Taking Root (The Eros Tales Book 1)

by Katherine McIntyre

  When she’d arrived back in Charleston, she couldn’t help but drive by the old building to find it abandoned, boarded up.

  Which meant no innocent bystanders could get in the way when she confronted her father.

  “Let’s go,” Danny said, leaving the paper behind and heading for the door. Adrian’s lips formed a thin line, and both of them buzzed in anticipation. Because in leaving the note for her father, she’d loaded a gun and cocked it.

  Tomorrow, she’d pull the trigger.

  Chapter Twenty

  In the span of a few days, Adrian’s life had vaulted from twelve-hour shifts at the hospital and breaking up family feuds to entrapping a serial killer. Add a hefty dose of helping Danny defy the Feds, and he had accrued enough excitement for the next century.

  They returned to his house, both carrying plastic bags filled with the Chinese takeout they’d stopped for. Not like General Tso’s would sit well on his churning stomach. The sight of Danny walking with him still pinched him in the side like he was dreaming. She melded into his life like she’d always been there, at once familiar and brand new. He grew more smitten with each passing day.

  After finding out the truth about her past, Adrian understood the lonely pier she’d walked along. The way she’d survived these years by her lonesome with no one to call on a bad day, no one to hold her tight when the fear grew too much to bear—she was the most resilient person he’d ever met. In the hospital, Adrian had seen too many cancer patients showing up to appointments alone. Going through chemo without another soul to share that heavy, devastating weight with. Danny lived and breathed that same unimaginable strength.

  “This better be some damn fine sesame chicken,” Danny said as she skipped past him to the front door, even though she didn’t have keys. “I’m not biting the bullet on a stomach full of shitty take-out.”

  “Best in the whole state,” he said, opening his door. “At least, that’s what the handwritten sign claimed.” Danny groaned in response, following him inside. If they survived this, he’d get a set of keys for her stat. She could tell him he moved at lightning speed, but Danny knew what she signed up for. Adrian didn’t splash around in the shallow end when it came to dating.

  Obi-Wan keened at them, keeping a close distance with his laser focus on the bag of takeout. Danny’s grin reached her eyes as she leaned down to run her fingers through his tan fur, and Adrian’s chest warmed at the sight.

  He led her toward his living room, unable to help the glances he stole. Danny’s hips swung while she walked, highlighting gorgeous curves that had him mesmerized. Heat flared through him as her eyes met his with a mischievous smile. The room turned twenty degrees hotter, and he licked his lips before he could help himself. A different hunger curled in his stomach.

  “Come on now.” She swatted his shoulder. “We’ve got this high-class takeout to consume. Don’t tell me you’d waste such a quality feast.” Her green eyes glittered as she amused herself.

  Adrian dropped his bag onto the carpet as he wrapped his hands around her waist, drawing her to him. She let out a startled squeak in response and let go of the bags. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. The touch was immediate, incendiary, and he slipped his tongue in, turning their connection molten. Danny’s low moan vibrated against his mouth, and he hardened in response.

  As fast as he’d swept her into his arms, Adrian stepped back, breaking the kiss. A grin played on his lips as he picked up his bag of takeout. “Well now, we better tuck into this before it goes cold. I’ve been told it doesn’t reheat well.”

  “You play dirty.” Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes shone as she shot him a pointed look.

  “Only because the thoughts I’m having right now are downright filthy,” he responded, his tone light as he sank into his Prussian blue couch.

  Danny sat beside him, draping a leg over his as she nestled in like she marked her territory. “Tease,” she shot back. “Why don’t you put that smart mouth to a better use?”

  “Believe me, I’m planning on it.” The wildfire look they shared tempted Adrian to bend her over and take her here on the couch. However, the impatience flaring in her eyes sparked his sadistic side. “Once we finish dinner, of course. Quality feast, remember?”

  “Why don’t we throw something on in the background?” Danny suggested as she tugged out her sesame chicken, grabbing the disposable chopsticks included. She treated this like it was an everyday occurrence, comfortable in these surroundings like she’d been meant for them. Adrian never had a relationship that put him at ease like this—with his ex-girlfriends, an underlying tension had always remained.

  “All right, but I’m ruling out horror movies,” he said. “Last thing I need is the reminder of the sort of Mike Myers shit we’ll be facing tomorrow.”

  Even though she didn’t respond, her stillness gave him enough of an answer. Danny stared ahead at the TV, her expression growing distant. “Do you have the Terminator movies?” she asked, the question dragging him out of his head.

  He frowned as he grabbed the remote. “I think they’re on streaming. At least, the ones worth watching.”

  Danny lifted a brow. “Tread lightly, Dukas. You start trash talking one through three and we’re going to have a problem.”

  “Three?” He leaned forward. “Please don’t tell me you enjoyed the third Terminator movie.”

  “First my electronica and now T3?” Danny splayed her hand over her chest in mock horror. “How are we together again?”

  Adrian shrugged, popping a piece of General Tso’s into his mouth. “I figured you wanted me for my body.”

  Danny let out a surprised laugh, the sound as bright as a bell. Even with the underlying tension and the shadows lingering in their glances, these were the moments he treasured. The way they made each other light, even in the face of the unimaginable. No matter what tomorrow brought, Adrian didn’t regret a second he spent by Danny Reynolds’s side.

  His doorbell buzzed.

  He shot Danny a warning glance. “Do you think the Feds could’ve tracked you here?”

  She shook her head. “We didn’t have any tails. Not like my handlers could know about you either—at least, not if I wanted to stay.”

  The doorbell buzzed a second time and then a third. Whoever waited on the other end was impatient, which didn’t seem like her father’s M.O. from what she’d explained. He glanced to his phone, but he hadn’t missed any calls or texts from his siblings, though that didn’t rule out them showing up at random.

  Danny pulled her pistol out before he could blink, and she rose on steady feet from the couch. Adrian hopped up, feeling ill-prepared compared to the one-woman battalion. He kept his knife tucked into his pocket, so he slipped it out as they approached his front door.

  Adrian was almost positive Kyle Peterson wouldn’t knock. Almost.

  The doorbell buzzed again.

  Adrian peered out the peephole, and he swore out loud even as relief crashed through him. “You can put your pistol down,” he said as he reached for the door.

  Danny tucked it away even if the tension in her shoulders didn’t dissipate. He noticed her hand remained glued to her pistol while it remained out of sight. Adrian opened the door, bracing himself for one nails-on-the-chalkboard conversation.

  Betty stood in his doorway, with her curls pinned back, a blaze of red lipstick like war paint, and a pantsuit that meant business. She wore heels to make her stand a bit taller, and her stare was sharp.

  “What are you doing at my house?” Adrian asked, leaning forward into the doorway. No way in hell did he plan on inviting his ex inside.

  “You mean our house?” she stated, the emphasis on the word setting his nerves ablaze. “I came to chat, Adrian. No need to be on the defensive.” The heavy coating of implication behind the words made it clear she didn’t have any loyalty to her current beau—though he knew that from experience. Betty’s gaze oozed sensuality as she stared him down, but Adrian hadn’t been swayed b
y her for some time. Betrayal happened to be a major turn-off.

  “This became my house when I bought you out of your part. That was a one-time transaction, and I don’t backslide.” His gaze flashed. He wanted to spend the rest of the night nestled with Danny as they tucked into their takeout and laughed together in spite of the crushing weight of tomorrow. The years with Betty had corroded him—rarely direct fights but instead snide comments and a lingering sense of disapproval. She always managed to have a headache or some sickness during family dinner, or hell, most family obligations.

  Danny ducked beneath his arm to step out onto his front porch. “You selling Girl Scout cookies? I’ll take some Thin Mints,” she said, her hands in her pockets as a devil’s grin spread on her face.

  “I didn’t realize you had company over,” Betty said, her voice stiff. The way she said company she might as well have spat out whore. Adrian’s hand balled into a fist. Betty might’ve smashed a wrecking ball into his life, but she’d cleared out the remains of a desiccated building in order for him to build something better.

  Adrian placed a hand on Danny’s shoulders as he drew her close to him. “Betty, you’re going to have to move on. You cheated on me, we split up, and that change was permanent.”

  “Hey,” Danny said, slipping from his grasp to step between them. Betty tensed, her hands balled into fists, and she cast a glance back to the walkway as if she might bolt. “Look, I get it. If I fucked up things with him, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. But I’ve staked my claim, and a hurricane couldn’t blow me off this port. You need to drop this petty bullshit, because if you want to start whipping out ‘who’s the bigger bitch’ card, I have a lifetime of bar fights and burning bridges to back me up. And I don’t give a damn about my reputation.”

  Her words made his throat tighten at how she casually dropped those truth bombs. The fierce way she proclaimed her affection for him was so different from the chilled distance he’d grown used to with everyone he dated.

  Betty took a step away from the door, her arms crossed in front of her. “Well then, I hope you’re both happy.” Her mouth formed a tight line, but he caught the glimmer of tears in her eyes. She might have been conflicted and lashing out because of it, but Adrian wasn’t. He knew what he wanted. He’d known from the moment he first laid eyes on Sam Peterson in high school.

  Betty tossed a hand in the air as she walked toward her car, her heels clicking down his pathway. She’d gotten caught in the greener grass on the other side, but they couldn’t come back from the way she’d cheated and ditched. Even if she came to the realization of what she missed out on now, her new attitude didn’t matter.

  Danny Reynolds was his laughter and light. She was a nuclear bomb of restrained emotion and steel strength. He wouldn’t return to the past when he could only hope for such a beautiful future.

  Danny hopped inside the house, and Adrian shut the door, clicking the lock shut. Obi-Wan crept up to headbutt his leg, as if the cat could sense the distress.

  “Now all I need is my nosy family to come barging in and it’s my average Tuesday,” Adrian muttered, running a hand through his hair.

  Her lips pursed. “If your family comes calling at this hour, they’re getting the boot. You’re mine tonight.” Her eyes glimmered with amusement.

  Adrian lifted his phone, which he’d turned off the moment she’d come over. Danny and Cal’s words had sunk in, and even if it was for maybe an hour a day, he’d begun the simple act of shutting off his phone. The moment he popped it back on, he fielded calls and texts from the family like always, but the time for himself had made a huge difference.

  He glanced at Danny, who watched him with an unreadable expression in her eyes. Adrian stepped up to slide his hands around her hips. “You don’t need to worry about her,” he said, unsure if her quiet came from a brush of jealousy or not knowing where they stood. “It’s funny. Betty always complained I was too stagnant, that I didn’t push forward in my career, my life, whatever. But around you, I want to reach higher, to do better. You inspire me, Danny Reynolds, in a way no woman ever has.”

  Danny’s green eyes shone, glassier than normal as a breath escaped her. “I’m not worried,” she murmured. Her hand balled into a fist over her heart. “For the first time in far too long, I’m happy.”

  The sight punched him in the gut, and an urgency rammed through his veins. Holding her wasn’t enough. Not tonight, when they didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. He clasped the back of her neck as he leaned down to claim her mouth.

  Tension descended, the weight of it stealing his breath away when their lips touched. Danny responded at once. Her mouth was hot and hungry, and he drove his tongue in to enjoy the way she melted into him. Danny twined her arms around his neck, kissing him like she needed the contact to breathe. Her scent, all lavender and honey, turned him on like nothing else, and he gripped her hip with clear intent.

  When she crushed in tight to him, brushing against his erection, no force in the world could stop their collision.

  He pressed his lips to her neck, biting the exposed skin. She moaned, the sound setting him ablaze. Her fingers fumbled with his belt, and he slipped his hands beneath the hem of her shirt to glide across her soft as sin skin. In seconds, her bra was snapped, and he cupped her breasts, gliding his thumbs over the tips of her nipples. She arched her back in response, letting out a livewire gasp at his touch.

  “I bet you’re already soaking wet,” he murmured against her mouth, to which he got a throaty “Mmm” in response. His belt clicked as she flung it open and snapped the button of his jeans to follow. He shucked them to the ground, kicking off his boxer-briefs a second later. Danny slipped her shirt and bra off, the fabric tumbling to collect with his.

  Adrian didn’t bother messing around with her maxi-skirt—he yanked it down and brought her panties along. Danny stood in front of him stark naked, her wildfire hair tumbled around her shoulders in seductive curls, freckles covering every spare inch of her, and a flush across her skin that reminded him of the way she looked when she came. Her hips were made for gripping, and he wanted those strong, muscular legs wrapped around him as of yesterday.

  “You’re fucking beautiful,” he growled. She tugged at his shirt, yanking it up and over his head until they both stood stark naked in his foyer. Not like he gave a damn if the neighbors gawked.

  “And you’re gorgeous, babe,” she murmured back. “Now fuck me until I can’t feel my legs anymore.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he responded, a grin stealing his lips. He gripped her ass, lifting her up. Her thighs wrapped around his hips in seconds, and her mouth pressed to his. His erection brushed across her slick folds, and a shock of pleasure rolled through him. Adrian carried them over several steps, his fingers digging into her creamy thighs, her nipples brushing against his bare chest, the sensations so fucking hot his balls tightened.

  He braced her against the wall, unable to stop kissing her for a moment. No way would they make it up to his bedroom. She bucked into him, her pussy drenched. The way it glided across his length had him biting back curses. He needed her, now. Adrian gripped her ass tight, slipping the tip of his erection inside. Danny let out a gasp of relief, the same tightening in his chest. Their eyes locked for a moment, the storm brewing through them like it would never cease. Like these feelings would consume them whole.

  He slid inside her the rest of the way, and Danny let out a cry, her nails digging into his shoulders. She thrust against him until they began to move, and their movement turned into a wild, frenetic thing. Her heels dug into his ass, and drops of sweat dripped off his forehead as they increased the pace, as the need to merge inside each other, to believe they would still have a future come tomorrow, chanted a survival beat between them.

  He pounded into her until her cries filled the house, until the fixtures trembled and the walls shook. His balls tightened to the point of pain, so close to spilling everything inside her. Ragged breaths split the air between t
hem, and the tight clench of her pussy made it impossible to hold himself back. A gorgeous flush spread across her cheeks, between her breasts, and within minutes, Danny gasped for breath.

  Adrian moved like a man possessed, a fury of need and teeth and nails pushing him faster and faster. Sweat dripped down his back as he rammed into her, addicted to the way she screamed his name. She was lavender, sunlight, and intoxicating desire, and he couldn’t get enough.

  “I love you,” she whispered like a prayer again and again while her thighs clenched around his hips, as she gripped onto him for dear life. She let out a piercing cry as her core clenched around his length, the reverberations of her orgasm squeezing him tight.

  It pushed him over the edge. Stars sparked in his eyes, and he almost lost his grip as he staggered back and forth on unsteady feet. He let out a loud moan as he spilled inside her. His shoulders heaved up and down, the breath stolen from him in the wake of the way they’d clashed together. Their eyes locked, and in the stillness, Adrian found himself in the grips of a longing that threatened to destroy him. If they could stay here, they wouldn’t be facing the danger tomorrow.

  This thing between them was a tremulous firefly, a light that could blink out at any moment, and tomorrow brought too much chance for devastation. Adrian leaned down to press his lips to her forehead, tasting the salt and sweat there.

  “I love you too.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Danny woke up at four in the morning, the bright neon light of the clock on Adrian’s nightstand mocking her.

  After she and Adrian had stuffed themselves with Chinese food, watched the first Terminator movie, and then fucked again in a lazy, languid way, Danny should’ve been euphoric. The night had been everything she’d ever dreamed of in secret, the life she’d always wanted and the person she wanted to share it with. Yet the confrontation tomorrow loomed like a sledgehammer to a glass house.