Chapter 4
A lex was quiet on their way home and Lucy stared out the window at the passing scenery, enjoying the ride in the luxury SUV.
It wasn’t every day that a girl from a trailer park got a chance to ride in such a vehicle and she was going to savor every moment, even if the company was stilted and awkward.
The fake date certainly hadn’t gone as they had planned.
In fact, it was safe to say the plan had gone completely off track, so far off track they were forging a new one, though it had been nice to pretend she and Alex were a couple.
The dancing had been spectacular. The feel of his hands on her.
The press of his body against hers. It had been all she could do to not throw herself at him and try to make the night into something real.
She glanced over at her fake boyfriend to gauge his mood. Alex focused on the road ahead, a muscle ticking in his jaw, not wavering at all.
“So, another date? I didn’t exactly agree to that when we started out tonight.”
He turned dark eyes on her, and her heart beat ticked up at his steady gaze. “I’m sorry to ruin your plans and force you to spend more time with me.”
She rolled her eyes. Martyr. Like she would object to spending more time with him. “Relax, Alex. I was making conversation. Why didn’t you just say no?”
He let out a breath and refocused on the road. “I don’t know. I should have. I can call and cancel.”
She reached out and laid a hand on his thigh, the muscles tense under her fingers. “That’s not what I said. Tell me why this is important to you.”
He turned down the street to Savannah and Dylan’s house, where she was house-sitting while they were out west. He pulled up in the driveway and turned off the engine. “It’s completely stupid.”
“The worst ideas usually are. Trust me. I’m kind of an expert at them. I have a long history of making stupid decisions.”
He shifted in the seat to face her. “You were young. Everyone makes poor decisions then. I, however, knew better.”
She arched her eyebrow. “Really? Sometimes love makes fools of us all. Remind me to tell you about the guy I ran away with, the guitar player who was going to be a recording artist and go all the way. He sure did—with every woman he could find, and a few men, too. He was an equal opportunity cheater. He didn’t care about me, as long as I worked a couple of jobs and brought in enough money to support him.
” She gave a harsh laugh at the memory of her last boyfriend before she’d come back to town.
“God, was I stupid. I thought I loved him, so I stayed for a long time.”
There was a long pause while her words hung in the air between them. “When did you decide to leave?”
The automatic flood lights had turned off during her story, but she sensed him still watching her.
“When he hit me. I watched my mom get knocked around by various guys for years. I vowed that would never happen to me. And yet, there I was, following her same path. Chasing loser men, working low-end jobs, and being abused. Not happening.”
“That took a lot of guts.”
She gave another harsh laugh. “Not really. I came to my sister’s, camped out on her couch, and drank her good tequila while I felt sorry for myself for a long time.
It took a while to figure out my next steps, but I got there.
Well, I’m still trying.” She turned to him.
“Now, I’ve sufficiently embarrassed myself. Your turn.”
He rested his head on the back of the seat and stared at the garage. “I thought she loved me. Yeah, I knew there were problems. She hated Thor.”
“Anyone who hates that big softy must be horrible.”
His mouth curved in a smile. “Yeah. Thor hasn’t met anyone he didn’t like, except for Candice. She didn’t like my job. Said I travelled too much, which is ridiculous since she makes a point of dating athletes. And she doesn’t get along with my family.”
“Three strikes.”
He nodded. “I don’t know why I stayed. No, that’s bullshit. I didn’t see any of that at the time. I thought she loved me and everything was fine. But then she started putting me on campaigns at her work, using me to get ahead with her job. I couldn’t ignore that.”
“So, why do you care about going to dinner? Is this some male pride thing, not letting her see how much she hurt you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I want to prove I’m okay, that she doesn’t matter to me anymore.”
Lucy studied him for a long moment, able to make out his features now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
She was starting to understand why this mattered.
She could relate to wanting to prove everything was fine, especially to an ex, though voluntarily going on a double date was not high on her list of things to do.
“Fine, I’m in. I’ll go with you, pretend to be your date. But she won’t buy that we’re dating. I don’t think we fooled her tonight. That might even be why she suggested it.”
Lucy had caught Candice’s speculative gaze during the evening and she knew Alex hadn’t missed it, especially since he’d draped an arm around her and pulled her close.
He’d even danced with her. Though the dance had started as an escape and a way to prove something, it had been the best part of the evening.
Lucy had almost believed they were on an actual date.
He’d held her close, and they’d been in sync with the music.
She’d felt protected and cared for. Good thing they’d been interrupted.
Alex got out of the SUV and headed around to the passenger side. He opened her door and held out a hand. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Where I come from, a gentleman helps a lady out of the car.”
She snorted. “Okay. Well, grab a step stool because I’m going to need some help getting down from this beast, especially in this dress. You remember the fun of getting me in here.”
A wicked smile crossed his face. “I can do better than that.”
Without taking his eyes off her, he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her to the edge of the seat.
She gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into his tuxedo jacket.
Then he lifted her, hauling her up against him in one smooth motion.
Her arms tangled around his neck and they were face to face, her body flush against his.
He held her firmly against his lean, strong body, his dark eyes peering right into hers, amusement and something heating the dark depths.
She licked her dry lips and watched him, her blue eyes wide and uncertain, waiting for what he’d do next.
Slowly, ever so carefully, he lowered his head until his lips met hers in a kiss that completely stole her breath away.
T his was exactly what he had been trying to avoid, but it felt so right, and he was done being good for tonight.
He refused to let Lucy think he was fake dating her just to prove a point to his ex.
Sure, no one wanted to look bad to an ex, but he liked Lucy for who she was—dangerous to his peace of mind, not to mention his aching cock.
But now that he’d actually tasted her, how would he walk away?
Her lips softened under his, and he took advantage, his tongue sweeping in to tangle with hers.
She moaned into his mouth and buried her fingers in his hair to pull him closer.
He lowered his hands to her ass to lift her higher against him, so she could feel the rigid evidence of his arousal pressing against her, leaving no doubt about how she was affecting him.
She’d teased him with her casual touches, her subtle perfume, and her light laugh.
He’d been in agony all night, even as one part of him, the rational part, told him this was just an arrangement and he could never have her for more than this event.
Another part wanted to lay claim to her, to show her how he felt and see if she possibly felt the same.
Judging by how she was responding, she was on board—despite Dylan’s protestations that she needed space.
She pulled back, her eyes unfocused and dazed, lips slightly swollen, and she blinked rapidly.
A dog barked in the house, then another, setting off a symphony of noises from the three dogs inside.
He lowered her slowly to the ground, holding her until she gained firm footing, her hands gripping his shoulders as if reluctant to let go.
But once her feet were firmly on the ground, she slid her hands down his arms and away from him.
She wrapped them around herself as if to ward off the December chill.
“I should go inside before they piss off the neighbors.” But she made no move to leave.
He forced himself to take a step back, afraid that if he didn’t, he would follow her inside and stay the night. And neither of them were ready for that, not yet. Maybe never, if cooler heads prevailed.
He reached out and took her hand, pulling her close, unable to resist one last moment of proximity before he had to let her go. “Thank you for coming tonight. It meant a lot to me.”
She laughed against his dress shirt. “I had a great time, despite the whole ex-girlfriend thing.” She stepped back, tilting up her head to grin mischievously at him. “And if you decide to go on that double date, let me know.”
He laughed. “Dinner with my ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend? Yeah, I think I’ll pass.”
Though maybe he shouldn’t. It would allow him a chance to see Lucy again, especially since she was open to it. One more chance to spend time to see if this heat between them was a tiny spark or a roaring fire.