Crash Into My Heart (5 page)

A
desk with a
laptop dominated
the corner of the
family
room
running
along the
rear
of the house
. He noted
the
sectional with deep cushions.
Tolerable
for
a
night.
He
’d loved to join her in
bed but she really did look affected by the accident and he was essentially a gentleman. Or, he was certain he could act like one. He hadn’t felt tested like this before though.

He wandered over and flipped
open the laptop
.
I
t was running,
the web
browser activated
.
Janice’s email address
showed two boarding
passes for a
round-trip
flight
,
LAX
to
Denver, leaving today,
returning
i
n two weeks.
Her sons.
She must have been
driving
home after taking
them to the airport
when she crashed
.
Had they flown alone? Or had someone, like an ex
,
taken them?
He felt a twinge of
disquietude
. The guy better not
make her life hard. His sister’s ex
w
as
still
around, trying to control her
, while pretending to play daddy to their adopted daughter
.
In truth, Adrian was more of a father figure than that
jerk
.

He opened another
browser window and searched
concussions.
Headaches, loss of consciousness, dizziness,
nausea, slurred speech, fatigue
. I
ndividuals should see a doctor within a day or two if any symptoms present
ed
or worsened ove
r time. If necessary, h
e could take her to a clinic in the morning.

He
arrested
his thoughts
.
What was he
doing
here
?
She wasn’t his responsibility.

He heard the sound
of her door opening. He
rose to meet her
.
The hall light
illuminated
her
shoulder-length
pale
hair and
scrubbed
skin. Her eyes, shadowed by her injuries
,
disconcerted him with their haunting beauty
.
Face it.
She
was why he was here
.

“Adrian?” She obviously was wondering what he was doing
too
, standing there dumbstruck.

***

Janice knew she looked like hell. The harsh bathroom light had
exhibited
the b
ruises on her face. S
he looked like she’d been enthusiastically beaten.
The stunned look on Adrian’s face reinforced that
assessment
.

S
he was
too
tired
to care
. She’d had an emotionally wrenching day seeing the boys off with their aunt,
Karl
’
s sister, for a holiday with
their grandparents in Denver.
S
he’d never gotten
along
well
with
Karl
’s family.
She did her best to maintain a positive
attitude
, but she
suspected
while
the boys were with
Karl
’s family, they were indoctrinated both into his family’s politics and religion. She
wondered whether the
education
included an
anti-
mommy
agenda
.

The
fact that she could have died
today
—that her sons could have lost a second parent to
an
accident—
put
Karl
’s family
issues
in
perspective
.

“
The boys!”

Janice
headed
down the hall.

“Whoa! Where are you going, pr
incess?” Adrian intercepted her
.

“I need to call my sons
to
make sure they
arrived safely
.”

“Do you want your cell phone
?”

“Yes. And I have to call for a tow truck.”

“A
l
ready
done
.
It’s being taken t
o the shop written
on
th
at
paper by the computer.”

Something shifted in her. No one had been so helpful to her in years.

“Thank you.”

Janice went to the kitchen table and
pulled out her phone
. She hit the buttons to
call
her son
s
.
With her eyes, s
he
followed
A
drian
wandering
back into the living
ro
om and sitting
down on the s
ectional
. He
appeared to be
testing the firmness of the cushions.
After several rings,
Christian
answered
his cell
phone.

“
Hi
. It’s
M
om. Did you and Nathan
arrive
okay?”

Christian
responded, sounding
happy. They were having a barbeque
with
their aun
ts, uncles and cousins
.

She watched Adrian
l
ean back and close his eyes.
She turned her back on his appealing form.

“Sure, dear. Put Nathan on.” She could hear voice
s chattering,
laughing in the background. Nathan came on, breathless.

“So you and your brother
went swimming
? They have new puppies too? Yes, go and
eat your hamburger. Don’t keep G
randpa waiting. I love you. Tell your brother I love h
im. Okay, talk to you tomorrow.”

She clicked the phone off
and set it down. She felt…left
out.

Then
a
large,
warm hand stroke
d
down her bac
k and all thoughts of
her ex-in-laws and her boys fled. She
felt the intense, masculine
heat radiating
from
Adrian’s body. Her body reacted like a sunflower turning towards the sun, all her sen
ses tuning into the physical presence of this man
she’d just met
.

“Come sit down. W
ant something to drink?”

She lean
ed
into him.
Just for a moment.

“Wine sounds good. There’s
Cabernet Sauvignon in the wine rack.”

“I’ll get it,” Adrian said as he s
eated her on the sofa.
“O
pener?”

“T
op drawer
,
under the rack.”

Janice
studied
Adrian
as he
walk
ed
back into the kitchen.
She loved watching him.
He moved so fluidly.
She would bet serious money that he spor
ted a six-pack under that
white business shirt. As he twisted the wine opener into the cork of the bottle, his shoulders
muscles flexed,
his pectorals strain
ing
the
shirt
sleeves.

“Glasses?”

“T
op cabinet by the sink.”

She sank
into the corner of the sofa and closed her eyes. The sound of wine
pouring
soothed h
er. She r
olled her shoulders to relieve her
tension.
Adrian
settled
next to her. The glasses clinked on the glass table as he set them down.

“
Let me rub your
back
.”

His hands were on her shoulders, urging her to turn. She allowed him to
s
pread his hands across her upper back. All her senses
flashed into awareness
as his
warm fingers
gently
massaged
her
tight muscles.

Janice sighed
appreciatively.

“
That feels divine
.”

“
My pleasure
.”

Adrian continued to work his way across her shoulders, her back and down towards her waist.

Janice
felt her tension evaporate
.

“Most people
practically
maim a person
by pressing too hard. Y
ou’re doing it just right.”

“My sister
Lissa
is a professional masseuse.”

“Really?”

“She works in professional sports. She has some famous clients in LA.”

“If she taught you how to do what you’re doing, I owe the woman a huge bar of chocolate
if I ever meet her
.”

Adrian’s breath was hot on her neck as he chuckled. “I’ll be sure to let her know
you approve
of my
skills.”

Janice
thought naughtily about how
she’d like to
experience
his full repertoire of skills
.

“Have
some
wine,” Adrian encouraged her, bringing t
he glass around to her face
.

She took
the glass
a
nd
sip
ped
, letting herself fantasize that they were together on a date rather than due to a freak meeting
.
Kallie
always encouraged her to take more risks. Open up to opportunities.
Mustering her courage,
she
took a risk
.
Dug up some long-buried flirting skills.

“You aren’t going to get me drunk and take advantage of me, are you?”

His mouth was at her ear
immediately
, his voice gruff
.

“Would you like me to?
”

Then he
kisse
d her
neck,
and
s
he struggled to breathe.

“Umm…I don’t know if I can make a sound decision tonight.”

“
I’ll
make it for you.” He nuzzled her neck, nipping
her
lightly.

She started, astonished.

“Did you just
bite me?”

“
You smell so
wonderful
,
I
’m dying
to know what you taste like.”

She felt self-conscious, awkward.

“I doubt you’ll get much flavor from my neck.”

“Where do you suggest
I sample
you
?”

Janice
flushed
. It was
hard to resist his charismatic draw
. She leaned back into his chest and he
slid his hands
around her waist
and pull
ed
her firmly into his lap
, straight onto his aroused
cock
. He leaned down over her
shoulder
.

“
Look up
.”
It was a command.