by S. R. Grey
Adam shot me a look, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. I shrugged, having no clue what Ms. Miserable was going on about. Just then, Jennifer made a grand gesture of pushing the door open as wide as it could go, thus allowing the mystery passenger she’d ferried over from the mainland to step into the café.
A tall man with a strong physique stopped just inside the entrance—hair the color of caramel and, as usual, in need of a cut, deep brown eyes that I hadn’t seen in months.
Oh…my…God. My words caught in my throat, but I somehow squeaked out, “Julian?”
Chapter 17
Julian’s eyes moved from me, nervously, to Adam and then back to me. “Maddy, what the hell is going on here?”
Just as I was about to ask my ex the same question, Adam turned back to me, the legs of his chair scraping harshly against the wooden floor of the café as he pushed it away. Standing, his eyes burned into me, a mixture of fury and disbelief. Without speaking a single word or waiting for any kind of an explanation, Adam turned his back on me.
Heading over to where Julian and Jennifer were standing, he paused momentarily but then walked past them without a word. Both Julian and Jennifer moved aside to give Adam a wide berth. Yes, an angry Adam was not to be toyed with. That much was certain.
After Adam left, Julian’s expression changed to one of confusion, while Jennifer just looked victorious. “You’re a fucking bitch,” I yelled, directing my comment at Jennifer as I rose from my chair.
I could no longer control my own anger. She had set this up somehow. I was sure of it.
But how? I had no clue, yet. But I was going to get to the bottom of it once I had a chance to talk with Julian—alone. But first I’d deal with Jennifer.
“No, Fitch,” she hissed. “From the priceless look on Ward’s pretty face, I’d say you are the fucking bitch, Bitch.”
“You did this,” I accused, stepping closer to where she stood near the door.
Julian, who I’d almost forgotten was there, interrupted, “Is anybody planning on telling me what the hell is going on?”
Jennifer spun on her heels. “You should ask Fitch since I have to go.” She giggled maniacally, reaching for the door handle. Crazy bitch. “It looks like you two have a lot of catching up to do.”
With that she was gone, leaving Julian staring at me with a look of befuddlement. What a mess. I stepped back and sank into my chair, defeated. This was just too much. Instead of having a discussion with Adam to define what was going on between us, I was stuck here with my ex-boyfriend. And based on Adam’s reaction, it was starting to look as if we might never be having that relationship discussion.
Julian came over to where I sat. “Maddy, what’s going on? Are you all right?”
His voice held nothing but genuine concern, making it even more likely he was being used as a pawn by someone. Jennifer? Ami? She is in Los Angeles, I thought.
I sighed. “Julian, what are you doing here?”
He slid into the chair across from me, the one Adam had been sitting in. “Your friend from up here tracked me down.” Ami, I thought. “She told me you were here. She said you’re in danger.” His voice dropped. “Maddy, we may not be together anymore, but I’ll always be here for you. If you need help getting out of here, I’ll do whatever I can to help. If that guy is—”
“Julian,” I interrupted, “I’m not in any danger.” Small lie.
I explained how Ami was unstable and had obviously overreacted for whatever reason. With the nagging fear that—maybe—she did know something, and I really was in some kind of peril, I tried to convince Julian I was fine. I explained I was just here working on a book.
Naturally he didn’t buy it.
“Really, Maddy?” He looked at me skeptically. “Are you here working on a novel…or working on that guy who just left?”
Both, I thought but answered, “I’m working on my next novel. That’s all.”
Julian still didn’t look as if he believed me, but he nodded nonetheless. Quietly he said, “I can go back over to the mainland tonight if that’d be better for you.”
Although I knew it would be better, based on Adam’s behavior, I couldn’t just dismiss Julian after he’d traveled all this way just to make sure I was OK. Besides, I was certain Jennifer had left for the night, so he’d have no way back anyway.
“No. You can sleep at my place tonight. The ferry will be here tomorrow morning. You can go back then.” His eyes questioned mine, and to avoid any confusion, I hastily added, “I have a really comfy sofa. You can sleep there.”
We left the café, and by the time we’d reached my cottage, I felt so bad about the whole situation that I insisted I stay on the sofa and Julian take the bed. It took awhile for him to agree, but he finally acquiesced. I quickly showed him around upstairs, grabbed a pair of pajamas from the dresser, and left Julian to his own devices in my bedroom. Hurriedly I made my way back downstairs.
After enough time had elapsed for Julian to fall asleep, I dialed Adam’s cell phone. It went straight to voicemail, so I left a message, asking him to “please call me as soon as possible” so we could talk.
Once I shrugged out of my clothes, I slipped on the comfortable, oversized flannel pajamas I’d brought down from upstairs. With little cartoon dogs and cats all over them, they were the unsexiest ones I owned, making them a perfect choice in case Julian wandered downstairs for something. Encouraging him was the last thing I wanted to do. Drowsy, I turned out the lamp and lay back on the sofa. With a throw pillow beneath my head and a quilt thrown over my body, sleep came quickly.
At some point in the middle of the night, I woke up abruptly, certain I’d heard footsteps close by. “Julian?” I whispered, allowing my eyes to adjust to the shapes and shadows in the room, illuminated only by slivers of moonlight pouring in through half-closed blinds.
“Not your ex-boyfriend,” a voice purred from close by, startling me.
I shot upright and pulled my legs up to my chest, but then the shape at the foot of the sofa came into focus. “Adam,” I ventured. “W-w-what are you doing in here?”
Stepping around the arm of the sofa, he sat down beside me. My heart began to race in both fear—and anticipation—of what was coming next. I noticed Adam had changed clothes; he now wore all black—black leather jacket, black low-hanging jeans, black T-shirt that clung enticingly to the lean muscles of his chest. He looked dark and dangerous. And, I hated to admit, sexy as hell.
“Shhhh.” Adam’s tone was low and mocking. “You don’t want to wake up your houseguest, now do you? After all, your ex-lover probably wouldn’t approve of my being here.”
“He was more than a lover, Adam,” I snapped, glancing to the staircase. It was clear Adam knew exactly who Julian was, so I added, “How did you know who he was anyway?”
My uninvited guest chuckled as he shucked off his jacket, the scent of leather…and Adam…wafting my way. “I certainly hope you don’t allow just any guy who happens upon the island to sleep in your bed,” he chided.
“Seriously, Adam,” I said. “How did you know?”
“Maddy, Maddy, so naïve,” he tsked, draping an arm casually on the back of the sofa. “Do you really think I wouldn’t have thoroughly checked out your previous, uh, suitors?”
A flare of anger blazed through me. Was there anything Adam didn’t know about my life? Irritated, I hissed, “What are you doing here? I know I locked the doors, so how’d you even get in?”
He held out a keychain with several keys attached. “Madeleine, do you really need to ask?” He jangled the keys softly. “Nothing on this island is off-limits to me.”
I swallowed hard, the implication of his statement not lost on me. As if to punctuate his meaning, Adam stood, kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head. His sculpted bare chest, bathed in silvery moonlight, h
eld my eye. At least until he casually threw his shirt to the floor, flipped open the top button on his jeans, and then dropped back down to the sofa in a crouch.
I gasped as he crawled up the sofa toward me, trapping me in a cage created by his arms. I curled my knees tighter to my chest, but he reached out and adjusted each one—none too gently—to either side of his body. With one arm, muscles taut, holding him up, and his other hand on my knee, he whispered, “So Madeleine, who invited your friend to my island?”
“Not me,” I answered, biting my lip, my eyes drawn to his flexing chest muscles as he lowered himself until our bodies were pressed together. “It was Ami,” I continued. “Uh, she’s in Los Angeles. She told him I was in danger,” I breathed out, excitement mounting as Adam trailed soft, warm kisses along my jaw and down my neck while I was speaking.
“Ami, huh?” he mumbled distractedly against my skin. “In California, eh? Crazy girl.”
This was a side of Adam I’d not yet seen, and though it frightened me, it also thrilled me. I knew I should make him stop, make him go—after all, what right did he have to break into this place?—but I couldn’t do it. The danger, the wrongness of it all with Julian just up the stairs. I had to admit, those things excited me.
I ran my hands along Adam’s bare skin, up his back, to his broad shoulders. God, I felt so small beneath him. He lifted up just enough to begin unbuttoning my pajama top—from the bottom up. Warm fingers grazed the skin of my abdomen, lighting tiny fires in their wake. Adam seemed more fixated on getting my clothes off than in discussing why Ami might be in LA. And at this point, so was I.
“How chivalrous of… Julian, is it?” Adam didn’t wait for an answer, though his fingers stilled at the second button from the top. “How chivalrous of Julian to rush all the way out here to my island to rescue you.”
“Adam,” I said, my breath quickening as he undid those last two buttons, “we both know I don’t need rescuing.”
“Oh, I beg to differ,” he murmured darkly.
My top gaped open and Adam pressed his chest to mine, skin to skin. He felt so good that I forgot about Julian sleeping upstairs, forgot about Ami and whatever she was up to. I just wanted Adam, all of Adam.
Arching up, our hips met, and I felt how very ready he was. “I want you, Adam, so much.”
For a moment I didn’t recognize my own lust-filled voice. But then a second of clarity made me say, “I don’t know if this is a good idea, though. What with Julian—”
“I happen to think it’s a great idea,” Adam rasped.
He reached down and grasped the waistband of my pajama bottoms. “Not to mention we have some unfinished business we never got to last night.” And with that he adeptly slid the bottoms—along with my panties—down my legs in one fluid movement.
Mmm, maybe for a moment, I thought.
Adam settled his full weight on me, and I wrapped my legs around him. Our lips met, the kisses sloppy and desperate. My hands explored the hard planes of his toned body, and though I was almost naked, his damn jeans were still on, and getting in the way. Groaning in lust and need, I clumsily sought the zipper, pulling at it until I was able to reach in and feel—Adam moaned—his thick and heavy shaft. “Oh God, Adam.” My words were jumbled and incoherent as he pumped into my hand, jeans sliding lower and lower with each thrust.
Adam’s fingers sought my own heat, and soon they were sliding along folds wet with desire. When his fingers entered me, my body moved and rocked with the frantic rhythm. Skin to skin, dampened with sweat, we twisted and grinded against one another. Raw and primal, this was no act of love. Adam was here to stake his claim, mark his territory. And I was all too willing to submit. Angling my body, I got close enough to rub my wetness against his hard shaft. With a sharp intake of breath, he stilled my hand. “Maddy,” he said, his voice low, his breaths ragged. “Slow down.”
Clarity came to me. Suddenly everything we were doing felt not wrong, but not right either. Feeling a sudden need to cover my nakedness—out of embarrassment or out of guilt, I wasn’t sure—I pushed Adam away from me. He complied, and I buttoned my pajama top, my fingers clumsy as I scanned the floor for the rest of my clothes. Adam, seemingly knowing what I was looking for, handed me my pajama bottoms from the other end of the sofa, the panties still tangled up in the mess of material.
“What were we thinking, Adam?” A lump rose in my throat. Blinking back tears, voice unsteady, I hissed, “God, my ex is just up the stairs. Do you realize how wrong this is?” I sat up and awkwardly tugged my panties and pajama bottoms on.
Adam moved away from me and adjusted himself back into his jeans. Quietly he said, “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here tonight.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” I agreed. “Why did you? Why, Adam?” I’d gotten the tears under control, and now I was angry. “Did you come here to check up on me? Or are you here to make some kind of male territory-bullshit statement?”
Adam didn’t answer at first. But as he finished dressing, he said, “I’m sorry, Maddy. I guess I thought… Whatever I thought, I was wrong. It shouldn’t be like this.” He raked a hand through his already-mussed hair but said nothing more.
“Just go,” I said, disgusted. It was so obvious his reasons for coming here were rooted in nothing more than jealousy.
Adam left, but before he did, he slid the key he’d used to come in off the key ring and tossed it onto my coffee table—all without saying a single word. Whether that meant he was sorry for having broken in or that he wasn’t coming back, I had no idea.
I awoke early the next morning, and though Adam had left hours earlier, his scent—leather and just pure male—was all around me. I hurriedly dressed, throwing on the same leggings, sweater, and Chucks from the night before. Not wanting to revisit the events of last night, I rushed into the kitchen and toasted a couple of bagels, made some coffee, and waited for the inevitability of Julian making his way downstairs.
Just as I was pouring coffee into a cup, I heard a sleepy voice from the doorway, “’Morning, Maddy.”
“Good morning, Julian,” I answered, trying to sound chipper as I kept my back to him and grabbed another cup from the cabinet. Julian yawned, and unable to face him, I softly added, “Did you sleep well?”
“Great, actually,” he answered, thankfully oblivious to what had occurred in the living room.
I took a deep, steadying breath and turned to him. “Coffee?” I tried to smile as I held the steaming cup out to him.
He stepped forward, taking the cup and saying, “Thanks.”
I hesitated and then said, “Julian, you shouldn’t have come all the way across the country to see if I was OK. You could have just called, and I’d have told you everything was fine.”
He leaned against the counter. “Maybe I just needed a reason to see you, Maddy.”
I took a step away to further the distance between us. My emotions were already all over the place. This was the last thing I needed to deal.
I guessed Julian could see it in my face because he said, “You’re seeing somebody, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I nodded, glancing away. “I’m sorry, Julian.”
“Hey, it’s OK,” he said softly, and actually he did sound OK with it. “Is it the guy who was with you at the café?”
I raked my fingers through my hair, much like I’d seen Adam do so many times. “Yeah, that’s him.”
Julian’s eyes, a touch of sadness in them, met mine. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy.” He took a deep breath. “He’s a lucky man,” he said wistfully on his exhale.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Now, I really felt guilty for messing around with Adam while Julian had slept, blissfully unaware, upstairs. I wondered if he’d be so gracious and understanding if he knew what I had done. Worse yet, Julian
probably thought Adam and I were in love. And while there was no doubt in my mind that I loved Adam, I still had no clue if he loved me in return. Just because he’d come here, jealous, to “claim” me with Julian under the same roof did not mean that what he felt for me was love. He was just letting me know that he had access to everything on this island, including me. Hell, he’d even let himself in, using a key I hadn’t even been aware he possessed.
In almost complete silence, things more awkward than before, we finished our coffee, and I drove Julian to the dock. After he was gone, I returned to the cottage.
It was an unseasonably warm day for mid-October, and I felt like I should stay outside, allow the fresh air to clear my jumbled thoughts. Maybe even go for a run. But I was too exhausted, so I lay on the sofa, pulled the quilt over my spent form, and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
When I finally woke up, it was late afternoon. Some clouds had rolled in, but after a quick peek outside, I found the temperature was still quite mild. I went upstairs, changed into sweats and a T-shirt, then laced up my running shoes, and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. Before leaving the cottage, I checked my cell. No messages from Adam. Not a single one, nothing. Not even after last night. Jerk. He was really starting to piss me off.
Suddenly I snatched the key Adam had tossed onto the coffee table and stomped out the front door. Hurt, angry tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. Fucking bastard. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this kind of a relationship. Maybe Jennifer was right, maybe the powerful Adam Ward was just playing me.
Knowing exactly where I was heading, I started north along the path that led to Adam’s property. Picking up speed with every step, I soon broke into a full run along the trail, branches scraping unmercifully at my bare arms. Tears, previously held back, streaked down my cheeks. Adam’s actions last night played over and over in my head, along with Jennifer’s harsh words. Novelty, my ass. I’d show him.