Her body was already on fire, and her heart melted at his words. “Come here,” she whispered.
He slid onto the bed beside her, his erection gliding over her hip, the tip dampening her skin. He pressed a soft kiss to her collarbone, licking her flesh, working his way lower, until he reached her full breasts.
He cupped one in his hand and pulled her nipple into his mouth, suckling on the sensitive tip until her hips rose on the bed, an aching emptiness between her thighs.
He braced one hand on her lower belly, holding her down, and continued teasing the tight bud, first one nipple, then the other, until she was writhing and moaning with unrestrained need.
“You aren’t playing fair,” she said on a shaky breath.
“Just taking my time and enjoying.” He kissed the tip of one breast, then the other, then moved lower, his lips trailing a moist path directly to her sex.
“Lucas,” she groaned.
“Taking my time,” he reminded her, his mouth coming down directly on her sex, his tongue sliding over her outer lips.
“Oh God.”
He chuckled, his warm breath continuing his deliberately playful arousal. And he didn’t pause in his ministrations. He licked, teased, nipped, and soothed his way around her pussy. He speared her body with his tongue, and she arched her hips in a futile attempt to pull him deeper inside her.
She grasped his hair and held his face down, unable to stop herself as she ground herself against his mouth. And he continued to devour her without stopping, until her climax hit hard, taking her up and over the peak. Wave after wave of pleasure swept through her, and his mouth latched on to her clit as she came, the orgasm seeming to go on forever.
She finally collapsed against the bed in a spent heap. Until she heard the sound of the condom wrapper crinkling, and her body came alive once more.
She opened her eyes just as Lucas came over her, his large body dwarfing hers, his huge erection poised at her entrance.
“I dream about you, open for me just like this.”
Her cheeks flushed at his frank talk. “Lucas.”
“Yes, beautiful. It’s me.” And as he spoke, he thrust deep, his solid erection taking her, owning her as he pulsed inside her.
His gaze met hers, warm and full of emotion, as he slid out slowly, her inner walls feeling every hard ridge and solid inch of his erection, before pushing back inside her completely.
“How is it you’re so fucking tight every time? You feel so good, so perfect for me.”
Her heart quivered, and emotion lodged in her throat, his words as potent and heartfelt as the feel of his body inside hers.
Instead of picking up the pace and taking her hard, he opted for a slow, rocking motion inside her, his stare hot and serious on hers.
With every roll of his hips against hers, a delicious quaking began to overtake her body. “Oh God, Lucas,” she cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
“I feel it too,” he assured her, his hands braced on the mattress, his hips in charge of her pleasure… and his, if the low groan from his chest and the tight pull of his lips were any indication.
His hips began a steady thrusting that sent her spiraling higher and higher until her orgasm hit, her body soaring outside itself, pleasure all she knew.
He let go then, a steady series of thrusts continuing the bliss that had overtaken her until he came with a groan, pumping into her over and over until he collapsed on top of her, his cheek nestled against hers, his breath rough and hard in her ear.
“I love you, Maxie.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest, and she couldn’t have stopped the words that followed if she wanted to. “I love you too, Lucas.”
“Thank fuck.”
Somehow she laughed, even as she shoved at his shoulders. “I can’t breathe.”
He pushed himself up and off her, rolling to the side, facing her. “You can’t take it back.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “Who says I want to?” she asked.
But she couldn’t stop the feeling of panic filling her chest, practically suffocating her. Because the last time she’d given herself up to this feeling of happiness, she’d been pregnant, and it had been cruelly taken away from her. And no matter how much love she felt for this man, she didn’t trust the feeling. Not for an instant.
Chapter Ten
Maxie woke up queasy again, but today she ignored the nausea as best she could, focusing instead on the plan to get rid of the flash drive. She and Lucas hoped Vincent Bernardi would be waiting outside as he had been most mornings. With luck, this was the last time they’d see the man again. She gathered her courage as she dressed for work, admitting that the bulk of her bravery stemmed from the fact that she wouldn’t be alone when she faced Bernardi. Lucas would be by her side.
And to his credit, he didn’t try and convince her to let him handle the handoff on his own despite his feelings on the matter. Her respect for him multiplied each time he allowed her the space to grow and to be herself. Each time he proved how different he was from his brother.
She couldn’t deny she loved the man. Considering the depth of her feelings for him for years, she hadn’t had a long way to fall. Trusting the feelings was another story, but all she could do was take things one day at a time and hope nothing happened to cause a seismic shift in the happiness she was currently experiencing.
“Ready?” Lucas asked as they met up at the front door.
“As I’ll ever be.” She held out the USB drive.