Second Time's the Charm

by Knight, Vanessa

  First the break-in, and then Allison was attacked at the condo. The common thread was the condo. He twirled a disc between his fingers. He needed to get back to that condo. He had a feeling all the answers were there.

  He headed for the kitchen. A fresh cup of coffee and some breakfast should help clear his mind and get him ready for an information fishing trip at ground zero.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Allison’s eyes opened to darkness, and nostalgia overwhelmed her. She glanced around and saw the familiar fixtures of the Byrnes’s guest room. She’d spent many nights in the warm comfort of this home. Herb and Loraine had been adamant about Brook and her staying the evening after late night holidays and family gatherings. They had never liked the sisters driving the dark roads in the evening.

  She glanced at the glaring numbers on the clock beside her overstuffed bed. Four AM. She groaned, and threw the down blanket over her head. It was so nice when she left the hospital. It had been heavenly recovering at the Byrnes’s house, but she had a feeling that she needed to get back to work soon. Her mind and body yearned for more stimulation than soap operas and pinochle.

  She supposed that her restlessness was a good thing. She must be getting better if sleep and rest had lost most of their appeal. Unfortunately, the doctor made it perfectly clear that she was not to return to work for two more weeks. At least she thought it was two more weeks. She stared at the ceiling. She couldn’t remember what day it was.

  Ugh! She knew Loraine wouldn't parole her until the doctor gave her a clean bill of health. Waiting for that clean bill of health might make her lose her sanity. She threw the blankets off and rose from the bed.

  “No more sleep!” she called to the shadows swirling around the empty room.

  She walked to the window and looked over the silent gardens. The grounds that once ran flush with lilies and tulips were now barren, awaiting the impending winter snow. Soft moonlight bounced off the meticulously landscaped evergreens that encircled the area and led along the path to the private lake.

  Green Acres as it was lovingly called, since they lived on ten acres of land with a horse barn and an eighty-five-hundred-square-foot manor, was located in a suburb forty miles outside of Chicago. It was never any wonder Herb hadn’t wanted to commute here every day. A forty mile trip could take anywhere from an hour to three hours, depending on weather and traffic.

  She turned away from the window and looked at her room. The antique-white wood posts of her king-size canopy bed welcomed guests with flowing purple silk fabric draped across the brass canopy. She walked to the dresser and picked out a pair of lacy pink panties and bra. She covered those with blue jeans and a mohair sweater, and headed out the door to roam the silent house.

  All was quiet. Apparently, everyone else was sleeping peacefully. She huffed and walked down the long west hall toward the kitchen. A nice cup of hot tea should help her get a jump start on her day, no matter how empty that day might be.

  The soft pat of her feet hitting the carpeted floor was the only noise circulating about the house. She loved the Byrnes’ home. The arched doorways and the stone and walnut finishes gave the large expanse of space a sense of intimacy. She walked through the ornate hallways and noticed a warm glow streaming from the kitchen. She stopped at the open doorway when she found Adam sitting at the breakfast bar reading the newspaper. Before she could turn around, he glanced up and said, “Good morning.”

  “Morning. I thought I was the only one with sleep issues.” She entered the room and walked over to the cupboards. She pulled a mug from the cabinet and searched for the box of teabags. The box was sitting in front of Adam. Great.

  “Since when do you drink tea?”

  “Ran out of coffee, and I always get up this early,” he said easily as he folded the paper and then sifted through the box of teabags. He smiled, pulling a bag out, and walked over to Allison and her cup. “So, does this mean you’re talking to me now?”

  She knew it was juvenile, but she ignored his question. The whole situation was juvenile. She hadn’t talked to Adam since she left the hospital. She’d managed to avoid him, which took great talent since he’d also moved into the house. She made herself a cup of hot water and Adam placed the teabag in the hot liquid for her. He went and got the honey from the pantry and squeezed some of the golden nectar into her steaming cup. She dunked the bag, ignoring the fact that he knew how she took her tea. It means nothing.

  “So, I take it you haven’t moved back to the hotel. You know, you don’t have to stay here. I’m perfectly safe.”

  “Who says I’m staying here for you? Don’t you think that’s a bit arrogant, thinking that all my decisions are based on you?” he challenged and sat back down in his chair. He opened the paper and lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “So what type of sleep issues are you having?”

  “Trouble staying asleep.”

  He nodded and put down his paper and coffee. “I can see that. It must be killing you to have to rely on someone beside yourself.”

  “What?”

  He continued, smirking. “Or it could be that it’s tough to sleep with me being in the next room. I radiate sexuality.”

  “Yeah.” She rolled her eyes and removed the teabag, placing it on a saucer sitting on the counter. She took a sip and scowled. She really needed to get to civilization and grab a decent vanilla chai. It had gotten so bad, she would tear up every time she saw a Starbucks commercial. “That must be it. Your scorching sexual pull must be keeping me from a decent night’s sleep. Maybe you should go back to the hotel to save me from your hotness.”

  “Nah.” He smiled. “I have other ways to satiate that sexual pull.”

  Allison shook her head as she leaned against the counter. “Don’t you need to get to work or something?”

  “I’d much rather stay here and talk with you. I never thought you’d talk to me again.” A somber tint glazed his eyes. “Anyway, it is the weekend. I have a meeting with Dale around nine, and then an excruciating luncheon with my mother, so I have a few hours yet. Since I sort of own the company, I can go in whenever I want.” Adam walked over to the counter.

  “Your arrogance is very unbecoming,” she said, mentally beating her head against an imaginary wall. She’d thought it was Monday, but darn if it still wasn’t the weekend. This hospice thing would never end at this rate.

  Disappointment raced through her mind until she saw Adam edge closer to her. Her breath hitched as he moved within inches of her body. She could feel his breath on her cheek as she tried to convince herself that his close proximity was doing nothing to her. Her dislike was causing her heart rate to skyrocket, not some loathsome infatuation with this jerk.

  “I think you like it,” he whispered, guiding a stray hair behind her ear. He leaned his head toward her. The scent of tea and mint wafted from him, her lips aching in desire.

  Her mind was seconds away from mush. He should not have this effect on her, she reprimanded herself. He was a lying jerk. She started to remember why he infuriated her, and she pushed at his chest before his lips could confuse her further.

  “Stop,” she blurted, her fingers wrapping around his shirt.

  “Why?” He leaned his forehead on hers, his breath enveloping her lips. God, she wanted to feel those lips on hers, but she knew that wasn’t the answer.

  “I don’t trust you, Adam.” She shook her head against his, wanting to pull away from the temptation. She couldn’t, though. She wasn’t moving. She was stuck. Her body stuck in front of him. Her mind stuck on him. Her heart stuck in love with him. Why did logic and common sense abandon her when she was around him?

  “Allison, I swear I have no intention of selling to Mooring. I went there as a favor. I would never let that happen.” He pulled his head away, his deep green eyes penetrating her soul. Her heart thudded in her chest. “I need you to trust me.”

  “Why should I?” She felt all of her defenses crumble. Her hand still rested on his broad chest, the taut muscles cr
umbling all discipline.

  “Because I love you and I can’t bear the thought of hurting you.”

  Allison could feel her heart swell in her chest. It actually warmed and pounded at the words. Did he really say that? Love? He’d spent so many years messing with her emotions, how dare he say the L-word to her?

  “What?” She pulled away. He wrapped his muscled arms around her and held her against the counter. She stopped moving and stared at his beseeching eyes.

  “Just listen, please. For the past few months, I've felt lost. I didn't know what it was until I thought I lost you. The thought of never seeing you again scared the hell out of me.”

  “Adam, we’ve gone down this road before,” she argued.

  “No, not like this. This is different and you know it.” He pulled his arms back and cupped her chin.

  “You’re right, this is worse.” “Worse?” His hand dropped to his side.

  “Yes, don’t you get it?” She pushed him away and stormed to the other side of the kitchen island. Nothing like three feet of granite to put a little distance between a girl and her problems. Although she only had one problem—one six-foot very sexy male problem. “Before, we were young and foolish, now—”

  “Now we’re old and foolish?” he finished for her, sarcasm and anger tingeing the words as he walked around the island.

  “Yes.” She sighed. “But we’re not foolish. I’d like to think we’ve outgrown that. We had some fun together, but we have a good working relationship. Let’s not ruin it.”

  The calm, logical side of her was teetering on the edge, but so far she’d held it together. After all, he had no right to be mad. This was just like all the other times, but this time she was stronger and smarter. She would not let Adam Byrnes take advantage of her again, especially when he was throwing around words like love.

  “I know you want me and I’ve told you I love you. Why are you fighting it?” he yelled.

  “Why aren’t you?” she said in frustration. “Is this some sort of game? Sweep into town and work gullible Allison into a frenzy and then leave? Because let me tell you, I don’t want to play that game anymore.”

  “There's no sweeping. No leaving.” He inched closer to her as tears bit at the back of her eyes. She blinked to keep them at bay. Adam’s eyes lit up with awareness. “That's it, isn’t it? You're scared.”

  Impulse and frustration bubbled to the surface as she belted out, “ Damn right I'm scared. Do you know how devastated I was the last time you left? I cried… Never mind. I'm sorry, I just don't have the strength to go through that again”

  “I'm not leaving.”

  “What about Phoenix?” A traitorous tear trailed down her cheek. “We’ll figure out the logistics later. For now, just trust me.”

  She stared into his earnest eyes. Why couldn’t she just trust him? What was holding her back? Yeah, he met with Ben, but deep down she knew he wouldn’t sell. This had nothing to do with the company.

  Fear shivered down her spine as she stared at him. This had nothing to do with the company, and loving him wasn't the issue. Losing him was. She’d lost so much and she couldn’t bear to let him get close and lose him too. “I love you,” he said again.

  “Stop saying that,” she said, defeated. Her chest constricted as she forced the breath from her lungs. The thought of Adam going back to Phoenix and never seeing him again left a hole in the pit of her stomach. She sighed. She was already too invested in this relationship to back out now. There was no way to protect herself from getting hurt. Damn.

  “Why?” He leaned over, cupping her chin in his hands.

  Her gaze moved to his green eyes, brimming with concern. “I don't want to lose you.” The floodgates opened as tears poured down her face. “No matter how you leave.”

  “Allison, I will never leave you willingly.”

  “What about unwillingly? I can’t lose you.” She lowered her eyes in humiliation.

  “Then don't push me away. Give me—give us—a chance.” He knuckled the tears from her cheek. “I don’t know what our future holds, all I know is that I want to face it together. For fear of sounding like a fortune cookie, don’t let your past dictate your happiness for the future.”

  She wanted to turn and run. She wanted to hide. But the look of unbridled love that shadowed his face mixed with her own overwhelming emotions and forced her to stand her ground. For years she thought was she was strong. She didn’t need anyone, most of all a man. Yet, here she was in front of a wonderful man and she was scared. All these years, it wasn’t that she didn’t need anyone. It was fear. She’d been afraid to let anyone get too close. She didn’t want to be scared any longer.

  “I want to face it with you, too. Even if you do say corny things.” She placed her hand on his cheek.

  He kissed the palm of her hand. “So where does that leave us now?” “Make love to me.”

  He stared into her eyes and placed his soft lips on hers. An electric jolt shot straight to her belly and below. Her core blazed in delight as each touch fanned the flame. Wow, she wanted him. She craved all of him.

  Her kisses intensified as his hands travelled up and down her overheated body. “Are you sure you want this? Because if we’re going to stop, we should stop now.” He pulled back, holding her good arm to her side.

  “I want you. I love you.”

  Adam’s face glowed with happiness as he covered her mouth with his. Her body responded to his probing tongue, every nerve ending igniting as she let herself feel loved. Had he really said that he loved her? Her body sure heard it, and her enraptured heart busted open. She had tried to control her feelings for Adam, but she never could completely remove them. She just managed to repress them now and again.

  He took her hand and led her upstairs.

  “We can’t do this.” She tried to pull away as he opened his bedroom door.

  He drew in a large breath and pulled away. “I’m sorry. You’re right. We’ll wait until you’re feeling better. Is your arm okay?”

  “It’s not that. My arm is fine.” “Then why can’t we do this?”

  “What about your mom and brother?”

  He smiled and pushed her to the wall in the hallway. Her heart raced as he pulled her leg up around his waist. He ran his tongue up her neck and stopped to hum in her ear. “It adds to the danger.”

  All logic dissipated as he licked and nibbled her ear. Her body throbbed in need. She managed to force out, “Bedroom. Now.”

  * * *

  Adam lifted her other leg and carried her to his bedroom. He tapped the door closed with his foot. His mouth tasted her as he strode across the room, pulling away after he laid her on the bed.

  She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Where are you going?”

  “You need to be patient.” He kissed her forehead and stepped back. He smiled at the pleading in her eyes. It was nice to know he had the same effect on her as she had on him.

  Adam unbuttoned his shirt. Allison’s eyes grew dark as he unzipped his jeans. She sat up and inched her way down to the edge of the bed. Despite her injured arm, she leaned toward him. She covered his hand with hers and slowly pushed his jeans down the length of his legs. Slow. Steady. Hot. She knelt on the floor in front of him, pulling down his boxer briefs and taking him in her hand. Up. Down.

  He hissed and threw his head back. Damn. He had to stop this or he’d finish before they even started. He reached down and grabbed her hand. “Stop!”

  He helped her stand as he pulled off her sweater and opened her bra. He covered her mouth with his, and angled her toward the bed. He bent down and peeled her jeans toward her bare toes. She lay before him, her hips swaying in the lacy pink underwear. She was sexy. Beautiful. Hot. He played with the pink lace and barely stopped himself from ripping the fabric from her body. He grabbed the edges and pulled them down slowly. Well, he meant to do it slowly, but something told him it was faster than he had wanted. The fabric trailed down her soft, creamy thighs. He leaned over her pliable b
ody, a moan escaped her lips. Her eyes widened as she threw her hand over her mouth.

  He reached for her uninjured hand and twined his fingers in hers as he pulled it to his lips. “I like when you’re vocal.”

  “Yeah, but I bet no one else in the house does.” She laughed.

  Adam smiled wickedly and leaned into her. “But I like it,” he whispered before melding his lips to hers. Yeah, he wanted to hear her moan in pleasure again. His goal was to hear that groan over and over again before they were through. He ran his hands over her body, laying the foundation for making that goal come true.

  Adam lay in the darkness, watching Allison’s chest rise and fall. The sun had finally risen, but the room-darkening shades managed to keep the bright light subdued. He twirled her dark-blond hair around his finger, careful to avoid waking her up. She might have had trouble sleeping before, however she seemed to be doing just fine now.

  Even though it was the weekend, he really needed to continue investigating Allison’s attack. The sooner she was safe, the sooner he could figure out what he was going to do.

  On top of that, his mother wanted him to go to some charitable luncheon, and he needed to help Dale with some paperwork at some point. Neither the lure of work nor the draw of mundane socializing left him with any desire to leave the warm shelter of the bed. Allison had gone through a rough couple of weeks, so he really couldn’t leave. He might wake her up, and she needed her rest.

  He rolled over and saw his cell phone on the nightstand. He swiped the text icon and sent Dale a message. As he hit send, Allison shuddered awake. Her glazed eyes stared at Adam.

  “Morning, sunshine.” “Hi, what time is it?” “A little before nine.”

  “Oh, shit.” She bolted upright. “You have to get to work.”

  “I'm ditching. Don't tell the boss,” he joked, and pulled her down to kiss her neck.

  “You are the boss.” She smiled and nuzzled closer.

  “Right. Don't tell me what I've done. I'd hate to have to write myself up for insubordination. So, what are we doing today?”