Nobody's Hero (48 page)

“We need to talk, kitten.”

Ka-thunk.

Oh, she so didn’t need that submissive
stomach-drop reaction right now. Tossing back the covers, she held
one hand over her mouth as she gathered her hair in the other and
ran for the bathroom. She’d barely lifted the seat before she felt
his strong arm around her waist, holding her, and his hand grabbing
her hair, fisting it to keep it from getting in the way.

“I’ve got you, kitten.”

The contents of her stomach emptied to her
great embarrassment, but she didn’t care. She always felt better
afterward, for a little while, at least. She just wanted some
relief, even if she knew she’d have to face Adam in a few
moments.

When it seemed the worst of it was over, she
patted the hand he held over her abdomen to signal she didn’t need
him anymore, but he didn’t let go. He helped her stand up straight
and, when she started to move toward the sink, didn’t relinquish
his hold.

“Sit.”

He lowered the toilet lid and started to
guide her there, but she resisted. “I’m better now. Thanks.”

“I. Said. Sit.”

She looked up at him. “Please don’t make my
stomach go ka-thunk again.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” He cast a look at her that told
her she’d better explain herself.

Ka-thunk
.

“It’s just that, when you go all Dom like
that—or in Master mode, for that matter—with a look or a command,
my stomach does this weird thing. It just sort of drops into my
pelvis.” When he quirked an eyebrow, she continued. “Okay,
metaphorically drops, not literally. But I wish you’d stop doing it
because my stomach’s already off kilter.”

He chuckled and went to the sink to wet a
washcloth.

“What’s so funny?”

Adam didn’t answer right away, but returned
to stand in front of her. “Tilt your head back.”

Ka-thunk. Damn him.

Like a puppet, she did as he instructed. He
gently washed the sweat, tears, and grime off her face and mouth
and rinsed the washcloth again, handing it to her. She held it over
her eyes, hoping to avoid broken blood vessels and swelling.

“Kitten, I don’t know how I could have been
so blind.”

She removed the cloth and focused on him,
creasing her brow. Just which of the many totally obvious things
had he finally begun to see? He smiled enigmatically.

She missed that smile when his face grew
stern again. “Now, brush your teeth, take a shower, get dressed,
and be ready to leave in thirty minutes.”

“I’m not leaving Chicago with you, Adam.”

“I didn’t say anything about leaving
Chicago.”

“Then where are we going?”

“Instant care, emergency room, clinic, your
family physician—I don’t care where, but I’m not going to watch you
waste away another day without finding out what’s wrong.”

Karla saw the intense worry in his eyes.
Hell, he was scaring her now, too. It wasn’t like her to be sick.
She hadn’t had the flu since she was fifteen. What did he think it
might be? Then she realized he cared.
Well, duh, Kitty
. He’d
always cared. He just didn’t care as deeply as she needed him to
care about her.

“Adam, I need to talk with you about where I
went last night.”

His body tensed and he made a fist, then
seemed to force himself to relax by unflexing his fists. He wasn’t
going to be happy to hear what she and Grant had done, even if it
was for his own good.

“We’ll talk later. I’ll see you downstairs in
twenty-eight minutes.” He turned and walked into Ian’s room and she
scrambled up to go to the sink and complete the first of the tasks
he’d given her. He certainly was acting like her Master again. Or
was it her Dom? It was hard to tell the difference sometimes. But
damned if she wasn’t right there at his beck-and-call again,
falling for Master Adam all over again.

In his car, he asked her where to take her
and she pointed toward downtown. Their best hope would be instant
care, but the thought of spending hours there didn’t really appeal
to her. Maybe her mom could pull some strings, but she worked for a
pediatrician. Karla hardly qualified for that kind of medical care.
A few blocks from home, Adam pulled into a fast-food restaurant
drive-through.

“Oh, please don’t tell me you intend for me
to eat.”

“That’s exactly what I intend, kitten. What
do you want for breakfast to tide you over until we get back to
your mom’s and tackle some of those leftovers?”

Her mom had made Adam and Karla promise
they’d finish up some of the food in the fridge. Both of her
parents were working long shifts today. But what could she possibly
order that would stay down this morning? Nothing fried or spicy,
which would be half the breakfast items on the menu at this place.
“How about a yogurt?” The glare he shot her across the seat told
her that wasn’t going to cut it. “And a short stack of
pancakes?”

“Better. But we’d better go inside for
that.”

At the counter, he ordered about three times
that much food. She hoped he planned to eat more than his fair
share. At a table in the corner, with the food-laden tray beside
them, he slapped butter on her pancakes and poured two containers
of syrup on it before placing the Styrofoam plate in front her.

“I’m not a child. I can take care of
myself.”

“Then prove it. Eat.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but he just
looked pointedly down at the three large pancakes and picked up the
plastic fork and knife to dig in. Surprisingly, they tasted great
and did ease the queasiness in her stomach. After she began eating,
he seemed to relax and dug into his sausage and pancakes himself.
Suddenly, she had an urge to add the yogurt to the pancakes and
scooped it over the top.

“What the fuck are you doing? You’re still
going to eat them, even if you do crap them up like that.”

She grinned up at him. “What’s it to you how
I eat my pancakes?”

“Just saying you
will
finish
them.”

“No problem. I just suddenly had a craving to
have the two of them together. So, sue me.” To prove to him she
intended to follow through, she picked up the fork and crammed her
mouth too full with the combo she’d created. Hmmm. Not bad, she
thought, as she chewed.

He rolled his eyes and dug back into his own
breakfast. Maybe now was the time to tell him about last night. She
swallowed, took a sip of OJ, and leaned forward. “Adam, about last
night.”

He stopped mid-chew and stared at her, his
fork poised mid-air. No easy way to do this, so she might as well
just say it. “I found your mother. She wants to see you.”

“How’d you find her?”

That was it? He wasn’t surprised, even
curious—or furious, as she’d expected?

“I had some…assistance.”

“Whose?”

She hoped Grant would understand why Karla
ratted her out, but figured the Marine could hold her own with
Adam, well, unless he restrained her. The thought of him
restraining anyone but Karla made her stomach churn again.

“Grant.”

* * *

Grant had invaded his privacy? Adam would
never have believed the former lance corporal—and friend with
benefits for a few months, before Karla had come back into his life
this summer—would do something like that. The woman had always been
so damned loyal. What was her motive?

Karla held up her hand. “Don’t blame her. She
was just doing me a favor.” She laid down her fork and reached out
to touch his hand. "When you were in the hospital after the cougar
attack, you said some things about your childhood…”

God fucking damn.
“What did I say?” He
shook off her hand and leaned back against the molded plastic seat
he barely fit in. Karla looked hurt, before she reached out again
to brush her hand gently over his forearm. The woman was like a pit
bull with raw meat. He searched Karla’s intense blue eyes, trying
to discern what she knew about his past. Thank God he hadn’t done
to his father what he’d feared for the last month or so, because he
wouldn’t have been able to offer her any kind of future if he had
his father’s murder hanging over his head.

“Enough for me to know you didn’t have a very
pleasant childhood. I thought maybe that had something to do with
why…well, anyway, I wanted to track down the people who
had…tormented my Dom and kick their asses until they
apologized.”

Her Dom?

He fought to conceal a grin. “Is that so? Did
you succeed?”

“Well, no. I soon realized she was just
another victim of your father’s abuse.”

He sobered. She was, indeed. Adam held his
breath as the fleeting images of the bloody scene flitted across
his mind. They would never make sense to him, but at least he
understood his non-aggressive part in the scene now.

But the past was the past. He couldn’t change
what had happened then and knew, after talking with his mother, he
wouldn’t let it continue to have power over him. Somehow, though,
hearing Karla claim him as her Dom eased tension in places he’d
kept closed off to emotions for a long time. He had no doubt she
would be a fierce mama bear, protective of those she loved. Marc
said she’d even tried to wrestle the cougar off him.

Karla had shown him nothing but love, even
when he’d been a total douche bag to her. She loved him, without a
doubt, making him the luckiest man who ever lived.

He wouldn’t be able to live another day
without her. But he’d be damned if he’d tell her he loved her in a
fucking fast-food restaurant. Still, he had a confession to
make.

“Keep eating. There’s something I need to
tell you.”

She took another bite of that disgusting
concoction and chewed. When she swallowed and he still hadn’t
spoken, she reached out to stroke his hand again. “What is it,
Adam?”

He hated the thought of upsetting her when
things were going better between them, but a Dom and his sub should
have no secrets. She’d just said he was still her Dom, hadn’t
she?

“I followed you last night.”

She pulled her hand back. “You what?” The
pain in her eyes tore at his gut.

“I’ll admit, at first it was jealousy, pure
and simple. But worrying about you trumped that. After what
happened on your way back from Cassie’s, the thought of you driving
around alone...”

“You didn’t trust me. I told you…”

“Don’t interrupt.”

She glanced down a moment, then met his gaze
once more, a steely resolve in her fiery blue eyes.

Hurry up and fix this, jarhead.

Don’t you interrupt either, Joni.

God, he was losing his fucking mind.

He ran his hand through his hair, staring at
his unfinished breakfast, then gazed up at her again. “I watched
you go into the apartment, no idea who you were seeing, and then
waited at the end of the hallway for you to leave. I did a lot of
thinking out there. You were in there quite awhile.”

“We had a lot to talk about.”

“Don’t think I won’t turn you over my knee
right here in this restaurant, if you don’t hear me out before you
interrupt again.”

She leaned forward. “I’d like to see you try
it.” Adam growled. But the flush that crept up her cheeks and the
dilated pupils made his balls tighten. Maybe he still had a chance
with her.

“By the time you left, I was feeling like a
total ass. Long before you even came out, I’d made up my mind not
to go to the apartment to see who you’d been visiting. I knew you’d
tell me when you were ready, if I needed to know. I did trust you,
kitten.”

She smiled and he had an urge to take her out
to the backseat of the rental and take her fast and hard.
Damn
it, man, get your fucking head under control
. He reminded
himself how sick she’d been this morning and where they were
headed. But the pretty flush on her cheeks and the flaring of her
nostrils didn’t indicate anything but a horny woman at the
moment.

God, she might as well surrender to him
now—and he didn’t mean sexually. Damned if he’d fuck up with her
again. He may have driven to Chicago alone, but she'd be beside him
for the return trip.

“There’s more. I ran into my brother and
sister and they dragged me in to meet my mother.”

“You mean you’ve already met them all?”

“Yeah, and it went pretty well. I even
promised I’d stop by to say goodbye before we head back to Denver.
We can talk more about this later.” He looked down at her near
empty plate. “You finished?” He rose as he asked the question and
she nodded quickly and started putting the garbage on the tray.
They quickly disposed of the trash and headed out to the car.

After holding the passenger door for her and
making sure she was settled in her seat, he bent down, grabbed a
fist full of hair, and tilted her head back. “You fucking turned me
on in there, woman.” His lips bent down to hers and brushed hers
for a fraction of a second before his tongue plunged into her sweet
mouth. She tasted of syrup and Karla and he devoured her like a
starving man. His hand reached down and into the opening of her
coat to pinch her nipple. She groaned in pain and he felt as if
he’d had ice water tossed in his face.

So sensitive. What if it wasn’t liver cancer?
What if she had breast can…

Aw, Jesus Christ. What kind of fucking moron
was he?

“Karla, when was your last period?”

With heavy-lidded eyes, she tried to focus on
his face, panting for air. “Period?”

Why hadn’t he put it all together before?
Hell, they’d had unprotected sex twice—exactly twice as many times
as it would take to get her pregnant. Vomiting in the mornings,
tender nipples, wild-ass combo cravings like yogurt and pancakes.
With Joni, it had been oatmeal and peanut butter. Adam grinned when
he remembered some of the interesting places he’d found for her to
lick the peanut butter off him. But he’d drawn the line at the
oatmeal. And he wasn’t too sure about yogurt and pancakes. Maybe
he’d work with the syrup.