“Lexi, you wanna tell me what’s going on?”
She dug into her purse, pulling out her cell phone and dialing. “Information? I need the number for a taxi service.”
“Lexi, are you gonna talk to me?” He stood in front her, arms crossed. He saw her eyes drift down and he felt a small measure of satisfaction when her eyes locked on his rigid erection. It didn’t last long when she looked away, her posture stiff.
She rattled off the address to the operator, an agitated hand twisting in her hair. He wanted to reach out and shake her, make her see him. He was just about to do it when she whirled back to him, her phone snapping shut.
“Look, I already told you. I have work to do.” She moved to walk past him, but he caught her arm.
“I want to know what’s going on. Last night did mean something, right?”
“Why are you acting like this?” she asked, tone dripping with frost.
Luciano tilted his head, eyes narrowed. “Acting like what?”
“Like we’ve got something going on?” she stared back, eyes coolly blank.
“Excuse me?” he stepped away from her, vision red with anger. She was right. Who was he to make something when clearly there wasn’t anything there? He’d built up something in his head and now he had to face the fact that he’d been wrong. “You know what, you should go.” He turned and headed towards his bedroom.
“Luc, wait.”
He ignored her voice, closing the door to his room. A few minutes later, he heard the front door close and a car pull away.
Chapter Thirteen
It had been three days since she’d walked out on Luc. Every time she’d tried to call, her heart would jump into her throat, making her choke up and slam the phone down in fear. She was such a...she didn’t know what she was, but she knew it was the crazy the way she was acting. It hadn’t been the plan to wake up in his arms, even if it had felt right. She should have been up and gone well before he woke. Damn it! She should have never slept with him; not when her feelings for him were still so fresh and raw; not when she was still in love with him.
Alexina paused on her way to the kitchen, the coffee mug trembling in her hand. Maybe this had been a mistake. Coming back here to start over again, nothing was working out the way she’d planned. Come to think of it, she hadn’t really planned anything out. She’d just gone with the flow and let the chips fall where they wanted. Her legs started moving again and she let them, not really sure what she was doing now.
With his muscular body and sexy smile and clear gray eyes, she’d been unable to resist the pull of his lips or the way his eyes roamed her body, as if she were a dessert he wanted to gobble up. He’d made her take down her guards and let him in. she wanted to run back to him, let him hold her and make love to her. Her mug slammed down on the granite counter at the thought, nearly shattering the vessel. She wasn’t going to do this. She was not going to let anyone close to her again, not even Luc. Not so he could abandon her, like everyone else had.
Screw this; she had paper work to do. She refilled her coffee cup for the third time that morning and headed back to her office. Ordering the right shopping bag had suddenly become her newest obsession.
~***~
She looked up at the sharp peal of her doorbell, her eyes crossed from looking at the catalog she’d been poring over. A luxurious stretch and she stood, ready for a distraction, anything to keep her from going mad with tax information.
She opened the door to find a stony faced, two-hundred pound man standing on the other side, a bulging bag of Jack-in-the-Box in his hand. She stood there dumbfounded as he strode past her, his jaw stiff. The smell of fast food burgers made her mouth water.
“Luc-”
He turned to look at her, his face blank. “I hadn’t heard from you in a few days and I thought I would check on you.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry-” she held her hand out in a helpless gesture.
“So I brought you something to eat.” He turned back around and headed into the kitchen.
She huffed, trailing behind him. Men, why were they so temperamental? Wait a minute, what was he doing heading into the kitchen? This was her house. She followed behind, frustration making her steps heavy.
“What are you doing?” at the sight of him, his arm stretched above him as he pulled two plates down from the cabinet, his hard body pulled taut, she stopped short.
God, he was gorgeous. The broad muscled planes of his back shifted and bunched as he moved, pulling his red t-shirt tight. Just the image of it made it hard to remember why she’d been upset. Her eyes trailed down, tracing over his butt, moving down over his bulging thighs and muscled outline of his calves in his jeans. At the sound of his voice, her eyes jerked up, colliding with his.
“You want a plate?” His gray eyes turned to her, a hint of laughter dancing in his eyes, a slight grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“What are you doing here?” she scowled, crossing her arms over her chest.
The laughter left his eyes, but the grin stayed in place. “I brought you lunch.” He held out a plate, loaded with a hamburger and fries and even cheeseticks! Was he trying to make her fatter?
“I remember how much you loved Jack in the box in high school.”
“I...did...I mean I do. Thank you.” She felt oddly deflated. How could she keep up her anger with him being so nice? She took the plate from him, one arm still wrapped around her. How was she supposed to act now? Her eyes were glued to him as he leaned his large body against the counter, taking a huge bite of his Ultimate Cheeseburger.
A bit of ketchup was on the corner of his mouth and what she wanted to do was lean in and lick it off, maybe dive into his mouth and lose herself. Instead, she turned away, her hand braced on her chest.
“Luc, I think we need to talk about what happened.” She turned back to him, body quaking at the prospect of bringing up the issue.
He shot her a bored glance, taking another bite of his burger. “I’m eating.”
She gasped in outrage; hurt ringing in her voice at the mocking tone. “I’m serious.”
He glared at her, his eyes narrowed as he slammed the plate down. Her body flinched in response. “So am I!” his nostrils flared as he advanced on her, his face dark with anger and hurt. “You made it clear how you felt, so let’s forget that it happened.”
She shrank back, unused to this kind of emotion from him. The pain in her heart at his words had tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.” She whispered
He snorted, moving back to his position on the counter, picking his plate up. “Whatever.” He shrugged, taking a sharp bit of a french fry.
With trembling hands, she put her plate down. “Luc, I want to try to explain.” It was imperative that she get him to listen, to understand what she was feeling. She didn’t want to stop and think about why there was such urgency.
He gave a grim laugh, his lips barely moving. “What’s so funny?” she snapped, not finding any humor in the situation.
“You’re finally calling me Luc.” He picked his burger back up, eyes glued to her. “I’m listening.”
Her body braced against the counter, she took several steadying deep breaths. How was she going to explain the panic that had raced through her at waking up next to him? The yearning she’d felt to let herself believe she could have it forever? She could barely understand it herself. Where would she start, the beginning?
“I uh...I met Donald on a blind date. One of my friends thought we would be a good fit. The first year or so, I had to agree, we did go together well. After he asked me to marry him, things changed. It started to dawn on me that I couldn’t stand his touch. I tried to work through it, tried to get the feelings back, but I couldn’t.”
She’d had her eyes glued to his as she told the story, but now, when it came time for the truth, she couldn’t look him in the eye. She turned away, ashamed of what she was about to admit. “When he died, the first thing I felt was freed
om.” She didn’t want to see the revulsion she was sure she would find in his eyes. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“I felt the same way when my father died.” Luciano spoke, voice clear and strong.
Stunned, Alexina lifted her eyes to his. He was watching her sadness making his grey eyes dim. “I was thirteen that day. He’d been gone since I was eleven and I was the man of the house at that point.” He scoffed, looking down at his tennis shoes. “One of his sisters called to us. They blamed my mother for his problems and they didn’t really care for us kids. Knowing that he was gone and wouldn’t be back to hurt my mother, I’d never known freedom so sweet.”
Luciano raised his eyes back to hers, walking to where she stood. “I couldn’t show it of course; my mother was at a loss, overwhelmed with grief and no one to turn to. I took over most of the duties in the house, just to make her life easier.” He stood in front of her, “So you see; I do know a little about how you feel.”
He reached out to wipe away a lone tear trailing down her cheek. “I told you that I’m a really good listener.” His thumb caressed her cheek, the rough texture a balm to her whirling emotions.
She tried to smile, but there were so many other things she wanted to say and the smile faltered, before fading away. “Luc, I-there’s something else.” Oh god, she was going to tell him. She was going to tell him that it was him she’d wanted all this time; that she’d never stopped thinking about him, never stopped needing him.
Her eyes turned up to his, she watched as his eyes went dark, his gaze trained on her lips. “Luc, wait-”
Too late, his mouth slanted over hers, hungry and full of fire. All thought fled her mind as she sank into the kiss, his mouth moving over hers. She loved the way it was hard and commanding, shifting across her lips in a forceful, all consuming way, as if staking a claim on her. A whimper came up, slipping out between them. Instantly, his mouth softened, still ravenous for her, but gentler now. His tongue stroked the roof of her mouth, as if to apologize for his earlier roughness. He pulled her bottom lip into his hot mouth, nipping and sucking on it. Her hand cupped the back of his head, holding him close.
A hum of satisfaction rumbled from deep in his chest, his body shifting closer, rubbing against hers. Overwhelmed by the fervor and smokiness of his mouth, her head flopped back, her neck no longer able to support the weight. The delicious feelings spreading through her body made her weak, unable to think of anything but him and the taste of his tongue. Her hips moved against him, undulating with burning need.
Luciano growled low in his throat in frustration at the loss of her mouth, chasing after her lips with his. A hand buried deep in her hair, he pulled her face back up to him, nestling his sizable, rigid erection against her thigh. It pulsed and jerked in response. His hands slid down, cupping her buttocks, massaging and kneading the soft flesh through her jeans.
"Lexi," Luciano said in low wonder, his voice roughened by passion and Alexina wanted to bottle that exact tone, keep it for always. “I want you.” He drew back to gaze at her, his eyes hooded with burning desire.
What was there to say to that? She wanted him too. But the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat, a lump that she could barely breathe past. Maybe she would keep her feelings to herself. They weren’t real, just a product of being lonely. She wasn’t going to risk her heart again, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun.
Alexina stroked a hand up his chest, delighting in the flame of passion that lit up his face. She could do this; take pleasure without having to give anything important of herself. She nestled her head against his neck, pressing open kisses to his neck, the underside of his jaw, the sensitive spot behind his ear. The hard, rapid heartbeats in his chest had her blood flooding through her veins, her skin heating up. Her hands roamed over his powerful, broad back and down his narrow waist, dipping teasingly past the waistband of his pants. The ragged, choppy pants bursting out of his chest had her confidence and lust growing.
“Who am I to say no to that?” She leaned in, her mouth settling over his, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
A moan rumbled from deep in his chest, his lips opening beneath hers. His tongue plunged, sweeping through her mouth, stroking and curling around hers, feeding her hunger.
They made it to the bedroom, stumbling over each other in their haste, hands fumbling to touch skin. Hands skimmed under her shirt, lifting it over her head. She bit her lip, the feeling of skin rubbing against skin making her want to cry out with need. They peeled his shirt off slowly, her mouth chasing the fabric as they lifted over his head. The jagged, harsh groans that ripped from his chest as her tongue stroked over a flat nipple were gratifying.
The sun streamed in, light bouncing off the cherry wood of her furniture, the room bathed in midday heat. Soft carpet tickled her feet as she kicked off her shoes, flexing them impatiently. The back of her knees hit the bed and they stopped, taking the time to finish undressing, pushing his pants down and off, grabbing a foil package on the way back up.
Alexina nearly cried out with need when his hands slid over her buttocks pushing her jeans out of the way, dipping between the crease, one finger easing into her warmth. A thick silver chain with a diamond pendant hanging from it caught her eye and she paused. She fingered the pendant, trying to figure out why she should know what it meant. A flash of anger passed through her, but she bit it back, barely.
“This...looks familiar.” Alexina stared up at him, confused at the feeling that she was missing something.
His hand closed over hers, drawing her attention from it. She saw a glimmer of anguish pass across his face, before he hid it, his mouth curved up at the corner. “It’s nothing.”
From the look on his face, she knew he was lying, but she didn’t know why. If it was from a girlfriend, it wasn’t as if she had a place to get mad or jealous. She was going to say as much, but he distracted her, a finger under her chin tilting her face up to his, a hot mouth moving languidly over hers, a tongue slipping between her open lips. Sizzling desire bloomed throughout her body, her knees going weak. Fine, the necklace didn’t matter then. Her skin prickled with arousal, the feel of Luciano’s hands skimming over her naked back, unhooking her bra. The mattress dipped beneath them as they sank into it, Luciano’s wonderfully heavy body resting on hers.
Her skin tingled everywhere his skin touched, goose bumps spreading. He propped himself up on his elbows to stare down at her. The sun flooded the room, the light gliding over his skin, turning his honey colored skin darker, though still lighter than her own.
“I missed you.” His lips left a burning trail across her neck, his smoky voice dripping with syrup, wrapping around her like a warm blanket. “I got used to you being next to me in one day.” Warm breath caressed her skin as he spoke, his hand gently massaging her left breast, a thumb brushing over the stiffened nipple. Her body, desperate to get closer, jerked up, rubbing against his smooth, hard body.
Hearing him say those words, the wistful emotion that coated each word was setting something off in her, something she didn’t want to have to deal with. She reached up, pulling his head closer to her aching breast. Taking the hint, he leaned forward and accepted as much of her ample breast into his hot wet mouth as he could, his tongue skillfully running circles over the nipple.
She purred, opening her legs and wrapping them around his waist. Nails racked over his back, urging him to move quicker. A whimper of protest sounded when he shifted away, a sultry smile playing on his lips. She reached out for him, need making her frantic.
“No, this time, I’m going to take you slow. I want to savor this.” He slid behind her, spooning up to her backside, his pulsing erection nestled between her legs, jutting up between her soft damp folds. A hand snaked down, reaching inside her, toying with the pooling wetness between her legs.
She bucked back and then from side to side to grind over his hardened erection, more contact desperately needed. The need was driving her mad, her body qua
king with it. One arm reached back, wrapping around his neck and cupping the back of his head, tugging him close as she tilted her head to the side. His mouth ran along the shell of her ear, pulling the lobe into his mouth and sucking on it. Her eyes fluttered closed as a hard, warm hand smoothed up and over her belly, cupping an ample breast, his thumb and forefinger rolling and tugging gently at the plump nipple between them. His other hand slipped under her head, tipping it back up to him.
Her lips met his, opening for him, eager to taste again. The hand on her breast moved, sliding behind her. She dimly heard a ripping sound, before he lifted her leg and eased into her warmth slow and leisurely, giving her time to accept his size. She mewled into his mouth at the slow invasion, her walls stretching to accommodate him. It was just like the last time; the fervor, the need overtaking her, her chest rising and falling with each quick shallow breath she took. But then, it wasn’t same. Not with the slow way he was taking her, making her his own. His smell washed over her, intoxicating her, drugging her senses with ecstasy. A hand came back to rest on her swollen tingling breast, toying with the chocolate colored tip.
“Do you have any idea how good you feel?” he whispered, his mouth on her shoulder, little nips that kept her hovering on the edge. A shallow thrust and then another. She pulled away from his mouth, a low gasp at the intense pleasure spreading through her body. Did he have any idea how good he felt? How right it felt to have him in her body, moving deep and sure? She tried to open her mouth and tell him, her eyes half open, but nothing came out, just little noises of satisfaction and bliss.
“This is how I wanted it to be the first time.” The next stroke had him nearly pulling out of her before a long, unhurried slide back in.
The grip on the back of his head tightened, her mouth open, murmured pleas slipping out, filling the silent room. The feel of him sliding in and out, his hand tugging on her erect nipple; his heart thudding against her back, its rhythm fast and steady; it was everything she wanted, her heart skipping and thudding in her chest at the thought. Time passed slowly in the world he’d created for them, nothing but them and the unhurried need to make love. She wanted to stay here, with him deep inside her, his hands roaming her body possessively.
You Can Always Go Home Page 12