All the Wrong Reasons: When something so wrong can feel so right! (Destiny's Games Book 1)

by Jerilee Kaye

  She hoped that Troy was smart enough to sense that something was wrong.

  Come on! Who are we kidding?

  Justin acted more like a boyfriend than Troy ever had. Troy must be dense if the thought this relationship was going somewhere.

  Her doorbell rang. She grabbed her purse and opened the door. Justin looked at her for a moment.

  “I look okay?” she asked, uncertainty all over her voice.

  His eyes glittered and he pulled her to him. “You look more than okay. You’re a fox!”

  She laughed and closed the door behind her.

  “So what’s your plan, Mr. Adams? Just make sure I’m in for a big surprise!” she teased.

  Justin laughed as they entered the elevator. “You have no idea, honey!”

  In Justin’s heavily tinted Ferrari, no one could see her even in broad daylight. She still wondered where he would take her. She still worried that somebody could recognize him. Why did he have to be quite famous in this state? Why did he have to be the City’s most wanted?

  Adrienne realized that they reached the airport and Justin used a private entrance.

  “Where are we going?”

  He just grinned at her.

  Finally, he stopped the engine in what seemed to be a private parking lot.

  He got out of the car and rounded it to open the door for her. He took her hand in his. She noticed there were people around, and a guy followed them, carrying a small traveling bag with him.

  Adrienne stared at Justin nervously.

  “Justin…I’m getting really freaked out,” she whispered.

  He laughed. “Your problem has always been that you didn’t want to be seen with me. You’re always scared that somebody you know would run into us when we’re together in New York. I, on the other hand, wanted to be free to go around town with you in my arms. I want to drink coffee with you in the local coffee shop, or watch movies with you, go around shopping with you, and be free to hold you, hug you, kiss you, without you worrying that your friends would kill you if they found out. I want to go on a whole day date with you…without you worrying about anything at all.”

  Adrienne bit her lip. She felt happy, and guilty and sorry all at the same time. She squeezed Justin’s hand.

  The door in front of them opened. Adrienne was surprised to see the runway. She saw a private plane from a distance. She almost gasped when she saw the markings on the body of the plane, “Adams Industries.”

  She stared up at him. “Justin…”

  He grinned at her. “I’m taking you somewhere no one knows either of us. And both of our problems are solved.”

  Her heart melted. If she wasn’t in love with him already, then she would have fallen…right then and there.

  The flight stewards greeted them warmly.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Adams.” To her, they said, “Welcome aboard, Miss Miller.”

  She was stunned that they knew their name. But then again, they would have the flight manifesto beforehand. Justin must have arranged this after she said yes to him.

  The interior of the plane looked luxurious and classy. It had long leather couches, an eight-seater dining set, all in rich combinations of gold and cream colors. She sat on the sofa and Justin sat down beside her.

  “Your plane?”

  Justin shrugged. “My family’s.”

  “So when you go back to Chicago, this is what you use?”

  “Yes. Are you hungry?”

  She nodded.

  “We’ll have lunch after take-off.”

  “Where are we going, Justin?”

  His eyes glittered. “Somewhere we’re sure no one knows either of us.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Where is that?”

  “Alaska.”

  Her jaw dropped. It took a while for her to recover. She heard somebody asking them to fasten their seatbelts.

  “Justin… it’s a couple of hours flight.”

  “Seven.”

  “When do you plan to get back?”

  “Monday.”

  “I work on Monday!”

  “I’m sure you can take a day off.”

  “What… what will I tell my friends?”

  He leaned back on his seat. “Aren’t you a creative writer for Blush?”

  She nodded.

  “So do what you do best. Be creative!” He grinned.

  She groaned. She leaned back on her seat. She kept silent all throughout take off. Finally, the plane climbed high in the air, and the pilot informed them that they can unfasten their seatbelts.

  Justin quickly got off his seat and went to her. He unbuckled her belt, and to her surprise, lifted her off her seat and brought her to the sofa, so she could sit on his lap.

  “Are you mad?”

  She pouted at him and then she pinched his side. He laughed and hugged her to him.

  “Justin, I didn’t bring any clothes.”

  “I know. I couldn’t tell you what to pack. Otherwise, knowing you, we’d still be at your place right now arguing about this trip. So I figured I’d just kidnap you.”

  “So what am I going to do?”

  “We’ll stop by a mall as soon as we land there. You can go shopping for your weekend needs.”

  “And wear those clothes without washing them? No way!” She sounded so abhorred that Justin couldn’t help laughing hard.

  “No, silly. We’re checking into a hotel. You can send your new clothes for rush laundry. I’ll pay for the premium. I’m sure they’ll get them to you in an hour or two.”

  A flight attendant informed them that their lunch awaited them. Adrienne pulled away and stood up. She reached her hand out and pulled him up on his feet.

  After lunch, Justin led her to another section of the plane. Adrienne was surprised to see that it was actually a small room. It had a double-sized bed a small coffee table and two one-seater chairs.

  Justin opened the small door to his left. “Bathroom’s here if you wanna freshen up.”

  The bathroom was small, but oddly big enough, considering they were travelling inside a plane. It had a shower, a toilet and a sink. She found a new set of toothbrushes by the sink. She brushed her teeth and splashed water on her face.

  As she stared at her reflection, she realized that she had glitter in her eyes. Her blush seemed permanent and she couldn’t stop grinning.

  Justin Adams sure knew how to make a girl swoon! Her official boyfriend may be a troll and sure lacked a romantic bone, but her unofficial boyfriend sure made up for everything that was missing in her love (and sex) life.

  Justin just lay lazily in bed when she came out of the bathroom. She removed her boots and used one of the new slippers she found under the bed.

  Justin stood up and kissed her lips. Then he went to the bathroom. Adrienne looked around the room. It was small but the luxurious furniture was cleverly arranged to make it look big enough. It was cozy and almost felt like home. She noticed some pictures hanging on one of the walls.

  She looked at a family portrait of Justin and his parents. His father had the same jet-black hair as him. His mother appeared dark blonde. His mother seemed young, and every bit sophisticated and beautiful. Justin’s father on the other hand…looked exactly like him. Only about twenty years older.

  Suddenly, she felt Justin’s arms around her waist as he nuzzled her neck.

  “You look like your Dad,” she said.

  He rested his chin on her shoulder. “Everybody says that.”

  Adrienne laughed. “Everybody’s right. Your mother is beautiful. Your parents look very young in this picture.”

  “They are. They got married when my Dad was twenty-five and my mother was twenty-three.”

  “Whoa! That’s young. They must have been really in love when they got married.”

  Justin fell quiet for a little while. Then she heard him take a deep breath as he pulled her closer to him.

  She turned around to face him. “Are you okay?” she asked, noticing his quiet reaction. />
  He nodded. “Aren’t you tired?” he asked. “We’ve got five and a half hours left. You might want to sleep first.”

  “I could use a nap.” She pulled him towards the bed. “Come, lie down with me.”

  They quietly lay in bed. Adrienne wondered why Justin’s mood changed when she mentioned his family and how in love his parents were when they got married. She wondered why that seemed to bother him.

  She looked up and found him staring at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

  “Justin,” she called. “Did I say something wrong?”

  He looked down at her and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just remembered something my parents…asked me to do.” He looked at her deeply.

  “What? Some sort of errand?” she asked brightly, hoping to change his mood.

  “More like some sort of obligation,” he sighed.

  “And you haven’t done it yet?” she asked, propping up on her elbow so she could stare at him.

  He pushed back a lock of hair away from her face. “I…forgot about it.”

  “So? Can’t you go back and do it then?”

  He shook his head. “No. I can’t go back now.”

  Adrienne drew her brows together. Justin didn’t seem like he wanted to elaborate on the subject. And she knew better than to pressure him to tell her about his family affairs.

  “I’m sure it’s not yet too late. You can still tell them you’d get to it as soon as you can.”

  He shook his head. “It’s too late,” he whispered.

  “Why?”

  Justin drew a heavy breath. “Because I don’t wanna do it anymore.”

  She was about to ask more but he pulled her neck and closed the distance between them. His lips found hers and he kissed her passionately, as if he was pouring out his soul in that kiss.

  11. Liberté.

  The French Translation of Freedom.

  When Adrienne woke up, she found that Justin had gone from the room. She went to the bathroom to freshen up. Justin walked in just as she was putting on her boots.

  “Hey, where have you been?”

  “Having a chat with the pilot,” he replied.

  “Can you fly a plane?” she asked.

  He grinned. “I have a license. I don’t think they give it out to just anybody.”

  She smiled. “Justin Adams, the pilot. What else don’t I know about you?”

  She stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned forward and kissed her lips. “A lot. But that’s why you’re going on a weekend date with me, right? So I can show you what I’m like when I’m…unrestrained.”

  Adrienne laughed. “Nice choice of word.”

  As soon as they landed, a limousine took them to a local mall. Adrienne turned on her phone and immediately, it kept ringing, indicating text messages and voicemails.

  Jill: Trying your phone. It’s off. Where are you?

  Yuan: Hey, where are you? Coffee this afternoon?

  She sent them a text message telling them that she had to fly to Boston to see her parents. Hopefully, they wouldn’t ask her to elaborate. She did that once in a while anyway.

  While at the mall, in broad daylight, Justin pulled her to him and put an arm around her shoulder. She felt a kiss at the top of her head.

  She got herself some sweaters, pants, underwear, gloves and a thick coat. Just enough for the next three days. When she brought her stuff to the counter, Justin was quick to hand over his Infinite credit card.

  She glared at him in protest. “No, Justin. It’s my stuff!”

  He grinned at her. “And it’s my treat. I don’t let a woman want for anything on our date.”

  “But this is not a date! This is…shopping!”

  “The whole weekend is a date, honey,” he argued. “And besides, I didn’t give you a chance to pack some clothes. I owe you on this.”

  The cashier swiped Justin’s card.

  She stared up at him. “Thank you,” she said in defeat.

  Justin smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. “You’re welcome, hon.”

  They decided to explore the local shops, all the while holding hands and frequently kissing. Adrienne felt free. She didn’t care about the people around them, or what they would say or think. All she cared about was the man beside her, whose arms wrapped around her, whose lips kissed her.

  And for the first time in her life, she felt what it was really like to have a boyfriend…to be in a real relationship.

  They checked in to a hotel, which seemed quite remote. And Adrienne couldn’t help teasing Justin.

  “What?”

  “You said you didn’t want to hide. And yet this hotel is really more than a little bit remote,” she said, giggling.

  He laughed. “Trust me. I have my reasons.”

  She raised a brow at him.

  “Patience, Miss Miller. It just might turn out to be a pleasant surprise if…nature agrees with me.”

  She smiled brightly. “Now, I’m curious!”

  After checking in, Adrienne immediately sent her clothes for laundry. Express service returned them all back to her within an hour.

  They enjoyed a candlelight dinner in one of the fine dining restaurants in the hotel.

  “Where’s your plane?”

  “On its way back to Chicago,” he answered. “One of my cousins might need it. Or maybe my Father. He flies to our different branches once in a while.”

  “Are you working for him now?”

  He shook his head. “No.” He fell silent for a while.

  Does he have a rift with his parents? Is this why he becomes quiet every time I mention them?

  “So, what else don’t I know about you?” she asked, trying to make his mood lighter. “Any brothers or sisters?”

  He gave her one hard look and then he replied. “I have a twin. I mean, I had a twin.”

  This almost shocked Adrienne.

  “Identical?”

  He nodded.

  She thought that the world could barely handle one Justin Adams, just imagine two.

  “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “I was eight minutes older than him. I lived. He didn’t.”

  Adrienne reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “It would have been a blast,” she said quietly. “I’m sure you would have had a better relationship than Kim and me. We…never really jived. She hated me. I knew it even if she didn’t want to admit it.”

  “I wondered what it would be like if Jeffrey lived. I always wanted a brother.”

  Adrienne smiled. “I did, too. But all I got was a sister who I share nothing with…except for a DNA.”

  “Do you look like your Dad?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Kim is a spitting image of our Mom. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Dad has dark hair and brown eyes. Yeah, I did look like him in a way.”

  “What about cousins? Sometimes a cousin is good enough to take the place of a sibling.”

  Adrienne shook her head. “I never met any of them. It was always just Kim and me.”

  “I have a lot of cousins,” Justin replied. “Three guys, and one girl. We all sort of lived in the same house, except for one who lives in Italy. My parents have a huge house in Chicago. Like ten bedrooms. Each of my cousins has a room there. It’s always a full, loud house. Sure, they have their own homes. But they seem to love living there more.”

  Adrienne smiled. “You’re really lucky. When it came to family, you hit the jackpot!”

  Justin seemed thoughtful for a moment. Then he said, “Well, someday, your mother will change her mind about you. She will see what a beautiful, wonderful and smart daughter she has. And she will learn to love you as much as she loves your sister.”

  Adrienne bit her lip to keep from crying. “I sure hope you’re right.”

  They retired to their room at around ten at night. When Adrienne got ready for bed, she found Justin in the balcony. He stretched out in one of the loungers with layers of blankets on top of him.

  “Wha
t’s going on?” she asked.

  He smiled at her. “My surprise. Come.” He pulled her to lie down with him. She leaned on his body and then he wrapped the layers of blankets around them.

  She was still tired from the trip. She rested her head on Justin’s shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment.

  After a few minutes, she heard him say, “Open your eyes, beautiful.”

  When she did, she didn’t expect the sight before her. The sky was suddenly covered in a curtain of multi-colored lights over the mountains.

  “Oh my God!” she gasped.

  The sight before her was more than spectacular. Tears welled up in her eyes. She had always dreamed about seeing the Northern Lights. And the sight had just become more surreal because she was wrapped in the arms of a man as equally magnificent as the dancing of blue, green, yellow and red lights before her.

  “Do you like it?” Justin asked.

  She stared up at him and smiled. “I love it,” she whispered. “Thank you, Justin.” She leaned forward and kissed his lips.

  They lay there quietly, warm beneath the sheets. Adrienne felt warmer, wrapped in Justin’s body heat. But moreover, the warmth came from deep inside her as she realized she had just fallen more in love with New York City’s most wanted bachelor.

  ***

  When Adrienne woke up the next morning, she found herself snuggled against Justin. She stared up at Justin’s handsome face and smiled. She didn’t know how long this thing they had would last, but she knew she would have no regrets. She had never felt more alive or free until the day she met him.

  He never failed to make her feel adored…cared about. He made her feel, for the first time in her life, that her thoughts and feelings actually mattered. And that she didn’t have to be afraid, or to care about what others think about her. For that, she would always feel grateful towards him.

  He opened his eyes and stared at her lazily. “Morning.”

  She smiled wildly. “Morning.” She leaned forward and kissed him.

  In a minute, he got on top of her, kissing her urgently, passionately. Adrienne realized that they hadn’t made love in two days. And somehow, it never seemed to bother her. Their relationship had turned to a different page. They still had this fire, this passion that tended to consume her every time, and yet, they shared a bond built on friendship, trust, and comfort. And that’s wonderful, too.