He looked quite devastating.
He’d removed his suit jacket and tie and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. Black hair covered his muscular lower arms and peeked over his shirt collar. A five o’clock shadow darkened his jaw and upper lip, and his icy eyes flashed in his tanned skin.
Her stomach lurched.
She hadn’t heard from him since the wedding, more than two weeks ago. In that time, he’d driven her completely bananas. Or rather, her thoughts of him had driven her crazy. Something had changed at the wedding. They’d managed to shelve the antagonism, managed to turn the attraction into something sweet and sexy instead of something cheap and ugly. They’d become…friends. Sure, the bond was fragile. Still, it was there. She’d found she genuinely liked him, and unless she’d misread him completely, she’d thought he’d begun to like her too.
So why the freaking hell hadn’t he phoned? A simple hello would have sufficed, although a marathon session in bed—or out—would have been preferable.
She didn’t get him. One minute he’d act as frigid as his cold blue eyes, and the next, hotter than his naked chest. When he was plain Adam, with his traffic-stopping smile and gentle humor, she melted into a puddle on the floor in front of him.
He was an enigma. What went on his head? He’d kissed and seduced her, and then demeaned and belittled her. He’d chased her away, and then begged her to return. He’d mocked her strategy, and then supported her ideas. He’d, well…he’d just driven her bananas.
What about the trauma buried in his eyes? She’d noticed it twice, and both times the ill-concealed pain left her reeling. Matt hadn’t just helped him through a “rough patch”. Anyone who housed so much sorrow, who hid so much grief, had to have been through hell.
Her heart ached for him. She longed to offer him comfort. Where would she begin? How could she soothe his pain when he wouldn’t let her in?
“Adam.” She groped around for a casual greeting, which wasn’t easy considering the startling array of backflips and somersaults her stomach performed. “You’ve caught me by surprise. I expected Matt.”
“He…couldn’t make it today. I came in his place.”
Bless the forces that kept him away. “I thought you’d decided to have nothing more to do with the program?”
“I had.” He shrugged. “Someone had to come and I was available.”
So, she had about an hour with him. She had no idea how she’d manage to spend that time without imaging him naked, but she’d damn well give it her best shot.
“How have you been?” she asked, determined to not to think about his awesome abs or his erect penis. She absolutely would not picture him making love to her. That would screw with her powers of concentration.
“Good, you?”
I waited around for days for you to phone and pretended not to be disappointed when you didn’t. For a while I thought maybe, just maybe, there could be something between us. I guess I was wrong.
“I’m good too,” she said as he pushed his hand through his hair, leaving it mussed and standing up a little.
Her heart did a three-point turn. That’s exactly how his hair had looked in the hotel, after the second time he’d come. He’d run his hands through it, stared at her with glazed eyes and said, “Christ, that was unbelievable”.
Aw, crap. She’d imagined them doing it. Not good. “Would you like to start by going over recent accomplishments? Or would you prefer a tour of the offices, seeing as you’re here anyway?” Blood roared through her ears and though she watched his lips move, she didn’t hear his answer. How could she? She was reliving the best sex of her life.
She was back in the hotel, panting on the bed, shivering as he bent down to lick her between the legs. Heat stirred in her belly and snaked outwards. Her cheeks burned, as did her breasts. The potent flames of arousal scorched every part of her. He lapped up the moisture that ran down her inner thighs, spread her lips with his thumbs and dipped his tongue in to taste her. Then he reached up and sucked sweetly on her sensitive nub. She lay on the bed, her arm flung over her eyes, her thigh wrapped around his neck. His tongue. Oh, God, the things he could do with his tongue. She keened softly under his ministrations.
“Lexi?” Adam stepped forward, jerking her back to the present. He stood close, with his hand on her arm, burning through her sleeve. She focused on his mouth, watched his lips move, saw a flash of pink tongue between his white teeth. The same pink tongue that had flung her headfirst into the throws of ecstasy.
She bit her lower lip, her mouth bone-dry, and he growled and dropped his arm.
“I…I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.” She forced herself to look into his eyes, wondering how he’d respond if she kissed him. She wanted to kiss him. Sweet Lord, she wanted to kiss him. Wanted to sip from the mouth that had given her such pleasure.
His face was a dark mask and she didn’t dare.
For a full minute, neither of them spoke. They simply stood, watching each other. Lexi knew her cheeks were flushed and her breath was uneven. She struggled to still her pounding heart. He knew, read her thoughts. Hadn’t he told her he recognized the signs of her arousal?
Did he have any telltale signs? Would he be aroused, knowing she was? She studied him. There were signs all right. They just weren’t of desire. Beneath his tanned skin he looked pale. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot and frown lines crowded his mouth. Although still ridiculously sexy, he looked tired and stressed and he held his shoulders in a stiff line.
“Hey,” she said in a gentle voice, “you okay?” Tension radiated off him in waves. If she hadn’t been so involved in her memories, she’d have noticed it sooner.
Adam glanced around the room and cleared his throat. “Hospitals make me uncomfortable.”
She sensed a wealth of unspoken thoughts. Adam wasn’t just uncomfortable here, he hated everything about the place. “A lot of people feel ill at ease in hospitals,” she said empathically. Why was it so hard for him to be here? Had he had a bad experience in hospital? Had he been sick?
His smile was tight. “How about you give me that tour? The less time I spend here, the better.”
Ouch. She knew he was talking about the hospital but she couldn’t help taking the comment personally. He was here because he had no choice. Matt couldn’t make it, so he came instead. Not to see her
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to check out the program.
She guided him through the rooms, bringing them to life as she detailed their future furnishings and functions to him.
“And last of all,” she said as she led him into the cramped room with the sink and counter, “this will be the kitchen. We’ll add a kettle and microwave, and we’ll fill the shelves with plates and cutlery and the fridge with drinks and snacks. The kids can help themselves anytime. We’ll put the fridge in that corner—” she turned to point and lost her train of thought.
The room was small with the two of them squeezed into it. They stood so close they almost touched. Adam made no pretence of looking where she pointed. He pinned his gaze on her mouth, his eyes hot and hungry. His lips parted and he swallowed hard as she stared back at him. The desire in his expression took her breath away.
Lack of oxygen almost choked her and she inhaled deeply then let the air escape in soft shudders. Lord, what this man did to her with only a look. If he would just reach out and touch her now, she’d surrender herself to him in a heartbeat. Here in the kitchen, in the middle of the hospital, she would kick the door shut and claw his clothes off and tear her own away and just let him fuck her.
“Lexi,” his voice was gruff.
“Adam,” she whispered back.
Silently, he stared at her mouth. Her eyelids grew heavy and fluttered closed. She hung there, suspended in the tiny room, waiting. The sound of their breathing drowned the noises outside. She floated toward him, her body pulled by an invisible magnet. Her lips parted slightly and she knew it was just a matter of time before his mouth touched hers, his tongue sought hers. Her heart raced and gooseflesh skittered up her spine. Blood pooled—
“I’ve seen enough here. Let’s get on with it.”
Lexi blinked in shock. What the…?
Flecks of ice glinted in his eyes. She gaped at him, mortified. Talk about misreading a situation. Unable to take the mockery on his face a second longer, she pushed past him and called over her shoulder, “If you’ll come with me, I have a list of issues to discuss in my office.”
The quicker they got there, the quicker they could get this meeting over and done with. She practically raced through the lounge and into the hospital corridor. If the floor opened up and swallowed her now, she’d face her fate happily. Of course, that wouldn’t happen. Nothing ever happened the way she wanted it to with Riley around.
Once in her office, she closed the door and invited him to sit down. He declined, electing rather to lean against the wall, one foot crossed over the other. She stood behind her desk and briefly consulted her folder. Not that she needed reminders about today’s agenda. It just gave her somewhere to look other than his face. She refused to let him see how much his rejection threw her.
She shoved aside any thoughts about preliminary discussions, loath to prolong her time with Riley. Instead, she launched straight into the facts. “We’ve accomplished a fair amount since last I met with Matt. In summary, I’ve hired a program manager. She’s a social worker with a medical background. The furniture is due to arrive the week after next and the promotional material has been distributed to the wards and the reception area. We’ve set up a media interview for the Wednesday three weeks from now.” She paused to take a deep breath. “Matt will be attending that.”
The words tumbled out of her mouth; she couldn’t talk fast enough. If she could finish this meeting, she could get him the hell out of her office. Then she would afford herself the luxury of curling into a tiny ball on the floor and squirming in embarrassment. “The doors open officially the following Monday, after the staff establish a formal agenda and program. Abbey Perkins, the new manager, will run a five-day training program for all staff members and volunteers involved. That will take place in two weeks’ time. We already have three children enrolled in the program, siblings of patients currently in hospital. The ward has been primed with information, and referrals have started trickling in from them. We’ve taken out advertisements in women’s and health magazines as well as a couple of medical journals and publications found in doctors’ rooms and pharmacies. Slowly, the word is circulating.”
She finally looked at him, ensuring she wore a vacant expression on her face.
She’d be damned if she let him see how bent out of shape she was. “That is it in a nutshell. Any questions?”
Without answering, he pushed himself off the wall and took seven—she counted each one of them—very slow, very calculated steps in her direction. His face was unreadable, hypnotic, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. He walked past her desk. Unsure of his intentions, she swallowed a tiny gasp as he stopped a mere heartbeat away from her.
The hunger was back in his expression, just as it had been in the kitchen. Only this time, she refused to fall for it. Once bitten…! She took a step back, creating a little space between them. Wrong move. Her butt touched the desktop and she was trapped, caught between a slab of wood and a wall of muscle.
He stepped closer and inhaled slowly. When he exhaled, his breath mingled with hers, sending a wave of longing shimmering through her. His aftershave tickled her nose and she made a concerted effort to hold herself down, to not reach over and bury her face in his chest and gasp in his masculine scent.
Desire overrode her aggravation. Need pulsed through her, so powerful it rendered her muscles useless. She stood paralyzed, aching for his touch.
Her lids grew heavy. She fought every impulse to close them, fought the temptation to tilt her head slightly backward and offer him her mouth as she had in the kitchen.
“Look, Adam
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”
Before she could finish, he swooped in and kissed her.
His lips enveloped hers and his tongue took complete possession of her mouth. It delved inside, hot and wet and demanding. And sweet. Oh, so sweet. Waves of pleasure spiraled through her. Her toes curled and her stomach quivered and she almost wept at the relief she found in his arms as they wrapped around her, pulling her against him.
She surrendered to him completely. Her mouth relaxed and her lips responded and she accepted his searching tongue, feasting on it. Flesh burning and breasts tingling, need rolled over her hard and fast, and she clung to him.