So. Long.: Bad Boy Next Door (17 page)

Adam is a super-snuggler. All night he held me tightly, his
body entwined with mine. Every time I moved a half-inch from him, he’d pull me
closer. His warm breath on the back of my neck, his kisses on my shoulder, his
hands caressing my skin like he couldn’t touch me enough—all combined in an
effort to blow a hole through my defenses.

But I can’t let that happen.

And he wouldn’t want me to anyway.

I woke with Adam’s arms locked around me and a story swirling
in my mind. The words have been running through my head since sometime in the
wee hours of the morning. The characters chattered among themselves so loudly
it was all I could do to stay put as long as I did.

I tiptoe from my bathroom, down the hall to my office.

I check the time on my phone. Dawn should break soon.

Once my computer is powered up, I pull up a fresh, new
document. A brand new book.

So what if I’m starting from scratch and I have only a
couple of weeks until my self-imposed deadline? I have to start this story, and
I have to start it
now
.

I sink into my words as they flow from my creative center to
my fingertips. They rush to fill page after page on the screen. And with every
paragraph—every sentence, even—a weight seems to lift from my lungs.

I can breathe again.

Matt didn’t kill her—the author within me. His and Marcy’s
betrayal and the hurt I went through didn’t strip me of my ability to write.

Thank God.

Witty dialogue between my hero and heroine makes me giggle
as my fingers fly over the keys. The tap-tap-tapping is sweet music to my ears.
I’ve desperately missed the cadence and notes of their rhythm over these last
few months.

My pussy throbs, and I’m wet from imagining my hot hero
doing all those dirty and luscious things to my heroine.

A soft knock at my office door pulls me out of the sexy
scene I’ve been spinning for the last half hour.

“Yes?” I turn my chair to face the door.

Adam is stark naked, his cock long, hard, and ready. “You
snuck out of bed.”

I grin and tilt the screen on my laptop so he can see the
writing I’ve done. “The words—they’re back.”

He spins me toward the desk. One hand rests on the back of
my chair. The other finds its way beneath my T-shirt to cup my tit, as though he’s
staking his claim.

“Let’s see.” He kisses my temple as he leans over my
shoulder, looking at the screen.

Oh shit, he’s actually reading it.

What if he thinks it’s stupid?

My hands fly to cover the screen. “No. No. No. You don’t
want to read that.”

His forehead wrinkles. “What do you mean I don’t want to
read it? I helped you get your words back, right?”

The very fact that he’s halfway interested in reading my
words, brings a lump into my throat. Matt never read so much as one paragraph.
He had no idea if I was any good at what I do or not. But I can’t let Adam get
to me.

This isn’t for keeps.

I shrug. “Might’ve been you—or maybe I only had to wait for
them, and the time finally came.”

He pushes the hair away from my neck and sucks on the place where
my pulse beats. “Well, you
came—we came
—last night. Maybe that’s why
they
came.”

My hands fall away from my computer, and I lean back as he
moves his mouth from my neck to my lips. His tongue sweeps in, and his minty
taste wipes away my every thought, except how much I want to have him fucking
me and holding me.

He finds my bare slit. “Do you
ever
wear panties?”

I open my legs for him and shake my head. “Only when I have
to and on very special occasions.”

He slips two fingers along my crevice. “Fuck. You’re already
dripping wet.”

“Writing sex scenes always gets my
juices
flowing,
right along with my words.” My hands smooth the hair at his nape.

Adam’s low chuckle warms me.

God, how he makes me smile.

“I guess it’s a good thing I came in here, huh?”

I pull away, gazing into his eyes. “Why’s that?”

He drags me from my seat. Before I can take a deep breath,
he pushes my computer aside, yanks my shirt over my head and tosses it to the
floor, and bends me over the desk. The cool wood beads my nipples tight as my
breasts flatten against it. The beveled edge of the desktop bites into the
flesh across my pubic bone, putting a tiny bit of pressure on my clit. The
pulse there thumps harder.

“To take care of your needs. Why else?”

Take care if
my
needs? Where did this man come from?
Mars? Jupiter?

A hand is flat on my back, and the other slides between my
ass cheeks to my pussy. Adam says in a husky voice, “You like it this way,
right?”

The throb at the apex of my thighs triples.

I don’t care where he’s from, I’m just happy he’s here now.

The head of his erection nudges my heated core. “You want it
now?”

I give a tiny nod.

He smoothes a hand around my hip and wedges his fingers
between me and the desk. First, he circles my bud, and then he gives it a light
pinch.

I lick my lips, and anticipation thrums through me.

His cock pushes between my folds but stops before it
breaches my entrance. “
Now
, Kelsey? Like this?”

“Don’t tease. Yes. I want it now.
Just
like this.”

In a single hard motion, he rams inside. With his hand still
on my back, and the other twisting and massaging my nub, Adam pumps in and out
of my pussy. Each thrust sends a spear of pleasure through my being.

His strokes are hard. They’re deep. And they’re long—so
long.

My breath catches as his hand glides down my spine to my
tailbone. Making tiny circles with his thumb, he gets closer and closer to my asshole.
And tingles spread from that place to tighten the coil of hot liquid deep
within me.

Fuck yes.

“I want you to come hard, Kelsey. As hard as my dick.” Adam presses
that tight little hole until I buck.

He rides me, his cock in my cunt and his thumb orbiting the
other place that feels so good when rubbed and filled. He moves one hand to my
hip, where he pulls and pushes in time with the thrusts of his hips.

As he rams inside me, over and over, harder each time, I
grab the opposite side of my desk. White-knuckling the wood, I lay my face flat
on the surface and close my eyes, allowing every sensation to rip through me
like a tornado, twisting and churning until it’s just me and him and this
incredible friction between us, building into a storm.

“Fuck.” The tempest carries me to a faraway enchanted land
as my orgasm crests. “Adam.”

He pounds even harder and faster until I can’t breathe. I
can only strain against his erection as it impales me again and again.

My mind frays at the edges—Fuck.

I’m coming apart at the seams.

Adam pulls almost all the way out, and then as he plunges
deeper than ever, he cries out. “Shit. Fuck. YES!”

His cock pulses inside me. Cum fills me with even more heat
as his hands pull me tighter to his groin.

The muscles in my pussy answer his throbbing erection with
my own spasms, milking every drop of cum from him as he stands behind me, his
hands flexing at my hips.

Neither of us moves. I relax across my desk while Adam’s
erratic breathing calms, until finally, our bodies slide apart. He drops into
my chair, pulling me with him to sit on his lap.

Tucking me into his embrace, he cradles me close to him, his
heart still thumping against his ribs.”That was—I didn’t think—”

“Think what?” I sit up and pull away.

He glances down at his cock. It’s not as hard as it was a
few minutes ago, yet it’s still impressive.

“You didn’t think you’d come again? After last night? I’m
fairly certain we’ve fixed your problem.”

He closes his eyes and draws in another deep breath, with an
almost imperceptible shake of his head. “Not what I meant.”

I pinch his nipple lightly. “Then what is it, for Pete’s
sake?”

He grabs my hand and pulls it to his mouth, laying a kiss on
my knuckles. “No condom.”

The warmth of a moment ago fades like an arctic blast has
blown into the room.

Fuck.

Kelsey’s wide eyes narrow right before she jumps off my lap
and runs to the bathroom.

I follow her, but the door locks. The shower comes on.

Damn it to hell.

The very first time, in all these months, that I’ve fucked
without a wrapper, and I bust a nut. Murphy must fucking hate me.

Placing my hands on either side of the bathroom door frame,
I wait with my head hung low.

I have to say something to her, but what?

Yesterday, as I cut the hair from my jaw and lathered my
face with shaving cream, all I could think about was how it was what she’d
want. That I needed to
not
disappoint Kelsey when she realized I was
NextDoor
.
The beard didn’t make me a man any more than an unblemished cock would. What getting
rid of the beard
would
do is show her that she matters to me.

She seemed to like it. She said she liked my face. Said I
was
dashing
—whatever the fuck that means—but it doesn’t really matter. She
seemed to think it’s a good thing, so I’ll take it.

And now I’ve fucked it up. I got carried away, thinking only
about how good she’d feel sheathing my fucking cock. I should’ve been thinking
about protecting her.

Now she’s probably worse than disappointed. She’s probably
pissed.

And who could blame her?

When the shower turns off a few minutes later, I straighten
up and pull away from the door. I don’t want to scare the shit out of her when
she opens it—on top of everything else.

The bathroom door creaks.

My heart hitches as Kelsey comes out wrapped in a fluffy
pink robe, her hair twisted up in a towel. I open my mouth, but I still don’t have
a clue what to say or how to say it, so I shut it before I make an ass of
myself.

She pushes past me. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Nope.” I sit on the edge of the bed.

“Well, I have things to do, so you should probably go.” Her
voice is neutral, but not in a good way.

My gut hollows. “Okay. I’ll go, but—look, I’m sorry. It’s
been months and months, and I’ve been with a lot of g—I mean, I’ve tried a lot,
and it’s only ever happened that one time, last night. I wasn’t thinking.”

She turns toward her dresser and yanks the towel off her
head, running her fingers through her wet hair.

Her reflection’s gaze finds mine from the mirror. “It’s
fine. I’m a big girl. I said I wanted it
just like that
. So you’re in
the clear. No worries. This is on me.”

I step behind her and pull her against me. “For all I know,
I could be shooting blanks. I mean, I was injured, and things were cut deep.”

She cocks her head, giving me a skeptical look.

“The doctors said it’s a possibility that scar tissue would
form and I wouldn’t—that I might not be—
fuck.”
I push my fingers through
my hair. “They said I could be unable to—you know, father a child.”

Saying the words aloud for the first time clogs my throat; I
cough to clear it.

She takes my hands and pulls my arms from around her. “Okay.
Thanks for telling me. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Like I said,
no worries
.”

“Kelsey—”

She turns to me, flattens her hands on my chest, and gives
me a push. “Adam, just go.”

I back out through the front door dragging a tarp filled
with broken pieces of sheetrock and torn out insulation. Half-way down the
walk, I stop.

A little girl stands on the sidewalk at the end of my
driveway, staring.

Dropping the corner of my load, I turn to her.

Her strawberry hair is a tangled mess, even though her
clothes seem clean enough. Her little arms hang loose at her sides. She seems
familiar, but I don’t remember seeing her around the neighborhood.

I continue dragging the trash to the dumpster I’ve rented
while I gut the interior of the house. The girl’s gaze never leaves me.

Once I finish tossing the crap into the bin, I check the
area to see if there’s an adult anywhere that belongs to this kid. I give her a
smile.

“Hey, how are you? I’m Adam. Where’s your mom or dad?” I
squat in place, avoiding approaching, so I don’t frighten her. Though, she
looks anything but afraid.

Rosy cheeks dimple as her smile widens. She points to
Kelsey’s place.

Oh. Yeah. I knew she looked familiar.

Kelsey’s got pictures of this kid all over her house. Wonder
if Kelsey knows she’s outside by herself.

I stand and hold out my hand. “C’mon. I’ll take you to your
mom before she gets worried.”

Her tiny, warm hand slips into mine, as easy as you please. Glad
she didn’t happen upon some creeper guy instead of me.

She stops at a little, flowered suitcase with wheels lying
on its side on the grass right next to the sidewalk.

I nab the bag and lead her up the walk next door.

As I lift my fist to knock, a male voice booms from inside, “To
hell with this.”

The girl cringes as she latches onto my leg, her little arms
holding tightly as she peeks around my thigh. Doe eyes look up at me as though
she expects me to fix it.

Something in my heart trips over itself.

Then the man says, “Fuck this shit. I’m out of here. You can
take that kid and shove her up your ass. I’m not paying a dime. I’d rather quit
my job and live on the fucking street.”

I bang on the door, probably a little harder than I need to.
But I don’t want whatever’s going on in there to escalate before I get between
Kelsey and whoever-the-fuck is yelling at her—her ex, from the sound of it.

A couple of muffled comments come through the door as Kelsey
opens it.

Her eyes widen, and when she looks down, her jaw drops.
“Clarissa, what are you doing with Adam?”

A tatted-up, blond guy pushes past Kelsey but stops short
before he tries to plow through me. He looks me up and down, probably assessing
whether I’m a threat.

Let him lay a hand on Kelsey, and he’ll find out what kind
of threat I am.

He’s no wimp, and he’s about my size, but I’ve got no doubt I
could take him.

I push little Clarissa behind me and invite the guy to pass.
“Don’t let me block your exit. Sounds like it’s well past time you left.”

His glare hardens for a moment before he looks over his
shoulder at Kelsey. “You know this guy?”

Kelsey reaches for Clarissa, gently maneuvering her inside.
“Yes. This is Adam, my—my
neighbor
. Adam, this is Matt, my ex.”

Matt strides down the walk toward his car.

I call out to him, “Why didn’t you tell me you had Clarissa
with you? And you left her in the yard?”

A wave of his hand high in the air is the only
acknowledgement I get that he even heard what I said.

I pick up Clarissa.

“Sweet girl, I missed you.” I give her loud smooches on her
cheek and snuggle my face into her neck.

She smells a little sweaty and sour. Matt must’ve had her
for the night and failed to make sure she got a bath.

I don’t give a crap about her not having a bath, but my
blood boils that Matt would just leave her to her own devices in the front of
the house. There’s no fence to keep her from wandering off and no protection
from predators or child molesters.

Adam rocks back on his heels. “So this is your daughter.”

I step inside, waiting for him to follow.

I have to tell him something, especially since he had to
bring Clarissa to the door.

Adam trails behind me as I carry Clarissa through to the
kitchen. “I’m so sorry you heard that. He’s upset, but that’s no excuse for him
leaving her in the front of the house with no supervision. Where did you find
her?”

He shrugs. “She was standing at the end of my drive when I
came out to throw some trash away.”

“Thank you for bringing her home.” I set Clarissa on one of
the barstools and take some plastic cups from the cabinet.

I mix up some lemonade. “Matt is less than enthusiastic
about P-A-Y-ing child support. He came to
discuss
the arrangement.”

Adam holds his hands up, palms out. “I’m not asking for
explanations. It’s really none of my business.”

No. I guess it’s not. And if he isn’t asking, then he
probably doesn’t want to know.

I nod once. “All-righty then. I’ve got to get her bathed and
it’s about nap-time, so thanks again. Feel free to let yourself out. We’ll see
you around.”

I pick Clarissa up and head to the bathroom to get her
cleaned up. The entire time I’m bathing and dressing her, I thank my lucky
stars I didn’t let myself fall for Adam.

It’s better all the way around. For him. For me. For
Clarissa.

I tuck in my sweet girl and kiss her forehead. “You sleep
for a while and later we’ll have some ice-cream.”

Bribery always seems to work like a charm. She squeezes her
eyes closed tight and her little mouth bows into a smile.

I grab the towels and drop them in the laundry room floor on
my way back to the kitchen, coming up short when I get to the end of the
hallway.

Adam sits in the living room.

With my fingers pressed to the fluttering in my stomach, I
say, “You didn’t go home.”

“I almost did, but then I thought about what I said.” He
stands and walks toward me. “When I said it’s none of my business, I was only letting
you know that you don’t
have
to give me any explanations. I didn’t mean
I’m not interested in what’s going on in your life.”

I bite my bottom lip.

Does that mean he
does
want to know? Should I tell
him all the crap that makes up my life? Hell, should I tell him about even a
part of the shit show that is my world?

Adam steps to me, he’s even sweatier than Clarissa, but,
instead of sour, his scent is spicy—manly.

He takes my hands and kisses the backs of both of them. “I
care about your life, Kelsey. You can talk to me. I
want
you to talk to
me.”

I let out a big sigh. “Thank you, really. That’s sweet of
you. But—”

Adam backs me against the front door, his body hot against
mine. “But nothing. I’m here. Don’t shut me out because of one mistake without
a stupid condom.”