by Dawn Doyle
I couldn’t form any words. I’m pretty sure I was turned on because whatever sense I had upstairs, it had dropped low down and set up camp there, singing songs around the fire that had begun to blaze.
He took my hand and gently kissed me again. “All I can do is try, Luca, but I’m not promising anything.”
“H-h.” I cleared my throat and pushed back the blush when his eyes flashed with humor. “Shut up.”
“Here she is!” a voice yelled. He tucked his hair behind his ear and rounded the center island toward me. “It’s good to meet you, beach girl.” He pumped his eyebrows.
Lucian’s grip on my hand tightened and I felt a gentle tug toward his side. “Luca, this is Charlie.”
“Hi. I remember you from Grace’s party,” I said like a damn imbecile.
Charlie placed his hand on his chest and bowed. “Of course. The party of parties.” He straightened then shrugged. “So fucking boring, no offense.”
I chuckled. “Oh, none taken.”
Lucian gestured to another of their friends as they walked in from the living room. “This is Nate.”
Nate held his hand up and jerked it at the wrist in a wave. “Hey.”
“I should tell you that they’re the ones who found out what Grace did.”
My eyes flew from Lucian to the two standing there picking at chips in a huge bowl. “You did? Thanks.”
“The pleasure was ours,” Charlie said, while crunching chips in his mouth. “You need info, we get it. No questions asked.”
“Um”—I glanced to Lucian again, then Charlie—“I’ll bear that in mind.”
“You never know what you might need to find out, beach girl,” he said. “Someone at school giving you shit? Drag up theirs and threaten to spread it around like the finest fertilizer.”
I burst out laughing. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
Nate snorted and shook his head. “Leave her alone, she obviously doesn’t need to dig anything up.”
Charlie picked up the chips and walked away. “Just saying, Nate, you don’t have to be an ass.”
Nate rolled his eyes and then followed him. “He loves me really.”
The second they left, Lucian stood in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me close. “Is it okay that they’re here?”
“Of course.”
He rubbed his nose against mine, then brushed his lips softly over my mouth. “I could tell them to go, but then we’d be all alone in this big house again.”
His words caused shivers to run down my spine and my thighs to press together. “This is a big house, so I don’t think privacy would be a problem.”
“Damn it, Luca,” he growled, holding me so tight my breasts pressed against him, his hard muscles flexing against me. “You’re going to cause so much fucking trouble for me—for us.”
I breathed sharply when his hands smoothed down my back toward my ass. “Then tell me to go.”
His steely eyes bore into mine with an intensity that scared the life out of me. The danger behind them flashed for just a moment, but I saw it, and I fucking wanted it no matter the cost.
He licked his lips and then spoke with a tone that shoved any doubt away. “Not a fucking chance, Luca.”
“Are you coming in here, or what?”
I didn’t recognize the voice, but whoever it was had Lucian dropping his hands right before he could cup my ass.
“Yeah, keep your panties on, Brady.”
“He’s gonna take them off and twirl them around his head if you don’t get your ass in here!” another voice called out.
Lucian closed his eyes as though cringing. “You remember Blaine?” My neck warmed, the heat working its way to my face. “I take that as a yes.”
Of course I did. The dreams where Lucian and I had taken the places of him and Cadence had happened more than once. So, yeah, I remembered him.
When I tipped my chin, he released me and jerked his head toward the living room.
“Chips, dips, rock n’roll,” Blaine said. “The cleaner version, as there are ladies present.” He watched as I walked down the steps behind Lucian. “Hello again.” He licked his lips and pumped his eyebrows. “The last time we met—”
“Please don’t remind me, Blaine, I’m already scarred for life.”
The guys laughed and Charlie shoved him from where he was sitting beside him. “You still haven’t learned to lock doors, huh?”
Blaine held his hands out. “When you’re in a rush to get down, you kinda forget.”
“Blaine,” Lucian warned and sat next to Charlie. He made room for me at the end.
“Not a word.” Blaine pretended to lock his lips and throw away the key. “But just one thing, are we going out tonight, or are we heading downstairs?”
“Do what the fuck you like.”
Brady stood from the armchair. “I’m gonna go downstairs and rack up the pool table. If any of you wanna join me, then go fuck yourself.” He looked at me, then Lucian. “The more the merrier, but we only have four cues, so two will have to sit out each time.”
We all stood, and while the three friends walked through the doorway at the other end of the room while talking, Brady stayed put, blocking us.
He glanced back and forth between us a few times before he spoke. “Let’s get one thing straight, your names are too fucking similar. I’ll have to come up with something to call you.”
I smiled. “Don’t you call him dimples?”
Brady laughed. “Not within earshot of the others. If they heard that, Lucian would hang me by my balls.” He walked away, chuckling to himself.
“I really would,” Lucian said, holding me back while Brady followed the others. “What Grace said about them—”
“I seriously don’t care,” I cut in. “I can make my own mind up about people, Lucian, and if they’re nice to me, then I have no problem with them.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “They wanted to be very nice to you.” He hooked my chin and tilted my head back. “That’s the problem.” He rubbed his thumb across my lower lip, and I parted them automatically, his gaze zeroing in on my mouth.
I held my breath as he lowered his to mine, waiting for the kiss, but it never came. I opened my eyes to see Lucian staring at me, so close, but so far away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he whispered. One kiss, firm, soft, and knee trembling all at the same time pressed against my lips. “We should go, because they’ll come back for me if we don’t.” As if right on cue, our names were hollered and demanded we get our asses down there.
Lucian led me out of the living room into the wide hallway. We took a right across the white marble tiled floor, and through an open door. Steps led down as though we were heading under the kitchen where voices grew louder and louder.
“It’s about time, Nate’s almost done with this set,” Charlie said, gesturing to Nate as he potted another two striped balls. “You know how he gets when he’s focused.”
I watched in awe as Nate cleared up, leaving a defeated Charlie hanging his head with his hair flopping in front of his eyes.
“Game?” Nate asked, staring at me while he chalked his cue.
“Uh, no thanks. I’ll just watch.” I scanned the large square room and saw a huge leather sofa in the corner, the black seats fitting the angle.
Blaine smiled slowly, but one side lifted higher. “Sure? I bet you’re fun to play with.” Lucian stepped away from me and Blaine ran around the other side of the table. “Come on, dude, take a fucking joke.”
“He could take you any day,” I said, smiling sweetly, and all heads whipped to me, “so I’d watch your mouth.”
Brady put down the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back his hand. “I like her.”
“So does Lucian, funnily enough,” I fired back, making him grin.
Nate racked the balls on the table. “Who’s next then?”
“Me,” Blaine said, taking the cue from Charlie. “I’m gonna break
your balls, Nate. I hear you like that, you dirty boy.”
Nate snorted. “Keep running your mouth, dick, and I’ll show you broken balls.”
Lucian rolled his eyes and tugged my hand to follow him. He sat in the corner of the sofa, pulling me down onto his lap. He rested his arm over my legs, his fingertips skimming my outer thigh. He worked over my skin in circles and goosebumps broke out in that area. I leaned against his hard body, draping my arm on the back rest. He gave me a once over, unhurriedly, taking in my black and white shirt, my tank, and my denim shorts. His tongue darted out when he got to my legs.
I swallowed hard, then cleared my dry throat. “Are they always like this?” I asked, looking pointedly at the guys.
He sighed. “Right now, yeah.”
I turned my head to him. “And other times?”
His eyes flicked to them and then back at me. “You don’t need to worry about that. As long as we’re all together—like this—this is who we are.”
“And when you’re not together?”
His brows creased in the center before he spoke again. “Blaine…has his quirks, and Charlie, as you know, is the go-to for info.”
“And Nate?”
Lucian and I stared at him for a moment, watching him hit a ball into a pocket with so much accuracy, it was as though he’d used some advanced mathematical calculation for precision. “Nate helps Charlie out most of the time, but even he has his own thing away from us.” His hand flattened on my thigh and slid up my leg to the hem of my shorts, his fingers tucking slightly under the band, making my pulse race.
“What are you talking about over there?” Blaine called out.
“You.” I placed my hand on my chest and gasped. “You’re a stripper?” I asked him, and his eyes bugged. “Blaine, I knew you were a little eccentric, but I never would’ve guessed you flashed for cash.”
His surprise phased into a wicked grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief, and I immediately regretted my joke. “You know it, baby. I’m not just a hot blond with an ass that won’t quit.” He twisted his body and slapped his behind. “This is the money maker right here.” He began rolling his body and running his hands down his torso and toying with the hem of his white t-shirt as though ready to whip it off. “Oh, yeah. They can’t get enough of this.”
“Please, don’t give him ammo,” Lucian said into my ear. “He can twist almost anything for his own benefit.”
“I won’t,” I replied, shielding my eyes when he jumped up on the wooden table to the others’ protests. “I’m sorry I opened my mouth.”
Once Charlie and Brady had wrestled a laughing Blaine before he could perform his one-man striptease, Nate put his cue away and checked his beeping phone. “Gotta go, guys,” he said, putting it back in his pocket. “It was nice to meet you, Luca.”
My jaw hung open at his sincerity. He seemed sweet, almost quiet, but something behind his eyes said the complete opposite. “Yeah, you too,” I replied while watching him leave.
Charlie checked his watch. “I gotta head out, too.” He took keys out of his pocket and thumbed to the door. “Blaine, you know what we have to do.”
Blaine saluted and followed Charlie out, shaking his ass as he went. He winked at me, then disappeared up the stairs. “Bye, kids, don’t wait up. Daddy’s gotta get that paper.”
Brady walked over to us. “Listen, I’m gonna head out with the guys, okay? Charlie will drop me afterward.”
A look passed between the brothers, then Lucian gripped my waist, lifting me off his lap as he stood. “Just make sure his leash is short and locked down,” he urged. Brady nodded once, then rushed off after them.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that you were right by saying Blaine’s eccentric.” He took my hand and led me past the empty pool table and to the stairs. “Sometimes he needs to be watched carefully, or he could get himself into trouble.”
“The kind I can’t know about?”
Lucian stopped and turned, a few feet from the top. “Trust me, it’s better that way.”
“I do trust you,” I said, and I meant it. I don’t know how or why, but I trusted Lucian with my life. He’d saved it; he’d earned that right.
We were all alone, the big empty house deadly silent without the guys’ voices filling it. Lucian led the way up the stairs and to his room. No words were exchanged until the door was closed, shutting us in to our private bubble, and the nervousness that had left in the presence of the other guys was back with a vengeance. My quivering knees just about got me to the insanely comfortable chair so I could drop down onto the soft cushion. I set my purse down on the floor.
“Is it okay if we sit in here?” he asked after a long moment had passed. “I didn’t even think—
“It’s totally fine,” I rushed out, my voice higher than usual. I’d wanted to come up here to begin with, my plan for the evening firm in my mind. But, now that we were finally alone, I wasn’t as brave as I thought I would be.
Lucian sat next to me, crossing his arm behind my back. My first instinct was to lean against it, to turn into him and get right back to what were doing the last time I was there, but my throat began to close over while my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest. I was getting too warm, the heat seeming to start in my feet and rising up my legs.
I slipped off my boots, my socks going with them, and pushed them to the side with my foot, trying to cool down. It did absolutely nothing because the second Lucian’s eyes worked down the length of my legs, it intensified.
“I’m sorry, I’ll put them back on,” I said, reaching down to grab them.
He gripped my arm, stopping me. “No, you don’t have to,” he said, his voice thick. “Just, uh, that’s all, okay?”
I gazed into his pained eyes. “Why?”
“Luca,” he ground out.
I didn’t wait for him to make the first move this time. I leaned into him, my mouth covering his, my hand cupping his jaw. I parted my lips, pressing harder, licking into his mouth and then sucking on his lower lip.
A rumble sounded from his chest, spurring me on. I pushed myself against him, running my fingers into his hair and gripping tightly, tilting my head to get closer to him.
Lucian’s hands held my waist, his grip increasing. “Luca,” he whispered against my mouth.
I didn’t give him any time to say anything else. I shut him up with my kisses while I smoothed my other hand over his chest, his muscles solid, tensed and defined under my palm. The burning inside of me spread out, the flames burning hotter in my core. I took a deep breath then pulled every ounce of courage I had to make a bold move.
Without breaking our kiss, I pushed up, turning my body and lifting my right leg over his, straddling his thighs. Lucian’s hands left my waist and stroked down, down, until his hands gripped my ass. He squeezed, groaning into my mouth as he did, his tongue lashing around mine like something had set him off. I held him tight to me, my breasts aching and my nipples tight. His hands ran from my ass, down my legs, and back up.
They didn’t stop there. Up he continued, and with it, my heart rate. The higher he climbed, the harder my chest thumped. When he skimmed over my ribs, I stopped breathing just as his thumbs touched the sides of my breasts.
“Stop,” he said, breathlessly. “We have to stop.”
I looked down at him, the war in his eyes going back and forth, neither side declaring victory. “Why?”
“Luca,” he said lifting me off him with ease and setting me down on my feet. I stepped away from him, backing up toward his huge bed.
The blue covers hit the back of my knees, and I lifted my leg to get on the bed, sinking into the mattress as I went. My bold movement earlier was nothing compared to what I was attempting. I let my shirt fall away from my shoulders and down my arms. Lucian stared hard, watching every little thing I did, his eyes following the path of my shirt as it lowered.
He snapped his eyes closed. “What are you doing?” he gritted out.
/> My stomach sank, a lump rising to my throat. “You don’t want me?” I whispered. Everything he did, the way he touched me, the way he kissed me…
“Luca, fuck, you know I fucking do.” He stood quickly, proving exactly that. The front of his jeans bulged, the fabric straining from the long object behind it. “But not like this, not because…” He clenched his fists and his jaw. “You don’t owe me anything.”
I dropped my head, not able to meet his eyes. He thought I was willing to give myself to him because of what happened on the beach? Oh, god. I slipped my arms back into my shirt, trying to hold back my embarrassment from spilling down my face.
“Wait.”
I paused, lifted my head, and saw he’d run his hands roughly through his hair. The strands were mussed, but it only made him look sexier, like I was the one that done that to him. Passion taking over and gripping onto him tightly. “What?”
“You have to be sure, Luca,” he stated, his expression hard and boring into me, and fuck if I didn’t like it. “This”—he gestured back and forth—“will happen eventually—I fucking guarantee it, but not because you feel like you have to, or you owe me.”
“I do owe you,” I countered, and when I noticed his attention being drawn back to my tight nipples, I let my shirt slip again. “But I would never pay with my body, Lucian. I want you, I came here tonight to prove that, so here I am, ready, waiting… You said I’m yours,” I gripped the bottom of my tank and yanked it over my head, showing my pink lace bra, “so why don’t you come here and take it?”
When Lucian didn’t move and just remained transfixed on me, I dropped my hands to my waistband and popped the button on my shorts, then smoothed my fingers around to lower them, exposing a little of my matching panties.
Lucian scrubbed his hands down his face. He blew out a breath, then his eyes snapped to mine, all worry and torment gone from his face. “Take them off, Luca,” he demanded, his voice low and dominant. I took a sharp breath. “Right fucking now—I’m not asking. If I say no, I’m going to fucking regret letting you walk out of here. So. Take. Them. Off.”
