said, advancing forward one measured step at a time. Tess wasn’t one to run and she stood her ground, her breath quickening when they stood close enough to exchange body heat. His warm, sharp scent surrounded her and she inhaled deeply, drinking him in like a woman dying of thirst after days spent in the desert. “What I did was try to make up for the wrongs committed by Franklin against your father.”
“Those are things Franklin did. They are on him and only him. They were not your mistakes to fix.”
“Yes, they were.” The timbre of his voice, the earnest expression in his eyes told her that he believed it, that he thought what happened was his responsibility. She’d believed the same thing for so many years, convinced that the sins of the father could be levied against the son but she’d been so wrong.
“No. No.” She shook her head. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I love you.” Adam lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, holding her still so that their eyes remained locked together. It was unnecessary; she would never look away from him as long as he looked at her the way he was looking at her now. “It didn’t matter who was at fault. You were hurting and I could make it right. I did it because I love you.”
Damn. She’d thought about him saying the words to her more times than she could count and the reality was better than anything she could have imagined.
“And what exactly did you do, Adam?” she asked, reaching out to grasp his lapel and draw him down even closer. His gaze dropped to her mouth and back up to meet her eyes, his lips twisting into a sexy slip of a smile that made her shiver in anticipation. “The foundation. My father... Franklin. What did you do to make that happen?”
“It was very simple in the end. I took copies of the information to Franklin—the file you had on his years of illegal and unethical conduct, the evidence of the mole and his payment for industrial espionage—and told him that I would give it all to the authorities, the SEC, the press, if he didn’t help make it right. I made him agree to give the money for the foundation in your father’s name. I’m not naive. He doesn’t give a shit about the pain he caused or what I think of him, but he lives in mortal fear of losing his power, his company, his reputation. He cares about that more than he’s ever cared about anyone, including me.” Adam shook his head, his left hand slipping around her hip, settling in the small of her back to drag her body against his. “And I don’t care about why he did it. I only cared that this would make everything you’ve done worthwhile. I wanted to give you and Mia peace.” He leaned in, his lips brushing over her eyelids, his large hand lowering to cover her stomach. “I wanted to give us a chance to be a family. A real family.”
Tess reached up, grasping his face in her hands and pulling him down to her in a kiss. It was hot and wet and deep and left them both panting and clinging to each other. Adam had given her so much. Now it was up to her to find the words to ensure that he knew how she felt, what she really wanted.
“I love you. And from now on, I will be your family.”
Adam’s grin was sexy and predatory and the last thing she saw before he took her mouth again in a kiss that started a little sweet but quickly morphed into a deep, dark press of lips and tongues. He groaned, his hands roaming all over her back, her face, her arms, her ass. He lifted her up, walking them both backward until he placed her on the desk. Adam settled between her legs and she moaned when his erection pressed against her core.
Suddenly, there were too many clothes between them; too much space and air and distance. Tess wanted him inside her, needing them to be one in every way that counted. She had his heart, she needed his body, his strength.
She reached for his belt, remembering at the last moment that they were exposed in his office. Anybody who walked by would see them and there were several dozen reporters in the building at this very moment. This might be the time but