by Linda Warren
Lucas stepped farther into the room and held out his hand. “Can I have this dance?” he asked in a low vibrant voice that made her senses spin wildly.
Blair placed her hand in his and he drew her close, wrapping his other arm around her waist. Cheek to cheek, heart to heart, they moved slowly around the room. The music ended, but they didn’t notice. They kept dancing.
Blair thought if she died at this moment, she would die a happy woman. She was in Lucas’s arms. That was all she wanted. She lost herself in the moment, in him.
She felt light as a feather in his arms and he breathed in the fragrant scent of her hair and silky skin. He wondered if she knew how much he wanted her—how much….
Her fingers caressed the hair at his neck, beneath the collar of his jacket. When he felt her touch, his movements became slower and slower until they were both standing still.
He gazed into her eyes. “If I don’t kiss you soon, I’m going to go out of my mind.”
She smiled, stood on tiptoe and met his lips with an urgency that took his breath away. His hands tangled in her silky hair as his mouth opened over hers in a sensuous rhapsody. They both took and gave…until it wasn’t enough.
Lucas groaned and rained kisses from her mouth to the hollow of her neck. “God, Blair, I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so much it’s killing me.”
She drew back, wondering if she’d heard him correctly, but she knew she had. There was no mistaking those words.
Her eyes sparkled like diamonds. “I love you, too,” she answered in a shaky voice. “That’s why I came back. I couldn’t stand to be without you another day.”
He let out a long breath, not even realizing he’d been holding it in. “I want you so much, but I know that you—”
She knew what he was going to say and she silenced him by placing her finger over his lips. She took his hand, leading him to the rug by the fire. She knelt and pulled him down beside her and slipped his leather jacket off his shoulders. Her eyes were like blue embers and all he could see in them was himself.
She pulled the white sweater over her head and unsnapped her bra in one easy movement. Lucas caught his breath at her beauty and reached out to touch her. He softly kissed one breast, then the other. The fire blazed behind them, but it had nothing to do with the heat that consumed them. In a matter of minutes, their clothes became a hindrance they quickly disposed of. As Lucas urged her down, the firelight made her skin warm and golden, and he couldn’t stop touching her.
Blair sighed softly as his hands traveled from her breast to her stomach and lower. His hands were gentle and tantalizing and she wanted more. She pulled his head back to her mouth, needing that sustenance now.
As his mouth took hers, he parted her legs with his knee. He shifted his weight to accommodate her. She felt his arousal against her thigh; it was strong and sure and she wanted him inside her. She wanted to feel everything she knew he could make her feel.
“Lucas,” she moaned, and her hands moved over the hard muscles of his chest, reveling in the dark hair that curled to his flat stomach. Tentatively her hands sank lower, and at her touch Lucas groaned. He had waited so long for her and he didn’t know if he could hold back any longer.
“Lucas,” she moaned again. That sound told him so many things, and he knew the moment was right. He entered her slow and easy. She felt that first stab of discomfort, then so many other pleasurable emotions burst through….
“Lucas, Lucas, Lucas!” she cried out.
Lucas moved inside her with a need that equaled her own and soon joy, pleasure and unbelievable ecstasy welded their bodies into one. The fire flickered around them, and they lay entwined in the afterglow.
Lucas kissed her softly, easing his weight from her. “Okay?” he asked.
She smiled and couldn’t seem to stop smiling. With his gentleness, he’d made the experience more than she’d ever dreamed about—just as she’d known he would. And she loved him for it. “What do you think, Counselor?”
He buried his face in the sweet hollow of her neck. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life and I’m so glad you came home. I couldn’t stand it another day.”
“Me, neither.” She kissed the side of his face. “I was afraid we’d never get to this point. So many other things were standing in the way.”
He raised his head. “But not anymore.”
“Not anymore,” she agreed.
He caressed her arm. “We probably need to talk.”
She shook her head. “Not tonight. Tonight is for loving.”
“But I need to tell you something.”
She took a quick breath and asked, “What?” She felt a moment of trepidation, but it quickly vanished. She sensed that Lucas wanted her to know everything about him—but she already did. However, she was unprepared for the words that came out of his mouth.
“I’m a jealous man.”
Her eyes widened in amusement.
“I never realized it before I met you, but I’m jealous of every man who gets near you—even Blake. That’s why I reacted so strongly when you told me about Ava’s secret. I was hurt that I wasn’t the most important man in your life.”
“Oh, Lucas,” she cried, entwining her legs with his and running her hand over the hard planes of his chest. “It wasn’t about my love for you. It was—”
“You don’t have to explain.” He caught her hand and kissed her fingers. “I understand now.”
She gazed into his dark eyes, knowing that he did and loving him so much her heart ached. “You don’t have any reason to be jealous. For me, other men don’t exist. I love you and only you.” As she said the words, her lips met his in a long, lingering kiss.
Lucas pulled her on top of him, their naked skin fusing warm and invitingly in all the right places. Blair sighed. “Since we’re on the subject. I’m jealous, too—jealous of all those other women before me.”
Lucas groaned and wished he could change the past. But the past had shaped him into the man he was today and he knew Blair wouldn’t want him any other way.
He smoothed her hair away from her face. “I promise you one thing. You are the last—for now and forever. You have my heart, my body…and my soul. That’s something I never gave to another woman.”
“Oh, Lucas.” They kissed passionately, love and need sizzling brightly through their veins. Blair felt his hardness against her and she drew back, a smile of wonder on her face.
“Shameful, isn’t it?” He laughed, and urged her onto her back. “But I want you again…and again…and again….”
Some time later, Lucas drew the blanket over them, tucked Blair into his side and wrapped a leg around hers. Two spirits, two souls, merged as one, and the trauma of the past faded into the promise of the future.
EPILOGUE
One year later
“LUCAS,” the bloodcurdling cry echoed down the hospital corridors.
The hair on Lucas’s arms stood up, and the hand Blair was holding had gone numb. With his free hand, he used a towel to blot the sweat from her forehead. “Breathe, honey. Remember the breathing exercises.”
Blair panted and tried to relax, but the pain was too severe—too excruciating. “I can’t do this, Lucas. I can’t. I don’t know anything about babies. What were we thinking?”
Lucas lost his voice for a moment. The labor was long, and he couldn’t stand to see her like this, in so much pain, and he didn’t think he could take much more. How did Jacob do this five times? More to the point—how did Miranda?
“Mrs. Culver, it’s easy,” the nurse said. “You just love babies. That’s all you have to do. And the pain will ease up as soon as the medication takes effect.”
“Deep breaths,” Lucas encouraged, and saw that she was beginning to relax. The medicine was helping. Thank God.
“We have to choose names,” Blair said between breaths. “Our babies are going to be here any minute.” They knew they were having twins—it had been a shock to both of them.
They hadn’t wanted to know the sex of the babies, so they didn’t have firm decisions on names.
“Let’s just get them here first, because at the moment my mind is one big mess,” Lucas said.
Blair glanced at him and saw his tousled hair and worried expression. He wore a T-shirt and jeans and nothing else. He’d thrown on clothes at the first contraction and had practically flown them to the hospital. Luckily they lived in Lucas’s house, which wasn’t far away. They were in the process of remodeling the farmhouse, which Uncle Howard and Ava had given them as a wedding present. They had decided to raise their family in sunshine, fresh air and happiness.
“Are you all right?” Blair asked.
“No,” Lucas admitted honestly. “But I will be as soon as we bring these babies into the world.”
“We’re going to be parents, Lucas. Parents. I’m not ready. Oh-oh-oh.” She bit down on her lip as a sharp contraction gripped her.
“Deep breaths,” he coached.
“Okay, okay.” She tried to control her breathing and noticed Lucas checking his watch.
She knew he was waiting for Jacob. They’d called Jacob and Miranda as soon as they got to the hospital, but their place was so far away and they had five children. Still, Jacob had been there for every momentous event in Lucas’s life, and Lucas wanted him here when his babies were born.
“He’ll come,” she breathed between gasps. “He’ll make it.”
Lucas didn’t have to ask who she was talking about. He knew. Sometimes they could read each other’s minds. “It’s one in the morning and I told him just to wait until later when everyone’s awake.”
“He’ll be here,” she said, knowing the bond that Lucas and Jacob shared. Nothing was going to keep Jacob away. She knew exactly how Lucas felt; she wished, too, that Blake could be here.
Reading her mind this time, he said, “Honey, he’s in California. He said he’d get here as soon as he could, and your parents are on the way.”
“I know,” she said weakly. “These babies would have to come early just to confuse everyone.” She breathed quick, short breaths. “I’m so proud of Blake and everything he’s done with his life, but I thought once he decided to come back to the States we’d see more of him.”
“Yeah, I’m proud of him, too. He’s doing what he has to do, and I admire him for that,” Lucas said, wiping sweat from her forehead.
Blake now worked for a government agency that was fighting drugs in schools. Blake traveled all over the country talking to kids, telling them his story, trying to keep other teenagers from making the mistakes he had.
She touched his face and tried to smile, but the pain seized her. She took a long breath and said, “I’m proud of you, too.”
He kissed her hand. It had taken him a while to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. At first he just wanted to spend every moment with Blair, and he had. They’d talked, shared, loved, but he’d known he’d have to make some decisions. Then Sam retired and it helped Lucas make up his mind. He hammered out a deal, and Logan and Associates was now Logan, Culver and Associates. He was able to choose his cases and worked when he wanted to. In the near future, he knew that wasn’t going to be very much.
“Oh, God,” Blair screamed as her body convulsed with pain.
The nurse checked her. “It’s not going to be long now. I’ll get the doctor.”
“Lucas,” Blair gasped. “I can’t do this. I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.” He kissed her trembling lips. “Concentrate and…”
The doctor walked in and examined her. “Okay, Blair, it’s showtime,” he said. “I want you to push, and push hard.”
Blair screamed, pushed and strained until she was exhausted. Lucas felt every pain and every agonizing breath.
“I see a head,” the doctor said.
Blair let out another bloodcurdling scream, and Lucas leaned over as their son slipped into the doctor’s hands. “Oh my God, Blair, it’s a boy. It’s a boy.” He was bloody, wet, red and wrinkled, but Lucas thought it was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
Lucas took their son from the doctor and laid him in Blair’s arms. “Oh, Lucas, he’s beautiful—so beautiful,” she whispered tiredly. She stared at the tiny miracle, touching his legs, arms, stomach and dark hair. Her breath lodged in her throat and tears welled in her eyes, and she knew it was worth all the agony, all the—
“Oh-oh-oh,” she cried as her body jerked in pain.
The nurse immediately took the baby and Lucas groaned as he prepared himself to do this again.
A strong contraction hit Blair and she cried out, gripping Lucas’s hand. “Lucas!” she screamed as the pain overtook her. In three minutes flat, their daughter arrived. Lucas placed her in Blair’s arms and the nurse brought back their son. Blair held both babies, tired and spent, but it would be a moment neither she nor Lucas would ever forget.
Both babies suckled, which felt strange to Blair, but so right and real at the same time. The nurse took them away to clean and dress them. Blair felt deprived and tears sprang to her eyes again.
Lucas crawled in beside her and put his arms around her. “Lucas,” she murmured in wonder. “We have two babies—a boy and a girl. They’re so beautiful.”
“I know.” He kissed her cheek.
Tears spilled from her eyes. “Do you know how much I love you?”
“Do you want me to count the ways?” He grinned.
“No, I want you to kiss me.”
His lips met hers tenderly. Just then, the nurse brought their babies back. One was wrapped in a pink blanket and a pink cap, the other in blue.
The nurse arranged the boy in Blair’s arms and the girl in Lucas’s. For a moment all they could do was gaze at the miracles they’d created. Their babies had dark hair and dark blue eyes.
“I hope they have your eyes,” Blair said.
“No way,” Lucas disagreed. “I want them to have their momma’s gorgeous eyes.”
“We’ll see,” Blair said smugly, knowing the odds were in her favor. “Now we have to give them names. What are we going to call them?”
Lucas thought for a minute, mulling over the names they had talked about. “Since Jacob took all the names on my side of the family, how about Samuel Lucas and Ava Olivia?”
Blair smiled. “That’s perfect.” Olivia was her grandmother’s name and she knew her parents would be pleased.
Lucas kissed the soft cheek of his new daughter. “She’ll be strong, independent and feisty like her mom, and we’ll probably wind up calling her Livvy.” The baby squirmed and threw her fist out in response.
“See, she likes it.” Lucas grinned.
Blair touched the face of her son. “We’ll call him Luke, and he’ll be a happy, well-adjusted young man with integrity and honor like his father.”
The nurse returned. “The waiting room is filling up,” she said. “There’s a handsome man who looks a lot like you.” She smiled at Lucas. “He has a beautiful wife and five well-behaved children. He just wanted me to let you know they were here.”
“Oh, honey, Jacob’s brought the family. I can’t wait for him to see these two.”
She leaned over, careful not to wake their son, and kissed her husband. “I told you.”
“And there’s a young man out there who bears a striking resemblance to you.” The nurse smiled again, this time at Blair. “Plus two very anxious parents.”
“Blake made it.” Blair beamed.
“Yeah,” Lucas murmured, drowning in the blue of her eyes. “Now everything’s perfect—just perfect.”
Two years later
TWO CHILDREN, a boy and a girl, played on a swing set their father had just installed under a big oak tree. The little girl eyed the big slide and decided to take a chance. She gingerly climbed the ladder, then slid down. She hit the ground with a thud and started to cry. The little boy ran to her and gave her a hug, but she pushed him away saying, “Me not hurt. Me not hurt.”
She then
marched back to the ladder, determined to try the slide again. The little boy was waiting at the bottom and he caught her as she came down. She didn’t want his help and she hit him. He hit her back, and they tumbled onto the grass fighting. Suddenly the little girl kissed the little boy; he ran away rubbing his face in disgust. The little girl chased after him laughing.
Blair watched her children from the kitchen window and smiled. Two strong arms slid around her waist and pulled her against a hard masculine body. Lucas kissed the scented hollow of her neck and asked, “What’re you doing?”
“Watching our children,” she replied, loving the way his body fit so perfectly against hers.
“And what are they doing?” he asked, glancing out the window.
Blair told him about the incident on the slide and she laughed. “Livvy’s just like you said she’d be—strong, independent and feisty. Luke is strong-willed, dedicated and loyal—just like you. They are so different from Blake and me at that age.”
He nuzzled her neck. “Why do you say that?”
She leaned back against him. “If I cried, Blake cried, too. If I pushed him, he never pushed back. Luke is very protective of Livvy, but he doesn’t let her take advantage. Luke gives as well as he gets. They both have such strong personalities. I just can’t figure out who’s the stronger twin.”
“Let’s not do that, honey,” Lucas said softly. “Let’s not put labels on them.”
“It’s hard,” she admitted, unable to believe that she was doing exactly what her parents had done to her and Blake. She was comparing her children. Her mother had said she wouldn’t understand until she had children of her own. Ava was right; Blair understood now. She wanted Luke to be everything Lucas wanted him to be and she shouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that. Luckily, she had Lucas to help her. She and Lucas would not make the mistakes her parents had made. His next words proved it.
