by Gina Ardito
Shortly after eight o’clock, Tyler’s little body surrendered to sleep, and the adults finally had the chance to speak. Unfortunately, no one seemed to know where to start. An uncomfortable silence permeated the car, itching under Adara’s skin and making her squirm. Finally, she could take no more.
“I’m terribly sorry I dragged your family into my mess, Pauline. If I had any idea it would come to this, I never would have—”
Pauline’s velvety hand brushed the hair on the right side of Adara’s neck. A longing as old as time swept over her. A longing for the comforting touch of the woman who’d nursed her wounds, wiped her tears, and held her close, her mother. Her hand clutched her medallion at her throat. With a shudder, she released the clinging emotion.
“Don’t blame yourself, Adara. I don’t know how we came to be here, but I’m sure it will all work out in the end. Sometimes, we must turn our fates over to a higher power and trust in the future. Once we’re settled in Florida and have some time alone, we’ll discuss how we arrived at this place in time and, perhaps, where we shall go from here.”
What a gracious lady. By all rights, Pauline could be screaming like a banshee right now. About how Adara ruined their lives, uprooting them all without a care for anyone but herself. But, no. Pauline not only refused to hold Adara’s crimes against her, she offered redemption and hope. It was an act of supreme self-sacrifice, something only a loving mother could do.
Again, a wave of loneliness engulfed her, dragging her down beneath an ocean of self-pity. Oh, how she missed her mother.
Staring out at the white lines zipping by beneath the car, she wondered if her mother could see her now. In the hospital before she died, she’d promised that she would always watch over her daughter.
Are you there, Mom? Can you see me now? What should I do? I can’t keep endangering this wonderful family. And I can’t marry Ted, no matter how enticing an offer he makes me.
If her mother heard, she made no reply. No signs showed up on I-95, no perfect song came on the radio. That’s when the realization struck with the force of a sledgehammer.
Adara would have to finish this mess on her own, totally and completely alone.
~~~~
“Poor child,” Hera said from her marble throne on Mt. Olympus. “She believes herself alone in this battle.”
“She is alone,” Rhea reminded her daughter-in-law. “Even Aphrodite cannot help her. Ares’s intrusion into the events by bringing back that horrid Mr. Cherry has set forth an interesting dilemma. Adara must sort this conundrum out on her own now. Thankfully, she seems up to the challenge.”
Eros folded his chubby arms over his slender chest. One misfortune of remaining as a babe for all eternity was the inability to show true anger at a series of circumstances. Children always looked too cute to be taken seriously. Still, a frown marred his perfect features, and he managed to communicate his displeasure and resentment through blazing eyes and a ramrod posture. “Adara did not have to be alone,” he said. “If she had accepted my mother’s proposal, she would be here in her old form, passing the rest of eternity with the rest of us as an immortal.”
Athena shook her lustrous head. “Ah, Eros, don’t you see? Upon her birth, I gifted her with wisdom and honor. She uses those gifts now. Wise enough to know that she does not truly love your mother and principled enough to reject the marriage proposal and avoid hurting someone she’s grown fond of, Adara dances a fine line. She is a very worthy adversary for our Ares, even in her mortal shell.”
“I must admit,” Apollo remarked, “I, too, am quite taken with Adonis in this form.”
Eros’s frown turned to an o of surprise. Apollo had always been one of his staunchest supporters. “You, Apollo?
“Indeed. Adara has achieved a venerable stature Adonis could never attain. Adonis was selfish and reckless. Adara, however, is generous, trustworthy, and loving. The shame of it is that, as Adara, Adonis truly deserves to be immortal.”
“And yet,” his twin, Artemis said, “the qualities we so prize in Adara make it impossible for her to accept Ted’s proposal and become immortal.”
Athena turned to the golden god seated beside Hera. “What say you, Zeus? She is your daughter. Will you return to earth to assist her?”
The mighty Zeus held up a hand. “Only if it is absolutely necessary. Each of you has gifted Adara with the skills and talents she needs to best Ares at this game. I would have her prove her worth before she joins us here. Adonis never showed himself as more than a pretty face and a fair hunter, regardless of Aphrodite’s affection for him.”
Artemis sighed. “It is a sticky situation, to be sure. And none of us knows how it will play out in the end.”
“I do,” a sly voice interjected.
Several heads turned to the tiny gray spider dangling from a thin line attached to a wisp of cloud overhead.
“I wove the web to its conclusion. I know exactly how it will all turn out.”
“Well, do not tell us, dear Arachne,” Athena said, waving her hand. “I, for one, am enjoying the chase and do not wish to spoil the surprises to come.”
Chapter Nineteen
Around midnight, Shane pulled into the parking lot of an all-suite motel in North Carolina. Tyler still slept on, and by now, Pauline had also dozed off. Despite her lack of sleep the night before, Adara could not will her eyes to close. Too many thoughts crowded her mind, pushing and shoving for attention like frantic Christmas Eve shoppers nearing their midnight deadline.
“Stay with them while I get us a room,” Shane whispered as he parked near the motel’s office.
She nodded and watched him leave the car then turned to look at the sleeping occupants behind her. Whether awake or asleep, Tyler was an adorable little boy. Yet, even in slumber, a dark cloud hovered over his cherubic face. Pauline had the same profile as her son, a bit more weathered and lined with age, but the noble brow, aquiline nose, and slightly jutting chin were all Shane’s. She, too, wore a mournful expression while she slept.
It was an expression Adara knew well, one she saw in her own mirror often these days. The expression of a person who had lost someone dear and now found day-to-day life too agonizing to bear. Tyler had lost his mother, Pauline her daughter. All in one fell swoop.
Adara shook her head in pity. At least when her mother died, the loss didn’t affect anyone else. And she’d been an adult, prepared for the inevitable, after weeks of watching Mom waste away in a hospital bed while pancreatic cancer slowly ate her insides. These two poor individuals had their loved one snatched from them too soon, too violently, and with no warning or time to prepare.
The quick opening of the car door jolted her heart into her throat, but only signaled Shane’s return. Stifling her shocked gasp, she swallowed her heart and faced forward again in the car.
“All set.” Shane handed her the key. “Go on up and make yourself comfortable. Room 241. Straight up the stairs there. Do me a favor, and pull down one of the beds when you get inside. I’ll carry Tyler up, and it’ll be smoother if we can transfer him from the car straight to a bed. If he wakes, it could be hours before I can get him down again.”
“What about your mother?”
“Oh, she’ll fall right back to sleep once we have her upstairs.” He grinned. “Don’t worry about Mom. I’ll wake her first, then get Tyler. The room has two double beds. You take one, Mom and Tyler will share the other. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“A little cramped, isn’t it?”
“Cramped, but safe. Now, go.”
“Okay.” She opened the door and stepped out onto the crunchy gravel, the room key dangling from her loose grip. “Why don’t you give me the overnight bag we packed? I can take that up with me.”
“Great. Thanks.” Shane opened the trunk and pulled out the bag, price tag still intact.
When Adara reached for the bag, her fingertips brushed his. The simple contact released a fluttering of feathers in her stomach. Ticklish and disarming, they wafted
into her bloodstream, prickling the fine hairs on her arms. What was it about him that made her so jumpy? Even Ted’s supremely good looks didn’t have this effect on her.
Beneath the yellowish hum of the street lamps, he cocked his head to stare at her. “You okay?”
Bag and key in hand, she nodded and headed up the wooden staircase to their room.
The suite wasn’t overly large, but it was tastefully decorated and clean. After noting the small sofa, the dining table for two, and the obligatory paintings of tree-lined lakes at sunrise decorating the walls, she dropped the key on the table and took the bag into the bedroom area. A pair of double beds, with autumnal flower-patterned matching bedspreads, mastered the tiny cubicle. To the right stood a miniscule closet, complete with hangers that could not be removed from the rack. On the left, a doorway led to a white tiled bathroom with a shower stall, no tub.
Sighing, she placed the overnight bag at the foot of one bed before moving toward the headboard to draw down the covers. The room would have to do for one night. But she couldn’t decide whose back she pitied more: hers and Pauline’s for daring to sleep on these rock-hard mattresses, or Shane’s for making do with a less-than-well-sprung sofa. When she reached over, a quick flick of her wrist turned the air-conditioning unit on. It hummed noisily, but not so loud to make sleep impossible. With nothing else to do until Shane appeared, she kicked off her sandals and placed them in the closet.
“All set?” a husky whisper tickled up her spine.
Squelching the urge to smooth her prickled neck hairs, she turned toward the door. Shane filled the room, carrying a still out-cold Tyler in his arms. She smiled in welcome and patted the bed. Good thing the boy had been so enamored with his new Prufrock pajamas he’d insisted on wearing them immediately. Now they could simply put him to bed without the risk of waking him.
In one fluid motion, Shane lowered the sleeping boy, never so much as jostling Tyler’s new Prufrock doll. After yanking off the child’s shoes and socks, he pulled the covers up, leaned down and kissed Tyler’s head.
A wave of desolation swept over Adara at the simple gesture. She ached to touch this splendid child just once with that same level of affection. “May I?” she whispered.
Shane nodded and stepped away from the bedside.
Adara knelt by the bed, brushed a stray curl from the boy’s face and kissed his cheek. His skin was so soft, like a ripe peach, and smelled like baby shampoo and French fries. “Thanks,” she said, rising again.
“No, thank you,” a sleepy Pauline mumbled from the doorway. “You’ve gone out of your way to make Tyler feel special. I know he appreciates it, but more importantly, I do too.”
Pleasure tingled through her at the compliment, and a slow smile spread across her face. “You’re exhausted, Pauline. Exhausted and delirious.”
“I’m exhausted, but far from delirious, my dear. You have a way with children, a true gift. It must come from being around them. Do you have many nieces and nephews?”
“I was an only child.”
Strange. For the first time in a long time, the memory of her childhood didn’t leave her bereft. Pauline’s maternal pride encompassed her with so much affection, she found no love lacking. How could that be?
She wasn’t given time to find answers. Stopping only long enough to step out of her shoes, Pauline slid into the bed, fully clothed, pulled Tyler’s skinny body against hers, and closed her eyes, effectively closing off conversation.
“Well, I don’t know about you,” Shane said, “but I’m still wired from driving all day. Feel like sitting up in the living room with me for a while?”
“Sure, if you don’t mind.”
He jerked his head toward the door. “Come on.”
Anticipation sparkled beneath her skin. A chance to be alone with him. Who knew what might happen? She honestly didn’t know what she wanted to happen, but she sure as hell knew she wanted something to happen.
~~~~
They sat together on the sofa, and Shane flipped on the television to check the news. Their escape didn’t make the North Carolina local or the U.S. national news, thank God, but he could bet they were the top story on the Long Island channels.
Still, as long as they didn’t make national headlines, the Suffolk County Police considered their flight a local problem. And thanks to Ted’s generous donation, their location could continue to remain undetermined and untraceable.
That reminded him. Time to take stock of what they’d spent today. He pulled a folded packet of receipts out of his wallet and compared it to the index card he withdrew from his pocket. They’d begun the trip with five thousand one hundred and sixty three dollars. On the back of the card, he deducted the totals from the toy store, the department store, and dinner. That left approximately four thousand eight hundred and eighty eight dollars in the wallet. Pulling the bills out, he flashed an apologetic glance at Adara watching his financial wheeling and dealing. “Just give me one sec.”
Start with the big bills. One hundred, two, three, four… He continued counting, checked the figures on the index card, and counted again.
Impossible! They still had five thousand one hundred and sixty three dollars in the wallet. Shit! How could that be? He must have miscounted the original figure. Well, he’d just have to keep all the receipts and be more careful with his figures from now on. Heaving a deep sigh, he stuffed the monies and papers into the wallet and shoved it in his pocket.
“Everything okay?” Adara asked.
“Mmm-hmm. Just double checking our finances.”
“And?”
He smiled. “And nothing. We’re fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Her spine went rigid. “Don’t let the pretty little lady worry about money matters, is that it?”
Had he missed something? Where had that hostility come from? Five minutes ago, she was asking permission to kiss Tyler goodnight, and now she nearly snapped his head off over a stupid remark about the amount of money they had?
Before he could call her on it, she sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess all the excitement has taken its toll.”
When her posture relaxed again, she bent her knees, and her calf touched his thigh. That simple contact inspired softness, and he gently placed her head against his shoulder. She fit inside the crook of his neck as if born to match him. He had the strangest impression of himself as a jigsaw puzzle, walking around in life with missing pieces. Only when Adara was near was he complete. She made him whole.
You’re tired, buddy boy. Too much excitement for you, too, in the last few days. You probably should just send her off to bed and catch a few winks yourself. God knows when you’ll get another opportunity.
Yet when she lifted her head again, he never considered the consequences before leaning in to capture her lips with his. Electricity snapped and crackled around his head when her arms moved to his shoulders to envelop him, drawing him closer. She fused to him. He clung to her.
Chapter Twenty
Never in his life had he yearned to connect with someone more. Until Adara, his life consisted of black and white. Now, with their lips bonding them together, vivid colors, like a movie running on hyperspeed in a darkened theater, flashed across his closed eyes.
The sweet fragrance of her skin, honeysuckle wine, wafted into his nostrils, intoxicating him. As her lips opened for his tongue, she moaned low, and the sound reverberated deep in his own throat. While his tongue lapped at her luscious mouth, trembling hands reached up to caress the globes of her flesh through the simple T-shirt she wore. Perfect, they filled his palms, and as his thumbs rubbed across the nipples, she trembled against him. Still, she didn’t attempt to stop him.
Her moans intensified and with the slightest increase in pressure, he pushed her back to rest her head on the arm of the sofa. He lay atop her now, never losing contact with her supple lips or those perfect mounds swelling beneath his fingertips. When he broke away to breathe, she arched her back, and pushed her breasts against his cheek
s. With a flickering smile, she reached to pull the shirt off over her head.
There was no going back now. He knew it; she knew it, too. The energy and tension that had surrounded them both since their first meeting exploded.
He barely remembered removing his own shirt, but the sight of Adara sitting up to remove her bra would remain emblazoned on his memory for a hundred lifetimes. Her sultry smile teased him while she slowly slipped the thin straps off her creamy shoulders, revealing perfect breasts tipped with cotton candy nipples. Licking her lips in anticipation, she thrust her chest upward, offering herself to him like a delicious dessert.
His arms encircled her waist, and he crushed her against him, reveling in her satiny skin sliding against his rock-hard pectoral muscles. But his pecs weren’t the only muscles suffering from rock-hard status.
Somehow sensing his growing need, she puffed warm breath across the hairs on his neck while her hand slid down to loosen his pants. With the waist unbuttoned, her fingertips slowly drew the zipper of his crotch, tooth by agonizing tooth. She teased him with light flutters of her hands until he groaned aloud with mounting desire.
At last, her hand slipped inside to grasp him. His member jumped as her fingers enfolded him and began a slow descent. Her index finger extended to travel even lower, tickling beneath his base. Bliss vibrated through his bloodstream, and speech became nearly impossible with the sensations enveloping him. Still, he managed to voice his pleasure in three one-word sentences.
“Oh. God. Adara.”