Before he knew what was happening, she’d bunched the front of his T-shirt in her fist and yanked him closer, her stern expression taking no prisoners. “Listen, mister. If this has anything to do with what’s back in Point Beacon, let me set you straight. I’m tired of people seeing me as nothing more than James’s younger sister. I’m my own person. I’m Mel. I run a whole frigging library. I go for what I want. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
Eyes wide, Adam blinked at her, fresh adrenaline coursing through his blood. The spark of confidence in her eyes stoked the embers inside him to flames once more. Her grip on him wasn’t tight enough to hurt, just enough to let him know she meant business. His pulse galloped like a Thoroughbred stallion. “Now either close your eyes and pretend you’re having sex with the most beautiful woman in the world, or keep ’em open and focus on this.”
His back hit the wall at the same moment she tugged her shirt over her head and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall to the ground. All that creamy, soft skin covered only by a few small scraps of lace. Her perfume—cherry blossoms and vanilla—filled the air, intoxicating him. She moved toward him again, keeping him in place with one finger pressed to the center of his chest.
“Go ahead.” She’d gone from insecure to siren in two seconds flat. “Kiss me.”
Adam obeyed, feeling proud that she’d taken his lessons on flirting to heart. In fact, she’d more than exceeded all his expectations. His lips captured hers before skimming across her cheek and down her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat. He lavished attention there until she moaned, her head falling back. Her response sent a delicious thrill through him, the power of knowing how she responded to his touch. He moved lower to trace his tongue over her collarbone, and she gasped. Adam cradled her head in his palm, and she thrust her fingers into his hair, her nails scraping his scalp as he sucked and licked and kissed and nipped.
Mel felt so good. Tasted good. Smelled good. All his pent-up urges went into hyperdrive, and he picked her up, carrying her over to the windows, where he sat her on the marble ledge. She shuddered as her bare skin pressed against the cool glass, and he broke away to look into her passion-glazed eyes. Her tiny nod gave him the invitation he needed.
Adam was so lost in their kiss he barely had time to lift his arms when she yanked his shirt from the waistband of his jeans and tugged it over his head. He did stop her, however, when she reached for the button at his waistband, only because this was her first time, and it had to be special. Perfect. If anyone deserved perfect, it was Mel, and even as broken and unworthy as he was, Adam vowed to give her that, if only for tonight.
He grazed her cheek with his knuckles, the simple touch sending another ripple of awareness through him. He wasn’t sure how he’d survive it when their deadline arrived, but he’d finally surrendered the fight. This was going to happen, and he wanted to relish every moment.
Adam gave her a small smile. “Years of fantasies are a lot to live up to. This should be a night to remember.”
“I remember everything about you.”
The sexy huskiness to her voice resonated through him, his blood pumping harder. He was no spring chicken in the sack, but this was Mel. He’d had her on an untouchable pedestal for so long. Now she was here with him—ready and willing—and he wasn’t sure how to handle all his intense, contrasting feelings—want, fear, need, way beyond like, edging toward…
No. He stopped those thoughts in their tracks, ignoring the squeeze of yearning in his chest. No L-word. Not tonight. Tonight was about passion and desire and ecstasy. That was all.
Maybe if he told himself that enough times he’d believe it.
I remember everything about you.
There were times, growing up, he would’ve given anything in the world to hear someone say they treasured him enough to remember him. And now here was Mel, handing him that gift with an open heart. He slid his hands down her back to settle in the small curve above her rear. Adam pressed her closer to his body and relished her tiny gasp. He couldn’t give her his heart, but he could give her the rest of him, for what it was worth, for as long as they had together.
She was so responsive, so uninhibited. He picked her up and walked backward toward the bed with her safely in his arms. The back of his legs hit the mattress, and he stopped, brushing his mouth over hers again, then turned and laid Mel on the bed before stretching out beside her, his muscles trembling with barely leashed tension.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked one last time, needing reassurance that all this was real and what she truly wanted.
“Yes.” She traced her fingers down his bare chest to the waistband of his jeans. “Beyond sure.”
Adam trailed kisses from her lips to her ear, then down the side of her neck. She arched against him, her breath panting hot against his skin, and he did his best to maintain control, forcing words past his tight vocal cords. “Slow and easy.”
“To start, yes.” Mel pulled away slightly, her cheeks flushed and eyes dark with passion. Then her little grin turned positively wicked as she tugged him close once more. “But it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.”
…
The first rays of sunshine peeked through the windows when Mel blinked her eyes open. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms, and she had no idea how long they’d slept. It was Saturday, and she had the rare weekend off, so it didn’t matter. She had nowhere to be today. Nowhere except here, with Adam.
My lover.
A shiver ran through her when she thought of what he’d done to her last night, what she’d done to him. What they’d done together. It had been incredible, unforgettable, unbelievably erotic, and yet so sweet it made her chest ache.
Adam’s soft snores rustled the hair on the top of her head, and she snuggled against his chest, her cheek rubbing against his jaw, now covered with dark stubble. She inhaled deeply, loving the scent of his skin, loving the way his arms tightened around her, as if he would never let her go. Loving everything about him, really.
Her restless movements must’ve awakened him, though, because next thing she knew, he was yawning, then kissing her temple. “Good morning. You’re amazing.”
Mel giggled, burying her face in his throat, suddenly shy. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
Adam chuckled, the sound rumbling beneath her ear.
“You okay?” he asked, shifting downward in bed so their faces were aligned. “Need anything? Water? Food? Ibuprofen? I always keep a bottle handy in my duffel bag.”
“I’m fine.” Mel ran her fingertips along his shadowed jaw, his concern threatening to melt her into a puddle of goo. But the last thing she wanted right now was for Adam to move, to get up and leave her. She wanted him staying right where he was. “Never better.”
He kissed her softly, then closed his eyes again, his breath evening out into the patterns of sleep once more. Mel lay there, watching him. She’d wanted to ask him all sorts of questions, her analytical side coming out again. Had she done all the right things last night? Had she pleased him as much as he’d pleasured her? Had it been good for him, too?
The moment had passed, though, so she just savored the feeling of being in his arms, reliving all the moments from the night before. The way he’d moved and tasted and sounded, the way his blue eyes darkened with desire, the way her lips still tingled from his kisses and her body ached in all sorts of new places from Adam’s touch.
Seducing her bad boy had been all she’d ever dreamed of and more, her feelings for Adam only growing deeper, stronger, richer.
She wondered if he felt the same about her.
You’re on your own with the love part. I don’t do love.
His words from when they’d first started this crazy project reverberated through her head, causing her heart to pinch and her breath to catch.
He didn’t do love. She’d agreed to that from the start, had known what she was getting into with him; still, she couldn’t squelch that little spark of hope that maybe t
hings had changed, that maybe he’d changed, because of his time with her. That maybe, just this once, she was enough, enough to make him want to take their relationship public and risk it all to be together.
Mel shook off those silly thoughts. No. That was her old self talking. The new Mel lived for the moment, threw caution to the wind, took life as it came at her.
Eyelids heavy, she laid her head over his heart, the smattering of dark hair covering his pecs tickling her cheek. Adam’s chest rose and fell, reassuring in its steady rhythm. Unable to help herself, Mel moved her hand to trace the line of hair trailing through the middle of his taut abs before disappearing beneath the sheet. Truth was, he’d more than lived up to the hype. In fact, he’d blown the hype clear out of the solar system.
Her body still trembled from the aftershocks.
“Whoa there, cowgirl,” Adam grumbled, peeking one eye open to peer down at her and placing a hand over hers. “Checkout’s at eleven.”
“Hmm.” She leaned up to see the clock on the nightstand. “It’s barely six now.”
Adam turned onto his side, and Mel propped one elbow on the mattress, resting her head in her hand. He gave her a brazen once-over, then smiled slowly, his sleepy blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Trying to make up for lost time?”
“Something like that.” Mel waggled her brows at him, laughing as he tumbled her over onto her back, his arms around her and his mouth claiming hers. Processing all her jumbled emotions could happen later. She wouldn’t worry about the future now. There’d be plenty of time for considering the consequences, to deal with the fallout. Given her birthday was only a few short weeks away, reality would return soon enough. Today, she’d treasure what she had.
Chapter Eleven
Mel felt like she had the words “wanton woman” stamped across her forehead as she sat at her parents’ dining room table on Sunday, sans Adam. He’d left her house earlier in the day, telling her it was probably best for them to not be seen together so soon after doing the deed. Given how her skin felt imprinted with his every touch and kiss, that was probably true.
Besides, today was weird enough as it was. Sunday dinners at the Bryant house were never this…quiet. Something was definitely up.
Finally, her mother broke the tension. “We have a surprise. James is coming home a day early! August thirteenth. So he’ll be able to come to your party.”
At first, Mel was too stunned to speak. Finally, she said, “What? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. Looking forward to getting home and getting settled in again.” Her dad smiled. “Be great to have him around again, huh?”
“Yeah. Great.” She slumped back in her seat. Not that she wasn’t glad to have her brother home, safe and sound. She was. But things had just started to blossom between her and Adam. She didn’t need the reminder of how soon it would all be over. She rubbed her forehead, feeling the weight of her mother’s stare. “What time is he arriving on the thirteenth?”
“Not sure. You can ask him yourself,” her mother said, cutting up more of her food. “He’s due to call any minute.”
Ugh. She wasn’t ready to talk to James yet. Not after spending the last two nights in his best friend’s arms. Mel pushed to her feet and picked up her half-finished plate, heading for the kitchen. “I’m not very hungry.”
The phone rang as she was dumping the remains of her dinner into the trash.
Her parents’ cheerful voices echoed through the room, and Mel cringed. She had to tell James, but part of her wanted to keep the secret a little bit longer. To stay in their blissful bubble of solitude and not deal with the outside world or their deadline just yet.
Unfortunately, that decision was taken out of her hands when her mother walked into the kitchen, holding out the cell phone to Mel. “James wants to talk to you privately.”
Mel nodded and took it reluctantly, ducking out into the backyard where she wouldn’t be overheard. She stalked to the far side of the grassy area, near the flowering hedges, and sat on the cold stone bench there. Forcing a smile, Mel did her best to sound like her usual sunny self. “Hey, James. What’s up?”
“What the hell’s going on with Adam?” James’s tone was an odd mix of anger and worry.
Uh-oh.
“How should I know?” she said, hoping the lie sounded more convincing than it felt. “I haven’t seen him lately.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
He knew? How could he know? Her heart tumbled to her toes, and she cleared her throat in case there was something that gave away the fact that she’d lost her virginity with Adam.
“A couple of guys from the garage saw you two riding around on Adam’s bike yesterday.”
A bit of weight lifted from Mel’s chest, and she inhaled much much-needed oxygen. Okay. James didn’t know about their “project.” She’d just been seen on Adam’s bike. No biggie. She’d make up some excuse, but all wasn’t lost. Not yet, anyway.
“I tried to talk to him earlier, but he blew me off,” James continued. “So now I’m coming to you.”
“Oh. Uh…” She fumbled fast for words. “My car isn’t, um, working. Adam happened to drive by while I was in my driveway and saw I needed help. He offered to give me a ride. That’s all. Sorry. We didn’t really talk much, though.”
“Hmm.” Her brother sounded thoroughly unconvinced, darn him. “Did that ride involve kissing you on your front porch, too?”
“What?” Mel felt frozen and numb. Then outrage, hot and fierce, spurned her onward. “Are you spying on me?”
“Are you dating Adam?” The counterquestion came out more as an accusation.
“If I am, why would it be any of your business?” Unfortunately, the words didn’t come out as stalwart as she’d wanted. She knew darned well why James would consider it his business. Because of Victory Vets. This is exactly why Adam hadn’t wanted to get involved with her. Still, she couldn’t afford to panic. She needed to think clearly and rationally about this until she could talk to Adam later. “I don’t know what people are telling you, but Adam and I are just friends, James. He was helping me out. That’s all.”
Seconds ticked by in agonizing silence.
“Does this have anything to do with your makeover? If this is another one of Lilly’s crazy projects, I swear to God I will—”
“You’ll what?” Mel covered her face with her hands, forcing herself to stay calm. “Seeing as how you’re half a world away right now, there isn’t much you can do.”
“I’m coming home soon,” James said, in true big-brother fashion. “And I want the truth.”
“The truth, huh?” Mel wandered to the far side of the yard, out of earshot of their parents’ home. With everything else that had happened that weekend, and her emotions still in a jumble, the last thing she needed was to take crap from her brother. She was half tempted to spout that old movie line about him not being able to handle the truth but went a different route instead.
“Let’s talk about the truth, James. From what I can see, the truth is you’ve lived the last eight years an ocean away from here, met people, done things. The most exciting thing I’ve done is go away to college two towns over and work with the people of Point Beacon on a daily basis. I decided to give myself a makeover because I needed a change. That’s the truth. Lilly helped a little. Adam did, too.”
“I bet he did.”
“Stop being an ass,” she snapped, her patience at the breaking point. “Finding people to date around here is hard, James. Most of the guys in Point Beacon aren’t exactly cream of the crop, if you know what I mean. Me being the local librarian doesn’t put me on the top of these guys’ most-wanted list, either. I needed people to see me differently, okay? I needed a chance to live.”
James gave an aggrieved sigh. “What did you do?”
“Adam took me to Indy. I had an appointment with the stylist Lilly uses on her photo shoots, then we had lunch and did some shopping. That’s it. Adam gave me advice, on dating and stuff.” She bi
t her lip, warring over whether or not to mention their second trip to Indy. Given the small-town rumor mill at play, he’d find out soon enough anyway. Better to put it all out there now. Well, almost all of it. “This past Friday, he took me to the Tipsy Wench—at my request—for practice. He kept an eye on me.”
“That better be all he had on you.” James gave a heavy sigh, his voice tight with tension. “I’m trying to protect you, sis. Adam’s avoiding me. He’s a player. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“I don’t need your protection. I won’t get hurt.” Mel hated lying to her brother. The truth was, she feared her heart might be shattered once James came home and she and Adam went their separate ways, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t continue to enjoy what time they had left together. “Stay out of this, James. You have no right to tell me and Adam what to do and—”
“What are you two fighting about now?” her mother said, walking out into the yard, followed closely by her dad.
“We could hear you shouting from the dining room, sweetie,” Dad said, his hands on his hips. “And if I can hear you, I’m sure the neighbors can, too.”
The day keeps getting better and better.
“Let me talk to Dad,” James said.
Mel rubbed her scratchy, sleep-deprived eyes. Out of patience and out of time, she played the one wild hunch she had left, keeping her voice low to avoid her parents overhearing. “You say one word to them about any of this, and I’ll blab what I know about that night between you and Lilly before you shipped out for Afghanistan. I don’t know everything, but I know enough.”
That shut James up, for once, confirming that there was indeed history between him and her best friend. Good. She wasn’t the only one with secrets to hide.
“I mean it.” Mel kept her voice low as her parents moved closer. “Promise me.”
Her brother exhaled slowly. “Fine. But once I get back in town—”
How to Seduce a Bad Boy Page 11