She didn’t bother to look back at him. Holly’s attention was fully focused on what was right in front of her face. One finger traced the length of him, base to tip, and his hips jerked.
From one fucking finger.
That one finger was joined by others until her skillful little hand closed around him and they all began stroking together. The other hand was similarly employed, cupping his balls, tugging lightly, rolling all at the same time – Christ, where did she learn that?
Then her tongue peeked out from those soft pink lips and she licked at the precum beading along the top of his head. She must have liked it, because she made an appreciative noise and seconds later the first few inches of his cock disappeared into her mouth. In a flurry of sensation that threatened to literally blow his mind, the heat of her mouth, the stroke of her tongue, and the light, erotic rasp of her teeth conspired against him.
After several agonizing seconds, she just... stopped. Why had she stopped? He opened his eyes and looked down to find her looking back at him, her green eyes filled with lust and something very primal and possessive. “Mine,” she growled. “I can taste myself on you, Adam. You’re mine.”
Jesus Christ, yes. His inner caveman tossed aside his club and kneeled before her in absolute submission.
She renewed her efforts with great enthusiasm, laying every bit of a claim on him as he had on her. He could have fought it, but why would he? She was right. He was hers. And if she felt the need to prove it to him so thoroughly, who was he to deny her?
She owned him. Owned his cock, his heart, and in that moment, his soul.
***
Hours later, after three meals, two showers, and several more orgasms, Adam woke up again, but alone this time. The room was dark; a brief look toward the window confirmed that it was well past sunset.
Adam rose, feeling both sated and needy. Physically, he was more than satisfied – Holly had seen to that. But there was another part of him now that would never be fully satisfied – that part that needed to see her, to know that she was near and safe, to look into her eyes and feel that incredible rush of connection that made him think crazy, permanent things.
He found her in the kitchen, sitting at the table with her laptop in front of her, the glow from the screen reflected in her eyes, Max curled up at her feet. She looked adorable sitting there, with her tousled curls and unmistakable just-fucked looked, fingers flying across the keyboard so quickly they looked blurry from where he stood.
He leaned against the doorframe, content to just watch her for a little while. A strange feeling came over him in those moments – like déjà vu, but just the opposite. Instead of feeling like he’d experienced this before, he knew he was seeing his future. That there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of nights he would wake up and find her here, just like this.
She paused long enough to take a sip from the mug beside her, and that’s when she spotted him. Her features softened, her eyes sparkled, and her lips curved into a smile that made his heart stop altogether. “Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi,” he replied. “Writing?”
“Yeah,” she confessed. The creeping rosy blush across her cheeks gave him a pretty good idea of what she was writing about, too. “I wanted to get a few ideas down while they were still fresh in my mind.”
Ideas that he had inspired. Oh yeah, he was all about the inspiration. He pushed off from the frame. “Yeah? Like what?”
She watched him stalk across the kitchen, her eyes like brands as they scanned down his chest, his hips, his legs, and back up again. He loved it, loved the fierce gleam in her eye, the sense of being wanted like that by her.
“Feelings, mostly. Sensations. Stuff like that.”
“Hmmm,” he hummed. “You put that into your books, huh?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, her voice slightly breathier than it had been only a minute earlier. He loved that he had this kind of effect on her. “That’s what really makes a story, separates the good writers from the great ones. Readers can tell the difference.”
He stopped beside her, close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from her skin. “Is that so?”
She licked her bottom lip. Sitting as she was, her mouth was right in line with his hips. There was no mistaking the large bulge beneath the faded denim. She closed her eyes, remembering what he’d looked like naked. The satiny steel feel of him in her hands, between her thighs, in her mouth.
“Yeah. Well, that and lots of research.”
“Research.” His eyes twinkled with amusement and something else. Something dark and hungry and possessive that had tendrils of heat licking up from her center. Again.
She swallowed. “Yeah.”
“Anything in particular?” he asked, dropping smoothly to his knees and turning her chair to face him. His big hands landed on bare skin just above her knees, causing her to inhale sharply.
***
“Um...” She didn’t say it. She couldn’t. It was one thing to write about it, to imagine it, to dream of it, but to ask for it? With Adam, Holly had been bolder than she’d ever been, but not even she could bring herself to speak of... that.
Thankfully, Adam seemed to understand. That part of her that had so brazenly claimed him earlier was nowhere to be found; she was probably taking a well-deserved rest while leaving her sweet, docile alter ego in charge. No doubt if he had insisted that she vocalize that particular fantasy as a requisite for giving it to her, she probably would have gone to her deathbed without knowing.
Thankfully, Adam seemed to understand. His hands flexed and pressed, opening her legs, wedging his big body between them. “Relax,” he whispered, massaging her thighs when they tensed.
Easy for him to say, she thought, barely containing the hysterical giggle trying to erupt. No man had ever done that before. She read about it plenty, even wrote about it herself, but that was romantic fiction. It was called that for a reason.
She was just about to tell him to stop when he placed a kiss on the inside of her thigh. She’d never realized just how sensitive her skin was there; she could feel everything – the silky caress of his hair, the heat of his breath, his soft lips in contrast to prickly stubble along his jaw. Without conscious thought, she tangled her fingers into his hair and slid her behind to the front of the chair. Her mind might be a little freaked out, but her body was totally on board with where he was going.
Adam thumbed her instep (who knew that was an erogenous zone?) and guided her foot to his shoulder. Then did the same with her other leg. She tilted her head back and watched him through heavy-lidded eyes. How absolutely male he looked there, his rugged, stubbled features framed by her just-shaved, baby smooth thighs.
Her logical, rational self made one final rally before her inner harlot awoke and took over completely. “Adam,” she breathed. “You don’t have to – unnghhh....“
The words broke off with a strangled gurgle as Adam surged forward, licking along her slick folds. Her head flew back, and all she could think of was how glad she was in that moment that she hadn’t bothered to put on panties, because it would have delayed this for several interminable seconds.
“Mmmmm. You taste so fucking good, baby. Sweet and rich and perfect.” The man was a hummer, and it was amazing. The vibrations skittered across bundles of lovingly abused nerves, more pleasing than Vinnie had ever been. And Vinnie never talked to her, either. She would never again underestimate the power of sexy, dirty dialogue while doing sexy, dirty deeds again.
God, the man had some serious skills. He licked, he flicked, he suckled. He fucked her with his tongue. And just when she thought she couldn’t possibly stand another freaking second, he thrust his long, skilled fingers deep inside, curling and applying pressure right there as he sucked hard on her clit, making her body explode into thousands of tiny little pieces of light.
“Goddamn that was hot, baby.” Holly heard his voice, but didn’t have the strength to open her eyes just yet. It was enough to be held in his arm
s as he gently rocked her back down to earth. No, not rocking. Walking. She smiled, or at least thought she did. Humming as she was from that last incredible orgasm, she wasn’t quite sure she had complete control over any muscles whatsoever.
“I need to be inside you. Now.”
That penetrated the haze. Impossibly, her still tingling sex went from satisfied to needy at the husky rasp of his voice. After a brief moment of weightlessness, she felt the bed beneath her. Then Adam was above her, hot and hard and naked, sliding deep. They both let out a moan at the same time. Holly arched and tilted her hips, still reeling from that last orgasm as he pushed further. Like the very first time, there was no hesitation, no gentle possession. Just raw, blinding need.
He pumped inside her, flesh slapping flesh as he drove himself deep, only to withdraw and do it again and again. Her climax came fast and hard, shattering her into millions of pieces all over again. Only this time, the delicious spreading warmth deep in her core told her that he had joined her.
She must have zoned out there for a few minutes, because the next thing she knew, Adam was chuckling.
“What’s so funny?” she asked dreamily. Maybe if she hadn’t been fucked repeatedly into a sense of complete and total lassitude, she might have felt a bit offended or at least a little self-conscious, but as it was, she just didn’t have the strength.
“I was just thinking how lucky I am,” he said. “I don’t think helping you with your research would be nearly as much fun if you were still an analyst.”
She managed a tired but happy grin. “Bits and bytes don’t turn you on?”
“Your bits and bytes do. There are several bits I’d like to bite right now, as a matter of fact,” he growled, lowering his head to nip at her breast.
“It really doesn’t bother you?” she asked softly, running her hand over his hair in a comforting gesture.
He kissed his way back up to her face. “Having a beautiful, smart, sexy, creative, successful woman as my own? No, Holly, it doesn’t bother me. It makes me feel like the luckiest man in the world.” In case she needed more convincing, he lowered his mouth to hers, expressing himself with a searing, lingering kiss.
“What about you?” he asked. “Can you be happy with a humble contractor?”
“Oh yes,” she whispered, her words filled with genuine awe and wonderment as she guided him into her again. “You’re my Five Minute Man...”
***
Adam groaned, offering a silent prayer of thanks to Liz. “You want to convince Holly she’s the one?” she’d said to him. “Be her Five Minute Man. Prove it to her.”
He’d had his doubts. After all, Holly wrote romances. Shouldn’t he be buying roses and taking her out to candlelight dinners, he’d asked? Liz had snorted at that, telling him with unwavering confidence that all that stuff would mean nothing unless Holly believed it was real, and there was only one way to do that.
It looked like Liz had hit the nail on the head with that one.
“Yes I am,” he agreed, flipping them so that she was on top of him again. “And you are my Five Minute Woman.”
She purred at that, curling her nails lightly into his chest as she made slow circles with her hips. “Always. But now I think I want a lot more than five minutes...”
Chapter 20
“Hello, Adam.” Adam cringed as he heard Eve’s sex-kitten purr clearly through his mobile. Having just left Holly’s after a long weekend of sheer bliss, he hadn’t been thinking clearly or he would have checked the caller-id before answering.
“What do you want, Eve?”
“Is that any way to talk to your lover?”
“We are not lovers, Eve,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I beg to differ,” she laughed softly, undeterred.
She could beg all she wanted. Adam was done. Had been for long time. “We had sex, Eve. It was one night. Don’t make it out to be anything more than that.”
“Keep telling yourself that, baby, but I know better. You and I, we’re meant to be. You will accept it eventually.”
“I’m hanging up now, Eve.”
“Okay,” she said in a sing-song voice, far too easily. “But if you do, you might lose your chance to get a bid in on that old gamekeeper’s cottage you were so interested in.”
Adam’s thumb paused over the “End Call” button. “What the hell are you talking about, Eve? The cottage was sold months ago.” To Holly.
“What if I told you that the Historical Society is trying to buy back the property?”
“Won’t happen,” he said without thinking. “I know the owner, and she’s not interested in selling.”
There was a long pause, long enough for him to realize his mistake. “She, huh? So that’s who has captured your attention,” she mused. “I should have known. Is she the one you have been doing business with lately, Adam?”
Fuck! He needed to get his head out of his pants and start thinking with his brain again. If Eve thought for a minute that Adam was interested in anyone besides her, she would make Holly’s life a living hell. Things were too new, too fresh with Holly to subject her to that kind of test yet. He had to make Eve believe that Holly was not a threat, at least until he could figure out a more permanent solution.
“We’ve met,” he admitted, carefully choosing his next words. “She was interested in a professional opinion.”
“That’s all?” Eve asked doubtfully. In his mind’s eye, he could picture Eve’s eyes narrowing, brows drawing together, gauging his sincerity. At that moment, he was intensely glad they were not face to face, because after three incredible days with Holly, there was no way he’d be able to school his features enough to make anyone believe Holly was anything less than what she was – The One.
Eve didn’t need to know that yet, though. There were very few women that worried Adam, but Eve was one of them. Her behavior over the past six months clearly proved she had a borderline obsessive (and delusional) personality.
“So did she hire you, Adam?” Eve’s voice brought him back to the moment.
“No.” This, at least, he could answer honestly. He’d be working on the cottage all right, but not as hired help. But... this might be a way to get Eve out of attack mode. If he could manage to give Eve the impression that he’d just done a consult and wouldn’t be involved any further, it might buy him enough time to work out a better, permanent solution. “I got the distinct impression that she’d rather do the renovations herself.”
“I was hoping you would say that.”
Rather than the rush of relief he’d been hoping for, a stone the size of Mount Rushmore settled in his stomach. “Why is that?”
“Because the place was part of the original William Penn estate, the Historical Society has a vested interest in ensuring that any and all renovations are performed under strict, historically accurate guidelines. If you were doing the renovations, we’d know they were being done properly and have no basis for forcing the sale.”
Double fuck! Adam closed his eyes, willing himself to remain calm. How did he keep managing to fuck this up? When would he learn not to underestimate Eve? His mind worked frantically; he did not want her anywhere near Holly.
“It is only the Society’s business if the owner petitioned to have the site recognized as a historical landmark. Has such a petition been made?”
God, he hoped not. He was fairly certain Holly had not done so. In the first place, Holly would have mentioned it when she’d given him the grand tour and talked about the research she’d been doing. And in the second, he really couldn’t see her wanting that kind of attention. Historically registered landmarks – even those privately owned – had a tendency to draw interest from history buffs, researchers, and tourists. Holly, like he, liked her privacy.
“Oh, Adam,” Eve laughed softly, her voice carrying a barely concealed warning. “Not everything is done by the book, you know. Sometimes you have to go above and beyond to get what you really want.”
Somehow he kne
w they were no longer just talking about the cottage. Despite his good intentions, Eve wasn’t convinced. “Eve, you leave –“
She was still laughing when she disconnected the call.
***
“Adam, is there something you want to tell me?” Holly asked, concern in her eyes as she stroked her hand over his chest. They lay side by side, still coming down from their incredible love-making. Ever since he’d come to pick her up for her “surprise date” – a sunset cruise aboard his personal fishing/cruising boat on the nearby lake – he’d seemed distracted.
“No,” he said far too quickly to be believable. “Why?”
She pressed a kiss to his skin. The lake had been perfect, as had the picnic dinner he’d brought along. The moment they had returned to her place, he’d wasted no time in relieving her of her clothes and making tender, passionate love to her. As wonderful as it had been, something felt off.
“Just a feeling, I guess.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not really very good at this.”
His arm tightened around her as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You are perfect,” he said. “And perceptive. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”
“Anything I can help with?” she asked, pushing him from his side onto his stomach. He allowed it. She straddled his hips, resting her sex on his perfect man ass, and leaned forward to knead the tight knots around his upper back and shoulders. Damn, but the man had the sexiest back she’d ever seen. Wide at the top, defined from years of construction work, tapering down into lean hips.
“Yeah. Keep doing that,” he groaned into the pillow. “Christ, that feels good.”
She remained quiet for several long minutes, using her hands to leisurely map and memorize this part of him she didn’t get to see nearly often enough. “If you were having second thoughts, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”
He shifted beneath her, rolling to his back. “I’m not having second thoughts, Holly.”
“But if you were, you’d tell me, right?” God, she hated feeling this needy. As far as relationships went, she was pitiful. A man like Adam would not appreciate a clingy, needy woman, but she just couldn’t help herself. It seemed too good to be true, and she just needed a little validation.
Five Minute Man: A Contemporary Love Story Page 9