Free Adrian's Wrath by Jenika Snow

because he took her hand, kissed it softly, and held it over his heart.
    “Adrian.” One step toward him and her chest was against his, their twined hands blocked in the cage their bodies created. “Let’s go.” Did he know she didn’t mean the hour-and-a-half trek back to their homes? She needed him. Now. She needed to show him that he was alive, that he was wanted, and that he was an incredible man. Both of their pains were tangible, sparking like a wildfire between them, trying to consume them. It couldn’t take them over. She wanted to be as close to him as she could, to wash away the heartbreaking look on his face.
    He watched her for several long moments, and she could see his throat working as he swallowed. “Oh, Brea.” Yes, he knew what she wanted and the look on his face told her he wanted it, too. They walked back to his truck hand in hand and he helped her in. Hands lingering on her waist, their gazes held for a pregnant moment, a silent communication passing between them.
    When they were both seated inside, the silence caved in around them. After a long pause he cranked the truck and pulled out. Ten minutes later, he pulled into a seaside B&B and turned the car off. Was he having second thoughts? Was he thinking about his past, letting it slowly consume this moment? Maybe he wasn’t ready. Maybe she wasn’t ready. Her body was most definitely primed for him, ready to give herself over in the most intimate of ways, but maybe this was just all too much for him.
    “Adrian.” When he finally tore his gaze from the ocean and stared at her with blue eyes that seemed to match the rolling waves, she knew at that moment that she had lost her heart to him. She loved him. So. Much. Fear slammed into her at the revelation. No matter how selfish she wanted to be, how much she wanted to stay wrapped in his arms and hold him tight, it was far too dangerous to tell him how she felt. She hoped he felt the same way, too.
    His hand slid across the seat and took hers, intertwining their fingers together. “Come inside with me. Be with me, Brea.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Twenty minutes later Adrian pushed open the door to their room. It was a quaint little B&B that was next to the coast. He got a room with a view of the ocean because when the sun rose over the water it glistened like tiny jewels. He wanted to see her face when she saw the sight. When she had suggested being with him his heart had literally stopped. She hadn’t come right out and said it, but the look in her eyes and the way she led him back to his truck had told him what she wanted.
    The door shut behind them with a soft click and then silence descended on them. Adrian stayed by the door, watching as she walked around the room, touching the dresser, the small table and chair, and then finally stopping in front of the sliding glass doors that led right out onto the beach. The urge to go to her, to touch her was so strong he had to clench his fists to stop from doing so. She needed time, needed her space. He could see it, feel it. It didn’t matter if all they did was talk and hold each other. He would sleep on top of the covers in a snowsuit if it put her at ease.
    He had told her everything, and even when his pain had slammed into him with as much force as a tsunami, she had been right there. She hadn’t run from him, hadn’t told him what an awful person he was. The silent strength she had given him just by listening to him, by not judging him had opened his heart in more than one way.
    “When I was younger, my dad used to take me down to this small fishing hole behind our house. I hated going down there because he’d make me bait the hooks and I’d have to take the worms and stab them through.” The smile that touched her lips was reflected in the glass of the window. “We would stay out there for hours, not saying one word because he said we would scare all the fish away.” Adrian moved the steps it took to get to her and stood behind her, not