Page 6

6

ADAM

I stay true to my promise.

After a long shower where she went to her knees and took my cock between her full, kiss-reddened lips, I carried Laurie back to bed and showed her all that she'd missed over the last year.

After it was done, I’m exhausted, and we manage to sneak in a little less than three hours of sleep before the day is on us once more.

She's even more tired than I am, barely able to keep her eyes open as I slide from the bed, heading downstairs to make breakfast for her. I’m at the stove, humming to myself, when I hear someone clear their throat behind me.

I turn around and come face to face with my father.

Oh fuck.

"Dad," I sputter. "Why are you back already?"

His expression is thunderous. "Melanie got food poisoning, and we just came home to recover for a few days before heading back out." He takes a step towards me, but I haven't been afraid of my father in decades, so I stand my ground. "Imagine our surprise when I helped Melanie to bed and heard you and Laurie in her bedroom?"

"Dad..."

"I don't even know where to begin!" He slams his hand down on the countertop. "How long has this been going on?"

"Not long," I say, which is the truth.

"That's not an answer," he snaps. "She's your damned stepsister?—"

"The hell she is!" I bite out. "Laurie and I met a year ago, okay? We'd slept together months before you and Melanie got married?—"

"You what?!" He looks ready to explode. "Are you fucking kidding me, Adam?”

“We didn't reconnect until you had the bright idea to make me stay in this house with her!" I growl.

"Why in the hell didn't you say something?"

"Because you just married her mom!"

Dad opens his mouth to say something more, but then I hear a small voice from the stairs. "Adam?"

We both turn to see Laurie standing on the landing, wearing one of my t-shirts and nothing else. She's looking back and forth between us, and has gone pale from shock. "C-Craig…Hi. Uh, is Mom...?"

"She's upstairs." He tries to school his tone now that it's Laurie he's speaking to, but he doesn't do a very good job of it. "And before you ask, yes, she knows."

Laurie pales even more. "Shit."

"I'd say," he replies, "whatever this is, it stops now."

"No."

Dad turns back to me, teeth clenched. "No? You don't get to tell me no, Adam, not after I trust you with the company and with Laurie, and now I catch you trying to blow my new marriage to shreds. Get the hell out."

"No, fuck that. Laurie and I are adults and?—"

"Adam, please." It's another voice this time—Melanie, at the top of the stairs, a robe wrapped around her. She's blanched from illness, and her eyes are red as if she's been crying. "This is hard enough. Please get out of my house."

I expect Laurie to back me up like I did for her, but when I turn to her, she's rushing up the stairs to her sick mother's side. Melanie flinches away at first, and I can see Laurie's heart break.

The harsh reality of everything starts to filter through. Shit. What have I done to this family?

"I'm sorry, Mom," Laurie pleads, this time putting her arms around Melanie. "It was an accident..."

An accident?

"Please just leave." Melanie's voice is hoarse, and I wonder how long she's been crying. "Adam, please."

"Fucking fine. I'll come back for my things?—"

"Don't bother," my dad says. "Just go. I'll send it all to your place in a company car."

I look at Laurie, expecting some kind of emotion from her, but she doesn't meet my eyes. She's holding onto her mother, her eyes downcast, and I know there's nothing more to be said.

So I turn and head out the door. And the door slams shut behind me.

* * *

A week passes. Then two.

Before I know it, it's been an entire month since I was thrown out of the Cartwright estate. I've been back in my oceanside condo, where I've thrown myself into work to try and drown out the memories of Laurie and the precious little time we had together.

It didn't take me long to come to the hilariously sad conclusion that I was in love with her. I'd fallen for her that very first night, and all the rest of the time had just been me coming to terms with it.

Now I can admit it to myself, and she's gone.

Dad let me know that they were postponing their honeymoon until Melanie was fully better, but I know that it probably has a lot to do with the scandal that has now rocked their brand-new marriage. All because of me.

Me and Laurie, but I have trouble blaming her. Even though she was trying to get a reaction out of me for days, we both knew it was inevitable that we'd come back together. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

He also let me know that they were paying for a year's rent in New York for Laurie, so she could give her fashion career another shot. I could read between the lines, though. They just wanted her far away from me.

I still love her, even though she hasn't tried to reach out to me in the last month.

It's a Sunday afternoon when I finally decide to leave the office. The only reason I even make it out of the building is because my assistant practically kicks me out and then threatens to tell my father if I don't take a break.

He knows exactly what buttons to push, the little shit.

Still, the fresh air is nice, and the day is warm enough that I'm able to enjoy the walk back to my condo. Maybe I'll get takeout or order delivery tonight. My fridge has been empty for a few weeks now.

But as soon as I'm close enough, I can see someone sitting on my steps. It's a woman, and she's wearing a big floppy hat, her legs crossed as she looks at something on her phone.

"Can I help you?" I ask, and she jumps, nearly dropping her phone.

"Shit, Adam!" She pulls her hat off, letting her white-blond hair tumble around her shoulders. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Laurie?" I blink several times, sure that I'm dreaming. "What are you doing here?"

She stands up, taking a couple of steps towards me. "I came to talk to you." We stand there in silence for a long moment until Laurie speaks again. "Do you think we can do this inside? Before one of the neighbors calls the cops? I've been waiting out here for over an hour."

This shakes me out of my shock. I laugh and walk up the stairs, unlocking the door and holding it open for her. She walks past me, and I catch a whiff of her shampoo, sending memories flooding back. But I force myself to shut the door and lead her into the living room.

"This place is great," she says, looking around. "This is where we should have been spending our time. Maybe?—"

"Maybe we wouldn't have gotten caught fucking by our parents?" I cross my arms, leaning back against the door. Laurie's mouth falls open at my words. "Listen, Laurie, what in the hell are you doing here? I thought you moved to New York a week ago."

I see her ball her fists, and when she looks up at me, there's a haze of tears in her eyes. "Fuck New York."

"Excuse me?"

"New York was a mistake." She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's too expensive, and my apartment is so small that I can barely breathe, and it's just so fast-paced, and I've been miserable, Adam. And you haven't even tried to call me since you left, so maybe you're fine without me. I mean, I guess I never thought..."

She trails off, wiping at her eyes again. I take a step towards her, but she holds up a hand.

"I'm sorry," she says, sniffling. "This wasn't how I wanted this to go." She takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly.

"It's okay," I say, because I'm still reeling from seeing her here in my home. "I'm just confused about why you're here."

Laurie squares her shoulders. "I came to tell you that I love you."

The entire world skids to a halt. "What?"

"I'm in love with you, Adam, and I think you might love me, too. And I just couldn't keep going with my life like this. With us apart. Because it hurts so much, and it's been hurting ever since you left."

She's in my arms in an instant, and I turn her around, her back against the door as I kiss her, pouring all of the emotions of the past month into it. Laurie wraps her legs around me like it's the most natural thing in the world, her hands in my hair, her body pressed to mine as our tongues tangle desperately.

When we finally break apart, she's panting and looking up at me with a mixture of lust and adoration that makes my heart ache. "Adam...?"

"I love you," I tell her. "I love you so much, Laurie, and I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. We wasted so much time."

The thought is wild and out of control, but every time I've second-guessed myself or waited too long with Laurie, I've regretted it.

I guess we're destined to move at the speed of light, and that's fine with me.

"Marry me," I tell her between kisses. "Marry me, Laurie, and to hell with what anyone else thinks."

She stares at me, her mouth hanging open. "What? Really?"

"Really," I say. "I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. So marry me."

"Yes!" She kisses me again, harder than before, and I can feel her smiling against my lips. "Yes, yes, yes, I'll marry you!"

Feeling high with emotion, I carry her to my bedroom and lay her on the mattress. We shed our clothes as fast as humanly possible, desperate to feel skin on skin. Laurie wraps herself around me as soon as I climb on top of her, kissing me over and over again as if she can't bear to be apart from me.

I feel the same way.

I slip two fingers between her thighs, stroking her until she's wet and panting beneath me. Then I flip her onto her stomach, my hands massaging the perfect globes of her ass while I pepper kisses along her spine.

"How adventurous are you feeling?" I ask, nipping at the side of her neck and making her shiver.

"Mmm...depends on what kind of adventure you had in mind."

Instead of telling her, I let my fingers slip between her asscheeks to caress the tight knot of muscle there, feeling her jump in surprise.

"Oh! That! Well...ah...." Laurie is tense at first, but as I continue my gentle strokes, she warms up to the sensation. "You can...keep going."

"I won't hurt you," I promise her, "but you have to relax for me, okay?"

She nods, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Okay."

"Good girl." I find the bottle of lube on my nightstand and use it to coat my index finger. I'm going to take my time with this, ease her into the feeling. Once my finger is coated, I press against the tight ring of muscle. Laurie tenses up at first, but then she takes another deep breath and forces herself to relax. Slowly, so slowly, my finger sinks into her.

"Oh wow," she breathes. "That feels good."

"It's about to get better." I withdraw my finger just enough to add another generous helping of lube before I slowly ease it in alongside the first one. Laurie whimpers, her hands fisted in the sheets. "You're doing so good, baby."

"Yeah?" Her voice is high and breathless.

"Yeah." I move my fingers, slowly stretching her open, preparing her for something much larger. "So good."

After a few minutes, Laurie is rocking back against my fingers, her moans muffled by the pillow. I'm about to ask her if she's ready when she turns her head to look at me. "Please, Daddy."

I groan. "Fuck." I pull my fingers out slowly and apply more lube. "Anything for you, baby,"

I coax her onto her hands and knees, and it's slow going at first, the head of my cock barely penetrating her. But slowly, Laurie relaxes, pushing back against me restlessly until I give her more. Finally, I sink into her, bottoming out and groaning at the tight heat that envelops me.

"Holy shit," Laurie pants. "That's...holy shit."

I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her upright so that she's kneeling, her back pressed to my chest. My fingers find her clit, rubbing circles over it while I fuck her slowly, slowly. "How does it feel?" I whisper, licking the shell of her ear.

"Oh God," she moans. "So full, so good. Don't stop!"

I increase the pace of my thrusts, fucking her harder while I toy with her clit. "Come for me, baby," I whisper. "I want to feel you come around my cock."

"Yes, Daddy, " she gasps, her entire body shaking. I turn her face to kiss her, swallowing her moans and fucking her until she’s shattering in my hands. Laurie comes hard, her back channel bearing down hard on my cock.

It's almost too much. "Laurie, fuck!"

"Come in me, Daddy. Fill me up."

That's all it takes, and I'm coming hard, holding her close to me as we both ride out our orgasms. After a moment, I lay her down on the mattress and spoon her, pressing soft kisses to her shoulders while we catch our breath.

"That," Laurie finally manages to say, a smile in her voice, "was a hell of a proposal."

"I'll do it right," I promise. "With the ring, down on one knee, all of it. I just couldn't go another second without knowing you're mine."

"I believe you. Plus, it's not like we've done anything the normal way." She snuggles back into me, and I'm already thinking about the next way I can have her. "I love you, Adam."

"I love you, too, future wife." I turn her head just enough to kiss her sweet mouth. "Rest up. We've got a lot of catching up to do."