by Ashley Blake
His lips moved down to my jaw line and I rolled my head to the side giving him better access. His tongue made a trail up my neck to my lips and I laced my fingers through his hair as he traced my lips with his tongue.
“Mmm, you taste so good.” He murmured the words against my lips as one hand gently glided down my chest along the side of my breast. My breathing was heavy as I grabbed his muscular upper arms, trying to get closer to him. I wished so badly that we were in my bed so that I could feel the weight of him on top of me.
Lucas suddenly broke away, panting heavily. He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at me, lust brimming in his eyes.
“You’re driving me crazy, Sophie. We have to stop or I will take you right here in this car.”
I gave him a seductive look as I tossed my hair out of my eyes.
“Is that such a bad thing?”
A tiny smirk turned up the corner of his mouth and he looked sexy as hell as those blue eyes pierced mine with his hair tousled all over his head.
“You are bad, and I find that so sexy, but we'll have to wait.” He leaned in and gave me a soft peck that lingered for just a couple of seconds before looking at me. “I want you in my bed, not in my car.”
My belly was all aflutter and I couldn’t wait until that day came, but I had to pout…just a little.
“Okay, if you say so.”
He gently caressed my face with his finger. “It will be worth the wait, trust me.”
I had no doubt about that.
A deep sigh escaped my lips. “Okay, thanks again for dinner.”
He smiled at me. “You’re welcome. So, I will pick you up around 6:00 on Wednesday?”
I smiled back at him. “Yes.”
He opened my door for me and walked me inside, giving me a quick kiss goodbye. I was on cloud nine as I took the elevator up to my apartment and I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face.
Gigi was already home when I got there and she practically knocked me over as I opened the door. She grabbed my purse, put it on the table for me, then grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the couch.
Her eyes were wide and sparkling. “Tell me everything!”
I giggled as we collapsed onto the couch.
“First, tell me about your date. Do you like him?”
She rolled her eyes. “He was totally snore city. I don’t know how I stayed awake during dinner.”
“Well did you at least enjoy your meal?”
“Well yeah, Café Iberico is delish, but I definitely won’t be going out with him again. Okay, your turn.”
I hesitated and then a huge smile lit up my face.
“He is so awesome, we had the best time! It is so easy to talk to him, Gigi. I really like him.”
“I knew it! I knew you guys would hit it off. Aren’t you glad you didn’t blow him off?”
“Yes, thank you for pushing me to see him again. You were right.”
She held her hand to her ear. “What was that?”
I threw a pillow at her. “You were right, silly.”
She caught the pillow and hugged it as she grinned at me. “So, when do you see him again?”
“He is cooking dinner for me this Wednesday.”
“Oh wow, Sophie. Dinner at his place, huh? And he's cooking? He really likes you!”
“I hope so.”
We chatted for a bit and then turned in. I drifted off to sleep reliving every single minute of my date. Wednesday couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter 6
Wednesday morning I had a meeting with a prospective agent and I was somewhat of a basket case all day. The minutes seemed to crawl by and the agent droned on and on about something or another. I kind of felt sorry for her because that was the absolute worst day to try and sell me on why I should pick her. All I could think about was how much time was left before I could see Lucas’s gorgeous face again. I told the agent it was nice to meet her, I still had a few other people to talk to, but I would be in touch. My weekly entrepreneur meeting thankfully flew by that afternoon and I rushed home to get ready for my date.
Six o’clock finally rolled around Lucas arrived right on time. I was casual that night in jeans, a plain white fitted t-shirt, black pumps, and a black leather jacket. It was a gorgeous summer night so he picked me up on the motorcycle. I loved riding on that with him the most because I could wrap my arms around him and hold on tight.
His eyes lit up when he saw me, and he gave me a quick kiss.
“You look stunning, Sophie.”
“Thank you, you don’t look so bad yourself.” It was true, he was absolutely gorgeous. He was wearing jeans, a blue t-shirt, black motorcycle boots and a black motorcycle jacket. So damned sexy.
This time he had a helmet for me and for him and we made it to his place in no time. We pulled up to his building and he lived on the top two floors in one of the cool modern new construction buildings in Bucktown. When we walked into his place I was blown away, it was stunning. He had all modern furniture and the place totally looked like him, like what I thought he would pick as his place.
"I love your place, Lucas. It's really cool."
"Thanks. Let me give you a tour."
We walked throughout his place, each room decorated to perfection, and nothing was out of place. When we got to the first bedroom, the door was locked and he told he would be happy to show me the other rooms.
“Are you hiding an ex-girlfriend in there?” I was totally joking but his face suddenly got really serious.
“No, that is where I like to paint. It’s kind of a sanctuary for me so I don’t share it freely.”
I reached out and grabbed his hand and looked up at him, feeling bold. “Maybe one day you’ll share it with me.”
I could see something shift in his eyes and he smiled. “Maybe.”
He showed me the rest of his place and then we landed in his gorgeous gourmet kitchen. It was a kitchen most restaurants would kill for.
“Dinner should be ready in about 10 minutes. What can I get you to drink, beautiful Sophie?”
“I’ll have any kind of white wine you have.”
“Is Pinot Grigio okay?”
“It’s perfect, thank you.”
I was sitting at his gorgeous quartz breakfast bar and he placed the wine glass on the counter in front of me and poured for me. I watched his strong hands as he poured the wine and all I could think of was that I wanted to feel those hands all over my body.
He caught me staring and that sexy smirk showed up again. He poured a glass for himself and held my gaze as we clinked glasses.
“Cheers. Thank you for coming tonight.”
I smiled at him. “Thank you for inviting me.”
"So, how was your day?"
"I had a pretty good day. I met with a possible agent and I had my weekly young entrepreneurs meeting."
"How did it go with the agent? Did you like him or her?"
"She was nice but I didn't really click with her, so my search continues."
"Well my offer still stands Sophie, let me know if you want referrals."
"Okay, I will, thanks."
"So what is your entrepreneur meeting about?"
"We bounce ideas off of each other and give updates on our progress. It's a really supportive group and there is zero competition, which is nice."
"Sounds like a great thing. I'm really impressed with how driven and focused you are. A lot of people at your age are trying to figure out what they want to do and here you are with your plans all laid out. I love how fearless you are with your success."
"Thank you, I have always loved fashion so once I figured out that I could make money talking about what I love, it was a no brainer to figure out how to scale it up. With my bracelet line, I figure the sky's the limit, you know?"
"Absolutely."
His eyes searched mine as he hesitated and I could tell that he wanted to say something. I smiled softly at him so that he knew that whatever he had to say was okay.
> “You have been on my mind a lot this week, Sophie. I really like spending time with you.”
“I feel the same way.”
He leaned in and kissed me.
“What are you doing this weekend?”
“Gigi’s play opens Saturday night so I’m going to that.”
“Oh, really? Dex didn’t mention anything about that.”
“I don’t know if they’re really talking right now.”
“Huh, that explains a few things.”
“Yeah, like what?” My curiosity was piqued and I was totally just being nosy to get gossip to take back to Gigi.
“Ah, I’d rather not get into other people’s stuff. I want to focus on us.”
I liked the sound of that.
“So, can I tag along to the play with you on Saturday night?”
Of course he could but I was surprised that he wanted to go.
“Really? It’s a period piece and it’s long.”
“Believe it or not I love live theater, the length of the play won’t bother me one bit.”
I smiled at him. “You keep surprising me. I would love for you to come with me.”
“I’m not intruding on any plans you had, am I?” He looked concerned and it was very sweet.
“Not at all. I was going to meet a couple of friends there but I’ll just catch up with them during intermission. I’ll call them and let them know.”
“Do you have plans after the play?”
“Not really. Gigi will probably want to go to a club, do you want to come with us?”
“Actually, I want to invite you to a party that my buddy Matt is having. Gigi and your other friends are more than welcome to come with us.”
Gigi loved parties and I knew that she would probably say yes, and then I remembered that she was not talking to Dex.
“Will Dex be there?”
“Probably, do you think that will be a problem for her?”
“Um, well, I’ll have to talk to her about it. Can I let you know after I talk to her?”
“Sure. Let’s eat.”
I took my first bite of salmon and was completely caught off guard by the burst of flavor in my mouth. I swallowed and looked at him in amazement.
“Lucas, this is delicious!”
He smiled and winked at me. “Thank you.”
“You really are full of surprises. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Well hopefully I’m on the right track with you, so as long as I can have you, no, there is nothing I can’t do.”
I didn’t know what to say, I wasn’t used to a guy being so open with me about his feelings for me. His eyes searched mine and there was an intensity there that touched me in my core.
“Was that too forward Sophie? Because I meant it, I want you and I will do what I have to so that I can have you.”
Okay, completely tongue-tied now. What was I supposed to say? My mouth suddenly went dry.
“Finish your meal, I didn’t mean to make you lose your appetite.”
I looked at him and said what I knew he wanted to hear and what I knew would take things with us to the next level.
“You’re on the right track with me.”
His eyes searched mine and then a smile slowly grew. “Good.”
After dessert we relaxed on his couch with a glass of wine. He gently played with my hair and lightly caressed my neck as we chatted.
“When do you leave for New York?”
“Sunday morning, I’ll be back on Thursday. Do you have any plans that night?”
“No, not yet.” I took a sip of my wine. “Why? What’s up?”
“How does dinner and live music sound? My buddy is playing at Double Door that night.”
“It sounds great, what kind of music?”
“Funk with a bit of rock mixed in, they’re pretty good.”
“Cool, it sounds fun.”
“Okay, it’s a date.”
He continued to rub my neck and I rolled my head to the side so that he would know to rub there.
“That feels really good.”
I looked at him and smiled as our eyes held just long enough to signal a change between us. He leaned in toward me and covered my mouth with his. A gentle moan escaped my lips and his tongued dipped inside taking his time to taste me with each sensual lick. My hands slid into his hair as I pressed my body to his, our kiss deepening. I felt the wild thumping of his heart against my chest as he pulled me on top of him on the couch.
I could feel his hard length pressed against my thigh and his hands slid down my back over the curve of my ass, stopping to give it a good squeeze. His touch was different, he was a man who knew how to touch a woman, where to touch a woman. All I could think of was that I wanted to feel his touch on my bare skin.
He pulled away from me and looked at me, his breath coming in pants.
“We better stop, I won’t be able to control myself if we don’t.”
My gaze was steady as I gave him my most seductive look. “I don’t want to stop, Lucas.”
He groaned and nuzzled my neck. “Don’t look at me like that.” He rolled me off of him, stood up and smiled at me as he held out his hand. “Come on, come with me.”
I reluctantly grabbed his hand, knowing that our make-out session was probably over. He grabbed our wine, led me out to his roof deck, and the gorgeous night sky took my breath away. We sat in his Adirondack chairs, sipping our wine, the wind gently caressing our hair. It was a gorgeous night.
“This view is incredible, Lucas. If I lived here I would be out here all the time, all year round.”
“Oh, really? What else would you do if you lived here?”
I felt my face turn bright red as I realized what I had just implied. “Oh! I didn’t mean for you to think that I was saying I wanted to move in or anything!” I was so embarrassed.
He chuckled and I could tell that he was amused.
“It’s okay, I was just teasing you, Sophie. Can I let you in on a secret?”
I nodded my head a bit too eagerly, grateful that we were glossing over my blunder.
“The view is the main reason I bought this place.”
“I don’t blame you, it’s breathtaking.”
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes and then he looked over at me.
“Tell me about life in Neenah, what was it like growing up there?”
“It was pretty normal, you know, there’s not all that much going on in a small town. My parents have been married for almost 30 years and all of my friends’ parents back home are married. It is a very close-knit community. I love it there and it’s home, but I needed more.”
“Where does your brother live in Wisconsin?”
“He lives in Madison with his girlfriend. They met in college the first day of freshman year and they have been inseparable ever since. He’s planning to propose to her next year.”
“Hmmm, he’s still pretty young, right? What is he, about 24?”
“Yeah, how did you know that?"
"Well, you told me you're 22 and you said he’s two years older. Just putting the math together.”
“Oh, right.” I clearly wasn’t thinking.
“So you came to Chicago to go to college and you stayed because you needed more than what was going on back home?”
“Exactly.”
“And how is it going for you here so far? Are you getting what you need?”
His eyes smoldered as they caught mine and I could feel my mouth go dry.
I gave him my best flirtatious smile. “So far, so good.”
He chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair and looked at me. “You are going to be trouble for me, Sophie Night.”