I don’t know when my apartment stopped feeling like home, but the thought of being in that big, empty space with all my minimalist furniture and rarely-used kitchen appliances does not appeal.
It’s not like I fully understand the shift.
Not until I curl into Adam’s arms on the porch swing. Looking out over his acreage, feeling a gentle wind on my face, it finally hits me.
“I don’t think it’s your house.”
“What?” Adam stops, his hand halfway to the cupholder. We’ve both got glasses of lemonade chilling on either end of the porch swing.
“It’s not your house that feels like home,” I say, working through the revelation and letting the words out as they come to me. “It’s you.”
Adam blinks in shock.
I barely register his expression because I’m too busy sorting through my own baggage. Horror fills me to the brim. The swing bucks as I sit up abruptly and glare at Adam. “What did you do to me?”
“Uh… love you?”
I scowl at him. “Exactly. Why couldn’t you love someone else? Why’d it have to be me?”
“Because you’re Nova,” he says simply. Not apologetic in the least.
The bastard.
I narrow my eyes.
He tucks one of my braids behind my ear. The movement causes his fingertips to slide over my temple and cheek. A shudder of pleasure wracks my body.
“You know,” Adam says thoughtfully, “I think what you did today with your sister was incredible.”
All the pleasure points he’d been firing up wind down. I press my back against the swing. Adam isn’t talking about the moment when I told off Lyra in the interrogation room. He’s talking about what happened after. When I told Hall to get Lyra off on a minor charge as long as she agreed to do community service and therapy.
“You’re a lot kinder than people think.”
“Too much of you has rubbed off on me.” I frown. “I’ve got all this sentimental crap in my heart now.”
He laughs and stretches his arm over the back of the chair. “Lyra didn’t succeed in stealing anything. I think, this time, giving her a chance is the right call.”
“Humph.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Why aren’t you more annoyed on behalf of the company? Lyra tried to steal from you, after all.”
His fingers slide over my shoulder. “She tried to steal from us.”
“It’s not my company.”
“Of course it is.” Adam looks down at me with his brown eyes that are deep enough to drown in. “It’s our company. Even if you leave Vision Tech forever and start working at Yoon Technologies, it’s yours. Whether we’re married or not, it’s yours.”
I jump in shock. Adam thinks he’s slick trying to slide that in. “Marriage?”
“Of course marriage.”
I scowl. “Adam.”
“Nova.”
“What kind of proposal is this?”
His grin is mischievous. “I’m talking about our future.”
“You’re feeling me out.”
“And from what I can feel,” his fingers trace my lips, “you seem partial to such an arrangement.”
Heat flares in my chest. I knock his hand back because it’s distracting. “You’re just trying to saddle me with Vision Tech so I have to take responsibility, even if I never go back.”
“Is it that obvious?”
I ram my fist into his muscular arm. It bounces off like a marshmallow against a brick fence.
He laughs and brings my hand up to his lips. When his mouth skates across my knuckles, I get a little lightheaded.
“It’s a solid plan, I’ll admit,” I say grudgingly. “But marriage won’t necessarily mean I own Vision Tech. There’s such a thing as a prenup.”
“I don’t believe in prenups.”
My business brain sends up a host of alarm bells. “What about your inventions? You’ll give me half of those?”
“Half? No.” He shakes his head. “You can have everything if you want it.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s a very bad business decision.”
“I tend to make those. You’re the one who comes in from behind and fixes it.”
“You’re not even sorry.”
“Why should I be? I’d rather lose the company than lose you. It’s very simple.”
“It is not. That’s a lot of money, Adam. You’re not just a regular guy. You’re a billionaire. With a b. Your inventions alone are bringing in massive royalties in perpetuity. Your children’s children are going to be rich.”
“Our children’s children,” he corrects me.
I glare at him again. “Think about it.”
“Nova, I’m going to need you to step out of executive assistant mode for a second and look at this my way.” He leans forward. “I’m willing to die for you. If I’m willing to literally lose my life, then on a sliding scale of doing absolutely nothing to disappearing from the earth, the money is a moot point.”
I half-snort. “How do you come up with those lines?”
“They come to me.”
“Tell them to leave.”
He presses a kiss to my lips. “No.”
“You are the worst,” I mumble, already melting.
“And somehow, I got lucky.” His eyes are on me. I sense that his joke was purely innocent, but it hits on a nerve.
The dirty little cat that purrs for Adam is awake.
And after the craziness of fake weddings, real funerals, attempted burglaries and who knows what else that could be waiting around the corner for us, I want a different kind of chaos. One that will leave me in happy tears rather than perpetual frowns.
“How lucky are we talking here?” I ask smoothly. Then I tilt my head. “I’m asking for clarification purposes.”
With a smile, he wraps me in his arms and binds me to his chest. “That depends on you.”
“In that case,” I walk my fingers up his shirt, “I might need some convincing. Preferably a well-designed PowerPoint presentation with an accompanied nine-page summary of the pros and cons.”
“Hm.” Adam plants a kiss on my cheek and then another, using his lips to draw a soft line up to my temple. There, he presses his nose to my braids, inhales and says, “Pro—I love you and you love me.”
“That’s it?”
“Give me a second. When you look at me like that, I lose track of my thoughts.”
I can’t help it. I pounce on him. My lips capture Adam’s and I sip from his mouth, sucking all the sweetness from his bottom lip. The connection between us burns hot and bright. I want to shrug out of my jacket before I realize that I’m not even wearing one.
Adam’s hand comes up to cradle my face and tilt my head so he can deepen the kiss. His mouth is firm and hot and delicious. So delicious that I groan when he leans back.
“Still need a PowerPoint presentation?”
I crack an eye open and catch him smirking. “That was a good start. I might bend the rules for you.”
“A very wise decision, Miss Delaney.”
I leak a smile, feeling like a fool. But a happy one. The walls between us have all come crumbling down. We’ve weathered every kind of storm imaginable and we’ll continue to ride those waves. Together. Because I might be powerful on my own, but with Adam, I’m unstoppable.
We meet in another hungry kiss. His hand slides over my back, down my hip and over my thighs. I groan at how exquisitely good it feels. He starts unbuttoning his shirt and places my hand on his flexing abs. After one touch, I’m gone. I’m drowning. I’m getting barreled over by a lust so great I can barely contain it.
I want Adam. In all the ways a woman can want a man. And in all the positions a man can have a woman.
He’s my partner. My friend. My lover. My family. My future.
Adam’s touch slips under my shirt next and I nearly jump out of my own skin when he slides his fingers above my rib cage. The desperation that wells inside me, the total lack of control, is now a familiar sensation. I don’t run from it. Instead, I fall deeper, taking a hike off the cliff because I trust that the water will keep me afloat.
And maybe I’ll need some water soon. Are we burning this porch swing to bits? Can the house survive a fire of this size?
Desire singes me everywhere he touches. I want to take off my clothes, but even thinking of breaking our kiss physically hurts.
Adam whispers against my mouth. “Should I put up the foot rest again?”
A whirring sound follows the statement. I glance down and, in the sunlight, I finally see what Rowan painted on the foot rest. It’s a cartoon in his signature style. There are three figures and the word ‘home’ painted in big, bubbly letters.
He’s right.
This is home.
I glance up at Adam, my heart swelling. “Actually, I think we can continue this in the bedroom.”
Adam grins and swoops me up quickly as if he doesn’t want me changing my mind. But there’s no chance in hell that I’m stopping this train. I grab his face to keep kissing him and then stop abruptly when he bangs into the balcony doors.
I jolt.
He groans.
Then we look at each other and chuckle.
“Sorry.” I drop my hands from his face. “I forgot you need your eyes to navigate.”
Adam’s heated gaze slides over my body and turns my blood to molten lava. “Have I mentioned how much I love you, Nova Delaney?”
“Random timing,” I say breathlessly.
“I just had a thought.” Adam’s fingers brush against my cheek. “That I wouldn’t mind banging into more doors with you. I don’t even feel pain when you’re with me.”
“Uh-huh. That’s great. Can we forget about the doors and get to the banging. Please?” I beg.
“Yes, ma’am.” Laughing softly, Adam gets past the door, without leaving his face imprint on it this time, and carries me into his bedroom.
I descend on the bed so gently, you’d think Adam was carrying a delicate piece of glass. My back sinks into the mattress and I keep my eyes on him as he lowers himself in beside me.
My chest is heaving. My heart is roaring. My fingers are clutching his shirt, trying to drag him closer.
I want him on top of me. I want to breathe him in like he’s the only oxygen in the room.
No, it’s not a want.
It’s a need. I’m burning with it.
But Adam isn’t in a rush. His fingers skate against my lips and then slips under my neck. He lifts my head up, pulling my mouth close, and moves his lips softly over mine as if deepening the pressure will shatter me.
Soft explosions rock my world. I stake my elbows into the bed so I can prop myself up. Anticipation heightens the air, along with scents that remind me of the earth after a rain, musky and full of promise.
I’m ready.
So ready.
Adam eases his mouth away and I want to groan and yank him back to me.
No more distance, please. Seven years is enough.
My chest burning, I try to pull off my shirt.
Adam grabs my hand. “Ah-ah, Nova.”
My eyes widen and I let out a pathetic mewl. How long is he going to make me wait?
Adam rolls me over and kisses me again, harder this time. He teases my lips open with his tongue and crushes me with his body, inhaling all of my panting breaths until I nearly die.
Every part of me feels like it’s sizzling with flames and I ground my hips against his, testing his steely resolve.
He groans and blinks rapidly as if his head is spinning.
“Why are you taking your time?” My hands skate over his back. Lust is ricocheting inside my body like a frustrating game of pinball. The kind where the ball knocks against the ramps and pins, causing all the lights to flash and never falling into a hole.
Just get into a damn hole already!
Adam smirks. It’s a slow, sexy smile that spreads from his lips and lights in his eyes. It makes my heart leap straight into my throat and makes my brain short-circuit.
“Do you know you have a teacher voice?”
“A what?” I croak.
He trails kisses over my jaw, dragging his mouth down the column of my neck and making me jolt when he stays in one place, sucking so furiously I’m sure it’ll leave a bruise. I release a loud moan and he leaves a nip on my neck like a deranged vampire.
Out of breath and unravelling with heat, I push him back and attack his jeans to get them off.
Adam stops me again.
I feel like scratching his eyes out.
“I know what you want, Nova,” Adam whispers in my ear. “And I’ll give it to you. But you can’t have control here.”
My eyes flit up to his.
His gaze is steady and dark. Those perfect lips are slightly parted and more brown than pink thanks to my lipstick.
I do my best to sort through his words. What does he want from me? The answer feels like it’s hiding in plain sight, but my lust-addled brain is in full get-Adam-naked mode. It starts glitching even harder when warm hands slide over my stomach.
“You are so beautiful,” Adam says, smoothing out the angry lines in my forehead with a kiss. “Even when you scowl.” He traces my lips with his thumb. “Do you know how much I want you, Nova?”
“Then show me,” I grind out.
Adam frowns and kisses me again, but it lacks the gentleness of before. This time, it’s almost angry. The force of it slams my head into a pillow. Carnivorous, violent, he pins me down with his body.
I encourage him, press myself against him, rile him up until my heart threatens to burst. My blood runs so hot it’s like I’m being boiled to the bone.
Adam yanks my shirt off and I quickly shimmy out of my pants before he can stop me. Cool air hits my bare shoulders and the sensible cotton lingerie I didn’t know I’d be showing off today.
He sucks in a sharp breath when he sees me, eyes slipping up my legs all the way to my chest. The doubts start clearing away. He finds me desirable. It’s written all over his face. Whatever’s going on, it’s not because he’s disappointed.
I arch up and twist my arm around to fumble with the clasp of my bra when Adam stops again.
At first, my nostrils flare in frustration.
Then I remember what he said.
You can’t have control here.
Understanding bursts into my mind. I realize what he wants from me isn’t just naked lust and open legs.
It’s surrender.
My lips twist down and I go stiff. It’s my instinct to be strong, to lead. To be the CEO of a company like Vision Tech, I’ve had to toughen up and it’s affected every part of my life. I didn’t realize it had tiptoed into this room with us.
Adam rubs my head and stares into my eyes. He watches me process, not saying a word. So kind. So patient. It almost makes me want to tear my heart out of my chest and offer it on a silver platter.
Maybe I could survive on my own.
But I don’t want to.
I want Adam.
Looking back, I always have.
With a deep breath, I gather all the prickles, all the armour, all the parts of me that make it hard to be vulnerable with anyone. I set it aside the way that Adam discarded my shirt.
I stop thinking so much.
I just…
Let.
Go.
And then my bra is gone. And Adam’s hot, insistent mouth descends on mine while he rips off the rest of my clothes. His hands move over every inch of my body, worshiping me, adoring me in a way that makes me feel way more powerful than if I’d been stubborn.
In the frenzy of reaching hands and greedy lips, I manage to get Adam’s shirt over his head. He holds me down as I scrape my fingernails into the solid muscle of his back, feeling the corded strength like ropes lashing against his spine. He’s an absolute work of art and I can’t stop touching him. Can’t stop feeling the hills and valleys of his biceps and the strength bounded beneath his tan flesh.
Adam lifts my thighs and spreads me out on the bed. With a hunger so ravenous I’m not sure I can survive it, he devours me with his wicked tongue and equally evil fingers. Who taught him to move like that? To stake his claim like that?
I hear whimpering, a needy sound that definitely couldn’t come from me because I am a fierce, independent…
Oh.
Oh… that’s me.
Sweat rolls down my body.
Pleasure coils and coils in my center.
I moan, my hands fisting into the bedsheets as my vision turns white. I’m floating. And then I’m exploding like fireworks. The shudder that wracks me makes me wonder if an earthquake just hit the city.
Adam leaves the bed for a second and then he’s back. The mattress dips. “Are you with me, darlin?”
It takes me a second to nod.
“Good,” he whispers. He brushes a kiss to my lips and I taste myself. I taste us. “Because,” Adam growls, “I used up all my patience getting you to understand me.”
I open my mouth to protest, but the words turn into a pinched gasp when he invades me so suddenly it rips a scream from my throat.
It’s too much.
He’s too much.
Pain and pleasure twine together, weaving in and out with the fury of a destructive hurricane.
Hot and lashing.
Punishing and rewarding.
I can’t contain it all.
It feels like I’m shattering into a thousand pieces just trying to keep up.
Or maybe that’s the bed that’s about to crack as Adam pins my hips down and reveals what seven-years’ worth of pent up desire feels like.
Faster.
Harder.
Setting a fire of want and need with every slick movement.
And I let myself burn. I open myself to be ravaged and pillaged and destroyed. I deny Adam nothing, giving him all of my body, all the low moans and the slickness of my pleasure.
I move with him and rise with him. Meet his lips in a kiss and then let my mouth stake claim of his jaw, his throat, leaving damp, wet trails wherever I brush. His steady pace turns into a chaotic surge that nearly breaks me.
I hold on for dear life and then I can’t hold on anymore. The wave that crashes into me is overwhelming, yanking me down by the ankles into a pleasure so consuming that it refuses to end. A living, breathing, moving thing that pulses and thrums and drags me further into Adam’s orbit. Into his world. Making us one. Whole. Perfect.
And before it even ends, Adam shifts the motion, slowing down, building me back again. Silently promising me that there’s more in store for me, the woman who finally trusted him with everything.
