Adam's Thorn (36 page)

~*~

Freshly showered and dressed in
her own clothes, Barbie felt a lot more confident to face the world.  Voices
came from the kitchen and she made her way there, a small ‘oof’ escaping her
when Ali jumped her, grabbing hold and hugging hard.

“Oh man, are you okay?”  Ali
demanded, looking her over.  “You poor bugger.  It must have been frightening.”

“I’m fine.  Adam came for me.” 
Barbie glanced across the kitchen to see him pouring four glasses of iced
coffee.  He glanced up at her, smiled with a glint in his eyes that had her
blushing, and returned his attention to the glasses.  Before Ali could catch
onto her blush, Barbie added, “Thanks so much for bringing my suitcases
around.”

“No bother.”  Ali flapped one
hand.  “Ghost went in with Brandon and got them.  No way could you run around
naked all day.”

Out of the corner of her eye,
Barbie saw Adam’s eyebrow arch, a small smirk on his lips.  Oh yeah, he was
imaging it right now, she could tell, and going by the hot gleam that showed
briefly in his eyes when he pushed one of the glasses on the counter in her
direction, he approved.

Deviant.
  Lucky her. 
Smiling, she moved to the counter and picked up the glass, slanting him a
knowing frown even though she knew she couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes.

Adam winked before picking up two
of the glasses and taking them to the table, placing one before Ghost and the
other where Ali had been sitting.

Barbie crossed the room to sit on
a third chair, while Adam took the fourth chair opposite her.  The remaining
two chairs were already taken up by Fred and Barney, who had made themselves
right at home, so much so that Fred kept snoring a little in his sleep.

“Thanks for getting my stuff,” Barbie
said to Ghost.

“No worries.”  He smiled
placidly.  “Just glad you got out okay, honey.”

“Yes, well…”  She grimaced.  “It’s
not going to be pleasant going back but-”

“Back?” Adam almost barked it out,
startling them all.

She looked at him.  “What?”

“You’re staying here.”

“Staying here?  But I can’t-”

“You’re staying here where I know
you’re safe.”  He took a deep breath, steadied himself.

Wow, she could almost see him centring
himself, regaining control.

Quieter,
definitely
in more
control, he continued steadily, “You’re not sleeping over at that house alone. 
In fact, you’re not sleeping over there full stop.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Uh-oh,” Ghost muttered.

Ali watched avidly, making no
effort to even pretend.

“You can’t tell me-” Barbie began
indignantly.

“Yeah, I can.  And will.  Am, in
fact.”  His dark eyes locked onto hers.  “It’s too dangerous.”  When she opened
her mouth, he added, “You were terrified.  Seriously, do you expect to stay
there?  Even contemplating it?”

“Hell no,” she retorted
truthfully.  “But I don’t like you ordering me what to do.”

His gaze practically drilled holes
in her head.  “What you like is irrelevant right now.”

Ghost grinned.  “Dead man
walking.”

Ali leaned her chin on one hand.
“It’s kind of like watching a catastrophe about to happen and being unable to
stop it.”

“Or want to,” Ghost added. 
“Because, really, where’s the entertainment in that?”

Ignoring them, Barbie focussed on
Adam.  “I beg your pardon?”

“Your safety is paramount here,
not your likes.”

“You are
such
a jerk
sometimes.”  Indignant anger spiked through her.

Yep, there went that arrogant arch
of the eyebrow followed by the equally arrogant, “Doesn’t matter what you
think, Barbie, it’s what is going to happen.”

Her dander was well and truly up
now.  “And just what do you
think
is going to happen?”

“You’re staying safely at my
house.  No sleeping over at Penny’s old house, no being there alone while
whoever tried to hurt you is running free.”  Nice even tone, nice level gaze,
nice reasonable voice.

No, not reasonable.  Expectant. 
He expected her to just obey.  Now she wanted to hit him.  Maybe not literally,
but in her fantasies…

“Maybe you should try bargaining,”
Ghost suggested.  “Works for me.”

“Because you get your own way,”
Ali pointed out.  “You talk me to death.”

“Like I said, works for me.”  He blew
her a kiss.

Ali rolled her eyes.

“Are you setting boundaries for
me, Adam?” Barbie asked angrily.

“I’m setting safety boundaries,”
he corrected.  “I know you have to be at the house to sort things out, even
though I don’t like it.”

“So you’re not going to stop me? 
How co-operative of you.”

He didn’t blink, just continued in
that calm way that made her want to smack him.  “You can be there when the
workers are there, or if I am with you.  No being there alone for any reason.
You-”

“And what about my clients?’ she
interrupted him a little gleefully, because truthfully, she was relieved at his
suggestion, it was just his attitude that annoyed her.  “My massage room?”

“Book clients only during the week
when the workers are there.”

“What if they want a massage on
the weekend?”

“Yeah.” Ghost grinned widely. 
“What about then, Adam?”

“If I’m off work, I could go with
you,” Ali offered brightly.

“What?”  All hilarity left Ghost’s
face as he swung his gaze to her.  “Not bloody likely.”

“During the day, honey.”

“No.  Neither of you are going up
there without a man around.”

“Oh, because being a man makes all
the difference?”

“Yes.”

“That’s chauvinistic.”

“Don’t care.”

Ali rolled her eyes.  “Big ego.”

“Sticks and stones, honey, sticks
and stones.”

“Yeah, well keep that up and
I’ll
break your bones.”

“Ooohh, violent little thing,
aren’t you?’

And just like that, Ali was
laughing, Ghost smiling, and everything was okay.

Well, between them, Barbie thought
sourly, because right now she was glaring daggers at Adam, who, in his usual
calm manner, was gazing right back at her.  Calmly.  Bloody calmly, making her
teeth almost grit with pressure when she clenched them.

“If you have clients who want a
massage on the weekend,” Adam stated quietly, “Then I’ll go with you.”

“And if you’re working?”

“Then I’ll shift the stuff from my
spare room and you can use that.”

Barbie’s mouth dropped open. 
“What?”

“I’ll shift the stuff from my
spare room and you can use that,” he repeated.

That floored her.  “You’d do that?
Really?”

He nodded.

“You’d really have people come
here?” Ali asked in astonishment.  “Adam, you don’t have visitors much.  You
value your privacy, everyone knows that.”

His gaze didn’t shift from Barbie’s
face.  “To keep Barbie safe, and to keep her happy, I’ll do anything.”

Stunned, Barbie could only stare
at him.

“Wow.”  Ali subsided in the chair,
her eyes wide before a calculating gleam came into them.

“Is - is that true?” Barbie
asked.  “You don’t like visitors?”

“Not ‘don’t like’ full stop, I
just don’t like having my door run flat.  Give some people an invite and
they’ll practically live at my house.  Only a few come around here.”

Ghost waved airily.

“But if I booked massages on a
weekend…” She blinked.  “Really?  You’d really tolerate people coming here?”

He shrugged.  “Yeah.”

“But it’ll annoy you.”

“But you’ll be safe, and that’s
what’s important.  Being happy is a bonus.”

Geez, he’d actually give up a lot of
his privacy that he valued just to keep her safe and happy.  That had her
speechless.  All she could do was get up, come around the table, bend and wrap
her arms around his neck, dropping a kiss on his cheek even as his arm came
around her waist.

“Thank you,” she whispered in his
ear.

Turning his head, he looked her
directly in the eyes.  “I’ll do anything for you, but your safety will always
come first.  Please don’t fight me on this.  You won’t win, and I’ll do what I
have to, to keep you safe.”

From anyone else it would have
sounded like a threat, but from Adam it was a promise, a heart-warming one now
that she realised what he was willing to sacrifice in turn.

She hugged him, her mouth near his
ear, feeling his hold tighten a little on her waist.  “I understand, and in
this case I’ll do as you…request.”

He gave an unexpected chuckle
accompanied by a light whack on her bottom.

Smiling, she straightened.  “And
because you
requested
so nicely, Adam Moor, Officer, Sir, I won’t make
any bookings on a weekend unless you are free to come with me to Great Aunt
Penny’s house.  No bookings for here.”

“‘Sir’.  I do like the sound of
that.”  Ghost slanted a look at Ali.  “How about-”

She flipped him the bird.

“No it is, then.”

Resuming her seat, Barbie smiled
at Adam, warmth filling her as his eyes crinkled at the corners, an answering
smile curving his lips.  The man had a way of both infuriating her and making her
feel cherished all at once.  Weird feeling, but ultimately a good one.

Draining the last of the iced
coffee, Ghost looked at her.  “So, you think the house is haunted and Adam
thinks it’s a human culprit.  How about letting me snoop around?”

“Not on your own,” Adam stated. 
“For everyone’s safety, not one of you goes to the house alone.”

Ghost gasped in delight, placing
one hand on his chest.  “Oh my!  The big protector!”

“Here we go,” Ali said.  “Drama
queen.”

“You just - you just make my heart
pound, you big, overpowering cop, you.”  Grabbing Adam’s hand, Ghost slapped it
onto his chest.  “Feel my heart pound, big boy!”

Adam just looked blandly at him,
pulled his hand away, and wiped it slowly down his shirt front.

Ghost faked a shudder.  “Oh, stop
undressing me with your eyes, you naughty boy.”

Adam switched his gaze to Barbie. 
“Remember how I feel about my privacy?”  He jerked his thumb in Ghost’s
direction.  “Do I need to explain any further?”

She laughed.

Resting her elbows on the table, Ali
leaned forward.  “What do you say, Barbie?  How about me and Ghost snoop
around?  Set up some cameras?’

“Actually,” she replied slowly, “that
doesn’t sound too bad.  Maybe you’ll catch something on camera.  Proof.”

“Proof of the spirit world.” 
Ghost nodded.  “Hauntings.  There’ve been stories around the Declan house. 
Gus-”

“Gus is a gossiper,” Adam drawled.

“Gus talked to Penny, and she
mentioned the same kind of things just before she died that Barbie is
experiencing now.”  Completely serious, Ghost took out a notebook and held up a
pen at the ready.  “The noises you heard, which rooms were they from?”

As Barbie recounted what had
happened, she noticed that although Adam shook his head once, he didn’t stop
them planning or ridicule them.  He believed it was a human, but he wasn’t
going to stop them exploring further possibilities, and for that she was
grateful.

The only stipulation he put down
was that the cameras were set up when no one was in the house but himself,
Ghost, Ali and Barbie.  None of the workers was to know, and the cameras were
to come down or be hidden before they arrived the next morning.

“Scared the townsfolk will know
you’re treading the supernatural path?” Ghost smirked.

“I don’t want any pranksters to
run riot,” he replied mildly.  “If those cameras can catch an intruder, I’d be
interested in seeing it.”

“I’ll need a rough outline of the
house,” Ghost stated, turning the page and handing the pen to Barbie.  “Doesn’t
have to be a work of art, just give me two plans, one of the ground floor, the
other of the second floor.  Include on the ground floor where the shed and
garage are, the rose bushes, the verandas.  We need to ensure all areas are
covered.”

Adam just sat back, sipping on the
iced coffee and watching.  Barney jumped up onto his lap and he started
stroking the big cat’s back, Barney’s rusty purr filling the room as he
commenced kneading Adam’s lap with his sharp claws.  Luckily Adam was wearing
jeans, otherwise Barbie knew he wouldn’t be so relaxed.

Catching her glance, he smiled
slightly, his eyes crinkling engagingly in the corners.  God, she loved that.  She
couldn’t help but smile back before dropping her attention back to the page on
which she was doing a very bad drawing of the house.

When she’d finished, Ghost
nodded.  “Excellent.  If we put a camera here-”

“And here.”  Ali pointed at the
staircase.

“Yep.  And here.”  He tapped the
sheet.

By the time they’d finished their
plan, they’d agreed to meet with Adam and Barbie at the house later that
evening and taken their leave.

Picking up the empty glasses,
Barbie took them to the sink.  Turning on the tap, she started to rinse them.  “Adam,
are you sure you’re okay with me staying in the guest room?”

Adam stood and strode across the
room, taking the glass from her hand, leaning over her shoulder to turn the tap
off before placing his hands at her waist to turn her around.  Startled, she
looked up at him as he leaned over her, his big hands on the sink either side
of her. 

His gaze drifted over her face,
fastening on her mouth.  “I’m not okay with you staying in the guest room, Barbie.”
Dark lashes lifted to reveal the heat in his dark eyes as he regarded her. 
“I’m okay with you sharing
my
room.”

Ooohh
. A delicious shiver
went through her when he leaned closer.

“I’m okay with you sharing
my
bed.”

Her breath came a little faster,
her womanhood tingling at the way his voice grew just a little huskier.