Need You Now (Martha's Way Series Book 2) (9 page)

She rather enjoyed visiting during the
se
ason when there were fewer people around. Adam
usually went to Europe for a week or two then stayed on the island. She visited
often last winter; a lot of long weekends that should have tired her but
instead made her feel alive.

They drove in silence, and
for that she was grateful. Lily focused her attention on
the road and admired the impressive private homes with sweeping ocean views.
Adam’s house in Chillmark was similar in setting. They turned on Beach Road and
drove through Oak Bluffs, the town Blake g
rew up in
and probably the trendiest of them all, with a very So-Ho like feel.

A smile settled on her lips as her gaze
fixated on Jaws Bridge. The landmark was famous for visitors to jump into the
ocean, something she had done several times with Adam. Adre
naline pumped through her veins as she recalled the icy
rush of the water, the feel of Adam’s cold flesh slick against her own.
She
swallowed hard and pushed the memories away. There wasn’t a part of this island
that didn’t remind her of him. She needed to
get
away.
Far. Far. Away.

“By the way, Rafa called today.”

Lily simply nodded. She already figured
out what her brothers were up to. She only wished they didn’t try to ruin her
best friend’s wedding. Her stomach turned at the thought.

“Let me guess,
suddenly
my three brothers are available to attend your wedding.”

“He figured it out, huh?”

“And he thinks whoever is responsible
for my fall from grace lives here.”

Minka let out a soft chuckle.
“Very perceptive.”

“I won’t let them ruin your wedding
day.”

Again, Minka waved her hand and
dismissed Lily’s concern. “Your brothers would never do that. They’re
gentlemen.”

The words barely escaped Minka’s lips
before the car was filled with laughter. Her brothers were smart, fun, and
successful. Some of her frie
nds
had
even labeled them as sexy.
But gentlemen?
Nope. Not the Serrano
brothers. And if they weren’t the type to kill and ask questions later, Adam
would probably fit right in with them.

* * * *

Adam’s eyes
rested on the silhouette outlined by the down
comforter.
Fast asleep in true Lily sleeping state, the comforter pulled just below her
chin. He ignored the immediate tightness in his chest and clenched his teeth.
He’d been growing increasingly impatient since he’d received that crazy text.
His mind had
been spinning since he’d received her
last
text,
he’d been frantic to see her.
To
feel their connection and make it real again.
To find out what was wrong and fix it.

Yet here she
was, completely relaxed, sleeping like a baby.
As if he didn’t exist at all
, as
if they’d never existed.
Closing the door behind him,
he invaded her space and walked into the bedroom. Now close enough to examine
every detail of her face, he noticed a few lines under her eyes. Her usual
honey complexion with the permanent glow she
seemed
to possess was replaced with an unhealthy hue. Adam’s immediate reaction was to
run the pad of his thumb against her cheek. He watched her stir.

“Adam.” His name slipped out of her
lips. He waited for her to open her eyes, to face him, and explain
what the fuck was going on. But the slow, even breathing
from her chest told him she was still in a daze and not even aware of his
presence. He raked a hand through his hair and walked over to the window. The
fight that raged inside him the last three days
left
him drained. He lowered his weight on the Lorraine armchair and checked his
watch. It was well past ten. It wasn’t like Lily to sleep this late.

Abruptly he came to his feet and charged
down the stairs, down the hall and found Jason, now freshly show
ered from their morning run and dressed in jeans, chopping
vegetables.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Without looking up from his task, Jason
shrugged his shoulders. “I already told you, I don’t know.”

Adam shook his head. His friend may be
in the dark but he wa
s willing to bet Jason’s cute
little fiancée was well-versed on whatever the mystery was. “Minka knows. If
she knows, you know.”

“Normally that would be a true
statement.” Jason placed the knife on the counter and opened the refrigerator
to retrieve a box
of organic eggs from Herring Creek,
the farm owned and operated by Forrest’s parents. “However, my fiancée has not
said a word to me, nor have I asked.”

Adam started to walk past his friend.
Might as well find the second best
source.

“Leave my girl alone,”
Jason warned in his usual badass attitude. If anyone could
keep up with Adam, it would be Jason. “I told you we would drop Lily over
today, but your impatient ass couldn’t wait.”

Adam leaned against the wall and crossed
his arms over his chest. “She’s avo
iding me for a
reason.”

Jason snickered as he chewed on a piece
of pepper. “You fucked up. Now you have to beg for forgiveness and brace
yourself for the worst.”

Uh.
What? But more importantly
who was this person talking to him?
Surely, an
alien had kidnap
ped his friend and taught him the
word beg, because the Jason he knew didn’t have such a verb in his vocabulary.
Jason dumped the sliced
vegetables in the pan over the eggs.

“You beg to Minka?”

His friend placed the pan in the oven,
kicked it close with on
e leg then focused his
attention on Adam. “I don’t have to. I’m a perfect fiancé. But I would if I
royally fucked up.”

Adam dragged his fingers through his
hair. “Jesus, I didn’t fuck up.”

Jason snickered. His friend didn’t look
the least convinced. “You d
idn’t kiss anyone?”

“For the record, that woman kissed me.
And I stopped her.” And that was fucking six weeks ago. Since then, they’d
spent days having sex in her apartment.

“Slept with anyone?”

Adam paced around the kitchen to the
sliding door overlooking
the large porch that Jason
built himself. As a matter of fact, he refurbished this whole damn house by
himself when he was in a pissed off mood. “The only woman I want to sleep with
is upstairs and she doesn’t want to see me.”

“You’re sexually frustrated.
”

He flipped his friend the bird. “I’m
going back upstairs.”

Another chuckle from Jason.
“Seriously, if you beg, I
guarantee you she’ll say whatever you want when you make up.”

“Lily already has a dirty mouth in bed.”

Jason turned away and burst into laugh
ter. Swearing under his breath, Adam walked out of the
kitchen. Whatever happened to his cynical, moody friend?

Fucking love happened. Shit. That only
made Jason more annoying than ever.

As soon as Adam opened the bedroom door,
his gaze went to the empty
spot on the bed. She was
no longer there. Fuck. Surely she couldn’t have left. He would have noticed,
unless she snuck out with Minka. Double fuck.

He was about to walk out of the room
when the bathroom door opened. Their gazes locked. Lily stopped mid-str
ide then took a step or two backward, a dazed look on her
face.

Why the fuck was she surprised?

Did she really expect him to accept a
breakup over the phone? The thought almost made him laugh.

“Adam.”

Yup.
That’s
me.
In the fucking flesh
.

“I was going to t
ext you,” she continued.

But he wasn’t listening.

He was done listening.
Done giving her space.
It was time to speak the
language they both understood. With urgent strides, he stepped into her
personal space. “Fuck texting, phone calls, tweets, Facebook messages and all
of that other bullshit. I want you with me.
In my bed.
On me.
Under me.”
He caug
ht a hold of her arm. “Wherever the fuck you want to be,
Lily, it’s going to be with me. Now let’s go home.”

Chapter
Eight

“Just because I let you go,
doesn’t mean I wanted to.”

Anonymous

Everything about Adam told Lily to
surrender. He stood before her with an unshaven jaw, in dark grey loose-fitted
sweats and a blue retro crew neck with
Italia
printed across his chest.
His broad shoulders stretched the material of the T-shirt. He was too
close, his body almost touching hers from chest to waist.
She needed to put space between them, yet her body could not, would not, move
away from those hard lean muscles. She craved his touch. Adam was her drug. An
expensive, illegal, soul-crushing, life-r
uining,
highly-addictive drug and she needed to leave him alone.

“I can’t go with you.”

One long finger came to rest under her
chi
n and held her gaze. “You can’t
or you won’t?”

Fearing that she might capitulate to the
carnal desire burning in his eyes, Lily lowered her lids to shut him out. She
had not been dreaming after all.
Moments ago,
stuck between sleep and consciousness she’d felt his thumb caress her face and
called out h
is name.
The touch had sent an
electrical jolt through her, forcing her eyes open. She scanned the room for
Adam and was greeted by silence.

Yet, everything in her had sensed his
presence. For a while she had remained on the bed contemplating how to handle
the situation when they came face to face until the usual
morning sickness flared again, forcing her to dash to the bathroom. Well, thank
goodness she had taken the time to freshen up afterwards. The warm water she
splashed on her face even brought some c
olor back to
her skin.

“Liliana, can’t or won’t?” he asked
again.

She shook her head. “What’s the
difference?”

“You’re a teacher. You know the damn
difference.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she
walked past him to her suitcase and start
ed
pulling out h
er clothes. Hoping the small distance gave her strength. “I
mean, does it matter?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Is there someone else?” he asked, his
voice curt and matter-of-fact.

“No.” She could have lied.
That would at least cover
the
can’t
—
an outside
force making her unable to continue sleeping with him.

“Then this is your choice.” That would
be
the
won’t
—
her own choice not to
continue sleeping with him.

With her back to him, she nodded.
Stillness filled the room as they processed the information. Lily
herself was having a hard time accepting the reality of
the curtain closing on their relationship, however casual it was.

“Tell me why,” Adam asked into the
silence.

Still clutching at herself, Lily fought
the pain in the back of her throat and choked out
the
words. “We can’t do this anymore.”

She heard him move across the room as he
came to stand behind her. The bedroom windows were cracked open, allowing a
cool brisk air into the room. Still her temperature spiked from the heat of his
body.

“Liliana,” he
said, his breath warm against her earlobe, causing her to visibly jump. He
caught her wrist, spun her around and pulled her to him.

“Tell me how I fucked up,” he demanded
in a low rough voice, “and I’ll fix it.”

From any other man, the words might have
come across as begging.
But not
from Adam.
Her gaze swept over him. His dark,
brooding features set in a hard, determined expression, streaming with an
abundance of testosterone and pheromones. Not an ounce of weakn
ess. The man before her was an image of a fiery untamed
steed, temperamental, and filled with determination. Not to mention sexy as
hell.

She brushed her hand over the scruff
along his jaw. His muscles ticked under her touch. “It’s not you, Adam,” she
star
ted gently, her heart twisting in pain to a
degree she never thought possible.

He caught her wrist and pulled her hand
away from his face. A short, bitter laugh came from the back of his throat.
“Don’t give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line, Lily. I coin
ed that line.”

His voice was loud, so thunderous, that
she couldn’t concentrate on what he said. The shortening of her name told her
he was done playing nice. The few times Adam
had used
her shortened name
were
when
he was near the edge over a
disagreement between them.

“Tell me the truth.” His voice cut her.
“I, we,” he motioned one hand between them. “Deserve at least that. Then I’ll
leave you alone.”

I’m
pregnant with your child.
She wanted to say, but a small lum
p sat in her throat, taking away her ability of speech.
He’d caught her off-guard. She exhaled, trying to release some of the tension
built up in her shoulders. “We don’t work.”

His eyes narrowed. “From what I
remember, we work pretty well together.”

“Ther
e’s more
to life than great sex.”

He looked at her as if she’d suddenly
grown a second head. “Sex is a natural part of life.”

Her lips curved into a smile. And like
the predator that he was, he pounced on her momentary lapse. Adam slid a hand
around her wa
ist and drew her in, his mouth brushed
against hers.

“Do you feel that?” he whispered against
her lips.

His hand roamed over her back,
manipulating her senses, making it impossible to think. She blinked and her
lips parted. His mouth brushed over hers, a s
oft
touch at first then sure and demanding, and the hunger she thought she had
under control consumed her, scorching and chilling her insides all at once.

As if he was equally affected, Adam let
out one low, inconsolable laugh and muttered against her mout
h, “Chemistry. We have it. It’s so strong we can incinerate
this place.”

Lily’s heart pounded against the cage of
her ribs. She couldn’t deny the animal attraction between them, pure physical
chemistry. Everything about Adam made her crave, the way he look
ed, smelled, tasted, the feel of his body and the sound of
his voice. He was overwhelming and uncontrollable.

Still, he wasn’t in her future, not the
way she needed him to be, and she wouldn’t let a baby sway her toward thinking
they could be more. Their r
elationship was based on
sex, really great sex. And God help her, she wanted more of him.

Leaning into him, she struggled to keep
her eyes open. His mouth floated over hers as his gaze searched hers. “Don’t
look at me with those fuck-me eyes if you don’t w
ant
to be fucked, Liliana.”

He gave her an opportunity to deny him
and waited. She stood frozen, waiting for his mouth to capture hers. When she
didn’t respond, he hauled her in against him. One hand palmed the back of her
neck,
the other pulled her hips a
gainst his. A low moan escaped her, and his mouth edged up
in that sinful smile that always made
her
shake with desire. Today
was no different.

He kissed her then, and the room fell
away. At the taste of him, Lily realized she’d been starving for his touch
. Lost in absolute, lustful ecstasy, her eyes slid shut and
the space between them exploded. Her heart missed a beat and she wrapped her
arms around his neck, and pulled him closer, molding her body to his.

They had kissed many times before but
she’d never
felt so lost in a kiss. It burned her
alive. He kissed her as though he
were
famished. The kiss swallowed
her, owned her. No one had ever made her feel so consumed. She heard a whimper.
Hers.
Any rational thoughts she
had escaped her as she melted against
the ridges of
his body.

“You here, and me at home alone doesn’t
add up.” His voice was low and husky as kisses trailed against the nape of her
neck, leaving her head spinning. “Let’s go home and I swear I won’t stop making
love to you until your legs are
shaking.”
His lips brushed her
earlobe, and her knees wobbled. “Let’s go get lost in each other, Liliana.”

Her body yearned, ached for him. She
moaned.

He chuckled, a soft, sexy sound in her
ear. “Hell, we can start here.” He lowered his weight to his knee
s in front of her, lifted the silk top to expose her flat
stomach. His lips moved down and settled against the flesh just
below
her
navel, and planted a kiss there.
Where their child lay.
She gasped instantly, her
whole body tensing.

Lily froze and gripped
Adam’s shoulders. “Please stop,” she begged and quickly
moved out of his reach, accidentally knocking a jar vase off the nearby table.
The glass shattered and everything fell silent.

She saw the confusion cross his face,
and then it was gone. With his eye
s still on her, he
came to his full height and dragged a hand through his hair, the muscles in his
arms taut as he stood watching her.
Silently
screaming for an explanation.

“I…” she started, but a hard knock on
the door drew her eyes away from Adam’s. “Co
me in,”
she said in a shaky voice.

“Go away,” Adam barked. His face set
into a scowl, clearly irritated.

The door opened nonetheless and Jason
stepped inside the room. His blue, assessing eyes shifted between them.

“Is everything okay?” His gaze was on
Lily, studying her.

Unable to speak, she nodded.

“Jason, give us a minute,” Adam said to
his friend without taking his eyes off Lily.

She held her breath and prayed Jason
didn’t give in to his friend’s request. The two men were close, business
partners,
childhood friends. She stood no chance.
Dizzy and feeling weakness in her legs, she lowered herself to the bed.

“I think whatever it is the two of you
need to discuss should wait another day,” Jason said in an easy tone. “Lily
looks like she’s about to pas
s out. So why don’t you
both go into your respective corners and suit up for the next round, which I’m
sure will come. She’s here for two weeks, after all.”

* * * *

Jason’s words forced Adam to look at
Lily once again and
take
in her delicate appearance.
She looked sucker-punched, her skin translucent. Her wide
eyes, usually filled with life and laughter, appeared damp and overly bright.

“You want to end what we have together.”
The words were a statement more so for him than her.

Still, she nodded.

His st
omach
hit his throat and he shoved it the fuck back down. “Well, too fucking
bad
. We’re not done. Not by a
fucking long shot.”

She looked at him with a dazed
expression. Adam shoved his hands in his pockets then glanced at Jason, who
remained silent. “I’ll
see you at Vapor tonight.”

Adam stormed past his friend.
He was breathless, sweating, and shaking
like he’d taken a curve at 200 mph with no idea what was on the other side.
Nothing made sense. He breathed heavily as he hurried down the stairs. All the
tr
ees on the island couldn’t supply enough oxygen. He
needed to get away.