Adam pulled a distasteful face. Samara? Mature? That seemed a silly thing to say.
“What else did you want to ask me about?”
“How’s school going? Sammie’s worried,” his dad said. “Is she concerned unnecessarily, or do you have some things you need to tell me?”
“It’s good. Real good. I had to go to the office two weeks ago. It was a misunderstanding, but we worked it out.”
His father’s expression was unreadable.
“Why is this the first time I’m hearing of this?” His dad’s lips pressed tight together.
“Because it was small, and I didn’t need help with it from you.” Adam’s chest tightened. Was he in trouble?
“I want you to share anything significant, even the small things. How can I be there for you and help you if I don’t know what’s going on until there’s a big explosion? I care about the things that happen to you. All of them. Please communicate with me, and I’ll try to listen better.” His dad’s eyes softened, and his shoulders dropped with his exhale.
“Am I busted for being sent to the principal?”
“No. I’m actually relieved to hear you handled it yourself. I’m proud of you. You really have grown a lot. I don’t know if it’s something you’re purposefully doing on your own, or if Dr. Harkham’s right and it’s due to Mari’s influence on you.” His dad smiled.
“It’s Mari. It’s all her. She’s so beautiful all over—on the inside too. I want to make her happy. Always. I want to be a man in every way so I’m good for her.”
“She’s lucky to have a man like you interested in her.” He gripped Adam’s shoulder with his free hand and gently squeezed, then took his hand back, resting it at his side.
“Nope. I’m the lucky one—I’m the one that found the bravest, strongest woman in the world. She’s faced such awful stuff, and she’s gotten through all of it. I like hearing about her life. It makes me glad I have a loving family. I want to see her happy all the time to make up for all the sad times she’s had in her life.”
His dad sighed. “Okay—I think it’s late. Thank you for your honesty. It’s good to know you’ll trust me enough to ask for what you want, even if you think I’ll say no.” His dad paused and looked deep into Adam’s eyes. “You did think I’d say no, right? About this sleeping arrangement?”
Adam nodded. “She said there was no way you’d say yes, and she agreed with you. She wants to follow all your house rules and earn your respect.”
His dad let go of Adam’s hand and stood up. “She’s certainly getting there.”
“I think so too, and I’d like to tell her that if it’s okay with you? I don’t keep secrets from her if possible.” Adam stepped toward the door, and his dad walked next to him.
“You can tell her anything you like.” His dad patted his back, opened the door and let him out. He stayed in his office and shut himself inside.
Adam ran through the house and took the stairs two at a time.
Mari’s door was locked. He pounded on it.
She opened the door and looked half-dead.
“Come with me,” he said, taking her hand and tugging her behind him.
“Wha . . . I’m tired. I was in bed—ready to go ta sleep,” she said, her voice like sandpaper.
“You are. You’re sleeping in my bedroom with me. Dad said we could. The rules are we leave the door open, he can check on us whenever he wants, we keep clothes on and behave. Got it?” He smiled so big his teeth hurt.
“No way!” she whispered.
“I’m not lying.” She must have been tired. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
She gasped, but before she could say anything, he’d jogged them into his room and tossed her on the bed.
The door remained open.
“Dad didn’t say anything about me getting undressed and into my pajamas in front of you, though, so it’s allowed.” He ripped his shirt off and started to strip the rest of the way.
Mari got in his bed, pulled the covers up so they were over half of her face, but her eyes were open real big and directly on him.
He was slow, because his skin tingled wherever he found her eyes. If she looked at his chest, it goose bumped. If she stared at his legs, they prickled and the hairs were on end.
There was no way to explain how sore he got when she looked at the lump tucked into his underwear.
Once he was dressed, he climbed into bed.
He lay on the pillow and stared at her with his top arm draped over her waist.
“He didn’t say I couldn’t touch you,” he whispered.
She giggled. “I think that falls under the ‘behave’ rule.”
His fingers crept under the waistband of her loose sleep shorts. He danced the tips along the edge of her underwear. “I really like those little white panties you wear, Mari. I think a lot about having them balled up in my hand whenever I want them there. I think they should be there all the time.”
She closed her eyes, and her mouth snapped shut. Her breathing out of her nose was loud.
“What do you think about with me—for when we’re married, I mean.”
Her eyes opened. “You mean you want me to share a sex fantasy of mine?”
He smiled. “Mmhmm.” Man, she smelled terrific. He was thrilled she would make his bed smell like this every night.
“If I share my dirty thoughts with you—which I’m sure your family wouldn’t find just deviant, but downright fucked up—you’d be scared. They’re not normal, the things I want to do. I’ll follow your lead once we’re married.” Her body jerked a bit as his fingers continued to sample the little panties she wore.
“Tell me. I want to hear it. No matter how bad you think it is, I’ll like it, because I like everything about you. Even the things you think I won’t.” He pulled a little on the stretchy cotton fabric.
She swallowed, and her eyes grew heavy.
“I don’t know . . . I guess I think a lot about having my mouth on you while I milk your prostate. Some girls don’t like that, and I didn’t before, but with you . . . I don’t know. I really wanna give you head while I fuck your ass with my fingers. I think about how your gorgeous face looked when I sucked you off before, and how much more intense it would be if I did that to you. How you’d explode in my mouth with an even more intense orgasm.” She waited for his reaction.
“Wow . . . I . . . That sounds better than dirty. That sounds like something I want right now.” He took his hand out of her pants and adjusted himself.
It was stiffer than he thought possible.
“And what else? I want to know more,” he said.
She placed her hand on his cheek, and left it there. “Go to sleep, love. It’s late. We need to prove to your dad we can handle this. Finger fucking your asshole and blow jobs can wait.”
Uh, no they couldn’t. Why would she even say such a silly thing?
He rubbed himself on her. “Okay. I’ll try to behave.”
“Night,” she said, and she closed her eyes.
Dammit. That fantasy of hers was going to plague him all night long. Behaving wasn’t really an option in these types of circumstances.
His family would understand. And if they didn’t, it was okay. He’d figure it out after he got what he needed.
* * *
Mari woke up in Adam’s bed, feeling completely rested for once, even though he was extra handsy last night and very whiny about how much he wanted to fuck her and have her act out her fantasies on him that she’d shared.
She had to tickle his back for at least forty minutes to calm him down and get him to fall asleep.
After that, she spooned him from behind and fell asleep herself.
Feeling rested, though, had nothing to do with the cushy mattress or the position she’d slept in, but everything to do with Adam.
His presence was so comforting, she never worried about having nightmares.
She’d be indebted to Dustin ‘til the day she died for him giving
her that one gratifying night of rest.
If numbers were Adam’s nemesis—nightmares were hers. Something she rarely, if ever, could rid herself of.
At least he could sometimes fight his off and even find ways to avoid his panic attacks.
She sighed, rubbing her eyes.
The curtains were pushed open, and his room was really bright.
She glanced around and got a really good look at it.
He had rows of bookshelves on his walls stacked with tons of science and math textbooks and a few music books as well.
Had he read all these? Her mouth hung open when she saw the small stack of books on his bedside table—all about how to have sex, make a woman orgasm more than once, how to find her G-spot, and even one on the art of oral.
Was he studying these? He mentioned reading up on how to pleasure her, but she had no idea the extent . . .
“Knock, knock,” Samara’s voice came through the hallway, followed up by an actual rap at his door that was supposed to remain opened.
Had he closed it to give Mari some privacy or some quiet as she continued to sleep?
Where was he?
She grabbed his books next to her, leaned over and shoved them under his bed.
“Come in,” she said, sitting up and straightening herself.
Samara poked her head in with a look of relief that Adam was gone and Mari was dressed.
“Morning,” Samara said, chipper.
“Yeah, morning,” Mari said, rubbing her eyes again, then running her hands through her hair.
“Sleep okay?”
“You don’t really expect me to answer that, do you?” Mari gave her a look saying she needed to back off.
“Sorry . . . No, I guess not. That was rude, but I wanted to talk to you real quick before Adam finishes showering and gets back in here. He’s always with you, so I never get to talk to you alone, and since we don’t text or email each other anymore . . .” Samara drifted off. She stepped further into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. “Do you love him?”
“Yeah, Samara, I do. I can’t say I ever knew what love really was until I met him.”
“I . . .” Samara looked troubled, shifting her eyes away. “Did you know he couldn’t take chemistry because he can’t be near a Bunsen burner? Open flames and Adam . . . Well, yeah . . . He likes to burn stuff,” Samara rambled.
“No, I didn’t know. I mean, I knew he was kind of a pyro, but I—”
“Yeah, he really doesn’t belong in Honors Biology with you, but Physics is so beneath him, it was really his only option. He got in trouble at our last school because he knew more than the teacher did about physics, and he kept correcting her. She got irate and sent home a lot of nasty letters about him.” Samara looked up at the row of physics books on the wall next to her.
“Calculus is a joke for him, too. He’s too smart for that class. This whole education he’s putting himself through is ridiculous.”
“What do you want, Samara, really? Why are you in here telling me all this?”
Samara continued as if the question hadn’t been asked. “He’s so talented it’s downright sickening. He’s ambidextrous, you know?” She nodded as if having a conversation with herself. “It’s one of the reasons he’s so amazing at baseball. He can bat and throw almost flawlessly with both hands. Pitchers hate him because they don’t know until he comes up to bat which hand he’s gonna use.”
“Is there a point to all this?” Mari grabbed the pillow behind her and shoved it in her lap. She needed something to grab onto and dig her fingers into. Samara was making her insides near ready to explode.
Samara’s gaze flicked over to Mari, and there was this viciousness about her look, making Mari scoot back a little on the bed.
“You’re not good enough for him. And I’m not even talking about all the mistakes you’ve made. Even if you’d lived a church-girl life—you’d still pale in comparison to him. He’s like an angel, and there’s no way anyone other than me is ever going to get that. Mom didn’t. Dad and Zach don’t. So stop jerking him around. Leave already—stop pretending you plan to be in his future.”
“I already told you I love him, and I’ve been there for him. What do I have to do to prove to you he means the world to me, and I’ll do anything I can to protect him and help him continue to grow?” Mari’s heart stung at these cruel accusations.
Samara growled low in her chest. Her teeth were bared. “Stop it! Walk away! You might be helping him now, but what about a year from now? Two? This can’t last. You’re giving him sugar, you’re—”
“Sam?” Adam asked, stepping into the room fully clothed for school—hair wet and tousled.
“I was just chatting. I never get to talk to Mari anymore.” Samara shifted from one foot to the other and gave a small smile.
“Well, she lives here now, so you can talk to her more. Just don’t do it in my room. I don’t want anybody in my room anymore other than Mari.” Adam stepped away from the door and stood still, watching Samara like he was waiting for her to leave immediately.
Samara squared her shoulders, gave half a wave to Mari and left.
Once she was gone, he asked, “What did she say?”
“Not much. She still doesn’t like me,” Mari said.
“Some people are blind, and they miss out on great people like you. I’ll never do that.” He smiled and sat on the bed next to her. She tucked into his side automatically.
“I guess one of three people in your family being okay with me is decent odds.” She nuzzled her head into his bicep. He smelled unearthly—oak, light musk, and something so Adam that was completely edible.
Her mouth watered.
“Two of four,” he corrected her. “And I think Dad’s on your side now, so it’s probably three out of four.”
She waited for him to tell her more statistics, but he stroked her hair and kept quiet.
This reflective, tender Adam was her favorite. She felt safer than ever when he was like this.
She wrapped her arms around his ribs and hugged him tight.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He sighed.
“She wants me to leave, but I won’t.”
“Good, because I’d cry and chase after you.” He made a happy humming sound.
“Okay.” She sniffed back the tears as her heart swelled with so many feelings for him. “Breakfast?”
“Shower first, I think,” he said.
“Not happening. I want to smell like you all day.” She placed a peck on his chest, rolled over him and out of the bed, then waited for him to join her so they could walk downstairs and eat something.
He intuitively kept his arm around her all morning.
And she needed it.
* * *
Halloween was next week. Mari wanted to dress as a weeping angel. Adam wanted to know what that was, so without telling her, he went to retrieve her DVDs of Torchwood and Doctor Who from her mom’s place.
He couldn’t wait to surprise Mari with them.
Rap, rap, rap, rap . . .
He hovered in the doorway, hoping to shake Michelle’s hand right away to prove he was there for friendly reasons.
The door opened, and he grabbed her hand right away. “Ma’am, I am here for cordial reasons, nothing negative.” He shook it heartily.
Mari’s mom groaned and grimaced when he called her ma’am. “Is this a joke? Did Mari send you here to mock me?”
“No, Michelle. She’d never do that.”
“Oh, yeah? She’s a regular saint now, huh? And did she tell you to call me by my first name, because ma’am is ruder than hell? Makes me sound like I’m ninety years old.”
“All she did was tell me your name. I was trying both on to find out what you liked. You made a face at the first one, so I figured your first name would get a better reaction, and it did.” He smiled.
She did not smile. Her nostrils flared, though. That was kind of interesting. “She did set you up to
do this, didn’t she? It’s because she hates me and never wants to see me again.”
He let go of her hand and took a step back. His tongue felt twisted. “Uh . . . No, she doesn’t talk about you at all. But I think once she’s done with her time-out with you.” He shook his head. That sounded wrong. “I mean, when she’s had some time to feel better about you, she’ll probably want to see you again. Like maybe at the wedding?” His voice lifted at the end of his sentence.
Why was he here again, facing her? He’d never talked to her mom one-on-one before, and she was kind of scary with the way she looked at him like she wanted to destroy him.
Get the DVDs! Do it now before you say something wrong and make her mad!
“Uh, sorry, but I . . . Uh, ma’am—uh, Michelle . . .” He scratched his cheek. “Mari left her DVDs of Torchwood and Doctor Who. I came to get them for her.”
“Ugh! Not those stupid shows again. I figured you were here to get her bike.” She rolled her eyes.
“Bike?” He had no idea what she was talking about. Did Mari have a motorcycle?
“I forgot about those stupid geeky shows of hers. Come get ‘em,” she said, stepping aside and waving him in.
She left him alone to fend for himself.
Fortunately, he remembered seeing where Mari put the DVDs when he had watched one of the shows with her back when he’d only known her for a few short days.
He found them quickly, but there were more than he’d remembered.
Without asking, since he was unaware of where Michelle had gone, he went into the kitchen and found a plastic grocery bag.
He walked as quietly as he could, snapped up all her shows and plunked them in the bag.
Before leaving, he called out, “Thank you, my future mother-in-law. I hope you’ll like me some day. I’m a nice guy, and I’m good to Mari. Thanks for letting me in. Bye now!”
He opened the door, manipulated the handle on the door to lock it so she’d be safe in her home and he left.
On the drive home, there was so much music in his head he was singing as loud as he could.
This was going to be fun!
Harkham's Choice (Harkham's Series Book 2) Page 4