Bending Steele

Chapter Sixty-Two

Abby felt the prickling of wakefulness teasing her eyelids, and she squeezed them tighter. She'd been dreaming. Not of her usual nightmares, but of Adam, and she was reluctant to let it go. In this dream, she was filled with warmth and happiness, experiencing a peace unlike anything she had ever felt before in her adult life, or childhood. For too long she'd been occupied with despair, pain, sorrow, and hatred. She wanted this dream to last, and so she fought against the inevitable desire to wake up. But, it was in vain, the fantasy had vanished beyond her grasp.

Sighing, she slowly stirred, searching to press herself against Adam's body heat, but it wasn't there. Blinking her eyes open, she tried to ease away the groggy, hungover feeling coating her like a thick fog. She must have slept like the dead to wake up feeling this out of sorts. It took a moment to comprehend where she was at first, and she pushed herself upward to take a confused look at her surroundings. Her gaze landed on the line of small curved windows, daylight only beginning to poke through. Eventually, her brain managed to register the low hum of engines, and she flopped back onto the pillows, taking in the curved ceiling above her.

She was still on the airplane. Adam Steele's luxurious personal jet to be exact. A sluggish smile creeped across her lips. Who knew Abby the simple cocktail waitress from the Bronx would one day become a jetsetter. Stretching her arms above her head, she laughed softly to herself. It was strange going from not having a pot to piss in, to being suddenly plopped into this lap of affluent lifestyle. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever really get accustomed to it completely. But, she did have to admit, it had its advantages. Traveling this way was far superior to all those other times she had been on the run.

In the past, she would have found herself squished between hot, sweaty, grumpy passengers cramped in an uncomfortable seat heading across country on a bus which had been more like being locked in a moving Port-O-Pot for thousands of miles. Abby cringed. And those were the good memories. Rolling over to her side, she looked out the window at the expanse of dawn painting the sky in vibrant splashes of color. There had been numerous times Dean had found her before she could replenish her savings, and she hadn't been able to afford the luxury of a bus. When that happened, she had been forced to hitchhike in a desperate attempt to put miles between him and her.

Squeezing her eyes closed, she cleared her mind of those terrifying memories. That was in the past when she had been young and naïve. Back then, she'd been scared, alone, and left with no resources or money. She had barely dared to breathe in fear the pain would overwhelm her, or in dread he would hear it and locate her once more. Maybe she should have done more to try and find answers...to get help, but without support or guidance, her terror had ruled her life. Those days, just waking up seemed to be enough of a victory.

Except things have changed, and her world has been flipped over on its ear. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, she had went from hitchhiking and running blindly in any direction to gambling her future on one man. At first, she hadn't been entirely certain she could trust him, but her wariness had been forced aside by the sheer willpower of the man himself. Abby grinned, remembering Adam's stubbornness. It had taken time for the epiphany to strike, but, now...he was the only one she did trust. Come hell or high water...life...death...or whatever the future may bring, she was staying with Adam Steele.

Reaching up, she brushed the pillow still holding the indentation of his head. They'd slept spooning through the night. On more than one occasion, she had been roused to his arms tightening around her waist. As if he was afraid she would disappear in the middle of the night. By wiggling just right, she had been able to feel his hard erection easing between her ass cheeks as if he was reliving their lovemaking in his dreams. She could have easily reached behind to make them come true, but, as much as she wanted him inside her...she had been too exhausted. Adam had been right, she needed the sleep. And because of him, she was able to slip into a deep slumber she hadn't experienced in years. But now that he wasn't there, her body was beginning to insist she find him and maybe do a little making up for last night's lost opportunities.