While I Was Away(78)

His hand was against her forearm, his thumb rubbing up and down. A simple gesture, but it sent waves of electricity across her skin. She smiled at him for a second longer, then she dipped her head down to kiss the back of his hand.

“You, Ocean Reins, are a man in full,” she sighed. “And I think I like you, too.”

“Thank god!” he groaned loudly, slouching back in his chair. She started laughing.

“But before we get too carried away, you need to know some things about me.”

“Oh jeez, here we go.”

“You said it before – I am a bitch,” she said, swinging around so she was sitting on the edge of the table. He grabbed her legs, pulling them apart so he could scoot in the open V of them. “And I don't have any plans to change. I like my space, and I like to speak my mind, and okay, I should quit smoking, but other than that, I'm gonna do whatever the fuck I want to do. You may be older than me, but you're not my father.”

“Understood,” he laughed, smoothing his hands over her bare thighs.

“And yeah, you know what else?” she continued as he pulled apart the sash of her kimono, allowing the silk to fall open. “I do have a lot of shit, and even more clothes, so when you get this amazing apartment of yours, I am gonna turn that spare bedroom into my walk-in closet.”

“Sounds good to me,” he whispered, leaning close to kiss her cleavage.

“So basically, I'm gonna do whatever I want, and you just have to accept it, and be nice to me. Dote on me, even,” she informed him.

“What about sex?” he asked, his voice muffled by her breasts.

“You have to give me that whenever I want, too.”

“Well, you better want it right now.”

She squealed when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, then laughed when he tossed her onto her bed.

“We are going to fight so much,” she was still laughing when he laid down on top of her.

“I know. I'm trying not to think about it,” he said, fighting to get his jacket off.

“Big public fights,” she added, finally helping with his coat. “Like you calling me a bitch, me throwing a glass of water in your face.”

“I'm more of a private kind of guy.”

“Tough shit. Then you'll say you wished you'd never moved to L.A., and I'll say I wish you'd never moved to L.A.,” she kept going. His jacket was gone, but now his arm was stuck in the wide sleeve of her kimono.

“We sound like assholes. What the shit are you wearing?” he demanded, almost ripping the silk in his struggle to get free.

“And then the restaurant will ask us to leave, and we'll take the fight to the curb, and you'll force me into a taxi.”

“Jesus, I'm a brute.”

“Yeah, and I totally love it, so I'll blow you during the cab ride home, and you'll fuck me against the window when we get here, and all our friends will be jealous of how passionate we are.”

“I'm already jealous – can I get a blow job right now?”

“Hmmm,” she teased as she unbuckled his pants. “Depends. Show me how big of a 'brute' you can be.”

“That can be arranged, Blanke.”

“I'm counting on it, Reins.”





35




“What if this is a dream?”

Adele whispered, afraid to speak too loudly – it might shatter the magic they were weaving. Jones scooted closer and she welcomed his warmth. The fire had burned down low, but neither of them wanted to leave the bed to build it back up.

“Then I hope we don't wake up,” he whispered back, his fingertips gently smoothing down the side of her face.

“When I was there,” she licked her lips nervously. “Wherever it was, a dream, heaven, I don't know, but I was so scared at first. I only wanted to get home, I asked you all the time how to get home. Then somewhere along the way, I started to like it. I felt at home there. Because you were there. You were the sun and the ocean and the poppy field. I thought you were an angel.”

“I must be such a disappointment in real life.”

“Stop,” she gave a short laugh. “I'm being serious. The way I feel when I'm with you, right now, wide awake, is almost the same. Like you're all around me. I don't ... I don't think I would've dreamed such amazing things if you hadn't been speaking to me. My brothers, the doctors, the other nurses, none of them would've gotten through to me, and I would've stayed in that coma. Only you could reach me. Only you could wake me up.”

“Adele,” he sighed, and his arms wrapped around her.

“I've thought about it, and even if I hadn't gotten in that accident and you hadn't moved to Los Angeles, we would've met.”

“You really think that?”

“Yes, I really do. I believe that.”

“Me, too.”

“When I woke up,” her voice started to shake. “I was even more convinced that I'd been in heaven. That I'd somehow died while I was in that coma, and I'd gone to heaven, and then those stupid doctors and my family and fate had ripped me away. Can you understand how awful that felt? To have seen heaven, and then have it taken away. I didn't want to be here. Not without you.”