Secret Crush Seduction, page 13
Once she was ensconced in the front seat of his sedan, Adelaide dropped her mask, leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Michael backed his car out carefully, putting his arm around her to hold her steady.
The traffic was relatively light, and he was soon pulling the car into his driveway. Holding her against his body, he walked her into the house. Adelaide’s hands were cold and the pallor of her lips matched the creamy skin of her face, which held no hint of color. She hadn’t said a word during the drive, and he didn’t ask a single question. She would talk when she was ready.
“Come here.” He led her to his bed and laid her down over the covers, adjusting the pillows around her. “Let me draw you a bath. You need to get warm.”
Her lashes fluttered shut as though she was exhausted. When Colin spoke of Adelaide’s strength last night, Michael knew she had held her own with iron will, but he also knew that she was compartmentalizing all her fear and emotions in order to present an unshakable front. She needed a release to process everything she had bottled up inside. He intended to hold her through it all.
Michael never had women over at his house and regretted not having any fragrant bubbles for her bath. The best he could do for her was fill the deep tub with warm water and light some candles he’d gotten as a Christmas present last year. He was pleasantly surprised to find the scent of jasmine filling his bathroom. It was Adelaide’s favorite.
When it was ready, he sat her up on his bed and began to undress her. She wore a dress shirt buttoned up to her neck and a beige pencil skirt. Too toned down for her usual style. As he undid the buttons of her shirt, his gut wrenched painfully. Angry dark blue bruises spanned her chest and ribs, and helpless fury shook him from head to toe.
“Hush,” Adelaide said, smoothing his hair from his forehead and kissing him sweetly. “I’m okay, Michael.”
“I know.” He couldn’t fall apart right now. She needed him to be strong for her.
After he finished undressing her, he gathered her in his arms and eased her into the bathtub. She didn’t say another word, but her eyes didn’t leave his as he washed her like a child. She looked as though she was assuring herself that he was real.
“I’m here. You’re safe now.”
He washed every inch of her with reverence, silently telling her how much he cherished her. Then he gently dried her off and pulled one of his T-shirts over her head before tucking her under the covers. He lay down beside her over the covers and slid his arm around her so her head rested on his chest.
“Rest now, baby.” The first heart-wrenching sob escaped her then. He wrapped his other arm around her and crushed her flush against his body. “Let it all out.”
He held her tight and rode out the storm until her tears soaked through his shirt. After long minutes, her sobs subsided. Then her tears dried up, and the painful knot in Michael’s stomach eased. He kissed the top of her head and drew circles on her back until she fell asleep. He hoped she’d found her peace and was ready to take the first step toward putting the nightmare behind her.
He studied her sleeping face and noticed how angelic and vulnerable she looked. The asshole had hit her and knocked her to the ground. Michael felt the growl build in his chest, a raw, feral sound. He wanted to tear the bastard apart with his bare hands. Adelaide stirred in his arms, and Michael bit back the anger spilling over him. His anger was his to deal with, and not what Adelaide needed right now.
He inhaled deep breaths through his nose and steadied his heartbeat. He would be whoever she wanted him to be when she woke up. The person who could help her process the events of the night before. Someone who could make her smile. And if she wanted, someone who could make love to her until she forgot everything.
Twelve
When she woke up a couple hours later, she felt the warmth of Michael’s arm around her. She felt safe and whole again. But when she saw him, awake and staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, she realized how shaken he was by what had happened to her.
Either Garrett or Colin had filled him in. That much was obvious. And it was a relief to know that she wouldn’t have to talk about it in any detail with him. Even the thought of reliving the incident made her nauseous. But she desperately wanted to erase the haunted look on his face, which was probably a reflection of her own expression.
“Hi,” she whispered, tilting her head up.
“Hi, yourself.” He immediately raised himself on his elbow and gazed at her face. Unwrapping his arm from her, he cupped her face in one hand, looking at her with such tenderness that her heart melted. “How are you feeling?”
“Limp. In the best kind of way. Like I had the most relaxing massage in the world.”
“Good. Did you sleep well?”
“Like a rock.” She smiled, surprised at how much she was enjoying Michael’s doting. She didn’t know if he realized it, but he seemed to need to take care of her as much as she needed him to.
“Are you hungry? I could make you some pasta.” He moved as if to get up from bed, and Adelaide snatched at his arm.
“No. I’m not hungry for pasta,” she said, sliding her hand down his arm when he stopped pushing himself up. “But I am starving for you.”
“Adelaide...” He sounded choked. “We don’t need to do anything.”
“Oh, but we do. I need you more than anything right now.” She sat up and pushed Michael down flat on his back, and started undoing the buttons of his shirt. “Please make love to me. Make me feel safe.”
He nodded and lay still under her impatient hands. His jaws clenched when she parted his shirt and smoothed her hands over his chest and stomach. Still he didn’t move, instead giving her full control. She moved down to his pants. First she unbuckled his belt. Then she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and pulled them off him with a strong tug. His hard length strained against his boxer briefs, so she relieved him of those as well.
When he was finally naked, she pulled her shirt off, threw it carelessly behind her and straddled him. They both moaned and moved restlessly at the contact. She lifted her hips up to rub her aching bud against his length and leaned forward to place her breasts in front of his face.
“Take me in your mouth,” she demanded.
When he complied without hesitation, she screamed at the intense pleasure, her hips bucking against him for more friction. Her movements became frantic as he suckled her, and he grabbed her behind to move her against him. She was slick with desire, and so close.
Hearing the change in her breathing, Michael slid his finger into her as she continued to stimulate her clit against his hardness. He added a second finger inside her, then scraped the peak of her breast with his teeth hard enough to make her gasp. All his touches combined threw her into the waves of her passion, and her climax crashed into her.
Michael tore open a condom and flipped her onto her back. In one swift move, he pushed into her and rode her into another orgasm before she could come down from her first one. She screamed his name and met him push for push.
“I’m yours, Adelaide,” he said, thrusting into her without finesse, without control. “I’ll be everything you need me to be.”
“You already are.”
At her breathless words, he pumped into her one last time and shouted hoarsely as he found his own release. As they floated down to earth and sweat began to dry on their skin, he still didn’t pull away from her. He just turned them over to their sides and hung on to her. She was more than happy to stay connected to him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, tenderly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m better than okay.” She smiled lazily at him.
“God, Adelaide. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there with you last night.”
“Michael.” She cupped the side of his face. “It wasn’t your fault. You can’t let what happened eat away at you. It’s not worth it. Let’s both let it go.”
“You’re right. It’s in the past.” Then, with a teasing tone, he said, “But if something like this ever happens again, please let them take the goddamn purse.”
She sighed and kissed him sweetly. “Got it. It’s gonna take a while for these bruises to go away. Definitely not worth it.”
“Did Mrs. Song tell you anything this morning?” he asked hesitantly.
“You mean about the tabloid article?”
“You know about it? How did you see it? It should’ve been all gone.”
“No, I didn’t see it, but Grandmother has scary fast intel. She saw it,” Adelaide said.
“Was she...upset with you?”
“That’s the thing. She wasn’t upset at all. First, she fussed over me and made sure I was okay. Then she told me about the article. She said she only wanted me to be aware of it, and that you would take care of it. Grandmother didn’t believe a word of it. She really trusts me.”
“Way to go, Grandma Grace.”
“I can’t believe you just called her that.” She giggled, burying her face in his neck.
He laughed with her until a quiet calm settled around them. Then he noticed her bruises again, and ran his hand down the side of her body. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“That was mind-blowing, bone-melting sex for the ages,” she quipped. “Can’t you see I’m thoroughly satiated after two rounds of orgasm?”
“Satiated?”
Adelaide briefly regretted her praise when Michael’s grin grew arrogant and predatory. Then again, arrogant and predatory turned her on.
“Mind-blowing and bone-melting, huh?” he persisted.
“Well, I was exaggerating a bit about being satiated. There is always room for improvement.”
“Is that so, you little fox?” Her eyes rounded when she felt him growing hard again inside her. “Ready for a new and improved round then? I can’t let you leave the bed unsatisfied.”
“But... I thought you said...it hasn’t been two hours yet.” She squirmed out of his reach, not sure she had another orgasm in her. She was spent from the other two he had given her just minutes ago.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that.” He reached for a tissue box to clean himself off and pulled on a second condom. “My body can’t rest until it satiates yours.”
“I’m satiated. I’m satiated!” She yelped and tried to jump out of bed, but Michael grabbed her with lightning speed and gently pushed her back down on the bed.
“Not so fast. I want you to say that when I’m taking you hard and fast. Would you like that?”
Adelaide suddenly went limp, her center getting slippery with renewed passion. “Yes. Please and thank you.”
They reached for each other more desperately than the first time. Feral and wild. She dug her nails into his back. She bit him. Adelaide marked him as hers. And when they came together shouting each other’s names, her walls crumbled and fell, leaving her heart bare and raw.
I love you.
* * *
Who had said that? Was it him? Or her? Or had he imagined it? The words floated in the thick air that smelled of sex and sweat.
He couldn’t be in love with her. Even he wasn’t so much of a masochist. He wouldn’t give his heart to a woman he could never have. The one woman he didn’t deserve to love. But if she had said the words... His heart filled with a joy so blinding he thought he could fly. But he came crashing down in milliseconds. She couldn’t love him.
But don’t you remember Colin’s warning? She loved you once. Why can’t she love you again?
Because she couldn’t. He couldn’t bear to hurt her. He had to end things before she got too attached. It couldn’t be love. But if she was already in love with him, he’d be breaking her heart no matter what.
It couldn’t be true. He couldn’t hurt her or end things with her right now. They had close to a month left until the fashion show and he would hold on to her until the last minute. Wait. Adelaide was just recovering from a traumatic experience. He was familiar. He was safe. If she had indeed said those words, they were born from fatigue and relief.
They weren’t in love. They were just two very lucky people who had incredible chemistry. He’d experienced the best sex of his life with her, but that wasn’t love. The same had be true for her. He needed to stop being so dramatic and enjoy the time they had together.
They fell asleep in each other’s arm for a sweet catnap and woke up close to midnight.
“That pasta sounds fantastic right now,” she said, stretching languidly beside him. Thank God. The whole “I love you” thing had been a hallucination. She was acting like nothing had changed. Good. That was good.
Michael ran his hands down the length of her torso and grabbed her round ass. But before he exhausted both of them further, he jumped out of bed and stepped into his boxers.
“Coming right up. Spaghetti puttanesca, okay?”
“Yum. It sounds delicious and...satisfying.”
Michael lunged for the siren, but she rolled away from him and locked herself in his bathroom. Her laughter rang through the door, and color burst through his life, making his world HD clear and spectacular.
It was just the two of them in their haven, and the events of the night before became insignificant specks of dust.
* * *
For the next few weeks, Michael and Adelaide got into a beautiful rhythm where they each worked hard during the day, then spent the evenings together—mostly at his place for privacy. But they never spent the entire night in each other’s arms, which ate away at him. They had to double up in their efforts to be discreet with their affair after what had happened at the club with Chris.
Mrs. Song had invited him to dinner tonight at the Song residence, so he was braving the rush hour traffic to Pacific Palisades. Even though they would have Adelaide’s toughest chaperones eyeing them like hawks—James Song was back from his trip to New York—Michael’s heart thrummed out a bruising beat against his ribs at the prospect of seeing her.
Michael’s desire for her only grew day by day. He had a sinking feeling that there was no getting her out of his system. In all honesty, he couldn’t even feign surprise over that. He had known all along. But his desire for her had grown stronger than he had ever thought possible. She was like an addiction that he never wanted to be free of.
Liliana greeted him at the door with a warm smile and patted him on the back. “It’s lovely to have you here, Michael. Mr. Song can’t wait to share his adventures in New York with you. Apparently, Sophie dyed a patch of his hair orange. Go ask him how.”
“I’ll do that.” He laughed, taking his shoes off to enter the house. “I brought some dduk and fermented rice drink.”
“Ooh, rice cake and shik-heh.”
“Yeah, that.” That was the one Korean word that Michael had the most trouble pronouncing. At one point, he decided to stop embarrassing himself and used the English description of the dessert drink. He still practiced the word in private since it was one of Adelaide’s favorite drinks.
When he saw Adelaide walking down the hallway toward him, his breath hitched. She had her hair in a ponytail and wore a pair of slim black jeans and a loose T-shirt. She would be enchanting in a potato sack.
“Hi,” he said in a rush of breath. She smiled widely at him, her lovely eyes becoming crescent moons. They both jumped when Liliana coughed quietly.
“Let me take those from you, Michael. I’ll put the shik-heh in the fridge.”
“Ooh, you brought shik-heh?” Adelaide bounced on her toes. “Thank you, Michael. That sounds amazing.”
“I’ll put a bowl in the freezer so it gets icy at the top, just the way you like it,” Liliana said with a wink.
“You’re the best. Thank you.”
As soon as the housekeeper walked away with the bounty, Adelaide jumped on him and showered kisses on his face.
“Whoa,” he said, kissing her back smooch for smooch, and not doing anything to stop her. “Slow down. What if someone sees?”
Adelaide finally eased up and placed a lazy kiss on his lips before pulling away. “Chicken.”
“Yes. Yes, I am.” He grinned, but after looking to make sure no one was near, he kissed her hard. “One last kiss to make sure I don’t look at you like I want you for dessert all throughout the meal.”
“I don’t know, Reynolds. You always look at me like I’m an ice-cream cone on a hot day on the boardwalk.”
“Yes, because I want to lick you and devour you until you fall apart in my arms.”
“That is not fair,” she groaned. “I can’t even leave with you tonight. Dad will moan and groan about not seeing me for weeks if I try to go out.”
“Sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, the torture is equally real for me.”
“I missed you today,” she whispered, taking a step back to create a respectable distance between them. “And I’ll miss you tonight.”
And because he couldn’t help the words from spilling from his heart, he said, “I’ll miss you more.”
They walked to the kitchen to find both the elder Songs already seated at the table.
“Mrs. Song.” Michael bowed once at the waist and again toward Adelaide’s dad. “James.”
“Good to see you, son,” James replied jovially. Michael felt guilt churn in his stomach and averted his eyes.
“Have a seat, Michael,” Mrs. Song instructed. “We don’t want our food getting cold.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He stole a glance at Adelaide and found her eyes lowered to the table. It had never been this hard to be around her family before they’d slept together. Now he felt like an unruly teenager trying to behave at the table. They definitely wouldn’t be playing footsies.
