Chapter 8
Eight
Oh my God…Lucas is kissing me!
I’m kissing Lucas!
We’re totally kissing each other!
Those thoughts were racing through Holly’s mind so quickly that she almost forgot to savor the moment. His arms leisurely wrapped around her waist, urging her impossibly closer. He was all warm, hard muscles and it was better than anything she had ever dreamed of.
And she dreamed of Lucas a lot.
It started out sweet and tentative, but it didn’t take long for him to take it a little deeper, and Holly was totally there for it.
His hands roamed up and down her back, he smelled delicious, and he kissed her more thoroughly than any man ever had before.
She was on sensory overload and silently prayed she could stay that way.
“Woof!”
Not now, Shmoop!
“Woof! Woof!”
Go away!
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Each bark got louder and even more insistent. She desperately wanted to tell the dog to go lie down, but that would mean breaking the kiss. And she most definitely did not want to break the kiss.
Unfortunately, Shmoop wasn’t going to stop barking until someone acknowledged him. As if of one mind, she and Lucas slowly broke apart, the last kiss lingering just a bit longer.
Sighing, she looked up at him. “Sorry. He’s not usually such a brat.” Then she turned to the dog and forced herself to smile, even though she was pretty peeved with him. “Do you need to go out? Huh? Do you want to go outside?”
Shmoop barked and jumped and then ran to the back door. She opened it and let him out before turning and facing Lucas again.
“Is he okay out there by himself? Do you need to take him for a walk?”
“No. The yard’s fenced in and he has plenty of room to run around.
I fed him before you got here and he’d already gone out to do his business, so I don’t know what he was so frantic about.
” She nervously brushed her hair back over her ear and felt a little self-conscious.
Like…what was she supposed to say next? Thank you for the kiss?
Or…that was amazing? Or just beg him to do it again?
If she were the bold type, she’d simply take him by the hand and lead him out to the sofa, but…she wasn’t.
Wait, was she?
Could she be?
But before she could figure that out, Lucas came over and took her by the hand and led her out to the living room.
And it was pretty awesome how they were completely in sync like that.
As soon as they sat down, he reached for her again and she went willingly into his arms. It briefly crossed her mind that maybe they should talk about this, but the last thing she wanted to do was give him a reason to second-guess it and stop.
Instead, they slowly melted against each other. There were soft sighs and gentle caresses, neither in a hurry to take things further than this.
And that was a turn-on in itself—the fact that Lucas wasn’t grabbing her boobs or squeezing her butt.
He was simply unhurriedly enjoying this.
So was she. The whole first kiss, first getting-to-know-you exploration was wildly exciting.
Her heart was racing as one kiss blended into the next.
It was all new and yet it felt like she’d been kissing him for years.
In her dreams, yes, so maybe that was why, but she’d never admit that out loud.
Carefully, she shifted in his arms, straddling his lap, and that’s when his hands reached down to cup her bottom. She hummed appreciatively, and she swore she felt him smile against her lips right before those sweet but steamy kisses kicked up a notch.
Now there was heat and passion and promise. These were the kind of kisses that led to clothes coming off and all the sexy naughty stuff that came after it.
Am I ready for that? Is it too soon?
The fact that her conscience chose now to chime in again annoyed her, and just like she thought earlier when Shmoop was barking, Go away!
Luckily, they did.
Holly raked her hands up into Lucas’s hair—something she had always wanted to do—and it was awesome. She gripped it tightly for a moment and was rewarded with a very masculine moan that she was eager to hear again.
Beneath her, he lifted his hips slightly and it was such an erotic move that she began to slowly grind against him.
And that’s when she felt it.
A vibration.
Um…wait. What? Why is Lucas vibrating against my thigh?
He tore his lips from hers with a muttered curse, leaving her momentarily confused.
“I’m sorry, Holly. It’s my phone. I forgot it was in my pocket and…” He pulled it up and cursed again.
Scrambling off his lap, she asked, “Is everything okay?”
He let out a long breath and raked his free hand through his hair. “I need to take this.” And with another apology, Lucas stood and answered the phone. “Yeah, Dad. What’s up?”
Holly didn’t want to eavesdrop, so she walked back to the kitchen and went to the door to check on Shmoop.
He was still wandering around the yard and she didn’t want to call him in yet.
So, to pass the time, she finished cleaning up from dinner—putting the leftovers in the refrigerator and throwing out the empty cartons.
When that was done, she poured herself a glass of cold water and hoped it would cool her down from their little make-out session.
By the time Lucas joined her in the kitchen, she felt like her emotions were a little more under control. She smiled shyly, but wasn’t sure what to say.
“I am so sorry about that. It was my father and I knew if I didn’t answer, he was going to keep calling.
He’s obsessed with buying a yacht and entering it in some Christmas boat parade so he can win the prize money.
” Shaking his head, he groaned. “He needs me to go over the contract so he can complete the sale and I just know he’s going to keep bothering me until I do it.
” Another groan. “Why can’t I just have my semi-normal parents back? ”
“Aww…you will. They’re just going through something right now. It’s all going to work out.”
“I really wish I had your optimism, because their behavior makes me feel like all is lost.”
Unable to help herself, she walked over and hugged him. “Nothing is lost. Not yet. We’re going to fix this. I promise.”
Luckily, he hugged her back and it was a sweet, quiet moment.
All the heat and need from earlier was gone, and maybe that was for the best. He truly was dealing with something and it made her think of her conversation with Crystal earlier.
If she tried to take things to the next level with Lucas, in the back of her mind, she’d feel like she was taking advantage of him.
And her stupid conscience agreed.
Seriously, go away!
This time when they pulled apart, she knew exactly what she needed to do.
“I think you need to go home and look at the contract and get back to him. I know you’re not on board with him buying it—or his reasons for buying it—but at least by looking at the contract, you’ll maybe have a little peace of mind. ”
“And peace from him bothering me,” he murmured, and then surprised her when he leaned in and kissed her again. “I’m going to see you tomorrow, right?”
Her heart did a little happy dance at the hopefulness in his voice. “You’ll see me briefly before you go and play pickleball with your nana.”
“She really wouldn’t mind if I canceled…”
Resting her hand on his chest, Holly shook her head. “But I would mind. I’ll be fine overseeing everything Henry and his crew are doing, and then I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Fine, but I feel bad leaving it all on you. It’s my house and I should be there.”
“Lucas, seriously. How long are a couple of games of pickleball?”
“We usually play the best of three, so…an hour?”
“I think we’ll be fine with you gone for a couple of hours. Trust me.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him. “And then we’ll hang out when you get home.”
“Good.” Another kiss. “Bring Shmoop and we’ll order dinner in. We can watch a movie and maybe do a little more of what we started here.”
She felt herself blush from head to toe. “I’d like that.”
Walking him to the door, she hated to see him leave, but just knowing it was only for a few hours made it a little more tolerable.
He gave her one last searing kiss before he left, and it was definitely going to hold her over until tomorrow.
“What the hell?”
Lucas had just pulled into the massive driveway after dropping his nana off, and spotted Holly standing on a two-story ladder, hugging it like her life depended on it, and looking positively petrified. He skidded to a stop and was out of the car instantly.
“Holly!”
She didn’t turn to look at him, but shakily called out, “Oh, hey, Lucas! I’m glad you’re back. How was pickleball?”
He looked around frantically. “What on earth are you doing up there? Where’s Henry?”
“He got called away for a family emergency and he left the lights on this window just dangling and it was making me crazy. I hate heights, but I thought I could finish it. Unfortunately, I’ve been up here for over an hour, too afraid to move!”
“Okay, okay…I’m coming. Don’t worry. I’ll get you down.”
“And then you’ll finish fixing these lights, right?”
The woman was insane. “Forget about the lights, Holly, and focus on climbing down!”
“I can’t! It’s too scary! Maybe you can just open the window and I can climb in that way? Please?”
“I’m not leaving you out here by yourself!”
“I’ve been up here by myself for over an hour!” she argued. “Please, Lucas! Please, just open the window and pull me through!”
He was completely torn. Leaving her alone and pulling her through an open window both seemed dangerous, but the window seemed less dangerous than the two of them trying to climb down the ladder.
“Okay, just…hang on tight! I’m going to go inside and run upstairs!”
“I’m holding on so tight that I’m losing feeling in my arms!” she called down, and that was his cue to haul ass up to his old bedroom.