Page 52 of Leather and Longing (Island Tales #3)

Chapter Forty

Paul went down the stairs, conscious of the hour. Adam had obviously let him sleep in. The aroma of coffee filled the air, making him smile. It was good to have Adam doing more around the house, even if ultimately it would put him out of a job.

What does he need a full-time companion for, or even an assistant? Adam was revelling in his increasing independence, not that Paul would wish to deny him that.

“Good morning.” Adam was in the kitchen, making toast.

Paul returned his greeting. “How long have you been awake?”

Adam shrugged. “An hour, maybe longer? I thought I’d make myself useful.” Paul sniffed, and he sighed. “Okay, I burnt the toast the first time I tried.”

Paul chuckled. “Well, it couldn’t have been that bad. You didn’t set off the smoke alarm.” He regarded the chair with mistrust.

Adam, the sod, was doing his mindreading act again.

“You should be able to sit,” he said, his voice softer. “Try it.” He placed a mug of coffee and a plate of buttered toast on the table, and turned to pour one for himself.

Paul pulled back the chair and sat slowly, cautiously, holding onto the table as he did so.

He didn’t ache as much as he’d anticipated, but it was still there.

He did his best to ignore it while he ate and drank.

Adam was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence.

Through the open window came the ever-present cries of the gulls and the waves against the rocks.

Paul glanced over at the window. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, not a cloud to be seen.

I want to be outside, to feel the sea breeze on my face, feel the sun’s warmth on my bare skin.

He finished his breakfast and washed his plate and mug, before collecting Adam’s mug.

“What do you want to do this morning?” Adam asked. “In the circumstances, I feel like I should give you the day off. I’m going to be working on my book.”

“I thought of going for a walk,” Paul told him.

“Not far, maybe down to the bay and back. It looks so nice out there, it seems a shame to waste it.” The signs of autumn’s arrival were already in evidence: the trees that covered the hillside were turning shades of orange and red, at their most beautiful in the evening sun.

“That sounds like a good idea. Want some company?”

Ordinarily Paul would have jumped at the chance to spend time with Adam, and the thought of walking along the shore with him was a tempting one. But right then he needed to think, and having Adam in close proximity wasn’t conducive to clarity of thought.

“No, it’s okay, you stay here and work. I won’t be long,” Paul informed him. He’d go and find a T-shirt to cover up his back.

No sense scaring the natives.

It was clear from Adam’s expression he’d have preferred to accompany Paul, but he acquiesced to Paul’s decision. “Enjoy.” When Paul passed his chair, Adam reached out and stopped him. “Paul, are you all right?”

Paul covered Adam’s hand with his own. “I’m fine,” he stressed. “I know you want to talk about yesterday, and we will, but later, okay?” On impulse he leaned in and kissed Adam on the lips. “I’ll be back to make lunch, okay?”

“Okay,” Adam said with a smile. “Have a good walk.”

Paul patted his shoulder and exited the kitchen in search of a soft T-shirt.

I just need some time to think.

Adam sat in the kitchen, his fingers curled loosely around a mug of coffee gone lukewarm. The house was quiet. Paul had been gone maybe ten minutes, and Adam let the silence envelop him.

In his mind he replayed fragments of the scene: the snap of leather, Seth’s calm voice, Paul’s breathing. The sudden break in rhythm when that one word cut through the air, sharp and absolute.

Red.

Nothing broken. Nothing ruined. Paul had discovered something about himself, and trusted the space enough to speak it.

That was the win.

Adam hadn’t been sure any of this was possible anymore.

Without sight, he’d feared the whole world of control and surrender was closed to him.

But yesterday proved otherwise. There would be trial and error.

Not every scene would fit. And he would have to lean into what he could sense rather than what he could see: the cadence of breath, the tremor of muscle under his touch, the words Paul gave him freely. It wouldn’t be the same, he knew that.

But maybe it can be something new. Something ours.

Seth’s words had lodged in Adam’s chest. Adam Kent—in love .

Adam couldn’t deny it. The truth was there, as steady as the tide outside the window.

I love Paul.

He loved the way he laughed when Adam was sarcastic, the way he never hovered but was always there , the way he had trusted Adam enough to try, even when neither of them knew how it would go.

And now Adam knew what he had to do.

I don’t want to bring anyone else into this. Seth had been his usual amazing self, but Adam didn’t want to rely on others to teach Paul, or to run scenes in his place. This was theirs to explore, to claim, to rebuild.

Blindness hasn’t taken that from me.

He set down the mug with a quiet clink and leaned back.

When he gets back, we’ll talk. I’ll tell him how I feel.

It was almost comical, the big bad Dom, his heart quaking at the thought of baring his soul.

When the doorbell rang, he almost jumped out of his skin, he’d been so deep in introspection. He walked across the hall and opened the door.

“Good morning. The name’s Dave Kennedy. I’m here to see Mrs. Lambton about the building work we discussed.” The voice was mature, its gravelly quality indicative of at least a pack and a half of cigarettes a day for the last twenty years.

Adam frowned.

Building work? What the fuck?

“Mr. Kennedy, I’m Adam Kent. Mrs. Lambton is my sister, but she isn’t here at the moment.”

“Oh, right. Damn, I knew I should’ve called first.”

“Is she expecting you?” This was the first Adam had heard about any building work being required.

Mr. Kennedy chuckled. “I doubt it. We spoke on the phone about, ooh, must have been six months ago. I told her at the time I was chocka with site work, but she said there was no hurry. Besides, it wasn’t as if we could’ve had it all done for this season anyway.

Then she called me again in May, but I was still snowed under.

I happened to be working down at the Spyglass in Ventnor today so I thought I’d pop along here on the off-chance, see if I could get a quick look at the place. ”

Adam was burning to know more. “Would you like to come in, Mr. Kennedy?”

“It’s Dave, please, and yeah, if you don’t mind, that’d be great.”

Adam stepped aside to let him enter, silently wishing Paul was there. Nothing about Dave’s manner rang any alarms, but there was a mystery here that needed to be solved. He closed the door behind them.

“Oh, now this is nice.” The genuine pleasure in Dave’s voice calmed Adam’s fears. “I love these old houses. How many bedrooms?”

“Six or seven.”

“Right-oh. Is it possible for me to take a look at them? Mrs. Lambton asked about the feasibility of taking a large room and dividing it into two, to make two singles. And of course we’d need to think about adding en suites to the others. There might be rooms downstairs that can be altered, too.”

Adam was officially lost.

“So, can I see them?”

That was further than Adam was prepared to go. He didn’t know Dave, and he certainly didn’t feel comfortable about letting him loose in the house.

And besides, I need to know what the fuck is going on here.

“I’ll need to see if you’ve got a room large enough downstairs,” Dave added, “that will accommodate all the guests for breakfast. We can always knock two rooms into one if there isn’t one.”

Guests?

Cold spread through his body as Dave’s words sank in. That sneaky, conniving bitch. His heartbeat quickened and his throat dried up, making it difficult to swallow.

“Are you all right?”

Dave’s hesitant question dragged Adam’s attention back into the present. He swallowed, his mouth devoid of saliva. “Yeah, I’m fine.” The reply came out as a croak. “Would you excuse me a minute?” He needed water.

“Sure.”

Adam left Dave in the hallway and went into the kitchen.

He searched the draining board for the glass he knew was there and filled it with water.

Adam gulped it down, his heart still racing.

He drew in a couple of long breaths in an effort to calm himself, his hands trembling.

When he could breathe more easily, he put down the glass and rejoined Dave.

“Mr. Kennedy, I’m very sorry but you’ve had a wasted journey. There’s been a change of plan, I’m afraid. My sister will no longer be requiring your services.”

“I see.” The puzzlement in Dave’s voice was evident. “Okay, sorry to hear that. I think she’d have been onto a real winner here. It’s a lovely spot, isn’t it? The views are amazing.”

Adam gave a polite smile. “Thank you for stopping by.” He walked over to the front door and opened it.

“Yeah, well, thanks for letting me have a look. If she ever changes her mind, I’ll?—”

“She won’t,” Adam interjected, his voice cool.

Silence. “I see. Well, thanks again.” Footsteps along the path, followed by the crunch of gravel. Adam listened to the car moving away before closing the door.

He walked into the office and sat behind the desk, his chest constricted, a fluttering deep in his belly. He ran over all the information he now possessed, assessing it coolly. Everything was clear in his head, and he didn’t like what he was seeing.

What day is it? Wednesday ?

Perfect. Adam sat back to wait.

Hurry up, Paul.

The next bit Adam couldn’t accomplish on his own.

Paul closed the gate and trudged down the driveway, his thoughts calmer.

The sea with its smells and sounds always did that for him.

Thankfully there’d been no sign of Taylor down in the bay: Paul couldn’t have coped with seeing him today.

He’d clambered over the rocks by the Lighthouse, peering into rock pools as he’d done when he was younger.

By the time the tide was lapping at his feet, he’d made his decision.

No more hiding. I’ll tell him how I feel. And then when it’s all out in the open, I’ll know where I stand.

It was that last thought which had brought him the peace he sought.

Paul reached the house and opened the front door. “Adam?” he called out into the quiet.

“In the office.”

The note of agitation in Adam’s voice had him hurrying into the room. Adam was seated at the desk, his forehead furrowed. He lifted his chin when Paul entered.

“Paul, I need your help.”