See You at the Finish Line (Run, Love, Repeat #1)

36. Adam

This is the best dream I’ve ever had, hands down. It feels so much more real than all the others I’ve had of Paige. Even the ones where I was buried inside her weren’t as blissful as the sensation of her body draped over mine, our legs entwined and her head resting on the soft part of my shoulder. I can even smell her. Coconut shampoo and just her .

I know I’ll have to get up for work soon, but I want to hold on a little longer. I imagine wrapping my arms around her, enveloping her, pulling her as close as physically possible. She responds and drags her body farther on top of mine. My dick likes that because it brings her warmth right where I need it. I press into her and she moans softly in response.

God, that moan. It’s so real. She liked it so I move again, dragging my hands down to cup her beautiful ass and guide her hips against me. I’m painfully hard and the movement is the most pleasurable torture. I can’t stop. I thrust my hips up to meet hers and hear a gasp.

My lids fly open, the fog of sleep clearing as I adjust to the morning light. My eyes latch onto hers. I’m frozen in place, my fingers digging into her ass and my very full cock pressed between her thighs. I don’t think I can breathe or move. She doesn’t either. She stares at me like she’s searching my soul. My cock is insistent and my hips twitch of their own accord, needing more. The movement breaks the spell, and she drops her head to my shoulder, her body beginning to silently shake.

“Are you laughing or crying?” My voice is hoarse from sleep.

Her body keeps shaking, and it’s not helping my situation. I remove my hands from her backside as she bursts into a fit of giggles, letting her body flop over mine.

“You are hurting a man’s ego right now,” I say, grumpy.

“I am so sorry,” she says between giggles as she begins to calm down. “I thought I was dreaming.”

“If you’re going to apologize for anything, apologize for laughing.”

Her hand rests on my chest right above my heart, and she props her head up to look at me.

“I am sorry for laughing—it was not at you,” she says, giggling again. Her cheeks flush, and I bring my hand up to gently brush the hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She leans into my hand.

“Then what was so funny?”

Her blush deepens and I raise a brow at her, curious at the thoughts behind it. She buries her head in my chest and her muffled voice tickles me.

“I’m a little embarrassed, but uh, I thought you were a figment of my imagination and I kind of went with it. ”

“Definitely not a figment,”

“No, you most certainly are not.” Is it just me or do her hips move?

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. I thought I was dreaming too, and it was the best damn dream I’ve ever had.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Then it’s a shame we woke up,” she says, stifling another laugh.

“It really is a shame.” I sigh, dropping my head on the pillow and dragging a hand down my face. I’m trying to think of anything to get my hard-on to go away, but it’s still there, insistent.

“You know what I’m thinking of right now?”

“God, I hope you’re not about to say something sexy,” I mumble. She laughs.

“Well, it’s your own fault. I’m thinking back to the ultra when you told me your hotel room ceiling would be romantic. And here we are, in a hotel room.”

I flip her over onto her back in one swift motion. I hold my body above hers so I don’t suffocate her but press in a little and bury my head in her neck.

“That was not helpful, Paige,” I say through gritted teeth. Her breathing comes faster, and she shifts her legs, rubbing them against mine. I press my body into hers a little more, unable to help myself. I’m craving the contact of her body.

“Paige,” I groan, and her shaking laughter brings her closer. “I don’t know what kind of restraint you think I have, but it’s not as much as you’re currently giving me credit for.” My lips graze her neck to prove my point. I may become addicted to the taste of her skin on my mouth.

“And what if I don’t want restraint?” she whispers, arching into me.

I open my mouth, placing my teeth right on the tender spot and bite, softly. She inhales. I guess I’m not making it easier for myself either because I want all her sounds, the small ones, the loud ones, all of them. I curse whatever god is up there that these are not the right circumstances. Again.

Our timing is always off.

“Adam?” she asks, her voice sultry. I can barely stand it.

“Mm-hmm?” I say, not able to form coherent words as I breathe her in. She’s in my shirt so her smell is mingling with mine, driving me crazy.

“If I asked you to touch me ... If I asked you to lose control, would you?”

“You do hate me, don’t you?”

She laughs. I rip myself away from her neck and meet her eyes. They’re dark and full of lust. Her gaze moves to my mouth and my control almost snaps.

“I don’t hate you,” she whispers.

“I don’t hate you either.”

“Adam?”

“Yeah?”

“Lose control,” she whispers, pressing into me, dragging her arms up around my back. I lean in, arms shaking.

“Paige? ”

“Yeah?” Her eyes flutter closed and I grit my teeth.

“Not like this.”

Her eyes fly open in surprise, her body dropping to the bed. It’s both a relief and a huge regret that her heat is gone.

“What?” All the heat is gone from her voice too.

I don’t move, needing to make sure she understands because there’s hurt and embarrassment creeping onto her face. She can’t meet my eyes.

“I don’t want you to regret it. I don’t want this—us—to be something that keeps you from your sister.” She still doesn’t look at me. “Damn it, Paige.” I drop my body onto her so she can feel me, all of me. “I want you so fucking bad. I need you. But I won’t have you unless I can have all of you, and right now there are more important things that need your attention.”

She lets out a long, slow breath and finally meets my stare. I hope she can see everything in my eyes. I hope she can see how much I mean these words.

“Okay,” she says, her own eyes softening.

I give myself one more moment to stare at her, to feel her, and then it takes every ounce of my strength to pull away, coming to sit on the edge of the bed to try to collect myself. When she doesn’t move, I turn around to look at her. She’s staring up at the ceiling, breathing in and out deeply. Her breasts are peaked through her shirt, my shirt, and it nearly undoes me.

“I’m going to have a cold shower,” I say, quickly removing myself from her presence.

“Okay,” she says again .

I make a beeline for the bathroom and rip my clothes off, hopping in quickly. I lock the door in case she gets any more tempting ideas and tries to join me. I don’t think I could say no again.

The door handle doesn’t jiggle, and I kick myself for being disappointed. I let the frigid water cool my aching skin, but it doesn’t help. I take my cock in my fist and let my imagination wander, thinking of how close I got to being inside of her, to hearing her moans, to tasting her, kissing her again. I don’t have to stroke myself long—my orgasm comes swiftly. I stifle my sounds so she can’t hear.

It’s not satisfying, because I know how good it would have been to come inside of her rather than under the cold water blasting my head, with my hand wrapped around my cock instead of her body. But it did the trick. My shoulders release their tension and my lust ebbs as the cold water finally catches up, freezing me from the inside out. Though I still want her, at least I can think a little more clearly.

I grab a towel to dry off but stop short. Damn it, I forgot my bag out in the room. I’ll have to get it. Here we go. I wrap the towel around my waist and step through the door. Paige is already dressed, thank goodness, and as she turns, whatever she is about to say dies on her tongue.

“Now who’s playing dirty?” she asks, taking me in. And just like that, my dick swells again.

“I forgot my stuff,” I mumble, grabbing my duffle bag and turning back towards the bathroom as quickly as I can. I can’t meet her eyes before shutting the door. I hope she doesn’t think I did that on purpose because I most certainly didn’t. But I can’t find it in me to regret it because the look on her face could fuel my ego for years .

When I come out, fully clothed this time, she’s on the phone. I immediately go to her side, and she turns to me with tears streaking down her cheeks but a smile lights up her eyes. The amount of relief that rushes through me brings me to tears, my vision blurring with moisture. I grab her, pulling her in for a hug.

“Thank you, Dr. Barns,” she says into my chest. “I’ll be at the hospital by the end of the day. Thank you.”

She hangs up and wraps her arms around me, her body shaking.

“Leah made it through the night. She’s not awake yet, but she’s stable and they’re planning to remove her breathing tube.”

I pick her up and spin her around. “Oh, Paige, that’s the best news!”

She laughs as we twirl, and when I place her back on her feet, she looks up at me. My heart stops.

“Thank you,” she whispers, reaching to gently place her hands on either side of my face. When her lips touch mine, a current radiates through my whole body. She pulls away, but I can’t help it—I hold her arms and bring her close, kissing her again. It’s soft and light and way too brief.

“What was that for?” The words slip out of me in a whisper.

“It’s for you.” The memory of those words does something to my heart, jolting it into a gallop. She smiles and her eyes are clearer than they have been since we left Vancouver.

There’s also something else there—hesitation? Doubt? I don’t know what it means. She leaves my arms and we pack, getting back in the car to continue our drive.