Oh . . .
This was why she and Zach didn’t like holding hands with him in public and merely tolerated it.
He did that. To his brother and sister—all the time.
Wow.
He did. He made them feel awkward and uncomfortable. Nobody else.
It wasn’t normal. Adults didn’t do that. He got it now.
He tripped as he raced after Mari, his heart hammering like crazy.
She turned a little, smiled and reached out her hand. He took it.
“I wanna go, too,” he said. “Don’t leave me behind.”
“Okay. I won’t.” She beamed at him, placed her free hand on his forehead and brushed his sweaty bangs back. “I would’ve missed you if you didn’t join me anyway.”
“And that’s a bad thing, right?”
She nodded, still smiling at him like he was better than this concert she loved so much.
He turned to see his sister looking miserable and all alone.
“Should I invite Sam to come, too?” he asked.
“Nah. She’s a big girl. Maybe she’ll meet somebody.” Mari walked away with his hand in hers, making him leave with her.
They ordered two sodas at the concession stand in the back. The place stunk of beer. It made him want to plug his nose, but instead he tucked his nose into her hair that smelled much better.
He eyed the cups when they were filled and handed to her, his mouth and stomach leaping with anticipation and joy. God, he loved soda and hadn’t had one in a while.
Thank God the cups were Styrofoam so Sam couldn’t see through the cup and know what they had. She’d get upset like she always did.
Why couldn’t she be more nice like the soda he enjoyed so much?
“Here you go,” Mari said, handing him his.
“Dr. Pepper,” he peeped at the last moment before they left the concession stand.
He never drank anything with caffeine. It was time he broke two rules. He giggled as he buried his face back into her hair.
She reached up and patted his cheek with her cool hand that had been holding his cup for those brief moments. It felt nice—like her. Cool to the touch and very inviting.
She smiled at him, then paid. She’d told him ahead of time she’d be buying anything and everything they wanted once inside the concert arena so he was to come without any cash at all since he paid for the tickets.
It was hard, but he’d agreed and then had groped her unrestricted in her bedroom when nobody was around. She even let him suck on her nipples for a really long time. It was the best thing his tongue ever did. Better than fizzy soda tickling his taste buds.
Mari grinned at him.
Adam’s stomach already felt all bubbly inside like it was filled with soda, and his heart thudded as they stepped away with her smiling wide.
“Drink as much of it as you can now before your watchdog sister figures it out,” she said.
He nodded, jammed in his straw she handed him and then gulped it down in long pulls.
She stood and watched him, ignoring her drink.
“Good?”
He nodded and held his cup with both hands, curling around it and taking a few more frenzied swallows.
“So good,” he said between breaths. “It’s my favorite.”
“I can tell.” She chuckled and motioned for him to follow her back.
They walked slowly, until Pearl Jam was announced. The lights went out completely and the stage lit back up.
She started hooting and running. He gripped the back of her shirt and raced after her.
When they got back to their spot, Sam glared.
“What is that?” she hollered, pointing to his half-empty gargantuan cup.
“A drink,” he said, loud enough she could hear.
She rushed right over to him, peeking in through the semi-clear lid. Her jaw clamped down, her cheeks rounded and her eyes crinkled at the corners. “I don’t think so!”
She snatched it out of his hands, walked right over to the trash can a few steps away and tossed it inside.
“Mari . . . She took it,” he whispered, his face dropping.
Mari was at his side. “You can share mine. Just don’t let her see.” She got on her toes and kissed his ear.
“Okay. But I liked having my own.” He hugged her.
Sam rejoined them and asked if they’d seen Zach. They said they hadn’t.
Mari’s eyes got a little glassy as she began singing and shaking around to the music, her head nodding along.
Adam took her drink, set it down and got behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
They sang together at the top of their lungs, and he even forgot to be upset about his soda. Well, sort of. Every now and then he’d see Mari’s cup, remember what his sister did, and it would make his spine almost sting like it was filled with venom.
On the next song, Mari turned in his arms, and her tongue was in his mouth so fast, he gasped. She was gripping at the back of his neck, bumping her hips into him.
She pulled him into a thicker section of the crowd, escaping Sam.
His feet moved like they were encased in lead, but he was careful to not trip and fall into her, since he was walking without looking, his lips surrounding hers.
It was hot in the center of this mass of bodies, but he didn’t care. Mari’s hands were up his shirt, almost clawing at his chest.
Where could he pull off her clothes? Where was a safe place to do that? His dick wanted that badly. So did he.
She scraped her nails over his nipples. It hurt a little, but it made his dick really hard, so he let her do it. The pain was so good. The suffering was wonderful.
She nipped at his neck, panted and even undid the top button on his jeans. A few times he thought she was going to shove her hands down his pants. He questioned himself on whether or not he’d stop her.
It seemed like most of these people were half-drunk and strictly paying attention to the band. They wouldn’t notice if Superman landed in front of them.
And that was a shame, because Superman was nice and would most likely give them a ride on his back out to their car after this concert was over if they were paying attention and befriending him. It would mean less waiting . . .
“God, you’re so hot, Adam. Fuck—you’ve got me so worked up tonight!” She groaned and actually pinched one of his nipples.
His body jerked back in response, and she nearly jumped on him, but he knocked into somebody behind him.
When he turned around to apologize, he was staring at a woman’s behind.
She was on a big guy’s shoulders, and the hair and clothes of the guy looked familiar.
The blonde woman on his shoulders looked very curvy, so she had to be kind of heavy to hold up there.
Superman would have an easy time of it. This man must be his cousin, because he was holding her with ease as he swayed around.
“Love this song!” the man shouted.
That’s when Adam realized who it was.
He tapped the Superman’s-cousin guy on the shoulder. “Zach?”
His brother turned and smirked. “Hey, man, having fun?”
“Yeah. But who’s that?” Adam pointed to the woman on top of him.
Zach shrugged a little. “I have no idea. She’s hot, though, right?” His eyebrows bounced up and down. The blonde wiggled her seat, and it made Zach smile wider.
Adam stepped back and made a face.
Why would his brother put some strange woman up there?
Then he looked at them together. Her private parts were right by his face. He wanted that—with Mari.
He marched over to her, hoisted her up on his shoulders and when she yelped, he bit her right inner thigh.
She squirmed, but he refused to put her down.
A moment later, she settled, kind of swayed around up there and sang even louder to the music. She pounded her fist to the music, and he enjoyed the scent of her womanhood overtaking his senses.
&nb
sp; Several times he brushed his lips across the inseam of her tight jeans. Once, he even tugged lightly at it with his teeth.
She tapped his head, signaling she knew he was being naughty.
His hands roamed up and down her legs, and he no longer cared they were in public.
She was his. All his, and he was going to touch her all he liked. Even Superman couldn’t stop him.
He reached around and fondled her backside.
When she tapped his head this time, he jumped, to make her pop off him for a second and make her tush land hard on his shoulders.
She laughed, so he did it again.
The song ended, and a really loud one blared right away.
Adam shouted right along with Mari, and halfway in, he spotted Sam, huddled in a corner, crying while on her phone.
He quickly set Mari down and elbowed his way through the crowd to get to his sister.
“No . . . He took off. I don’t know where he is!” Sam grabbed at her dark, straightened hair just above her shoulders. “I have no idea. And, no, she’s not watching him at all. She gave him a soda, Dad!”
Adam stopped in front of her. She saw his shoes and looked up.
“There you are!” Sam scrambled to her feet and wrangled him into a strangling hug. “He just found me,” she said into her phone and hung up.
“It’s not like I was lost,” he said and pried her hands off him. He stood back and waited for her to calm down.
She swiped her tears away and glared. “You ditched me!”
“I did not. We’re all having fun. We can move around and be in a different area if we want to. And I wanted to be alone with Mari a little bit. You don’t have to watch us every second, you know.” He stepped closer so nobody else would hear. A soft hand touched his back, and he knew it was Mari. “I’m a grownup, and I’m older than you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean—that you don’t need my help anymore?” Sam’s lips quivered, and her chin twitched.
“Now you’re understanding. I’m a lot better now. I don’t want you around all the time.”
“Fine. I’ll call Dad back and have him pick me up, since this hack-band is doing nothing but giving me a headache!” Sam looked straight at Mari, and her smile was scary, making Adam place Mari behind him so she was hidden from his sister’s sight.
They watched Sam go, and once she was out of sight, Mari took him over to a less populated area, sat down with him and they held hands, both too exhausted to celebrate the music anymore.
That’s what Sam did to them. Sucked the happy air right out of their lungs.
Even Superman couldn’t do that. She was like the kryptonite of concerts and lungs with breath in them.
Then a sad, icky, thick feeling poured down inside him. He shivered for a second.
This made them even. It was only fair Sam was angry and made it all less fun.
I embarrassed her in public for years—now she’s done it to me.
He dropped his head into Mari’s lap and rested his eyes.
Next time he would not buy Samara a ticket, and things would start out great like they did tonight, and end even better than it started. With or without her or Superman. All he needed was Mari to have fun. That was all he required.
Chapter 3
“Adam, I need to talk to you,” his dad said when they got back from the concert.
“Sam is the one,” Adam said right away, pointing in the direction of her room since she wasn’t around.
“I don’t care about that.” His dad took Adam’s hand and left Mari standing in the hallway.
They headed toward his office, and before Adam stepped inside, he looked behind him only to see Mari’s guilty eyes. He waved at her with a sad smile.
She waved back. He stepped inside, then shut the door behind him.
“I have a few questions,” his dad began.
Adam took a seat at the lounger by the window.
His dad usually sat at his desk when he lectured him about stuff, but this time he sat on the edge of the cushion by Adam’s legs.
“First, I want to say Mari really needs to take off that ring. You didn’t give it to her, and it’s”—his dad turned his head a little and looked at the door, then his voice went down a little in volume—“disconcerting.”
“It’s stuck. We’ve tried a few times to remove it.” Okay, so Adam was off by a time or two. They only tried once, and Adam begged her to keep it on, because he really liked the way it looked on her finger. She’d smiled, kissed him and left it alone.
“Well, I’ll cut it off for her then,” his dad offered.
“No! It was her mom’s wedding ring. We can’t hurt it.” Adam wheezed a little, his voice rough from all the singing and screaming at the concert.
“I’ll discuss it with her then. I hoped you could talk to her about it, but it’s fine. I’ll take care of it.” His dad looked down at the floor. “The other thing I want to talk to you about is why you were sleeping in the hallway recently. Sammie reported it to me this morning. Did Mari ask you to do that?” His dad’s dark eyes were hiding something.
“Why would she do that?” Adam coughed and cleared his throat. He really needed some water. He got up and walked over to his dad’s desk and grabbed his mug sitting there. Before his dad could yell at him that it was coffee and not to drink it, Adam had already taken two big swallows.
“Never do that!” his dad said sternly, though his voice was at a normal level. “Always ask before you drink something of mine. You know that, Son.”
“Sorry. I was thirsty, and you want to talk when I just want to get in bed with Mari and go to sleep.” Adam’s hands flew to his mouth and covered it as his eyes went wide.
Why the hell did he say that? Now his dad would be mad!
“That’s what I thought. She did ask you to get in bed with her while we’re all sleeping . . .” His father stared straight at him.
“No . . . No! I want to sleep with her, and I’ve broken into her room before and slept next to her, not with her—there’s no sex. She won’t allow it, like I’ve told you before. She told me to leave once she woke up, but I didn’t want to, so I’m gonna sleep as close to her as I can get. It means I’ll sleep in the hallway in front of her door.”
“This is nonsense, Adam!” His dad clucked his tongue and looked away like he was disappointed in his son.
“It’s not nonsense. Now that’s she’s here, I need to be touching her while I sleep. I’ve been having trouble sleeping, and I worry I’ll have nightmares or the numbers will come back. It makes it hard to breathe, and I get sweaty. It’s bad, Dad. I need to be with her. Please, can I? Don’t say no. Say yes, and be good about it.” Adam reached out and took his dad’s hand in his.
In return, his dad patted the top of Adam’s hand with his other one.
“I can’t allow that, and I think you know why . . .”
“Fine . . .”
“Fine?” His dad’s brows rose. “How are you being so calm about this?”
Vegas. Head to Vegas. That’s all you need to do, Adam. He can’t stop you.
Adam took a breath. “Because, it means I’ll have to talk Mari into marrying me sooner, and we just won’t have a honeymoon provided by you.” Adam’s lips twitched into a slight smile.
“Why are you doing this to me?” His dad’s voice cracked, and he frowned. “Why? I don’t get why you’re doing this.”
“How bad did it hurt you when Mom left?”
“That has nothing to do with this and your current manipulative tendencies,” his dad replied.
“It’s similar.” Adam squeezed his hand. “Remember how empty your bed felt? How it was harder at night to let your mind rest and your body do the same? That’s how I feel. I know I should’ve never gotten in her bed in the first place, because I can’t stand to be without her now, but I did. Even if I hadn’t, though, I think my heart would still hurt because it only wants for her to be near me. I give you my word—I’ll wait until Mari and I
marry before having sex with her.”
His dad’s mouth was open, and he acted like he wanted to say something, but he pointed with his other hand instead and his eyes scrunched.
“I’ll follow whatever rules you set,” Adam said, his eyes pleading.
“I want that door left open, and expect me to check on you both randomly whenever I want in the middle of the night.” His dad’s finger wavered a little but then straightened out.
“We can do all of that.” Adam fought to keep the smile away.
“You keep your shirt on. Sammie said you were half naked. That’s asking for trouble. In fact, both of you will keep all your clothes on whenever you’re sleeping. I expect you to leave her room the minute it’s time to get up and get ready for school.”
“Uh, can I make another request?” Adam squeaked.
“What? Now you want to bathe with her?”
Adam’s cheeks heated. Good idea, but not what he was going to say. Though, he kept thinking lately it was time he broke in to her bathroom and showered with her again. It was so nice last time. Better than nice. Orgasm nice—and that was like a soda on a hot day, but in sexual ways. “No, um, I was thinking my bed’s bigger than hers. Can she sleep in my room? And I’m more comfortable in there, so it seems the better choice.”
“Fine,” his dad said with a huff. “She’s not moving in, though. Her stuff stays in Zach’s room. And I’m not even sure I want you telling Sammie or Zach about this. Then they’ll think they can have their love interests in their rooms all night, too.”
“Won’t they figure it out when my door’s open and Mari’s in there with me?” Adam sat up a little straighter. He had a warm, happy feeling in his chest. It was like a bubble of love, caressing his insides some. Thoughts flitted through his mind of how Mari would react when he told her the good news about his dad giving them permission.
“This is how it’s gonna be with her here from now on, isn’t it? Everything’s so complicated . . . Forget it.”
“No! It’s fine. We won’t say anything,” Adam said, squirming.
“I mean forget about hiding it. I’ll explain to them. Maybe they’ll surprise me and be mature about it.”
Harkham's Choice (Harkham's Series Book 2) Page 3