Adam (20 page)

He moved forward, pushing her onto her back. The kiss they shared was more than a sexual prelude for her. It was a promise.

He once again ignited her body and stoked the heat that dripped from her. Her need slicked her inner thighs in an embarrassing show of lust. When she closed her legs, he shook his head and opened her up again.

“No, baby. You’re wet for me and I love it. This is natural. Your body is begging for mine. It knows we belong together.”

Her eyes absorbed every nuance of his marvelous body as he lifted above her—the bulging and bunching muscles of his chest and arms that danced under her curious hands. Overwhelmed and lost in sensation, she stilled under him.

His breathless voice in her ear encouraged her on. “No, don’t stop, baby. I fucking love it when you touch me. It excites me. Makes me feel so damn good. Touch me.”

She gasped when he growled and drove deeper into her as her hands began to wander again. One slipped down to his muscled ass. She felt the contraction of his body with each push forward as he strained. His mouth delivered small kisses, little nips and encouraging words as he wound her desire tighter and tighter.

The scent and sounds of his arousal fascinated her. She cupped his face in her hands and waited until he focused on her. “You feel so good in me. Tell me what this feels like for you?”

His smile broke as he pushed inside her just a little harder than he had before—as if her words pushed him to be more aggressive.

“Your body is intoxicating. When I’m in you, your soft, hot walls suck my cock. The soft pull, when I slide in and out, ignites every nerve ending in me and it is everything I can do not to come too quickly.”

His body poised and stroked harder within her. A waterfall of sensation poured through her. It turned her simmering desire into a mass of molten need. She gasped and bit down on his bicep to muffle the cries she couldn’t prevent.

“Yeah, that? That feeling… when you feel like you are going to rip in half… and it feels so damn good…” He thrust harder. His thrust pitched her farther into that wonderfully painful sensation at once too much and yet not nearly enough.

“That’s how I feel every time I take you. But when we come…”

His hips punched forward again and again. His thrusts, deep and hard against her body, set off a trillion electric shocks that froze her muscles. The forced clenching sensation deep within her pushed her farther towards that moment. The shattering punch of sensation stole her breath and ruptured her body from the inside.

Keelee panted to catch her breath as Adam tensed above her. His body clenched and pushed deep. His neck and chest muscles strained as he orgasmed. His arms held her tight against him and kept her still as his animalistic growl resounded in the dark bedroom. The man exuded strength, passion, and masculine beauty in all its grandeur, and all of it was hers. Adam’s breath tore from his chest. He dropped his weight to his elbows. Her hands traveled across his back. Her fingertips danced lightly on the planes and valleys created by his bulging muscles.

He moved his head, his hair tickling her sensitive skin before a brush of his lips fell across hers. In a reverent whisper, he declared, “That, baby, that isn’t just fantastic sex. It’s so much more. We are incomplete without each other.” He lifted her left hand and brushed his lips lightly against her ring before he kissed her palm. “We belong to each other. Forever.”

The enormity of her love for him couldn’t be explained with words, but they were all she had. “I love you, Adam.”             

Just before they both drifted to sleep, he pulled himself into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. He fell back into bed and pulled her close to him. He kissed her softly and fell asleep within minutes. Keelee stroked his massive arm that anchored her to his side. Exhaustion claimed her and that was okay, because life really couldn’t get any better.

Keelee grabbed the kitchen phone. The damn thing almost scared her to death. Nobody ever called on the ranch line. Well, at least not anymore. Guardian had installed a new phone system that used satellites rather than Ma Bell’s old unreliable wire.

She pulled her shirt sleeve down and wiped a drop of coffee off the counter top as she answered, “Hello.”

“Hello, Keelee. This is Scott Richards. I was wondering if you could drive in to see me. There are several things I need to go through with you about the wedding.”

“Oh, hey, Pastor Richards! I wasn’t expecting a call from you. How are you today?”

“I’m fine, but I have a limited window of time to resolve this issue. Can you drive in?”

Throwing a glance at the clock, Keelee did the math on the time it would take to get to town and then drive back. Adam wouldn’t be done at the clinic until at least six tonight. He had two new nurses and a second full-time doctor along with three PT techs on staff now. Due to the increased hostilities overseas, Guardian had a full roster of personnel recovering and rehabbing at the compound. In addition to his professional workload, Adam was elbow-deep in the ongoing construction of their new home.

Gabriel had Chief already starting construction on several small cabins to house some of the longer-term patients. With the current pace of build-out, the training complex was slated to double in size within two years. The complex would soon fill the acreage Guardian had purchased from the Marshalls. Not that they couldn’t afford to sell more land. Actually, the ranch was turning into a bustling little village.

Keelee shook her head, getting out of her wandering thoughts and back to the preacher’s question. “Sure, I mean, I guess I could, but I thought we were going to meet with the wedding planner and the events coordinator next month?”

The pastor coughed or choked on something.

“Nasty cough, pastor. Are you feeling alright?”

His voice came through the receiver a bit breathless and scratchy. “Keelee, I think it’s best if we speak now. There is an issue we need to resolve and I really can’t talk about it on the phone.”

Her stomach dropped, “Excuse me? What issue? I thought you said we were all set.”

“No, we need to discuss one specific thing. Can I expect you in town soon, then?”

Keelee’s eyes pulled up from the floor when her stepmother walked through the door. Keelee smiled at Amanda. If she could have handpicked a wife for her father, she couldn’t have done better. Keelee loved her. A wheezing cough from the other end of the line brought her back to the conversation. “Yeah, I’ll leave here in a couple minutes.”

“Good. Thank you, Keelee.”

Keelee started to say goodbye, but stopped short at the sound of the dial tone.

“Hey, Amanda.”

“Hi, honey. Is your dad out and about with Smith?” The older woman poured herself a cup of coffee. The new foreman, John Smith, had started a few weeks ago.

“Yeah. They went to the Koehlers’. He had a real hitch in his giddy-up about buying that bull from Gerald for some reason. He said to tell you he’d be back by dinner.” Keelee grabbed a set of keys off the hooks in the kitchen. “Aunt Betty, I’ll probably be late, so don’t hold dinner for me. Pastor Richards wants to talk with me. In person. Anyway, he said there was some issue he needed to speak to me about that we could only clear up in person.”

Amanda’s eyes bugged out. “Who are you taking with you to town?”

Keelee shrugged. “Nobody. The twins are busy with training. Chief is working with the contractors over past the airstrip. Dad and Smith are at the Koehlers’. Gregg and Danny are busy mending fences, and I’m not going to bother Adam. The man is slammed trying to get the new staff up to speed and manage his patient load.”

Betty chirped in from the corner where she was kneading dough, “Adam would have a cow if he knew you were leaving without someone going with you.”

Keelee snorted. “I’m going to the church, for goodness sake. It’s in the middle of town on Main Street. Seriously, I’m not a two-year-old who needs her hand held.”

Amanda grabbed a jean jacket from a peg near the entrance to the door and followed Keelee. “Fine, but I’m going with you. Adam’s going to blow through the roof, but that’s your worry. If your dad finds out I let you off the ranch without someone going with you, he will kill me.”

“Amusing. He melts like butter whenever you come into a room. He can’t even pretend to get mad at you. Aunt Betty, would you please call the clinic? The med-tech can usually track Adam down if I need to talk to him, but I don’t want to wait around or bother him while he’s so busy.”

“Sure honey, I got this dough pounded into submission. I’ll call for you.” Betty lifted the mass of flour and plopped it into a buttered bowl to rise.

“Ready?” Keelee plucked two cookies from the plate on the counter and handed one to Amanda on the way out the door. Both women slid into the ranch’s SUV.

“Are you getting excited about the wedding?” Amanda held her cookie in her mouth, speaking around it as she clicked her seatbelt on.

“Excited? No. Stressed, worried, anxious? Yes.” Keelee laughed. “I mean, if it were up to me I’d elope and be blissfully happy. I love that man. He’s a gift from God and I’m blessed.”

“So why are you planning a big wedding? I thought this is what you’ve always wanted.” The older woman frowned in confusion.

“Because, if I’m honest, this whole thing isn’t just about me. This wedding is also for Adam, for my dad, and for the people who mean so much to both of us. My sister Tori—your daughter-in-law. My best friend, Ember… also your daughter-in-law. You know that the daughter-in-law thing is getting to be a trend. Anyway, those two didn’t get to plan their weddings so they are having a blast spinning me in circles. The Google Chat calls we’ve had are insane. I think I should start binge drinking. Not sure how Tori manages her portion of the planning, what with Talon on the go and being twenty months pregnant.”

“Oh my, I know! She’s barely seven months and the poor girl looks like she could give birth to full-grown twins tomorrow. I’ve got tickets to go out to D.C. in two weeks. I’ll let Talon wear me out so Mom and Dad can nest and welcome the twins to the world.”

“I can’t wait to be an auntie again. I’d have never thought Tori would be settled and have a family. She was always such a free spirit. Anyway, this event is a way to include all of our extended family, which, of course, includes all the Kings and most of the management of Guardian.” A soft chuckle joined a slow shake of her head. “I couldn’t think of a better way to reinforce the bond Adam and I have and the circle our families have formed.”

“You’re a remarkable young woman.” The warmth of the smile Amanda gave her made Keelee blush. She could feel the heat raging north to her cheeks.

“Nah, I’m just a rancher… who is freaking out because she’s going on an around-the-world cruise after coordinating the wedding of the century. Nothing remarkable here!”

*

Keelee drove into a small lot adjacent to the brick church and parked. The heavily leaded dark stained glass windows of the massive building gave the town’s largest church a gothic appearance.

“Do you want me to wait in the truck?” Putting the vehicle into park, Keelee shook her head.

“No, I really have no idea why he needed to talk to me in person. But I do know I don’t have any secrets that you can’t hear. Come on inside and we can talk flowers after I get done. I was thinking white roses and lilies, but I’m afraid it may be too much white.”

“Have you thought about a spring flower, or maybe a small spray of heather or lilac? Did you know they can weave colored beads and crystals in the bouquets? The effect is stunning.”

Keelee pulled open the church’s side door and Amanda stepped into the dark hall. “No, I hadn’t. I like that idea…”

She stopped at the pastor’s office door and knocked. An indistinguishable noise from behind the door raised two sets of feminine eyebrows. Amanda giggled and whispered, “Was that a come in or a go away?”

Keelee laughed outright. “Well, since he called me, my vote is for come in.” She twisted the knob on the door and walked in. Her smiling face froze instantly. She heard Amanda’s swift intake of air and felt the older woman’s hand on her arm.

The horror of what she saw took several seconds to understand. Pastor Richards sat in his large desk chair. His face was bloated and swollen, mottled in reds and purples. A noose around his neck pulled him up, but his body was tied to the chair, keeping him from releasing any tension.

Keelee bolted toward the desk, desperate to release the man from the ropes. The office door slammed violently, spinning both women on their heels, but Amanda didn’t move fast enough. Keelee screamed as a violent swing of a man’s arm sent the older woman flying to the ground. Keelee slid to her knees beside the woman, protecting her from the man who continued his attack. A kick to her ribs sent her sideways into the pastor’s desk. Keelee curled into herself and pushed back, moving between the man and Amanda. The distinct sound of a pistol’s hammer being pulled back next to her ear froze her movements instantly.

Rancid breath puffed across her face. Keelee felt his arm move a fraction of a second before a cloth covered her mouth. A menacing voice hissed against her fading consciousness. “Did you miss me?”