With a wink, he turned to the door, banging his shoulder as he walked through it.
My phone buzzed in my lap, jerking me awake. I’d fallen asleep with my head against the cool glass of the window.
Josie: We’re heading back to our room. Thanks for those beautiful albums. Grayson already treasures his. If you get a chance, can you please check on Adam? He never came back downstairs.
I checked the time with a frown. Adam would’ve either sobered up or be in a drunken stupor by now. With a sigh, I climbed off the window seat and ventured down the hall to his room.
I was about to knock when my gaze diverted through my open door, where a large hunched-over figure sat at the end of my bed. It was too dark to see his face, but I knew it was Adam. No matter how much I tried to block it, I was drawn to his energy.
“Hey,” I whispered, closing the door behind me.
He wiped his nose with the back of his hand but kept his head lowered. “I know I shouldn’t be in here uninvited, but I, um…” his voice choked up.
“Adam…” I waded through the waves of grief to get close to him. I lifted his tear-streaked face to mine and almost buckled under his heartache. “It’s okay to feel this way.”
As his chest convulsed into sobs, I stepped between his legs and held him tight, absorbing his misery, along with his tears, into my oversized sweatshirt.
With his face buried in my stomach, I ran my fingers through his disheveled hair and pressed my lips to the top of his head, desperate to make his pain go away.
Adam peered up at me through a glaze of despair. “Can I stay with you tonight?”
As a torturous mixture of grief and love struck my heart, I brought my lips to his, answering his plea. Our kiss was gentle, our touch subtle, but the underlying current of desire grew too powerful to ignore.
I tugged off his sweatshirt while Adam tore off my mine, kissing my stomach as he unfastened my jeans and slid them, and my panties, to the floor. Once I’d stepped out of the pool of clothes, he pulled me onto his lap and kissed me deeper as I straddled his legs.
My skin grew clammy as I rocked my pulsing core over the bulge of Adam’s sweatpants.
“Fuck,” he uttered in a low growl while pressing his forehead to mine.
Relishing the building heat, I released his imposing length and stroked, fueling the fire that was sure to turn me to ash.
Without hesitation, Adam hitched me up and glided into me. His chest rumbled as I adjusted to his size and the deeply penetrating position, and I almost came at the beautiful sound.
Adam removed my t-shirt and bra and tossed them across the room. “Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he said, rolling his gaze and hands over my moonlit body.
I rotated my hips in circles, begging for more. “Since when are you so tender?”
With one skilled flip, my back hit the mattress with Adam hovering over me. “What do you prefer?”
I gazed up at him, feeling too much, wanting too much. “All of the above.”
“Good answer,” he murmured, kissing me softly on the lips as he slid inside once more. “But tonight, we’re taking this slow.”
For hours, we made love. Deep, tantric, unforgettable love. With our bodies unified, the intensity of our connection surged. Our souls entwined, morphing pain into pleasure, lust into love, until our broken pieces smoothed over like ocean glass. Still broken, now beautiful.
36
As much as I wanted to take away Adam’s pain, he needed to face it. So, when he snuggled into the crook of my neck only minutes after yet another mind-blowing orgasm, I pressed my hand against his perspiring chest.
“Adam…you need to rest,” I said, pushing past my everlasting desire to be ravished by him once again. “The next few days are going to be rough.”
“But we can pretend…” He pulled my waist toward his.
“Not anymore.” I ran my thumb down his cheek as I stared into his imploring eyes. “This is real, Adam. Liam is gone.”
His chest deflated as he retracted his arm.
“Hey.” I grasped his hand and pulled it to my lips. “I’ll be here for you, but I can’t be your distraction.”