by Tina Beckett
She didn’t feel cold. She felt warm and vital and he itched to lose himself in her all over again.
But first…
He nuzzled the underside of her breast, savoring the taste of her skin as he came up the rounded side and across until he found her nipple. Drawing it into his mouth, he let his tongue play over the peak, hoping to coax the first of those little sounds he knew she made.
And, yes, it was heady being out here in the open, even though he knew no one could see them unless they climbed aboard and walked to the port side of the boat. But the thought that someone could…and that Darcie was letting him love her beneath the stars…was testament to her trust. One he wasn’t sure he deserved.
But he liked it.
He applied more suction, and there it was. A low moan that pulled at his flesh and slid along the surface of his mind like a lazy day in the sun. Or maybe it was more like being in the eye of a storm. A fleeting moment of calm, when you sensed chaos lingering nearby…knew you’d soon be swept up in an unstoppable deluge.
And when that happened, he knew right where he wanted to be. And it wasn’t pinning her to the deck where he couldn’t see or touch.
He pulled back and climbed to his feet, holding his hand out to her.
“Wh-what?”
“Trust me.” He picked up his shirt and helped her slide her arms into it, leaving it open in the front and allowing his fingers to dance over her breasts and then move lower. Touching her and relishing the way her eyes closed when he hit that one certain spot.
Putting his forehead to hers, he stopped to catch his breath for a second. “I want you on the railing.”
It was the perfect height. She’d be right on a level with that core part of him. And Darcie’s silhouette on the water? There was nothing he’d rather see…experience.
She glanced behind her, where her bra and undies were still draped, and backed up until she was against the chrome, her hands resting on the gleaming surface. “Help me up, then.”
Gripping her waist, he lifted her onto the rail, his blue shirttail hanging over the other side, giving them a modicum of privacy, although they didn’t need it. Her arms twined around his neck and her legs parted in obvious invitation. He moved in, his chest pressing against the lush fullness of her breasts, his flesh aching to thrust home.
“Hang onto me, Darce.” Letting go of her waist, he allowed a couple of inches of space to come between them so he could touch her. Her face. Her breasts. Her belly. And finally that warm, moist spot between her legs that was calling out to him.
“Ahhh…” The sound came when he slid a finger inside her, her feet hooking around the backs of his thighs as if she was afraid he was going to move away. Not damn likely. He was there to stay.
His mind skimmed over that last thought. Discarding it as he added another finger. Went deeper. Used his thumb to find that pleasure center just a few millimeters to the front.
Darcie leaned further back over the side of the boat, her hands going to his shoulders, her legs parting more. This time Lucas was the one who groaned. Splayed out like this, he could see every inch of her, watch the way her breasts moved in time to his fingers as he pressed home and then pulled back.
“Want you. Inside…” The words were separated by short, quick breaths. She was getting close. So very close.
And he didn’t want her to go off without him.
There it was. The same sense of need he’d had the last time they’d been together. He moved into position and guided himself home. Paused. Then he thrust hard. Sank deep. His breath shuddered out then air flooded back into his lungs.
Tight. Wet. Hot.
All the things he knew she’d be.
And it was all for him.
He held himself still as she whimpered and strained against him. It wouldn’t take much to send him over the edge. He counted. Prayed. Closed his eyes. Until he could take a mental step back.
Only then did he wrap his arms beneath the curve of her butt to hold her close. He eased back, pulling almost free. Remained there for an agonizing second or two before his hips lunged forward and absorbed the sensations all over again. Over and over he drove himself inside her and then retreated.
He leaned forward. Bit her lower lip. Made her squirm against him.
“Please, Lucas. Please, now.”
He knew exactly what she was asking for. “Make it happen, gorgeous.”
Changing the angle, he reconnected with her, then pushed deep and held firm as she ground her pelvis against him, letting her choose her own speed, her own pressure, all the while cursing in his head as his eyes reopened to watch her face—taking in the tiny, almost desperate bumping of her hips.
His hands tightened on her, barely aware that the vibrations from their movements had sent her undies over the rail and into the water, and that her bra wasn’t far behind. He didn’t care. Didn’t want to stop for anything.
Legs wrapped tight around him, Darcie’s movements became frantic, nails digging into his shoulders…for all of five seconds—he knew because he was busy counting—then her head tilted toward the sky, hair streaming down her back, and she cried out in the darkness.
That was it. All it took. Lucas pumped furiously as the tsunami he’d been holding at bay crashed down on top of him. He lost himself in her, legs barely supporting his weight as he rode out his climax, knowing a tidal wave of another kind was not far behind. Coming on him fast.
He stared straight ahead so he wouldn’t have to see it, wouldn’t have to acknowledge its existence, and found her watching him, her gaze soft and warm.
Accepting.
At that moment the second realization hit him, splashing over his head and making it impossible to breathe. To think.
He loved her.
In spite of everything he’d been through with his brother. In spite of the dangers of letting himself get too close—too emotionally involved—the unthinkable had just become reality. He’d fallen for a woman. And now that he had, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.
* * *
She could only avoid him for so long.
Two days had passed, and she was still reeling from what they’d done on Lucas’s boat. How he’d buttoned her into her cardigan and slacks—her undergarments nowhere to be found—probably resting on the bottom of the boat slip, waiting on some unsuspecting soul to find them when it was daytime. Mortified, she made Lucas promise he’d go back and see if he could locate them—hoping her argument against pollution had been convincing enough.
They’d been in her locker the next day—how he’d known the combination she had no idea, but she was thankful no one had to see him handing her the plastic bag that contained her errant underwear.
If anything, though, it made her feel even more embarrassed. How had he found them? A net? A gaff from his boat? Or had they just been floating on the surface of the water, trapped between his boat and the dock?
That thought made heat rush into her face. She picked up her pace as she went down the hallway toward the double glass doors of the waiting room, which swished open as soon as she got close. She was supposed to meet Isla for lunch.
But when she arrived she saw her friend deep in conversation with Sean Anderson. Oh, no. Surely he wasn’t giving her a hard time again about Isabel. She sped up even more and arrived in time to hear her ask if he’d heard from her sister. The opposite of what Darcie had expected to hear.
“No. And I’m not sure I want to, at this point.”
“Really?” her friend asked, giving Darcie a quick glance. “After all that, you’re just giving up?”
“I don’t know. But I do want some answers. And I don’t think I’m going to get them here.”
“I’m sorry, Sean. I wish I could help.”
Darcie decided to speak up. “Maybe you should consider going to the source.”
“Funny you should say that,” Sean said. “I decided to take Isla’s advice. My contract runs out at the end of the week. I’m
flying out as soon as it does.”
The two women looked at each other, and Darcie’s heart began to thump. Maybe she couldn’t fix her own growing problems with Lucas, but maybe Sean could solve his. “So you’re going…”
Sean nodded. “To England.”
Isla clasped her hands over her belly, knuckles white. “Don’t hurt her. Please. You have no idea what she’s been through.”
“I have no intention of hurting anyone. All I want is the truth about why she left.”
Her friend studied him then reached out and touched his arm. “Good luck, Sean. I really mean that.”
“Thanks.” And with a stiff frame and tight jaw he strode down the hallway toward an uncertain future.
Well, join the club. Who really knew what the future held. Certainly not Darcie, who was busy hiding out and praying that Lucas gave her some time to recover. She needed to figure out what it was she wanted from him before he suggested tackling the next thing on her list.
Because that list had begun to revolve around a common theme, one that was getting her in deeper with each item ticked: Sit on a beach and kiss an Aussie. Bungee jump from a tower and kiss an Aussie. Dance at a club, and make love to an Aussie. Climb on a boat…and open her heart to an Aussie.
Darcie didn’t know how much more she could take. Because her heart was now in real danger, and she was more afraid than she’d ever been in her life…even during that moment when she’d realized Robert didn’t love her. He loved someone else.
Because if that happened with Lucas, she didn’t want to stick around to see it. The result would be a gaping wound no amount of surgery or medical expertise could repair. It involved who she was at an elemental level. And in opening her heart she feared she’d set herself up for the biggest hurt of her life.
Isla said something, and Darcie swung her attention back to her friend. “I’m sorry. I missed that.”
The midwife smiled. A quick curving of lips that looked all too knowing and crafty. “I said, don’t look now, but trouble is headed your way.”
That was the understatement of the year. Then she realized Isla’s eyes were on something behind her.
Darcie turned to look, thinking one of her patients was coming to see her, only to catch sight of the same glass doors she’d just come through swishing open to let in the last person she wanted to see today.
Lucas.
He looked devastating in a dress shirt and black slacks. Her glance went back to the shirt. Blue button-down.
Oh, no. Surely that wasn’t the shirt he’d draped around her while they’d…
Warmth splashed into her face and ran down her neck, spreading exponentially the closer he got.
“Hello, ladies.”
Instead of sweeping past and continuing on his way, he stopped in front of them.
Isla’s smile grew wider. “Darcie, I think I’m going to have to back out of our lunch date. I need to see Alessi about…tires for his car.”
Tires? For his car?
Before she could call her friend on the obvious fib, Isla had retreated back through the doors, leaving her with Lucas and a few folks in the waiting room, who seemed quite interested in the various dramas unfolding in the MMU.
As if he’d noticed as well, he pulled her over to the far wall, well out of earshot. “Felix and Cora are on their way to the park with a picnic lunch. It’s not far from the hospital, so I thought you might like to tag along. It’s something you should see before you leave the country.”
Leave the country. Why did that have an ominous ring to it?
Lucas went on, “From what Isla said, I take it you haven’t eaten yet.”
Rats. That would have been her first excuse if he approached her. It was why she’d practically begged Isla to have lunch with her for the last two days. And now her friend had turned traitor and abandoned her.
Her eyes met Lucas’s face. He seemed softer all of a sudden. As if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. But what weight? Maybe he was just happy to be having lunch with his niece and his brother. It was obvious he loved that little girl and that she adored him back.
As if sensing her hesitation, he added, “Cora would love to see you. She’s been asking about you for days.”
Well, that was a change. Before, he hadn’t seemed keen on her spending time with his niece.
Her heart settled back in place. The comment about leaving Australia hadn’t meant anything. “I guess it would be all right.”
“I’m glad.” One finger came out and hooked around hers and the side of his mouth turned up in way that made her stomach flip. “Did you get my little package?”
He was definitely in a cheerful mood today. Did she dare hope it was because of the time they’d spent together over the last three weeks? How strange that something she’d dreaded with every fiber of her being could have turned around so completely.
She decided to add some playfulness of her own. “Little? I thought the package was a decent size. But, then again, I don’t have much to compare it to.”
“Witch,” he murmured. “Maybe you need a refresher. It has been a couple of days after all.”
A refresher? He wanted to be with her again?
Maybe she wouldn’t wind up on the hurting side of the fence after all. As long as she was careful. And took things slowly. She’d been thinking about seeing if the Victoria had any permanent positions available, but she’d been putting it off because of Lucas. She didn’t want to stick around if they were going to end up fighting each other further on down the line.
But right now she didn’t see that happening.
“Maybe I’ve just forgotten.” She threw him a saucy smile.
“Mmm… I need to work harder next time, then, to make sure that doesn’t happen.” The finger around hers gave a light squeeze. “Meet you in the car park in fifteen minutes? I have one more patient to schedule, and then I’ll be free.”
“Okay,” she said. Her spirits soared to heights that were dizzyingly high. A fall from up here could…
She wasn’t going to fall. For the first time in a long time she caught a glimpse of something she hadn’t expected to feel.
Hope.
* * *
Pete the Geek was on a rampage.
Reclining on the blanket that Darcie had somehow scrounged up, Lucas lay on his back, hands behind his head as he watched his niece chasing the dog around their little area of the park. Pete never went far, but seemed intent on having his little bit of fun on this outing, since the cold packed lunch hadn’t been on the menu for him.
Darcie sat next to Lucas’s shoulder and laughed as Cora just touched Pete’s collar, only to have him leap out of reach once again. “He has his timing down to a science, doesn’t he?”
“He does at that.” He couldn’t resist taking one of his hands from behind his head and resting it just behind Darcie’s bottom. No one could see. But he just needed to touch her. Not in a sexual sense, although that always hovered in the background where this woman was concerned. But he found he wanted that closeness in more areas. Just for now. In a very little while she would be gone, and while there might be pain in letting her go, at least she would be alive. It wouldn’t be like losing someone to death. He could accept loving her within those parameters.
He’d warred with himself for the last two days but had come up with a compromise he hoped he could live with. He would let himself go with the flow. For the next couple of months.
She sent him a smile in response.
Warm contentment washed through him. Maybe this was why Felix had gone so far off the rails after losing Melody. Lucas had never felt like this about a woman. He loved her. He no longer even tried to deny it. And after staying away from her for two days he’d found he was miserable—and he’d had to find her. Be with her.
For the next two months.
He found himself sending his subconscious little memos. Just so it wouldn’t forget. This was a temporary arrangement.
Felix seemed better. His therapy was evidently kicking in. He was fully engaged in what Cora was doing with Pete, really laughing for the first time in years. “Maybe if you tempt him with the ball?”
Cora spun back toward them, while Darcie held out the ball that had landed near her hip a while ago. Leaning down, the little girl flung her arms around Darcie’s neck and popped a kiss on her cheek. “I’m so glad you came!”
“I’m glad I did too.”
Lucas tensed for a second then forced himself to relax. Darcie and Cora could still keep in contact, even after she flew back to England. There was email and all kinds of social networks. It wouldn’t be a drastic break. Just one that would fade away with time.
His niece rushed off with the ball in hand and threw it hard toward Pete, who loped off after the offering with a bark of happiness, scooping it up in his jaws and trotting back toward the blanket.
Lucas smiled and shook his head, his attention going back to Felix.
Only his brother wasn’t watching Cora any more. His gaze was on Lucas, his eyes seeming to follow the line of his arm to where it disappeared behind Darcie’s back.
Swallowing, he returned his hand to behind his head, and then as an afterthought sat up completely. Darcie glanced at him, head tilted as if she was asking a question. Swamped by a weird premonition, he got to his feet and slapped his brother’s shoulder, urging him to come with him to help Cora round up the dog and bring him back to the picnic area.
He watched Felix as they worked, but whatever he thought he’d seen in his brother’s face was no longer there. Felix smiled and joked and was finally the one to grab hold of Pete the Geek’s collar and snap the leash onto it. Once they were all back at the picnic area he saw that Darcie had packed everything up and was on her feet. “I probably need to get back to the hospital.”
That uncertainty he’d caught in her expression from time to time was back.
Because of him.
This was ridiculous. He was imagining demons where none existed. Probably excuses created in the depths of his own mind. There was no reason history had to repeat itself. “I do too. I’ll walk you.” On impulse, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, watching as they turned that delicious shade of pink he loved so much.