Picking Up the Pieces (21 page)

Chapter 22: Lily

In a split second, I'd analyzed Adam's expression. His stare was unmistakable. It was the same stare I’d seen during our first night in the hotel together; his eyes held desire, trust, and undeniable urgency all wrapped up into one solid packag
e. My eyes scanned down his body until they stopped just below his waist.
Speaking of nice packages.

I wasn’t looking at his face, but I didn’t need to. Hi
s actions spoke for him. Before I could
eye-fuck Ada
m's “package” any longer, I found myself pressed up against it, his hands tangling in my hair and scratching down the length of my back as his lips parted mine with a determination he hadn’t demonstrated since we'd started dating again. Gone was the hesitation and uncertainty we'd felt together. In its place was a longing and need for each other. And I knew Adam could feel it too.

My back found the wall as Adam kicked the door shut, not missing a beat as his mouth worked its way swiftly down my neck and chest.
I’d forgotten how much I missed the feel of his soft lips on my skin. And as his teeth
gently
tugged on my taut nipples through my shirt, I ached to feel them
inside his warm wet mouth.

I gasped as his tongue traveled up my chest, his lips planting soft kisses along my collarbone on the way to suck hungril
y on the flesh of my neck. And an unexpected shiver ran through me at the feel of his breath blowing
tantalizingly ag
ainst my wet skin.

His name was barely a whisp
er as it left my mouth. And a low growl vi
brated against my heart as it escaped his throat. "Touch me, Lily," he groaned. "Like you used to."

And like that, we were back to who we were almost a year ago.
Moaning into his neck, my hands pulled at his messy hair, clawed his biceps, and slipped into the back of his jeans to knead his firm ass through his boxers.

Finally, he slid a hand under my shirt to feel the curve of my heavy breasts, and my body tingled with pleasure as I rubbed shamelessly against him.
His hips pushed into mine, forcing me harder against the wall, and I relished the feel of his hard cock rubbing against my clit through my thin cotton pants.
Thank God I’m not wearing underwear.
The combination of that friction and his thumb circling my nipple was nearly enough to push me over the edge.

From the moment I'd seen Adam standing in the hallway
—ripped jeans, a worn T-shirt, and Carhartt jacket—a slick wetness had gradually begun to pool inside my pants. And now, the slippery arousal between my thighs overwhelmed me, silently begging Adam to relieve the pressure building inside. Unable to control it, my breath escaped in rough bursts, and my heart pounded so loudly I could hear it banging against my chest.

Adam's rough hand guided my leg around him forcefully, creating more of the delicious stimulation I craved.
"Arms up," he said sternly, and I did as I was told, savoring the feeling as he quickly tugged my shirt up past my neck and over my head.

"Feel how much I want you, Adam.
Feel
what you do to me," I said as I guided his hand down the front of my pants to tease my clit before he plunged two fingers deep inside me.

“I’m gonna get you so close.
Because once I’m inside you, I don’t think I can be slow. Or gentle,” he added with a beautifully deep rasp that tickled my eardrum as he spoke. No wonder I'd had so much trouble doing this to myself.
I’d
lacked Adam’s intimate touch and the feel of his body on mine. How could I forget about
those
? The combination of it all drove me wild. His long delicate fingers stroked me, play
ed with me, and pushed me so close to the edge that I would have lost all control with one more tap of his thumb.

But luckily, Adam’s intimate knowledge of my sexual responses hadn’t faded with time, and he pulled out slowly, just in time to leave me empty and wanting.
"Oh God, Adam, I've missed this," I moaned into his mouth. "I need you."

The unbuckling of his belt was his only response, and was quickly followed by a tug to free himself.
As much as I missed Adam's fingers slipping inside me, I thought I might come as he teased me through the fabric with the head of his cock. "God, that's so hot. Please," I begged.

“Please
what?” he asked playfully.

My inhibitions had
wavered the moment Adam had kissed me. And now, up against a wall, grinding onto the tip of his dick, the few inhibitions I had managed to hang onto left me the moment his fingers withdrew.
My need for a release, my need for
him,
went beyond any coherent sentence I could string together. So I mumbled something that resembled “Please fuck me,” and hoped he’d interpret my message.

At my words, Adam
reached into his back pocket and withdrew a condom. Then he pulled down his pants before yanking down mine as far as he could so I could take them off the rest of the way. Adam quickly put the condom on and pushed inside me, sliding me up the wall with his hard thrusts. My legs
locked around his waist pulling him deeper inside me as my shoulder blades scraped the drywall, the pain only making the pleasure more intense.

His pace was uneven and erratic, every drive like an urgent plea for me to take what he offered.
And what he gave me not only filled me physically but emotionally as well. We’d been missing this—this closeness, this completeness that came with being part of each other even for such a brief moment. It seemed that with every sharp drive of his hips into mine, we became that much closer to where we were when our relationship began.

A few more strokes of his cock deep inside me and I was dangling on the edge.
I clenched tightly around him, seconds away from losing control.
His quickening pace and sharp breaths told me he was right there with me, ready to come at any moment but he wasn’t going to leave me behind. “I can’t wait, Lily. Let Go! Please! I don’t wanna finish without you.”

Adam’s swirling hips created friction in just the right place, and when I heard his words, I lost all control of my body.
My legs shook, and I spasmed uncontrollably as Adam drove hard into me, his thickness twitching inside me as my orgasm tapered off.

             
I relaxed my legs and let Adam slide me gently down the wall to my feet. “Jesus, Adam. That was incredible.”

             
“Yeah,” he said against my lips before pu
lling away. “It was.”

I ran my hand across his cheek. "
Your eyes are different."

He looked at me, confused. "Different?
Like a different color?"

Smiling, I shook my head. "The way they're looking at me. It's different. What changed?"

Adam paused for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating what to say before speaking. “
I
did. I forgive you. And more than that, I trust you. I can’t keep making you pay for what happened over eight months ago. It’s not fair to you.” Adam put his arms around me, pulling me in to a firm hug. “It’s not fair to
us
.”

***

For the first time since we’d started dating, Adam and I had a serious conversation about our relationship: one that ended with both of us feeling at ease. We’d discussed sharing our new identity a
s a
“couple” with people, even Eva, and Adam agreed that it was for the best. Letting friends and family know that we were back together would only solidify our relationship publicly.

Although I had already let some people know I had been seeing Adam, he hadn’t told anyone.
And truthfully, I could understand why: if it didn’t work out again, he didn’t want to have to explain it to everyone. I knew the feeling.

We’d made progress since the talk, making time to see each other when we could for coffee or a quick bite to eat.
But
I was ravenous with the need to spend more than a few hours together, though it seemed we'd soon have our chance. Eva had the Snow Ball—her first formal dance—on Friday and was having a slumber party at a friend's house afterward. Which meant Adam and I would have his house to ourselves. With Eva gone for the night, I would finally get to spend a night with Adam. He had assured me last week that he’d discuss our relationship with Eva, and he thought she would handle it well. But seeing a former student the morning after you came on her dad’s face was a whole other story. Talk about awkward.

***

Adam came to pick me up around 6:00, and when I saw him standing in the entrance to my apartment complex, I immediately felt underdressed in yoga pants and a sweatshirt. “Why are you so dressed up? I thought we were just gonna order Chinese and watch a movie.”

“I’m not
that
dressed up. Just khakis and a sweater. I couldn’t look like a slob to take Eva to her pictures before the dance.”

Of course
. I was such a moron. I should have known that Adam would have dropped Eva off and taken a few pictures of her and her friends. There would have been other parents there, and he would never just wear sweats to that. “Ah, pictures. I totally forgot. I would have gone with you. Of course, looking a little better than this,” I added, tugging at my Ocean City sweatshirt. “I would’ve liked to have seen some of my old students dressed up.”

When we arrived at the car,
Adam shifted to put his seatbelt on, started the car, and turned the heat on high. “It’ll warm up in a fe
w minutes,” he said. “Just give it some time.”

“I know how heaters work, Adam.” The car was already warm since he’d just been driving it.
Clearly, he was trying to avoid responding to my comment about seeing Eva and her friends before the dance, s
o I figured it was better I dropped it. “How’d Eva look? Was she excited?”

“She looked so grown up.
It was so weird. He
r date kept trying to put his arm too low on her waist for the pictures. I had to put him in his place a few times,” he said, his voice intentionally stern as he mocked the way he spoke to Eva’s date. "Is it wrong to punch a thirteen-year-old?”
he asked with a laugh, though I could tell he was only partially kidding.

“Who
was
her date? I didn’t even ask before.”

“Uh . . .
Christian Grey or somet
hing like that.”

The laugh that burst out of me was the hardest I’d laughed around Adam in as long as I could rem
ember. “Well, if that’s the case, you better turn around and go get her,” I said, still trying to catch my breath.

“Why,” he asked sternly.
“What type of kid is he?”

“He’s not a kid, Adam.
He’s a fictional character from a book, and one who’s into BDSM. I don't think you want him taking out your thirteen-year-old daughter."

“Oh,” he replied, a little embarrassed. “I knew
that name sounded familiar.”

“I think you meant Chris Greyston, as in Christopher.
He’s a nice kid. He plays soccer, I think. He gets good grades . . . the responsible type. No need to be worried.”

“Oh, okay.
He sounds like my kinda guy then.”

“Yeah,
though I’d probably pick a Christian Grey type over a nice guy any day. I like a little mystery and danger in my life.”

“Danger, huh?” Adam asked, looking over at me with a slight twinkle in his eye.
“I’m dangerous,” he said stepping on the gas until he accelerated to a few miles over the speed limit. “You like that?” he asked. “I do that shit all the time. I’ve also been known to go swimming only a few minutes after I eat,” he said with a laugh. “And I always hold scissors by the handle when I walk.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
“Scissors, really? That sounds dangerous,” I said lowering my voice seductively and leaning in to put a hand on his thigh.

“Yeah, well, ya know . . . not
too
dangerous. I never run with them. Walk quickly at most,” he said with a wink.

***

As we pulled into his driveway, it occurred to me that the last time I’d been to Adam’s house—the only time I’d been there actually—had been under very different circumstances. We’d hit a breaking point from which it seemed impossible to return. And now, here we were, months later, back.

After he unlocked
the door, Adam held it for me to go inside. The act was just as symbolic as it was literal. Adam had opened the door to his life and, at last, let me in. Even when we’d dated months ago, we’d kept our relationship somewhat secretive. Or at least Adam had, and that was understandable because of Eva. But now, with our feelings for each other out in the open, we could finally begin to intertwine our lives into one.

“Make yourself at home,” Adam said.
“I’m just gonna hop in the shower. I didn’t have time to take one after work before I had to take Eva out for pictures.”

“Hmm . . . make myself at home,” I said, glancing around the foyer and peeking into the adjacent room like I was deep in thought.
I was. “Does that mean I can look through your medicine cabinet and lie around in my underwear?”