease. His stomach rumbled in response, and their focus zeroed in on the meal in front of them. Danny tucked in with gusto, not giving a damn who watched, something he adored about her. Adrian sank his teeth in, the first bite of salty cheese and tangy meat so good he almost moaned. Who was he kidding? He adored every damn thing about her, and every moment they spent together only stoked the blaze already growing in his chest.

  On the opposite side of the coin, the deeper the feelings ran, the more it would hurt when she left.

  Chapter Eleven

  Danny hadn’t felt this good in years.

  They’d chatted the entire time over burgers at Ferry Way until the sun set. His wry humor with a splash of self-deprecation made her laugh like no one else managed to, and even though she avoided talk of the past, being able to chat about how much she hated bouncing through all these other cities was like ripping a Band-Aid off. And when he suggested going to Riverfront Park afterwards? She vaulted back to seventeen when her world was filled with open horizons.

  Danny strode across the parking lot to where Adrian had just pulled in, and she settled against the side of his still-warm Mustang.

  “Got to drive a little quicker if you want to beat me here, babe,” Danny teased as he got out of his car. Her heart already raced from being in this too-familiar place, and the sight of him sent it careening faster. His jaw was so defined it could cut glass, and a seductive knowing lingered in his deep blue eyes. Like always, he dressed so classy she felt like she’d tossed on a trash bag. This time he wore trim jeans hugging powerful thighs and a black button-down with the first couple of buttons flicked open. Even with his thick, dark hair combed back, unruly strands brushed across his forehead, and her fingers itched to touch.

  “I’ll stick with my grandma driving, thanks,” he drawled.

  She slipped her hand in his, even knowing how mere touch drove her crazy and how each step they took together felt like they walked toward a destination. The stars above winked at them, silver studs on a blue velvet canvas.

  “This place looks the same,” she breathed, soaking in the gentle flow of the river ahead of them and the streetlamps casting their soft citrine beams onto the concrete. He tightened his grip on her hand, and she resisted the urge to sink against him.

  “Not much has changed around here,” he murmured, glancing up to the skies.

  Except she had.

  All the comforts of a small Southern town still existed in the fringes of Charleston, but Danny had traveled from one end of the coast to the other. She’d learned a vigilance few of the citizens of Hanahan would ever understand, that Sammy Peterson, the girl who’d grown up here wouldn’t. Even Riverfront Park didn’t contain the lazy ease she once loved about it.

  “I’d say quite a lot has changed,” Danny said, giving Adrian a once-over as they strolled toward the narrow boardwalk traveling along the riverside. He cracked a confident grin that reminded her of the track star from high school. However, time deepened the colors of his painting, refined the strokes until details that had been forming back then made the piece shine. “I mean if someone told me you’d be saving lives back in high school…well, maybe I still would’ve expected it. You constantly tried to save mine.”

  Her voice hushed with the gravity that descended between them. It was a truth she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge, but she remembered. On the bad days with her family, when Dad had been retreating, when Mom started sensing something off and the bruises and cuts appeared…Adrian didn’t push, but he must’ve known something was wrong. He made himself available whenever possible, cracking dumb jokes about Miss Brittany’s ancient reading choices in English class or sitting with her after school at the park as she rambled about nothing and sprawled her legs in the grass to bask in the sunshine.

  Adrian’s eyes met hers, and his look was a sentence if she ever saw one. A look like that made her wish she could be someone else. As if she really was her persona, Danielle Reynolds, gardener to the wealthy who could stay here as long as she wanted. Who could plant a seed between them and give it time to grow into something amazing.

  That she’d be around long enough to see her flowers bloom.

  “You have no idea what you did to me back then,” he responded, breaking into the cloud of despondency threatening to smother her. “I would’ve done anything to see you smile. You radiated this warmth that had half the guys in school smitten.”

  Danny bumped shoulders with him as they strolled across the meadow. “Bullshit. I was the awkward smart girl in high school who couldn’t believe you even talked to me. I spent most of my time befriending books instead of people, because I preferred to deal with them than the shit going on at home.”

  They both grew quiet. Her home life had always been forbidden territory, a conversation she’d avoided even back then. While a couple folks strolled through the grassy field, few crowded around the park, not like they would on a concert night. Those had been her least favorite nights here, filled with noise, crowds, and most of the time music she hated. She liked this place during the in-between, as if the contrast of having all those people evacuate made the hush that spread through it even more resonant.

  The moment her Vans settled onto the weathered planks of the boardwalk, she drowned in memories. The sweet crispness of Cooper River threaded up to her, and she drank it in.

  Danny spun around to face him, letting go of his hand. “I remember walking this stretch with you so often, just wishing you’d kiss me.”

  They’d danced around each other back then, charged glances, lingering looks, and so many moments where she thought they’d take that next step. Neither of them had dated anyone, and no one dared come between them back then. They’d moved at the pace of this river, a slow, tentative, exploring thing, as if even back then they realized the profound impact they had on each other.

  But they never got the chance. She made a discovery she couldn’t step back from, and that very day the life she’d known ceased.

  Adrian closed the distance between them until she leaned against the rail and draped her arms around his shoulders.

  “I wanted to kiss you every single day,” he murmured, his lips a whisper from hers. “I was just afraid of breaking the spell.”

  She smirked. “And what one would that be?”

  He shook his head, the flicker of sadness in his blue eyes making her chest tighten. “Not so fast, Reynolds. If I unleash that side of me, I won’t be able to stuff it away again.”

  He didn’t need to say anything more, because she already knew. She’d seen forever reflected in his eyes the moment they reconnected, and no amount of pretense at light and easy would erase the gravity of what existed between them.

  Instead, she focused on the heat from his body and the way he pressed against her. How he enveloped her and made her feel safe for a few blessed moments. He still wore the pendant she’d bought him all those years ago, the silver teardrop, and the moonlight glided across the curve. Danny sank into the present of being here with him, of his salt and cedar scent, because she’d need the memories on the road ahead.

  “Kiss me now?” she asked, her voice coming out soft, tremulous. A lump formed in her throat as he nodded in response.

  Her arms were twined around his neck, his hands on her waist, and his lips brushed hers, the lightest touch, as if they’d been transported back in time to
all those years ago. And Danny surrendered. She kissed him back, drinking in the taste of him, the scent of him, the heat like it was the first time. Like this was the inevitable collision after months of awkward flirting and teenage adoration. As if years hadn’t separated and changed them.

  He cupped the back of her neck, drawing her deeper into the kiss. Danny’s knees trembled, the headiness of the way they crashed together muddling her mind. She memorized the feel of his lips, the breaths punctuating the air between them, and the bursts of heat as their tongues slipped inside. She leaned against the wooden beams of the pier, the railing the only thing holding her upright as the grain dug in through her shirt.

  Adrian pulled away, and a small noise of protest escaped her. He grinned in response. “I feel like I’ve been waiting a lifetime for that kiss.”

  He didn’t offer more, and she didn’t ask. The first kiss might’ve been fueled from attraction, the heady exploration driving them. However, this one—this one whispered promises of something real, something lasting.

  Something that would inevitably break both their hearts.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Time of death, two-thirty p.m.” The words left Adrian’s throat, but he wasn’t there. He was a million miles away, not staring at the pale, dead body of a twenty-seven-year-old woman who should’ve had more time. Carmen bustled around him, pulling tubes and needles, all in mechanical motions. Adrian stared, dumb and useless in the wake of the pronouncement.

  They’d done everything they could to save her.

  At least, that’s what he’d be telling the family, even if the doubts and guilt threatened to consume him alive.

  “I’m going to step out,” Adrian announced, his voice feeling separate from his body. “I’ll handle calling the family.” Carmen glanced to him, her lips thin and her big eyes glazed with emotion. He clapped a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She offered a forced smile in return, but any time death stole someone young so fast, the tragedy rocked them.

  Nivea Johnson should’ve had a whole life before her, a loud and large future to fit her sparkling laugh. Except the E-coli outbreak, which had been so resolvable for so many cases, swept through her like a wildfire. Every attempt they made to counter the disease, the bacteria spread to other regions, causing more and more trouble. It could’ve been her compromised immune system from fibromyalgia, or the history of diseases hitting her harder than others, but today, the fight blinked out of her eyes.

  Adrian walked up and down the halls, pressure throbbing behind his temples and his throat tightening. He’d dealt with death before, but most times it involved elderly who had been fading with each passing day or patients wracked in terrible pain for too long where death offered relief from their misery. Watching the families grieve always grabbed him by the throat—too often, he imagined what it would be like dealing with his own family in the same situation—but those didn’t haunt him.

  Not the way this would.

  The senseless deaths, the absolute waste of life kept him awake, the ones who’d crop up in his mind at any moment. He’d spent his life wanting to help others whether it was his family, his patients, or even Betty during their time together. One refrain continued to crop up—the absolute, spiraling helplessness. Over the years, the need to control sank deeper claws into him until his attempts became as intrinsic as breathing.

  His footsteps reverberated through the hall, the click, click, click echoing in his mind. The sterile scent of the hospital didn’t bother him most days, but right now it nauseated him.

  And these were the sort of burdens he didn’t like sharing with the family because the outpouring of emotion he’d get would be too much. He wasn’t going to talk about it with his friends either. When you met up every month or so, bringing up tragic deaths guaranteed to kill the vibe. Tonight, Danny planned on coming to his house, and to be honest, he had no idea how to deal with her either.

  Part of him was tempted to call her and cancel while another part of him needed to see her like he needed to breathe. Except the closer he got to her, the more her vagueness and roundabouts in the conversation grated on him. She’d always said from the beginning this couldn’t be anything serious, but his heart hadn’t caught the memo. And after the way he’d opened up to her, the shut door he faced at any mention of the past or family ended up paring away at his determination each passing day.

  He should call and cancel. Really, he should.

  Adrian slumped against the wall, staring at the fluorescents overhead. All he could see was Nivea’s blank expression. Her mouth open, like she’d been in the middle of a conversation. Not fair. It wasn’t fair.

  “Fuck,” Adrian cursed, slamming his fist into the wall. His chest burned, and he stalled out like an engine, wheels spinning and spinning. The impact reverberated up his arm, but the ache in his bones did little to stave the pressure inside. He shook out his hand and pushed up from the wall. Not like he had the luxury of stewing in his head for too long. He had the rest of his shift to finish out.

  He had Nivea’s family to call.

  ***

  On a normal day, a shower after his shift was the exact refresher Adrian needed. The hot water pounded against his shoulders, his back, and he shoved his face into the stream, praying it’d blast away the rage burning inside him. The coals had been stoked after losing the patient earlier, and they continued to burn in this helpless sort of anger he couldn’t fix. No amount of logic could be spackled onto the situation, and he’d thrown himself into the minutiae of the job, rolling through the day on autopilot.

  The nurses had taken to avoiding him with how one-word and terse he’d become. Once he got home, he tugged out his delivery menus and ordered a pizza. He’d cram a couple of slices, kick back a beer, and go the fuck to bed.

  Adrian scrubbed the shampoo out of his hair and turned the faucet off, clouds of steam drifting around the bathroom. He ran the towel through his strands before wrapping it around his waist.

  “Hello?” a voice called out from his foyer. “I let myself in.”

  Adrian froze in the middle of the hallway. Shit. He’d forgotten to call and cancel on Danny. Before he came to his senses and responded, she stepped into view at the end of the hallway.

  “Adrian?” she asked, peering around the entrance. She stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of him, and he didn’t miss the once-over as her gaze traveled up, down, and back again. Heat traveled straight to his cock, and the flimsy towel around his waist wouldn’t do shit to hide his erection.

  “Lost track of time,” he apologized. “I’m going to save myself from endless embarrassment by quick-stepping it to my room to throw some clothes on.”

  He made the mistake of glancing to Danny, who chewed on her lower lip. Adrian wanted to bend her over and fuck her into oblivion. Not while his head buzzed like this. He needed to rein in those impulses or he would do something he’d regret. Without another word, he walked down the hallway to his bedroom and slipped inside.

  His heart hammered in his chest at the sudden surprise, and he leaned in to press his forehead against the surface of the door. Why had he forgotten? Oh yeah, because after his patient died, they rushed a suicide attempt in, followed by a couple of teens injured in a drunk driving accident before the end of his shift. Talk about a wrecking ball of a day. He wanted to be comatose right now, not entertaining.

  Obi-Wan slunk up to him and began headbutting his leg. He held onto that one thread of affection right now, the glow of those malachite eyes. Adrian leaned down to brush his hand across his cat’s fur.

  Christ Almighty, he’d tried so hard. He wanted to make Danny feel special and offer her reprieve from the loneliness clear as day in her eyes. So, he’d stifled his own urges to put a label on things and done his damn best to treat her the way she deserved. He walked over to slap some cologne on his neck and dragged on a pair of loose jeans before grabbing one of his plain tees from his dresser.

  She was going to get the sloppy version of
himself inside and out. Today couldn’t get worse. He yanked his shirt over his head and stepped out from his room, Obi-Wan slipping past him. Danny waited in the corridor, leaning against his wall and staring at the light fixture in the ceiling.

  Her hungry eyes landed on him, a gorgeous shade of green he could lose himself in. Most days, the mere sight of her soothed the ache in his chest, but today, a tiger paced inside, waiting to sink its claws into the nearest target. She tugged on the end of her braid, her brows furrowing as she looked at him, like she sensed the tempest about to descend. Danny slipped a hand into the pocket of her torn jeans, the black shirt she wore clinging to her like a second skin. He wanted to take it off her with his teeth.

  “I’ll get the confession out now,” he announced, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans. “Today was a fresh slice of hell at work, and I forgot about tonight. I planned on cooking dinner, but that got torched, so pizza is on the way.”

  “Thank god,” Danny burst out, slipping beside him to stroll down the corridor. “Not about your day—that sucks. But damn, Dukas, you’ve gone above and beyond every time we go out, and I’m getting performance anxiety. I’d love to chill in your kitchen or on your couch with some pizza. I left the six-pack I brought on your counter.”

  Adrian slipped an arm around her waist as they walked toward his kitchen. The feel of her soft skin brushing against him drove him crazy. Their makeout sessions kept getting longer each time they met up, but then the hour would get too late, some interruption would happen, and they never pushed past that. Based on the heat in her eyes, Danny seemed to burn with the same need commanding him.

  Tonight they had privacy, and the weight settled between them. Each glance was loaded, and he had a semi from the moment she walked in through the door. He wanted to throw her on his bed and have his way with her until her cries reverberated around his room. Yet in the wake of this day, his chest was a jumble of animalistic need and open wounds. No matter how they collided together, she still held back around him.