Adam's List (19 page)

Adam reaches up to pull stray hairs from my face, his expression tender. “Jewels...”

I spin away, letting his hand fall from my arm. “You don’t understand. Right before he died for our country,
I kissed someone else
. I
dumped him
when he was on the other side of the world, homesick and dodging bullets. I should’ve been his emotional support.

I should’ve been there whenever he needed me. Instead I told him I couldn’t wait around for him. So now you know exactly what kind of a royal bitch you’re galavanting around with. I won’t blame you if you want nothing to do with me.”

Adam wraps his arms wrap around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder, his body pressed up against mine. “I’m sorry he died. But you didn’t know when you broke up with him that it was going to happen. How could you? It was just shitty timing. You can’t beat yourself up over it.”

A fat tear slips down my cheek. “Yeah, I can. What kind of heartless person cheats on someone who’s in the service?”

“You’re allowed to make mistakes in life.” He kisses the side of my head.

I lean into him as the boat circles back into the harbor, preparing to dock.

“You asked why Kelly said that, what’s changed. If you really want to know, I’ll show you.” I grab my phone from my pocket and turn around to show him a picture of us from the night before, smiling like total goobers. “
Us
. This
thing
we have going on, whatever it is. You’re the first reason I’ve had in a long time that has made me want to go out and do something that will make me feel alive. You’re the reason I suddenly want to get up in the morning.
You’ve
changed me, Adam. When I’m around you, it’s like I can barely breathe because I’m afraid I’ll do something to screw up, and lose you, too. I don’t think I’m worthy of being anyone’s girlfriend after what I did.”

“You can’t let one mistake define you. You
are
worthy. I wish you could see yourself the way I do. You’re amazing, Jewels.”

Eyes locked, we grab each other’s faces at the same exact moment our lips collide.

I’m filled with the scent of him I’ve desperately missed, mixed with aftershave. All of me throbs in celebration of the kiss I’ve waited for so long to return. My head tips back as his mouth covers mine, urgently making up for lost time. His warm lips part, giving me access to his mint-flavored tongue, igniting sparks deep within me. I gasp against his lips, feeling like I’ll dissolve into a puddle when his hands trail down to my waist, his fingers lifting under the back of my shirt, teasing the small bits of flesh exposed.

The undeniable need for him becomes more intense. I curve myself against him, clutching his shirt in my fists. My lips and tongue can only do so much to appease my appetite for him. I have to remind myself we’re in public, on a boat. Still, I yearn to have his hands all over me, releasing the sexual tension building up inside. Heat fills me from head to toe, making my head spin. Adam’s thumbs continue to stroke the skin above my shorts as his kisses become more intense.

Then there’s a loud, brash cough behind us. We turn to see the young tour guide standing next to us, her hands clasped in front of her. “So...we’ve, like, docked.”

After lunch at Bubba Gump, we ride the infamous Ferris wheel. My fear of heights escalates when we’re stopped at the top until Adam kisses me. It’s a sweet and light kiss, but it makes me wild for him all over again. When we agree we’ve had enough sightseeing, we head back to the hotel to “freshen up” before going out for the night. We hold hands in the elevator, but don’t speak of the kisses or what has changed between us.

Right outside my room, I lean up against the wall. Adam moves in front of me like there’s a magnetic pull keeping us together. The heat from his body drives me insane with desire.

“So what time are we meeting up?” I trace the lines of his arm with my finger, grinning down at his perfect body. By the way his shorts have shifted off to the side, he’s most
definitely
as turned on as I am. I bring my mouth up to his slowly, tauntingly.

“What happened to the no touching rule?” he asks, his breath tight.

“I never said anything about kissing, did I?”

I duck away from him and slide my card through the door, grabbing his arm to pull him along. We float across the room to the bed where I push him down and straddle over him, my hair falling across his face. We both laugh. Gathering my hair to the side, I bend down to take his lower lip between my teeth, giggling when he flips me around to my back. He removes my shirt before brushing my blond locks from my face.

His baby blues drink in my exposed breasts and stomach before coming back up to stare into my eyes long and hard, as if trying to mentally pass me a message. I’ve never felt so exposed and vulnerable as I do underneath his gaze. I’m suddenly electrified to a new level, ready to devour him.

But he won’t kiss me. His lips trail across the curve of my neck, down the soft line of my shoulder and beyond before he uses his thumb to yank my bra cup aside. His tongue circles around my hardened nipple, teasing it before taking a soft nibble.

Moaning, I reach out to pull his face back to mine.

Our lips mash and suck, trying to make up for lost time. Our mouths move with our staggered, eager breaths. His fingers are like searing fire against my skin, caressing and kneading and softly pinching.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispers, holding his mouth right over mine. His lips drop down to my stomach where his nose brushes against my skin as soft as a whisper.

Grabbing his head, I attempt to pull him up for another kiss, but he fights back. With one hand he cups my breast, his thumb tracing around my nipple, his other hand fumbling around at the back of my bra.

“Front clasp!” I gasp, helping him.

He slowly peels my shorts down my toned legs, letting his fingers brush against my skin the whole way. I shudder when his teeth tug down my recently purchased leopard panties. His fingers trail down to put light pressure on the part of me that throbs the most, softly patting and stroking until I become wet. His warm breath tickles the sensitive skin between my legs.

I see his excitement bulging against his shorts and reach for it, but he curves away.

He kisses the skin between my thighs, sending me into a whirlwind of desire and passion. I’m breathless when his warm fingers slip inside, moving slow and gentle.

“Damn it, Adam,” My voice sounds husky, older, like a woman on one of those dirty sex chats. “I want
you
inside of me already.”

I pull at his shirt, wanting to feel his hard muscles, wanting our skin to touch. He fights against me, his steely eyes radiating with desire. “Lie back and relax. I want this to be about you.”

I try to do as he says, but when his warm tongue enters me, massaging my pulsating bud, I nearly jump from the bed. I reach for the first thing I can—his thick hair—and pull on its roots, crying out in ecstasy. I’ve never had a guy go
there
before, and it feels fan-fucking-tastic. My lust for him overflows to the point I feel as if I’ll explode. Adam continues on, his hands reaching up to caress my breasts and pinch my nipples. I flex my hips as waves of pleasure rip through me. “Oh...my...
god
...yes!”

It goes on and on, feeling like hours but probably only lasting a matter of minutes until I come to an overwhelming climax. It’s unreal, unlike anything I could’ve ever imagined. My insides thrum delightfully, a kaleidoscope of exploding nerves. With the final release my legs lock, pressing Adam’s head between my thighs. Arching my back, I scream something that probably sounds to anyone walking past our room like a woman being murdered.

Adam emerges to clamp a hand over my mouth, chuckling. His other hand strokes the tender skin between my thighs. “Someone’s going to call security.”

Shuddering with the last of the delightful explosion, I collapse against the bed and pry his wandering hand off me to kiss it. “Can I just say, you should hire out for whatever it is you just did. You’d be a billionaire.
Seriously
.” I pull him up next to me and trail kisses up his neck. “Your turn.” My hands work their way to the button on his shorts.

He stops me, lacing his fingers with mine. “Not now. I want you to enjoy the moment.

You deserve this.”

I eye him suspiciously. What guy says
that
? Can he tell it was my first time? “Are you for real?”

He buries me in his arms, trailing his hand up the back of my neck and nestling in my hair. “Remind me to do that again real soon. Your face, the way you arched for me...Jesus, it was unreal.” He presses soft kisses to my forehead.

“Are you referring to my awkward cries of passion?”

He chuckles softly. “We’ll have to work on that.”

I peer up at his face. “
Please
tell me this means we’re done with the
I’m not good for
you
and
no touching
bullshit. I just want to be with you. I don’t care about this big secret of yours anymore, Adam. We don’t have to be all serious, or whatever, but I
really
want this. It can just be about sex if that’s what you want. And you can do it again as many
times
as you want. Whatever you did with your tongue just now—”

“Has anyone told you that you talk too much?” A teasing smile crosses his lips. “Do you think you could just shut up and let me hold you?”

Still in a daze from my mind-shattering first orgasm, my feet tingling from its aftereffects, I drift asleep in the comfort of Adam’s arms, savoring the smell and feel of him against my face.

Traveling from Chicago to Toledo is like an entirely different trip than the first leg. I sit wedged into Adam’s side whenever we aren’t stopping for tourist attractions. Sometimes he rests his arm around my shoulders and his fingers play with my hair. A few times he kisses my neck, allowing his tongue to lightly graze the patch of skin behind my ear, nearly making me wet myself with memories of just what that muscle can do.

One time his hand trails up my leg and into dangerous territory, prompting a pit stop to the woods behind a rest stop where we go at it hot and heavy, never removing our clothes, but easily setting some kind of record for best third base hit without scoring a home run. We emerge from behind the shelter with red faces, wild hair, and crumpled leaves in the folds of our clothing, generating a handful of knowing glances from other travelers we pass on the way back to the pickup.

When our exit into Toledo appears, I fake a cough. “We’re running a bit behind schedule. I say let’s forget supper and go straight to the camping site.”

Adam’s fingers lace through mine. “As much as I want to do things to your smokin’

body again, we’re not making this trip all about how often we can get down each other’s pants.” His eyes twinkle when he glances at me. “We’re sticking to the schedule. We have a checklist, remember?”

I squeeze his fingers, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Yeah, buddy. Let me know how that denial thing’s working out for you.” I check my phones for notes I took before we left. “The cemetery here is haunted. Maybe there’s a quiet spot everyone’s too afraid to go where we can work on a different kind of list.”

Adam chuckles, pretending to be irritated. “Dear god, I’ve awakened a monster.”

“Wait, have you?” I tug at the zipper on his shorts. “Let me see.” I’ve got two fingers inside his underwear and coiled around his now pulsating swell when the pickup swerves.

“
Shit
! Would you stop? You’re going to run us off the road!”

“Then you better hurry and pull off somewhere before we have an accident!” I answer in the same exasperated tone.

I pull down the rest of the zipper and nudge open the convenient slit in his royal blue boxers, leaning down to swipe my tongue across his tip. He’s sweet and dribbling, ready to go. Adam groans, then gasps when I take him inside my mouth. I curl my lips around him as much as I can, delighted to discover he’s even bigger than the surge in his pants would suggest.

The pickup veers off the highway at accelerated speeds. I let my tongue and lips do the magic, bringing him to full attention as the tires screech against pavement before we’re still. It’s rather uncomfortable the way he fills my entire mouth, nearly choking me, but I sense his arousal growing with each of my movements and don’t stop.

“Holy
fuck
.” He groans, lacing his fingers through the thick of my hair. His breath stutters with the powerful suction of my lips. “
Jewels
.”

I love the sound of my name falling from his lips in pleasure. It makes me want to please him even more. Low grumbles of ecstasy rumble through his throat when I speed up the rhythm. It’s hardly five minutes later that I hear his other hand slam against the steering wheel, his breaths deepening. His entire body becomes stiff and he hums a deep, satisfied grunt under his breath before releasing into my mouth. He quivers underneath my hold. “
That
...was amazing.”

Giggling, I clean him up as best I can before taking a deep breath. “Do I dare sit up?”

“I’d advise against it. The old lady in the car next to us is giving me a funny look. We better get out of here before the cops show up.”

As we tear out of the supermarket parking lot, I sit up in time to catch the wide eyes of the white haired woman in the old sedan next to us.

The steakhouse we agree on has an old-world charm underneath ornate lighting and arched ceilings, and smells like my grandma’s house on Thanksgiving. It’s fairly busy for a weeknight, although there isn’t a waiting line to get in. The hostess shows us to a small, round booth with a fair amount of privacy at the far end of the restaurant. The continuous bench allows us to nuzzle together the moment she’s gone.

“Let’s order some champagne,” I whisper in his ear before sucking on his lobe.

“Celebrate the fact that you’re no longer just a prude who’s only into me for my friendship.”

His hand wraps around my thigh, leaving his fingers to dangle dangerously close to the part of me that can’t seem to get enough of him. “I’m not really a drinker. I’ve watched my brother get hammered too many times and make a total ass of himself.”