He’d thought so too.
She started to unbutton her shirt.
Bryce stopped her. “This part I do. Everything else, we do together.”
Nodding, she bit down on her bottom lip. Adorable. He leaned in and ran his tongue along where she’d bitten. She trembled. Sexy.
He unclasped her pink lace bra and let go. It fell to the floor. Her jeans were next. Bryce unbuttoned and unzipped his way down. Pink satin panties trimmed with black lace. Nice.
He went lower until he had her jeans around her ankles. She stepped out of them and backed toward the bed. Needing more of her, he grabbed her ass and settled his face into her softness.
She held very still.
With his fingers hooked on her panties, he took them off. Again, she tried to move onto the bed. This time he let her go. She got in the bed and piled the covers on top of her.
Not letting her out of his line of sight, he grabbed a condom from inside his wallet tucked into his back jean pocket then began to strip. She could hide. He wouldn’t. He wanted Lucy to see all of his scars. The lines and grooves on his body were earned through sweat, blood, and tears. As though she understood, Lucy tossed aside the covers. Naked, she was even more beautiful. He slipped on the condom, got on the bed and settled his body over hers.
Balanced on her elbows, she tipped her chin at him and stuck out her chest. Timid was replaced by a forwardness he liked. But only with him. Dammit, he wanted her like this with only him and no other guy.
Later, he’d talk about going exclusive. Right now, he eyed her perfect breasts.
He palmed their fullness, one at a time. Why had he thought they were small? He cupped each breast in his hand then rolled a nipple between his fingers before he took the hardened bud in his mouth.
Still on her elbows, Lucy dipped back her head. Seeing her flawless skin exposed for him, he moved up and sank his head into the crook of her neck. He inhaled. Her scent reminded him of swimming in the ocean on a sweltering day.
As he kissed along her neck and across her cheek, he stroked her with his fingers. She moaned. He worked harder at her. She clenched her thighs together and trapped his hand.
With his free hand, he fisted his fingers into her hair and clamped his mouth over hers. He kissed her hard. She kissed him back in kind. She loosened her hold on his hand. He caressed her inner thigh. She parted her legs. He moved his pelvis over hers and started to push inside her. She froze.
Beneath him, her body was as tense as a strip of taut metal wire.
“Lucy—” The tip of his cock touched her softness. They hadn’t gotten this far until this moment.
“It’s going to hurt.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
His heart stuttered. “Aw, Lucy. Never that, darling.”
She opened her eyes. Tears pooled at the corners and she gave him a lopsided smile. “Promise you’ll never hurt me.”
“I promise.” He kissed her full on the mouth.
If it wasn’t her ex, who had hurt Lucy? When he got a hold of the bastard . . . Bryce broke the lip lock. Later, he’d give more thought to finding out who the guy was. Right now, he just wanted to go down on her, to show her he’d keep to his promise.
He coasted his mouth over the flat plane of her stomach and went lower. With his fingers, he opened her before he covered her wetness with his mouth.
Against his tongue, she squirmed. He lingered longer and tasted more. Bryce gave her everything he had. With his head clasped between her thighs, she came in his mouth. He licked and nipped, and she came again.
Satisfied, he moved up until his body was over hers again. Their gazes locked. She skimmed her finger across his lips. “Make love to me, Bryce.”
Going slow, he pushed inside her. She was small. He was too big. Yet when he edged his cock further in her, her body took the full length of him. A smile spanned her face. He set his elbows alongside her head and soaked in the view below. God, she was beautiful. Those deep grooves in her cheeks, the gleam in her hazel eyes, and the mass of black hair . . . he started to move. She moaned. He smiled.
“Feel okay?” he asked.
“Near perfect.”
“Only near perfect?”
He swiveled his hips. She sharply inhaled.
“Say something.”
Her brows slammed together. “Like what?”
“Talk dirty to me.” He whispered next to her ear.
“Why?” she said, breathless. “Talk ruins the mood.”
“Your words? Or your ex’s?”
If her hands weren’t grabbing onto his ass, Bryce bet she’d be crossing her arms across her chest.
“So which is it?” He thrust into her. Her inner muscles clenched his cock, and he nearly came. “I’m not going anywhere.” He ground his hips on hers. “And neither are you.”
“Not fair, Bryce Morgan.” She pulled her knees up and wrapped her slender legs around his waist, taking him deeper. “Fine. It was my ex’s. He didn’t like any talk when we made out.”
“Lame,” he muttered.
She clasped the sides of his face in her hands. “You’re not turned off by our talking?”
He moved in and out of her. “Do I feel turned off?”
“Hmm, no.” She dug her heels into his ass cheeks.
“Tell me you want me.” Damn, she was tight.
“Je te veux.”
“Tell me how you like it.”
“Plus difficile.”
He went deeper.
She panted. “Faster.”
He went deeper and faster.
“Oh, God, Bryce, please.”
He pounded into her. She bit down on his shoulder, her nails digging into his back. Pleasure. Pain. Bryce thought he’d explode. She tilted her hips up. He stuck his hands under her ass and went deep. She shook her head from side to side.
“Now, Bryce.”
“Not yet.” He pulled out of her.
She blinked in confusion. “What—”
“Ride me.”
Her cheeks flushed and her hair a sexy, wild mess, she straddled him. Lucy grabbed hold of his cock and put him inside her. Bryce groaned. The view from down here was just as fine as the view from above.
“Tell me what feels good,” he said.
She shoved her breasts in his face. Smiling, he took a nipple in his mouth and sucked. Hard. She threw back her head and moved her hips. He grasped her sides then glided his hands up. He squeezed her nipples. “This?”
“Oh, yes.” She ground her pelvis into his, and putting her hands on his chest, Lucy went up and down on him. “Yes, oh yes, oh my God . . .”
He twisted her nipples. She rode him faster. He clamped his hands on her hips and lifted her. Up. Down. Up. Down. She clenched her inner muscles around his cock. Good, God . . .she was gonna make him come. He gritted his teeth. No way. No damn way would he take his pleasure first. “Come for me, babe.”
“I—I’m so close, Bryce.” Her breasts bounced in front of his face. He raised his head and taking a nipple deep in his mouth, he teased her with his tongue, then his teeth.
Her body shook as she came for him. Bryce shot his load into the condom. Her breaths coming out in spurts, she lay on top of him with her hair fanned across his shoulders. He stroked her back. A deep calm settled over him.
“How was that?”
She sighed. It sounded a lot like contentment . . . happiness. “Perfect.”
Chapter Eleven
Lying in her bed, Lucy gave Bryce a sidelong glance. She couldn’t stop smiling. They’d done it two more times. She couldn’t get enough of him.
“Are you okay? Can you walk?”
At his teasing tone, she turned and swiped her hand lightly across his sexy, unshaven face. “Get that smirk off your face, Mr. Morgan.”
He grasped her hand in his and kissed her palm. “Only if I get more of you.”
Nodding, she leaned in. He brushed his lips over hers. She teased his mouth open with her tongue. A groan slipped from him.
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Suddenly, he broke off the kiss, leaving the air around them cold. Interlacing his hands behind his head, Bryce stared at the ceiling. “Tomorrow, I’d like you to meet my dad.”
A day of sex proved nothing other than mutual attraction. To Lucy, meeting Bryce’s dad took their “experiment” to the next level.
“Bryce, you and I are . . .” God, she wanted them to be more. “We’re friends.”
He unclasped his hands and took hers in his. “That’s why I want you with me. Friends have each other’s backs.”
Why did her chest ache? She tugged her hand out of his and faced him. He raised a brow. Closing her eyes, she leaned forward. His mouth on her neck was heavenly.
As he nuzzled her flushed skin, she refused to think about the inevitable. That their experiment would end and he’d move on while she would hang onto what they’d had with both hands.
She opened her eyes. Something wasn’t right. For a guy who seemed to like his dad, Bryce didn’t like his dad at the moment. Lucy refused to be used as a go-between for whatever bad mojo was going on between Bryce and his father. She’d have Bryce’s back but on her terms.
“Fine, I’ll go, but we meet your dad at the Grill.”
He clenched his jaw. “Anywhere but there.”
“Too bad.” She grasped his chin and kissed him.
He moaned and grabbed her bare ass. She broke their kiss and edged her hips closer to his erection. She was beginning to like this new her. “It’s either your restaurant or I’m not having your back.”
Why was Bryce pissed off at the idea of his father in his restaurant? Unless . . . “You’re ashamed,” she said in disbelief.
He looked at her like she had two heads before he ground out a response.
“I’m not ashamed of jack shit.” He threw the covers off, got up, and started to get dressed. “Look, forget about it okay? Don’t have my back. Don’t be my friend. Just go take a hike, Lucy.”
Having slept with him three times, and really only getting to know him for three weeks out of the months they’d been neighbors didn’t mean she got Bryce. However, Lucy understood hurt, rejection, not ever being good enough.
Her gaze never leaving his face, she got out of bed and wrapped her arms around his waist. His body tensed. She settled her head on the spot above his heart. A sigh escaped him before he enveloped her in his arms.
“Let’s compromise.” She glanced up at him. The stern look on his face told her she might not get far with this compromise of hers. “How about I meet him where you want me to meet him? Then later, we go to your restaurant for dinner.”
He thought so long and hard, Lucy swore she saw the gears spinning in his head. A few minutes went by. Setting his chin on the top of her head, he finally answered her.
“Into the lion’s den then straight into the fire, I like that.” He slipped his finger under her chin and tipped her face to his. “I’ll go along with your plan, but a warning, Lucy. You won’t like him, and he won’t like you.”
Lucy could live with that. As long as Bryce liked her, she could tame a lion and walk on fire. Sleeping with him didn’t mean she got him. But in a way, she understood more about herself. With her ex, there was no passion because there was no love. Love. She stepped out of Bryce’s arm, and with her back to him, she got dressed, too.
She couldn’t be in love with Bryce. What they had was lust, pure and simple. Yet, when he catcalled and whistled at her as they went down her stairs, getting her to turn around for him, her heart soared and her steps lightened.
“I’ll see you later tonight?”
Opening her front door, Lucy nodded. It was mid-afternoon. Bryce wanted to get in more practice time on the tracks before he went to the Grill.
“Be safe,” she called after him.
She watched him get into his truck and drive off. It was more than lust she felt for Bryce. Maybe not quite love, but near-perfect. She closed the door.
But near-perfect was one step closer to perfect, wasn’t it?
* * *
The day of the meeting with Bryce’s father came too quickly. Bryce stopped by and said he couldn’t make their early morning run. Something had come up in regard to his business. He had an impromptu meeting to go to.
Lucy had a feeling his bad mood also had something to do with their compromise.
“What’s the plan?” she asked with a yawn.
“We leave for my dad’s place at noon.”
So that’s what he’d meant when he had said the lion’s den. After having Lin as a mom, the thought of talking to Bryce’s dad somehow didn’t scare Lucy.
He clasped her head in his hands and gave her a kiss that shook her to the core. “I’ll see you in five hours.”
Speechless from the desperation and hunger in his kiss, Lucy nodded and closed the door behind him. She stretched. Hours to kill. What to do?
Just because Bryce couldn’t make their run didn’t mean she had to forego her exercise. A walk was what she needed to think about her phone call with her stepfather, Levi, last night.
Apparently, her family would be dropping in on her safe haven. Levi had insisted Lucy, Jason, and Bella hash out any leftover angst between them. Lucy had tried to convince Levi she’d moved on.
One wrong conclusion led to another, and with Levi’s connection, the Petersons’ would be catching a flight to Bellingham. Tomorrow, they’d be here. Lucy hadn’t told Bryce. Sure, he might be her “pretend” boyfriend, but no way were they engaged. Dammit, what had Eric said to Lucy’s stepsisters? Or to his dad, Levi’s business partner?
Upstairs in her bedroom, she changed into her running pants and a hoodie. On her nightstand was her journal. Since getting it back, she hadn’t written any words in it. Instead, she’d painted or drawn. Most of the drawings were of Bryce. Some were of her and Bryce.
Levi would want to peruse her townhome, make sure she lived in a safe neighborhood. More out of curiosity than genuine concern, Lucy’s mother and stepsisters would come with him.
Should she hide her paintings and drawings under her bed? She looked up and caught her reflection in the mirror of her closet door.
A different woman stared back at her. In her stance, Lucy recognized confidence and . . . happiness. She smiled. No, she wouldn’t hide the paintings and the drawings.
They were a part of the new Lucy Badeaux. She wouldn’t go back to who Lucy of Palm Springs was—insecure, timid, lonely. Her life was her own and her path was hers to take. Lucy wouldn’t let her mom and stepsisters make her feel like she was less than they were. Not ever again.
Chapter Twelve
The office door opened. Bryce stood from where he sat at a round table and shook Dan’s father’s hand. “Thank you for meeting with me. Sorry, it’s at such a damn early hour.”
“No problem.” David sat across from him and Dan in Bryce’s back office inside the Grill.
Business would open in an hour for the start of breakfast at the Grill. He had a feeling this meeting would be quick and to the point. He set his clasped hands on the table. “What’d you find?”
David steepled his hands in front of his mouth. “Nothing good, Bryce. You’re heading toward the red. Without more money or a two hundred percent increase in business, I don’t think the restaurant will survive another month or two.”
“I don’t understand.” He shook his head. “Eric showed me the figures. I was clearly in the black. If he had tampered with the numbers, I’d know.”
David raised a brow. “Would you? Your father tells me you’ve been training awful hard to get back in the races again. Training takes up your time. Dan tells me you’ve been drinking away your pain, here.” He jabbed at the table with his finger. “When have you found the time to truly pour over the numbers? There are page after page of expenses and incomes.”
Bryce’s father and David were good friends. They hunted and fished together. Interlocking his fingers behind his head, Bryce leaned back and glared at the ceiling.
; “Tell me how he did it.”
“It’s not how, but what he hid. He hid the expense of the remodel. It looks like you’re forty-thousand in the black when you’re barely scraping by with four thousand dollars in reserves. And, he’s been writing checks to himself. Two thousand dollars each month for the past three months.”
Shit, the expansion of the bar and the great room with the gas fireplace. The remodel required knocking down walls, putting in large glass panes that took up one side of the restaurant, more seating, big time electrical and plumbing work . . . construction and costs he’d trusted his manager to manage.
“How much are we talking?”
“He left out thirty-thousand dollars.”
“What. The. Fuck?!”
“You gave him access to your business account. He wrote the checks for the remodel.”
Bryce remembered now. Five months ago, his life had been in the dumps. His girlfriend had cheated on him, business was down at the restaurant, and his father was harping on him to sell the restaurant and get a sponsorship.
He hadn’t wanted to manage his “charity restaurant.” He just needed to drink away the pain and ride himself into oblivion on the tracks between his place and his dad’s house.
When Eric had walked into Bryce’s restaurant with an impressive resume, he had snatched that sliver of luck. Bryce had needed it.
That first month, business boomed. The second month, Eric suggested a remodel to make the Grill a standout among their competitors up and down the interstate. Bryce hadn’t hesitated. He gave Eric full rein of the business and concentrated on his training.
He’d trusted that son of a bitch only to get screwed.
“Writing checks to himself, I get. But why hide the expense to make it look like I was in the positive?”
David shrugged. “Some people are just sociopaths, kid. There’s no rhyme or reason for what they do to destroy others’ lives.”
“Yeah but eventually, he’d get caught.”
“Unless he planned on leaving before that ever happened,” David said with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Didn’t you say he resigned his last position a few weeks before that company went bankrupt?”
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