Something to Talk About (16 page)

“And you never will, not as long as there’s breath in
my body,” he vowed as he inhaled the traces of her delicate fragrance.

“Adam, what’s in the box?” she asked curiously.

He was so preoccupied with stroking Alicia’s hair he didn’t answer her question. He loved burying his hands and face in it and inhaling the sweetness that was hers alone.

“You can never run away from me,” he whispered. “If you were in a dark forest and I was blindfolded, I could still find you, Allie. Your smell is imprinted on me.”

Alicia sighed with pleasure as she felt his warm, sweet breath on her neck and his big hands on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and arched her back against him, her breathing becoming erratic as her desire grew.

“Adam,” she whispered.

“Yes, Allie?”

His tone of voice was innocent, as though he was unaware of the effect he was having on her. He could see her nipples pointing through the thin cotton of the T-shirt and he knew she was more than aroused. He slid his hands under the loose shirt and captured her breast with his left hand. With his right, he searched her feminine recess to find her wet and yearning for his touch. He fondled her breast, squeezing and manipulating the now blossoming nipple, and with the other hand he found her most sensitive spot, the place that would bring her the most pleasure. He used his long fingers to stroke and
coax
the hot wet jewel until he could feel the gush of moisture that signaled a nearing completion.

Alicia’s breathing turned into rapid pants as the sensations he was creating turned her body into a pulsing fountain of desire so keen it was almost painful. She turned her head to the side and he bent to her, capturing her lips and imprisoning her mouth with his tongue. Her moans turned to cries of heated passion as his two middle fingers entered her canal and his thumb continued to bring her to a shattering orgasm that had her screaming with pleasure.
 
As the
tremors subsided Alicia was a little embarrassed. She tried to avoid his eyes as she pulled away from his embrace, but Adam would not be denied. He tightened his arms around her to prevent her escape.

“Where are you going?”

‘To bathe and to hide my face,” she mumbled.

He turned her around to face him. “What’s wrong, Allie? I hope you aren’t embarrassed. There’s nothing we can do together that should ever cause you any shame, just pleasure.”

She could feel her cheeks heating up at his words. “I’ve never done anything like that before. It was different for me. Wonderful,” she added hastily, “but different. It was ... I just felt so, so
exposed,
I think that’s the word I’m looking for.”

“Exposed because I was watching you and I could see how much you liked it?”

“Yes,” she admitted.

“Well, I
was
watching you. It’s extremely arousing to watch your pleasure; it’s beautiful and very sexy. Is that embarrassing to you?”

She leaned forward and kissed him. “No, actually it didn’t embarrass me and that’s
why
I was embarrassed.
Because I should have been.”
To her surprise Adam enfolded her in
his arms and laughed
.

“It’s that Catholic school upbringing, baby. We have years of conditioning to undo,” he teased.

Alicia turned around completely so she was facing him in a kneeling position.
“Oh yeah?
So you think I’m an uptight schoolgirl, do you?”

She whipped the T-shirt off and stared at him boldly, letting her eyes roam all over his bronzed body. With a sly smile she divested him of the towel and released his massive erection, taking it in both her hands.

Adam watched her with a lazy smile and eyes half close
d from enjoyment His long lashes
lifted in surprise as he realized what was about to happen.

“We repressed schoolgirls like to watch too,” Alicia purred.

No more words were spoken except his voice calling her name, hoarse with ecstasy.

***

The morning was waning into afternoon when they finally managed to get dressed. After a short nap, a long shower, and a quick meal, Alicia was attired in some old sweatpants of Adam’s,
rolled up several times, and another T-shirt. Adam was similarly dressed and they both looked like bums, but neither of them cared what they looked like, they were too pleased to be together. Now it was time to discover what was in the mysterious chest. This time Adam carried it into the portion of the loft that was outfitted as a study, announcing he couldn’t trust her in the bedroom. A broad window seat upholstered in gray Ultrasuede ran the length of a wall under the huge industrial windows in the brick wall.
A
big
antique oak desk and
tall
oak bookcases salvaged from a library served as a wall to separate the area from the rest of the living space.

Alicia sat cross-legged on the window seat and Adam put the chest in front of her, as he sat
yoga
style across from her. “Open it.”

She smoothed her palms over the supple, polished leather and admired its beauty. “This is incredible. Where in the world did you get it?”

“I had it made. I needed something very special for the contents of this box and I couldn’t find anything unique enough. So I designed it and had someone make
it for me. Open it,” he said pati
en
tl
y.

She lifted the lid and was struck by the exquisite construction of the box. It was burnished golden brown leather on the outside and the interior was ostrich skin, except for the lid and the bottom, which were lined with rich brown velvet
.
Whatever she was expecting it to contain was certainly not what was resting in the chest. There w
as
a packet of postcards tied with a red ribbon, a stack of letters held with an orange ribbon, a small bundle of what looked like ticket stubs confined with a peacock-blue band that looked like one she used to wear in her hair, and a plethora of other items including a leather-bound book of some kind. Alicia blinked slowly and stared at the unusual arrangement
.

“Well, I’ll bite. What is all this, Adam?”

He smiled and handed her the packet of postcards. “That’s every postcard you sent me from Costa Rica and every other place you’ve ever been since I met you,” he said quie
tl
y. “This is every movie we’ve ever been to.” He handed her the thick lit
tl
e bundle. “And every concert and play.” He gave her another stack of tickets with a rose
-colored
ribbon around them. He reached into the box and pulled out a smooth stone. “Remember the time we went to the Grand Canyon? You gave me this for some reason.”

Wiping away tears, Alicia nodded. “I gave it to you because it was pretty and it looked like gold in the sunset I just wanted you to have it. I didn’t think you’d keep it.”

“I keep everything you give me, Allie.”

He handed her a parchment document envelope fastened with a thin black ribbon. She opened it with shaking fingers to find every silly note she’d ever written to him, on notebook paper, paper napkins, takeout menus, and one that was on a small paper
bag. There were also small neatl
y cut pieces of wrapping paper, each inscribed with a date and an occasion written in Adam’s precise handwriting.

Amazingly, there was a slight redness along
his cheekbones as she stared at
him. “Your gifts are always wrapped so beautifully I hate to open them and I never want to forget them,” he said sheepishly.

“That’s where all the ribbons came from, too.” Alicia sighed. By now she was crying freely as she rec
ognized the box for what it was;
their entire life together. Adam removed the box from the window seat and put it on the floor. He extended his legs out in front of him, holding his
hands out to Alicia, who promptl
y went into his arms.

“That was supposed to make you smile, you dope. Why are you crying?” he asked tenderly.

“I am smiling,” she said through her tears. “I’m so happy I can’t express it. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, I’ve never even heard of anything so romantic.” She snuggled closer to him, loving the feel of his hard, strong body against hers.

“Yeah, that’s me, Mr. Romance,” he said mockingly. “Let me show you the best part,” he said, reaching down into the chest for the leather-bound book.

Alicia sniffed and wiped her eyes as she took the book from him. Then the tears started again as
she
saw page after page of pictures, all of her. There she was laughing, smiling, looking serious as she pored over her studies, in ridiculous poses on trips they’d taken together. There were a few shots of the two of them together and some with other family members, but for the most part it was just page after page of Alicia, a ten-year span of her life captured for his eyes only. There were even a few sketches he’d done of her, when and where she couldn’t imagine.

“Adam, I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.

“Say you love me. I like the way that sounds,” he told her, kissing away her tears. “Say you’ll come away with me, right now.”

“I love you. I’ll go anywhere with you.” She sni
ffed. She kissed him back, sexy
nibbling kisses on his jaw and chin and lips. ‘Where are we going?”

“
Idlewild
.
Let’s get going before you try to have your way with me again. For a repressed schoolgirl you’re pretty scandalous.”

“You taught me everything I know,” she assured him. “Let’s go now, because I feel the urge for another lesson coming on.”

***

Within a few hours they were on their way to
Idlewild
for the weekend. After Adam packed the things he would need, they drove over to the condo Alicia shared with Marielle. As Roxy promised, the Mini Cooper was in its usual parking space when they pulled up.
Marielle was lounging on the pati
o with a stack of magazines and a pitcher of iced tea when they arrived, but she rose to greet them with a smile.
 
She took note of Alicia’s incongruent outfit of giant
sweatpants rolled up so she wouldn’t trip over them, the scandalous sandals, and the oversized T-shirt of Adam’s. “Someone’s been up to something, I’d say. Where’s my dress?” she asked with a wicked grin.

“We dropped it at the dry cleaner’s on the way over here. Where are the kids?” Alicia looked around for her niece and nephew, who were normally gamboling around like puppies.

“They’re spending the weekend with
Gigi
, bless her heart
.
I’m doing absolutely nothing but sleeping for the next three days.” Marielle sighed.

“Come help me pack,” Alicia begged. “That way I’ll be out of your hair quicker.”

Marielle agreed but couldn’t resist a dig. “Speaking of hair,
what happened to yours? It look
s like a sheep’s butt.”

Leavi
ng Adam on the pati
o to take advantage of the chaise longue, the two women went to gather a few things for Alicia. Marielle was also kind enough to bump a few curls into Alicia’s hair to tame it a bit.

“I was kidding, it didn’t look that bad. But you need to get in the habit of keeping a few hair products over at the loft so you can repair the ravages of passion. I vaguely remember what a night of good hot sex can do to a hairdo.” She looked at Alicia closely and smiled. “And it was
good
and hot wasn’t it? It’s about time,” she said carelessly.

Alicia tried to be shocked at the frankness of her sister’s comments, but Marielle had never been one to pull her punches. She’d always been a straightforward, earthy woman, much like their mother. “You don’t seem surprised, I must say. And you don’t seem to disapprove.”

Marielle looked at her younger sister and her face softened.
“Chica,
just because my own marriage was a total disaster doesn’t mean I’ve turned into a bitter old broad. There’s nothing wrong with being in love and being happy. It was just a matter of time before you and Adam realized you were meant for each other,” she told her. “You guys go off and have a wonderful weekend together. The real fun will start when you get back and the aunts start planning
your wedding,” s
he laughed.

***

Adam had more than one occasion to wonder what
Alicia
was smiling at as they drove north out of the city. As usual on any holiday weekend, the expressway was bumper to bumper with folks heading to northern Michigan where campgrounds, summer cottages, and cabins awaited them. The traffic didn’t bother Adam with Alicia by his side, looking adorable in nicely fitting, well-worn jeans, running shoes, and a man-tailored white shirt. He loved the way she would stroke his arm when she made a comment, the way her hand rested on his thigh when they were silent. He just loved being with her, period.