There's Always Plan B (18 page)

She stepped into the empty parlor. The wine buzz had faded enough to make her rethink her question about him kissing her, and she was grateful that he'd held back. She didn't know what, if anything, could happen with Steve, but whatever it was wouldn't be helped by rushing. Far better to—

“How was your evening?”

She turned toward the voice and saw Adam sitting on the bottom stair.

The buzz returned, but it had nothing to do with wine and everything to do with the man.

Funny how it didn't matter that he was casually dressed or slightly rumpled or even too young. Just looking at him made her all soft and wet and wanting. As if she were melting from the inside out.

“Dinner was good,” she said, trying not to stare, yet not able to look away.

“Steve, huh? So there
is
competition.”

“Oh, there's not,” she said before she could stop herself, then figured she might as well dig the hole deeper. “I mean I like Steve. He's a really great guy. But it's not the same.”

Adam rose. “How is it different?”

“He's the kind of man women want to marry, and you're the kind of man women want…”

“Want? Want to what?”

She could get lost in his dark eyes. She heard the phrase a hundred times, read it a thousand, and it finally made sense. She wanted to lose herself in
him,
in what he could do and how he could make her feel.

“There's no ‘to,'” she whispered. “That was the end of the sentence.”

“Oh.”

He moved closer, until she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.

“So you want me,” he whispered, even as he bent down and pressed his lips to the side of her neck.

She'd planned to say no. She'd planned to tell him that she meant women in general, not her in particular. But instead she closed her eyes as she felt the warmth of his firm, yet soft mouth brush against her sensitized skin.

Shivers and tingles and goose bumps raced all over her body. A moan started low in her chest and gradually rose until she had no choice but to let it out. She swayed, reached out for something stable and encountered…him.

The second she put her hands on his shoulders, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his mouth to hers in a demanding kiss that had her clinging to him even as she parted her lips and circled his tongue with hers.

Passion didn't begin to describe the need that exploded between them. One second there was rational thought, with her worries about her saggy breasts and dimpled thighs, the next nothing mattered but Adam and his touch. She didn't care about her appearance, or the fact that his last lover had probably been a twenty-two-year-old supermodel. She didn't think about appropriate or inappropriate or right or wrong.

“Come to my room,” he murmured as he kissed his way along her jaw.

Carly felt too aroused to play hard to get. She had a brief thought that she couldn't remember the last time she'd shaved her legs, then she figured she couldn't worry about that now.

“Okay,” she breathed.

He led her to the elevator. The short trip allowed them to hold on to each other, even as they kissed over and over. When the doors opened, she was conscious enough to make sure there weren't any other guests in the hallway before following him to his room.

Adam unlocked the door and motioned for her to precede him. When they were both inside, he turned on a lamp and turned off several complicated-looking pieces of equipment.

The video camera! He'd taped Jack and her mother moving furniture around.

“Are you—”

“All off,” he said as he flipped the last switch.

She watched monitors, lights and displays go dark.

“But just so you don't worry.” He walked to a long power strip and pulled the plug out of the wall.

His genuine concern made her smile, while the lingering effect of his kisses made her want him. She walked over and wrapped her arms around him.

“You're one of the good guys,” she said.

“I try to be.”

He cupped her face in his hands and began to kiss her again. Even as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth and made her squirm, he urged her backward. She went with the movement until she felt the bed behind her.

Before she could actually think about what was happening and get nervous, he dropped his hands to her waist and his mouth to her neck.

There was something to be said for a patient man, she thought, as he licked and nibbled his way down the V of her dress. Neil always acted as if the preliminaries were simply something he had to get through so that he could get off, but Adam took each step with enthusiasm. He moved slowly down her chest until he reached the curve of her breast, then he lightly kissed the sensitive flesh.

He shifted to her other breast, then moved higher and higher until she had to let her head fall back so he could nibble along the other side of her neck.

While his mouth kept her gasping and lost in sensation, his hands began a dance of their own. He stroked up and down her back before slipping down to her fanny. He cupped the curves and squeezed. She instinctively arched her hips forward, which brought her in contact with his body.

He was hard. She felt the thick ridge against her belly. Delight filled her.

“You want this,” she said as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

He frowned. “Why wouldn't I?”

“Oh, give me a minute and I'll give you a hundred reasons.”

“Carly, you're beautiful. You move with a sensual grace that leaves me weak. I love your face, your body, the feel of your skin.”

Her heart stopped. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Not even as a joke.

“Okay,” she said breathlessly. “We can do it now.”

He chuckled. “Not yet.”

He kissed her. She let herself get lost in the pleasure of what he did to her. When he reached for the zipper on her dress, she silently urged him to go faster. When the garment fell to the ground and he cupped her breasts in his large hands, she gave a sigh of thanks.

He moved with the confidence of a man used to pleasing women. He circled her breasts, exploring them through her bra, nearing the nipples, but never touching them. Closer and closer until she finally grabbed his wrists and moved him into place.

His thumbs swept over the tight peaks. They both moaned. Heat made her ache and swell until she thought she couldn't wait another second.

“Adam,” she breathed.

“Me, too.”

He stepped back and reached for the hem of his T-shirt. While he peeled it off, she stepped out of her sandals, then sat on the edge of the bed to take in the show.

He was as beautiful without clothes as she'd imagined. Hard muscles made him look more like a perfect sculpture than a man, right up until he pulled off his boxers and his large erection jutted out toward her. That looked real enough.

In that moment, as she stared at his nakedness, she realized she'd only been with one other man. She'd gotten close with a few guys at college, but she'd been a virgin when she'd met Neil. There had only ever been that one penis in her life.

She reached out to touch Adam. He stood perfectly still as she brushed her fingers against the hard tip, then stroked the length of him. So smooth, she thought. Soft, soft skin surrounding hard desire.

He looked different than Neil had. About the same length, but thicker. The hair at the base was dark instead of red. She leaned in and licked the head of his arousal.

Different taste, she thought even as Adam sucked in a breath.

“You probably shouldn't do that again,” he said in a strained voice. “I'd rather not lose it.”

She laughed. “As if that's a danger.”

He crouched down in front of her. “Don't say that. Don't even think it. I want to be with you. Believe that.”

Before she could figure out what to say in response, let alone speak it, he stood and moved onto the bed, pulling her with him.

Then they were a tangle of arms and legs and his hands were everywhere. He unfastened her bra without looking. Even as he slipped it off, he bent down and sucked on her nipples.

Fire raced through her in flames of need. She forgot to be unsure or embarrassed or even wonder if she'd been doing it wrong all these years. She held on and tried to catch her breath when he slipped off her panties and eased his fingers inside her.

Too much, she thought hazily. Too much felt too good. He explored all of her, pausing at the parts that made her gasp and cling and squirm. He rubbed faster and faster until the ground gave way and she flew into her orgasm.

It went on and on until she wondered if it would ever stop. Then he was kissing her and shifting. He grabbed a condom from the nightstand and slipped it on, even as he kept kissing her. Then he was inside and she felt herself tightening, pushing, reaching.

She came again. He pumped in and out of her, each thrust filling her with more pleasure. She wrapped her legs around his hips, urging him deeper. It was too good. It was incredible. She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but feel him on top of her, in her.

At last he gave one hard pulse and stilled. Every muscle in his body tensed.

“Carly,” he gasped as she felt his release. He stared at her and she would swear she could see into his soul.

 

It had been the best sex of her life. Okay, sure that was probably due to a long stretch of doing without and the thrill of a new partner. Or maybe it was turning forty and that sexual peak thing she was always reading about in magazines. Whatever the cause, she felt content and boneless.

“I have to get back to my own bed,” she said after Adam had rolled off her and pulled her close. “Either my mother or my daughter finding me here would raise too many questions.”

He kissed her shoulder. “I promise you that neither of them make regular appearances in my room.”

“Good to know, but I still should be going.”

The thing was, she didn't want to move. She wanted to make love again, this time more slowly. She wanted to feel those sensations again. She wanted him inside of her, claiming her with a mastery that made her feel both feminine and empowered.

He placed his hand on her breast and rubbed his fingers against her nipple.

“What about round two?” he asked.

There was a round two? She hadn't experienced that since the early days with Neil.

“I was thinking about it,” she admitted, “but I wasn't sure you'd be able to, um, well…”

He leaned over and kissed her. “And if I can?”

He shifted slightly. Something very hard and promising poked her thigh.

“I can go back to my room later.”

“That's my girl.”

Carly
spent the next morning walking around trying not to grin like a fool. She was relaxed, refreshed and delightfully sore. Could life get any better?

Adam cornered her in the laundry room, where she was doing an inventory count on sheets. He came up behind her and grabbed her by the waist, turned her in his arms and kissed her senseless.

“Last night was incredible,” he murmured. “When can we do it again?”

“What are you doing at midnight?” she asked.

He grinned. “Your room or mine?”

“We could try my bed this time. I think it's been a long time since it's seen any action.”

“I'll be there.” He kissed her again. “I told you I have to run into San Francisco, right? I'm meeting a guy from work for lunch. He thinks he's made a couple of important breakthroughs.”

“You mentioned it, yes.”

“Good. I don't want you thinking I'm bailing on you.”

He was so earnest, she thought happily. As if her feelings mattered. Okay, this could never last, but she had a feeling it was going to be really good in the short term.

“You're sweet to worry about me. I'll be fine.”

“I might be late. If we get to talking about solid fuels, who knows what could happen? But I'll be back by midnight.”

She shivered in anticipation. “I'll be waiting.”

“Good.”

They kissed again before he left. As soon as he walked out of the laundry room, Carly counted to twenty before going up the stairs and calling for her mother.

“Let them know I'm on my way,” she said. “I'm going to pick up Jack, then drive directly to the equipment rental.”

She and Adam might have just done the wild thing an amazing three times in a single night, but that didn't mean she wasn't still going to try to convince him that the ghost was real. With Adam gone for several hours, she and Jack would put his electromagnet plan into action. With luck, that would do the trick.

 

No one had actually considered the dimension and weight of the magnet, Carly thought, as she and Jack wheeled the heavy cart onto the elevator.

She stepped back and stared at the device. “It looks like something out of a science fiction movie,” she said. “Is this going to work?”

“It'll be great,” Jack promised.

Tiffany hovered in the hall. “Should you guys ride up in the elevator with it? Won't that be too much weight?”

Carly looked at the metal device, the cart and the small elevator. “Good point. We'll take the stairs.”

She leaned in, pushed the button for Adam's floor, then jumped back. Jack, Tiffany and she raced up the two flights, then hurried down the hall to meet the elevator when the doors slowly opened.

It was early afternoon and all their guests seemed to be out enjoying the sunny Saturday weather. Good thing, she thought as Jack slipped in behind the magnet and pushed. Carly and Tiffany grabbed the front of the cart and pulled. The large wheels began to slowly turn. If anyone saw them right now, they would run screaming for the hills.

“What is this supposed to do?” Tiffany asked.

“In theory, it will disrupt Adam's equipment and convince him there's been some kind of ghost dropping by,” Carly said as she pulled with all her might.

The heavy cart finally rolled free of the elevator. She went around back to help Jack push as they urged it toward Adam's room.

“It's been two weeks, Mom. If he doesn't believe now, he's not going to.”

“I'm not giving up,” Carly said, between gasps as she pushed harder.

At last the cart was in place. Jack strung the thick power cord out a window and down to the portable generator that had been provided to run the magnet. He went downstairs and a few minutes later the entire house shook as he started the generator.

Tiffany raced to the window. “Ready?” she yelled. She turned to Carly. “He's giving me a thumbs-up. Go for it, Mom.”

Carly flipped the switch on the jumbo magnet. For a second there was only a faint hum, then the afternoon exploded into a cacophony of thumps and crashes and screeches as throughout the house metal objects did their best to fly toward the magnet.

Carly swore under her breath. Obviously she hadn't thought this through. A particularly loud crash made her wince, but she left the magnet on for a full minute before turning it off.

Tiffany stared at her wide-eyed. “What just happened?”

“To be honest, I don't want to know.”

 

The damage was mostly minor. Several metal cooking utensils and pans had flown out of open shelves and up to the ceiling, only to crash to the ground a minute later when the magnet was turned off. Serving trays had taken the same journey, as had all the paper clips in Carly's office. Her file cabinets had walked halfway across the floor. Drawers stood open. Her lamp was a casualty of attempted flight.

“It's so weird,” Tiffany said when she ran into the office. “My bed is nearly out the door.”

“Probably the metal frame. What about other stuff?”

“A few of my belts are on the floor. Jack says you need to check your computer disks. The floppies could be messed up.”

Carly sank into her chair. “I don't want to know what the guest rooms look like. I sure hope this worked.”

“We still have the locks to try,” her daughter reminded her. “The automatic ones. They'll be fun.”

Carly nodded, but she wasn't convinced. What if Adam didn't believe? What if she couldn't convince him?

 

“You're quiet,” Adam said around one in the morning, when they'd finished making love and were simply trying to catch their breath.

“I was wondering how your day went. Did you have fun?”

Had he noticed that a giant magnet had gone off outside his room?

“It was good. I won't bore you with the technical details about what we discussed, but I think Will is on to something.”

“Good.”

He bent over her and kissed her. “Giant magnet, huh?”

She did her best not to show any emotion as she looked at him. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“My equipment is all messed up and my floppies are trashed. Only one thing could have done that.”

“A ghost?”

He chuckled. “No. A magnet. A really big one. How did you get it in the house?”

Her heart sank. Sure, the sex was good, but what did it matter in the face of her family's financial ruin?

“Why can't you just believe?” she asked as she sat up. “Ghosts are real.”

“No, they're not. We both know that, Carly.”

“I don't.” She moved to the side of the bed and reached for her clothes. “I don't know that for a second. You can tell me what your monitors say all you want. I don't care. I remember her. Mary is a part of my childhood. She was here, in this house. I've seen her and I don't care what anyone says. I believe, and if you don't, it changes everything.”

He raised himself up on his elbow. “Is that the price of this relationship?”

“What relationship? You're here for another week, then you're leaving.” She pulled on her panties, then grabbed her T-shirt. “How can you do this to me?”

“Do what?”

“Ruin me. If you go out and write your paper, or whatever it is you do, this B and B will lose over half our business. We'll never make it. My mom will sell. This house had been in our family nearly a hundred and fifty years. You don't have the right to take that away from us.”

“I'm not. I'm simply telling the truth. I'm sorry about the house, but I don't believe you're going to lose it. You're stronger than you think.”

She wasn't. She could feel herself getting weaker by the second.

“I've worked so hard and there's so much left to do.” She pulled on her T-shirt, then grabbed his hands. “Adam, please. Don't do this.”

“I care about you, Carly, but I won't lie.”

“I'm not asking you to lie. I'm asking you to keep quiet.”

“They're not that different.”

“They are to me.” She released him and turned away. “There's nothing I can say to change your mind?”

“No. I'm sorry. This isn't about you.”

“Then who is it about?”

He didn't say anything for a long time. Finally she heard him get out of bed and pull on clothes. “You want me to go?”

“Yes.”

She wasn't sure if he meant to leave her room or the B and B. Did it matter? Sure, she would miss him when he left, but she would miss the house more. To have come so far, only to lose everything now.

“I'm sorry,” he said as he walked to the door. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Too bad. If that had been your plan, think of how successful you could feel right now.”

She waited until he was gone, then she collapsed back on the bed and buried her face in a pillow. How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? And how on earth did she make things right?

 

“Mom?”

Tiffany hovered outside Carly's office. Carly looked up from her computer, where she'd been searching for small towns with good schools. If they had to move again, she wanted to make sure her daughter had a chance at a great education.

“What's up?” she asked, trying for cheerful and not sure she'd succeeded. The past two days had been one giant hurt that she'd tried to keep to herself.

“I don't know. You seem different. Are you okay?”

Carly smiled at her daughter. “I'm fine, but you know what I need?”

“What?”

“Some time away from here. Let's go into town and have ice cream for dinner.”

“Really? Just the two of us?”

“Absolutely. Only don't tell Grandma.”

“I won't. She'd totally freak.”

Thirty minutes later they sat across from each other with two large chocolate sundaes between them.

“Bon appétit,” Carly said.

Tiffany giggled and took a big bite. “This is great.”

“I'm sure we'll both have stomachaches later, but it will be so worth it.”

“You bet.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Carly felt the first stirrings of a sugar rush. Maybe it would be enough to get her mind off Adam.

He'd chosen not to leave the B and B, so she'd spent the past two days avoiding him. She'd canceled the order for the remote locks—they wouldn't fool him—and resigned herself to the demise of their status as a haunted house. After running the numbers without Mary as an enticement, she'd discovered what she already knew—no ghost meant no profits. It was well and truly over.

“Jack feels bad the magnet didn't work,” Tiffany said. “But he had a good time helping.”

“I'm glad. He's been great.” She glanced at her daughter. “You guys have been together for a while now.”

“Nearly two months.” Tiffany ducked her head and blushed. “It's my longest relationship ever.”

“You're growing up.”

“Enough to car date?”

“Nope.”

“Mo-om!”

Carly set down her spoon. “I know you think I make up these rules to make you unhappy, but it's not true. I love you and you're the most important person in my life. I want to do everything I can to keep you safe.”

“But Jack would never hurt me.”

“I think he cares about you a lot, but that doesn't mean he can't hurt you without trying. Boys are different.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “We're in a
restaurant,
Mom. Don't you dare bring up sex now!”

“I'll whisper,” Carly said softly. “But it is about sex. Because Jack cares about you, he wants things. Sexual things.” The fact that he was sixteen meant he would want those things even if he didn't care, but she wasn't about to get into that.

“He hasn't tried anything.”

“He hasn't had a chance. But if the two of you were alone, in a car or at someone's house, it would be so easy. You start out kissing and one thing leads to another. Eventually you're going to have to make those choices on your own. I know that. But not at fifteen. You're not ready, and neither am I.”

“But this shouldn't be about you. What about my life?”

“I want you to have fun, but that doesn't mean you can do what you want. I love you too much not to have rules.”

“Rules aren't good.”

“They can be. They can save you. Tiffany, I would give my life for you. I'm also willing to have you hate me from now until you go off to college if that's what it takes. That's how much I want you to have a good life.”