Looking Real Good

by C. Morgan

  Lisa saw us and shrieked.

  Lukas bellowed at her and leapt forward. She fled inside and slammed the door behind her. The dogs in her mother’s unit went absolutely crazy and the lights in the living room flicked on.

  I grabbed Lukas’s shoulder. “We have to go!”

  He turned and pushed me back toward the front of the house. I took off running for the car with him hot on my heels, and before we even hit the sidewalk, I was laughing so hard my ribs hurt and tears were leaking out of my eyes. His laughter followed me, loud and free, and as I got in the passenger seat of his Lykan, he leapt over the corner of the hood and got behind the wheel.

  If he hadn’t been wearing a ridiculous clown costume, the whole thing might have looked quite suave.

  He slammed the car into first and peeled away as more lights were flicked on in the duplex. I kept laughing all the way through the neighborhood, my ribs aching, my head spinning, and I didn’t get the laughter under control until he pulled into an empty park overlooking the Sound.

  “That was awesome,” I breathed, slumping back against the seat. “I’ve never heard Lisa scream like that.”

  Lukas turned the car off and chuckled deeply. “Did you see her face? She thought we were there to cause some unholy hell or something. My sister watches too many horror movies.”

  “Her poor mother.”

  “A good scare keeps people on their toes.”

  I turned in my seat to face him. “Do you think we should tell them it was us?”

  His eyes moved back and forth between mine. “Now why would we want to go and take the fun out of it? It can be our little secret.”

  I swallowed. We already had one of those and I felt guilty enough keeping it to myself. “Another little secret?”

  He nodded slowly. “Do you think you can handle that?”

  I licked my lips as he leaned closer. “I think so.”

  “I need a yes or a no, doll face.”

  I pinched my bottom lip between my teeth to stop myself from smiling. “Yes.”

  Chapter 27

  Lukas

  For the first time in months—years—I felt full.

  The way Kayla looked at me in the passenger seat of the car made it easy to see right past the creepy makeup and tattered doll clothing. All I saw was her. A kind spirit, a wise soul, a fierce friend, and a passionate lover.

  She was the girl of my dreams, and right then, every fiber of my being pleaded with me to reach out and kiss her. Take her. Remind her what it was to be loved by Lukas Holt.

  Kayla let out a breathless sigh and settled back in the seat. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in her lap. “Tonight was so much fun.”

  “It was, wasn’t it?”

  She cracked open one eye and smiled at me. “I’m glad you came.”

  “Me too. I—”

  “Oh, shoot!”

  “What?”

  “We never tracked down Rebecca or Meredith for an interview and photo op.”

  “Too bad for them, I guess. Although I think that’s for the best. I hardly think this costume is me putting my best foot forward.”

  Kayla giggled. “It’s not about the costume. It’s about the willingness to get involved and participate. People like that, especially in a guy whose reputation suggests he doesn’t possess those qualities.”

  “Are you trash talking me?”

  She rolled her eyes, but her smile remained. “Oh please. I would never. I’m just saying. We should have gotten a picture at the very least, to prove you were there.”

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened the gallery to show her the picture I’d taken of us back in the haunted room. “I have a photo.”

  Kayla leaned closer to me and looked down at the picture. “Can you send that to me?”

  My heart pounded a little harder against my ribcage. “Of course.”

  She smelled like vanilla and spices and the leather seat creaked softly as she leaned even closer to peer down at the picture. “We look good, don’t we?”

  She glanced up at me, and I couldn’t help myself. I cupped her chin and kissed her.

  Kayla’s lips curled in a smile against mine. She didn’t protest. Instead, she clawed at my clown costume and worked to yank the zipper down. Once she succeeded, she plunged a hand down the front of the open suit and cupped it over my boxers.

  “Someone’s eager,” I said breathlessly.

  “I guess clowns really do it for me.”

  I laughed.

  Kayla took her seatbelt off and went to her knees on the seat. She turned to face me, her small body making it easy for her to move around inside the car. She leaned over the console between us and pulled me free of my boxers. Things were moving quickly and I wondered if I was the only one who hadn’t been able to stop thinking about our night in the hotel.

  It would seem I wasn’t.

  Kayla bowed over my lap. She pressed her lips to the tip of my cock and her tongue traced a few gentle sweeping circles over me. My hips tightened and I gripped the sides of the seat as she worked me into her mouth deeper and deeper, until she held me in the back of her throat.

  I let my head fall back and closed my eyes as she worked herself up and down. Soft sounds escaped her at first, but as she sucked me off, she fell more into the moment. Soon, she was moaning. Her knees spread farther apart on the seat. Her tutu inched higher up around her waist until I could see her hot pink panties through her white nylons.

  Kayla never struck me as the sort of girl to wear bright pink like that. I liked it.

  I reached between her thighs and rubbed her over the nylon material. Kayla paused to let out a soft sigh before descending on me again and worshiping me until I couldn’t take it anymore. I gathered her hair off her face and used it to pull her up to meet me for deep, desperate kisses.

  As we kissed, Kayla struggled to get her nylons down. She failed.

  Unfazed, Kayla swung one leg over the console and slid into my lap. Her tongue plunged into my mouth and our kiss tasted like vanilla and honey from the granola bars. She whimpered against my lips and guided my hand between her thighs.

  Desperate and in no mood to fidget with the nylons, I tore a hole through them.

  Kayla yelped. The sound shot a jolt of need through me so primal my balls tightened. I gripped her hips and guided her over me. She lowered herself and took all of me. Her walls were tight and she gripped my cock all the way down. She was slippery wet and gloriously swollen with lust.

  She draped her wrists over my shoulders and hung her head back as she slowly rolled her hips. I relished every second of watching her pleasure. I leaned forward as she rode me so I could kiss her throat and her chest. Soft sighs escaped her and I slowly bucked my hips beneath her until the softness of the moment passed and she pulled herself back up so she could cling to my headrest.

  She bounced on my cock like it was an Olympic sport. Her thighs worked and flexed and slapped against my legs. Her ass hit the steering wheel so I pulled the seat all the way back. We slid about half a foot and I dropped the back of the seat to an incline. Kayla leaned over me, her pigtails grazing my chest, and ground herself on me.

  I had to make her stop or I was going to lose it. I gripped her thighs and pushed down, forcing her to slow her movements. She gazed down at me, eyes burning with need, lips parted in a sigh, cheeks rosy from the effort.

  “What is it?” she breathed.

  “Condom,” I grated. “I don’t have a condom.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  She bit her lip. “We could pull out.”

  “No,” I said, and it was the hardest no I’d ever had to give. I guided her up and let her sit straddling my lap. I ran a hand up her thigh and paused between her legs. “There are other ways.”

  Kayla gave me a cocky little smirk that made me want her more than ever.

  I rubbed her in slow circles. She melted in front of my eyes. All the tension in her shoulders from hold
ing herself up drained away. She rocked above me, grinding herself against my fingers until I finally gave her what she wanted and slipped a finger inside her. She whimpered and trembled above me.

  With my free hand, I took a fistful of her hair and held her in place. She moaned, her eyes fluttered closed, and her thighs tightened around me.

  I took my time and teased her when she got too close. I didn’t want this to end before it had to. I had her right where I wanted. She was putty in my hands, mine to mold, mine to bring to the brink and mercilessly stop right when she was ready to come apart.

  She grew more desperate. Soon, she strained against my grip in her hair. She growled at me to stop teasing her. Her fingers gathered in the front of my costume and her pussy tightened around my fingers.

  “Please,” she pleaded.

  “Please what?”

  Kayla pulled at my costume. “Please.”

  I leaned in close so my cheek was pressed against hers. I pulled her head back, using her hair as leverage, and trailed kisses along the side of her neck and up to her ear. “Please what? I want to hear you say it.”

  She trembled. “Make me come.”

  A growl escaped me.

  We stayed pressed together as I gave her another finger and stretched her. Kayla gasped. Her spine arched and her body went rigid. I fucked her hard and fast, building momentum until I felt the pressure gathering at the tips of my fingers. She cried out, sharp and needy, and the next thing I knew, my fingers were slick and she was pulsing around me.

  Her muscles relaxed and she released my costume. I nuzzled against her neck and rewarded her with more kisses as she slid to her knees on the car floor. How she fit down there, I had no idea. She took me in her mouth again and started off slowly. It didn’t take her long to bring me right back to the edge, teasing me with her tongue, flicking it over my tip while she massaged me with her hand.

  I bucked, pressing up against the back of her throat. She welcomed it and gazed up at me, her throat swollen, her lips sealed around my shaft. She moaned, and the vibration pushed me over the top. My release made my head spin. I clenched my teeth and gripped the seat and Kayla took all of me.

  When we were done, I pulled her back up on my lap. She settled against my chest and closed her eyes. I didn’t know how long we stayed like that but it was clear neither of us wanted to move.

  Eventually, she slid back into the passenger seat. We tucked ourselves back into our costumes and she shared a knowing smile with me.

  “I’m kind of glad you didn’t have a condom,” she said.

  “Oh yeah?”

  She pressed her knees together. “Uh huh.”

  I chuckled and started the car. It was late, almost midnight, and Kayla undoubtedly had an early start in the morning. “I’ll take you home.”

  I pulled out of the parking lot and away from the Sound. Kayla gazed out the window at the passing streetlights as we wove around the outer road and made our way back into the city. I could see the reflection of her face on the glass and pretended not to notice that she was smiling—until suddenly she wasn’t.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Did we make a mistake? Is this bad? Does this make us bad?”

  “Look,” I said gently. “There’s obviously something between us. We’ve been fighting it and fighting it, but maybe it’s a better idea to—I don’t know—throw ourselves into it?”

  Kayla stared blankly at me.

  I smiled. “We can’t keep ignoring how we feel, Kayla. At least I know I don’t want to. I want to explore this with you.”

  She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I worry about Lisa. What would she think if she knew? Would she ever be able to look at me the same? When you came into my office last week and she was there, I felt like the walls were closing in on me.”

  How could we give this a fair shot when Kayla was going to be on high alert all the time?

  An idea struck me.

  “What if we get out of town?” I suggested. “We can go away just for a weekend. That way, we don’t have to worry about running into anyone we know, specifically Lisa. We can talk openly. We can figure out what this thing is between us without having to juggle work and family and commitments.”

  “A trip? Just like that? Lukas, I’m not sure that’s wise.”

  “We should go tonight.”

  “Tonight?” she asked sharply.

  “Listen, Kayla. Working with you has changed a lot of things. It’s brought up memories from my past that have been buried for a very long time. I keep pushing them back down, but when you’re around, they resurface, and they don’t hurt the way they used to.” I paused and worried none of this was making a lick of sense. We took a right-hand turn onto her street. “I just want some time with you.”

  “I have shifts at the kitchen.”

  “I’ll send someone to cover it.”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Someone. Anyone. Just look me in the eyes right now and tell me you don’t want this chance. Tell me the truth, Kayla. Do you want to get away from it all? Do you want to see if this is real?”

  I pulled over outside her apartment building. Kayla looked from me to the apartment, and back to me, and for a moment, I thought she might say no.

  But she didn’t.

  “How much time do I have?” she asked.

  “I’ll send a car for you in an hour.”

  Chapter 28

  Kayla

  This might be a mistake. No, not “might.” This is probably a huge, horrible, bumbling mistake.

  My mind raced a mile a minute as I crammed clothes into a duffel bag. I had no idea where Lukas planned on taking me for this whirlwind weekend getaway, so I had no idea what I was supposed to pack. Did I bring a bathing suit? Sweat pants? A nice pair of jeans? A winter jacket? Boots? Sneakers? How many pairs of socks did I need? Should I bother packing makeup and jewelry? Did I need hair tools?

  With so little time at my disposal to properly prepare, I settled for comfortable items. I changed into a pair of leggings and boots with warm lining. I opted for a sweater with a hood and threw my denim jacket over it. By the time I’d managed to haul my bag to my front door, my phone chimed.

  The driver had arrived.

  I was not an impulsive person. I was the girl who meticulously planned every event, occasion, outing, date, meetup—everything. I needed to know how a thing was going to go in order to be comfortable doing said thing. I needed consistency and I hated the unknown.

  This weekend held a lot of unknowns and all I’d had to prepare for it was an hour.

  It simply wasn’t enough.

  But I was going for it anyway.

  I turned off the lights, locked up behind me, and made my way out of the apartment building to the SUV parked at the curb. The driver was a familiar-looking man and I realized it was the same gentleman who’d dropped Lukas off at the orchard. He met me with a smile and a handshake and put my bag in the backseat before inviting me to sit up front with him. He said his name was Art as we drove away, and when I asked him where we were going, he just looked over at me and smiled.

  “To the airport, of course,” he said.

  “The airport? Where on earth does Lukas plan on taking me?”

  “It’s a surprise, miss. He insisted I not let the cat out of the bag. Don’t worry. It’s not a long flight.”

  “Canada?”

  He shook his head. “Nope.”

  I pursed my lips and settled back against the seat. Art told me all about his time working for Lukas and how much he enjoyed being his driver. I wondered if he was lying because I knew Lukas’ mood swings better than most. There was no way Art hadn’t been privy to at least a dozen, seeing as how he’d been working as Lukas’ driver for nearly four years.

  We arrived at the airport and drove straight out onto one of the tarmacs, where in the dead of night I spotted Lukas standing in front of a small passenger plane. He was illuminated from the light inside the plane spilli
ng down the stairs onto the tarmac. He smiled when I got out of the car and met me with a kiss while Art retrieved my bags from the back seat.

  “Where are you taking me, Lukas Holt?” I asked as I gazed up into his face.

  He wore a smug smile. “Not far. Just someplace where nobody will recognize us.”

  “Are you taking me out of the country? Out of the state?”

  “No.” He chuckled. “I couldn’t swing that exciting of a trip in one hour’s notice. But I could swing this. Just trust me, okay?”

  I crammed my hands in my pockets as a strong wind picked up. “Okay.”

  Lukas tilted his head toward the plane. “Let’s get you out of the cold.”

  The flight was a smooth one despite the wind, and it was short. Quite short. Only about forty-five minutes or so. I appreciated that Lukas hadn’t taken me too far away from home just in case something came up with work. I didn’t want to bail on him but Good Fellow’s had to come first. There were people who needed me, and Lukas would be just fine if I had to leave. He had his own private plane, after all.

  But when we arrived at our real destination, every part of me hoped and prayed I wouldn’t get called back to the city for work.

  The plane landed on a small tarmac and another car took us from the small excuse of an airport to a resort on the island built right on a bluff overlooking the dark and magnificent ocean. Lukas claimed it was a rustic retreat of some kind but the cabins hardly looked rustic to me.

  Clearly, he saw them through rich-people lenses. I saw them for what they were, glorious homes built amongst nature with simple creature comforts.

  We checked in at the lodge underneath a massive chandelier made of deer antlers. There were twenty-five hotel rooms in the lodge and thirty cabins on the sprawling property. Our cabin was within walking distance, but due to the late hour and the chill in the air, the attendant in the lobby offered to shuttle us there in an enclosed golf cart.

  Lukas and I gratefully accepted the offer.