Goddess Secret Read online

  “You’ve been working in the yard. You’re supposed to stink. I’ll go get you some water,” Rose said, and walked back into the house.

  She looked over at Adin and saw sweat sliding down his brow. Her body started trembling, and some very naughty thoughts flew through her head. She smiled as she stepped up to him, but he stepped back.

  “I don’t want to get you dirty.”

  She raised an eyebrow, knowing she could go so many ways with the dirty comment. “You won’t,” she whispered, stepping toward him again.

  He kept his hands on his hips, so she slid her hands onto his waist just above where his hands were. He smiled down at her as she stretched up on her toes.

  “I stink, sweetheart.”

  She inhaled and shut her eyes. “You have absolutely, positively no idea how wrong you are,” she whispered as her lips touched his.

  She kissed him softly, barely taking the side of his upper lip between her lips. She moaned as she tasted the sweat on his face.

  “Oh my…” She only meant to think the words, but they slipped out anyway. He tasted much better than he smelled. She tilted her head to the other side and kissed and tasted him again, squeezing his waist.

  Adin squatted down so she didn’t have to reach as far. He moaned as she kissed around his lips and breathed in his scent. She could tell by the way his muscles were tensing that he wanted to wrap his arms around her and was trying very hard not to. He didn’t want to mess up her clothes.

  Like she cared about that!

  She slid her hands up his damp chest and into his wet hair as she started kissing him fully. When she pressed herself up against him, Adin finally dropped his hands from his waist and grabbed hers instead. He pulled her tighter against him and kissed her back, matching her intensity.

  Then he pulled away. “My grandma’s coming.”

  She heard the door open and stepped away from Adin.

  “Here you are, dear.” She handed him his water. “Sorry it took me so long. The ice machine was jammed.”

  “No problem, Grandma.” Adin smiled as he took a drink.

  “Why don’t you show Legacy around while I run over to Dot’s house?”

  “Okay.”

  “Legacy, make yourself at home.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Rose walked back inside, and Adin turned back to Legacy, taking hold of her hand and guiding her into the house.

  They started down a hallway, and Adin glanced over at her. “I’m going to take a shower before I show you the rest of the house. This is my room,” he said when they reached a door. They walked in, and he shut the door behind them. Then he dropped her hand and walked over to his closet while she stood by his bed.

  “This is a big room.”

  “Yeah, each of the bedrooms is like a master suite.”

  Adin walked out of the closet and into the bathroom, putting up his clothes and making sure he had a clean towel in there. Then he walked back out and stepped over to her.

  “I’ll just be a few minutes.” He shrugged and leaned over to kiss her forehead.

  Oh hell no. She wasn’t ready for this sweaty Adin to disappear.

  She grabbed his t-shirt when he started to pull away and stared into his eyes. She pulled him back up to her, and his breathing spiked. His lips found hers, and they kissed slowly.

  She realized that she needed to let him take his shower so he’d be ready when his grandma returned. She pulled away from him and sat on his bed.

  “Don’t be long.”

  Adin sighed, raising his eyebrows. He glanced at his bathroom and back at her on his bed. She liked that the decision to leave her alone on his bed was a tough one. He leaned over her and kissed her again. “Okay.”

  He dashed to his bathroom and showered quickly while she watched television. When he came back out, he had on jeans and socks, but no shirt. No shirt! He was drying his hair and left the towel draped over his shoulders when he walked into his closet to get a shirt.

  When he walked back out carrying the one he’d selected, he came over and sat on the bed beside her.

  “What are you watching?”

  “You.” Nothing on TV looked half as interesting.

  Adin’s eyes flashed to hers, and he smiled while taking the shirt off the hanger. She leaned toward him, not taking her eyes off him. Right before her lips touched his, he let go of his shirt, twisted around so that he was facing her, and put his hands on her face as they started to kiss. She grabbed the towel, pulling him tighter against her, but he broke away from their kiss to look into her eyes.

  Adin stared at her intensely. His eyes were burning with desire, and his lips were still parted. He slowly shifted his position so that he was leaning over her, and she had to tilt back to look into his eyes. His lips nudged hers repeatedly as he walked his hands on his bed along her body until her head landed on his pillow. He hovered over her with their lips touching, and she pulled the towel off his neck, dropping it to the floor.

  Adin rubbed his lips on top of hers, hesitating, and she panted. She didn’t know if he was hesitating because he wasn’t sure about engaging in this kind of activity on a bed or if he was trying to maintain some level of control—they were at his grandma’s house. Regardless, he was driving her crazy.

  She slid her hands around his back and clung to him. He released some of his weight he’d been holding up, allowing himself to press against her. His lips were still caressing the tops of hers, so she separated them even more and slipped her tongue between his lips.

  He finally gave in and kissed her.

  She glided her hands up his back and into his wet hair. Adin shifted his weight so that his balance could be supported by his elbows rather than his hands, and he slid his fingers along her sides and clutched her while their kissing intensified.

  Having Adin on top of her, kissing her, was an experience unlike any other. The first several seconds was sensual, but it became very heated. They both clung to each other like magnetic objects. Since their legs were staggered, she wrapped the one on the outside of Adin, and he slid his hand down the length of her body, grabbing the back of her bare thigh and thrusting himself even harder against her.

  She moaned as Adin broke away from her lips and started kissing her neck. She kept one hand in his hair, running her fingers all over his head, and she slid her other hand down his back, squeezing him against her.

  She turned her head so that her lips were at his ear and panted while he kissed her neck. Feeling her breath in his ear was apparently more than he could handle. Adin moaned, and the hand that he had wrapped tightly around the back of her thigh started to slide under her skirt as he continued to rock against her. She gasped when his thrust hit her just right, and he groaned in response as he did it again and fisted the side of her panties.

  The doorbell rang.

  “Ugggh.” Adin groaned in her ear.

  She shared his irritation.

  He moved back on his knees and looked down at her.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered, and his eyes were still burning.

  She was too busy trying to catch her breath to say anything, so she just smiled. Adin sighed, shutting his eyes.

  The doorbell rang again.

  He shook his head, but then jumped up, grabbed his shirt, and put it on as he ran out of the bedroom.

  She got up and walked to the bathroom to make sure she was presentable. Of course her hair needed brushing, and she looked all flushed. She grabbed his brush and raked it through her hair and then fanned herself to try and make the redness go away. When she felt the blood easing out of her face, she left Adin’s room to join him.

  He was talking to a caterer while helpers were bringing in food when she walked up.

  “Everything goes out back, but put the cake in the refrigerator.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Adin looked over at her and smiled. “I should probably give you a quick tour before everybody gets here.”

  “Yeah.�
� She couldn’t hide the disappointment she felt. That had been the first time they’d been together that she didn’t feel as if she needed to push him to his sexual limit to get him going. He was more than willing to forge ahead on his own.

  He rubbed her back and kissed her forehead before leading her off to show her the rest of the house. When they got finished, his grandma returned.

  “I thought it was supposed to be cool today,” Rose commented when she came back in.

  “Oh, is it hot outside?” Adin asked her.

  “It’s the strangest thing. At first it was cool, and then it felt like a heat wave blasted through the air. Then it was cool again.” She shrugged. “I guess Mother Nature got a little overheated.” Rose cracked a smile, and her eyes flashed to Legacy and then back at Adin.

  Heat raced to Legacy’s face and she looked down while Adin chuckled briefly. Legacy thanked her lucky stars when the doorbell rang because Rose walked away. “I guess I’m not as controlled as she thought,” she murmured.

  “Hmmm…” Adin started, stepping in front of her and wrapping his arms around her. “Neither am I.”

  She laughed lightly, still feeling embarrassed, and glanced at him. Then he leaned over and kissed her gently.

  “It was my fault, sweetheart. I should’ve exercised more self-control.”

  “Actually, it was my fault.” She smiled. “I didn’t expect you to smell or taste as good as you did when I saw you outside, and then after you took a shower, I was still too worked up.”

  “Really?” Adin smiled. “You liked the sweaty smell? I just thought you were being nice.” He chuckled.

  “Like isn’t a strong enough word.” She raised her eyebrows while she looked up at him. “Let’s just say that the next time you do any yard work, I want to help.”

  “Mmmm…if you were there helping me, we probably wouldn’t get anything done.”

  “Oh, I think we’d get plenty done—just not any yard work.”

  Adin chuckled and leaned back down to kiss her again, and she clung tightly to him.

  “Cool it, you two,” Rose said in a playful tone, coming from behind Legacy. “It’s starting to get hot again outside.” She laughed.

  Legacy stepped away from Adin, and he was glowing.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “So, er, she knows what I can do?” she whispered.

  Adin nodded.

  Great. So his grandma knew she was the reason the weather got hot earlier. Well, it wasn’t entirely because of her, but Adin couldn’t help that. Rose acknowledging her ability was still a little uncomfortable since she was alone with her grandson when it had happened.

  “I hadn’t noticed the weather getting hot as much as it did over the summer. I figured I was getting better at being with you.”

  Adin stroked her arm. “You don’t have to get better at being with me. You’re already perfect.”

  She laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Legacy, you don’t need to worry about that. You’re doing really well. I think you’ll experience a lot of crazy weather patterns while you’re going through your change. It’s only normal, sweetheart.”

  “Normal?”

  He chuckled. “Normal for you.”

  She stared at him and smiled. When the doorbell rang, he answered it, and a crowd of people came in. Within minutes, more guests started to arrive, and they continued coming until Rose had a house full.

  Adin’s mom was one of the last ones to show. She came in carrying boxes, and Adin quickly helped her with them.

  “The box on top has all the cups, plates, napkins, and forks. Take it out back.”

  Adin took the box and headed out back. Myrha set the other box on a table and looked over at Legacy. “This one has some old pictures of Adin and his grandma,” she whispered, and she stepped over to her. “He doesn’t know I scanned them and made an album to give her.”

  “I’m sure she’ll love it.”

  “I hope so.” She smiled. “I’m glad you could make it, Legacy.”

  “Of course.”

  Adin came back in and escorted them out back. They sat at a table while Rose mingled with all her guests. Everyone loved the rose garden, and Rose bragged about her little Dinny to all her friends.

  When it came time for gifts, Rose sat next to Adin while she opened them. When she got to Legacy’s, Adin leaned over to her ear.

  “You didn’t have to get her anything.”

  “I almost didn’t.” She laughed. Crap! Why was she ratting herself out?

  “What?”

  “Never mind.” Legacy shook her head and focused back on Rose.

  Rose saved Adin’s gift for last, and it brought her, and many of her friends, to tears.

  The party lasted all day and into the evening with people eating, drinking, and taking pictures. After it was over, she and Adin sat in the living room with Rose and Myrha, and that’s when Myrha pulled out the second box.

  “Here, Mom. It’s not really a birthday gift, so I didn’t have you open it earlier.”

  “What is it?”

  “Just open it.”

  Rose did and then gasped. She thumbed through the album while tears streaked down her face. Since she wasn’t speaking, Adin got up to look at the pictures. He smiled when he realized what his mom had done and reached over and patted her on her shoulder. When Rose got finished looking at the album, she put it on the table and gave Myrha a hug. Adin bent over and picked it up. They both looked at the album, and he explained all the pictures to her while his mom and grandma listened.

  After Adin finished, Rose stood up. “I want to show you something, dear. I’ll be right back,” she said to Legacy. She walked back in with a framed snapshot and handed it to her. It was her little Dinny kissing a little girl—her.

  “That’s you and Dinny when you were babies.”

  Legacy smiled as she took the picture from her, and Adin rubbed her back while she looked at it. She glanced up at him, and he was glowing. “I told you she had a picture of our first kiss.”

  Rose pulled out a camera. “Now I want another one, so she can put it right beside this one. So go ahead you two. Kiss.”

  “Grandma.” Adin shook his head, and Legacy laughed nervously. The woman was totally serious.

  “You can either kiss now when you know I’ll be taking the picture, or I could follow you around and take it when you’re least expecting it.” She laughed.

  Adin glanced at Legacy with his eyebrows raised, waiting for her to signal if she was up for this. She nodded. No way did she want little ol’ grandma sneaking up on them at the wrong time. Better to get it over with now.

  Adin reached up and put his hands on her face as he leaned in to kiss her.

  “Not like that!” Rose chided.

  Adin laughed, pulled his hands down, and looked at Rose.

  “You have to do it like in this picture. If you put your hands on her face, we won’t be able to see Legacy in the photo.”

  Adin groaned playfully and then looked back at her. He took a deep breath and leaned in again, keeping his hands down. As soon as his lips touched Legacy’s, Rose clicked the camera a few times.

  “How’s that?” Adin asked.

  Rose looked at the digital images and nodded. “Perfect. Now let me get a regular one of you two.”

  “Okay, but this is it. You’ve been taking pictures all day, so I know you have some of us already.”

  “Those were candid shots.”

  “Only because it’s your birthday,” Adin mumbled teasingly, getting off the couch.

  Legacy stood beside him, and they wrapped their arms around each other. Rose took a few more pictures, and then they relaxed their stances while she checked the images. Adin stared into her eyes and then leaned down and kissed her forehead. Legacy sighed as she breathed him in.

  Click.

  Rose couldn’t resist getting another candid.

  “I’m going to walk Legacy home now.” He laughed.

&n
bsp; They said their goodbyes and left.

  After Legacy got home, she changed out of her skirt and came back down into the living room where Adin was waiting. Since Lissa was home, she figured he thought it was more appropriate than hanging out in her room.

  They talked and laughed for a couple of hours, and when she started to get tired, he walked with her up to her room.

  She crawled into bed, and Adin rested beside her, waiting for her to go to sleep.

  Just when she was about to drift off, she felt Adin kiss her forehead.

  “I love you, princess.”

  That was it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Legacy shot up and turned on the lamp, looking at him. “Princess?”

  “Er…huh?” He shifted his stance.

  “You just called me princess. I’ve heard you call me that a few times now. But you’ve only said it when you thought I was asleep. Why?”

  “Umm, I don’t know. Have I not called you that other times too?”

  “No,” she said slowly.

  “Does it bother you?” he asked, sitting back down on her bed.

  “Of course not. I just don’t understand why you say it when you think I’m not listening.”

  Adin’s face started to turn red. He was blushing! She couldn’t help but smile at him.

  He sighed. “Legacy, umm…”

  “What is it, Adin?” Me oh my, if he was about to tell her that he knew the truth about her, she had no idea what she would say.

  Adin scooted closer to her. “The thing is that I, umm, I’ve always thought of you as a princess.”

  Her heart raced. “What do you mean?”

  Adin took a deep breath. “When we were little, I saw you playing over here, and I told her grandma that you looked like a princess. She told me that maybe I thought that because, well, maybe you were my princess.”

  “Oh.” She wasn’t sure if she was happy or not that this was the reason, but she did like the thought of this.

  “The night you woke up in the hospital and asked for me, Lissa left us alone. I talked to you, letting you know that I was there. It just slipped out, so that was the first time I called you princess—well, to your face.” He smiled. “Since you were sleeping when I said it the first time, I’ve done it every time that we’ve been together and you’ve been asleep.”