Chapter Eight
Adam raised his free hand and set it gently against her cheek, cupping the side of her face, and she let out a soft moan—and it was about the sexiest thing he’d ever heard.
Heat streamed through his body, and he tilted his head just the slightest, and pressed his lips to hers.
A soft kiss, but full of meaning. Of promise.
Then another. Like a slow sip of an expensive glass of wine, he sampled her lips, testing her reaction.
Her lips parted, offering him an invitation, and he deepened the next kiss, slanting his mouth across hers and dipping his tongue between them.
She tasted like chocolate and cherry lip balm and what he was pretty sure heaven would be like.
The rest of the world fell away. Nothing mattered except this moment, this second in time.
Blood rushed to his ears as she pressed back, meeting his kiss with a sudden urgency as her fingers tightened against his back, then gripped handfuls of his T-shirt.
He slid his hand down her cheek, across her neck and shoulder then clasped her arm, pulling her tightly to him.
She pressed closer, her soft curves melting against him, and he had to remind himself to breathe.
He pulled back, his breath ragged and shaky, already missing the soft feel of her lips.
Aw hell, breathing is overrated anyway.
He leaned back in, capturing her mouth in another kiss, this one filled with heat and passion and a crazy sense of desperation that he had no idea where it was coming from.
But he did know he wanted her. Needed her. Knew that his skin felt like it was on fire, and having her was the only way to extinguish the flames.
He drew his hand down her arm, skimming the side of her breast, and she let out another low moan against his lips.
Pressing her back against the sofa, he kissed the corner of her mouth, then her jaw, then laid a line of kisses along her neck and across her chest. Her tank top had shifted, revealing her creamy breasts as they pushed out of the top of her lacy bra, and he ran his tongue along her pale skin at the edge of the white lace.
She squirmed under him, arching her back and dropping her head back against the sofa.
His hand slid up her ribs to cup her breast, feeling the hardened pebble of her nipple through the fabric of her bra as he skimmed his thumb across it, eliciting another soft gasp.
She let out a gasp of need, of desperate desire, and something broke inside of him. A defensive wall that he’d built around his heart crumbled and fell as her body trembled beneath him.
Hunger spiraled inside of him, stirring in every cell of his body, as he tugged the top of her bra down, then filled his palm with her exposed breast, pushing it up as he circled her taut pink nipple with his tongue.
Her fingers dug into his back, urgent and insistent as he drew the hardened tip between his lips, sucking the bud as he kneaded her breast.
Her body was perfect, and he ached to see—and touch—more of it. All of it.
Sliding his hand down her waist and hips, he cupped the impeccable curve of her butt, skimming his fingers along the bare skin at the frayed edge of her shorts.
A low growl sounded in his own throat, a hum of need and hunger, as he feasted on her skin, kissing each breast then her chest, her neck, the line of her jaw.
He pulled the ponytail holder from her hair, letting it fall across her shoulders, and he drove his hands through it, clutching the silky strands as he buried his face in her neck.
Pulling her body against his, he shifted them so he could lay her back against the sofa, then he pulled back, filling his gaze with the vision of her. Her hair was tousled and spread across the couch, and her shirt was disheveled, pulled down on the side, so that one bare breast spilled over the top.
She looked gorgeous, sexy as hell, like a fantasy. Except this was real. This was actually happening.
He leaned down and slanted his mouth over hers, crushing her lips in an onslaught of desire.
Her leg circled his, pulling him tighter to her, as she yanked up the back of his T-shirt.
Everything else fell away. All of his focus was on her. Touching her. Kissing her. Feeling her.
He couldn’t get enough.
Nothing else mattered.
Nothing except the subtle whisper of clicks that sounded as someone inserted a key into the lock of the front door.
Adam sprang back, and panic filled Skye’s eyes.
“It’s Cody.” She struggled to sit up, hastily adjusting her top and smoothing down her hair.
Adam shifted in his seat, grabbing a throw pillow and holding it in his lap, fervently trying to think of baseball stats or something that might diminish his raging erection. Thank goodness he wore loose shorts.
The game controllers were scattered on the floor, and he reached for one, quickly hitting a key that started the game playing again, while he struggled to catch his breath.
He felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him, as if a tornado had just swirled through the room, lifting them up and tossing them around in a passion-filled storm.
He sucked in a deep breath as the door swung open and Cody walked in.
The boy stopped in his tracks, glancing from them sitting on the sofa to the television, and his forehead creased in annoyance. “Hey, what do you guys think you’re doing?”
“Cody, listen, it was my fault,” Adam answered, searching his brain for a way to explain. But his mind refused to work; his thoughts were still muddled with images of Skye. It was as if he could still feel her against him.
But somehow he didn’t think Cody would be thrilled with any explanation of why he’d been mauling his mother on the living room couch.
He snuck a glance at Skye. Her mouth was open, as if she wanted to say something but no words would come out. All Adam could think about was the way her lips had that just-kissed swell to them, which did not help his attempts to quell his own problem. He readjusted the pillow.
But Cody’s eyes were fixed on the television screen. “Are you guys playing my game? Did you mess up my level?”
Adam let out a relieved sigh.
“Don’t worry. Yours is safe. We started a new game.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to learn how to play it,” Skye said, finally managing to speak.
“You did?”
“Yeah, I did. You’re always wanting to talk about it, so Adam offered to teach me how the game works. Maybe we could even play it together.”
Cody’s eyes narrowed with skepticism as he glanced between her and Adam. Then his face broke into a grin. “Really? You actually learned how to play Masters of Misfortune? For me?”
Her face lit up, and something inside of Adam lit as well—like a little pang of happiness at his role in coming up with the idea.
“Of course for you. I’m not very good at it. But I’m trying.”
Cody dropped onto the sofa next to her and reached for a controller. “You must be pretty good if you got past the river. It took me forever to figure that part out. I kept getting eaten by the crocodile.”
She laughed, and the sound was music to his ears. “Me, too. I couldn’t even get to the crocodile. I kept getting swept into the rapids and drowning. Adam helped me with that part.”
“What?” Cody cocked an eyebrow at him. “Dude.”
Adam held up his hands in surrender. “I know. I should have let her do it herself. But I couldn’t help it.”
The boy shook his head. “I probably would have helped her, too. That part is totally ridiculous. I wish I knew the guy that created the game so I could tell him what I think.”
Adam chuckled. “I’m all ears.”
Cody looked at his mom. “So do you still want to play? Like a game with me?”
Adam felt Skye stiffen next to him, and then she reached between them and clasped the side of his shorts, gripping a fistful of the fabric.
“Yeah. Sure. I’d like that.”
Cody fiddled with the controller to maneuver the screen to a fresh game, then leaned around his mom to look at Adam. “I have an extra controller if you want to play with us. But I get to be Vic.”
Adam laughed again. He liked this kid. “You’re on. I like playing Theo better anyway. I’ve got to warn you, though, I do have a bit of an advantage. But I’ll try to let you guys do the majority of the tasks.”
“I’ll warn you,” Cody said. “I’m pretty good, too.”
He clamored from the sofa to dig the extra controller out of a basket of game paraphernalia that sat on the shelf under the television.
Skye snuck an excited glance at him, and he gave her hand a squeeze.
“Here ya go.” Cody passed him a controller. “It’s the original one that came with the setup, so the grips are worn and the X button sometimes sticks. That can be your disadvantage.”
Adam let go of Skye’s hand before Cody saw it and took the game device.
They settled in to play, and Adam was surprisingly happy to let Cody take the lead in explaining the game to his mom. It was fun for him to hear how the boy explained challenges and what his take was on the puzzles, plus he got a kick out of listening to them both laugh as they traversed through the jungles of Peru, united in their quest to find the treasure.
They had plenty of gamers that tested their products and helped them find bugs in their games, but this was different. This was just ordinary people enjoying something he’d helped to create.
His chest swelled with a mixture of pride and happiness that his game was also helping to bring this mom and son together—to give them a common interest. He never imagined people like Skye being part of the target audience, but the wheels in his head were already spinning about how they could create some type of family-play version in the next game.
Just by listening, Adam was picking up a lot of ideas about what to include in their new product.
“Watch out for that snake,” Skye shouted, pointing to the screen.
“I see it. Calm down, Mom,” Cody admonished, then laughed. “You just take care of collecting the artifacts. I’ll take care of the jungle creatures.”
“You’re so close. Just a few more steps.” She bounced in her seat. “Adam, get that statue. We’re almost to the top.”
He gladly followed her instructions, and the three of them guided their characters up the stairs and into the ancient tomb. Racing through a series of tunnels, they came out into a large, cavernous room filled with treasures. Waterfalls rained from spouts in the sides of the walls, and golden sunlight spilled into the room, sparkling off the piles of gold.
“Wow,” Cody whispered, his voice filled with awe as he stared at the screen. “This is so freaking cool.”
“This is amazing,” Skye agreed.
“Wouldn’t it be so cool to actually be in this video game and have to scale the walls yourself, and then you get to walk into this room? That would be awesome.”
“That would be cool.” Skye nudged Adam. “Could you please work on that? We’d like an option to actually crawl inside your video game and be part of the action.”
Adam laughed. “I’ll get right on it.” His mind was already racing with the possibilities.
…
Skye let out a yawn, then glanced up at the clock on the wall.
It was almost midnight.
How could that be?
They had spent the last two hours playing, wandering around the treasure room and amassing artifacts to use in the next level. She’d been totally immersed in the game and in the fun she was having with both Cody and Adam, and she hadn’t realized how late it was.
She stifled another yawn. “You guys, we’ve got to quit. We’ve got a big day tomorrow with the cattle drive and the camp-out. We need to get some sleep.”
“Aw, come on, Mom. Ten more minutes?” Cody pleaded.
She couldn’t remember the last time her son had begged to spend another ten minutes with her. “Okay, ten more minutes. Then that’s it. No complaints. We’re turning it off and going to bed.”
Sneaking a glance at Adam, she caught him raising his eyebrows teasingly at her comment about going to bed.
A grin tugged at the corners of her lips, and she nudged him with her elbow. “Be good,” she mouthed.
“I plan to be,” he said quietly against her ear, before he reached forward and took the last cookie from the plate.
Heat bloomed in her chest at the thought of sleeping with Adam, at how “good” it could be. From the way he had kissed her earlier, she imagined it would range somewhere in the category between “amazing” and “spectacular,” bordering on “mind-blowing.”
His first kiss had been toe-curling enough, and her inner muscles clenched as she fantasized about what could have happened if Cody hadn’t come home.
Would Adam have taken her to bed?
Would she have wanted him to?
This was crazy. And seemed to be happening way too fast. She couldn’t believe how far and how fast that first kiss had gone, how quickly they’d both become carried away in the moment. He’d gone from touching her hand to first base in a matter of minutes.
And the craziest thing was…she’d wanted him to. Wanted him to touch her, and reveled in the fact that they’d been so caught up in the heat of passion that he was pulling aside her clothes. The thought of his hand, and his mouth, on her breast had her skin heating even now.
The fact that things had happened so quickly told her there was something special about this guy. They had chemistry.
Still, her actions had surprised her. She hadn’t kissed a man in years, and yet, she was suddenly considering jumping into bed with Adam.
Could she just be desperate to have a man’s hands on her?
No, she knew she wasn’t like that. Besides, she’d had plenty of opportunity to date, if she’d wanted to. But she hadn’t.
There was only one man in her life. Well, one boy, that she was busting her butt to turn into a man. A fine man, who respected women, and who wouldn’t leave.
Not like his father, who had left before he’d even met Cody. Skye had been nine months pregnant when she’d turned up on her father’s doorstep with a suitcase, a swollen belly, a tear-stained face, and a promise to herself to never trust another man with her heart.
And she hadn’t. It was easier to turn guys down, right at the start. She didn’t need to date. She wasn’t even sure she ever wanted another man in her life.
But then a tall, dark-haired computer whiz had stepped off the bus, wearing a frown and a pair of awful snakeskin cowboy boots, and her heart had stumbled in her chest.
Who would have thought that a guy who’d never even been on a horse would be the one to finally jumpstart her heart?
And her libido.
One touch of Adam’s lips and she was right back in the old saddle again…er…so to speak. Her mind might have put those feelings aside, but her body remembered, responding to his touch with a fire and intensity that she didn’t even know she had in her.
But evidently she did. And not just a little flame, but apparently a freaking inferno.
Just thinking about it had licks of heat darting up her spine, and she barely resisted squirming in her seat.
Focus on the game, girl.
They were only going to play for ten more minutes. So, she had ten more minutes of feeling Adam’s thigh pressed against hers, of smelling his amazing aftershave, of having her bare arm brush against his bicep.
Thirty minutes later, they were still playing.
“We have to stop,” she said, setting down her controller and finally calling it quits.
“Okay. Okay,” Cody conceded, dropping his controller on the sofa and giving his mom a quick one-armed hug. “I’m going to bed. Thanks for playing, Mom. That was cool.” He waved at Adam as he headed for his bedroom. “Good night, Adam. Thanks for teaching my mom to play Misfortune.”
“Good night. See you tomorrow.”
Skye sat perfectly still, unable to move, stunned at the actions of her son.
“You okay?” Adam asked, turning to her as the door of Cody’s room thumped shut.
She shook her head slowly. “Did you see that? My son just gave me a hug. And thanked me for hanging out with him.” She raised her head, her gaze meeting Adam’s. “Thank you. Thank you for teaching me to play this game. For having this idea.”
He shrugged. “It was no big deal.”
“It was a big deal.” She rested her hand lightly on his leg. “Everything about tonight was a big deal.”
A shy smile crossed his face, and he glanced down at her hand. “Yeah. It was for me, too. I wish…” He stopped.
“You wish what?”
He shook his head. “Nothin’. It’s late. I’d better let you get to bed.” He set his controller next to hers and pushed up from the sofa. He stretched his arms above his head and let out a yawn. His shirt rose above his waistband, offering her a glimpse of the tight muscles of his abdomen, and she wanted to reach out and run her fingers across the band of skin.
“How do you stay in such great shape when you work in an office all day?” She stood up and followed him to the door.
He grabbed his computer on the way. “Brandon, one of my partners, is a big health nut. He had a workout room installed at our office and insists that we all work out together three or four times a week. We usually strategize as we lift and do cardio. It works out pretty well—keeps us in fighting shape.” He laughed as he patted his stomach.
“They sound like great guys.” She opened her front door and stepped into the empty hallway with him.
“They are. And we usually do whatever Brandon tells us to do. Except when he tried to get us to drink kale smoothies. We drew the line at that one.”
“I hope I get to meet them.”
“I’d hoped so, too. But from the last email they sent, it’s not sounding likely. But don’t worry. I’ll still pay for their stay here.”
“That’s fine. Whatever you want to do,” she said casually, although she was breathing an inner sigh of relief. She didn’t want to tell Adam that she needed their registration fees to pay one of her overdue bills. It was embarrassing enough that he’d caught sight of those bills scattered on the floor of her office. Hopefully, he hadn’t realized what they were.
“And I’ll cover their fees for the excursions, too. I know the cattle drive and the camp-out was an extra fee, and I’ll make sure that’s covered, even though they didn’t show up. In fact, maybe I’ll throw in a bit extra, just to make up for the inconvenience.”
Apparently he did realize it. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. I want to help.”
Even though his words were spoken in earnest, her back still bristled. Did he feel sorry for her? She already had Clint offering to swoop in to save her. Now Adam was going to try, too? Did she seem that desperate? “I don’t need your charity.”
He reared back slightly at the hostility of her tone. “It’s not charity. It’s business. Besides, it’s not a big deal. I’d just like to help you out. Because I can.”
Where was this coming from? Did he have some kind of white-knight complex? Did he think he was some rich guy coming in to help the poor country girl? Screw that. “Sorry, I’m not trying to be nasty about it, but I’ve come a long way to prove that I can run this ranch on my own. I can take care of myself. I don’t need your help, or anyone’s.”
“Except for Captain Cowboy’s,” he muttered, his gaze going to a spot on the carpet.
“What did you say?”
He sighed and looked back up at her. “I said, except for that guy, Clint. You seem to be okay taking his help.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I don’t take his help. We barter for services. He doesn’t work on the ranch for free. He does it in exchange for my help.”
“You’re right. It isn’t any of my business.” He took a step back, hurt and embarrassment evident on his face. “I should probably just go.”
“Yeah, you probably should.” Annoyance and defeat swirled through her chest as she stepped back into her apartment and shut the door behind her.