The Heartbreaker

by Maddie James

  Lucki didn’t care. She was being held. Caressed. By Sam. Nothing else at this moment mattered. Nothing else.

  After a while, Sam pushed her forward, away from his chest. “Lean up, honey. Let me wash your hair.”

  Reluctantly, not wanting to leave his warmth, Lucki did. She leaned forward, then dipped her head backward, letting her hair fall away from her head, as Sam dipped water over her hair and let it fall in a cascade over him. Next, he lathered shampoo in his hands, tangled his fingers in her hair, and massaged the creamy lotion into her scalp.

  Lucki nearly had to lean back against him again. His fingers on her head, in her hair, felt so good, so relaxing, and very, very sensual. The pads of his fingertips massaged as he worked the lather through her hair. Never had she felt so pampered, so loved. Never, in a million years had she suspected Sam could be so unselfish.

  He took his time, threading his fingers through her tresses, gently massaging. Lucki closed her eyes. His hands and magic fingers slowly drifted from her scalp down to her neck where he gently kneaded her tired muscles. Then to her shoulders. She felt her head lulling to one side as his soap-covered fingers worked their way down the knotted kinks in her back.

  “Didn’t realize you were so tied up in knots,” he whispered as every aching cord, every hard lump of muscle became like putty in his hands.

  “I didn’t either,” she whispered back. “Sam, that feels so good.”

  He leaned closer. “And we’ve only just started, honey.”

  His breath was warm against her ear.

  She shivered.

  What seemed seconds later, Sam had rinsed her hair and body and had stepped out of the tub. He pulled her up as he did and held her hand as she stepped out.

  He drew her close and wrapped a large terry towel around the two of them. Their bodies meshed in warmth and wetness, he pulled her into a cocoon intended only for themselves. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek. She could feel the powerful heat of his groin, the weight of his sex against her belly. And she nuzzled closer into him as he once again, took control and toweled her hair and backside. Then, easing slightly away, they took turns toweling each other dry, never breaking eye contact. Not once. A strange sort of feeling washed over Lucki. Familiar. Desirable. And then again, so foreign. So new. She wanted to feel this over and over and over again.

  With Sam.

  Every time they made love.

  For the rest of their lives.

  God, she was hopelessly in love with him.

  He led her down the hall.

  In the bedroom, the muted flickerings of light cast a sort of medieval romance about the room. Sam stepped to the bed, picked up the black negligee, and returned to her. He placed it over her head and slowly drew it down over her body. When finished, he stood back. Admiring her. It felt so unusual to be the object of such doting.

  “You are so beautiful, Lucki.”

  His eyes greeted hers then and she watched him smile.

  “I love you,” he whispered. “You know that, don’t you? And I wanted you to know that before things went any further.”

  She dipped her head in a nod, suddenly feeling very shy and naive. “Yes, I know that.”

  “You are so sexy.”

  Glancing quickly down at herself, Lucki shrugged. “Just a night gown. . ”

  He stepped forward then, grasped her hand, and turned her toward her dresser mirror. Standing behind her, he reached around and clasped his hands about her waist. “Look at you, Lucki. You’re beautiful. Sexy. And mine.”

  Something indescribable tripped through her then at lightning speed. She looked. And she watched. And she could only feel as Sam’s hands moved along the curves and contours of her body. Along her hips. Up the sides to her breasts. Cupping them. And then down again to her belly, cupping her bottom, and then her aching mound. She wanted his touch. Wanted him.

  All the while, she watched his face. The look there as he nibbled on her neck. And then a few seconds later, as his eyes met hers in the mirror while he touched her intimately. Then the negligee was gone. Whipped over her head in a flash. And his hands were on her skin doing the same as before. She felt more aroused than she’d ever felt in her entire life. Watching him touch her in the mirror was nearly her undoing.

  Turning, she drew into him and placed her hands on either side of his face. Kissing him, like she’d never kissed him before, she could only think of how wonderful his kisses were going to be for the rest of her life. Waking with kisses like this. Going to bed with kisses like this. Stealing kisses like this throughout every day.

  How could a girl get so lucky?

  “Lucki. .the bed,” Sam croaked. And before he could say it twice, they were there. He covered her. Rained kisses over her. And she let him take his fill. Her hands explored. As did his. And within seconds they were joined is explicit ecstasy. Lucki took him inside, knowing that at last she had found her love. He rocked her. Right to her very center. And she loved being filled by him. When she exploded around him, and he shuddered in release, she knew it was only the beginning for them. All this time. All the years they’d know each other.

  It was only the beginning.

  And it was. Just the beginning of a long, wonderful night full of sensuality, emotion, touching, tasting, exploring. Sleep eluded them for most of it.

  Of course, they never got to the champagne and strawberries.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Lucki!”

  Someone was shouting at her. From far at the end of a very long tunnel. The voice was familiar, yes, but she couldn’t quite distinguish. .

  “Lucki!”

  Groggily, she turned over. Felt something stop her. And had to think about that a minute. Something was in her bed. Something large, hard, warm, and.. male.

  “Lucki! I know you’re in here! You’re truck is outside!”

  Footsteps started down the upstairs hallway.

  “Have you seen Sam? He’s not at home.”

  Sam? Sam?

  Lucki opened her eyes. Looked to her left. There he was. Sam. Zonked out beside her, his arms wrapped around one of her pillows, his mouth a little droopy, a soft snore filtering from his nose. Damn. Sam. In her bed.

  God, they’d practically worn each other out the night before.

  Reality hit her.

  The footsteps stopped outside her bedroom door.

  She bounded up, taking a blanket with her. “J.J.? Don’t come in! I’m getting dressed!”

  “You’re late, you know that?”

  Damnation! Lucki’s gaze swept the room. Damnation! She looked at her sleeping Sam. Oh God! J.J. couldn’t find him here like this!

  Late? Late?

  “Have you seen Sam, Lucki?” he called through the door.

  Yes, she’d seen him. All of him.

  “Hold on, J.J., I’ll be right out.”

  “Well, he was supposed to have picked me up from Spud’s early this morning so I could go with you to Peabody. It’s after nine. I guess he forgot and went on to the office. You going into Peabody today?”

  Lucki stopped mid-motion. Peabody?

  She glanced at the clock. Nine-thirty-two. Hell’s bells. It’s Wednesday! She was supposed to have been at work at eight!

  “Hold on. . ”

  Racing across the room, she grabbed panties. .bra. .t-shirt. .shorts. .socks. . shoes. . And donned what she could.

  Sam. Damn. She had to wake him.

  The phone rang.

  Oh, shit.

  J.J. pounded on the door. “Lucki are you coming? ‘Cause if you aren’t, me and Spud.. .”

  “Hold on J.J. . ”

  She picked up the phone. “Hello?”

  “Lucki? Kathleen here. Have you seen Sam this morning? He’s late for his nine-o’clock appointment. Hasn’t called in. Won’t answer his phone. I’m a little worried. Unlike him. Can you go check?”

  Double Damn. Kathleen, the town gossip. Now the whole world will know. Have to handle this carefull
y.

  “Kathleen. I’ll try. Call you back. Okay?” Suddenly, she was out of breath.

  “Lucki, you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. Just in a hurry. I’ll call.”

  “Okay honey. Just worried about him.”

  “Don’t. He’s okay. He’ll call in a bit, I’m sure.”

  She hung up the phone.

  Sheesh. .

  She turned to Sam.

  J.J. knocked on the door again. “Lucki? What are you doing in there? Are you going to Peabody or not

  ‘cause Spud and me. . ”

  Lucki kneeled on the bed and stroked Sam’s cheek. “In a minute!”

  “Sam. .” She leaned closer and whispered into his ear. “Sam, darling, you have to get up.”

  He mumbled something.

  “Sam. You have to go to work.”

  He turned over and mumbled something else.

  “Sam.” She said it louder this time and shook him.

  He snorted.

  “Sam. You have to get up!” She was getting impatient. “Kathleen called. J.J.’s outside my bedroom door. And I’ve got to go to work. So do you. Sam. Wake up, dammit!” She was also getting frustrated. He roused a bit.

  Looked at her.

  Then smiling, reached up and pulled her down on top of him.

  She let him. Couldn’t help it.

  His kisses, so familiar now, took her by surprise, but literally melted her insides. His lips, soft, caressing, just about turned her into melted gelatin. She loved kissing him. Could kiss him all day. If only they didn’t have to go to work. .

  He flipped her then, rolling over on top of her, groaning. She groaned right along with him. Finally, he broke the kiss, looked into her eyes, and ran his fingers through the hair at her temples. “Good morning, lover,” he said in the most sexy voice.

  “Good morning to you,” Lucki croaked.

  He smiled, and stared into her eyes.

  Lucki smiled back.

  “You’re dressed.”

  “I know.”

  “I like you better naked.”

  “I’d rather be naked.”

  “Then why are you dressed?”

  “Because. . ”

  J.J. pounded on the door again. “Darn it, Lucki! What’s going on in there?”

  Then the phone rang again.

  Sam’s eyes grew large.

  “I have to get that.”

  “What the hell is going on here?” Sam glanced at the door and sat up.

  “Three ring circus. Feel lucky you’ve slept through part of it.” She grinned and reached for the phone. Then came pounding from downstairs.

  “Lucki, someone’s at your door downstairs,” J.J. called out.

  Lucki lifted the phone to her ear and rolled her eyes at Sam. “Hello?”

  Pinky blasted some incoherent sentences into her ear.

  “Lucki! Want me to get that door downstairs?”

  She lowered the phone. Sam started to reply to his brother. She stopped him with a hand over his mouth and a shake of her head. “Yes, J.J., please do that, okay?”

  Sam gave her a puzzled look.

  She returned to a still ranting Pinky.

  “Pinky, slow down. What’s wrong?”

  “Where in the hell are you? We had a board meeting this morning!”

  Oh hell, she’d forgotten.

  “Overslept, Pink. I’m on my way. Thirty minutes. Did Rick go ballistic?”

  “Rick always goes ballistic. Get your tail in here. Pronto. That’s not the half of it.”

  Geez. When it rains. .

  “I’m leaving now.”

  She replaced the receiver. Got up off the bed. Glanced nervously at Sam.

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  Lucki sat down on the floor to finish putting on her Nikes. She glanced back up at him. “Okay, in a nutshell. It’s Wednesday. Both of us are supposed to be at work. J.J. came looking for you when you didn’t pick him up at Spud’s this morning. Kathleen called a few minutes ago, you missed your nine o’clock. That was Pinky on the phone. I missed a board meeting and Rick is furious. You need to get out of here before J.J. gets back upstairs. And I have no idea who is at the front door.”

  He stared at her.

  “C’mon, Sam. Get up! Get dressed! And get home before J.J. gets back up here.”

  “Why do you want me out of here so quickly. I can leave after you leave with J.J.”

  She thought about that. “Maybe you should be home when J.J. goes back there, so he knows you are okay.”

  “You just don’t want people to know we slept together last night, do you?.”

  His words stunned her. But he was right. Not that she would admit that to him. She had barely admitted it to herself.

  “That’s ridiculous. I don’t think a twelve-year-old child needs to see his brother in his next door neighbor’s bed.”

  He pondered that. “All right. I’ll agree with you there.”

  She breathed a silent sigh of relief.

  “So. .get dressed okay?”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  He took his old good time about it.

  Long enough that she had time to ponder his statement. He was right. She didn’t want anyone to know they’d slept together last night. The whole town would know in a flash, and then everyone would consider them a couple, and wasn’t that really what she wanted anyway? Or was it?

  Did it matter that everyone in Freedom knew that they had made love?

  Yes, it did. Because she knew this small town. And from the git-go they would start making plans. Plans.

  All sorts of plans.

  For the two of them. The busybodies would have a heyday. Two of Freedom’s own. Childhood friends. Oh, what they would do with this at church. .

  Oh, God. Did she want that? Could she stand that? Could she handle that?

  Because, if all of Freedom knew about she and Sam, it would be official. And if it were official, then they would be an item.

  And if they were an item, then everyone would assume they would eventually get engaged. And if they were engaged, then they would eventually get married.

  And then more plans. And more plans. And more plans.

  But—if Sam, The Heartbreaker, decided that all the plans were too confining, too much for him to handle, too constricting, and then decided to break her heart as well, then all of Freedom would know that, too. And she would be the laughing stock. .or maybe, just the object of their pity for way too long. She couldn’t stand that.

  She had to be sure this was what Sam wanted. Forever. Before the whole of Freedom got wind of this situation.

  She wasn’t up for the humiliation. Or the public outpouring to console her potential heartache. Because buried back in the deep recesses of her mind, she wasn’t exactly sure. Wasn’t sure if Sam would want only her for the rest of his life.

  And secretly, she was anticipating, waiting, for the day he would break her heart. Again.

  No. She had to keep this quiet. For a while, at least. Until she knew for sure that Sam was totally devoted to her. That he would not break her heart. That he loved her unconditionally, wanted to be her life-long partner, and had mended all his heartbreaking ways for good.

  She had to keep it quiet.

  With Sam now dressed, she turned to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “See you later?” she whispered. Her hand rested on the doorknob. Her heart thrummed despite herself. She couldn’t help it. She loved him.

  He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “That little peck won’t do, Lucki.” He grinned and kissed her then. Fully. Passionately. Deeply. His mouth raking over hers. His tongue playing with hers. Wet. Sloppy. Juicy. And long.

  Her hand slipped off the doorknob and she put her arms around his neck to pull him even closer. She deepened the kiss.

  The door creaked open. She didn’t care.

  They finished their kiss.
/>   Then turned toward the hallway.

  J.J. and Kathleen stood there, mouths all agape, watching the entire kiss, she supposed, in surprised and utter silence.

  Damn. Double damn.

  Now her plan was ruined.

  * * * *

  Sam whistled as he stepped into his office and slapped down the last patient folder of the day. And a long day, it was. He’d managed to avoid the silent smirkings, the knowing evil little grins Kathleen had tossed him the remainder of the morning and the entire afternoon.

  He hadn’t spoken a word to her about the morning’s incident. Not even at Lucki’s house. Instead, he had excused himself with only a nod to Kathleen, a brotherly look to J.J., and a wink to Lucki. He watched Lucki’s eyes widen in embarrassment as he started down the hallway. He felt a little guilty leaving her to the explanations, but figured she could handle it. No one thought on her feet better than Lucki.

  Before long, he was back at his house, showering, and getting ready to leave for the office. He managed to avoid J.J. as his younger brother called good-bye to him through the shower curtain. He’d opted for a day of fishing with Spud instead of heading to Peabody with Lucki. He figured that was probably best, he knew Lucki had her own dilemma to handle at work.

  His patients would just have to understand. Sometimes, physicians have emergencies. And last night was definitely an emergency. He’d needed Lucki badly. He just might have exploded had he not made love to her when he did.

  And Lucki, damn, he’d had no idea how wonderful a lover she could be. Attentive. Daring. Wanting him. And he wanted her. Forever. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind. First chance he got, he was going to explain that to her. Thoroughly. Right after he loved her until she was too weak to protest or give him any lip about it. Then once he had her commitment, there was no way he would ever let her back out of it. Lucki Stevenson, the girl next door, was going to be his woman. His wife. And nothing, absolutely nothing in this world, could make him any more ecstatic. Nothing.

  He’d finally realized what had been under his nose all along.

  He loved Lucki.

  Always had. Always will.

  And that’s why none of those other women could ever keep his interest for long. None of those other women could ever compare to Lucki. His Lucki.