Flawed Perfection (An Eve Sumptor Novel) Page 5

  Adam watched Eve a little longer. So much had changed with her when it came to emotions. When they had first met, she made it clear to him that she wasn’t looking for an emotional relationship. Of course, he fell in love with her the moment he met her. It killed him when she held him at arm’s length for so long, but that was in the past. Eve had finally let him in, and it was even better than he had dreamt. Sleeping with her, waking up with her, being able to make love to her whenever he desired. And, boy did he desire her. All the time.

  “I can hear your thoughts, baby.”

  “Can you? What am I thinking?”

  “We’ll discuss it later tonight. When we’re alone.” Eve glanced at Adam over her shoulder and winked.

  “Works for me,” Adam murmured. Bella patted Adam’s cheek, and he knew what that meant. “Want a ride, do you?”

  “Don’t go too far, amant. Dinner is almost ready.”

  “We’re not going too far, mommy. Just a short trip around the living room.” Adam began making airplane sounds, and started ‘flying’ Bella around making her laugh.

  Again, Eve’s heart soared.

  “Enjoy it while it lasts, Eve.”

  He watched her through binoculars. Disgust and anger filled him as he saw the happiness inside the beautiful home. It angered him that she had everything her heart desired, while he had nothing. The resentment almost took him over, and he wanted to end her now, but he fought it. She would know, first, what it was like to lose everything like he did. She took everything from him. It was her fault. He wouldn’t stop until she has paid for what she’s done.

  “I have some news.”

  They were sitting at the dinner table, enjoying Eve’s world class spaghetti—at least to Adam it was world class. Of course, he cherished every meal she made for him.

  “Oh?” Eve’s mind had been wandering, thinking about the gallery and the paintings she lost. She knew she needed to tell Adam, but what she said to Lainey was true. She didn’t know exactly what was going on, so she would wait until she had information from Harris. She just hoped Adam would understand.

  “I was asked to be a partner at the firm.”

  “Baby! That’s wonderful!” Eve reached across the table to take Adam’s hand. “I’m so proud of you. You deserve this so much.”

  The news solidified Eve’s resolve to wait to tell Adam what was going on at the gallery. He did deserve this. And, he deserved to have his accomplishments celebrated without her ruining it with her problems.

  “I’m not sure if I’m going to accept.” Adam was hesitant. Eve was so excited about his being offered partnership, he wondered if she would be as excited by what he really wanted.

  “Why wouldn’t you accept?”

  “I …”

  Eve saw his hesitancy, and left her own chair to sit on his lap.

  “Amant? Are you afraid to tell me something?” Yes, Eve saw the irony in her question. Wasn’t she not telling Adam everything?

  “Not afraid, just not sure what you’ll think.” He wrapped his arms around her, loving the feel of her body close to his.

  “I support your decisions no matter what they are. You know that.”

  Adam held her gaze, and saw she meant every word. “I was thinking of starting my own firm. Griffen Enterprises has agreed to come with me if I decide to leave. As have others I’ve brought in.”

  “They didn’t sign exclusivity contracts?”

  Always the astute business woman, he thought lovingly.

  “Each of them signed a contract, yes, but reserve the right to change firms if they’re not satisfied. My designs belong to the firm, but if I make slight changes that the client approves of, I think I can make it work.”

  “You’ve thought a lot about this.”

  “I wanted to tell you, beautiful.” His arms tightened around her waist. “Please don’t be upset. I just wanted make sure it’s what I wanted first. When I was asked to be a partner today, I knew this was right for me.”

  Eve smiled and held his face in her hands. “I’m not upset, Adam. Of course, I wish you had talked to me, but I understand you needed to work this out for yourself.”

  “I’m asking you now, Eve. Do you think this is a good idea?”

  “I think if this makes you happy, you should pursue it. I’m behind you one hundred percent.”

  “Yeah?”

  Eve bent her head and kissed him. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I love you, and I believe in you. Go for it, my love.”

  His hand snaked up her back and around the back of her neck. He flexed, massaging her while at the same time bringing her mouth back to his.

  Before their lips could touch, a tiny hand full of spaghetti came flying through the air, landing partly on Adam’s face and partly on Eve’s.

  Adam chuckled, swiping a finger down Eve’s cheek. The sparkle in her eye told him she didn’t mind the interruption one bit. In fact, she looked positively happy about it. Bella did that for her. She made Eve happy. And, Adam knew he did, too.

  “Well, your little princess has made it clear she does not want to watch us make out.”

  The laughter in her voice overjoyed Adam.

  “We’ll just have to wait until later, I guess.” He tugged Eve’s arm when she moved to stand up. “Just know, when I get you alone I’m doing whatever I want to you.”

  “Mmm, I’m all yours, amant.”

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, honey.”

  As always, the sound of Eve’s voice made Lainey’s pulse quicken.

  “Is everything alright?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Are you calling to check up on me? Afraid I’m still pining away for you?”

  Eve let out a burst of surprised laughter. That deep, throaty, sexy laughter that Lainey loved so much.

  “I’m going to venture a guess and say Jack isn’t near.”

  “He’s putting the boys to bed. Adam?”

  “Putting Bella to bed,” Eve answered. “And, no, I’m not checking up on you. I called to tell you that I’m having the nanny come and stay with Bella here at the house tomorrow. You and I are going to Branson’s warehouse while the painters work on the gallery.”

  “Ugh, that man chaps my hide.”

  “Chaps your hide?”

  “Stop laughing at me.”

  “How do you know I’m laughing?”

  “I can hear it in your voice. Don’t forget I know you.”

  “I could never forget that, Lainey.”

  Eve hadn’t meant to flirt, or to drop her voice to a sultry whisper. Old habits, she thought.

  Lainey cleared her throat. “Eve.”

  “Can you be here by eight?” she interrupted whatever else Lainey was about to say. Eve knew she probably shouldn’t tease Lainey with the way she’s feeling.

  “Yes.”

  “Lainey, I never want to confuse you more or make you uncomfortable. Some things just …”

  “Come naturally for you,” Lainey finished. Eve was a flirter. She actually hopes Eve never changes that. Even if they can’t be together, she finds it endearing that Eve would flirt with her. “Stop worrying. I’m sorting my feelings out. I want you to be you, and I like when you flirt with me. Don’t let me ruin that by the way I’ve been acting lately.”

  There was a silence between them, but, oddly enough, it wasn’t uncomfortable for the first time in the past couple of days.

  “Hmm. I’ll see you in the morning, honey.” Eve watched as Adam strode in, stripping his shirt off in the process. “Get some rest.” She waited for Lainey’s goodbye and hung up the phone.

  “Everything okay?”

  “You’re half naked. The only thing that could make it better is if you were fully naked.”

  Adam grinned. “Well, then. Who am I to disappoint my beautiful wife?”

  Eve sat back against the headboard and watched as Adam unbuttoned his jeans, and slowly slid the zipper down.

  “Are you enjoying this?”

&nbs
p; “Immensely.” Eve got to her knees on the bed, crooked her finger, beckoning him to come to her.

  Adam climbed the platform, jeans undone, shirt off and completely aroused. He reached under the hem of Eve’s t-shirt (his t-shirt that looked fucking amazing on her), bringing it up when his hands cupped her breasts.

  “So beautiful.”

  Eve hooked her hands in his waistband, tugging his jeans down along with his boxer briefs.

  “Now that’s beautiful.” Eve took Adam in her hand, stroking gently.

  “He’s very happy to see you.”

  Eve chuckled softly. “So I see. Now, do things to me.”

  “My pleasure.”

  He dipped his head and kissed her neck, trailing his tongue across her tanned shoulder. He moved lower, and she threaded her fingers through his hair, gasping when he pulls a nipple into his mouth. His tongue rolls in circles, making it hard and sensitive, while his hand caressed her other breast, pinching the nipple with just enough pressure to make her moan with pleasure. Adam gently pushed Eve down until she was laying on her back. Lifting her feet, he hooks her knees over his shoulders and bent his head to taste her.

  Eve was desperate for him. Wet and anxious, she grasped at the back of Adam’s head, pulling him closer to her. He rewards her by sweeping his tongue over her in a slow—and incredibly intense and pleasurable—rhythm.

  “Baby, you’re driving me crazy.”

  She felt his smile against her. He doesn’t answer, just continues to torture her with sweet kisses, licking and sucking. She can feel herself getting close, and knows that he can feel it, too, because each time she’s ready to go over, he changes the speed to bring her back down. Eve groaned in protest when his lips left her.

  “Don’t stop!”

  She felt him shake with silent laughter, then he dipped his head again, and his tongue slipped inside her. The moan he emits when he feels her shudder because of his tongue vibrated through her, igniting more bliss.

  “God that feels so good. Use your fingers, amant.” She knows he loves to hear her tell him what she wants, and it’s confirmed when she feels his hands flex on her hips before he gives in to her demands. One finger slides in her, and it’s almost enough to make her go over.

  “More!”

  Two of his fingers are now sliding in and out of her, and she feels her body tense.

  “Fuck! I’m coming, baby!”

  Adam increases the pressure of his tongue and fingers, and she clenches around him as the orgasm washes over her. He stands up, wraps his arms around her thighs, and yanks her to him.

  “I need to be inside you.”

  He growls when Eve wraps her hand around his cock, sliding him up and down her wetness before guiding him to her opening.

  “Fuck me, Adam. Please.”

  He thrusts inside her, reveling in the strangled panting that comes from Eve as he drives her fast and hard. She wraps her legs around him, bringing her hands to his ass and pulling him deeper. His cock is buried inside her to the root, and she still wants more, so he thrusts harder making her cry out.

  “So fucking amazing!” His voice is hoarse with need, and he grunts with each assault, trying to keep his control. He pulls out suddenly, and Eve almost screams her disapproval. Then, she feels herself being flipped to her stomach, her hips being jerked back until her ass is against Adam’s hard body.

  She clutched the sheets as he pounded into her so hard her feet actually lift off the floor. Eve knows Adam’s body so well, she can always tell when he’s about to come. His cock grew harder—which always amazed her—and his body, his muscles, became so taut, it was solid against her ass as she pushed back into him. His grip on her hips is almost bruising, and she fucking loved it. She loved it even more when he roared her name as his own orgasm rocks him. With Adam driving into her harder, the friction and exquisite feel of him spurting hotly inside her, sends Eve over the edge again. She comes, hard, her body contracting around him, milking every last drop out of him.

  “Wow!” Adam bends over Eve, still inside her. He rests his cheek on her sweat sheened back, waiting until both of their breathing starts to return to normal before kissing her, and gently pulling out of her.

  Eve felt the warmth of his body as he laid next to her. Thoroughly fucked, she could stay where she was and not get up—ever—and she would be okay with that.

  “We should probably get into bed and get comfortable.”

  “I’m good right here.” Eve’s words were muffled from being face-planted into the sheets.

  Adam laughed, smacking her ass and making her yelp.

  “Come on, beautiful. I want to hold you.”

  “So demanding,” she muttered, squinting up at him with one eye. How the hell did he have so much energy? The way he had just hammered her, he should be as relaxed—and exhausted—as she was.

  “You love it when I’m demanding.”

  “Only when we’re fucking. Not when you’re trying to get me to move when I think it’s physically impossible.”

  Adam’s eyes twinkled with humor watching her. So damned beautiful and sexy. And his. With renewed vigor, he stood, flipped Eve over on to her back … and had a mind to take her all over again.

  “Don’t even think about it, pal. This area,” Eve waved her hands in a circular motion around her crotch, “is closed for the next few hours.”

  “Closed, huh?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Bet I could get it to open up for me.”

  Eve narrowed her gaze at him. “Try it and it’ll stay closed for a week,” she threatened.

  Adam threw back his head and laughed, and—damn her body—Eve responded with a quiet moan. Who did she think she was kidding? She knew, just as well as he did, she could never stay away from him for that long.

  “Shut up.”

  He smirked at her, still tempted to have another go. “It’s your own fault, you know. You’re just too damn sexy for your own good.”

  The shadow crossed Eve’s face for a split second before it cleared.

  “Baby …”

  “Don’t. Please don’t apologize, Adam.”

  “I should have chosen my words better, Eve.”

  This is what she didn’t want, what she had always avoided by not revealing her past. Eve never wanted Adam, or Lainey, to think about what she had been through as a mere child. The unspeakable things she had to do with her body. Those men had paid for her because she was ‘too beautiful’ to resist. But, that was then. And, this was Adam. She wouldn’t let her past hurt them anymore.

  “I don’t want you to have to worry about what you say to me.”

  “I made you think …”

  “No. Look, the words are something of a trigger. I can’t help where my mind goes when I hear them. But, when I’m with you, when you’re touching me, kissing me, making love to me, none of that other stuff ever happened. Do you understand?”

  Adam sat down next to her, and cupped her cheek in his hand. “It did happen.”

  “Not when I’m with you.” Her words were an urgent plea for him to comprehend. “Everything else goes away when you’re near me. When you’re inside me, it feels like I’ve never been touched by anyone but you. I want you to forget about it like you make me forget. Please.”

  Her words touched him deep in his soul. It never ceased to amaze him how strong Eve was. To go through being tortured the way she was, violated in the worst way a woman could be violated, and still be the generous, loving woman she was, astonished him. Knowing that he made her forget that awful time in her life, humbled him.

  He brought her lips to his, kissing her gently. Then smiled into her eyes. “Nothing outside of this house exists, beautiful. Just you, me and our baby girl. Let’s go to sleep.”

  They snuggled together, her back to his front, and slept dreamlessly.

  “I’ll get it, Lexie,” Eve called when the doorbell rang. She peered in the kitchen as she passed by, and saw the nanny wiping oatmeal off
of Bella’s face. Eve smiled at the scene. Bella loved the young, fun-loving and sincere brunette—though that wasn’t necessarily a difficult thing for Bella—and, Lexie was excellent with her. Eve couldn’t be happier to have her there. She especially liked the fact that Lexie had multiple certifications in childhood education, and felt comfortable leaving Bella in Lexie’s care.

  Eve opened the door, and frowned. “Lainey? Since when do you ring the doorbell?”

  “Good morning to you, too.” Lainey pushed past Eve. “I rang the doorbell because I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”

  Eve didn’t detect any hostility in Lainey’s voice, but she still didn’t like it.

  “Before you start bitching at me,” Lainey smirked at Eve’s raised brow. She knew not many people had the nerve to talk to Eve that way. “I’m just trying to be more respectful.”

  “Fuck respectful, Lainey.” Eve’s voice was low, and if Lainey admitted it, kind of scary. “You are welcome in this house, without having to ring the damn doorbell.”

  “Calm down. I thought perhaps you and Adam may still be celebrating, so I was just being careful.”

  Eve couldn’t hold back the smile thinking of her night with Adam. She bumped Lainey’s shoulder. “You do realize we have a daughter, and Lexie is here, right? What would we possibly be doing?”

  Lainey caught Eve’s smile, and even though she felt the slight sting of jealousy, she was happy for them.

  “Actually, I forgot Lexie was going to be here.”

  “Oh? You must have had a good night, as well.” The smile Eve gave Lainey was wicked, and knowing. Lainey flushed slightly, because Eve was very right. Her night with Jack had been better than good. In fact, it had been amazing. She felt Eve’s hand take hers as Eve pulled her towards the kitchen. “Coffee?”

  Lainey cleared her throat—and, her mind of the night before—and grinned. “Yes, please.”

  “What will happen if they can’t find the paintings?” Lainey sipped coffee from her to-go mug. They pulled into the parking lot of Branson’s delivery warehouse, and Eve swung into a parking spot and cut the engine.