Harkham's Case (Harkam's #1)

by Chanse Lowell

  “Well, how long ‘til you’ll marry me, because I don’t think I can wait any longer. Can you marry me tomorrow?”

  She chuckled. So damn cute. “Not tomorrow, sweetie. We need to graduate first.”

  “I’ll drop out, and so will you. We can both get our GEDs and move ou—”

  She stilled his mouth with her finger. “Shh . . . We’re not gonna do that. I have to prove to your dad I’m good enough. If you change your goals and don’t graduate high school, then it means I’m the worst influence ever on you, and your dad and sister are right about me. I’ve already tried to tell him the truth of how things have happened between us, but he didn’t believe me. A part of me thinks this is a horrible time to start telling the truth. I want to lie and admit to the things he thinks I’ve done so maybe he’ll respect me and think I had the guts to tell the truth.”

  He groaned and rolled next to her onto his side.

  “Why does he think you’re lying?” He draped his inner arm over his eyes.

  “Why wouldn’t he? He has no reason to think I’d do anything for your benefit. As far as he’s concerned, I’ve broken out of prison, and I’m using you to provide for me since I’m a homeless drug addict and a killer.” She turned away from him and curled into a ball.

  “Don’t lie. We’re done with that. We’ve both tried it, and we’re going to stop that now. We have no reason to lie to anybody. We can admit who we are, what we’ve overcome and where we want to go,” he said, tucking in behind her.

  He ran his hand up the back of her thigh, making it burst into gooseflesh.

  “You don’t want me to lie, right?” he cooed in her ear and kissed underneath it, then ran his lips gently down her neck. His humid breath was doing unspeakable things to her—adding heat and moisture between her thighs where he wasn’t even touching her.

  Oh, dear God, how she wished he was touching her in that spot. It would feel soooo good!

  “And your dad thinks you’re so innocent, and I convinced you to come after me,” she teased. She turned around and ran her hand down his cheek. He leaned into her touch, smiling like a little demon in heaven, because he was misbehaving.

  “That’s because he hasn’t really seen me around you.” He chuckled. “Sam told me after you went to bed that I’m a pervert. She said I need to quit grabbing your ass while you’re cooking. It made her lose her appetite.”

  “That’s not why she wouldn’t eat,” she corrected him.

  “Why didn’t she?”

  “Because she said exactly what I was worrying about . . .” She bit her lip but her teeth slid off.

  “What did she say? Just tell me.”

  “She told me I was only going to last here a little while, because I was already breaking up your family. She said I was the reason your dad was missing at dinner.” A lump formed at the top of her gut.

  He stroked her cheek and wiped away the tears she hadn’t even realized she’d shed.

  “How does she know? Maybe he was mad at me. Maybe he was really busy.”

  “No, Adam—stop. This may not be something we can fix right away. It’s gonna take a lot of time. I’ve damaged some things here in your home without meaning to. I have to set them right.” Her insides tightened over the thought that maybe his dad would never accept her.

  “We can do that together, and, anyway, I don’t care what he thinks. He can’t decide if you’re good for me or not.” He pulled her closer into a hug.

  It felt panicked and rushed.

  “Yes, you do, and you should. You can’t ever replace your dad, and you have one that cares. He’s not wrong about that . . . He’s right to worry and to try and protect you.” She looked over to the door. “Maybe you coming in here is a bad idea. If he checks on you or on me, it’s gonna make things worse.” Her heart crashed at the thought of him leaving this bed. She needed his warmth, this connection so much, especially after all the arguments she went through yesterday and today. She had put herself out there last night, really letting it all out and venting all her year’s worth of pent-up emotions on her mom.

  She even told Dustin personal thoughts and feelings she had about herself and her relationship with Adam. Never had she been that vulnerable.

  But it all backfired to hell. Neither of these adults gave a damn if she’d seen her past errors and was fixing them as best she could.

  It was too late.

  “Let me be a pervert for a little bit longer first. I can touch you, and you don’t have to touch me back—so you won’t be doing anything wrong.” He kissed her very convincingly. The long slides of his luscious tongue were undoing her. It was hard to think or breathe when his mouth moved that way over hers.

  “Guilty by association,” she said with a chuckle as his hands slipped under her shirt.

  “I won’t tell anybody, and when I’m done, I’ll go back to my room. I promise.” He smiled so big his teeth flashed in the almost non-existent light.

  “Why do I listen to you?” she asked, her hands flying in the air, then flopping down on the mattress.

  “That’s a yes!” he cheered quietly and then went about torturing her to madness with his soft mouth and achingly gentle fingers, caressing her nipples and fondling her breasts.

  “It was a ‘let’s just fool around a little and then you get back to your own bed,’” she said, nodding a little, sounding out of breath.

  Her legs squirmed around.

  He pushed his way up her body, created friction with his dick between her legs while he kept kneading her breasts.

  God, his hands felt amazing.

  “Adam, I . . . Oh Jesus.” She arched up into him, and it made the tip of his cock hit her clit. “Ahhh!”

  She almost screamed, it felt so good.

  To keep from doing that, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

  It meant he couldn’t kiss her anymore, but it also meant she’d keep from crying out and alerting his dad to what they were doing.

  “I want to—don’t stop me, okay?” Adam gave her a stern look, then his right hand slipped into her shorts and panties. “Oh my . . . This is so wet down here. You like water that’s blue—but this is better. This is water you made—for me. It’s for my hard dick to slide in there, isn’t it?”

  She gasped and choked on a cry of pleasure. She wasn’t sure if it was from his words, or from his teasing fingertip circling her clit so slowly, it was driving her mad right away.

  “This is so good, Mari. Sooo good. I can’t stop. I have to keep going. I want this. Do you?”

  She nodded, her eyes pleading for him to give her relief, because there was no way she could verbalize that and not feel like a miserable shit of a hypocrite about it.

  “Okay. I don’t really know how to do this, but you taught me how to cook. You were patient and kind and it was everything to me. I want to give that to you now, too. But you might have to be patient and kind and teach me again—only this time it’ll be about your beautiful body—not yummy food. Though, you’re yummy, too. I’ve tasted you, and there’s nothing I like better on my tongue than you.” He made a soft growling noise and squished his body into her, trying to get closer.

  It made his finger push harder, giving her that much needed friction she required.

  She yelped at the bursting sensations rioting through her pussy.

  “I know there’s a way to be inside you. I want to find it, Mari. And I want you to let me, too. Don’t feel guilty and don’t feel bad. My dad said we had to leave our clothes on. No one’s clothes are off but my shirt, and that’s okay. Men can do that. So, this isn’t bad.” He shook his head, then he nipped at her bottom lip as his fingers moved down lower, exploring her wet folds.

  She groaned and rolled her eyes back in her head. He was taking his time, finding each little inch more exciting than the next, as evidenced by how much thicker and harder he felt on her thigh.

  “It’s my turn to help you. Though, I wish it was my turn, because then you’d let me fuck y
ou, and I really, really want that.” He smiled and swallowed, sucking in a tight bit of air at the same time. “That’s what it’s called, isn’t it? Fucking.”

  She nodded, her eyes going heavy.

  “Fucking is what I want with you—and making love, too. I want both. We can have both—you and I.” His long index finger prodded at her slick entrance, and a moment later, it pushed inside.

  Once more, her back bowed off the bed. She gripped his shoulder to keep in place.

  “Is that good? It feels good to be there.”

  She wanted to nod, but instead she gave off a whimpering yes or sorts.

  Maybe she didn’t say anything. Oh hell—she had no idea if she was even dreaming this at this point—it felt too good to be real.

  “If I pretend my fingers are my dick, then maybe you’ll orgasm. I want that. Your come on my fingers is what it’ll take for me to leave this room and go back to mine, so you have to give it to me, okay?” He nipped at her jaw this time.

  She could barely breathe, her body was bucking so violently against his fingers—deeper, stronger, faster. “Yes, God—give me more,” she whispered with a hoarse voice.

  “Just remember I love you when you climax. That’s what’s most important. More than my fingers getting wet—you knowing my heart is yours.” He kissed her at that point and then slipped a second finger inside.

  This time he gasped when it was in there.

  Was it tighter or messier than he’d imagined?

  Oh, who the fuck knew.

  All she could focus on was the tingling growing deep in her pelvis and the way he moved with her body so effortlessly.

  She moaned into his neck, kissed him there and when he finally stopped being gentle and got really rough with her pussy, that’s when she bit back a fierce cry, “Adam! Oh God, oh God! Fuck!”

  Her entire body seemed to clamp down on those crazy fingers of his, and she spasmed uncontrollably, her heart exploding more than her pussy—then she melted into his tight one-armed hold.

  “I’ve got the numbers—right here in safe keeping. They wanted you, but I wouldn’t let them have you—because this was what you needed,” he whispered into her hair, kissing the side of her head.

  She chuckled. Well, kind of moaned as she did it, but still—he was warming her soul to match her blazing heart.

  “Oh my God, that was incredible.” She wound her body around his, hugging him tight.

  “For you, too? Wow. I didn’t know it could be so good for me to watch and hear you get off. Better than any porn I’ve ever watched.” He scratched her back.

  She felt like a pile of mush and bones, barely clinging to him for support.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She sighed and went a little more limp, her heart rate calming down.

  “Enjoyed it? Well, yeah, I loved it, but at the same time, I wanted to be meaner—put four fingers inside you to see how tight I could make you around me so it would resemble my dick more. And I also wanted to bite your nipples really bad and suck on them super hard, but I thought I better be nice.” He kissed her head once more.

  Innocent? Could’ve fooled her, because in their brief time in her bed, he did things to her body nobody else ever had . . . And the things he’d wanted to? Sounded better than okay to her. Sounded like they needed to take this a step further tomorrow night if he was able to sneak into her room again and try those ideas out.

  * * *

  Adam was walking around the kitchen in a daze, smiling like he had actually lost his innocence last night. She was the one to lose control, have a number-inducing, de-boning climax—not him. And afterward? Well, hell, she’d never slept better. She still felt all loose and limp this morning.

  “Good morning,” he sang as she opened the fridge and grabbed a piece of fruit out of the crisper.

  “Yeah, it is,” she agreed, smiling back.

  He grabbed her ass, and she giggled, then swatted his hand away. How long did he think they could get away with this kind of behavior? His dad would have to pass by them at some point to get to the food in the kitchen. As far as she knew, he never did come out and eat dinner the last two nights.

  Maybe he’d avoid her all week while she was here. She’d better find a place quick. Poor Adam would be shattered when she left. He already thought he’d won some kind of victory by getting her in the door and into the spare room. Not to mention getting her off as well.

  He had no idea how bad his dad wanted her gone.

  She gave him a deep, unguarded kiss because she really couldn’t resist his enthusiasm to have her near.

  Right as he reached around and picked her up, slinging her legs around his hips, a throat cleared.

  Oh, not now. Not when she was being so ridiculous as to have her feet off the ground like a moron teenage girl ruled by hormones.

  She slid down his body, tucked her hair behind her ears and ducked her head down. “Sorry,” she said to whoever it was they’d offended.

  “Hey, you can do what you want, just keep it down and let me get to the fridge—that’s all I ask.” Zach laughed. “I think it’s about time somebody around here was gettin’ some. Dad lives in the dark ages, thinking we should all be celibate because he is. I think he’s forgotten about a little invention called condoms. If I could get a girl naked in my bed, I’d be all over that. Good for you—breaking in your bed properly.”

  “It was Mari’s bed we were naked in,” Adam corrected him.

  “Ad-am!” she hissed and elbowed him.

  “Ow!” Adam rubbed the spot. “Well, it was . . . I was only telling the truth,” he whispered loudly.

  “We weren’t naked,” she said, her face heating.

  “Okay—yeah—not naked, but I touched her everywhere under her clothes. It was better than I thought it would be,” Adam said, staring at Zach.

  “Just because we’re not gonna lie anymore doesn’t mean you have to tell everybody about private, intimate moments. Or those aren’t gonna happen anymore.” She moved over to the table and sat down with a leg tucked under her. A few bites later into her fruit, and Adam was crouched down in front her, his head in her lap.

  “I’m sorry . . . I didn’t know it would make you mad if I told Zach those things. He helps me to know how to please you physically. I want to know how to do that stuff.” Adam ran his hands down her calf.

  She stroked his hair and sighed. “Can you just do it in private when I’m not around and don’t tell me about it? I don’t wanna know about what you discuss when it comes to sex.”

  “This is not polite breakfast conversation,” his dad said, standing a few steps inside the kitchen from the hallway.

  Perfect! How did she have such great timing, and why didn’t she let it slide?

  “Sorry, sir. You’re right. Won’t happen again,” she said and stood up, making Adam back up.

  Once he was off her, she walked quickly to her room to get dressed.

  She looked down at what she was wearing. What the hell was she thinking, walking around in her old ratty rock shirt and men’s boxers as pajamas?

  Oh, even better! Her nipples were poking out. Adam made them hard with all that grabbing and kissing and blatant sex talk.

  She got dressed quickly, grabbed her backpack and left.

  Forget waiting for a ride. Dustin might hand Samara a knife and tell her to go after it if he saw Mari again.

  Her pace was steady as she tried to figure out where the closest bus stop might be.

  As she walked down the block, a car slowed and followed next to her.

  She turned and stopped, gawking.

  “Mom?” Mari’s face scrunched, and her nose wrinkled.

  Immediately after she said that, the Jeep parked and her mom got out.

  “Can we talk?”

  “How did you even find me?” Mari stepped away as her mom came close.

  “I called your dad and got Adam’s phone number. Adam told me you were here,” she admitted.

  “Son of a bitch!�
�� Why didn’t Adam tell her he’d talked to her mom and had said where she was?

  “No—daughter of a bitch.”

  Mari glared and stepped back once more. “Not funny.”

  “You’re right—this isn’t funny. I’ve been a terrible mom to you, but I never wanted kids. You weren’t supposed to happen. How am I supposed to know what to do with you when you never listen?”

  “Is this your idea of an apology?” Mari’s teeth snapped shut and ground together.

  Her mom extended her hands out wide for a hug.

  “This is a sick joke, right? You think I’m gonna hug you after you just insulted me by telling me I was an accident and it’s my fault you can’t parent worth a damn?” Mari pointed at the Jeep. “Leave! I’m not coming back.”

  “Mari!” Adam yelled and ran down the street with his dad right behind him.

  “See what you’ve done? His dad already wishes I’d leave, and now you come here and make things worse! I’m trying to straighten out my life once and for all!” Mari turned and started walking away.

  “Stop, young lady! That’s not a request,” Dustin’s voice boomed.

  She stopped, dropped her head, squared her shoulders and turned back around.

  Adam was running after her now, but his dad was in front of her mom, having a few words with her.

  Adam slowed as he got close. “Why’d you le—”

  “You tell me—what should I have done?” Mari’s voice went up in pitch. “I don’t know what your dad told you, but during my chat with him, he said I only have a week, then I’m out. I have to be on my best behavior while I’m here. I have to be perfect, and no matter how hard I try, I always screw it up.”

  He tossed his arms around her and crushed her into his chest. “Don’t listen to him!”

  “Why shouldn’t I? It’s his house. We can’t decide for him if I stay or go,” she said, fisting his shirt and yanking on it.

  He kissed her, and she was fine with it. Let their parents watch—let them see what they meant to each other.

  “Just don’t leave me . . . Okay?” Adam whimpered. “I can’t take it if you walk out that door. I thought I’d die when you were suddenly gone, and y-you didn’t say you were going.”