Natural Born Enemies (Cedar River Series) (13 page)

I noticed Mrs. G wiped away her tears before she hugged Adam. “You may not be my son by blood, but you are a son of my heart.”

Adam kissed her cheek. “I know,” was his reply.

“What are the leads on the fire, boys?” Bernard asked Adam and Bowie.

“Adam found some boot tracks that I missed. With all of the people tramping around that night, I couldn’t find any distinct prints. Luna was hiding, just in case, the person was still lurking around. Right next to her hiding place was where Adam found the set of prints.”

Bernard looked at me, “Did you see who it was?”

I shook my head, “I saw his boots. I saw nothing else.”

“It’s probably a good thing though, honey. We don’t need this person trying to hunt you down because you saw his face,” Mr. G said.

The thought hadn’t occurred to me, but I was a little more grateful than I had been.

“Adam thinks he knows who it is, but he’s very hesitant to name names.”

Brady looked at Adam, “Is it someone we know, Adam?”

“If my hunches are correct, then the answer is yes. I just don’t want this person to be ostracized if it isn’t them. I really want to check into this person’s alibi before pointing a finger at them. It could devastate a lot of people if the suspect turns out to not be the suspect.”

Mr. G leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands over his stomach. “I can respect your decision, Adam. Have you shared your thoughts with Bowie?”

Bowie and Adam both nodded.

“I’ve also been out to talk to Brand. I’m going out to the site tomorrow to look around again. There has to be a clue there we’ve missed. Bowie knows who I suspect is behind it, but he understands why I can’t let the name be dropped quite yet,” Adam said as he leaned forward with his arms on the table.

I didn’t miss the look that Bowie shot Adam. There was more to this situation than either of them was willing to share.

When I looked at Ana, she simply shrugged her shoulders. She was in the dark as much as I was.

Chapter Twenty-Two- Adam

My heart sat like a rock in my chest as we drove back to Luna’s apartment. Even with further investigation, I knew what I was going to be forced to do. Lives would be shattered.

Luna slid over beside me and took my hand in hers. “Are you okay?” she asked.

I smiled half-heartedly, “I’m just really tired. It’s been a busy day today.”

She studied me and I was very grateful for the cover of darkness to shield me from her gaze.

I squeezed her hand gently in an attempt to reassure her.

“Do you want me to go help you tomorrow?” she asked.

I turned to face her, “No, I’m going to take Brand and Bowie with me. I’ll be fine, honey.”

“Okay,” was her response though there was tone in her voice, saying she knew something was going on.

Luna went to take a shower before we went to bed. That gave me time to begin my investigation. I sent a text message to Rowan Anders. My tech buddy was about to stand up to the biggest bully he could ever imagine. I sent my aunt an e-mail telling her that I’d be out for a visit next week. It was killing me to lie to Luna. She’d be pissed off if she knew I’d lied to her, but I really needed her to go on with business as usual. I hoped she would understand when the time came.

My aunt responded immediately with a positive response. It was nice to know she and Uncle Roman welcomed me, especially if I brought the news I was expecting to take them.

Hearing the water shut off, I turned off my phone and plugged it into charge. I crawled into Luna’s bed and rested my head against the headboard. Closing my eyes, I tried to quiet the thoughts running through my mind. I heard Luna enter the bedroom and smelled her Bitten by Chocolate perfume. My mouth watered at her scent.

“You still awake?” she asked softly as she climbed into bed.

“Of course,” I said with a wolfish smile.

She smiled as she crawled into my arms. Her lips pressed against mine. “I love you, Adam.”

I opened my eyes to look at her.

“I don’t expect to hear it back. That’s not why I said it. It just feels like you are fighting a few demons and I don’t want you to feel as if you have to fight them alone. You have me and the Goldens who are willing to stand with you and for you.”

Tears fell from her eyes. I kissed her soundly, my tongue dipping into her mouth. Her response was primal. It was almost as if she knew what was going to happen.

Luna pulled off her tank top and bared her ample breasts to me. I took one in each hand and sucked first one plum colored nipple, then the other. She buried her hands in my hair, holding me to her breasts. Her hips ground against my erection. I thought I was going to lose my mind. Then, she slid down my body and slid my cock into her hot, wet mouth.

I nearly came unglued right there. I whispered encouragements as she sucked me. Her tongue twirled in circles around the head and she swallowed hard, allowing my cock to slip deeper  into her throat. I tightened my hands in her hair, urging her to continue. She growled deep in her throat and sent vibrations through me. Enough was enough.

I pulled her until she was face to face with me again. Her lips were a luscious pink and swollen. I pulled her thong to the side and pushed into her entrance. She sank down, taking me as deep inside of her as she could. Her sigh told me everything I needed to know.

She began to move with an agonizing slowness. I watched her eyes go from a deep yellow-orange to a light yellow. They were glazed as she watched me.

I made sure she was looking at me when I said the words, “I love you, Luna McIntyre.” She picked up speed and I sucked at the sensitive spot she had right below her ear.

“Oh gods, Adam! Adam!” she cried out.

I felt her muscles clench around me, contracting with each movement she made. I grabbed her hips to still her as I emptied myself into her.

Luna collapsed against my chest and lay there listening to my racing heart. I felt dampness on my chest and heard Luna sniff quietly.

I stroked her hair, “Are you okay, babe?”

My answer was another sniff.

I lifted her head so I could see her face. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I-I feel l-like your s-s-saying g-g-g-g-goodbye,” she cried.

My heart shattered into a million pieces. I couldn’t tell her that was exactly what it was, but I didn’t want her to feel this way either.

I stroked her hair and lied my ass off. “Baby, where do you get these ideas? Do you sincerely think I’m going somewhere?”

She looked at me as if she were staring into the depths of my soul. “I watched you and Bowie tonight. You guys kept exchanging these looks all night. Even Ana was out of the loop and Bowie tells her everything. I don’t know what you’re up to, Adam, but there’s danger coming. I can feel it in my bones.”

“There’s part of the arson investigation Bowie and I can’t share with anyone other than Brand. At least, not until we have all of the information we need.”

She got out of bed and stood at the foot of it, watching me intently. “Are you sure that’s all it’s about? You’re just waiting until you have all of the information?”

I crossed my fingers beneath the sheets and said, “Of course, baby. We just need to nail down a few details.”

She tilted her head to the side and studied me for a short while. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

I let out the breath I had been holding. If the fates ever allowed us to pursue a life together, she was going to be a tough one to keep things from.

***

I pretended to be asleep when Luna crept from the bed at four o’clock the next morning. My nose twitched at the scent of brewing coffee. Then, the smell of chocolate croissants reached the bedroom. Okay, I mean, c’mon, there’s only so much a man can take.

I washed up in the bathroom and got dressed. When I came out the love of my life stood there with a steaming cup of coffee, laced with a little cream. I bent my head to hers and kissed her good morning.

“Mmmm,” she moaned.

She brought a smile to my face and to my heart. “I love you, Luna Irene McIntyre.”

She cringed playfully. I knew how much she hated her middle name. I kissed the tip of her nose.

We went to the kitchen to eat some breakfast. She had the croissants cooling on the counter and they smelled heavenly. If this were the last breakfast I ever ate, I would be happy. I stood behind her as she drizzled icing over the tops of the chocolate croissants. I nuzzled her neck as she worked. She giggled as her lines of icing went off the baking sheet entirely.

“Adam,” she half-moaned, half-begged.

“What’s the matter, honey?” I asked as I nipped her earlobe.

“I’ve gotta go to work today and, if you keep it up, I’m not going to make it downstairs.”

I reached around her and snatched a croissant from the baking sheet in front of her. I deliberately rubbed the front of my jeans against her denim-covered backside. I had to smile when she rubbed right back.

“I’ll let you go to work, I guess. Can I take a few of these to work with me?”

She sighed heavily and smiled, “That’s why I made so many. You be sure to share these with Bowie and Lance though. You can’t eat all of these by yourself.”

I leaned back against the counter and took a sip of coffee. “Is that a challenge?”

She smiled broadly, “No, it isn’t a challenge. I just know that you’ll eat all of these and still stop into Samson’s for a jelly doughnut or two, plus be back around here for chocolate later. I thought the sheriff had a horrible sweet tooth, but I think yours is worse.”

“I try, honey. It’s always been a competition between Bowie and me.”

She shook her head, laughing. After plating up the croissants and wrapping them in foil, she said, “Stop by and see me before you leave, okay?”

“I will,” I promised. I wanted to see her face one more time, just in case today ended in a different way than I was anticipating.

I kissed her before she went downstairs to begin her candy making for the day.

***

I could hear her in the kitchen below as I sipped my second cup of coffee and grabbed my fourth, no, fifth croissant.

I walked through her apartment taking in her scent, her things, and the essence of Luna. I reached her bedroom and I noticed how in such a short amount of time, our scents mingled together and hung in the air.

I dreaded this next move, but it was one which needed to be done. I had already spoken to Bowie and had the keys to his old house in town. I was moving out of Luna’s in an attempt to distance myself from her. I didn’t want her to be hurt if the next step was one I never returned from.

I carried boxes down to my truck and I noticed her watching out the window, but her eyes were as cold as they could be. When I had the final box in my truck, I walked through her apartment once more. I’m not a pervert by any means, but I wanted to take something of hers when I went to face what could easily be my death. In her drawer was a white lace thong. I tucked it in my pocket to take with me. My life had never been easy and this next move was the most difficult of all. I didn’t want to hurt Luna, but to ask her to take this leap with me was too much to ask her to do.

I walked in the back door of the kitchen and watched her work. She raised her eyes to look at me and I could see the sadness lingering there.

“Luna,” I began. She held up her hand in a gesture for silence.

She washed her hands and leaned against her counter. “So, you’re not staying,” she said matter of factly.

I started toward her and the hand went up again, “Luna, I can’t stay with you anymore. I need my own space.”

She nodded her head at me, “We couldn’t have talked about this?”

“Baby, there is nothing to discuss. I love you and I want to be with you, but right now, things are chaotic.”

She pursed her luscious lips together and stared at me. “That’s fine, Adam. I just wish you would talk to me about what’s going on with you. You tell me you love me. You make love to me like you mean those three words, yet you decide on your own that this relationship is over. Nice form, Adam.”

I looked at her. I had expected tears and anger instead I got cold indifference. “I wish I could explain this to me, Luna. I don’t want to hurt you because I
do
love you. I always have. Can you give me some time to figure things out?”

She turned back to her chocolates, “Take all the time you need, Adam. Just don’t expect me to be sitting here twiddling my thumbs, waiting for you to come back.”

Those words stuck like a dagger in my heart. “That’s fair, I guess,” I said as I walked toward her.

“Just go before something happens we both regret,” she said.

I took one final look at her and turned on my heel.

***

Brand was waiting at the house when I arrived. He sat on the front steps, shaking his head as I walked up the walk. “You’re an idiot, man.”

I unlocked the door, balancing the box I carried against the house and my knee. “I know.”

“How can you walk away from somebody like Luna? I only ask because I’m curious.”

“I’m trying to work some things out and Luna clouds my thoughts.”

We walked out and got more boxes.

“She’s a woman. She’s supposed to cloud your mind.”

“It’s not always a bad thing, but at this point in time, I need my head as clear as I can get it.”

“I just think you’re screwing up a good thing, man. This may be something you can’t fix,” Brand said.

It made me angry. I turned on my friend, “Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I don’t understand the consequences of my actions? I could have thrown away the best thing to ever happen to me and it’s killing me inside! We’ve loved each other since we were seventeen years old, man. There has never been anyone else for me except Luna. If you think walking out on her was easy, then you are sadly mistaken.”

I could tell Brand wanted to say more on the situation, but he kept his mouth closed.

***