by Adam (lit)
“Like what?”
She had closed her eyes and now she opened them, at least half way. “I want those books on the shelves so I can get the boxes out of the way.”
“They can wait till tomorrow.”
“Sure, they can, but I can’t.” She sat forward and stretched her hands over her head.
His eyes followed the movement of her breasts beneath the smooth material of her red turtleneck sweater. Her breasts were larger than he remembered, because of the baby of course. He wondered how they would feel now, would they be as firm, would the nipples still be dark pink and get hard when he sucked them? His loins stirred, and he was thoroughly aroused with the memory of what he used to do to her breasts.
He sucked in a deep breath.
“I’ll help unpack the books.” He yanked off his tie, laid it over the back of the couch, unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lyn stared at Adam for a moment, shrugged, pulled herself from the chair and walked over to the stacked boxes.
“Do the books go in a particular format?”
“The boxes are marked if they’re fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks and children’s. They’re in alphabetical order in each box, but if they get mixed, I can straighten them out later.” She looked at the rolled up sleeves of his white shirt. “You’ll get dirty.”
“I’ve been dirty before.” He squatted and checked the first box. “Cookbooks.”
“Put them on that first shelf starting at the top. They’ll take up about half the shelf, then start on the non-fiction.”
“Are you going to stay up all night again?”
Adam and Lyn turned to see Trish in the doorway, eyes heavy with sleep.
“Hi, Trish.” Lyn sat back on her heels. “We’re just starting on the books. I don’t suppose you’d like a glass of wine and share one?”
Trish yawned and grinned. “Yeah. Sounds good.” Her glance went over Adam. “How about you, Adam?”
“Sure. I’ll take a glass. Thanks.” He turned back to the box in front of him and yanked the top open.
After a moment, Lyn did the same with a box marked fiction.
A few moments later, Trish returned and placed two glasses on the end table with paper coasters beneath them.
Adam sat cross legged near the couch and reached for a glass. He sipped, looked at Lyn, and smiled. “Chardonnay. I was certain of it.”
Trish gave him an odd look. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Educated guess.” He continued to smile at Lyn over the glass rim.
Lyn returned his smile with elevated brows. His smile was calculated to get her attention, and it did. Plus it made her heart do a quick flip flop.
Trish plopped onto the couch. “I thought I heard the monitor.”
“You did. Alexa wanted a change and a bottle. Adam held her for a bit.”
Trish’s glass paused halfway to her mouth. “Adam?”
“I need to practice since she’s mine.”
* * * *
Surprise lit Trish’s light blue eyes. She had known all along who Alexa’s father was, but she couldn’t imagine the Adam Lyn described rocking a baby. She wasn’t going to leave it at that. She’d seen the pain, the grief, and the suffering Lyn had gone through in the weeks and months following her return to work. When she discovered she was pregnant, Lyn had gone from low to high and back again several times. After she was through with denials, there had been such a change in Lyn that Trish and her other co-workers watched in amazement.
Lyn’s delight in looking forward to being a mother spread to others around her, and she became the focus of everyone’s good wishes. They rallied around her in support, showered her with good wishes and presents for the baby.
“Where were you when she needed you? Before you decided Alexa was yours?”
“Trish.” Lyn’s mild voice interrupted her.
“No. Let her talk.” Adam sipped his wine and studied the glass for a moment. “I can’t make an excuse for not knowing about Alexa. It didn’t occur to me that Lyn was pregnant.” He glanced at Lyn who looked back with eyebrows raised. “I used protection.” He frowned. “Every time, except maybe.” He stopped. “There was one time I couldn’t wait, just after your accident. I might not have.” He shook his head. “If I had known Lyn was pregnant with my child, I hope I would have reacted differently. At the time, I was devastated by Aaron and Kara’s deaths.” He was quiet for several heartbeats.
Neither Lyn nor Trish spoke. They waited, watching Adam.
“There wasn’t a day or many hours that I didn’t think of Lyn, of what I had done to her, but I was functioning on half power, trying to take care of funeral arrangements and manage the business at the same time.”
“Did it take you a year to remember Lyn and wonder what had happened to her?”
“No. I thought she’d be better off not seeing me and imagined she didn’t want anything to remind her of her time with me and all that went along with it. I did write her and called. She didn’t respond.”
“What would I have said? The fact that you used me and then broke my heart is a definite minus in your story.”
“No.” Adam leaned toward her. “I’m sorry I hurt you and ....”
“Hurt me? Hurt me?” Lyn’s body came gracefully up, and she stood over him. “Adam Mabry, if I could have gotten my hands on you, believe me, someone else would be running Mabry Enterprises right now, and someone would have inherited a lot of money as well as the problems.”
“You.”
“What?”
Adam stood now, eyeball to eyeball with Lyn. “You would have inherited the whole damn business, and you’d be sorry after a while. There was also a sizeable insurance policy made out to you. The cash would have helped.” He swung his hands. “But you’d have been alone.” He smiled then. “Except for Alexa. You’ll have to share your inheritance with her if something happens to me.”
Lyn and Trish were dumbfounded. The silence went on and on.
“Hmmm.mmm.” Trish moved to the door. “It’s almost midnight. Think I’ll turn in.” At the door she looked back at Lyn. “I’ll listen for Alexa. Don’t stay up too late, either of you.” She moved out of sight down the hallway.
* * * *
Lyn blinked several times and then shook her head. “I’m not sure I’m hearing right. Why would you make me a beneficiary to your business? Surely.”
“There is no one else aside from a few scattered distant cousins. Besides, I wanted you to be taken care of.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Maybe I’m a typical male, but I did think I’d taken care of your protection, Lyn. Believe me, I’m not usually careless about such things.” He grimaced. “Not that I have that many times to worry about it. Before you, it had been a long time between sexual partners. You pole axed me.”
“Yeah, right. I’m such a seductress.” She was still trying to figure out why she was heir to a fortune. “Are you telling me you were guilt-ridden enough about kidnapping me that you actually?” She stopped. “Adam, that’s crazy.”
“What?” He smiled then, and Lyn caught her breath at the change in his features. She already thought him handsome, but the smile, that smile was devastating.
“The business. I don’t know beans about business. Why would you do that?”
“Well, for one thing, I didn’t expect you to collect, at least, not for about fifty years or so. And, if we had children, they could carry on after we were gone. I didn’t know about the baby, but she’s a bonus.”
Her knees buckled, but his hands slid down and around her waist to pull her to him. He bent his head. “Sorry, Honey, I didn’t mean to scare you to death.” His mouth covered hers in a kiss that turned sweet and sexy at the same time. His tongue probed at her lips until they parted and allowed him into the warm darkness of her mouth. A soft moan came from one or both as he turned and pulled her with him to the couch.
His mouth triggered a hot torch that scorched its way from her t
oes to her thighs to her breasts and lingered there. Warmth settled into her center. His hand slid over her waist, bunching the soft sweater, up to circle her breast, a brief hesitation before his fingers caressed over the swollen tip.
She couldn’t. This couldn’t be real. Adam despised her as Kara. He thinks he can show up, and she’ll fall into his arms just because he wants it that way.
At first, he refused to release her, kept his mouth on hers as she struggled to pull back. He was breathing hard.
“What, Darling? What?”
“Adam, listen.” She leaned against the arms hard around her. “It’s too much for me to understand. You go from hating me as Kara to leaving me a fortune.” She trembled.
He shook his head. “No. I never hated you, but I hated myself for loving my brother’s wife. You accused me of being kinky, but I still couldn’t keep my hands off you.”
“You did a fair job of convincing me you disliked anything about me.”
“From the moment I looked into your dark blue eyes, I knew I was in trouble. Deep trouble.” He let her move away from him to sit at the end of the couch. “Aaron never went more than a couple of days without contact; not ever. So when I found out you, that is, Kara, showed up at Lovelace Hospital with such a wonderful resume that they’d hired you on the spot, I was furious. It didn’t make sense, especially since Aaron had told me he and Kara would probably stop in Albuquerque to see Lyn. You.” He rubbed his chin. “It still confuses me when I think of the way Kara took your identification so smoothly. I wanted to despise you, but I was lost from day one. Damn it, Lyn, let me hold you. It’s been too long.”
“A year,” she mused, staring at the man she loved and wondering how they ever managed to survive without going crazy. Sometimes, she thought she would go over the edge. Instead of driving her crazy, having Alexa had saved her sanity.
“I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough, but really, I did think you were better off without me. If I’d known about Alexa, I wouldn’t have stayed away.” He leaned toward her. “Why didn’t you let me know, Lyn? Why? Do you think so little of me that you thought I wouldn’t care? That I wouldn’t take care of you during your pregnancy?”
“I didn’t know you, Adam. You were wonderful during the time I had amnesia, but as soon as I remembered everything, you were an iceberg again.”
His mouth twisted, drawing attention to the mouth that could send her world tumbling. “Oh, Lyn, I’ve never been an iceberg around you. Surely you noticed every time I was near you, I had such a hard on my clothes almost strangled me.”
“I’m glad you were miserable. If I’d known I could upset you, I would have done more to ....”
He moved quickly, took both her hands in his and yanked her close enough she could see the black circle around the gray iris. “Upset? Upset? Is that what you call the misery you caused me? The fact that I didn’t sleep, ate so little Hana was about to take me over her knee.”
“Hana. Yeah, she disliked me from the very beginning.”
“Yes, because she thought you were Kara and had hurt her Aaron. But when you were sick, she did everything for you. And when we learned you were Lyn, she was inconsolable. Garth said after you left, she cried for days.”
“So did I.” Lyn’s dry voice made him wince.
“I keep wanting to say I’m sorry. And I am, Honey. So sorry.” Still holding her hands, he pulled closer. “Listen, Lyn.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “I love you. I want to get to know Alexa, and I’ll love her because she’s ours.” He hesitated. “You are going to share her, aren’t you?”
“You love me?”
“Of course, I do. What do you think I’ve been saying?”
“Not that you loved me, that’s for sure.” She tried to jerk away, but he held her.
“Well, I’m saying it now, Lyn. I love you. I love you.” He dropped her hands and moved back on the cushions. “What did you do with my suit jacket?”
“Hanging on one of the dining room chairs, I think. Set the security if you’re leaving.” She crossed her arms and held herself stiffly, prepared to watch him walk out. Making love to her as if she’s precious and then ask for his coat. Well, he was always leaving her, wasn’t he?
Adam disappeared from sight and a few moments later, stalked through the living room door. He stopped in front of her, stared down at her, and then dropped to his knees.
“I brought this with me hoping I could talk you into taking it.” He held a small box in his hands and now flipped the top open. Inside was a platinum ring with a huge sparkling diamond and a smaller one on each side.
She drew back. “What is that?”
“What the hell does it look like?” He sighed. “Lyn, this isn’t the way I meant to ask you.” He took the ring from the box and picked up her left hand before looking at her. “I love you, Lyn. Will you marry me?” She didn’t speak, and he went on, hoping to convince her. “We can date and become better acquainted if you want to. I can wait. I don’t want to wait, but I can. We’ve waited this long.”
The silence went on. “Say something, dammit. Yes, no, maybe, get lost. Something.”
“Will it fit?”
He snorted. “How will we know if you don’t try it on?” Her hand trembled in his. “May I?”
“Yes, Adam. Please.”
“Why?”
Bemused, she said, “Why? Why what?”
“Why should I put the ring on your finger?”
“Because I love you, Adam, and I’ll marry you, if you’re sure you want a ready made family.”
His eyes were steady on hers. “It’s a family we made together, and I want it all.”
She smiled. “All right.”
He slipped the ring on. It fit exactly. They gazed at it a long time until Adam sighed. “Lyn?” He looked up then to see long curled lashes sparkling with tears.
She bent and placed her lips lightly on his, and then withdrew. “This must be the oddest proposal and acceptance in history. I just want to know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you sure? I want to be sure this isn’t guilt feelings, an action designed to ease your conscience.”
“Dammit, Lyn.” He lowered his head to the hand where he’d placed the ring. A moment later, he looked up. “This isn’t about guilt or trying to make up for past mistakes. I want to look forward with you as a pair, as a trio, not look back at what might or should have been. Can you understand and accept that?”
“It’s almost Christmas, Adam. This house is a mess. I don’t have Christmas decorations up, no presents bought, nothing done that should be done this close to the holidays. I had no idea you’d show up.”
“Together, Lyn. Let’s do it together. I want to buy every doll available for Alexa, every lovely outfit that would make her more beautiful, and ....”
Lyn laughed. She had forgotten she could indulge in spontaneous laughter. “Alexa is too small for dolls or any outfit that doesn’t allow for plenty of growth. Please don’t go overboard this Christmas.”
“But I want to,” Adam protested. “I want.”
“Too bad. You don’t get to indulge no matter how rich you are.”
Adam sighed and kissed the ring on her finger. “Too bad. And I was hoping to give you a wonderful present.”
“Oh, that’s allowed for me. Just not Alexa.”
He stood, pulled her with him, looked deeply into her eyes, and brushed his mouth over hers. “Good. I have a car full of stuff. Shall we check it out?”
She drew back. “A car full?”
“Yeah. I’ve been shopping for a year.” He grinned down at her. “You can pick out what you want, and we’ll save the rest for wedding presents.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “Sounds like a fun Christmas. Let’s get started on unpacking boxes. We have to get a Christmas tree, decorate it and the house. There’s work to be done, and you’re just the man to do the heavy work.”
Adam groaned even as he held her tightly. “You
saw me coming.” He kissed her, hard.
Epilogue
Alexa’s sturdy little figure barreled toward the seven-foot Christmas tree, but Adam caught her on the run.
“Not so fast, Sweetheart. If you fall among all those presents, I’ll never find you.”
“Of course, we won’t spoil her, Lyn. You know how conservative I am.” Lyn knelt beside the two on the floor. “Certainly, I know how economical you are when it comes to buying for her majesty, Alexa.” She met Adam’s kiss and laughed into the dark gray eyes so like his daughter’s. “My annual salary as a nurse would pay for a third of that pile. Maybe. This is the very last year you’re allowed to max out your American Express for your daughter.”
“But, darling.” His protest was silenced as Lyn raised her hand.
“No, Adam. Alexa’s college education will cost a mint, even for you, by the time she’s ready to go to Stanford.”
“Stanford?”
“Or Harvard. Or Madame What’s-her-name’s exclusive schools for young ladies.”
He shook his head. “No. No exclusive women’s college for Alexa. Strictly co-ed, so she can learn how to say ‘no’ and she’d better.” He tilted his head. “And maybe a sibling or two?”
“In that case, you’d better listen to your wife’s caution about over-spending.”
“Are you pregnant?” He leaned toward her, eyes sparkling.
She drew back. “No.” She gave him a loud smack on the mouth. “But we can remedy that, if you like.”
He gathered her close but didn’t let go of Alexa’s elastic waist pants. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
Alexa’s squirming did nothing to interrupt the torrid promise of those kisses.
The End