Outback Ghost Page 17

  ‘You’re something else, Stella,’ he whispered as his mouth left hers and moved once again to the flesh above her breasts. If it weren’t for the wall, her head might have flopped back and dropped off when his hands landed on her breasts.

  ‘Oh God.’ She rocked against him, pushing herself into his palms. No one had held her like that, as if her breasts were the most amazing things on the planet. At that moment, she hated her beautiful yellow dress because its soft, thin material stopped him touching her even more intimately.

  As if he could read her desire like a book, he skimmed one hand lower, down over her less-than-perfect tummy and gathered the skirt up in his hands. Cool air teased her bare legs as he inched the dress upwards till it was way above her knees, bunched around her waist like a bulky belt. And then, oh then, he slipped his hand inside her knickers and she thought she would die of a pleasure overdose. As his fingers moved skillfully at her core, his mouth landed on her breast and sucked one nipple into his mouth through the cotton. It didn’t take long before she was a goner. Waves of rapture washed over her as her rusty old body shuddered its release.

  When she came down from the most exquisite orgasm of her life, she couldn’t believe what had just happened in the hallway outside her daughter’s bedroom. What had gotten into her? The answer to that eluded her but she knew one thing for sure. That was only a sample of the heaven Adam could offer and she wanted everything, all of him, inside her now.

  ‘Come to bed?’ she asked him simply.

  In reply, he scooped her up and carried her into her bedroom in much the same way he’d carried Heidi. But whereas her heart had filled with warmth at the gentle way he’d looked at her daughter, there was a whole load of something else filling her now.

  He kicked the door shut behind them and within moments they were tumbling onto the bed. He loomed over her and she smiled as he yanked his shirt up over his head. She leaned up and kissed his strong, tanned chest, her lips almost breaking in happiness.

  ‘You are so hot.’ It wasn’t the type of thing she imagined herself saying but she felt as if her body had been hijacked by a nymphomaniac.

  ‘I was thinking exactly the same about you,’ he said, dropping down to kiss her again.

  As utterly divine as his kisses were, she couldn’t stand his jeans and her dress hindering skin-on-skin interactions. ‘I need you. Naked. Now.’

  ‘Stella.’ His lips slowly turned into a grin. ‘I never would have known such a vixen hid beneath your sweet exterior.’

  ‘Me neither.’ She laughed and reached down to see to his fly.

  Working together they tugged off his jeans and jocks and then he crawled down the bed and peeled her dress up over her head. She wriggled and squirmed to help him get there as fast as possible. It wasn’t at all graceful and she had to bite her bottom lip to stop from squealing in delight as he all but tore off her knickers.

  He gazed down at her. ‘I had grand ideas about taking this slow, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to follow through.’

  ‘Slow, schmow.’ She reached up, grabbed hold of his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her. Once again, their lips met, but this time there was nothing between them. Feeling bold and empowered, she took his hot, firm length in her hands and stroked her fingers up and down.

  Adam groaned. His head fell against her chest. ‘As amazing as that feels I’m this close to losing it and when I do, I want it to be inside you.’

  Nothing had ever sounded sexier. ‘I like your thinking.’

  Grinning, he pressed up slightly and positioned himself right above her entrance. She was already slick and desperate for him.

  ‘Protection,’ he uttered, halting just before he slid inside. ‘I don’t have any.’

  ‘Neither do I.’ She pouted. ‘I didn’t imagine ever finding myself in this position.’

  ‘Fuck.’ He ran a hand through his hair and then added, ‘Sorry.’

  She didn’t know whether he was apologising for swearing or his lack of forethought to bring a condom.

  ‘It’s okay.’ Her shoulders sagged against the mattress.

  ‘I’ve got condoms at my place.’ He was already lifting himself off her. ‘I can be back in five.’

  ‘No! She grabbed onto his shoulders and yanked him back down, unable to bear the thought of letting him go. ‘It’s almost that time of the month. If you’re safe, so am I.’

  He kissed her hard. ‘I promise I’ve never done this without a condom before.’

  She smiled. ‘Then shut up and do it now.’

  Cradling Stella against him, Adam took a moment as his heart rate decelerated and he came down from what had to be one of the top ten orgasms of his life. Frankly he thought that an understatement but he’d been unintentionally celibate for a while now and he didn’t want to build this up into more than it was simply because it had been the one to break his drought.

  ‘Adam? Are you okay?’

  He took a breath, lifted his head back slightly and smiled at Stella. She looked sensational, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks radiant from lovemaking. ‘I will be once I recover.’

  ‘Yes. Me too. That was…’

  ‘Brilliant? Awesome? Off the planet? Dynamic? Something else.’

  She laughed sweetly and pressed her hand against his chest. ‘I haven’t done that for a while. I’m sorry if I got a little carried away. I’m not usually…’

  He took hold of her again and silenced her with a kiss. He didn’t want her questioning this. Had she any idea how incredible she was? He’d thought himself thoroughly spent but as he reassured her that everything was perfect between them, he felt his desire rising again.

  She felt it too and laughed as she pulled away from his kiss. ‘Is that what I think it is?’

  ‘Sorry. My control is shot where you’re concerned.’

  In reply, she wriggled down his body, her nipples teasing his skin on the way. ‘The feeling is mutual,’ she said, before grabbing a towel, cleaning him up and then taking his cock into her mouth. He reached for her, wanting to feel her breasts in his hands as she pleasurably tortured him. Her tongue flicked, her lips sucked and he arched into her, already back on edge and knowing it wouldn’t take much to push him over. Loving the feeling of her mouth around him, her nipples taut between his fingers, he let her go until he could hold it no longer.

  ‘Stella. Stop. Come here.’

  She looked up, her beautiful brown eyes wide. ‘You don’t like that?’

  ‘I love it, but—’ While she was distracted, he reached up and flipped her over, crawling down her naked torso and not leaving one bit of flesh unkissed. He took his time, teasing her with tiny circles around her belly button before pushing her legs apart and kissing her where it mattered. Already hard as a rock, he didn’t think it possible to get any harder but he was wrong. Stella’s moans, while her hips rocked beneath his mouth, were the most arousing sound ever.

  She wasn’t even touching him but he knew if she continued on this arousing road to orgasm, he would come right alongside her. As alluring as that sounded he wanted to be inside her again. He wanted to feel her shudder and tense around him. He wanted their release to be together.

  ‘Adam, I feel like I’m about to—’ Her words died as he shot up her body and rolled over so that she was on top. ‘Oh!’ He thrust up into her and she squeezed tightly around him, meeting his rhythm with tantalising moves of her own. Everything went fast after that, her hands were somewhere back around his knees, her chest thrust out, her perfect breasts riding in his hands.

  If sex had ever been this good, he couldn’t remember.

  Afterwards, all he could hear was synchronised panting as they lay next to each other staring at the ceiling. He didn’t know quite what to think about what had just happened. But he knew one thing, he didn’t want it to be awkward between them no matter what he’d said earlier.

  Realising they were both naked on top of the covers, he climbed out of bed, cleaned himself and then grabbed
the extra quilt that was draped over an old rocking chair. He walked back to the bed, laid the quilt over Stella and then climbed in beside her. He wasn’t sure what this was or if she expected post-sex cuddles but he wasn’t ready to be without her again just yet. He smiled as she snuggled into him and then said, ‘Well, that was about the last thing on earth I expected to happen tonight.’

  He met her gaze and raised an eyebrow. ‘Really?’

  She sighed. ‘Okay. It crossed my mind that it was on the cards but I thought we both had a little more sense.’

  ‘You should know where sex is concerned, men don’t have any sense at all.’

  ‘Maybe I’m glad about that.’ She laughed. ‘You know I’ve never done the deed twice in one night before.’

  He looked at her, unable to believe her words. ‘Your previous boyfriends must have been insane or severely lacking in stamina. If you were in a relationship with me, we’d be at it like rabbits all night.’

  ‘Boyfriend.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’ve only ever had one boyfriend,’ she said. ‘Heidi’s father, and sex was never like that with him. I think our record was about two minutes.’

  ‘Get out of here!’

  ‘True story.’

  ‘Sad story.’ He played with her hair that was splayed messily across his chest.

  ‘What about you? How many people have you slept with?’

  ‘I’m not sure I should say?’

  ‘Should say or can’t say?’ she asked, her tone teasing.

  ‘Hey, I don’t like what you’re insinuating.’ He pretended to be insulted. Truth was up until a year ago he’d thought nothing of going out of a night and sleeping with whoever was in town and willing. He didn’t plan on getting married, so he kept his liaisons casual, but lately the buzz he’d gotten from such encounters had lost its gloss.

  She opened her mouth as if to say something but they both stilled at a creaking sound coming from the kitchen.

  He loosened his hold on Stella and all but leapt across to the opposite side of the bed. ‘Heidi?’ he asked, as if Heidi was a dangerous psycho and not a gorgeous little girl.

  A crease formed between Stella’s eyebrows but she shook her head. ‘No, I would have heard her go past and if she wakes in the night, it’s usually much later than this. It’s probably a possum in the roof or that naughty cat looking for a midnight feast.’

  He relaxed a little and pulled her back towards him but a thought landed in his head and refused to budge. Uncle Tom. Could he really be haunting the place? That would be just like him to try to ruin Adam’s night, just because he could no longer get his rocks off. Ghosts couldn’t get their rocks off, could they?

  ‘Adam? You okay?’ Stella was looking at him funny.

  ‘You’ve not heard strange noises while you’ve been here, have you?’

  She stilled in his arms. ‘What kind of strange noises?

  ‘I dunno. The people that stayed here before were all freaked out by things that went bump in the night and I wondered if you and Heidi had heard anything.’

  ‘Are you talking about ghosts?’ She smiled as if he were loony. ‘Do you believe in them?’

  ‘Nah.’ He swallowed and shook his head. ‘Of course not, I was just thinking if you had heard noises, you might need me to come and look after you another night.’

  ‘Hah. Nice try. You know, if you want a repeat of this evening, you only need ask.’

  ‘Really?’

  She rubbed her lips together and nodded slowly. ‘I think we both know what this is and I’d prefer if Heidi didn’t find out about it – I don’t want to confuse her – but if we’re careful, there’s no reason for us not to enjoy a holiday fling, is there?’

  ‘No reason at all.’ He drew her closer to him and ran his hand down her naked body.

  The noise in the kitchen sounded again.

  ‘You know, I’d better just go check on that. Put the cat outside if need be,’ she said.

  He reluctantly loosened his grip as Stella rolled away from him and out of bed but delighted in the sight as she sashayed across the room, grabbed a robe that was hanging on the back of the bedroom door and wrapped herself in it. As much as he wanted to stay the night, to have her one more time, he knew Heidi’s presence in the house made that impossible, so he followed suit. Climbing out of bed and pulling his clothes back on, he couldn’t help but grin as images of the night they’d just had flashed through his head. He thanked his lucky stars Stella hadn’t been scared of the cottage like those that had come before her, because the thought of missing out on what they’d just shared made his whole body ache.

  Walking into the kitchen he found Stella staring around the room looking perplexed. She looked to him and shrugged. ‘There’s no sign of Whiskers. Must have been a possum in the roof.’

  He closed the distance between them, took her in his arms and fought the urge to tug on the tie of her robe and push it back off her shoulders. ‘Whatever it is, it’s gone and I should leave too if you’re to get any kind of rest tonight.’

  She sighed and leaned her forehead against his chest. Even after all they’d done this evening, she smelt sweet and amazing and every bit of testosterone in his body told him he was a fool to walk away. ‘You’re right,’ she said, her tone disappointed. ‘It’s already way later than I’d usually go to bed and I’ll never be able to look after Heidi tomorrow if I don’t sleep soon.’

  Putting his thumb against her chin, he lifted her head and looked into her sparkling eyes before dropping his mouth to claim hers. It was a quick kiss, chaste in comparison to those they’d shared that evening but it held a hint, a promise, of what was still to come.

  ‘Sweet dreams, gorgeous,’ he said. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  And he then stepped away and walked out of the kitchen, out of the house and into the night before they both got carried away.

  Stella slumped against the kitchen bench and pressed her hand against her chest, trying to quell the wild, erratic beating of her heart. Wow. She couldn’t think of another word – her vocabulary seemed to have vanished sometime in the last few hours, replaced by a veracious need to jump her landlord’s bones. And what delicious bones they were.

  Wow.

  She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her body tightly and closed her eyes to luxuriate a few moments in what had just gone down.

  A sharp meow and movement at her feet jolted her from her very pleasurable thoughts. ‘Oh, hello Whiskers,’ she said, placating herself with the knowledge that the earlier noises must have been the cat after all. She leaned down to stroke it and smiled as its back arched and its thick middle wobbled in appreciation.

  ‘I’ve had sex,’ she told the cat proudly. ‘Hot, messy, crazy, fabulous sex. With a man.’ Not just any man but undoubtedly the hottest, sexiest man on the planet. Whiskers merely looked up and then turned her head and walked off in disgust.

  ‘Might not be such a big thing for you,’ Stella called out as the cat wandered back into the hallway, ‘but this is monumental for me.’ She burst into giggles at the realisation she was talking to a feline about bedroom antics.

  The last time she’d had intercourse she’d been in her teens and it had been different in almost every way imaginable. She’d thought sex was okay with Samuel – he’d seemed to like it more than she did, but she’d guessed that was normal. Everyone knew men were obsessed with doing it. But Adam had taken it to a whole other realm. If she’d known sex could be like that – could make her feel as if her head had been blown right off her body – she’d never have been able to go so long without it.

  Just thinking about the way he’d played her body had an orgasm rising within her again. Was that even possible? She grabbed a glass from the overhead cupboard, filled it at the tap and had just lifted it to her lips when she heard a shriek coming from Heidi’s room. ‘Mummy!’

  In her haste to get to her daughter, Stella dropped the glass on the kitchen floor and almost tripped on the
hem of her robe. She tightened it as she ran and then flung the door to Heidi’s room wide open. ‘Heids? What’s wrong?’

  Heidi was sitting bolt upright in the middle of the bed, the lamplight shining on the tears pouring down her cheeks. Stella knew she’d had a nightmare, so she climbed right in alongside and pulled her into her arms. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart,’ she whispered, holding Heidi’s head against her chest and stroking her hair.

  Slowly her sobs subsided but as Heidi’s crying died down, Stella became aware of a soft whimpering coming from the corner near the window. Her skin tingled as she turned her head towards the sound, hoping to see Whiskers there. There was no cat but the curtains swayed slightly as if the window behind them was letting in the wind.

  Problem was Stella knew that window was bolted shut.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Stella held Heidi tight against her, unable to tear her gaze from the curtains. Were they really moving or was it her imagination? And maybe that sound she’d heard had been the wind outside because it seemed to have stopped now.

  ‘Mummy? Hurts.’ For a moment Stella thought Heidi meant something else was hurting her but then she realised she was holding her too strongly.

  She loosened her embrace but didn’t let go. Every instinct told her to protect and comfort. ‘Sorry, honey, I just wanted to make you feel better. Can you tell Mummy what’s wrong? Was it a bad dream?’ Oh please God let it simply be a nightmare. Never before had she wanted her daughter to suffer such sleep afflictions, but right now it seemed far more appealing than the alternative. An alternative she wasn’t certain she could even believe in.

  ‘No.’ Heidi’s little body shook with emotion yet again.

  ‘What then?’

  There was a long pause before she answered. ‘Lily-Blue sad. She won’t stop crying. I’m sad.’

  Those heartfelt words caused Stella’s heart to jolt and then cramp in her chest. Heidi’s capacity to recognise the emotions of others – happy, but even more so, sad – had always stood out. She’d see an old person alone in a supermarket and need to connect. Stella knew this empathy wasn’t unusual in people with Down syndrome and she’d learnt to deal with it. Even admire it. Heidi seemed to know which people would be open to her affection and she steered cleared of those who wouldn’t, those who’d look at her like she was a freak. Stella had come to trust this instinct, so much so that if Heidi took an instant dislike to someone (and this was rare), Stella was wary too, but so far, real people had always been at the receiving end of her empathy. People Stella could see, hear, smell, talk to and even touch if she felt the need.