Charmed (15 page)

Adam yelled, like a wild, virile animal, his cock pulsing hard in her mouth, his cum shooting down her throat. The taste of him and the feel of his convulsion sent her over the edge. Rubbing harder against her clit, she came while Adam still yelled.

The feel of him coming in her mouth, knowing he had held nothing back, combined with her own body’s reactions, threw her into a deep orgasm. Her vagina clenched tight. She swallowed her love’s cum, tasting his salty, sexy flavor.

Adam fell on his back, pulling her on top of him. She felt his chest heaving, his breathing still heavy. With his taste still in her mouth, his hard chest against her cheek, and his legs wrapped around her, she drifted into a peaceful unconsciousness.

Adam was deeply moved by Ella’s willingness to love him. Having been a loner most of his life, the experience was new. He’d been with women many times, and reached climax, satisfied his needs in that way. But he’d never ventured into intimacy; he’d never wanted to. For a while, he thought he didn’t have the ability.

Being odd since childhood, it was possible that he was emotionally different from other men. He certainly couldn’t use his father as an example. His peers seemed to bond with women in a way he did not; bonding and entering into permanent relationships—semi-permanent at least. He never had, and never understood why.

His attraction to women was never in question, and he had frequent sex, just not usually with the same woman. It was pleasurable and met his need, in a way. But he’d been aware something was missing; just one more way he was different from everyone else. Yet the moment he’d seen Ella, a haunted feeling had come over him.

Instinctively he knew that moment was different. He felt it. And it was unnerving, as he hadn’t planned for love. Life was too involved and complex; the twisted darkness that followed him everywhere blocking any chance of normalcy. The last thing he wanted to do was involve an innocent woman in his troubles. His heart was already torn apart by the burden weighing on his mother and sister.

Love couldn’t be planned for, he decided. Ella appeared in his life when he least expected to find intimacy. Yet there she was, a small angel riding the waves of the blue Pacific. There was no turning back after that. Yes, he’d tried to pretend life could go on as before, that he could move forward, leaving Ella behind, safe and untouched.

It was not to be. Having her with him now, it was impossible to imagine life without her. Knowing including Ella in his life came with a price was a knife to his heart. He’d do anything for her happiness, anything to keep her safe—except walk away from her. That he couldn’t do. And the thought that she might pay the price for that was killing him.

Ella’s sweet, sexy loving of him swelled his heart with emotion. She didn’t just take, she gave. Ella gave of herself, loving him without fear for her own security or future. Flying thousands of miles to another continent had not deterred her when she thought he needed her. The fact that most of her life she’d been mistreated, by one person or another, made her care for him all the more touching. No matter how she’d been treated, her capacity to reach out and give everything to him, the man she loved, had not been muted.

Her capacity to love was nearly beyond Adam’s reality. Sure, he had the love of his mother and sister. That type of love was different, expected, more easily found. But to find the love of a woman, the one woman he craved and felt as one with…that was true magic. And Adam had no intention of losing that. Yet if he had to give up Ella to protect her, he would. It would kill him, but for her he would do it. That would be the only reason.

Sitting in his office at the hotel, a fully appointed business office that he’d set up long ago for his many surfing trips, he looked again at the email from Fiorella. Wavering between gr
ief and rage, he read it again.

Adam – A letter was mailed to Serena. Fortunately, I read it before she did. It wasn’t signed, but it’s clear who it was from. The letter was typed, and I’ll give you the original when you return. It said, “Your life is worth nothing if you don’t convince Adam to co-operate with me. Time is running short.”

Threats against his mother could only come from one source. That Claudio would write such a letter was evidence of his frustration. Unable to directly put pressure on Adam, he’d resorted to his bullying tactics. Adam had spoken to Nico, who’d tightened security.

All mail to the Bianci residence would now be screened. There was no need for Serena to know the details of Claudio’s attack. There was nothing she could do but worry. As a boy, Adam hadn’t been able to do much to save his mother from distress, but he could now. And he would.

*****

While Adam worked, Ella sat by the pool on the back deck overlooking the water. He’d extended their visit for a few more days. Having such a great time, and being away from life’s pressures, she was grateful for more time away. Surfing every day and being with Adam every night was a dream come true. But she knew it couldn’t last.

Soon enough they’d return to Rio, where all the trouble they’d left still waited. Ella wasn’t as concerned about it as she likely should have been. Fully aware she tended to view the situation in a more positive light than Adam did, she still felt there had to be a solution. Her whole life she’d been withdrawn, never really living, never participating like others did.

Shyness had robbed her of the memories most women her age had; memories of first loves, of school activities, and of family closeness. Having none of that, Ella should have felt victimized. Somehow, she didn’t. It was life; there was good and bad. Adam was the good, and he made up for everything she might have missed before. In the fleeting moment when he appeared, the
past faded, wholly unimportant.

Opening her tablet, she let her feelings flow into her diary, as she was accustomed to doing.

It has been an amazing time with Adam. I never felt secure with anyone before. I expected betrayal and found it more times than I can count. You would think that would hurt me, but instead it made me strong.

Adam doesn’t realize how strong I am. I think he is getting the idea, but he is still overly protective. If he would tell me everything, I could be at his side and he wouldn’t have to face things alone. He’s used to being alone. I can tell that.

I try to show him, like last night when he let me love him, that he is not alone. He has me, and he will always have me. He has such a warm heart, and I marvel that no woman before me stole it. I guess that’s why I’ve had such bad luck my entire life. I had to pay for the good luck I have now.

Because Adam is the best thing I could have ever hoped for. Even the word “love” isn’t descriptive enough. What I feel in my heart is too big, too powerful, for a mere word to describe. It’s something one just has to feel.

The best part is not just that he loves me, but that he lets me love him back. I would never have dreamed that I have such a deep need to love. Mostly, I didn’t receive love, didn’t expect it, and didn’t have love to give back. You might say I was dead inside, or at least numb. Meeting Adam brought me back to life. He gave me life, and he gives it to me every second, every hour, every day that we are together.

It must be that my capacity to love would only be evident when I had the right person to love. Adam is the right person. Adam is the right everything. He is so sexy I melt just seeing him. And the way he makes love to me makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I fight feelings of inadequacy all the time. But being around Adam is like a drug. When he looks at me, touches me, I can’t feel anything else but him.

Ella put her tablet aside and looked out at the ocean, the glossy blue water reflecting the sun like a mirror. With Adam by her side she would be happy for the rest of her life. The only thing that could take him away was the vortex of evil that sucked the joy from him. That threat she took seriously. Aware that she didn’t know the magnitude of what she was dealing with, the depths of destruction to which Claudio would sink, she vowed to make Adam tell her. Her worst fear was that something would happen that would take Adam away from her, and she wouldn’t even know it was happening.

**
***

Idyllically, the remaining days in Floripa, as she’d started calling it, drifted past. Some of the verve had gone out of it, even though it was still beautiful and romantic. Ella could tell something was different about Adam. He did the same things, said the same things, but when he made love to her there was a melancholy that he tried to hide. But they were too close—whatever he felt, she felt as much as she would her own emotions.

On the last day, Adam surprised her by taking her paragliding. Traveling half an hour, they reached Santo Amaro. Adam explained it was the perfect place for “thermal flight,” which did not depend on wind conditions. The site was ideal for those wanting to do a tandem flight. Ella had never attempted such a feat, so would either go with an instructor or go tandem with Adam. She chose the latter.

She was too excited to be afraid until she got in the air. Soaring high, she screamed then laughed. Once the initial sensation subsided, she fell through the solid mass of air supporting her and felt like a bird. Flying over beaches, lagoons, and dunes, paragliding provided one of the best views of the area. The bright yellow wing they were suspended from slipped through the clear blue sky, prop
elling them high over the area.

Once Ella got the hang of it, she didn’t want the flight to end. Securely in front of Adam, the tandem flight was the thrill of a lifetime. There was nothing like leaving the earth below and gliding through the sky, seeing the views in all directions. The exhilaration of the experience stayed with her for hours, making her giddy. Paragliding may not be as good as surfing, but it came darn close.

*****

Packing up to go, a feeling of sadness came over Ella. As long as they were away together, nothing could touch them. But it wasn’t real. They had to go back, and not knowing what to expect next, Ella worried. The surfboards were secured to the rack, and Migu
el sat in front, waiting to go.

Ella had nearly forgotten about bodyguards and protection during their getaway. Nico had been there every day, watching out for them. However, he’d been discreet, as Ella hadn’t been aware of him. Only once in a while she’d see him at a distance. It became so commonplace t
hat she didn’t take note of it.

But seeing him in the car behind them, ready to return to the dangerous environment, butterflies fought in her belly. She’d had a dream just before she’d woken up, something upsetting, and she recalled darkness settling over Adam. It was just a dream, she reminded herself. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding.

On the return trip, they were going to drive straight through, not stopping for an overnight stay. Adam took the opportunity to work, and Ella made a stab at making progress on her novel. She was pleased with how it was shaping up, which she attributed it to the heavy emotions she’d experienced recently. Everything from the fright of Kaiyla being threatened to the distress of hearing about the domestic abuse that had been part of Adam’s childhood fueled emotions she didn’t know she was capable of.

Dullness in life had one advantage, she realized—it had kept her from feeling. And feeling, as she’d learned, was both good and painful. It seemed one didn’t come without the other. Now her life was no longer boring and she was no longer dull. Her senses were heightened, her awareness sharp. The thing she cared about most was at risk: Adam.

No longer able to hold back, after they stopped for lunch and started the last leg of the journey back to Rio, she asked questions that needed answers.

“Adam.”

He turned to look at her. She looked back intently, and he took the hint, closing his laptop to pay attention to what she had to say.

“Fiorella talked to me.”

Adam stiffened.

“She told me more about what Claudio did…to your mother…to you.”

“You shouldn’t have had to hear that.”

“Yes, I should. Anything that involves you, I want to know. I need to know. I want you to tell me everything.”

Adam didn’t speak.

“Is that why Serena limps?”

Adam sighed, reaching out to place his hand over Ella’s. “Yes, that is why.”

“What happened?”

“It was long ago. I…I still feel somehow responsible. Claudio was angry. He was often angry. I heard him yelling.”

“What was he saying, Adam?”

“He was yelling about me. Screaming that she’d let me leave the house, that she knew I wasn’t to go surfing, that I was to work on the programs I’d outlined for him.

“He wasn’t even drunk. He didn’t need to be. Claudio has enough rage inside him. He would explode with the least provocation. But that day, he’d specifically told me I was forbidden to go to the beach.”

Adam went silent.

“Adam?”

“It’s a memory I wish I could forget. But I’ll never forget. Every time I see my mother limp, I feel the pain all over again.

“I was at the bottom of the stairs, and Claudio kept yelling. My mother was crying. Even in her fear she defended me, telling him that I was just a b
oy, that he was too hard on me.

“In a rage, he grabbed her. She struggled. Violently he slapped her, knocking her back, and she fell down the stairs.”

Adam stopped, closing his eyes before continuing. “She screamed. I heard my mother scream, and then I heard a loud crunch. Then she screamed again, but not in fear—in pain. I called to her, hardly knowing how to help. Fiorella came up behind me and raced up the stairs to lift my mother’s head in her arms. She told me to call for help.

“Claudio stomped down the stairs. I recall him kicking her as he passed by. Seeing her injured and in pain, still he had no h
eart. His anger never subsided.

“The worst thing was that he could have caught her before she fell. I may have been young, but I know what I saw. He watched her fall without trying to stop it. That was when I knew how truly evil he was.