The Tycoon's Temporary Bride: Book Four (32 page)

Drenched in sweat, Adam felt the familiar
tingling along his spine, and the heavy rush of semen bubbling in
his groin and speeding toward the tip of his cock.

His lungs started closing up and he knew it
was over for him. Adam’s back stiffened as a tsunami of lightning
bolts churned in his groin and ripped through his pumping body. He
tightened his hold on Tashi’s hands and pressed them harder into
the mattress. He bared his teeth, trying to capture the
electrifying moment, fighting the flames that threatened to consume
him as Tashi locked her body to his, sealing their wet skins
together while the hot velvety walls of her vagina tautened and
quaked around his aching shaft as she teetered on the realm of yet
another orgasm.

The sweetness of her love, the heat of her
wantonness, the friction of her desire was too much for Adam to
handle. He reared up over Tashi and held her legs wide apart as he
plunged into her fast and deep. Her breasts jiggled and bounced,
making him hotter and harder, driving him toward his own release.
And soon his face was twisting in exquisite pain as he ground his
hips against hers in the last desperate thrusts. He came down hard,
crushing her tender breasts beneath his chest while his hair spread
out like a veil across her face, some mingling with her red curls.
He buried his face in the soft pulsing hollow of her throat, and a
harsh animal sound rumbled through the air as the liquid dam of
fire broke, plunging him into the consuming heat.

“Tashi!” He cried out in a wild voice as he
felt himself being swept along with her into the sizzling vortex of
sweet surrender. His cries mingled with the shrill screams that
ripped from her throat. His body shook with tremendous force and he
erupted inside Tashi, spilling his hot seed deep into the receptive
softness of her open waiting womb. Her muscles sucked him, forcing
the last drop of semen from his shaft and the final tremors from
his body.

As he lay trembling on the succulent woman
beneath him, and gulping desperate air into his constricted lungs,
for the first time in his life Adam Andreas experienced what the
French call, ‘
La petite mort’
, and the Italians, ‘
La
piccolo morte’
.

***

In the early pre-dawn light, Adam held a
sleeping Tashi close to his heart and basked in the humble pleasure
of finally lying naked with her without having to curtail his
desire as he’d done a few weeks ago. Three times last night he’d
delighted himself in her, emptied himself into her fertile womb
before hunger and fatigue had overtaken them both.

Since they’d skipped dinner, they’d awakened
totally famished, and he’d ordered up a five-course meal from
Ristorante Andreas to satisfy their hunger for food. After eating,
they’d shared a bath, and while washing each other’s bodies, their
appetite for each other had returned with robust force. Adam had
taken Tashi in the warm bubbly water of the hot tub before they
eventually moved back to the bedroom where they’d loved their
brains out until they both slipped into a state of gratified
unconsciousness with their lifeless limbs twisted about each
other.

Even though they weren’t married yet, there
was something distinctly holy about falling asleep in Tashi’s
womanly arms after making love. It felt like a primitive rite, like
their bodies were in love with each other, just as surely as their
hearts and souls were.

Never in the eleven years since his first
sexual experience did Adam feel such a sense of oneness and
completeness with a woman as he did with Tashi. And judging from
her insatiable appetite for him, her violent reaction to his
lovemaking, her cries of abandoned ecstasy, and the indescribable
expressions of bliss on her face when she climaxed, Adam was sure
Tashi had also felt complete in her love from him, and for him.

It had to be the mutual, yet unspoken love
between them. Nothing but love could have synched their bodies so
perfectly and sacredly, and transported them to that pinnacle of
divine delight where each died, only to be reborn in the other.

It was a height Adam had never attained with
any of his former lovers—all of whom were experienced and who’d
come to him with their individual bags of tricks. They’d attained
physical gratification together, but as he lay in the aftermath of
lovemaking, Adam had always felt like something was missing. He’d
found that
something
, last night.

Last night, he and Tashi had bathed in the
pools of each other’s light, soared to passion’s highest mount on
each other’s sighs, tumbled together into desire’s whirlwind, over
and over again, until they’d spun themselves into dizziness and
danced themselves beyond the horizons of earthly boundaries.

Tashi had come to him, untouched,
inexperienced, with no tricks up her sleeve, and yet she’d
satisfied him beyond his wildest imagination. His heart was in love
for the first time. He was certain of that now as it pounded wildly
against his chest at the knowledge that he’d found his
Anam
Cara
, the woman his mother had promised would bring him the
most natural feeling in the world—the feeling of coming home.

Adam knew he’d come home from the moment he’d
met Tashi, from that first touch, that first glance. The three days
he’d lusted after her, longed for her was just as natural as what
he’d done for her when he’d climbed through her bedroom window that
night. Their two and a half weeks of living together was natural.
And last night, it had felt natural when he’d shut the door on the
world, and within the existence of her love become nonexistent.

Adam tightened his arms around Tashi and
kissed the top of her head. Instinctively, she moaned in her sleep
and snuggled her delicate little derriere into his groin. His body
trembled and his cock pulsed once in response to her nudge, then it
pulsed again with blissful memories of being sheathed inside her
tight hot woman’s flesh.

Adam hungered for her again, but he’d
promised to let her sleep. She’d earned her right to her beauty nap
for their impending nuptials. In a few hours, they would be
standing in the parlor in front of Pastor Kelly and Dr. Samantha
and promise to love, cherish, and protect each other for the rest
of their lives. They would exchange their vows knowing that their
marriage was temporary—a pack of lies to anyone who was aware of
the truth.

For Adam, those vows would be the most
significant, meaningful, and truthful he would ever make to himself
or any other human. Tashi was his life now, his reason for living,
the air he breathed and soon, he hoped, opening his palm over the
flat expanse of her stomach, he would make a vow of protection to
another little human—his child. The next generation of Andreases.
It had been two weeks since Tashi’s last period, so he knew she was
possibly in the ovulating stage of her cycle. He was so relieved
that she hadn’t asked him to use protection yesterday.

Adam closed his eyes and breathed in Tashi’s
intoxicating scent mingled with the musky odor of recent
lovemaking. A baby, he knew, would keep her grounded. He didn’t
think she would want her child to grow up without knowing its
father, as she had.

Yesterday, they’d talked about everything,
but that. He’d waited for her to bring up the subject of her
father, but she hadn’t, and realizing that it might be too painful
and or embarrassing for her, he hadn’t broached the subject either.
He was sure that when she was ready, she would talk about what it
was like not knowing him, not having him in her life—something he
could never relate to.

In the meantime, Adam would show Tashi how
much she was loved. He would be her husband, her friend, and her
lover. Whether or not they found Paul alive, Tashi was no temporary
bride. She was his. Forever.

Adam frowned into the predawn darkness. When
she’d related the details of that night in New York City, Tashi had
mentioned that Paul had said that he would explain everything to
her when he arrived in Granite Falls. Could ‘everything’ be about
her father?

Adam’s body tensed as a worrisome thought
fired inside his brain.

Dear God, could it be
?

On Monday morning, Adam stepped into the
foyer of his fourteenth floor penthouse office suite at Hotel
Andreas, and almost ran over his personal assistant who was waiting
for him at the elevator.

“Good morning, Mr. Andreas,” she said,
handing him a stack of papers.

“Good morning, Ms. Jenkins.”

“Welcome back. It’s good to have you back,”
she added, hurrying along beside him as he made his way to his
office on the far side of the building that overlooked Crystal Lake
and the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. He had his own
private elevator, but to save time, he’d used the one closest to
Noelle’s office so they could talk on the way to his.

He glanced down at the top sheet of paper on
the pile—a response from the owner of a vineyard in California he’d
set his eyes on. Andreas International owned several wineries in
Italy, France, and Australia, but none here at home. His
grandfather had never been interested—in fact he didn’t think that
California’s soil, topography, and climate could compare to the
steep-terraced vineyards of Piedmont, Puglia, and Sardinia where
the bulk of Andreas wine was produced. Adam was out to test his
theory.

“Well, it’s not as if I really left, Ms.
Jenkins,” he said, giving his attention back to his assistant. “You
and I have been in constant communication for the past two
weeks.”

“Yes, Mr. Andreas, but it’s nice to have you
here in the flesh. Everything runs a lot smoother when you’re
around.”

They turned a corner and headed down a
commodious corridor that served as a waiting area with comfy
leather sofas, chairs and tables, along with coffee, espresso,
juice, and water machines. The corridor ended at a one-way mirrored
wall that separated and protected his office from the waiting area.
“Are you suggesting that my staff slacks off when I’m absent?”

“Definitely not, sir. I’m just saying that
it’s nicer when you’re around. People miss you. Your smile,
actually, I’ve heard them say. Word is that you’re very different
from your father. Not that he wasn’t liked, but—” She shrugged.
“I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to say.”

Adam gave the attractive brunette a placating
smile. Noelle Jenkins was fresh out of Princeton when he hired her
four years ago to replace his father’s middle-aged assistant who
was more like a seasoned butler whose main goal in life was to kiss
Alessandro’s ass. Adam did not need an ass-kisser. He kissed his
own ass. Noelle came with stellar recommendations. She was
intelligent, candid, and spoke several languages, including
Italian. But what really earned her the position as his assistant
were the facts that she wasn’t intimidated by him, and she didn’t
hint at the possibility of a future sexual liaison between them,
like some of her feminine counterparts had done.

“I understand, Ms. Jenkins,” he said, opening
the glass door to his office and walking inside. “It’s nice to know
I’m missed, and liked.” Adam dropped the pile of papers and his
briefcase on his desk and dropped his weight into his chair.
“Speaking of which, how is Ms. Marshall doing in the boutique?”

“Mindy is doing well, sir. H.R. is helping
her with enrollment into Evergreen State College. She should begin
classes in the fall.”

“Good.” Adam folded his arms and gazed up at
Noelle as she slid into her chair on the other side of his desk
with her tablet at the ready for his day’s instructions. Although
he would like to keep his change in marital status a secret, for
now, he felt she needed to know, just in case his wife ever called
asking for him. Tashi had his private numbers, but providing her
another avenue through which to reach him, could not hurt. “Ms.
Jenkins, I’m about to share something with you—something I will ask
that you not publicize. You cannot tell anyone. Do you
understand?”

She straightened her shoulders and gave him
her customary professional nod.

“I’m no longer a bachelor. I’m married.”

Her hand flew to her chest. “You’re married?
Is that where you were, on your honeymoon, sir?”

A quiver ripped through Adam’s gut. Yep. He’d
been honeymooning all weekend. After exchanging their vows, he and
Tashi had returned to the bedroom to consummate their marriage.
They’d remained locked away in each other’s arms until it was time
to get ready for Little Erik’s birthday party. They’d arrived at
the LaCrosse Estate where Erik and Michelle now lived—an hour ahead
of the other guests—just enough time for him to introduce the gang
to his new bride, tell them how they met and the fact that they’d
been living together for the past couple weeks, but not enough to
bring them up to date on her past and the reason he’d married her.
Well, not the real one, but the one he was prepared to tell.

They’d all been shocked, but given the
circumstances under which each one of them had gotten married, they
were in no position to judge his rash rush to the altar. They’d
congratulated them, and welcomed Tashi into the family, as he’d
expected they would. Then Bryce and Kaya had mentioned seeing Tashi
at the shopping mall outlets the same day he and Tashi met, and
that Kaya had thought she was beautiful and would be perfect for
Adam.

Adam’s heart had skipped a beat at the
knowledge that he was not alone in thinking that Tashi was perfect
for him. Finally, he could understand what his friends had felt
when they met their wives. Like him, they’d each found their
Anam Cara
—their soul friend, their soul mate for life. His
search was over.

He and Tashi had left the party early to
hurry back home to do what newlyweds did in the privacy of their
bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, the terrace... They’d taken
advantage of having the house to themselves before his staff
returned, and so for the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday,
they’d walked around naked and made love wherever and whenever the
desire arose—which was often—very often, he thought on heated
memories. Trouble was ahead of them, and Adam wanted Tashi to enjoy
her time with him before it came raining down on them.