Come What May (Heartbeat) (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven
Adam

The waves are pounding against me, and I nearly fall flat on my back. There’s a storm roaring in. I shouldn’t be out here, but I have to find her. I can’t leave her out here all alone.

The gale force wind has whipped the surf into a frenzy as the rain comes down sideways, stinging my eyes. I’m afraid to go in deeper than my ankles. The sea is too rough. That feeling of unrelenting fear is building inside my chest. Where is she?

I’m knocked off my feet by an incoming swell. I groan as I’m dragged over the rocky bottom. On my hands and knees, I try to stand up but I’m struck again, and this time my entire body is thrown under. I’m literally tossed head over heels before I resurface. The surge has pulled me out farther than I wanted to go, but I still don’t see her.

Lunging with all my might, I use every ounce of strength I possess to swim toward shore. But I’m not making any progress. The storm has me in its grasp, and it’s not letting go. I’m going to drown out here. This is it.

Then, in front of me, a flash of red emerges then disappears. An alabaster arm snakes under the water before it wraps around my waist. I struggle to free myself, but it’s no use. My face remains above the surface so I cease fighting my assailant. I hold my breath as another wave crashes on top of me but somehow I stay afloat. Whatever has me in its grip is towing me to shore.

I feel the smoothness of the sand beneath my feet, but the night is utterly dark. The moon hides behind the massive clouds, and the stars cannot penetrate the blackness. I catch a glimpse of the churning foam, but that is all. I’m blind to everything else around me. My head is filled with the roar of the sea.

The rain is cold and I begin to shiver. Touch is the only sensory element that remains. I gasp as someone blankets my chest with a curtain of wet hair to keep the wind at bay. Hands stroke my face. Lips brush mine. And in my heart, it feels like a goodbye.

My tears mix with the rain on my face. The trace of a tongue carries them away while kissing a path to my ear. Over the heartbeat of the ocean, I faintly discern a voice. But I can’t be certain. I try to sit up but the slender hands hold me in place against the sand. Moving against my jaw line, those lips find mine and everything becomes clear.

“Katie…” I whisper.

She’s found me.

Taking control, I reach for her but she’s not there.

I open my eyes, and I’m buffeted by a mixture of rain and surf. Katie is gone.

“Where are you?” I call out against the wind, desperate for her touch.

She doesn’t answer right away, and when she does, her voice echoes inside my head. “Farewell, Adam.”

“No!” I scream beyond the tumult of the raging ocean. She can’t leave me. She can’t. Not now. Not like this. I can’t survive without her in my dreams.

“Farewell…”

***

I jerk awake and the seatbelt snaps me back into place. The headlights from cars on the other side of the interstate momentarily blind me. I blink to reacclimate myself to my surroundings. Trying to get it together, I look over and see Jada’s silhouette behind the wheel. There’s a jazz station playing softly in the background.

“Another nightmare?” she asks out of the darkness, but there’s no judgment in her voice. She’s genuinely concerned. She knows about whom I dream.

“Yeah,” I manage to get out. Glancing at the clock on the dash, I’m surprised it’s nearly midnight. But that’s what happens when you own a shit car. We must’ve stopped five times since West Virginia to give the engine a rest. Jada offered to drive after the last one, and I took her up on the offer. I just didn’t think I’d fall asleep.

“Adam, there was a sign not too far back listing a motel at the next exit. Would it be all right if we called it a night? I’m pretty beat.” She yawns as if to emphasize the point. I can’t believe we’ve been on the road since six o’clock this morning. It’s definitely time to stop.

“Sounds fine to me. Where the hell are we anyway?” I take this as a good sign since before she was freaking out about having to share a room with me at the timeshare. There’s no way I’m letting her stay by herself tonight. God only knows how rundown this place is going to be and I’m not entrusting her safety to a rusty chain lock on a plywood door. She’s staying with me.

“We’re still in Virginia but pretty close to North Carolina, probably about ninety minutes or so from the Outer Banks. I’m sorry I can’t push on and finish the job but my eyes keep closing.” She never admits defeat so her confession is telling. She wasn’t feeling well earlier today and I don’t want her to push herself. We have a long weekend ahead of us.

“No, that’s fine.” After settling the matter, my thoughts drift back to my dream. Has Katie really left me for good? A trickle of sweat drips down the back of my shirt. This can’t be it. I can’t go on without her. My pulse starts to race and my right foot starts to tap against the floor mat.

Jada exits the highway sensing my distress. The sooner I can get out of the car the better. The dive of a motel is situated next to a twenty-four hour diner. Yep, these accommodations are going to be anything but swanky. Inwardly, I cringe at having to spend the night here, but we don’t have much of a choice.

The vacancy sign is lit, even if the letter ‘y’ is not. Shoving my distaste beneath the surface, I give Jada a weak smile as she parks in front of the motel office. It’s only for one night. I can handle this.

We get out of the Neon and shuffle toward the screen door patched with duct tape. It screeches on its hinges when I hold it open for Jada, and the pockmarked guy behind the counter jumps to attention. In ordinary circumstances, I would have laughed but I’m just too tired.

“We’d like two rooms please.” Jada pushes by me and speaks before I can. Here we go. I’m just about to contradict her when the guy does it for me.

“Sorry, miss. We only have one room left. Is that okay?” He eyes the two of us, trying to figure out what we’re doing here together. I wonder how we must appear standing side by side. On the job, it’s nothing major. We’re partners. People automatically accept that. But in the real world, our presence together is something else entirely.

Jada stiffens for a moment. She does not want me getting up close and personal with her. She’s craving her space. And after nearly twenty hours together in the car, I can’t say that I blame her. But it stings. On some level, she still doesn’t trust me.

“I guess that’ll have to do,” she sighs, backing away from the counter. To ease her ambivalence, I step forward to pay. It’s the least I can do.

The obnoxiously large keychain won’t fit in my pocket so I hold it my hand as I follow Jada out the door. It’s room number twenty-four, all the way down at the end. Sliding down the passenger seat of the Neon, I reach into the back of the coupe for my bag and open the trunk so Jada can get her stuff. Reluctantly, she begins walking to our room. I watch her, trying to psyche myself up for what’s to come.

She already has the door open and the light on when she starts to curse aloud. “Oh shit. This is fucking perfect.”

Jogging to catch up, I reach her side and peer into the room, thinking she may have seen a rat or something. “What’s the matter?”

“There’s only one bed. No couch. No chair. Nothing,” she huffs, pushing past me into the barrenness of the ramshackle suite. The carpet is beyond soiled. There’s no way anyone’s sleeping on the floor tonight. It’s out of the question.

“I promise to keep my hands to myself. I’m too exhausted to make a move on you.” I’m attempting to keep things light but she just glares at me. I can’t tell if she’s nervous or if she really doesn’t want to be around me right now.

And it’s a small bed, not much bigger than a twin. We’re going to be crammed next to each other like two peas in a pod. Forget turning around or stretching out. I’ll be locked into one position all night. So much for getting comfortable. I won’t get a wink of sleep with her right on top of me. I just don’t want to embarrass myself if she bumps up against the arousal I’m sure to have the minute I lie down beside her. How am I going to hide that? We’ll have to sleep back to back. There’s no other way around it.

“Mind if I take a shower first?” Her eyebrows are arched innocently enough, but just the thought of having her naked again in the next room is doing weird things to my heart. It’s going to take every bit of willpower I have not to join her in there.

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.” My voice is a little shaky, but hopefully she’ll think it is fatigue and nothing more.

She kicks off her shoes and rustles through her luggage. Leave it to girls to need three bags for a weekend visit. Why do they always need to bring so much stuff with them wherever they go? I catch a glimpse of a pair of pink silk panties as she tosses her pajamas over her arm, and I swallow hard. As soon as she closes the bathroom door, I collapse onto the bed. What have I gotten myself into?

When the stream of water hits the tub, I’m in agony imagining my hands on her glistening body, taking her against the shower wall. What I wouldn’t give to watch her as she lost control. I’m sick of seeing her resist me. I want to hear her beg for more.

The door opens and a blast of steam issues forth. The air conditioning unit is rattling in the corner, but I feel like I’m on fire. She steps out in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of plaid shorts. Her hair falls in damp ringlets around her shoulders. I’m so turned on right now. I have to get out of the room.

Grabbing my entire bag, I shove by her and into the sauna-like bathroom before slamming the door. I can tell she’s annoyed as she says something under her breath, but I need to release what’s building up inside of me. I can’t take much more.

Immediately, I turn on the shower even though I don’t get in. Tearing off my clothes, I stand before the mist-covered mirror as I wrap my fingers around my length. I don’t care that she’s in the next room. I need to jerk myself off. Hopefully, the running water will drown out what I’m doing. I’ll be as quiet as I can. My breathing increases when I see that she forgot her bra. It’s lying on the floor. Its cups are massive and all I can think about is running my thumbs over her nipples before taking them in my mouth. And that’s what pushes me over the edge as I come, gripping the sink while trying to stifle a moan.

“Are you okay in there?” Jada’s knocking on the door and I can’t remember if I locked it. I can’t let her see what I’m doing. I lean back against the wall, trying to steady myself. There’s going to be no hot water left by the time I step in the shower. But there’s no way I would’ve been able to keep my hands to myself in that bed if I didn’t do what I just did—no way in hell. But it would be fun to tease her.

Picking up her bra, I open the door a crack. “I think you forgot something.” I pass it through and her breath catches. I smirk to myself. She knows I’m touching her lingerie while I’m naked. Now I think she has a pretty good idea what I was doing in here. I wish I could see the look on her face, but I stay hidden from view. I remove my hand when I feel the bra slip through my fingers as she retrieves it from my grasp.

Laughing to myself, I turn the lock and step beneath the spray. It’s going to take a lot more than a cold shower to cool me down. Building up a lather with the bar of soap, I run the suds over my body, across my shoulders, and down my chest. Placing my hands onto the tiled wall, I groan, realizing that I’m hard again. Our exchange with the bra got me going. There’s no way I can sleep in the same bed with her tonight. Unless…

What if I come on to her? The worst she can do is turn me down. Yeah, it’ll make for one awkward weekend, but it’s going to be awkward no matter what. Maybe if we are able to enjoy each other it’ll relieve some of the anxiety. If she responds to me now, that’ll mean we’ll get to have sex with each other for the rest of the trip, and that’s an opportunity I can’t pass up. Even if it’s only for the next couple of nights, I’ll take it.

Drying myself off as best I can in the steam-filled room, I slip on a pair of boxers and nothing else. I consider going out with nothing but a towel wrapped around my waist, but I don’t want to come on too strong. There’s a good possibility that’s she’s going to reject me. I better take it nice and easy. Facing her in my underwear is daunting enough.

The lights are out when I reenter the room. She’s curled under the blanket, and one of the pillows is on my side of the bed. I wasn’t anticipating that she may already be asleep, but I highly doubt it. If anything, she’s merely pretending. She knows I want her. Now it’s only a question of whether she wants me.

Instead of sliding in beside her, I draw the covers all the way back, exposing her to the chilly air. This has the desired effect, as she rolls onto her back and peers up at me. Despite herself, her gaze travels over my body in the dim light of the room. That’s all the encouragement I need as lay myself on top of her. My arms sink into the mattress as I hover over her, being careful not to crush her with the weight of my body. There’s still time for her to say no. I graze my lips across hers and a moan issues from the back of her throat. Instinctively, her back arches as she presses against my need for her. She stifles a gasp as she lowers herself back down. Her hands remain at her sides. I can feel the debate waging within her mind even though her body is calling out for me.

And just when she lifts herself up to take my mouth with hers, my phone rings.

Thrown out of the moment, I shift to the side so as not to fall on top of her. Our legs get tangled in the sheet as I try to get off the bed. Tripping, I land on my knee as my left foot gets stuck. Hobbling to the phone, I pick it up, dragging half the bedding along with me.

“Hello?” I answer, breathless and agitated.

“Adam, where are you?” The voice on the other end cuts through, effectively killing whatever was happening between Jada and me.

“We had car trouble. So we’re staying overnight in a motel. We’ll be there first thing in the morning.” I don’t really feel like going into particulars at the moment, especially since Jada is listening to every word.

“You better, Adam, or I swear.” Nice, here come the threats and ultimatums. Exactly what I wanted to hear after dragging my sorry ass out of bed when I was about to kiss Jada for the first time.