French Kiss (Silver Cove Series Book 2) (15 page)

After placing their orders, she folded her arms on the table and just looked at him. He smiled back at her.

It had been almost eighteen years since he’d seen that face for the first time. There were a ton of new lines and wrinkles across her forehead, but there was also a heck of a lot more laugh lines around her eyes and mouth than when he’d first arrived.

“Spill,” she finally said, her eyes narrowing.

“Tu es belle.” He reached for her hands and pulled them up to his lips.

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” she said, but he noticed her eyes soften. “What are you up to? Why do you need me to tell everyone you’re staying in town, when you’re really heading back to the resort?”

He sighed, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. He spoke to her in French in a soft tone.

“Do you remember the woman I was telling you about, Lilly?” he asked, waiting for his gran to catch on.

“Of course,” she said back in fluent French. “The girl you are smitten with?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

“What about her?”

“Someone has been stalking her. They have left some pretty crazy notes.” He remembered the pieces of green paper he’d given to Carl.

She gasped. “That’s terrible.”

“I’m going back to the island tonight to stay with her,” he added.

His gran smiled. “You’re in love.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Yes.” He smiled, then frowned. “I need to be there to protect her.”

“Of course you do.” She leaned forward and patted his hand. “Go. Be safe though. I know you didn’t like to be on the water during the storm—”

“I’ll be fine,” he broke in, just as their food arrive.

“Before you go,” his gran said once the waitress left, “I have something for you at home.”

He smiled. “You didn’t have to give me anything but your love.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “And you’ve given me enough for a lifetime already.”

She blushed and he saw a tear come to her eyes. “You really are too much.” She patted her hand over her heart. “Never an ounce of trouble. If you ask me”—she said in between bites— “your parents were just too selfish to raise you themselves.” She looked up at him. “It’s a good thing too, because I don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t sent you to me.”

“I was a hellion,” he added, frowning into his soup.

“You were a nine-year-old boy.” She waited until he looked at her. “Nothing more.”

He felt something in his chest shift. “Speaking of my parents, have you heard from them lately?”

His mémère frowned and set her fork down. “They are having problems,” she said, looking down at her food.

“What kind of problems? Money?”

She laughed. “No. Marriage.”

He frowned. “How bad?”

“Your mother is thinking of moving to the States.”

“That bad?” She nodded.

“Your father…” She sighed. “I never liked the man. His head has always been too far into politics and chasing other women.”

“Other women?”

“Yes, why do you think they moved you here?”

“Because I was a hellion.”

She chuckled. “Yes, you were.” She reached over and patted his check. “But it was so he could have time to pursue his desires.”

“What about my mother?”

“She didn’t want to raise a boy to follow in his footsteps.” She frowned down at her plate and pushed the half-eaten burger away, disgusted.

L
illy floated through the rest of the evening shift. Her mind wasn’t really on her work or even the conversations she’d had with guests or employees. By the time the evening meal was over, she was desperately wishing for a hot bath and a couple aspirin.

Even the weather had taken a turn for the worse again. More lightning lit up the night sky and thunder crashed loudly throughout the buildings. She dashed through the rain, along with several other employees, to their building and climbed up the stairs while Heather chatted with her about her day. She was only half-listening to her story.

“I’m sorry, I guess I have a headache,” she said when Heather asked her a question that she hadn’t heard. “I’m going to go in, take a bath, and relax for the night.”

“Okay, if you need anything…” Heather added.

“Thanks.” She unlocked her room, stepped in, flipped on the light, and screamed.

Then she sighed and closed her eyes until she heard Heather pounding on her door. Quickly opening it, she smiled. “Sorry, saw a spider.” She rolled her eyes. “Guess I’m going to hunt it down, then take a bath.”

Heather took a step back and cringed. “I would help…”

“I know.” She smiled. “Go, save yourself. Night.” She shut the door and flipped the lock.

“You could have warned me,” she hissed at Adam, who was reclining back on her bed as if he’d been there for hours. “Or turned on the light so I knew you were here already.”

“So, I’m a spider, am I?” He chuckled.

“Heather has arachnophobia. I knew she wouldn’t ask to come in if it was a spider.” She walked over and pushed his booted feet off her still-clean bed.

“How did everything go?” he asked, sitting up.

“Fine.” She walked over, tossed her shoes into the corner, and sat down in her chair, which was still holding her blankets and pillow.

“You?”

“Fine. I came back just before sunset. I didn’t want to chance the weather getting worse.” He paused when lightning lit up her room. “Which seems to have paid off.”

She realized that he’d just risked his life to get back to her and she sighed. “I’m grateful you did. I was worried about you.” She realized that was partly the cause of her headache. Now that she knew he was okay, the majority of it dissipated.

“You didn’t have any problems?” he asked, moving to the end of the bed.

“No, everyone acted normal.” She shrugged, thinking about the phone call. “I…” She took a breath. “I do have something to tell you, but…”

“What?” Worry instantly crossed his face.

“I received a phone call today.”

“From?” He leaned forward, reaching out and touching her knee. “Is everything okay?”

“A private detective. That my mother hired.”

“Your… mother, mother?” he asked. When she nodded, he just stared at her blankly. “But, I thought…”

“Yeah, so did I. I just figured all these years that I got away because they were both…” She sighed. “It seems that Dave died in Katrina, but my mother, Carolina, survived.” She felt a tear slide down her face. Adam was up instantly, pulling her into his arms.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. She was never really there for me. She always took Dave’s side and when I tried to tell her about… him, she blamed me.”

“How did she find you?” he asked, pulling her down to the edge of the bed.

“Sarah and Ben’s wedding photo in the papers.”

“What does she want?” His hand was rubbing up and down her arm, removing the chill that had come over her.

“To talk.” She shrugged. “I guess.”

“The PI didn’t say?”

Sighing, she admitted, “I guess there was too much buzzing in my head to hear anything more after he told me he knew who I was.”

“Did you get his number?” Adam asked. She nodded and handed him the sticky note. “We can call him tomorrow.” He tucked it into his pocket. “For now”—he stood up— “I believe you mentioned something about a bath?”

She allowed him to walk her backwards until her shoulders bumped up against the bathroom door. He fumbled as he reached behind her and opened the bathroom door.

They stumbled into the room together as he caught them and moved until she was once more pinned between him and a door.

“I’ve missed your lips,” he said as his lips rushed over hers.

“You’ve only been gone for a few hours.” She gasped when his teeth scraped up her neck, causing goosebumps to rise all over her skin.

“Too long,” he growled next to her ear. His hands pushed her clothing away quickly, only moving away from her for a moment as he tossed his clothes aside.

When they were both naked, he pushed his body back up against hers and pinned her to the wall. His hands skimmed over her as his mouth nibbled every inch of her exposed skin.

She raked her nails along his back, needing to pull him closer to her as his mouth worked down her body. She’d never experienced the pleasure that spiked through her when his hot mouth found her soft folds.

Her fingers dug into his hair, holding him in place as his tongue lapped at her and she took her pleasure. Her shoulders pushed against the cool wood as she closed her eyes and silently begged him not to stop.

“Tell me how much you missed me,” he said against her skin.

“Yes,” she agreed. “More,” she begged.

“More?” He chuckled. “Like this?” His finger dipped into her heat as his mouth continued its pleasure.

This time she screamed out his name as she felt her legs fold out from under her.

“Easy, I’ve got you.” He lifted her up and walked her into her standup shower. “Your shower is bigger than mine.” He frowned at the space. “And you have a seat.” He shook his head.

Her mind was still too foggy to register his complaints, so she just moaned and nodded in agreement.

“Who did you have to kill to get this bathroom?” He pushed the showerhead aside so she wouldn’t be shocked by the cold water and turned on the faucet. When the water had warmed, he flipped the showerhead towards her.

Just one more thing to like about him.

“Sarah,” she said absentmindedly.

He chuckled. “Sarah is still alive.” He lathered soap all over her skin.

“No, Sarah set it up for me. Since I don’t go to the mainland, she gave me the room with the nicest bathroom. I actually had to wait a whole year to move in here.”

The water was clearing her mind and she wondered about his pleasure. Glancing down at him, she realized he was still fully hard and ready to go, which only made her feel more on fire than before.

“Adam?” She moved closer to him, her hands roaming over his chest as he moaned slightly.

“Hmm?” he asked, his eyes going dark just before they closed.

“Does it work both ways?” she asked, softly.

“What?” He leaned his head back against the tile.

Instead of answering, she sat on the bench, taking his thighs into her hands and moving him a step until his hardness was right in front of her face.

“Lilly,” he warned, just before she took him into her mouth. When he groaned with pleasure, matching her own sounds from moments ago, she realized it did work both ways.

She used her mouth on him, much like he had on her. Learning how to please him turned her on even more. This time it was him who screamed out her name.

His hands came under her arms, pulling her up. “As soon as I can think again, you are in so much trouble.” He pulled her next to his body. “Where did you learn that?”

She giggled. “From you.” She sighed as he pulled her hair under the water and started running his soapy hands down its length.

“I talked to my mémère today. She says my parents are getting a divorce.”

She leaned back. “I’m sorry to hear it.”

“Don’t be. From the sounds of it, my father has been cheating since before the ink dried on the license. It sounds like my mother is going to be moving here.”

She stood back and looked at him. “How do you feel about that?”

“Probably as excited as you feel about talking with your mother.”

She laid her head down on his chest. “Promise me that if we ever have kids, we’ll be better parents to them than they were to us.” She felt him still, then sighed. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.” She started to pull away, but his arms around her stopped him.

“No, I like the sound of that.” He put his fingers under her chin until she looked up at him. “I like thinking ahead to our future.” He ran a kiss over her lips. “You are going to make an incredible mother.” He smiled down at her and she felt her heart skip.

***

Adam lay in the bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling and listening for the hint of any sounds. Every now and then, the room would light up from the storm, but the thunder was too far away now to wake Lilly up from her deep sleep beside him.

Her warm body was pressed against his, causing him a little discomfort, but he knew she was worth the sleepy limbs and tightness in his shorts.

His mind played over the day and he wondered how long they would have to wait until her stalker made his move.

He must have fallen asleep because a few hours later he awoke and heard the shower running and saw the light streaming through her window.

When Lilly walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, he smiled at her.

“Guess we had a peaceful night.”

She nodded. “I hope you ended up getting some sleep.”

He yawned, then nodded. “Since I’m not really here, I’m going to see if I can get a few more hours in after you leave.”

She smiled. “I wish I could crawl back in there with you.” She frowned as her eyes roamed over him. “I really, really wish I could.”

“So, do,” he coaxed.

She backed up a step and shook her head. “Can’t. The men are supposed to start sealing the floor in the attic today. Plus, I have orders to place, invoices to scan, and…” She smiled. “A kitchen to oversee since my head chef is slacking off for the day.”

He chuckled. “I did plan on doing some work too.” He nodded to the computer he’d set on her desk last night when he’d snuck in.

“What kind of work?” she asked, pulling on a dark cream skirt.

“Just something I’ve been working on.” He felt his face heat and tried to change the subject. “You look amazing this morning.”

“What kind of something?” She didn’t fall for the change of subject and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting. The fact that she was only wearing the skirt and her bra was a big turn on.

“I’m writing something,” he supplied.

“What? Like a book?” she asked, pulling out a blouse.

“Sort of.” He frowned and wished she’d move on.

“Really?” The excitement in her voice was intoxicating.

“It’s nothing really, just a cookbook and a guide on how to grow your own spices and herbs.” He shifted slightly in the bed.

“Why don’t we grow our own on the island? I mean, there must be plenty of space.” She started buttoning her blouse. “There’s room between the back door and the employees’ store.” She turned back to him. “Could you get me a list of things you’d need? I can have Rodney get them once he gets back. Maybe we can even put up a little greenhouse so you can grow year round.”

The enthusiasm in her voice grew and he could see her excitement.

“I was meaning to ask Sarah once she returned. I felt it was too early to, before the wedding.” He tucked his arm behind his head and watched her slip into a sexy pair of heels.

“Are you going to wear those for our date tonight?” he asked.

“Our…date?”

He smiled. “Forgot it already?” He made a tsking noise. “Our date night. You were going to wear that…”—he made a growling sound— “sexy dress for me.”

He watched her eyes sparkle. “Yes, I remember. Don’t you think it’s a bad idea now? Considering… everything?”

“You let me worry about that.” He got up from the bed and handed her the dress from the closet. “Just be up here in this, around eight.”

She took the dress and smiled at him. “That I can do. What are you going to do about food? Should I bring up…”

“I came prepared.” He nodded to his duffle bag. “Don’t worry about me. Go about your normal day and make sure to keep your phone with you.”

She walked over to him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “I won’t forget. Get some sleep. You look like you could use it.”

She turned to go. “Lilly.” She stopped and looked back at him. “Call him, find out what she wants, then call me on my cell.” He handed her the card for the PI that she’d given him earlier.

She looked down at it, slowly nodded, then took it and walked out.

His body was demanding that he crawl back in between the sheets, but his mind was too busy. So, he pulled his laptop to the bed and lay down as he did a little research on Lilly’s past.

Almost an hour later he found a report from the hurricane that listed all the lives lost and saw Cara Kincaid and David Kincaid listed with a surviving family member Caroline Kincaid. There were grainy pictures of the family, both parents smiling, while Lilly—Cara—stared at the camera as if she were already dead inside.