Adam's Thorn (22 page)

“Selling most of it, I think.”

“Really?”  Her face fell.  “So,
you’re still thinking of leaving?”

“I was never thinking of
staying.”  Barbie started when a hand holding a glass of orange juice appeared over
her shoulder.  The warmth of Adam’s body was right behind her, making her skin
prickle, and she moistened her lips as he moved away, rounding the table to sit
opposite her with a glass of the same. 

“Thank you.”  She reached again
for her purse. “How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing.”  Before she could
object, Adam just gave a small, barely discernable shake of his head before turning
his attention to Matt and Ghost as his friends sat down with their drinks.

“Barbie was just saying that she’s
thinking of selling the furniture,” Ali said.

“Some of it might be worth a bit,”
Ghost mused.  “Have you got a reputable antique dealer coming to check it out?”

“Yes.  I know one from the city, and
he’s organised for one of his assistants to come.”

“Is he here yet?” Ali queried.

“No.”

“Then there’s still time.”

“For what?”

“For you to decide to stay.”

“That was never on the cards,
Ali.”

“Come on, we have everything.” 
Ali smiled winningly.  “We have a sweet little town, our very own best selling
horror author, great people, and, oh yeah, we have the hottest cops, too.”

Adam didn’t bat an eyelid when Barbie
looked directly at him.  His gaze just stayed steady and calm.

“But Brandon is already married,” Matt
said, then yelped.  “Holy shit!”

Lori looked at him askance.  “That
wasn’t me.”

“No, it was him.”  Matt jerked his
thumb at Adam.

“Sorry,” Adam said blandly.  “I was
just moving my foot.”

“You moved it bloody hard.”

Ghost smirked.

Lori smiled and sipped her drink. 
“How’s the book writing going, Ghost?”

The conversation fell to writing,
which naturally slid to books and genres, and from there to movies.  Barbie
enjoyed herself immensely, feeling as at ease with the small group if she’d
known them for years.

The only one who had her senses on
alert, though, was Adam.  He joined in the conversation, laughed, cracked a
couple of jokes which actually bordered on outright obscenity, making them all
giggle like kids and cast covert glances around in case anyone else had heard
it, and proved to be a warm and entertaining man.

But throughout it all he
maintained a calmness, as though everything around him could suddenly erupt and
he’d still be sitting there, calmly taking everything in, watching.  She noticed
that any rowdiness drew his gaze, even while he listened to the conversation at
the table.  He tracked movements of certain people in the bar, aware of everything
that went on in the room.

The jukebox was playing, the fast
songs easing to slower tunes.

“Come on, let’s dance.”  Ali stood
and grabbed Ghost’s hand.

Within minutes she was in his
arms, their foreheads together as they whispered and laughed.  Ghost’s hand
went to her lush bottom and she snuggled closer.

“We better show them that at least
one of the Mackay girls is mature.” Taking Lori’s hand, Matt pulled her up.

“Oh, Matt, I don’t dance well,”
she protested.

“You dance perfectly, love.”

Personally, Barbie thought Lori
looked so sweet, the blush in her cheeks as Matt held her close and dropped a
kiss onto her forehead before cuddling her as close against him as he could,
the expression on his face that of a truly happy man.  It didn’t take a genius
to know that Lori was a shy person by nature, but her confidence when in Matt’s
arms was a beautiful sight to behold.  She literally melted against him.

That left just her and Adam
sitting at the table in uncomfortable silence.  Or at least it was uncomfortable
for her, whereas he just sat there with that damned steady gaze on her.

Lifting her glass, she took a sip
of orange juice, returning it to the table to run her fingertips up and down
the sides, slipping through the condensation. Unable to take the silence any
longer, she looked up, intending to ask him what was wrong, only to find him
tracking someone behind her with his gaze.

Going by the way his eyes grew
harder, whoever it was obviously didn’t meet with his approval.  She started to
turn around, only to find someone standing beside her with a calloused hand
held out.

Startled, she looked up to find Bruce
smiling down at her.

“How about a dance, Barbie?” he
asked easily.

It was such a relief to see a
friendly face after Adam’s unnerving silence that she gladly put her hand in
his and rose to her feet.  “All yours, Bruce.”

Laughing, he swung her out onto
the dance floor just as the music picked up tempo.

Dancing being one of her favourite
past-times, Barbie gave herself up to the music and friendly company, chatting
with him as they whirled and parted, laughing at his twinkling eyes and mischievous
grin.

Bruce was light on his feet, adept
at dancing, and when the music changed to a slighter slower tune but still with
a lively beat, he twirled Barbie out before bringing her against him quickly so
that she landed with a thump against his body.

“Okay.” She regained her breath, grinning
up at him.  “You’re into rough dancing.”

“I just like to keep my dance
partner happy.”  He winked.  “So, Ms Declan, you kind of being my boss, am I
allowed to hold you this close?”

Liking him, but not particularly
comfortable at being plastered up against his body, well-built or not, Barbie
put a bit of space between them.  “Hmm, well, Henry is technically your boss.  I’m
just paying him, so I guess on one hand you could, however,” she shook her head,
“I don’t know you well enough to dance too close, Mr Bruce.”

“Mr Bruce?” Not in the least
offended, he laughed.  “How quaint.”

He whirled her out and back in,
and this time she firmly placed one hand against his chest to ensure there was
a little distance between them.  “So, Bruce, how long have you worked for
Henry?”

“About six months.”

“Where were you from before then?”
Determined to keep things polite and friendly, not wanting this to turn into
anything else though she had a feeling it wouldn’t take much for him, she engaged
him in conversation.

Whirling her through the other
dancers, he pondered her question.  “Well, let’s see, I travelled around a
bit.  From here I went to Melbourne, to Sydney, then up to Surfer’s Paradise
and a few towns in-between.  But I came back home here, kind of missed the
place.”

“Girlfriend?”

He quirked a brow at her. “Would I
be dancing with you if that was so?”

“You tell me.”

“I’m not that kind of bloke, Barbie.” 
Smiling, he spun her in a circle and weaved her around the couples on the dance
floor.

She was surprised that he’d
actually chosen to dance with her, seeing as how he had to be at least five
years her junior, then again, maybe he was just looking to have a good time.  A
laugh and quick shag, then off to younger and far slimmer pastures. 
Huh. 
Been awhile since she’d run herself down like that.
 
Mental head slap
.

“So, do you go away much now?” She
queried.

“Now and again, if I feel the
need.”  He looked down at her.  “You?”

“My family are in the city.’

He frowned.  “So you really are
alone out at the house?”

Her natural caution had her
shrugging.  “It’s not that isolated.”

“You need to get an alarm system. 
I can get one for you.”

“It’s an old house.”

“And you’re a woman alone.  It’s
not safe.”

“I have pepper spray, and I’m not
afraid to use it,” she lied, just in case he decided to talk to other people,
softening her warning with a friendly smile.

“Isn’t pepper spray illegal?”

“No idea, I just have one.” She
paused.  “Dad always made sure we were well protected.”

He nodded thoughtfully.  “Wise
man.”  He winked again. “Pretty girl like you needs protection.”

Now she was starting to feel
uncomfortable.

They went around the floor a few
more times and the song changed to a slower one.  Couples either left the floor
or pressed close together for a more romantic dance.

Uh-oh
.  Not wanting the
same treatment, she started to pull away.  “Thanks for the dance, but I-”

His hold just tightened, not
enough for anyone around them to notice, but enough for her to feel the
determination he had to keep her close.  “No boyfriend?”

“Bruce, I-”

“No one to have to face if I ask
you out?”

That caught her by surprise, but
not as much as when Adam suddenly appeared behind Bruce, towering over the
smaller man.  Tapping him on the shoulder, he gave Bruce a hard look when he turned
around.  “Yeah, me.”

Bruce gaped, which made two of
them, because Barbie could only stare in astonishment at Adam as he neatly
inserted himself between her and Bruce, forcing the other man to either back
away quickly or stumble.

One strong arm slid around Barbie’s
waist, Adam’s other hand clasping hers as he drew her up against him.  One hard
glance at Bruce and Adam turned to Barbie, swaying with her to the music,
steering her into the middle of the couples so that Bruce was lost to sight.

The lighting dimmed and it would
have been almost romantic being held in strong arms, cradled against a tall, muscular
body, simply surrounded by strength, except it was Adam’s arms in which she was
held.

“Um…” she began, flustered.

Tilting his head down, he smiled
slightly.  “Rescue job.”

“Pardon?”

“He wasn’t going to let you go.”

She tried to ignore the little
fissure of disappointment at his words.  “Ah, doing the protecting bit.”

“You could say that.”  Inclining
his head slightly, he studied her expression.

Swearing he could see right into
her mind, she glanced away.

He didn’t say anything further,
just steered her gently to the music.  When she attempted a small step away, he
simply reeled her in a little closer.

Why his hold should be any
different to Bruce’s was beyond her, except that whereas Bruce’s embrace made
her a little uncomfortable, Adam’s hold was…well, she couldn’t say it relaxed
her, but it made her feel safe.

Had to be the cop thing.

When he continued to simply dance
slowly with her to the music, Barbie decided that she had to do more than
simply look at the front of his shirt, so she looked up to find him watching
her calmly.  “Um…we can head back to the table now.”

He surprised her by asking, “Do
you want to?”

Truth be told, no.  It had been a
long time since she’d felt so protected, and Adam smelled good.  His strength
made her feel safe, his very height and breadth had her feeling unaccustomedly
smaller, his warmth had her edging just a little closer, and corny as it
sounded, he smelled good.  Clean male scent, faint cologne, soap.

To heck with it.  Barbie decided
to indulge herself just for the length of the song.  There couldn’t be much left,
anyway.  “Actually, no.”

“Good.”  With that, Adam drew her
right up against him.

Oh God, her softer body seemed to
meld to every hard swell of his muscles, making her so aware of him. Every
shift of his body had a muscle flexing somewhere, and his fingers, holy heck,
his fingers of one hand had somehow entwined with hers without her realising. 
His hand rested in the lower arch of her back, fingers spreading out warmly.

Oh yeah, he smelled good and he
felt good.

The lights on the dance floor were
dim, the music was soft, and she’d never felt more contented, as though her
worries could drift away in his strong embrace.

He’s just being nice, making
sure Bruce doesn’t come near.  
Regardless of her thoughts, his body
beckoned to her, the gentle pressure of his hand on her back pressing her just
that little bit closer if it was even possible, and with a small sigh of
contentment, Barbie relaxed against him.

The song finished, slid into
another, and still they kept dancing slowly, another song coming and going. 
Adam made no move to stop, to leave the dance floor, or to relinquish his hold
on her.

Drifting in a haze of pleasure, it
was only when the lights brightened and music picked up tempo that she realised
that she’d actually been resting her cheek on his chest, and when she slowly lifted
her head to glance up, it was to find that Adam had his head bent over hers.

They looked at each other and for
a few seconds everything vanished, the music, the lights, the happy voices and
laughter, until it seemed as though it was only she and Adam standing in their
own little world.

 “Don’t often see you dancing,
Adam,” an amused voice said from nearby.  “Must be snowing in Hell.”

The spell between them broke like
a popped bubble, Adam turning to face the speaker.  Keeping his arm around Barbie,
he drew her with him so that she was standing beside him facing the speaker.

A man about Adam’s age with brown
hair and twinkling blue eyes looked at Barbie.  “Hi, I’m Brandon, a workmate of
Adam’s.”

“Barbie.”  She shook his hand, liking
him immediately.

“Yeah, I know.  Kind of hard to
miss, being the new girl in town.”

“Ah.”  She smiled and started to
shift, only to feel Adam’s arm tighten around her waist, though he didn’t look
at her as he spoke to Brandon.   

Not having much choice except to
either wait politely or struggle to get free, she stood tucked into Adam’s
side, feeling conspicuous, especially when she saw some openly curious stares
from some of the people.

Actually, make that a lot of
stares.  At least they had the good manners to look away when she met their
gazes.