Five Stars Five Stars (Desire Island #5)- Claire Thompson Page 0,16
face to the sky and drew in a deep breath as she hugged herself. “It feels amazing to be back. The air is so fresh. And the mountains! I didn’t realize how much I missed that backdrop on the horizon.” She turned to flash Adam a lovely smile. “Thanks for doing this for me.”
“You kidding?” Adam said with a grin. “You’re doing it for me. I couldn’t stand the idea of seeing you for so short a time. I would have canceled if you couldn’t have come with me. I can’t thank you enough for dropping everything to make this happen.”
The shuttle appeared and they climbed onboard, bags in tow. Once Adam had acquired a rental car and they were seated inside, he said, “Let’s go check in at the hotel and pop over to the event center. I want to make sure my shipment arrived and check out my booth. The event kicks off at eight tomorrow night. The actual trade show starts then, and at ten the fun begins. Did you ever get a chance to go to a BDSM Connections event when you lived here?”
Shani shook her head, a dark look flashing across her features, gone as quickly as it had arrived. “I’ve heard about it, though. I’m excited to check it out.”
“And what about your mom? Does she know you’re here? We could drive out to the reservation in the morning, if you wanted.” Suddenly unsure if she wanted him to go with her, he added, “Or if you want to go alone, you can take the car. The hotel is walking distance from BDSM Connections, so it won’t be an inconvenience for me.”
Shani flashed him a sweet, shy smile. “I’d love it if you came with me. I should warn you, though. My mom will probably interrogate you as to your ‘intentions.’” She used her fingers to make air quotes around the word. “My sisters, too. They’re all very protective of me. I’ve made some, uh, unfortunate choices when it comes to men in the past. Well, one guy in particular. They don’t know the details, but they know he made me unhappy.”
Again, that same dark, anguished look appeared and then vanished. Adam sensed the “unhappy” was a major understatement. He recalled her terrified reaction when he’d placed his hand on her throat. He was pretty sure this guy she was referring to was the one who had installed that particular negative trigger. Again, the desire to beat the guy to a pulp surged through him. Was he someone who was active in the local BDSM scene? Adam wanted to probe, but decided to keep his promise to himself to let her take the lead. When she was ready to share, she would.
Instead, he just smiled and assured her, “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“I’m sure you will,” Shani said with a laugh. “Being tall, dark and handsome won’t hurt either.”
He glanced at her with a grin. She was regarding him with a critical gaze, her head slightly tilted, a half-smile on her face. “You have the rugged features and coloring of a Native American, except for those green eyes. That’ll make my mom happy, since she’ll already have us engaged in her mind.”
Adam shrugged, smiling. “I actually took one of those DNA tests when I was younger, in case I had some half-sibling out there somewhere I didn’t know about. I always hated being an only child.”
Shani laughed. “The grass is always greener. I used to dream of being an only child, with my own room and no one borrowing and ruining my stuff.”
“Yeah, I know. There were some perks, but I was a pretty lonely kid. My parents had me late in life. A ‘happy accident’ my mom always claimed, though I don’t think they wanted kids. Anyway, the DNA test told me I’m mostly Irish and English, with a mishmash of other stuff thrown in, including some indigenous American. So, yeah, I guess I could claim at least a smidgen of Native American blood.”
“That’s cool. And did you find a secret love child from your parents’ past?” Shani asked with a smile.
“Nah, unfortunately not,” Adam replied. “Or fortunately, I guess, depending on your perspective. I’ve read stories about DNA tests revealing all kinds of stuff, like your dad is not your actual dad, or he has a whole other family you never knew about. But my parents are about as straitlaced as they get. They have no idea of my involvement in