If You Love Me (7 page)

He started
the truck and backed out of the parking space, wheeling it onto the road as he
sighed. “Baby, I can’t wait to get you behind closed doors. It’s been far too
long.”

“You’re
telling me,” she replied as she ran her hand up the length of his thigh.

When he
pulled into the driveway, she hurriedly unfastened her seat belt and got out of
the truck without waiting for her husband to open her door. They walked hand-in-hand
up the walk and he quickly put his key in the front lock. Letting her walk in
ahead of him, Adam pulled her into his arms as he kicked the door shut.

Leaning
his face down to her level, he looked into her eyes before devouring her parted
lips in a heated kiss. As she responded to the kiss, he pulled her even closer,
caressing her back.

“Oh, Adam,”
she said in a low voice when he finally broke away from the kiss.

He turned
to lock the door. Turning back to her, he softly kissed her forehead, her cheek,
nose, and finally her neck. Ashley closed her eyes and pulled him back to her
lips.

She
fumbled with the buttons on his shirt until she’d it completely undone. He
shrugged it off, letting it fall to the floor. As they moved a few steps closer
to the bedroom, he pulled her shirt over her head and buried his head between
her breasts, softly kissing her skin. His touch scorched her sensitive skin and
as he unfastened her bra and threw it on the floor with their shirts, he moved
her a few more steps before kissing her again.

Bringing
his face down to the rock hard bud on her left breast, he took it into his
mouth and sucked gently. Ashley cried out and moved her hands to his belt
buckle. As she slid the leather belt through the loops of his jeans, he moved
to the other breast. She clumsily unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. When she
drew away from him, she pulled them down and he stepped out of them, leaving
them on the floor. They were leaving a trail of clothing behind them as they
inched nearer to the bedroom. Her jeans followed his and soon clad only in her
lace panties, she led him into the room. He removed his boxers and immediately
pulled her panties down. She stepped out of them and the minute they hit the
floor, she was in his arms as he hauled her to the bed. As he joined her, he
kissed her again, leaving a trail of kisses from her lips to her neck before he
began to travel downward. When his lips touched her navel, she gasped. He
grinned as he looked up at her.

“Don’t…stop…Adam,”
she begged.

He did as
he was told and trailed his tongue down her thigh before finally reaching his
destination. As he tortured her with his tongue, she wound her fingers through
his hair, writhing and moaning. “Adam…oh…”

 
“Baby…I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered
in a hoarse voice before returning to his torture of her senses. Her body was
on fire with each stroke of his expert tongue and she felt as if she would
explode into a million pieces. Finally, when she couldn’t hold back any longer,
she gave in to the sensations he was stirring, crying out as her world
exploded.

“Ash, oh
baby, yes, let it go…” He raised himself back up to eye level and kissed her
again, holding her as she shuddered in delight, still reeling from the intense
orgasm.

“Adam,
please…I need you…”

“You don’t
have to ask me twice,” he replied as he positioned himself above her. Entering
slowly at first, his gaze never left hers as the exquisite sensations overtook
them both. “Ash…oh my God, Ash…I’ve missed you.”

He began
moving inside her, building a rhythm which she quickly matched. They moved
together, the heat building with each thrust until the fire between them was
white-hot and flaming out of control. Her senses swirling, her body was responding
to his every move.
 
“I love you, Adam.”

Her hands
caressed his butt and as her nails dug into his back, he moaned. “Ash, I can’t
hold back…”

“Now,
Adam…” She cried out in rapturous delight as the ecstasy enveloped her once
again. Shuddering, oblivious to anything but the feel of her husband inside
her, she surrendered to him completely, body and soul.

As he
joined her in oblivion, he whispered in her ear. “I love you, too.”

When the
shudders of delight finally subsided, he rolled off her and pulled her close, kissing
the top of her head. “That’s the best it’s been in a long time.”

 
“I know, honey, and I’m so sorry I was such a
bitch the past few months. I’ve needed to show you how I really feel about you.
I…I…didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance again.” A tear rolled down her cheek
as she looked up at him.

“Don’t
cry, baby.” He leaned down to kiss her.

They
cuddled quietly before falling asleep. In the middle of the night, she woke and
began fondling him. His eyes flew open and he was ready to go again. Pulling
her on top of him, they had another mind-blowing sensual experience before
finally falling asleep in each other’s arms again.

When Ashley
awoke, Adam was sleeping soundly. She gently caressed his face before she
quietly crept out of bed and headed for the bathroom. After a hot, steamy
shower, she dried herself with a soft, fluffy towel and donned the robe hanging
on the back of the bathroom door. She padded softly through the bedroom, toward
the kitchen. Stopping along the way to pick up the clothes strewn on the floor,
she smiled as she remembered how they’d gotten there the night before. She put
her own clothes in the hamper and neatly folded Adam’s things before setting
them on the chair in the bedroom. When she had the coffee going, she searched
for the ingredients for strawberry waffles, Adam’s favorite breakfast. Finding
everything she needed, she took the waffle iron from the cabinet and was just
mixing the batter when Adam appeared in the doorway.

“Do I
smell coffee?” he asked, grinning as he stood and watched her.

“Of
course, you know me and my morning caffeine,” she replied with a giggle.

“Oh, boy,
do I ever. What are you mixing up over there? Not waffles?” he asked as he
walked to her. Standing behind her, he kissed her neck before pulling two mugs
out of the cabinet and pouring coffee for both of them.

“I even
have the strawberry topping and the whipped cream you like so much,” she said
as she poured the first batch of batter onto the hot iron.

“I could
think of other things to do with the whipped cream, you know,” he teased.

“I know
you could,” she laughed.

“I’ll set
the table,” he offered.

As her
eyebrows shot up in surprise, she bit her tongue.

“No
comment?” he asked.

“No
comment,” she replied.

After
breakfast, he took a shower while she cleaned up the kitchen. When he walked
back in, she handed him another mug of coffee. “Do you want me to go over to
Dillon’s with you and help you pack?”

“Ash…about
that…sit down, baby. We need to talk,” he said in a serious tone.

“What is
it?” she asked warily as she sat at the kitchen table.

He sat
down in the chair across from her so he was facing her as he spoke. “I’m going
back to Dillon’s, but I’m not packing my things and moving back in here…at
least not yet.”

“What…what…do
you mean?” she asked in a shaky voice. Her lower lip was trembling and her
palms suddenly became moist. She fought to fight the tears that threatened to
flow.

Adam took
her hand in his and caressed it with his thumb. “One night of sizzling make-up
sex doesn’t repair a damaged marriage. You have to admit when I moved out, we
were pretty damn damaged.”

“But…I
never wanted you to move out. I was ready to apologize for my behavior and make
it up to you the morning after that last awful fight. But when I got up, you
were gone.”

“Baby,
listen to me. I know you want to work things out. I realized that last night
when you walked away from Ross. I didn’t run out like I did the last time I saw
the two of you together. I decided to stay and see what you’d do. When you went
back to your table, I asked Robin to dance. That was also to see what you’d do.
I wondered if you’d run back to Ross or come to me. I got my answer.”

“You know
that girl? You know her name?”

“She
introduced herself to Dillon and me when we first got there.”

“You say
you got your answer…I don’t understand…why are you going back to Dillon’s?”

“Because
we both need some more time to think about this. I don’t want a divorce, Ash.
As far as I’m concerned, that’s on hold. But I do think we need to take some
more time and think about everything that’s wrong with us. I believe you when
you say you didn’t contact Ross to come back to town. It just happened like you
said it did. Maybe it was a good thing he came back now. It gave you a chance
to see, once and for all, what you really want.”

“I still
don’t get why you won’t come home…I need you, Adam.”

“I need
you too, baby. But if I come back, I’m never leaving you again. That’s why we
have to take things slow. If you love me, you’ll do this for me, Ash.”

“If you
come back?” she asked. “Does that mean you think there’s a chance you won’t?”

“I don’t
know. I guess it depends on how things go from now on. I can’t come back to the
fighting and anger. Things have to change. You surely see that, don’t you? I
know we won’t always agree on everything, but you have to admit, things were
pretty bad between us when I left.”

“I do love
you, Adam, and I want things to be good between us again. If this is what it
takes for us to get back to where we need to be, I’ll agree to it. But…I…want
you back…I never wanted you to leave in the first place. And I sure as hell
never wanted a divorce.”

He got up
and put his coffee mug in the sink. Walking over to her, he pulled her out of
her chair, holding her close. He kissed the top of her head and cupped her chin
in his strong hands.
 
“I love you, Ashley.
Don’t ever forget that.” He kissed her goodbye. When he released her, he walked
out the front door and got into the truck, leaving his wife standing in the
middle of their kitchen, crying like a baby.

Chapter
Ten

The days
went by slowly for Ashley as she tried to maintain a normal routine. She went
about her daily chores at home and at work, in an attempt not to pick up the
phone and call Adam. Determined to let him make the first move, she was
surprised when a dozen red roses were delivered to the office one afternoon.

As she
read the card she smiled to herself.
So
he thinks he’s courting me now. I could get used to this.

Two days
later, she baked his favorite cookies and had a messenger deliver them to him
at work. He replied with a text message, telling her if she was trying to
seduce him with food, it was working.

A week
later, he still hadn’t called. He’d sent text messages and emails, sexy,
suggestive messages, tantalizing her senses, driving her nearly mad with desire
for him.

Finally,
one night he called. “Ash, are you awake?”

“Yes, I’m
in bed reading a book since I don’t have anyone here with me to distract me,”
she teased.

“You’d
better not have anyone in there distracting you,” he teased back.

“Well, I
could be distracting you…”

“Ash,
behave yourself. I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me Saturday
night.”

“Are you
asking me out on a date?”

“I guess I
am. That’s taking it slow, isn’t it?”

“But how’s
the evening going to end, Adam? I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to keep my hands
off you.”

“You’re
worried about that? I’d think it would be the other way around.”

“So you
admit you can’t keep your hands off me? This could turn out to be an
interesting date.”

“It might,
baby. It just might.”

“I’ll have
dinner with you. Pick me up at seven,” she said, smiling to herself.

“I’ll be
there. Wear something sexy for me,” he added with a chuckle.

“Goodnight,
Mr. Brant.”

“Goodnight,
Mrs. Brant. Sleep tight.”

She hung
up the phone and laughed.
Oh, Adam, I’m
going to knock your socks off Saturday night.

She walked
around for the next few days with a grin on her face. So evident was her joy,
Carrie finally asked if she and Adam were back together.

“Not yet,
Carrie, but we’re working on it. We’re having dinner together Saturday night.”

“That’s a
step in the right direction. I’ve felt so bad for you the past few months. I
didn’t know what to say to make you feel better.”

“Thanks,
but I know something you can do for me.”

“What’s
that, Ashley?” Carrie asked curiously.

“Go
shopping with me at lunchtime. I need to find an outfit that will really get
Adam’s blood boiling…in a good way.”