Break Me Slowly (8 page)

“
I can drive your car, drop you off at your place, then take Megan home if you’d like.”

Brian shook his head and cracked open another beer.
“I thought we’d make a night of it. I can drive us all home in the morning.”

It
wouldn’t be the first time that a party had run late and Brian and Megan had slept it off in the guest room. I, however, always opted to go home, which is why I hated not having my car here. My friends knew a lot about my past, but I kept my uncle’s creepy perv tendencies to myself.

“
You want a drink?” he asked.

I shook my head.
“Not in the mood tonight.”

Brian
’s eyes were on the room. “All right, but if you change your mind, there’s plenty to go around.” He winked and pointed at the bar across the room where everyone was congregating. Tim always kept it well stocked. When I had moved in with them at age sixteen, after my mother’s latest rage, I learned real quick that while there might be a short supply of vegetables and empathy, they were never short on liquor.

The doorbell rang.

“Have fun.” I smiled at Brian before walking out toward the entryway. I opened the large front door. The cold air hit me, but a hot flame burst through my bloodstream.

Standing in all his perfect glory was Adam Kinkade. I
f I’d thought he was delectable in a suit, in light gray pants, black belt, and white shirt, he was yummy.

The first two buttons on his collar were undone and a
wool coat that matched his pants draped his broad shoulders like a dream. A pang washed through me when I realized that I had been intimate with this man—kind of—but had never seen him naked. I hadn’t even got to witness the hard chest he was hiding beneath all those expensive clothes.

“
Jesus, Katelyn,” he grated. My gaze snapped to his. I thought he was upset, but then I saw a familiar look in his eyes. It was the same look he’d given me when I was on my knees before him. Lust. “You’re beautiful.”

My chest tightened. No
t because of his words, but because of the way he said them. He spoke as though the wind had just been struck from his lungs.

“
Thank you. You look pretty great yourself.”

A small grin split
his lips. “May I come in? Or would you prefer that I drag you out into the cold and whisk you away somewhere else?”

“
Of course, come in.” I smiled sheepishly. He took of his coat and I hung it in the closet. “The party is in here.”

I
turned to lead the way, but he grabbed my wrist, halting me, spinning me to face him. His blue eyes were shining like a moonlit iceberg. They reminded me that once again, I was drowning around him.

“
Thank you for inviting me,” he rasped. His thumb drew lazy circles on my inner wrist. The action made my whole body tense. “I’ve thought of nothing but you—” Still gripping my wrist, he raised his hand to my face and brushed my bottom lip. “—and this talented mouth for the past two days.”

H
e kissed my palm. The gesture was intimate, as though he was praising me. Odd, since I was pretty certain Adam Kinkade didn’t do emotions
and
sex. Not that we’d
technically
had sex.

“
Katelyn! Simon’s nanny just left with an emergency.” Tim stomped toward me. The sound of his voice sent a slow slide of dread down my neck. “Can you take care of—”

He
stopped midsentence, and midstride, when he saw Adam. “Oh, hello.” He extended his hand in greeting. “I’m Tim St. Roy.”

“
Adam Kinkade.”

The look on Tim
’s face was a mix of surprise and recognition. Obviously Tim had heard of Adam.

“
It’s nice to meet you.” When Tim’s eyes landed on me, unease slithered through my body like a chafing eel. “I was unaware that you knew my Katelyn.”

My
Katelyn? I clenched my jaw. The endearment sickened me to my core. Apparently Adam didn’t like it either, because his whole demeanor shifted. He didn’t let go of my wrist, rather he slipped his hand into mine and twined our fingers together. The small gesture comforted me.

Tim took notice. Adam
’s body was thrumming, but he remained perfectly still. Adam was not the type to offer information. Instead of taking on Tim’s questioning expression, Adam turned toward me.

“
I’d be happy to escort you to dinner if you’d like.” He unleashed that megawatt smile. “Or, perhaps
coffee?”

I beamed up at him. Somehow, he had picked up on my agitation and offered to remove me from the situation.

“You can’t go,” Tim shot out. “You just got here. Come, I’d like to introduce you to some people, Mr. Kinkade.” Tim’s eyes briefly flashed to me. “Kate, you have Simon?”

I nodded and
stole a glance at Adam. His eyes were intense, watching every move I made.

“
It’s okay. I’ll be right back,” I whispered, and headed for Simon’s room. There was no doubt that Adam could handle himself just fine. It was the way he looked at me, as if silently asking me if
I
was all right. The surge of strength and repose that came over me made me smile. Adam had done it again. Facilitating a lightning bolt of power straight to my self-esteem.

When I got to Simon
’s room, I found him lying in bed, clutching his blanket. I turned on his night light and sat next to him. “Hey kiddo, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

He shrugged.
“Bad dream.”

“
Want to tell me about it?” I ran my fingers through his hair.

“
Nah.”

“
Okay, well, why don’t you tell me about your day. Did you have fun at Gavin’s house?”

He scratched his chin
. “Yeah. I told him about the zoo. He was really jealous!”

“
Oh yeah?”

“
Yeah! And I drew a picture of the ostrich we saw.”

“
Well, I’m so glad you had fun, buddy. We’ll have to do that again real soon.”

“
Promise?”

“
Of course.”

He snuggled deeper in his bed.
“What did you do today, Kate?”

“
Well, while you were at Gavin’s, I helped your mom set up the house and worked on my thesis a little bit. Then I had to shower and get ready…”

H
is eyelids started to drift and fall. It was way past his bedtime and I wasn’t surprised he was out so quickly. Some nights, when story time didn’t work, I recounted my day in painstaking detail and that usually conked him out. A six-year-old’s attention span could be a brilliant thing.

“
I love you, buddy,” I whispered, and kissed his forehead. I quietly rose, tucked the blankets in around him, and turned for the door.

There was a shadow i
n the doorway. A sharp scream burned my throat, but I managed to stifle it. Before terror gripped me completely, Adam stepped into the dim light. My lungs struggled briefly, but after a few deep breaths, I pushed the fear away. A shadowy figure coming toward me was an instant anxiety spike.

I walked toward him
, out into the hallway, and closed Simon’s door behind me.

“
I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he rasped.

“
It’s okay. I’m glad it’s you.” My lips trembled slightly. “I didn’t mean to be gone that long.”

“
You weren’t.” Adam’s voice was deep and laced with intent. He cupped my face in his hands. Before I could react, he kissed me. He parted my lips with his tongue and took a long, deep taste. It was quick, hard. Intense. If his goal was to steal all the oxygen from my lungs in one earth-shattering pull of his mouth, he had succeeded.

“
W-what was that for?” I gasped, wishing I had more breath, but the sinful mogul had just kissed it all out of me.

He
shook his head and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. I untucked it, letting it fall back over my jaw and neck.

He frowned, but didn
’t push the matter. “Are you ready to get back to the party?”

“
Not really, but yeah, we’d better.”

H
e guided me down the hallway, his hand resting on the small of my back as he slowly led me downstairs to the crowd of people.

“
I can always find something far better to occupy your time with, you know.”

“
Don’t tempt me. I just may take you up on your offer.”

“
About time, woman.”

Oh my
God! He smiled! Bigger than I had ever seen. It reached his eyes and gave him a boyish charm. I liked this side of him. The human side. The power and dominance was still there, but there was something deeper. Many children who grew up being bounced around in the system had issues with control and a warped sense of stability. It wasn’t a mystery that being a foster child played a part in his demeanor. But there was something more. Something almost broken that seemed to be buried deep inside him. Something that called to me. I wanted to dig into that side of Adam and latch on tight.

“
There you are,” Eddie Stout slurred as he ambled toward me. The party had been in full swing for a little while and the handsy, middle-aged tax attorney had already had his share of Stoli.

“
You look fucking hot, Katelyn!” He raised his hand to my face. I flinched and instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

Though Eddie would only attempt to touch me,
it was an instant reaction. But his hand didn’t meet my skin. I peeked and saw Adam’s fingers wrapped around Eddie’s wrist.

“
Don’t touch her. Ever.” Adam’s voice was so calm and threatening it sent shivers down my spine. Eddie bared his teeth and made a weird noise before taking another swig of his drink and walking away, mumbling several choice words.

“
What was that?” Adam barked, as though he was mad at me for Eddie’s approach.

“
What was what?”

He slowly raised
his hand, his eyes on mine. It looked like he was about to perform magic or something. He stood there for a moment, his finger hovering from my nose to my cheekbone.

I laughed.
“Are you trying to hypnotize me?”

“
You’re laughing?”

“
I’d call it a light giggle.”

“
You laugh at me, yet when your uncle approached you earlier, you tensed up. And then just now, when that man came near you, you flinched.”

My heart stopped
and my attention turned toward the floor.

“
But now…” He traced his finger from my ear to my neck. “And when I kissed you in the hallway, and before at the restaurant—my office—you didn’t feel threatened.” His eyes blazed with so much ferocity it scared me. “Did that asshole hurt you in the past? Has he touched you?”

My brows
rose nearly into my hairline. I didn’t know which asshole he was referring to, but either way, I didn’t want to go into it. Eddie was a drunk and technically, Tim had never hurt me. I had shut him down before it got that far. He was just inappropriate and unnerving. Yes, he added to my anxiety issues, but my reaction to hands coming at my face was due to my mom. Another subject I didn’t want to get into.

I grabbed both of Adam
’s hands in mine. “It’s nothing like that. It’s just a reaction I have sometimes.”

“
Sometimes?”

“
Well, a lot of the time. Except with you.”

“
You trust me.” Once again, he wasn’t asking, he was affirming. But it was also impossible. I didn’t even let Brian or Megan near my face—not that they regularly attempted it. I had been thinking about this a lot, and the only thing I could come up with was that my sense dissolved when I was near Adam. Logical or not, the simple truth was that I reacted to Adam differently than I did to the rest of the world.

Why was that?

I didn’t have an answer.

“
Someone has hurt you, Katelyn. Who is it?”

“
I don’t want to talk about it.” Especially not with him.

His eyes took in the crowded room and he lowered his voice.
“Maybe not here and not tonight, but we
will
talk, Katelyn. Because this—” He motioned between our bodies. “—is hitting me hard. And you feel it, too. Of course, you fight me more than I’d like,” he growled with amusement. Playful Adam was back and I was relieved.

“
Well, I do what I can.”

He gave me that look again, like he was in awe,
like he had just seen his first sunrise or something. A girl could get used to that look.

Tim
’s voice rang out. He was telling a joke and everyone laughed. I didn’t want to be there, but I wanted to make sure Simon stayed asleep, because his nanny wouldn’t come until the morning. If he had another bad dream, he’d only have drunk parents to deal with. I’d give it a little more time, but I needed some space from the house.