14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
PENNY
A fter Lucas’ family leaves, I help him gather the empty pizza boxes and glasses and take them into the kitchen. The room is huge with a large, white marble bench, charcoal cabinetries lining the wall, and top-of-the-line, modern, stainless-steel appliances. Soft ambient lighting from strategically placed sconces gives the room a cozy feel in such a large space.
“Do you do a lot of cooking and entertaining?” From what I’ve seen of his penthouse so far, the apartment is way too big for one man. You could easily fit a dozen more people.
“I don’t cook a thing.” He chuckles. “Not when I can have the restaurant downstairs deliver almost anything.”
“The penthouse seems so big for one person.”
He places the pizza boxes on the counter. I take the glasses to the sink then stack the dishwasher.
“I travel a lot for work. When I’m home, my brothers and their families are here a lot. I need all the space I can get when they’re around,” he jokes.
At dinner the brothers messed around with each other, calling one another names and poking fun. All done with love and affection behind their disparaging shit talk. There’s no doubt they are tight. Seeing them all together had me wishing for that kind of connection. What would it be like to be part of a big, loving family?
“Speaking of family, I need to call my mother and Claudia. They must be wondering where I am after the run-in with the paparazzi at Oaks Valley. Is there a room where I can make some calls?”
“Sure. You can use my office.”
Lucas leads me through the apartment decorated with stunning paintings and artwork. When he opens a door and I step into his office, I gasp. And it’s not because of the magnificent floor-to-ceiling view of New York’s city lights, it’s because of the blown-up photographs arranged haphazardly on the walls, propped up against furniture, and sitting on easels. It’s like I’ve stepped into a gallery.
On the walls I take in the photos of beautiful women dressed in Alessi designs. They’re not your normal catalogue photos. They’re artistic. Different from anything I’ve seen before. The locations look like they’ve been pulled from fairy tales. Mystical and magical. Photos propped against the furniture are of nature; mountains, valleys, and I recognize the area around the cabin.
“These are stunning.” I walk to one of a woman wearing a white, flowing, silk dress, lying on a bed of pink roses. Diamonds and pearls are draped around her neck and wrists. She’s looking into the distance with a whimsical expression. “You are so talented.”
“Thank you.” He dips his head like the comment embarrasses him. Surely he knows he’s great. He must get told so all the time. “I’m including them in an exhibition in a couple of weeks.”
“You’re displaying your work? That’s amazing. People are going to love them.”
If I hadn’t asked him to delete the photos he’d taken of me in the woods, would they be added to his collection? Displayed so people can look at them? A shiver travels over my body at the thought. After my experience in the past, I could never show mine. Even though I know they were beautiful and tasteful, I’d never be brave enough.
He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me so my back is pressed against his chest, resting his chin on top of my head. Like he knows what I’m thinking, he says, “I would have put your photos somewhere more private.”
Turning in his embrace, I tilt my face up to look at him. “And where would that have been?”
He grins. It’s so sexy I feel it down to my toes. “Blown up and put on my bedroom ceiling so I could look at it every night and—”
“Have sweet dreams?” I interrupt, knowing where this is heading.
Heat flashes in his eyes. “More like kinky ones.”
Playfully, I lightly pinch his chest. “I thought they were meant to be artistic photography?”
“All depends on the audience.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
I shake my head with mock disappointment. “You’re too much.”
He tugs me close, and I can’t miss the bulge pressing against my stomach. “That’s not what you said last night. If I recall, you screamed you wanted a lot more.”
He nuzzles his face in my neck, and goosebumps explode over my body. I’m not sure I’ll ever get enough of him. It’s a shame our time together will end soon. I can’t stay here forever. My life has been put on hold long enough. As much as I’d love to stay in this bliss bubble, it’s time to put a pin in it. And that means making some calls.
I pull away, and Lucas narrows his eyes. “Come back here. I have a fantasy of fucking you on this desk. First, I have to carefully remove the photographs, then you’re getting sprawled out on it.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “So you’re not sweeping everything off like they do in the movies?”
“They’re important photos.” His tone is serious, yet his eyes sparkle with mirth.
“As hot and tempting as that sounds, I have calls to make. If I don’t, my mother will send a search-and-rescue party out for me.” I float my finger over the fly of his jeans, pulling a hiss from his lips. “When I’m done, I’ll wait for you right here.” I point at the desk.
“With the photographs carefully removed.” His lips twitch.
“Of course.”
“I’m holding you to that.” He pierces me with a long, lustful stare.
Oh, I won’t change my mind. Not when he looks at me like that. “I’m leaving tomorrow, so I’m going to make the most of tonight.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “You’re leaving tomorrow? I thought you needed somewhere private to stay?”
“I can’t rely on your generosity indefinitely. If I don’t show my face, things might get worse.”
“Be my girlfriend,” Lucas fires. His eyes widen, and he looks as shocked as I feel at his outburst. He clears his throat. “I mean, be my fake girlfriend.”
Confused, I ask, “What are you talking about?”
Lucas shuffles his feet. “Finn seems to think if we pretend we’re in a relationship, people will forget about Darren and what he’s saying. He thinks if we’re seen together, everyone will fall in love with us as a couple, and our reputations will be restored.”
Needing to take this information in, I walk to a plush, caramel settee free of photographs in the corner of the room and drop down. “Do you think it will work?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. It might.”
“Are you seriously considering doing it?” Hasn’t he done enough for me already? Surely he wants to get back to his life.
“It’s worth trying.”
“And then what? We pretend to break up?”
“After things settle down, we wait until the media has moved on to something bigger and better and we amicably part ways.”
“You’ve already done so much for me. I can’t ask you to put your life on hold,” I say.
He has a reputation of regularly being with different women. Doesn’t he want to get back to that? Jealousy wells up inside me at the thought. Oh, that’s not good. This is going to end. He will move on.
Lucas sits next to me. “You’re not asking. I’m offering. I’m involved in this too. My photos are plastered online along with yours. Being in a relationship might fix my reputation of being an Alessi playboy.” He gives me a cheeky grin.
I nudge his shoulder. “Oh, I’m sure that’s a reputation you pride yourself on. Our fake relationship might ruin that for you.”
“I’ll risk it.” He chuckles.
With seriousness, I say, “Thank you for trying to fix my life. I should deal with this myself. Hopefully things aren’t as bad as I think. After I speak with Claudia and my mother, I’m sure they’ll have a plan on how I move forward from here.”
Lines crease between his brows. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “Yes. Who knew you had such a sweet, caring side to you?” I tease.
Leaning toward me, his eyes zero in on my lips. “There’s nothing sweet about what I’m thinking. Forget making calls, come to my bedroom and I’ll show you what’s on my mind.” His mouth lands on the racing pulse on my neck. His tongue flicks out and glides to my ear.
Breathless, it takes effort to form words. “What about the desk?”
One of his hands skims the side of my torso until it reaches just under my breast. His thumb ghosts over my peaked nipple. My eyes roll back into my head before they flutter shut.
“Changed my mind. I want you in my bed, because I’m keeping you there all night,” he murmurs against my neck.
“As much as I love the sound of that, I can’t keep ignoring my responsibilities.” Using all the effort I can muster, I place my palms on Lucas’ chest and push. “Save it for later. I really do need to make some calls. When I’m done, I promise we can get back to this.”
With a heavy sigh, he rises from the settee. “Fine. Make it quick.”
“I will.”
When he leaves the room, I reluctantly pull my phone from my pocket. I stare at the screen—so many missed calls and texts. Should I call Claudia or my mother first? My mother will probably only make things more dramatic than what they are. Better to call Claudia; she’ll keep her cool while telling it to me straight. Selecting her name, I put the call through.
She answers on the first ring. “My God, Pen, why haven’t you returned my calls? Your mother is going crazy because you haven’t contacted her. Are you still at the cabin, or did the paparazzi find you there? Everything is falling apart. You don’t know what we’ve been dealing with here. We’ve been trying to put out all the fires you’ve made, but it’s out of control. You’re losing everything!” Claudia’s frantic voice shrills through the phone.
The breath gets knocked out of me. So much for Claudia keeping her cool. For her to be in such a panic mode, things must be bad. “Claudia, calm down. What fires have I made?”
“Calm down! Calm down! How can you tell me to calm down? We’ve barely spoken, and then we see photos of you gunning it down main street in a freaking middle-of-nowhere town. I thought you were hiding out so no one could find you? Being seen again has only stirred things up more.” I hear her sniff. Oh no! For her to get emotional, I’ve really hurt her feelings by not contacting her sooner.
“I’m sorry. I told you when we last spoke I had no reception at the cabin. Things got so crazy this is the first chance I’ve had to call you.” I tell her a little white lie. I could have excused myself from Lucas’ family when we arrived. They would have understood. I just wasn’t ready for reality, and I was enjoying my time with them. “So tell me what’s going on. What do you mean I’m losing everything?” My stomach clenches as I wait on her response.
“First, tell me where you are so I can get you. We can talk better face to face.”
I tuck my legs up onto the settee. “I’m staying at Lucas’ apartment.”
Claudia is silent for a beat. “You’re in the city? Why haven’t you gone home or at least come to mine or Elizabeth’s place?” I hear the hurt tone in her voice.
“I was worried there’d be too many paparazzi there. Lucas’ apartment has super-tight security. Anyway, it’s only for the night. I’ll work out my living arrangements tomorrow. Darren probably hasn’t left—even moved Karen in.” I own my home. Darren moved in with me. But now, after he had sex with another woman in there, I don’t want to step foot in it again. Although, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him get comfortable. I’d rather burn it down than let him live in it.
“You’re right about Darren living in your apartment, but not with Karen. They’ve gone their separate ways. Although he’s still sobbing about your affair to whoever will listen.”
Great. If he keeps talking, it will take even longer for the media to move on. Once I kick him out of my apartment, I never want to have anything to do with him again or give him another thought.
“Tell me why I’m losing everything,” I say. Surely she’s being overly dramatic.
“Oh, Pen. Your TV series deal has fallen through. Why air a show about a wedding that’s not taking place? And they no longer believe in your squeaky-clean image. Also, the book contract your publisher was sending out for you to sign has been withdrawn.”
I spring from my seat. “What? They can’t do that! I did nothing wrong. Darren is the one who got caught bare-assed having sex with another woman, yet I’m the one being punished? How is that fair?” I can understand about the show, but the book? That hits hard.
“The photos of you with Lucas, and Darren’s statement saying you had the affair first, is making you look guilty. Your image is damaged. No one is prepared to commit to you anymore.”
I drop my head in my hand and rub my fingers across my forehead. This is worse than I expected. Anger burns in my gut. All my hard work is ruined. What the hell am I supposed to do now?
Be my fake girlfriend.
Lucas’ suggestion rings through my head.
Would pretending to be a couple help with my reputation? Will people love our relationship enough to forget about the mess with Darren? I don’t have to fake being attracted to Lucas. The chemistry between us is electric. With people watching our every move, could we pull it off?
What other option do I have? I need to do something to save my business and reputation.
“Claudia, I have to go.”
“Wait…what do you want us to do? We need to put some kind of plan together.”
“I have something in mind. I’ll fill you in when I know more.” Before she can ask questions, I quickly say goodbye and end the call.
Leaving the office, I go in search of Lucas. The apartment is massive, and it takes opening a few doors and peeking inside rooms until I find the one he’s in. The bedroom boasts magnificent views of the city, like every room I’ve seen. Lucas is sitting on a lush, king-sized bed propped with pillows, looking at his phone. When he sees me, he smiles. That smile makes everything inside me weak and tingly.
“Let’s do it,” I say.
Lucas’ smile spreads across his face. He tosses the phone on the mattress and then flicks the top button of his jeans open. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
I shake my head. “No, not that. Well, yes, that will happen. What I mean is, I want to be your fake girlfriend.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Everything is falling apart. I have to try something.”
“Want to talk about it?”
That’s the last thing I want to do right now. “No.”
Swinging his legs off the bed, he saunters toward me and backs me up against the wall. He links our fingers together and raises my arms above my head, pressing his body against mine. His tongue darts out to swipe his bottom lip, like he wants to devour me, and I absolutely want him to. Then, with quick movements, he drops my hands. He picks me up by the waist, and in two long strides, he’s at the bed. He tosses me on the mattress, and I squeal with delight.
Next, he slides down the zipper of his jeans. “It all doesn’t have to be fake.”
Propping myself onto my elbows, with one hand I reach out and hook my fingers in the waistband of his underwear. “If I’m agreeing to this, I expect some benefits.”
“I’ll give you anything sexual you want. Multiple times. In every position you can imagine.”
My body thrums with wanting.
Tugging at his underwear, I yank hard, and he drops on top of me, carefully keeping his body weight on his elbows. His pelvis presses against mine, securing me to the mattress. There’s no mistaking the hard length of him.
With the tussle of getting tossed on the bed, my shirt has gone askew, exposing a shoulder and the top of my breast. His gaze zeros in on my heaving chest. His tongue darts out to swipe his bottom lip like he’s waiting for my hard nipple to pop out so he can lick it. I shimmy my shoulders so the fabric moves lower, exposing my breast even more.
Instead of putting his mouth on me, to my annoyance, he pushes himself onto his knees. What is he doing? My face must show a frustrated expression because he chuckles.
“Patience, Pixie. I want you naked before I fuck you.” He unbuttons his shirt so slow I want to groan with impatience. While I’m waiting for him to finish, I tug his jeans and underwear off his hips until his erection, large and heavy, spills free and into my hand.
I stroke him from root to tip, pulling a long moan from his lips. Pumping his hips into my hand, our eyes lock. His body tenses, and I can tell that he’s trying to hold it together. When has sex ever been this exciting before? When have I literally held a man in the palm of my hand and felt like I could make all his sexual fantasies come true?
Never. Nothing has ever compared to this. To the way Lucas makes me feel. To the way my body sings whenever he’s near. This fake dating with benefits could be dangerous. If I’m not careful, I could fall off the edge of friendship and land somewhere I have no business being.
Lucas pulls away, steps from the bed, and shuffles out of his jeans, tossing them on the floor. Next, he takes condoms out of the nightstand and throws them onto the bed. I shrug out of my shirt and jeans and toss them aside. He wants me naked. I’m giving him naked. Never have I been so confident in my body before. In his brightly lit room, I’m not trying to cover myself under the sheets or keep an item of clothing on to shield myself. Lucas looks at me like I’m the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, and I believe him.
Before he joins me again, he holds onto my ankles and drags me to the edge of the bed. Hooking my legs over his shoulders, he dives between my thighs. The flat of his tongue glides along my slit right before it flicks and sucks at my sensitive nub. My hips buck. I clutch his hair and squeeze my eyes shut and take in the sweet torture of his mouth.
“Lucas,” I say on a strangled breath. His mouth works me over. His tongue delving deep between my folds. “Oh…Lucas…Lucas.”
He pulls away long enough to say, “Yes, Pixie? Do you like that?”
“Don’t…stop…ever.” I take deep breaths between each word.
He chuckles and I feel the vibration against my sex.
My hips thrust with the rhythm of his mouth. If he keeps doing magical things with his tongue, I’m not going to last much longer. When his hands travel up my thighs and he adds his fingers, I nearly levitate off the bed.
Like he senses how close I am to finishing, he says, “Easy, Pixie, I’m not ready for this to end.”
Unhooking my legs from his shoulders, he joins me on the bed, and we shuffle to the top of the mattress. He rolls on top of me, my legs automatically spread, and he nestles between my thighs. He captures my lips with his mouth, and for a moment I relish in his kiss and the weight of him on my body.
His kiss alone can make me orgasm. Who am I when I’m with him? Someone whose sexual prowess has laid dormant for years and it’s getting released in such an oh-so-exciting way.
Lucas glides his tongue along my neck, sucking over my collarbone before he closes his lips around my hardened nipple. I gasp as his tongue flicks and his mouth sucks. He floats his hand over my stomach and to my other breast and massages in slow circles. My body is trembling. Every part of me is on fire. I grasp at his hair as he laves me up. My legs fall open, ready and waiting for his next move.
Lucas lifts his head to look at me. “You’re gorgeous, Penny. Every inch of you is fucking perfect.”
My heart flutters at his words.
“I want to take my time with you and lap you up from head to toe. But every time I touch you, I’m a fucking ball of lust and need to be inside you,” he says through gritted teeth, like it’s an effort to hold back long enough to speak. He slides his hand between our bodies and dips a finger inside my sex. My body jerks with sensitivity. “You’re so wet.” He pulls his hand away, his finger glistening with proof. “Tell me you’re ready.”
“Not yet.”
He groans with frustration.
I push at his shoulders so he lies on his back. I pick up the foil packet from the bed and tear open the condom. With it in my hand, his eyes darken as he can tell what I’m about to do. He folds his arms and places his hands behind his head like he’s relaxing, yet he’s taking deep breaths through his nose. As I roll it on him, his eyes flutter shut and he bites his bottom lip. I love how I have this effect on him.
Straddling him, I stay on my knees. I clasp my hand around his penis and guide him to my sex. Inch by excruciating slow inch, I lower myself until he’s buried deep. For a moment we don’t move, only stare at each other, our breathing coming out in labored breaths.
Slowly, I circle my hips one way and back the other. Lucas grips onto my hips, encouraging my movement. Arching my back, I pick up the speed as he grinds into me.
“You feel so good,” he groans. “I want to see you touch yourself.”
I’m a little surprised at his suggestion, but it also excites me. “Where?”
“Wherever you want.”
Timidly, I caress my hands over my stomach and up to my breasts. With an unexpected thrum of satisfaction, I massage them. My thumb and fingers tweaking and swirling around my nipples.
Lucas’ pelvis thrusts up and down as he grips my hips hard. “Do you like touching yourself?”
“Y-yes. Yes,” my breath escapes on a gust of air.
He growls, “Fuck, that’s hot, but I can’t take this much longer.”
Lifting himself up, he flips me onto my back. I bounce once before he hovers above me, the muscles in his arms bulging as he holds his weight. In a swift motion, he’s back inside me, and I bite down on the curve of his neck.
With each thrust, my body is coiling into a tight ball of lust. “I-I don’t know how much longer I can last.”
He bends his head and closes his mouth around my nipple.
I dig my nails into his back. “More,” I say. He moves on to the other breast and gives it equal attention as his hips don’t break from their pace, but I need even more. “Faster,” I demand.
He grinds hard and picks up speed. Our bodies slap together, my breasts bounce on my chest. Gripping onto his butt, I hold on tight. My body is tightening. My vision blurs.
Squeezing around him, I scream, “Yes, Lucas, yes!” At least, that’s what I think I’m saying. My mind is going blank. I can only feel. And I feel Lucas beginning to lose control. With his head tilted back slightly, his mouth falls open. His pounding into me grows harder with each thrust.
Our eyes lock as an orgasm rips through me, tearing a moan from my mouth. Right with me, Lucas is jerking as we both fall over the edge together. He slumps on top of me, keeping his weight on his arms, his warm breath fanning my face.
“Fuck, you’re amazing,” he declares, and I can’t help the grin spreading across my face.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” He’s magnificent. I think—no, I know —he’s ruined me for future men. My grin drops. How can I think about what’s to come when I have something this great? Yet this isn’t real. It’s fake.
I’m his pretend girlfriend.
But why does this feel like the real deal?