Charmed (21 page)

Adam started at the beginning, and while he talked Ella began to feel better, relieved to know the truth.

“When I was sixteen, one night Violetta sneaked into my bedroom. Since she was often hanging around, visiting, no one took particular note. Many nights she’d fall asleep in the living room listening to music.”

“Her parents—didn’t they miss her, or wonder where she was?” Ella crossed her legs and leaned back against a rock, into the story now.

“That’s a long explanation, for another time. Anyway, I was at my computer, as I usually was, and Violetta came into my room. She seemed moody, and I was concerned. We talked a bit, and she…uh…tried to seduce me.”

“Seduce you?”

“That’s the only way I can describe it. Before I knew what was happening, she was on my lap, kissing me. Unsure what to do at first, I did kiss her back. At sixteen, having a beautiful woman on my lap was exciting; shocking but exciting.

“Then she started unbuttoning her blouse. She kept saying she loved me and she knew I loved her. But I didn’t. I tried to stop her, begged her to calm down, but she went crazy or something. She started ripping off her clothes and shouting at me.

“I had my arms on her shoulders, trying to make her stop. Trying to talk to her. But she kept screaming, something about how she knew I needed her love. The commotion must have been heard downstairs.

“Claudio opened the door, expecting to see me hard at work, and wondering what all the screaming was about. When he saw Violetta half undressed and me, with my hands on her, he went berserk.

“With him shouting at her, and Violetta screaming, it’s hard to recall exactly what happened next. It seems Claudio grabbed her, threw her out of the house, and stormed back upstairs to confront me.

“Upset, I was sitting on my bed, crying while he paced across my room, accusing me of raping her. I denied it, of course. Claudio was so furious the veins in his neck were popping out. That image sticks in my mind.

“I thought then he was concerned for Violetta. That was not the case. What upset him, I realized later, was the idea that I was close to Vee. You see, Claudio made sure I didn’t have any friends, and that I didn’t have the time or inclination to date. He never wanted me to find love, or have anything I wanted.

“Part of it was his compulsion to manipulate me. As long as I was exclusively his, with no allies to turn to, he could intimidate me and take what he wanted. But I came to realize later that it was more than that.”

“What, Adam?”

“He is evil. I never wanted to face that. I used to excuse his misbehavior, trying to explain away what I didn’t want to see. My father is cruel. He didn’t want me to be happy. He still doesn’t.

“The worst part is that he attacked Violetta. Not just that night, but after that. Assuming she was my girlfriend, he sought to destroy her. Reason meant nothing. I tried to tell him what had really happened, but he didn’t believe me. Called me a liar.

“He had her committed, Ella; committed to an institution, claiming she was insane. I still don’t know how he managed it, or why her parents didn’t stop him. But he did it. Violetta was never stable, but she didn’t belong in that environment.

“Held against her will, still emotional about what had happened with me, she freaked out. At the end of the first week, she attempted suicide.”

Adam stopped, covering his eyes with his hand. Ella touched his cheek.

“I will never get over that. It was all because of me. Just because she liked me, which is not a crime, she paid the price. Too big a price. She’s never been the same. Sometimes she seems normal, but I never know what she might say or do.

“One time she told me that the only way she survived being ‘imprisoned in the hospital,’ as she calls it, was because she knew I was waiting for her. If she ever allowed herself to face the untruth of that, I’m not sure what would happen.

“My father would never let me visit her. But when he finally left, just before I turned eighteen, I went there. She was on some kind of drug and hardly recognized me. Quinn, my attorney, helped me get her out. That’s how I met him. I had some money and he was willing to reduce his fee. We pulled the right strings to get her out.

“I took her to see a doctor and he got her off the heavy drugs. She’d been in therapy ever since. I pay for it, as I worry that she’ll quit going if I don’t, and she needs help. After some rehabilitation, she was able to function. I took care of her at first, but she wanted to make her own way. She’d always wanted to model and she’s a natural.

“I’ve helped make sure she gets hired, that her background isn’t a deterrent. I know she’s a handful sometimes at photo shoots. But she’s a stunner, and the advertising firms are willin
g to put up with it—to a point.

“I thought she was in Milan on a shoot. I didn’t expect her back for a while. If I had any idea she’d show up now, I would have told you.”

“You should have told me anyway.”

“Yes, I should have. It’s just…”

“I know it’s hard, Adam. I understand that you don’t want to pull me into your tormented past, involve me in things that might upset me.”

Adam put his palms on her cheeks and looked into her eyes.

“You have to let me in, Adam. I need to share everything with you. No more secrets. Okay?”

Adam nodded. “I love you, Ella. There will never be another woman for me.”

He pulled her onto his lap, holding her and kissing her. Ella folded against him, so relieved to be together. Life without Adam wasn’t possible. He’d neglected to tell her something important, but she should have trusted him. Adam wouldn’t betray her. How could she not have known that?

Holding her tight, Adam said, “And now you know why I fear for you. Claudio knows you are here. My love for you has put you in grave danger. Any chance I might have at happiness drives him insane. And anyone close to me is at risk.”

“He won’t win, Adam. He can’t. There has to be something we can do.”

“Yes, there might be. Quinn told me Claudio has gambling debts, large ones. We might be able to do something with that, get traction with that. It’s a start. And we’ll find out more. It just takes a little time. I just wish I could make it all go away today, so you wouldn’t have to go through this.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m with you. As long as I’m with you, I’m all right.”

Adam kissed her tenderly, conveying so many emotions in that kiss. The recent upset had devastated him as much as it did her; she knew him well enough to feel it.

Looking into her eyes, he brushed her hair from her cheek, and ran his fingers along her jaw. “I thought you were gone. In that moment, my world turned dark, the pain too much to bear.”

“I would never leave you, Adam. I just…I couldn’t stand the thought of you with another woman. I went crazy.”

“We belong with each other, Ella. No other woman could
ever
take me from you. Nothing can separate us.”

Adam kissed her deeply, gently caressing her tongue and running his hand along her spine. The recent emotional pain made the kiss sweeter; they were together. Her worst fears were only imagined. She pressed into him, clutching at his hair, and feeling the hard muscle in his arms.

Leaning back, Adam lifted her chin so she would look at him directly. “Are you okay, amore mia?”

Ella felt her shoulders sag with relief. It was really over. “Yes. Now I am okay.”

After pausing a moment, she asked, “Is she still there?”

“Violetta?”

“Yes.”

“No, she’s gone. Nico had her taken back to her hotel.” Hugging Ella to his chest, he sighed. “That won’t happen again. The guards know one of us must be here for her to gain entry.”

“I’d like to meet her another time, under different circumstances.”

“Yes, that would be good. Violetta needs to move forward with her life, let go of this crazy idea that we are together. Seeing you with me is good. She will get used to the idea.

“Let’s swim,” Adam said all of a sudden. “The ocean is calling. We’ll feel better in the waves; we always do.”

Ella laughed. “I don’t have my suit.”

“Who needs it? You won’t be the first to skinny dip on a private beach in Rio.”

Adam stripped off his clothes and dropped them by the rock, running through the sand to the water. Ella watched him from behind, his strong thighs and tight butt a sight to behold. Shedding her top and shorts, she ran to the water’s edge. Adam was already in deep.

“Come on. Don’t let modesty stop you. There’s no one else around. We are alone, beautiful Ella.”

Taking off her bra and sliding off her lace thong, Ella edged into the water. Seeing her naked, Adam whistled.

“Hush, you’ll attract attention.”

“From who? It’s deserted around here. Hurry up.”

Ella walked up to her waist into the water, then bent her knees, submerging to her shoulders. It had been an unseasonably warm day, and the water felt good. One thing she’d learned about the beaches of Brazil was that the water temperatures were usually moderate, making for good surfing and swimming year round.

Reaching Adam, she splashed water at him, giving him a hard time for coercing her into public nudity, but thrilled that he did. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, slanting his mouth over hers and kissing her urgently. Her nipples tightened, surrounded by the water.

Pressing her to him, Ella felt his erection against her abdomen. Her nipples raked against his chest. Not caring if the whole world saw, she kissed him with abandon, caressing his tongue and rubbing her hands over his shoulders. His hands gripped her ass under the water, squeezing and pressing her close.

After almost losing Adam, she craved him even more. She needed him inside her, wanted to be close; physical intimacy the antidote to emotional trauma. Adam’s hand searched her body, sliding up her back, down her ribs, over her thighs, like he couldn’t get enough. Lifting her in his arms, she felt his cock touch her sex.

“Ahhh,” she moaned. “I need you, Adam.”

He touched her tender opening, feeling inside, and rubbing her clit. “Now. I need you now,” she gasped.

With his hand cupping her sex, Adam lifted her up, cold air hitting her nipples as she came out of the water. He sucked greedily at them, driving her crazier than she already was.

“Now, Adam. I have to have you. Please.”

Kissing along her neck, he lowered her back into the water and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The hard knob of his cock touched her sex and he moaned. “Ella. Ella.”

Lowering her slowly over his cock, she felt the stretch she needed so badly. Pleasurable heat flooded into her, deep to her core. God, she’d missed him. Wanting him so much, she let him slide all the way into her, taking his length, craving it all. He kissed her passionately as she slid down over him.

With his arms around her, Adam slid her up and down, stroking her. It felt so good. He looked at her, his eyes soft. As dusk approached, the burning sun lowered to the horizon, basking him in a golden light. His amber eyes, glowing with lust, and his thick hair, wet and slicked against his head, made him impossibly sexy. She kissed him hard, mouth open, receiving his warm tongue against hers.

Biting his lower lip, she tugged, wanting to eat him alive. Wrapped around him, with his swollen cock buried deep, Ella floated into a sweet orgasm. She wanted him too much to wait; had been to shaken by the horror of having him taken from her. All that existed was her overpowering desire for Adam.

He moaned loudly when the strong muscles of her vagina tightened around him. His masculine voice echoed out to the waves. Ella came hard, clutching her body to his, and Adam released inside her. The heavy convulsions of his cock intensified her release, and she screamed as she peaked, giving him everything, and letting go of all that would be their undoing.

Joining as one, out in the ocean, in the dark sky of early evening, Adam and Ella fell through the erotic joining, at peace. At least for those delicious moments, the world was perfect. They had each other and that meant everything. Whatever the future held, they would be okay. Together, they would be okay. No one could come between them, the danger would pass, and Ella would spent endless happy days with Adam, her true love. The ocean lapped around her as she collapsed against him, her head on his shoulder with him hugging her tight.

*****

Read next – C
herished (Adam & Ella #3)

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Charmed (Adam & Ella
#2) by Emily Jane Trent ©2013 All Rights Reserved

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