The Fifth Lesson (The Bay Boys #2) (29 page)

TWENTY-FOUR

Adam fiddled with an old handheld GPS device.
 
He’d found it buried in an old drawer upstairs and remembered using it when he was a teenager.
 
Not that he went anywhere special with it.
 
He’d just always loved his gadgets.

Now, pieces of it lay before him, scattered on his coffee table in the living room.
 
Christie would be here any minute.
 
But this kept him calm, kept his mind sharp and focused.

He was grateful for the distraction.
 
For the past couple weeks, he’d been struggling with his guilt and his feelings.
 
He’d been using Christie.
 
Adam could see that clearly now.
 
He’d tried to establish boundaries between them from the beginning, but he was weak around her.
 
She made him weak.

But he was determined to keep things from escalating tonight.
 
No more lessons.
 
They would start fresh as friends.
 
His guilt wouldn’t allow him to suggest anything more.

Was he really any different from Christie’s ex-boyfriends?
 
The ones who used her for sex?

He groaned, his hand faltering on the device.
 
Adam set it down on the table and dropped his head into his hands.

So much for staying calm.

Removing his glasses, Adam rubbed a hand over his tired eyes.
 
He hadn’t slept much this week either.
 
Not with Christie’s scent still lingering on one of his pillows.
 
He could’ve washed it, but whenever Adam had been about to strip the pillowcase, he’d stop.

Shit
.

He couldn’t even work upstairs in his loft.
 
Every time he thought about sitting down to paint some of his miniatures, he would spot Christie’s unfinished phoenix nestled innocently in the clasp he’d placed it in all those nights ago.

She’d already taken up residence in his mind.
 
Now, she filled up his house.
 
He wondered if he’d ever have peace again.

A series of soft knocks sounded at the front door.
 
Adam blew out a sharp breath before rising.
 
He almost felt as nervous as the first time she’d come over.
 
For their first lesson.
 
How long ago that seemed now…

When he opened the door, his breath caught in his throat.
 
Christie was even more beautiful than he’d remembered, like a siren meant to lure him to his demise.

Her peach colored dress hit just above her knees, revealing her golden skin and long legs.
 
Thin straps held up the delicate, light material, while an elongated ‘v’ highlighted her cleavage.
 
A simple golden pendant hung between her breasts while her usual bangles lined her wrists.
 
Adam tried not to gawk, but he was dumbstruck.

It was also pure torture.
 
Because he knew what lay beneath that dress.
 
Absolute perfection.

His gaze finally collided with her icy blue eyes and she gave him a knowing, secretive smile.

“Damn,” he murmured unconsciously.

“I’m guessing I chose the right dress then?” she asked, arching a brow.

Heat rushed up to his face and he cleared his throat, stepping aside to let her in.
 
“You’re always beautiful,” he told her sincerely.

“And you’re sweet,” she whispered, leaning up to press a soft, lingering kiss to the corner of his lips.
 
His skin sizzled with awareness.
 
It took everything in him not to turn his head and take her mouth.
 
He wanted to devour those lips of hers.

Boundaries.

Always with the fucking boundaries.
 
Sometimes Adam just wanted to say ‘fuck my morals’ and be selfish.

Adam swallowed when she pulled away.
 
He finally noticed her carrying bags of takeout as he shut the door behind her.
 
“You didn’t have to get dinner,” he said.
 
He’d been planning to fix some spaghetti once she arrived.

“I know.
 
But I was craving some chow fun.
 
I got some orange chicken and fried rice for you.
 
Hope that’s okay.”
 
She toed off her strappy bronze sandals in the entry way and followed him to the kitchen.

“It’s perfect.
 
Although I should warn you that I’m pretty territorial around orange chicken,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.
 
He was all too aware that the last time they’d seen one another, they’d been arguing in front of a dive bar.

“Now you’re just trying to make me jealous, Mr. Thornton,” she replied, smiling.

“What, you’re jealous of chicken?”

“No, I’m jealous of you being territorial.”

Adam’s heart gave a leap at her words, but he fixed his expression carefully.
 
He
was
territorial around her.
 
Especially at the bar last Friday night when that asshole was hitting on her.
 
He still got riled up whenever he thought about it.

He tried to ignore her words.
 
Friends, friends, friends
, he repeated in his mind.
 
Just friends, Adam.

“Fork or are you okay with chopsticks?” he asked instead, pouring glasses of water from the jug in the fridge.

“Chopsticks are fine,” she murmured, watching him.
 
Her avid gaze reminded him of their first lesson, when she’d confronted him about his aversion to touching.
 
Except now, he was afraid that if she
did
touch him, he’d lose his virginity right on the floor of his kitchen.

His hand slipped, allowing water to pour down the sides of one of the glasses.
 
He grabbed a paper towel and wiped it up, avoiding her eyes.

“So,” she started.
 
“What did you want to do tonight?”

“Well, I know how much you like TV marathons.
 
I have a couple options I think you’d enjoy.
 
If you’re up for it, of course.”
 
He went with the safe answer.
 
What he really wanted to say was more along the lines of, “Get you naked so I can worship every inch of your body.”

Christie studied him for a brief moment before she picked up the takeout bag and made her way over to the couch.
 
Adam followed behind her, carrying the glasses of water.
 
His mouth went dry at the sight of her bare, smooth shoulders.

Clearing his throat, he told her, “So, I have
Lost
,
Suits, Breaking Bad,
or
some good ol’
Doctor Who
.
 
Any of those sound interesting?”

Christie was separating their dinner from the plastic bag, but something told him that he’d already done something wrong.
 
Her movements were jerky, her posture tense.
 
“You pick.
 
Surprise me,” was her answer.

She didn’t
sound
pissed, so Adam took that as a good sign and popped in
Doctor Who,
one of his personal favorites.
 
He settled next to her on the couch, trying to keep a little distance between himself and Christie but failing.
 
She curled up next to him, tucking her legs to the side, her bracelets jingling as she positioned herself.
 
Her dress rode up a few inches as she squirmed, giving Adam a tantalizing view of her thighs.

Mercy
.

Adam’s jaw tightened, awareness prickling the side that Christie’s warmth was pressed into.
 
Luckily, he didn’t have to decide where to put his arm just yet because he leaned forward to collect the orange chicken Christie had brought for him.
 
They ate in tense silence—at least, it seemed that way to Adam—as the opening credits began.
 
Adam found himself giving a short explanation about the Doctors, to which Christie nodded.

A half hour passed in this manner.
 
Adam couldn’t even concentrate on the first episode because he was all too aware of every breath Christie took, every subtle movement she made.
 
Confusion welled up in him, making his brow furrow.

Was he making the right decision?
 
He thought he was doing the right thing by trying to keep distance between them.
 
But everything was fucked up.
 
Every part of his body screamed at the injustice of it and how wrong it felt.

Then he remembered that he’d all but blackmailed Christie into these idiotic lessons…and for what?
 
So that he could lose his virginity?
 
His birthday was in three days.
 
It didn’t seem likely at this point.
 
But ruining his friendship with Christie seemed like a strong possibility.
 
And that was the last thing he wanted.

His guilt soured his desires and confirmed his resolve.
 
But it was tested towards the end of the episode when he felt Christie’s gaze on him.
 
Adam turned his head to regard her, swallowing thickly.

He felt like she was trying to communicate with him.
 
Christie looked like she was on the verge of saying something, but was second guessing herself at the last moment.
 
His heart pounded in his chest.
 
Adam feared that if she were to say anything, it would change everything.

Don’t
, he urged her silently.
 
Just leave it.
 
It will be easier to walk away once this is over.

Christie’s eyes drifted to his lips, ignoring his desperate pleas.
 
Her eyes flitted back up to his gaze and then back down.
 
Leaning forward until they were only a breath away, she parted her lips and whispered, “Will you kiss me, Adam?”

His body jolted, as though her words were charged with electricity.
 
She’d just struck him dumb for the second time this evening.
 
He felt like a little boy again, the same boy who opened up a small camera and was paralyzed for a few seconds from electric shock when he’d touched the wrong parts.

He was paralyzed now, staring at this beguiling, beautiful woman.

Christie shifted up onto her knees, pulled her dress up a few inches, and swung a leg over his thighs.
 
His hands automatically circled her waist as she straddled him.

She leaned forward, nipping at his neck and jaw, teasing him with small bites and soothing licks.
 
He gave a tortured groan, his mind starting to catch up.
 
The electric shock had passed, but he was still left reeling.

Adam grew hard underneath her.
 
Her scent surrounded him and his mind fogged, making his lids heavy but his heart race.
 
Christie felt so damn good pressed against him like this.

Her lips traveled up, until she took his full bottom lip between her teeth.
 
Lightly sucking on it, she delved her hands into his hair, dragging him closer.
 
“Adam,
please
.
 
Kiss me.
 
I’m begging you.”

God, he was an awful person.
 
Because how could he resist that?

His resolve went flying out the window for a brief moment as he gave into the siren sitting in his lap.

“Yes, Adam,” she breathed, as he forcefully took her mouth.
 
He groaned at her taste, having almost forgotten it.
 
It had been too long since he’d kissed her last.
 
Adam’s hands clenched on her waist, before exploring the exposed portion of her thighs.
 
He kneaded and caressed the smooth, bare skin, delighting in her responsive moans.

When he’d kissed her after the barbecue all those weeks ago, Adam thought it would be the end.
 
It was a farewell kiss to whatever could’ve been between them.
 
What he hadn’t counted on was that that kiss had been only the beginning.

But the longer he continued their kiss, the longer reason had to creep in.

He remembered that their whole ‘relationship’ was a lie, built on pathetic desperation on his part.
 
Surely if they ventured down this path, they’d find that the foundation had been crumbling from the very beginning.

Which was why he pulled away and whispered, “Christie, I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” she whispered, capturing his lips one last time before he pulled away again.

He corrected himself.
 
In a hardened tone, he told her, “Won’t.”

Christie reared back as though she’d been burned.
 
Hurt crept onto her features, dulling the lust in her eyes.
 
Her kiss-reddened lips turned down into a somber frown, which Adam wanted to wipe away.

Even as his cock pressed painfully between them, he still found the resolve to tell her, “This can’t happen anymore, Christie.
 
I’m serious.”

“Why not?” she whispered.

“It was wrong from the beginning,” is what he told her.
 
He didn’t know how else he could explain his guilt.

“‘It was wrong from the beginning,’” she repeated, her voice completely monotone as though she couldn’t believe what he’d just said.
 
He held her gaze, even though he wanted to lower his eyes in shame.

“I used you, Christie,” he admitted, his voice rough.
 
“For something so trivial.”

“And I used you for my pleasure,” she responded immediately.
 
Pink colored her cheeks, her anger beginning to make itself known.
 
“I never had an issue with what we were doing, Adam.
 
We both agreed, we both enjoyed it.
 
Don’t martyr yourself.”