Chapter Thirty-Four
When I walked out of the bedroom, the lights were out in the living room and Adam had candles lit all over the room as well as the fireplace. I love candles and I burn them often, so he didn’t really have to look hard to find them. The room looked enchanting in the glow of the fire and candles. He had put a Carly Simon CD on, Moonlight Serenade and she was crooning the title song. It was slow and sexy and seemed to fit the mood perfectly.
He’d been really busy I realized when I saw that he had even opened a bottle of wine, a pro secco frizante, which was a sparkling dry white wine that we had enjoyed in Italy.
He looked up and saw me standing in the doorway, and even in the dim light I could see his eyes widen and light up appreciatively as I came into the room. He slowly walked over to where I was standing in the doorway and wrapped his arms around me.
“Um Bella, you are beautiful,” he murmured against my ear. His breath was warm and it stirred my already heightened senses. He placed soft, teasing kisses on my neck, lifting my hair as he went. Goosebumps immediately rose up on my body and I shivered, arousal already blossoming through my body.
He led me to the couch and handed me a glass of wine and we lightly clicked our glasses together.
“To an enchanted evening. May all our dreams come true,” he toasted, his eyes promising me that they would. My belly tightened in anticipation and I licked my lips eagerly.
We settled back onto the couch, sipping our wine for a few minutes. We watched the softly flickering flames in the fireplace and I felt the last of the days stresses leaving my mind and body. Anticipation and desire were skipping through my mind and body now and I knew that they would quickly become a clamoring for satisfaction.
We sat there together on the couch, holding hands, our bodies touching each others and I was aware of every breath Adam took. He was softly stroking my hand with his fingers and it spread tingles across my palm and up my arm. I was acutely aware of his leg pressing warmly against mine, every little movement sent electricity rushing through me and I felt myself quivering.
“I can’t wait to take you to California. I hope you’ll like my home,” Adam said in a voice that was more of a caress than I could ever have believed a voice could be. Low and seductive, it made me feel like I was caught in a vortex, spinning and spiraling down into him. I felt heady and it wasn’t just the wine.
I tried desperately to think of something to say in reply, anything, but I was beyond talking.
Carly started singing, I Only Have Eyes For You and Adam asked, “Would you care to dance, Bella?” Adam asked. At my nod, he stood up and offered me his hand, pulling me lightly to my feet. He led me to the spot in front of the fireplace and wrapped me into his arms, pulling our bodies into very close contact. He was hard against my belly and desire was stampeding through my veins, making my body sing with need for him. I looked into his eyes, their chocolate depths mesmerizing my own hazel ones and I felt dizzy then, craving him, the feel of him inside me.
He bent and kissed me, gently, enticingly and it made me hunger for more of his lovely mouth. I wanted to lose myself in his kiss and I pressed myself more fully against his aroused flesh.
I don’t believe we were actually doing anything more than swaying to the music by then. Even Adam, who always seemed so in control was trembling, and I felt him swallow quickly a couple of times. His hands ran down my back, following my curves and when his hands rested on my hips, he pulled me tightly against him.
I opened my mouth to feel his tongue as it stroked my own, swirling and moving deeply in my mouth, exploring every moist inch. I teased his tongue with my own and gently suckled on it and it made him groan, deep within his throat.
My knees were shaking badly, I didn’t think I could stand much longer and Adam read my mind then and picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. I looked longingly at the fire, burning brightly and wished I was up to rolling around on the floor in front of it, but I knew my ribs would never stand for it and so did Adam.
He let me down in front of the bed and started to eagerly remove my robe. His hands were shaking, impatient to touch me, all of me and I felt the same way about him.
My robe slipped off of me and Adam’s mouth found my bare shoulder and I felt his tongue swirling and licking it and then he blew gently on it and his breath sent more shivers traveling through my already excited body. His mouth slid wetly over my shoulder to my neck and he lightly nipped they tender spot where shoulder and neck joined.
His mouth felt wonderful on my neck and I stretched as far as I could to allow him more access, wanting to feel his mouth everywhere. He licked delicately along my collar bone and then turned his attentions to my other shoulder, teasing and caressing it as thoroughly as he had the first one.
This was exciting, exhilarating but I needed to touch him as well. I wanted to feel his taut skin beneath my tongue, feel him quiver in response to my ministrations and I told him so. I lifted his shirt, running my hands up over his belly and chest slowly, sliding the shirt up, up and over his head before I dropped it on the floor where it joined my robe at our feet.
My hands splayed out across his chest, straying playfully through the curly hair and teasing over his nipples, which were hard as little pebbles. My mouth caressed him them, licking indolently over them, unhurriedly and Adam shuddered and pulled away, so he could slide my teddy down over my breasts, past my hips where it finally lay with our other discarded clothes on the floor.
I was naked and so aroused. My dusky rose colored areolas were tight and heated, making my nipples almost painfully erect, aching with desire. Adam stared at them, mesmerized and then he slid his hands over their soft curves, rubbing his thumbs tantalizingly over my swollen nipples. He bent to kiss them then, pulling on them gently with his lips. I watched his mouth move over them as he slid from one nipple to the other, leaving cool, wet trails over my heated flesh.
I unfastened the buttons on his jeans and slid them down his long legs and then returned to his hips to carefully tug his underwear down over his erect shaft. He stepped out of them and lay down on the bed, cautiously pulling me down with him, pulling me onto his chest and returning to kiss my mouth.
I moaned and he quickly pulled away and looked at me in question and I just shook my head, I had moaned because it felt so good, this contact between us. I took his head between my hands and joined our eager mouths together again and thrust my tongue deep into his waiting mouth.
I was wet and aching now, I needed to feel him inside me and it was hard to keep from climbing onto him to ride him quickly. Instead, I let my tongue slip down his neck, biting and sucking softly on a passionate journey to his belly, stopping to swirl my tongue excitedly over his nipples and hips.
When my mouth reached my goal, I kissed his velvety length, caressing his sensitive head with my moist tongue and lips, and then quickly slid my mouth down his throbbing shaft until I couldn’t take him any deeper. I felt him pulsing in my mouth and I gradually withdrew my mouth, and then sank down his length again and again, until he was moaning wildly.
“Ah, enough love, enough,” he told me, his voice low and husky. He gently rolled me over onto my back and buried his mouth once again on mine, our lips and tongues playing together deliciously, teasing and tormenting until I thought I would scream my desire to him.
His mouth slid down my neck and settled on my breast, his tongue making stabbing motions over my nipple, making it ever harder and I shuddered because it felt so good. His mouth slid under the soft globe of my breast to the sensitive crease of skin, where breast and body meet and he teased this irresistible spot, tracing the outline delicately before he reclaimed my nipple. As he treated my other breast with this same loving attention, my belly was contracting with need. I felt my head thrashing from side to side and I didn’t know how much more I could handle.
“Please Adam, I need you now!” I begged. “Please…”
He smiled at me then, a devilish smile and taunted me more by sliding his tongue wetly down my belly, feeling it quiver with desire before he spread my legs apart and kissed the insides of my thighs. Soft little nibbles teased my sensitive flesh as his tongue drew little circles over it, bringing gooses bumps all over my body. He move closer to the soft curls between my thighs, gently opening me and planting a kiss on my hot and honeyed flesh.
His tongue slid over me, over the tight little nub of aching desire and I immediately came, fast and hard, my body shuddering though my release. My belly was contracting wildly and if my ribs were hurting, I didn’t even notice.
My muscles were still contracting when he entered me, going slowly and making sure he wasn’t resting on my body. He bent his head to kiss me, letting my body relax a bit from my orgasm. But his kiss only served to arouse me more, making me yearn for release again and I started to gyrate my hips, deepening the contact between us. I squirmed and wanted to feel all of him inside of me.
I was drenched by this time, my juices running freely and Adam pushed into me, deeper with each thrust. I caught my breath when I unexpectedly felt Adam against my ribs once and he stopped immediately and kissed me, asking over and over if I was okay. I assured him that I was and asked him to please don’t stop!
He rolled over onto his back then, pulling me with him and held my hips still as he thrust upwards into me while he caressed my nipples with his lips and tongue. I was close to coming again and he felt me tightening around him, and I started moving in my own rhythm, and he quickly changed his pace to meet my increasingly faster one. Finally we were both moving as one, lost in the passion of the moment, only knowing the feel of our bodies sliding wetly together, mindlessly of their own accord.
I felt my orgasm starting them, building into a wild crescendo of pleasure, the contractions going on and on until I was leaning over Adam, sobbing his name as the release radiated through my body. Adam quickly joined me then, pushing himself deeply into my pulsing body, where I felt his warmth flood inside of me.
I lay down upon his chest as we were both trying to slow our breathing down. His hands were running over my body, through my hair, down my back, pulling me to him as tightly as he could without hurting me.
“I love you Sarah, I love you,” he murmured over and over between kisses.
Those words tore at me, at my heart. Three simple little words, words that just wouldn’t come out. I tried to think of it as saying those words to my family. I love you. So easy to say those words to them, and yet to Adam, they just wouldn’t come.
I tried to think of them as just words, but the problem was they weren’t just words any longer. They represented everything about my relationship with Adam—the caring and devotion, the trust, the desire to be with him. And once I actually say them, there is no going back, no getting out with my heart unscathed.
But do I really want to go back, to get out?
Do I want a life without this man, this incredibly loving man, who stirs my senses beyond belief, who makes me laugh and look forward to each and every day I spend with him?
Would my life be happy without him? Back to the way it was, just trudging through each day, working steadily so I never had to pay any real attention to the loneliness that surrounded me? Never really appreciating the beauty around me, the magic?
Three little words…
Our breathing had slowed down and I shivered, not with cold but with fear; fear of losing him. Because I couldn’t say those words. I heard Lissa saying to me, “See, its not so hard mom.” And I knew then that I wanted to say them.
My heart was pounding frantically and I knew that Adam must surely hear it, feel it. I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath and for a moment I considered that we had somehow hurt my ribs, damaged them.
But I knew that wasn’t the problem.
“I love you Adam,” I told him, my voice merely a shaky whisper.
For a moment, everything stopped. I had actually said it; I had told him I loved him. And I knew I meant it more than anything I had ever said before, to anyone. I love him, I do.
Adam was running his fingers through my hair, smoothing it away from my face when he heard me say I love you. His hands paused in mid-stroke then and came slowly to rest on the sides of my face.
I was crying, of course I would be, and he was wiping the tears away gently with his thumbs before he kissed me, his lips moving slowly over mine, softly clinging. He pressed his cheek against mine held me to him, gently rocking us back and forth.
I moved to kiss him back and I realized his cheeks were wet as well, and I thought how ridiculous it was that I keep crying like this all the time. I tried to wipe my tears off of his face and make some flippant joke about it and before I could, he laid his finger against my lips and smiled at me. I realized then that it didn’t matter whose tears they were, they were our tears, and it just didn’t matter any longer whose eyes they came from, because they came from our souls and they were cried in joy. They were the beginning for us, the first steps of healing our ragged hearts and empty lives.
I was still shivering and Adam got up off the bed and lifted me gently onto the floor so he could pull the covers back, then just as carefully placed me back into the bed and got in and pulled the covers up over us. He wrapped his long and lean body around mine and pulled me into his warm embrace.
I felt cherished and so happy. There had been a certain freedom in saying those words. I had never said them before to a man and meant them. At least the ‘in love’ aspect.
Lissa was right, it was okay. It hadn’t been easy, true, but nothing cataclysmic happened when I said them. I felt good, or at least better for having told Adam how I feel. In fact there was a certain buoyancy inside me right then, and I almost felt like giggling.
Adam still hadn’t said a word and I decided I had probably put him into shock. We just held one another, heartbeats and breaths mingling in the dim light that peeked between the closed slats of the blinds.
Adams stomach growled then, fiercely and we both laughed. “Sorry,” he said, and I could feel him smile against my cheek.
“Maybe we should get up and feed you,” I told him, looking over his shoulder to see that it was 12:30.
“Do you mind if I get a snack? I’m afraid the sandwiches didn’t last very long.”
“Well, you only had two, big ones of course, plus enough chips and salsa to support the entire Mexican food industry for a month. But then, who was paying attention?” I told him with a laugh.
“I’m afraid you’re being bad, very, very bad and I simply cannot allow this any longer,” he told me with a laugh, burying his face in my neck and tickling me with his tongue, which made me squeal with delight, then squirm and it was then that I realized that his hunger was about more than just a snack.
“What’s this,” I asked, sliding my hand between our bodies and stroking his length firmly with my warm fingers.
His forehead was pressed against mine and he rubbed his nose up against mine and giggled. “I think it speaks rather clearly on its own, don’t you?”
“Yes, it does seem to have a message for me,” I told him playfully, tugging gently on his turgid length. I raised my leg and draped it over his hip and slid my body close to him. I managed to slide him into my dewy depths and wiggled to get him in farther, until he was fully penetrating me.
We both moaned then and started our passion evoking dance; each of us moving sensuously against the other. Our mouths were fused together, tongues dancing against one another’s, playing a delicious game of plunder and retreat. As he delved deeply into my nether depths, we both worked together to find our way to passions path and surrender and soon all we knew was the joy and profound delight that was soaring through our bodies, until at last we reached the pinnacle of that pleasure, gasping out our release. We drifted slowly back to earth together, holding one another tightly, as our breathing returned to normal.
My legs felt like jelly, and I struggled to pull my leg back down to my side. Adam helped me and placed little kisses all over my face and neck. I don’t think I could have moved another muscle right then, so completely sated I was.
“Um, this feels wonderful,” I murmured against his neck. All the tension of the past few days had magically disappeared, leaving me satisfied and very relaxed.
“Yes, it does feel good,” he said with a sigh against the top of my head. “How do your ribs feel, have we done any damage do you think?”
“I think my ribs are just fine and that the release of all that tension can only help my recovery!”
“Tension, you’ve been tense?” he asked me, sounding so serious and for a moment I believed him.
“Um, yes. You see, I’ve this incredibly hot man hanging around my house driving me to distraction. So yes, I’d say there has been some tension!”
“Hmm, well I’m glad you got him to go away so I could have a chance! You’re pretty hot yourself lady, let me tell you,” he said with a soft laugh.
And then his stomach growled again and we were both laughing wildly. “Okay, okay, I get the hint; let’s get some food into you!” I told him, disentangling myself from him so I could get out of the bed.
It was chilly, so after a quick visit to the bathroom I pulled on a pair of sweats, very unglamorous ones at that and some furry house slippers and made my way out to the kitchen where Adam was already digging through the fridge.
He had pulled his jeans back on, but was bare chested and barefoot, which made me shiver. I wasn’t sure if it was because it was so cold in here or because he was so hot…
“Are you hungry?” he asked, pulling more deli meat out of the fridge and getting bread out of the cabinet.
“Yes, I’m a bit hungry, but I’m going to get something else.” I pulled some graham crackers and peanut butter out of the cabinet and grabbed a butter knife from the drawer, grabbing an extra one when I realized Adam hadn’t gotten one to make his sandwich. I also grabbed a couple of plates and noticed the empty pitcher setting on the counter and considered briefly making a pitcher of iced tea.
But there was something about that idea that was repelling to me; maybe because I had gotten so sick last night and I had drunk a lot of the tea. Instead, I grabbed the milk out of the fridge and a couple of glasses and sat them on the table.
Drunk a lot of the tea!
An idea popped into my head then, an admittedly preposterous idea as memories of conversations and events came flooding back into my mind. I spread peanut butter on my graham cracker, and then placed another on top of it; lost in deep thought or maybe the phrase should be a startling revelation.
“Adam, didn’t you mention something the other night about drinking so much iced tea in Italy that you felt ill?” I asked him, taking a bite of my ‘sandwich’.
“Um hm. I started to feel jittery and shaky. Too much caffeine I guess, I’d better stick to coffee!” he said while he was building a giant sandwich. I was wondering how he was going to get his mouth on it and I laughed for a moment, remembering the comic strip Blondie and the Dagwood sandwiches that her husband was known for making. I wondered if they see comic strips in the paper in England?
“Where did the tea come from?” I asked, very curious.
“The mess tent, I suppose. There wasn’t really any other place to get it. Why?” he asked, managing to get the sandwich into his mouth for a bite. I watched, fascinated for a moment before making myself focus again on my questions.
“I was just thinking about it. Who brought it from the tent for you?”
“Anyone of a dozen or more different people. The set assistants are there to do those things, you know.”
“Um hm, so does that mean Sunni, or Krista?” I asked. My stomach was starting to turn flip-flops and I hastily laid my sandwich down.
“Well yes, but they certainly weren’t the only ones. More often than not it wasn’t either of them. Everyone knew I loved tea, and someone was always handing me a glass,” he said, pouring some milk into our glasses and then taking a drink. He left a little milk mustache on his upper lip and I smiled at it, tempted to wipe it away. But before I could, he caught where my glance was and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“So you always got it in glasses from the mess tent? Directly from the mess tent?”
“Yes, usually a glass, although sometimes there would be a pitcher in the fridge in my dressing room. Sarah, what on earth are you trying to find out?” he questioned, looking at me as I sat there thinking about it all.
I folded my arms across my chest, I felt even colder now than I had earlier. And I also didn’t like what I was thinking. I began to speak, hoping Adam would hear me out and wouldn’t think I was crazy.
“Adam, think about everything, your reaction to the tea in Italy, the incident in Pisa and the brake line. The light being on here the other night and Lissa and I both feeling terrible after drinking the tea and then someone trying to get into the house today, attempting to use your birthday as a code. Doesn’t it all make you wonder how much is coincidence? It certainly does me!”
“I – I, uh, right. Right. I hadn’t really thought about it all together. It had seemed to be separate issues.”
“I don’t believe it is Adam.”
He sat there nodding his head and his eyes held a far off look, as if picturing something else entirely. “I suppose you could be right. I just can’t imagine why? What purpose is there in trying to make us sick by drinking tainted tea? That is what you’re thinking isn’t it? That someone was poisoning the tea, both in Italy and here?”
“Yes, I am. What else could explain this? Adam, did you tell them in Italy that you weren’t drinking tea anymore?”
“I stopped drinking it the day before I met you and after that, I didn’t really have a chance. The last day of shooting was a muck up and we just got through it. Didn’t we drink some tea with sandwiches that evening during the dinner break in my dressing room?” he asked, his brow furrowed as he tried to remember that evening.
“No, actually I drank a Diet Coke and you drank some water out of a bottle.”
“Um, right,” he told me quietly. “Sarah, I’ve got to get you away from me until we figure out what is happening. I don’t want you put into further danger.”
“Adam, that’s ridiculous. I’m sort of already in the middle of it, aren’t I? Someone has been in my house and in all likelihood, put something into our tea, thinking that you would drink it.”
He was running his index finger around and around the rim of the milk glass, lost in thought. “I’ve been such a fool, an idiot really, not putting everything together. How could I not have? It seems very obvious,” he stated, looking me in the eyes intently. “What do you want to do then?”
“I think we need to get the detectives back over here in the morning and tell them about our suspicions, before we go to California.”
“You can’t possibly come with me now, that would be madness, placing you directly into the path of whomever is trying to do this!”
“If you think for one moment Adam Richland that I am staying here on my own, you’re more than an idiot, you’re crazy!” I snapped at him, starting to get irritated. Did he really think I would just stay here while he went on his own, not knowing who is doing this and why?
Why indeed?
I took a couple of deep breaths and then asked, “Why Adam? Why is someone doing this?”
“I don’t know, I can’t think of any reason.”
“Maybe the detectives will have a better idea,” I said, hoping that was true.
“I believe you’re right, I can’t leave you here unprotected. We’ll figure more out tomorrow after we have talked with the police again.”
I nodded and looked down at the table, at the half uneaten food sitting there and got up to start putting things away. I didn’t think either one of us would be eating any more this night.
Adam got up as well, putting things back into the fridge while I threw out the uneaten food and rinsed the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. Before long, everything was done and we wandered back into the bedroom and climbed silently into the bed.
Adam pulled the covers up over us and I settled my head on his arm and we both laid there, not speaking for a few minutes.
“I’m so sorry Sarah, I feel horrid. Not only am I a fool, I’ve managed to place you into danger with me.”
“Adam, you didn’t do it on purpose you know. It will be alright, we’ll figure it all out. Or the detectives will. I think the most important thing is to figure out why,” I said quietly.
“Yeah, I suppose so.” He turned over then and kissed me, tenderly and I could see his eyes barely visible in the dim light, but I felt reassured because I could see the love in them. I kissed him in return and felt his warmth and strength and I surprisingly didn’t feel scared at all.
“I love you Sarah,” he told me, softly whispering it against my cheek.
“I love you Adam,” I said. I felt at peace.
