All I Ever Need Is You (8 page)

“We’re not dating,” Adam clarified. “I’m not even sure she wants me to be her friend, actually. But I need to be there for her anyway.” Because if Kerry kept letting her sister wound her the way she had at the bar… Adam had to deliberately unclench his jaw.

“Of all the kids,” his father said after a moment, “you were always the one who immediately reached for the hammer and nails. Or the glue and staples. You hated to watch things fall apart, not if you thought you could save them before that happened. Even if that meant trying to hold things together with your bare hands, like that bird’s nest that you wouldn’t let go of when you were eight because every time you put it down it fell apart. But sometimes, all you can do is trust that people are going to figure out how to rebuild things for themselves, and let them know that you’re always there as a true friend if they ever do want to reach out for you.”

“I wish I could use glue and staples to fix this situation.” Even though Adam knew his father was right, that didn’t make it any easier to stand by while Kerry got hurt.

A few minutes later, after his father had gotten into his car and was about to drive away, he rolled down his window. “I’m not sure I was as much help as you’d hoped I’d be, but if you need anything else—”

Adam could easily finish his father’s sentence. “You’re always there.”

That evening at the hotel, Adam checked his phone half a dozen times for a message from Kerry. But at forty minutes past seven there was nothing—no email, no text, not even in response to his. He hoped she hadn’t bailed on him, even as he worried that something might have happened to hold her up. Something worse than just a meeting that had gone on too long. An accident or—

Thank God, she came in from the sidewalk just then, her long dark hair blowing back as she moved quickly toward him. “I’m sorry I’m so late. The traffic was horrible. I could have gotten out and walked here faster if not for my heels. And my stupid phone was dead.”

His only response was to grab her hand, taking her overnight bag in the other.

“Adam?”

Despite the question in her voice, she let him pull her past the reception desk and the bar and into the elevator that was conveniently open for them. He jammed in the room key that would take them straight to the penthouse suite.

The doors were closing as she asked, “Is everything okay?”

“No. But it will be soon.”

His hands were already in her hair, and he caught the flash of surprised pleasure in her eyes just before he slammed his mouth against hers.

There was no sweet ramp-up tonight, no gentle whispers. Only the rawest, hottest need.

In both of them.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and met his kiss with such fierce passion that he groaned into her mouth.
“More.”
He could barely wrap his brain around anything other than that right now. “I need more of you.”

“Yes.” She tore at the buttons on his shirt, and a few popped off and landed on the marble floor of the elevator.
“God, yes.”

Permission granted, he put his hands on her hips and lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around him. She was wearing something pretty and likely expensive that he knew he shouldn’t tear off her. But when her skirt caught on her thighs, there were just way too many layers of fabric between them.

And he wanted her naked.

Now.

The back seam of her skirt tore open with one hard tug of his hands, and she immediately took advantage of the freedom, wrapping her long legs around his hips. The heat of her—and the soft press of her curves against every inch of him—made everything flash to white in his brain for a few seconds. And when one of her hands moved from around his neck to his belt buckle, he nearly lost it completely, right then and there in the elevator.

The soft bell that rang as they made it to the top of the building almost wasn’t enough to pierce through. Lust had never held him so tightly in its grip before, but he’d worked on enough of these buildings to know that there had to be a video camera in the elevator. The last thing he was going to do tonight was share Kerry in all her gorgeous, naked beauty with the guys in the security room. Especially when he knew she would be the most beautiful thing they’d ever seen.

She was his, damn it.

Only his.

Fortunately, like last week’s hotel, theirs was the only penthouse suite, so all they needed to do was make it out of the elevator and in the door. And then he would tear off her clothes and devour every inch of her.

But he couldn’t make himself move away from her. Not yet. Not when she was rocking her hips into him and he knew how close she was. So ready for him that all it would take was the barest brush of his hand inside silk to take her over the edge.

From the moment he’d left her house on Saturday morning, he’d wanted this. Wanted to have her in his arms. Wanted to lick across her skin. Wanted to hear the sweet sounds she made when she came apart. Wanted to be inside of her more than he needed to take his next breath.

Tearing his mouth from hers on a rough curse, he yanked the key card out of the elevator, then covered the open seam at the back of her hips with his hands so that the security guys couldn’t ogle even that. “Hang on tight.” He carried her out of the elevator and to their door, nearly kicking it open when the card wouldn’t read at first.

Finally, the damn thing opened up, and in a matter of seconds he had it closed again and locked behind them with Kerry pressed against it. The words, “I’ll buy you a new outfit,” were barely out of his mouth when he tore again, this time from her neck down. The belt at her waist was the only thing holding the fabric up anymore, but even though a part of him was frustrated that she
still
wasn’t naked, another part of him needed to stop and drink her in.

The first time he’d set eyes on her, though she’d been glossy and elegant and perfect, he’d seen her like this in his mind’s eye. Her hair tangled from his hands. Her mouth swollen from his kisses. Her skin flushed with desire as she begged him to touch her. To take her.

But with her hands deftly yanking open his belt, he knew now wasn’t the time to stand back and stare.
Later
, he promised himself. Later tonight, he’d look his fill as she lay naked and soft in his arms.

Look…and run his hands over every inch of her.

By the time she’d undone his zipper, her bra was off and he was gorging himself on the sweetest tasting skin in the world, first one breast and then the other, over and over again.

Her hands faltered on the band of his boxers as she moaned and arched into his mouth. Without the elevator’s cameras on them anymore, he was finally able to hook one of her legs over his hip and slide one hand into her panties.

He loved hearing his name fall from her lips in the exact moment that he found her slick and hot. Again and again, she gasped out his name as she rocked into him. And when she shattered with his fingers in her and his mouth on her breasts, he not only knew without a doubt what heaven felt like—he also knew that even though he’d never done one thing good enough to deserve to be here, he wasn’t ever going to willingly walk away from the most beautiful, most responsive, sweetest lover he’d ever known.

His hands shook as he grabbed a condom, tore open the wrapper and shoved it on just seconds before she jumped up into his arms again, wrapped her legs around him, and took him all the way inside.

“Nothing has ever felt this good.” He thrust up into her at the same time as she came down onto him, taking him so deep that he nearly saw stars.
“Nothing but you.”

He needed her mouth beneath his again, always needed to be kissing her, even when he would normally have simply been gunning for the finish line. And just as their kisses had taken him even higher last weekend, tonight he felt his chest clench even tighter as she kissed him back. Their tongues tangled, their teeth caught on each other’s lips, her hands gripped his shoulders for dear life as he brought her down over him again and again and again.

Until all they could both do was just hold on tight to each other, kissing and kissing and kissing as blazing pleasure shook through both of them.

* * *

Like the first time they’d made love, they didn’t stop kissing for a long time. Only when her arms and legs started to tremble where she was wrapped around him did Adam finally let her go—only to sweep her off her feet to carry her into the enormous bathroom and run a bath.

Sinking into a tub of hot water had never been so good, especially with the most gorgeous man in all creation lying behind her, cradling her body with his.

She leaned her head back against his shoulder and closed her eyes, sighing. How wonderful it was to finally have a chance to relax for a few minutes. Especially since she was still a little off from a second meeting with that difficult couple today, and trying to decide whether or not she should cut them loose.

“Too tired for more?” Adam murmured against her neck.

“I might be persuaded to wake up in a little while,” she said as he gently ran his fingertips over her bare shoulder. She wasn’t even close to having her fill of him, that was for sure, but as a huge yawn escaped her, the truth was that for a few precious moments, all she wanted was to give in to doing absolutely nothing.

Thankfully, Adam seemed to understand exactly what she was feeling, even though he could easily have turned his gentle caresses into far more sensual ones. Soon, that was exactly what she’d want. But for now, though she knew their meet-ups were supposed to be just about sex, ever since she’d been to his office, she’d been even more curious about what he did. And it would be lovely to think about someone else’s job for a while.

“Tell me about some fabulous building you worked on today.”

“You want to talk about work right now?”

“I’ve always been interested in architecture. And not that your ego needs any boost—”

“Anytime you want to stroke my ego—or any part of me—you should feel free.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. Adam might have the world’s best self-esteem, but he was also fun and cute. It was quite a package, especially when he had his strong arms wrapped around her in a big bathtub.

“As I was saying,” she continued, “I think what you do—and how well you do it—is really fascinating.”

The kiss he pressed to her shoulder told her how much he liked her compliment. “Thanks, but I don’t know how fascinated you’d be with the place I was looking at today.”

“Why? What’s wrong with it?”

“Everything.”

“I thought you said there was no project too big?”

“Funny, you sound just like my father.” She could tell Adam was thinking about the house again because his hands were moving over her skin absently now, rather than with the devastating sensual purpose he usually had. “You saw the picture of what my office looked like before I got my hands on it. Well, this place is in even worse shape.”

“But?” She could hear the interest in his voice even as he tried to convince her that it was a lost cause.

“But at the same time it’s in a great neighborhood, right at the end of a curving lane, with an incredible oak tree in the front yard.”

His words stirred up a picture in her head of her favorite house as a child, so clearly that she had to tell him, “I know this might sound crazy, but I think I might know the house you’re talking about.”

“It’s on Seaview Lane.”

Her exhaustion suddenly fled as she squirmed around in the tub so that she was straddling him. “Oh, Adam, the most amazing old couple lived there. They built the house together, and it was just so beautiful, all of the hand-carved wood, the inlaid floors, the stained glass in the windows upstairs. They made all of that themselves as a team. They were so sweet together, always holding hands, always giving each other little smooches, rocking together on the front porch. They didn’t have any kids of their own, so they’d invite the local kids and our parents to have picnics under the huge old oak tree. And you wouldn’t believe the way they’d decorate the whole place for Christmas. It was more than just the light shows you see now—everything was handmade with such love and passion.”

It wasn’t until she came to a stop that she realized Adam was staring up at her with such intensity that her breath caught in her throat.

“Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are when you’re naked in the bath with me, talking about houses?” He reached up to tangle his hands in her wet hair and pull her mouth down to his for a kiss that seared through every cell in her body. “Do you have any idea how damned gorgeous you are every single second?”

Every kiss he gave her took her deeper and made her more and more desperate to get even closer to him than they already were, wrapped around each other in the tub. And, oh, how she loved the way his large hands slipped and slid over her wet curves, moving over her breasts and then to her waist and hips and back up again. They’d only just taken each other against the door, but she needed him again.

“Adam.”

“I know, sweetheart. I need you again, too.”

The endearment shouldn’t have sounded right for two people who were just having fun hotel sex once a week, but
everything
was right just then. Especially when she realized he’d thought to put protection on the edge of the tub.

Moments later, he was ready for her and was she ever ready for him. His hands on her waist helped to guide her down over him slowly, so slowly that she gasped at how good it felt to have him inside of her. Every last one of her nerve endings was already on fire when his tongue slicked over her nipples...and then going slow wasn’t an option anymore. Because she needed more, needed to sink all the way down onto his rock-hard muscles, needed him to keep raking the edge of his teeth over her breasts one after the other.

Fireworks had already gone off inside her once tonight, so brilliantly that she’d nearly been blinded. But as this second climax started to take her over, from the tips of her toes all the way to the top of her head, she was amazed to realize that when she was in Adam’s arms, there were always brighter and brighter colors to see and even bigger and bigger explosions to experience.

And then, his hands were back in her hair and his mouth was on hers again, kissing her through not only her orgasm but also his own, and then beyond…just the way they had each time before.

Finally, with one more swipe of his tongue over her lower lip, he let her up for air. “We weren’t done talking about the house yet, were we?”

Every part of her felt warm and sated as she smiled and shook her head. “No, not yet.”