Harkham's Case (Harkam's #1) (47 page)

He yanked her back so she’d stumble into him. She gasped, and he dropped the bags.

“Mari, I want to know now . . . What did you do with Rory, and how is Kendra a part of all this? Why’s she obsessed with me?” He blinked hard and scuffed his shoe on the ground. His veins were jumping around like somebody was tickling him in a yucky way. It was like bugs were on him.

He shivered uncontrollably for a moment.

“I wish you wouldn’t ask me this. I know we said we wouldn’t lie, but some things you’d be better off not knowing about.” She released a tight, stuttered sigh.

“I’m not walking one more step until you tell me, even if it means I get in big trouble and they kick me out of school again.”

Her jaw and cheeks tightened as she clenched her teeth together. He ghosted his hand across the taut muscles. They loosened a little bit, but still looked hard.

“Three years ago when I had my first relapse, Rory wanted me to teach Kendra—show her what she was doing wrong while they had sex in front of me. She didn’t like what I had to say. She’s a lousy lay, and Rory confuses her because he uses her, then pushes her away when he gets sick of her. I’ve been told he compares her to me all the time to her face.”

“There’s more, though, isn’t there?” His eyes filled with tears.

“Yeah, there’s more. I taught her how to give him a blow job while milking his prostate. She gagged while doing it and then threw up. I flipped out because of the vomit. He shot me full of so many drugs so I could block it all out of my head, thinking he was doing me a favor. I wound up going to the hospital because I was ODing.” She looked away, and her voice got tiny. A tear was swiped away by her so fast, he barely registered it had been there. He ran his fingers down her arm. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “My mom said she was going to send me to my dad, so I cleaned up again. But a few months later, I relapsed again. This time, Rory talked us into the reverse. I had sex with him while Kendra watched. She cried the entire time. He didn’t notice or care. I felt horrible, so I avoided them both from then on. Rory’s pursued me ever since, thinking we could pick back up, and I could continue to teach her or let him use me. Probably both.” She quirked her shoulders into a hint of a shrug. Her chin touched her chest. “God, I hate myself.”

“Don’t . . .” He pulled her into a hug. Her fists were all balled up as her arms were tucked up in between their chests. “It’s not your fault. Don’t hate yourself. You can regret it, that’s all right, but there’s nothing to hate.”

“I’m disgusting . . .”

“No, you’re not,” he said with a firm grip around her. “You’re beautiful because you’ve survived ugly things and they made you stronger.” His lips pressed into her hair, and he burrowed his nose inside. “You don’t even smell like smoke anymore.”

She shook a little. Was she laughing or crying?

“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted a cigarette all day, but your dad promised he’d have something for me today after school.”

“Should we just go home and ditch? Or do we need to head to the office?” He smashed his lips back into her scalp. The smell of her shampoo reminded him once again of their shower. “Or maybe . . . Or maybe we stop going to school. We go ahead and get our GEDs and get married.” His dick nodded in agreement, seconding the motion.

“I’ve created a monster between your legs. All you think about is how fast we can end your virginity.” She chuckled in a husky way and coughed at the end.

“We’re not breaking any more rules. We’re both going to graduate, and we’ll get married after.” She wiggled out of his arms, and they went to the office, regardless of his meaty cock, still engorged and whispering her name inside his pants.

Once they were in his counselor’s office, Adam declared, “I messed up in class, but it was minor. We’re smart—we understand what we did wrong. It won’t happen again.”

“He’s a moody bastard. Ignore Mr. Matthews. Why don’t you go hang out in the library until your next class. And don’t you dare tell him I called him that,” Mr. Perez said with a wink.

Adam shook his hand. Mari cringed but did the same.

“I’m obligated to tell the truth, so I want you to know, you probably saved me from being kicked out again. I’m gonna try really hard to make it through the school year,” Adam told him, waved and they left.

And if Adam said it, well then, it was sure to happen.

Chapter 23

Once they were out of the counselor’s office, Adam found a corner in the hallway and put Mari there.

He looked her in the eye. “We’re not staying here.”

“But we’re supposed to go to the library, and you just promised him . . .” Her brow scrunched a little, and her stomach tightened.

“I know I told him that. And I’ll do all those things. But we’ve already been a little bad today without meaning to. Might as well keep going.” He grinned at her.

“What are you up to?” she asked, her voice playful, pretending to scowl.

“I like road trips.”

She nodded. “O-
kaaay
.”

“And you like them, too. I can tell.”

“I do, but it’s a school day. We can’t just take off.” Her stomach clamped down a little harder. Where was he going with this?

“Yes, we can. We both have passes to leave campus at lunchtime, so we can go.”

She shuffled her feet backward, pushing herself up against the wall. Her eyes searched his face. Was he just hungry for lunch and not in the mood for cafeteria food? Was that all this was about?

“I feel like you’ve got a plan here that you’re not sharing with me.” She held her breath.

“I
will
share. I always share with you—just not now.” He tried to wink, but instead it kind of looked like he was squinting out in the sun.

She chuckled. “What am I going to do with you and all of your adorableness?”

“You’re going to enjoy it in the car. Now, follow me.” He grabbed her hand and strung her along in the hallway.

The second he had her in his Mercedes, his lips crashed down on hers.

“We’re going to make really pretty babies,” he said, cupping the back of her head, keeping his forehead resting on hers.

She swallowed. “Adam . . .
Any
children you make will be breathtaking.” She stroked his shoulders.

“I mean today. Today we’ll make a pretty baby. You’ll see.”

She smiled and sighed like the world was nothing but a harmonious place to be.

“Today is not gonna happen.” She shifted away from him, breaking contact.

He only smirked, started the car and drove off.

When they were about five minutes past his house, she turned to him. “Where are you taking us?”

“Vegas.”

“Uh . . .” She gripped her legs and squeezed them. “Why?”

“To get married. We’ve done what others are asking us to do, and it’s not working.” He gripped the wheel tighter and stretched his neck to the left.

“Sweetie—listen to me . . . We’re not ready to be married. As much as we both like the idea of being on our own, having sex all night and day—it’s not practical. We’d have no place to live. How awkward is it going to be if we come back married and have to still live in your dad’s house? He’s going to be very uncomfortable. You’re whole family will be.”

“I don’t care. They don’t understand. None of them are in love like we are—so they don’t get it. And it’s only temporary. We can still finish school and figure out our future. Nothing’s changed—not really. Only we’ll have a paper and rings that say we belong to each other, and I get to have more than my fingers down your panties.” He sucked in some saliva, and his eyes lit up.

“Everything will be changed, and you know it. People get weirded about by stuff like this. Just knowing we’re married will bother them to no end.” She paused and reached over, gripping his arm. “Please, sweetie. I know it’s hard to see past our own wants and needs, but they’re going to be hurt we snuck off and did this without them. Marriage is more than two people. It’s about family.” Her stomach dropped on her. That’s what she’d always wanted. More than anything—a real family. She couldn’t give that up now. Or at least not the possibility of it in her future. If she did this, she’d be breaking more of their trust.

“We can work it out.” His voice shook and cracked at the end.

“We can. You’re right.” She nodded, humoring him and then looked straight ahead.

Honestly, she couldn’t blame him. She’d had this crazy notion in her head before, right after they got back from Alta. She already had a ring they could use, and it was on that very finger right now where it would need to be for them to be married. Vegas was the next logical step, but still . . . This felt very wrong to go behind his family’s back this way.

In time, he’d figure this all out and understand what she was saying. He’d know she understood how he felt, but also determine it was best to wait. It would be better for everyone involved.

Right now, he was in a frenzy to have her. His tight bulge in the middle of his jeans said exactly where his mind was at, and all day at school, he was extra handsy.

She kept thinking he’d probably be limping by the end of the day, the poor guy.

“I knew you’d trust me.” He smiled and then sang to the music. “We’ll be there a little before dinnertime. We can sit and eat together, find a hotel and then get married before we go to
bed
.” He growled the final word.

“And how are we going to pay for all of this?” A lump formed in her throat. He was really serious about all this. He really meant every word. This wasn’t just some fantasy. He intended to go through with it.

Holy shit! Could she stop him at this point?

She clasped her hands together in her lap, hiding her mother’s ring, still on her ring finger.

Dammit! She looked down at her ring. It was her fault. She should’ve taken that off a long time ago, but he loved it so much, it warmed her heart to see him so happy each time he saw it.

“We don’t need to buy rings,” he said as if reading her mind. “You already have one on, and I don’t have to get one right now. We can wait.” He cleared his throat. “In fact—we don’t even have to tell anyone we’re married. It can be our little secret.”

She barked a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

“Why do you say that?” He eyed her momentarily, then went back to watching the road.

“I said that because once you know you can get in my pants, you’ll be in them all the time. I won’t have the strength to resist you. I’m barely able to do that now. We’ll get caught.”

He grinned and bopped his head. “And when that happens, we’ll show them our marriage certificate. It’ll buy us some time.”

“Ad-aaaaam,” she groaned. “Be your dad for one second.”

“I can’t. He’s too smart for me.”

“Be your dad without the book smarts then.” She turned toward him. “Think about how much this is going to hurt him.”

“He’s an adult. He can take pain,” he said smoothly.

What the hell else was she supposed to say? They were already on the freeway and had been driving a good thirty minutes now. They’d be out of Phoenix in about another twenty.

They were going to blame her.
Everyone
.

And she couldn’t blame them.

“If we’re doing this—I’m going on birth control. Until then, you’ll use condoms,” she said devoid of emotion.

“I’ll only use a condom when you’re fertile. The rest of the time—no. You’re my wife. I can fuck you bare when there’s no risk of pregnancy, even if I don’t like that you’re avoiding my sperm when your body wants it most.”

She sucked in a tight, winded breath. “What are you talking about? When I’m fertile? How am I supposed to know that? I’m not going to take an ovulation prediction test each time I wanna get laid.”

He let go of the wheel and popped his knuckles, then put them back on. “It’s simple, really. I’ve been reading all about the woman’s body and how it works. There’s only a week each month you can conceive. That means I’ll only have to endure about a dozen condoms or so.”

She shook her head at him. “A
dozen
? Why a dozen?”

“’Cause most days I’ll want to both fuck and make love. You’ll get one in the morning and the other in the evening. It’ll start and end the day in the best way possible.”

“Wouldn’t that be fourteen condoms then?” She had to chuckle. Why was she engaging him in this crazy conversation?

“No. Sometimes we won’t be able to have intercourse twice. Due to factors like my family, or maybe if one of us is super tired or sick. I’m allowing for a margin of error.”

She laughed. “So, not getting some is called a margin of error. I see.” She nodded along like she was on to something here.

“Yeah. What would you call it?”

“Oh, I don’t know—
life,
maybe?” Her lips pulled up to the right, and she shrugged that accompanying shoulder.

“Not life. No. It’s death. Because I about die when I can’t be intimate with you. Please, Mari. Be mine in every way. Stop making things so difficult for us.” His hands slid down the wheel to the bottom of it.