She glanced at each table, waiting to see if anyone would look up. At the third table, one guy made eye contact. She smiled, hoping it looked like an invitation. He straightened from his position of leaning on the table with his friends, and her stomach did a little flip. He wasn’t really her type with his skinny build and blond hair, but this was a trial run. It wasn’t like she was really planning to sleep with this guy.
Just when she thought Mr. Blond was going to come over to talk to her, he shifted to look in the opposite direction. Shoot. She moved on, assessing guys at each table, skimming past the groups of women. She stirred her straw in the glass, swirling the ice around before taking a sip.
At this rate, she’d need something a whole lot stronger to make it through the night. A sensation tingled on her neck letting her know someone was checking her out. She turned her chair a little farther to the right to see who it was.
Her heart dropped. Lucas sat at a table by himself with a bottle of beer in front of him. He watched her intently. She pleaded for help with her eyes. Of course, he took pity on her. He pulled out his phone, and a second later, hers was vibrating in her purse.
Setting her drink on the bar, she retrieved her phone.
Don’t stare. It makes you look like a stalker. Glance and move on. If you’re interested, return after a minute or two.
Jeez, Charlie was right. She did look like a crazy person. She closed her eyes, rallied whatever strength she had left for this mission, and tried again.
Chapter 9
Lucas watched Felicity’s eyes flutter closed. He tried to reconcile this image of her, one where she appeared unsure of herself, with the woman who climbed all over him in bed last night demanding everything she could from him. She had no idea the power she held. If she figured out how to harness it, no man would be safe.
She reopened her eyes and tilted her head as she scanned the crowd. Her dark hair cascaded down the side of her face brushing the tops of her breasts. He closed his fists on the table as his palms felt the imprint of her nipples as he thrust into her last night.
Focus, Lucas. Felicity wants something else. Just like every woman you fall for.
The thought settled into his brain. Was he falling for Felicity? They’d known each other a few short days. He could easily call her a friend, just as she pointed out earlier. But the thought of her actually picking up some guy tonight and taking him to her hotel bugged the shit out of him. If they were only friends, he knew he shouldn’t feel that way.
He drained his bottle of beer and studied Felicity as she tried to make eye contact with a few guys. They had no idea what they were missing. Only five more minutes passed before he saw the frustration on her face. She hopped off her stool, tossed money on the bar, and headed his way.
Slapping her purse on the table, she blurted, “Let’s get out of here. Your plan isn’t working. I give up.”
He smiled. “I never figured you to be one to throw in the towel so quickly.”
“I think your formula is off.”
“Maybe it’s just the application of the formula.”
Instead of his joke making her smile, she frowned. “Probably.”
Shit. He hadn’t meant it like that. “I was kidding, Felicity. It takes practice. Besides, maybe these are the wrong guys for you.”
“No guy is wrong when you’re just looking to pick him up for the night.”
“Why is that?”
She finally sat across from him, and he waved the waitress over. He wanted to hear Felicity’s story.
“It doesn’t matter because every guy has the same parts, the same urges.”
He shook his head. “No, I meant why are you only looking for a hookup? Why not Mr. Right?”
“Relationships don’t work well with me.”
The waitress swung by their table, and Lucas ordered himself another beer and gestured to Felicity. “The same,” she answered.
“You drink beer?”
“Sure, why not? The first time I ever got drunk was on beer with Charlie and Layla at Charlie’s house. We played a card game—Up and Down the River. I won. We were all drunk, but they were puking.”
“Do you have a picture of them?”
“Who?”
“Charlie and Layla. You always talk about them, and I’d like to have an image in my head.”
That same unsure look crossed her face. Then she shook her head and reached in her purse. She scrolled through her phone and then handed it to him. “The blonde is Charlie, the other one is obviously Layla.”
Lucas stared at the picture. They were by far the sexiest group of nerds he’d ever laid eyes on. Layla and Charlie were pretty, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Felicity. In this photo she was undeniably happy. Charlie’s smile held a bit of mischief. “It was Charlie’s idea to get drunk.”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“She’s got the look of a troublemaker.”
Felicity laughed. “She is, but it’s the best kind of fun.”
The waitress dropped off their beer, and Lucas paid her. They wouldn’t be staying for more than this one. He didn’t want Felicity to get drunk tonight.
He handed her the phone back. “So tell me something about your family.”
“I’m an only child. Both of my parents are scientists. My mom works at Fermilab, and my dad has his own perfume company.”
“Does he expect you to come work for him, or is it your choice?”
“That’s a weird question. Why wouldn’t it be my choice?”
“You know, in some families, there’s pressure to do certain things, be a certain way.” He’d known kids stuck like that growing up. He definitely saw it much too often in his students.
Her bottom lip pushed out. “Nope. They never told me I had to do anything. I mean, they influenced me by buying me chemistry sets when I was little, but they let me try anything I asked. I just fell in love with science.”
“Just in your blood, huh?”
She shrugged. “Why are you a teacher?”
“I like kids.” He debated whether to leave it at the simple answer or give her the whole truth. She’d moved closer, leaning her forearms on the table, her focus solely on him. Yeah, as soon as she figured out how to harness this, other guys were goners. “I had problems as a kid. Learning problems. School was hard. When I was really young, I was cute and charming, so I talked my way out of or through the work. Later, I struggled with everything, so I acted out. It took a while, but once I got the help I needed, I figured it out, and school wasn’t so bad anymore.”
He drank from his beer. He rarely talked about his reasons for becoming a teacher. People usually didn’t ask. Conversations tended to be flippant about how easy the job was with short days and summers off. He looked at Felicity, expecting to see a hint of pity, but saw only interest, so he continued. “I had a high school teacher that made everything click for me. He gave me the skills and strategies I needed so I wouldn’t feel stupid. Before then, I mostly relied on my charm to get by. He taught me that I was smart enough to handle school.”
“I can’t even imagine that. School was always easy for me. I never had to work hard at it.”
He’d known that. Back on the plane while she scribbled in her notebook working through some impossibly long equation, he’d known she was brilliant.
Her forehead wrinkled. “That was insensitive, right? I probably sounded like I was bragging. I’m sorry.”
“You never need to apologize for being honest. I also didn’t need you to tell me that you’re smart. Looking at the equations you were doing made me dizzy.” Again, he took a drink and waited for a reaction, but got none.
“Well, if I could learn to have your ease with people, I’d trade my book smarts in a minute.”
He studied her and wasn’t sure what to say. Her comment made him realize the reason he was so drawn to her. They both had problems, they could empathize with each other, but it never got in the way of them having a good time. “What do you
say we get out of here?”
She glanced at her near-full bottle of beer.
“I’ll take you back to your room and help you practice. Part of why my formula isn’t working is that you’re stiff and forcing it. You need to relax. When we’re alone, you’re relaxed.” He wanted to add that he could help her relax, but didn’t want to scare her off. If things progressed in that direction, he wouldn’t stop them, but he wouldn’t force it either.
She smiled and nodded. “You’re right. You put me at ease. I can’t even figure out how you do it, but you do. I wish you could just sit at the bar with me.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but she put up a hand. “I know, we end up looking like a couple. I guess a few days of faking it makes a lasting impression. Let’s go. Are you okay to drive?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
They drove the short distance to her hotel in silence. He liked that he didn’t have to be on stage with her. The silence was easy. As he parked, he remembered the part of their conversation he wanted to dig into deeper, that the waitress had interrupted. He wanted to know why she was looking for one-night stands.
He waited until she let them in her room. She started picking up clothes and piling them on the dresser. He eyed the bed, but restrained himself from pulling her into him.
“So how do you want to do this?”
He almost choked at her question. She had no idea what he’d been thinking and how her question sounded to his ears. “Why don’t relationships work for you?”
“What do you mean?”
“At the bar. You said that you’re not looking for Mr. Right because relationships don’t work for you. Why not?”
She sat on the corner of the bed, the mattress dipped slightly. She interlocked her fingers tightly before continuing. “I haven’t had many relationships. The few I’ve had didn’t last long. Short term, I’m good. It’s just when a guy . . .”
A bad feeling sank into his stomach. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited, but she didn’t continue. “When a guy what?”
“When he spends more time with me, he realizes that I’m not like Layla and Charlie. I’m not fun. I’m not charming. I’m obsessive when I work and I make stupid comments in public and I offend people without trying. Often I spend too much time in my own head. Those issues are hard to overcome long term.”
“I think you’re wrong. I mean, you’re all of those things—the good and the difficult—in your own way.”
She snorted at him. “Don’t start being politically correct now. I don’t need you to spare my feelings. I need a lesson on flirting.”
The moment was over. His chance to get her to understand that he knew how special and different she was had passed. He sighed, took her hand from her lap, and led her over to the chair by the window. “Sit here like you’re at a bar.” He scooped up the other chair and carried it across the room. He angled it so they weren’t completely facing each other, but he could see her over his shoulder. “Now draw my attention.”
She leaned forward, resting one arm on the table, the other casually over her crossed legs. He didn’t face her, but felt her gaze hit him. He paused and waited for the feeling to fade. It didn’t. He spun in his chair. “That’s the first problem. Don’t stare at me to get me to look at you. Look once, look around, and then come back to me. Only hold your gaze on me for a few seconds. I’ll feel the attention and turn to see.”
She shook out her hands and rolled her neck. “Okay. Like how many seconds? Five, ten?”
“Three the first time and then five the second. It lets a guy know that you’re not just casually looking, but interested.” He shifted back in his seat. He tried to block his awareness of her to gauge how well she was doing, but he failed. He glanced over his shoulder in time to make eye contact with her. She held it a beat and then her gaze shot to the far wall.
“Okay, once you have my attention, I need an invitation. That’s when you flash a smile. It might take a couple of tries, but once you know you have me, smile. Let me know you want me to come over and introduce myself.”
She licked her lips and then pressed them together. She was still relaxed, so much more than she had been at the bar, so he turned around again and waited. He looked over his shoulder, and when their eyes met this time, a spark zipped through him. He stared and forced breath into his lungs.
Her lips curved, and she tilted her head slightly, looking at him through lowered lids. The smile was innocent but hinted at all kinds of trouble, and he forgot how to breathe. His mouth returned the smile and he stood.
When he reached the end of the bed closest to her, he sat. “Hi, I’m Lucas. Can I buy you a drink?”
She bit on her lower lip. “Sure, I’d like that.”
“You’re much better at this than you let on,” he whispered.
She uncrossed her legs and scooted to the edge of her seat. “Good at what?” she whispered back, smile still in place.
He knew she was toying with him, but her dark brown eyes were soft and warm, her smile genuine. How could he not get pulled under her spell? “Good at this.” He waved a hand between them.
She inched forward again and placed a hand on his knee. “You’re better.”
His body leaned forward of its own volition. Mere inches separated their mouths, and he desperately wanted to taste her again. He began to close his eyes, but she jumped up.
“I did it! Your formula works.” She started to pace in the small room, and he wondered how he managed to fuck that up.
“I mean, of course, you knew what I was supposed to do and maybe you guided me a little, but it worked. I felt it. It wasn’t forced like it was at the bar.”
He stood and followed her movements, willing his hard-on to go away. She jumped at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He grasped her hips to keep her from feeling how turned on he was, but it was too late. Felicity’s body fully collided with his.
His fingers flexed on her hips briefly before clearing his throat and taking a step back. “Uh, good job.”
He let his hands slide away. She stared up at him, her cocky grin gone. Her brown eyes darkened and she stepped closer. She gripped his shirt where it met his shorts.
She licked her lips as her fingers skimmed his skin. Blood pounded and his hard-on throbbed. He lowered his head and forced himself to move slowly, to taste her lips and be gentle. He tasted the tang of beer on her tongue as his swept in.
Her eyes closed and she moaned. She rocked against him. Her skirt rode high as she thrust one thigh between his and hiked the other leg and hooked it behind him. Lucas pulled away from her lips and dragged his mouth down her neck. He bit the delicate skin where her pulse beat a rapid tattoo.
The warmth of her skin heightened the scent she wore and it drove him insane. Like a drug, it called to him.
He reached under her skirt and stroked her. God, she was already so wet. He continued to kiss across the neckline of the tank top she wore.
“Stop,” she said breathlessly.
Lucas froze, his lips hovering over her nipple that was protruding through the cotton.
Felicity was panting, and she shoved his shoulder to get his attention. When he looked into her eyes, she said, “I don’t mean stop. I mean, I need us naked. I need you. Now.”
He didn’t need any more urging. He pushed Felicity onto the bed and stripped. She watched him from beneath lowered lids. Her body lay sprawled, her limbs loose.
Lucas grabbed her foot and unbuckled the sexy sandal. With the shoe gone, he ran his hand over her calf and up her thigh, stopping short of home plate. He repeated the action with her other foot, and as he stroked the similar path up her leg, Felicity whimpered. He pulled her panties off, his fingers gliding along her sensitive skin.
She curled herself up and yanked off her top and then her bra. She lay back wearing only the small skirt bunched at her waist. He knelt on the bed between her spread thighs. He covered her body with his, lowering his head to take a stiff nipple into
his mouth. She arched up to him, her wet center sliding against his cock and a wave of dizziness struck him.
With his hands on her hips, he pressed her into the mattress and kissed his way down her torso. He skipped over her skirt and ran his tongue along her wet slit, swirling around her clit. Her thighs twitched under his forearms.
“Oh, God.” It was barely a whisper from her lips.
He nudged her thighs farther apart and settled between them. The scent of her arousal was better than any perfume she could spritz on. He lapped at her and then thrust his tongue inside her, which earned him another moan. He pressed his tongue flat against her clit, and her hands grabbed his head, pulling his hair as she bucked her hips up trying to control his movements.
He pressed his shoulders into her thighs and reached up to her breasts. He pinched a nipple while stroking her with his tongue. Her chest rose and fell so rapidly and her hips wiggled. Her body began to writhe beneath him. He plunged two fingers into her, and her body lifted off the bed with a scream.
As much as he was enjoying playing with her body, he needed to be inside her. His cock throbbed so badly it was nearly painful. He sucked her clit into his mouth one last time and then pulled away.
Felicity gasped and her hands flopped on the bed. Her eyes opened and she stared at him. He yanked the condom from his pants and put it on. Then he crawled back over her body and slid into her.
On a sigh she wrapped her legs around him and he drove deeper. He relished in the wet heat of her. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled before thrusting. She began the rhythm against him, teasing him out of her body.
“God, please, Lucas, move. Faster.”
He refused her request. He slid almost completely from her body and then pushed back in, his own body screaming for speed. But she was on the brink, desperate for release and he wanted to draw it out. He needed her to be aware of him bringing this pleasure to her, unlike last time, where she had simply taken it.
Lucas pushed up on his elbows and scraped the hair away from her face. Her eyes were closed in concentration. “Felicity, open your eyes.”
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