Breathe Into Me (6 page)

“
You’d think they’ve never seen a woman before,” Grace chuckles. “Boys, let’s not stare at the pretty girl, you’ll make her uncomfortable.”

I try to hide my smile at Grace’s comment. I’m glad she spoke up. I was starting to feel uneasy.

“Right, sorry. I guess we should introduce ourselves. I’m, Lincoln Scott.”

I reach forward and shake the biggest hand I’ve e
ver seen. The man is huge, with wide shoulders and a chest as big as a football field. He offers me a wide grin full of dimples and I instantly feel relaxed. He has golden hair cut into short spikes and has kind gray eyes. Lincoln points to the man next to him. “This is, Casanova Bouchard.”

I’m met
with another breathtaking smile.

“It’s nice to meet you
, Andy, and please call me, Cass.” He’s a few inches shorter than Lincoln is and smaller in stature, but not by much. He has the same short golden hair just sans spikes. His eyes are a stunning shade of turquoise.

“And these two are the infamous Trudeau brothers. One is full of class
, the other brash.”

I chuckle at Lincoln’s play on words. The bad boy from last night nods his head in greeting and I get a good look at his dark eyes. They hold the
intense combination of danger and pleasure. Kelsey would be eaten alive by this man.

“I’m
Micah and that’s Jamie.”

I quickly study the tall figure in front of me. He carries an heir of sophistication. His black wavy hair is
cut short and styled to perfection. His bright blue eyes sparkle like sapphires and his chiseled cheekbones and perfect lips are surrounded by a well-groomed goatee. The man is exquisite. His body is nothing, but tanned skin and rippling muscles. These men may share a last name, but that has to be the only thing those two have in common. They don’t look anything alike, well other than their muscular frames.
Jeez, these guys must work out a lot.
I swallow the lump in my throat as I survey the room.

“So I guess the saying is true, pret
ty people do travel in packs.” I try to mask my nerves with humor, but to be honest I’ve never been around so many perfect men before, and it’s unnerving.

The men begin to chuckle.

“Oh
, angel, you have no idea how right you are,” Adam says as he moves through the sea of muscle and pulls me into his arms.

He
has changed out of his dress pants and button down shirt from dinner to ripped jeans and a red t- shirt that reads,
“Got me? I’ll do your body good.”
Yes, I bet he could.

“So I take it
that you’ve met everyone?”

I nod my head against his hard chest. His fresh air scent permeates my nose. Damn h
e smells good, like a warm summer day.

“Are you ready for the surprise?”

I give him a skeptical look. I wonder if I can unbalance him as easily as he does me. “Sure, as long as it has nothing to do with you being married, gay, or that you secretly wear women’s panties.”

The two men
, who could easily be compared to Vikings, erupt with laughter. “Damn girl, you are totally going to fit in around here.” Lincoln gives me another one of his dimple-filled smiles and winks at me.

“Grace
, I apologize for my boldness in advance.” Adam places his hands on the back of my chair and leans his upper body toward mine so we’re eye to eye. “No, angel, I’m not married and I’m more than happy to prove to you which team I bat for.” His body leans closer, his mouth hovers over my ear. “And just so you know, the only panties I’m interested in are yours.”

Nope, he’s still the reigning champ.
My body suddenly floods with heat and I can feel my cheeks turning red. God I’ve never blushed so much in my life.

Several throats are cleared and I realize we are still surrounded by hi
s friends. What is it about this man that makes me forget my surroundings? It’s as if the second he gets near me the world just fades away and we are the only two people left.

“Let’s go
, luv, we’re going to be late.”

***

A half an hour later I’m sitting at The Boonies nursing a beer. Kelsey and Henry have just arrived and I quickly introduced them to my new friends.

“Did he really say that to you?” I had just filled Kelsey in on my earlier conversation in Adam’s kitchen. I
nod and chuckle to myself. The man always seems to get the upper hand. She turns to the stage where Adam and his friends are setting up their instruments. The house band didn’t show up tonight, so Finn had asked the boys to play, which was the big surprise.

“You
know, I’m starting to think that man is perfect for you.” I couldn’t agree with her more.

“I don’t know
. There has to be something wrong with him.”

I promptly smack Henry in the arm. “Obviously there’s something wrong with him because he’s interested in me
, right? Way to rain on my parade.” I thought he’d be happy for me.

“First of all ouch, and second I’
m sorry, but you expect me to believe his lame excuse for a job? And if he’s really so perfect then why is he single?”

I take a huge sip
of my beer. Henry does have a point, not about Adam’s job. I don’t really care what he does for a living. Whatever it is, he must be good at it to afford the things that he owns. But how is a man like Adam single? It just doesn’t make any sense. Grace’s words from earlier ring in my ears, maybe his past has something to do with it.

“Leave her alone
, Henry, let the poor girl be happy for five minutes. Besides you’re single so you have no room to talk.” Kelsey sticks her tongue out at Henry and he holds his hands up in defeat.

“Fine
, but don’t come crying to me when he breaks your heart.”

I mouth a thank you to Kelsey. A
t least I know she has my back. Adam and Lincoln step off the stage and join us at our table.

“We’re about to start
, angel, but I want you to hang with Linc, I don’t want a repeat of last night.”

I open my mouth to argue
, but as I watch him scan the room, I realize he’s just being cautious. Maybe he’s tracking someone dangerous.

“
Sure, if it will make you feel better.” I’m going to have to make an effort to find out more about his job.

“Thank you. Just promise me you’ll stay in his sight at all times.”

I nod in agreement, but suddenly wonder what my friends will think about this. Henry keeps his mouth shut for once and Kelsey seems more than happy to be near, Lincoln. Adam kisses my forehead and heads back to the stage. Lincoln settles into a chair next to me and continues to survey the room.

“Are you a bounty hunter to
o?” I ask. A soft chuckle rumbles from the man that’s easily the size of a Buick.

“Yeah we all are.”

Interesting, they must all partners or something.
We continue our small talk and I quickly realize Lincoln is a huge flirt. Several scantily clad women have made sure to capture his attention. As I look around the packed bar, I realize there is an insane amount of woman here tonight. Word must have gotten out about the fight. That’s one thing about small towns, within twenty-four hours the whole town will know everyone’s business.

“Lincoln
, has anyone ever told you that you look like a giant teddy bear?” Kelsey asks as she sighs dreamily.

The large man next to me begins to laugh before flashing my friend a
mischievous grin. “Anytime you wanna cuddle up to me in bed, darlin’, you just let me know.”

I shake my head at the both of them
. My eyes focus on a group of woman that has gathered around the stage, several of them are attempting to gain Adam’s attention. The surge of jealous I feel practically knocks me out of my seat. I can’t really blame them, he’s drop dead gorgeous, but he’s mine.

Wait. Where did that come from?
I mean I’m attracted to him, but I hardly know him. Adam is a virtual stranger to me. He’s so dark and mysterious. His eyes shine with an unspoken wisdom that only comes with age. Which makes no sense to me, Adam can’t be a day over thirty. It’s as if he’s a jigsaw puzzle and I’m missing some of the pieces. The rational side of me is screaming to be cautious. That underneath his charm and playful personality lays a dangerous man, one that could easily break down the carefully constructed walls that I have placed around my heart.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I feel that I don’t deserve to be loved. Far from it actually, I’m just scared to lose someone who means something to me. This is why my rational side always wins in the end. I keep people at arm’s length
, never letting them get too close. I’ve let rational Andy rule my life for so long that I’m terrified at the thought of letting Adam in.

But what if he’s the one?
A small voice pipes up in the back of my mind. It belongs to my inner wild child. The one I’ve ignored for the better part of my adult life. Wild Andy has a point. If I continue my normal behavior, I could push Adam away and possibly miss out on the love of my life. This thought causes me to panic. 

My thoughts shift gears as I start to think about how it fel
t to wake up in his arms. I felt safe with him, almost as if he would never allow anything bad to happen to me. He reminds me of an ancient warrior who would hold me close as he fought against his enemies with a sword. I shake my head at the thought. I read way too many romance novels.

Although, last night
was
the first time I didn’t have nightmares after hearing my parent’s song. Normally when I hear that song or even have a memory of my parent’s, it causes me to go back to that horrific night when they were taken from me. So why was last night different? Maybe Adam’s presence was just a coincidence. I did have an awful lot to drink last night.

I watch closely as Adam lo
oks up and nods his head toward the group of women before going back to helping Cass with his drum set. The sound of the feminine laughter makes me see red.

Lincoln begins to chuckle.
“You have nothing to worry about, Andy, that man only has eyes for you.”

Normally I wouldn’t believe t
hat, but Adam barely acknowledged those other women. I push aside my inner turmoil as Adam picks up his guitar, our eyes meet, and the smile he gives me takes my breath away. His masculine voice fills the room and guitars strum to life. I thought the man was hot before, but he’s a freaking god with a guitar. The lights turn down as they begin to play the song “Porn Star Dancing”, and instantly the crowd goes wild.

***

Half way through the first set, I realized these guys are in the wrong profession. They are amazingly talented and their voices seem to harmonize effortlessly. I’m also supremely turned on. Watching Adam on stage is the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen. Everything from the way his body moves, to the way his long fingers expertly slide against his guitar strings. The way he smiles at me over the mic while he sings songs about love and sex. My memory of what the man looks like under his clothes makes my body quiver with need. It took all my will power not to crawl on top of him this morning so I could run my tongue over his intricate six-pack. His body is a beautiful mix of olive skin and sculpted sinew muscle. I want to explore every inch of him with my tongue.

Near the end of the second set, my horniness has taken a back to seat and my jealousy is
firmly at the wheel. It seems like every woman in the bar is vying for the attention of the men on stage. Between the sexual offers being shouted at them and the flashes of bare skin, I’m about ready to commit murder. I’ve never been one to get jealous, but this is getting ridiculous.

Kelsey doesn’t seem impressed with the female display either. I don’t blame her. Jamie’s rendition of Nickelback’s “Midni
ght Queen” seemed to send every woman in the bar into a lust crazed frenzy. It’s almost as if the man is made of pure sexual energy. Even I have to admit I was turned on for a moment. The sound of Adam’s voice brings me back to reality.

“This last song’s for my girl
, Andy,” He flashes me a smile that takes my breath away. The band starts to play “Angel” by Aerosmith. His eyes meet mine as he begins to sing.

“I’m alone, yeah I don’t know if I can face the night, I’m in tears, and the crying that I do is for you… I want your love- Lets break the walls between us. Don’t make it tough- I’ll put away my pride. Enough’s enough I’ve suffered and I’ve seen the light!”

And just like that, I’m lost.

The moment the song ends, Adam passes his guitar to Jamie and makes his way through the crowd of estrogen. I throw myself into his arms and I’m rewarded with a kiss, and not just any kiss. It’s as if he’s staking a claim, as if he wants everyone to know that we are together.

All my insecurities melt away as he deepens our kiss
further. Our bodies are so close I can feel every hard angle, including his sizeable erection that’s pressed against my stomach.