Adam's Thorn (27 page)

Cursing under his breath, he
released her, stepping back.  Barbie breathed a sigh of relief.  Adam started
to walk away, only to swing back, grab her upper arms and yank her up against
him.

Well aware now of the frankly curious
gazes of Mrs Hubble and Spencer, he lowered his head so that Barbie’s startled face
was only inches from his, and said quietly, dangerously quietly, need throbbing
through his tone, “I’ll be back.  You be ready.”  One hard kiss, tongue raking
through her mouth in a possessive need to stamp more of his taste into her, and
then Adam released her and strode across to the car.

Without looking at Mrs Hubble or
Spencer, he drove away.

He’d be back.  Looking at Barbie
standing in the driveway, her mouth open, one hand on her generous bosom, he
smiled grimly. Oh yes, he’d be back.

And she better be ready.

Chapter 8

It took everything Barbie had to
drag her churning thoughts from Adam and what she’d done to him.  O
h God!

“Well, dear.”  Mrs Hubble smiled
brightly.

Blinking, Barbie gladly focussed
her attention on her two visitors.  “Um…Mrs Hubble.  How - how nice to see
you.”  And why was she here?  Her confusion changed to wariness.

Looking sideways at Spencer, Mrs
Hubble cleared her throat.

Taking the hint, Spencer waved a
hand at the house.  “Would you mind if I had a wander around, have a peek at
the furniture and stuff?”

“Of course not.”  Barbie nodded. 
“Just don’t let the cats out, they’re indoor cats.  Feel free to wander and
look around.  I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

Spencer quickly retreated to the
house,  his expression eager.  No doubt he’d almost have an orgasm when he saw
what was inside.

Orgasm?  Don’t think it!  Do not
think orgasm and Adam at the same - argh!

“My dear.”  Mrs Hubble sighed.  “I
have an apology to make.”

Barbie looked at her.  She could
act all surprised and say ‘of course not’, but that didn’t right wrongs, did
it?  She knew from experience.  So she just waited patiently.

“I’m afraid I took what you said
right out of context,” Mrs Hubble continued.  “I caused a bit of trouble, it seems.”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm.”  Mrs Hubble frowned a
little.  “Adam came and saw me.  He wasn’t pleased.”

Adam displeased was not a good
sight.  She’d been on the receiving end of his displeasure, and she knew how
unpleasant that could be.  Except not twenty minutes ago he’d been screaming
out his pleasure.

Focus!

“He can be a little overpowering,”
Barbie agreed.

“Made me see that I need to be a
little less sensitive to the sometimes frank language of the young people
today.”  Mrs Hubble paused.  “Not that I condone swearing and rudeness.”

“Of course.  Neither do I.” 
How
about scream-inducing blow job
s?  Barbie kept her face straight.

“Good to hear.  Anyway, dear, I am
sorry.  Please accept my apology.”

“Of course.”  Reaching out, she
gave the elderly lady’s hand a little squeeze.

“So kind of you.” Mrs Hubble
smiled.

If Mrs Hubble had any idea how
much Barbie knew about doing the wrong thing, regrets and forgiveness, she’d be
amazed.

Mrs Hubble’s eyes brightened.  “I
see you and young Adam are hitting it off nicely.”

“Adam? Oh, no, I-”

“Of course, dear.”  Mrs Hubble
winked and tapped the side of her nose, leaning forward conspiratorially.  “You
want to keep it quiet for now.”

“Honestly, I-”

“Most wise.  Don’t want to be
thought of as loose.  Fighting one minute, loving the next.”

Nothing she said was going to
change Mrs Hubble’s mind, so Barbie just smiled, shrugged, and tried not to
look appalled.

Turning, Mrs Hubble looked at the
house.  “My, the stories this place could tell.”

Immediately, Barbie’s interest was
captured.  Moving up beside Mrs Hubble, she followed her gaze.  “You know a lot
about this place?”

“My dear, I grew up here.  Of course
I knew your Great Aunt Penny.”

“Then perhaps you could tell me
the story of the rose bushes and the graves.”

Mrs Hubble looked at her.  “I have
a better idea.  Why don’t you come to afternoon tea tomorrow, and I’ll tell you
all about it?  Mr Parker is also coming, and his memory is better than mine.  I
just know he’d be delighted to share a cuppa and a lot of memories.”

“I’ve a much better idea,” Barbie
replied.  “How about you both come to afternoon tea here, and you can look at
the photos and see if you can identify anyone for me?”

Delighted, Mrs Hubble beamed. “Oh,
how lovely!  Yes, my dear, I can certainly manage that.  I’ll call in on Percy,
let him know.”  Crossing to her car, she opened the door and climbed in a
little stiffly.  “Shall we say three o’clock?”

“Sounds good.”  Barbie waved her
off before heading back into the house.

Passing the massage room, she
looked at the table, the towel lying on the floor, and felt heat wash right through
her.  That gorgeous, tall, muscular body, strong and warm…
Oh God, I really
did it.  I laid Adam Moor out and gave him a blow job, felt him up, played with
him - oh geez.

Cringing, at the same time trying
to ignore the flush of moist heat in the apex of her thighs, she shut the door with
a little more force than necessary and walked into the kitchen.  Time to focus
her overheated thoughts elsewhere.

Spencer was nowhere in sight, and
she called his name.  When there was no answer, she went upstairs.  “Spencer?”

“In here.”  His voice came from
the boy’s bedroom.

Stopping in the doorway, she
watched him carefully going through the clothes in the drawer.

“These are very old,” he told
her.  “Quite good condition considering.  With a  clean-up, some of them might
be worth a little something.”

“Not a lot?”

“They are clothes.  Now, these
toys.”  Turning to the monkey, he picked it up.

Barbie shuddered inwardly at its
inane, fixed smile.

“That’ll fetch a bit of money. 
The furniture is in need of some repair.”  He tapped his small chin.  “Not all of
it, of course.  Some are in good condition.  Let me wander a little more.”

Barbie trailed him from room to room,
watching as he smiled at some things, ran his hands over others, tsk-tsked and
shook his head at several old trunks.

He checked inside wardrobes,
knocked on the backs to test their hardiness, he said, and even went on his
hands and knees to check under the beds.

“My, my.”  He rubbed his hands
upon seeing the big old vase in the corner of the hall near the window.  “Now
this is a pretty piece.”  Squatting down, he carefully rolled it on its side,
searching for the inscription underneath.  “Oh yes, now this will fetch a tidy
sum.”

“It will?” Barbie looked
doubtfully at the vase.  Personally, she thought it rather ugly.

“Yes.”  Settling it carefully
back, he went into the library, exclaiming over the old books, handling them almost
lovingly.  The writing desk got an ‘ooh’ from him, the old nib pin and dried
out inkwell an ‘ahh’.

It took him a good several hours
to go thorough the rooms, a notepad in one hand, a pen in the other, very much
as Barbie had done a few weeks earlier.  He marked down items, noted which room
they were in, until finally he seemed satisfied and followed her down to the
kitchen where he accepted a glass of iced coffee.

“And the jewellery?’ he asked expectantly.

“Oh, that’s already taken care of,”
she replied.

“Really?”

“Yes.  I and my Mum and sister
took what we wanted, and the rest I sold to a jeweller.”

“Oh dear.”  His expression fell.  “I’m
afraid the boss will be disappointed.  He was looking forward to seeing the old
jewellery.  Valuable items, you know.”

“Actually, Patrick knows I sold it
already, so no probs.”  Barbie sipped at the iced coffee she held.  “So what do
you think?”

“I’ll need to check some of the items
against the catalogues and similar furniture and stuff.  I’ll get back to you
in a couple of days.  Is that all right?”

“Fine.”

“You’re not in a hurry, are you?”

“Not at all.”

“Good, good.  Okay, Ms Declan, I
must be going.”  Spencer placed the empty glass on the kitchen counter.  “Now, if
you could steer me to a motel, I’ll get a room and start my research.”

“There’s only one motel, Peeron
Motel. You’ll have passed it on your way in.”

“Lovely.  That’ll do.”

Barbie saw him off before closing
the door.

Time to face the den of sin.

Walking into the massage room,
Barbie looked around.  It looked very much as it always did, the only things
out of place the towel lying on the floor and the ABBA CD case.

Retrieving the CD, Barbie put it
back in the case and slid the ocean CD back into the player, ready for the next
customer.  Blowing out the candles which still burned, she took the used towels
into the laundry to soak in a bucket, before returning to wipe down the massage
table.

It wasn’t as good as the one she
used at the massage parlour, for her private table didn’t have the hole in it
for the client’s face to settle into, but it was comfortable and just the right
height for her to work.

God, had she worked Adam or what? 
Just remembering all that rippling muscle, the dips and swells, the feel of his
hot skin beneath her hands was enough to make her breath catch. His handsome
face, the blatant carnal lust stamped onto every handsome feature, the burning
of his dark eyes as he’d looked at her.

The sight of him arching under her
hands.  Long body on her table, muscles bunching, strong leg bending, hips
thrusting powerfully, the pure eroticism of seeing him fall apart under her
touch.

God, his manhood, it ought to be
licensed as a dangerous weapon.  Long, thick, hard, just the thought of it
thrusting deep into her had her knees going weak.

Leaning her elbows on the table,
she smiled dreamily.  Oh yeah, he’d been thick and hard, and when she’d
swallowed him, he’d nearly jumped right off the table.  His roar still echoed
in her mind as he’d ejaculated, his seed shooting deep and hot.

She licked her lips.  God, it had
been amazing.

More amazing,  because she’d
actually had him at her mercy, and she knew that wasn’t something that happened
regularly to Adam.  He was alpha male through and through, his very presence
dominating the room.  He could be standing there, tall, quiet, everything happening
around him, but everyone knew he was there.  Everyone knew when he simply
walked into the room, all quiet calmness, confident, in control.

He hadn’t been in control when
she’d brought him to climax.

He might have demanded she touch
him, but the power had changed hands rapidly after that.

Smiling, she bit the tip of one
finger.  Mmmm, she’d stroked him into a frenzy.  That ought to give him something
to think about,
had
given him something to think about.

I’ll be back
. Remembering
his possessive kiss, the dark promise, she shivered in delighted anticipation. 
You be ready.
  The command.  Her smile faded.

Threat, promise, it was all rolled
into one.

Swallowing, she shivered.  Facing
Adam again….could she?

Slowly, embarrassment crept upon
her, steeling through her happy musings.  Lifting her head, she stared across
the table at her horrified reflection.

It hit her suddenly, starkly. 
Oh
God, I’ve given Adam Moor a blow job!

And he was coming back.

The knock at the door had her
jumping out of her skin.  Hand on her chest, she gulped.  Had he returned
already?  Oh God, what as she going to say to him?  What-

“Barbie?  Ms Declan?” Shane’s
voice came through the door.

Relieved and disappointed all at
once, Barbie hurried out to unlock the security screen.  “Shane, what can I do
for you?”

“I left a box of tools up in the
library.  I need them for a project I’m doing at home.”  He glanced behind
her.  “Can I go up and get it?”

“Of course.”  Going back into the
massage room, she did a last tidy, checking the towel, oil and candle supply
before closing the door to prevent Barney and Fred fossicking inside it and
knocking over oils, as they’d done several times in the past.

Thinking that Shane was taking his
time, she heard him coming down the stairs.

“Thanks.”  His bland expression
hadn’t changed, except for a slight frown.  “So the antique dealer arrived?’

“Why, yes.” She was surprised he
knew.

“Mmm.”  He gave her a small nod.  “See
you Monday.”

“Bye, Shane.”  Locking the
security door behind him, Barbie watched him get into his ute and drive away.

Shane didn’t seem to approve of
her plans for the house or furniture.  Sometimes he made her a little uneasy
with his silent censure.

The blare of sirens cut through
the air and a patrol car sped past the driveway, disappearing in the opposite
direction to town.  It was followed within minutes by the ambulance.  More
sirens sounded in the distance, then the fire brigade roared past, followed by
another patrol car, lights flashing, siren cutting the peaceful air.

She hoped whatever had happened,
it would be all right.

Unable to help herself, she walked
down the driveway to the road, peering in the direction the emergency vehicles
had gone.  There was nothing to see, the sirens fading.  Obviously whatever had
happened was a fair way from her property.

Checking her watch, she saw it was
now one o’clock.  Time sure flew when one was working.

Or giving a blow job.

With a mortified giggle, Barbie
returned to the house, telling herself that once Adam was away from her and had
time to think, he wouldn’t be back for anything else except to perhaps arrest
her for sexually assaulting an off-duty police officer.