18. Chapter 18 – Lucy
I stretched ostentatiously, reaching for the ceiling with a big yawn.
Anya’s lips twitched. “You trying to tell us something?”
“That’s my cue.” Clay pushed to his feet and reached for my hand to tug me from the couch. “Ready to go home, Luce?”
I winked at him. “I am feeling pretty tired. Maybe too tired to walk all the way home. You game for giving me a ride?”
“Just go,” Violet groused, breaking into our little play. “I don’t want to hear about you riding each other. Your pretense for horniness is making me grouchy. Not all of us are getting lucky tonight.”
“Says the woman with the key to Lee’s place,” I pointed out gently.
She swatted at the air, like my words were no more than an annoying fly. “Exactly. The sooner you all get on to whatever it is you do behind closed doors, the sooner I can take Lee his dinner and retire to my lonely bed.”
“Never let it be said that I can’t take a hint,” Clay intoned, leading me toward the door. “Good night, everyone.”
The others called out their goodbyes, and we gathered our things.
Clay opened the passenger door for me, closing it gently when I was settled. The drive to my place took less than three minutes, but I was grateful not to walk in the downpour. Clay turned off his engine.
“Still okay for me to stay tonight?” he asked, watching me steadily.
“I’m not done having my wicked way with you yet.”
His slow grin stoked the fire deep in my belly.
This time, we came together in a slow exploration, stripping each other of clothing piece by piece.
Trailing kisses across each exposed inch.
He seemed fascinated by the pigmentation across my chest, tracing it with his tongue as he petted his way across my thighs to the secrets clenched between them.
He dipped and swirled, slicking the heat to the bundle of nerves at the top of my slit, watching my face as he brought me to the edge, then tipped me over, raining gentle kisses across my face.
Our lovemaking was no less powerful than our first night together, but maybe less frantic. More sure. Letting him see my birthmark wasn’t an issue. He’d seen it and loved on it already, filling me with a gentle confidence.
“Even your body is a work of art,” he rumbled softly, dropping a kiss on my shoulder after pulling the covers over us.
I chuckled, the sound without any real humor. “It’s taken me a long time to get here.” The shadow of Christopher crept in, tightening my jaw as I remembered the way he kept his gaze studiously above my chest when I was naked. Clay had no such reservations, eating me up with a glance.
“I guess if I’m reaping the rewards, I can’t complain too much.”
“Gee, generous of you,” I said, my tone dry as dust.
He clasped his hands behind his head, the quirk of his mouth playful as he wiggled against the mattress. “Have you connected the dots yet?”
“Is that an invitation?” I asked. He bobbed his head energetically. My lips twitched. “Is this freckle puzzle something super mature and sophisticated?”
“C’mon, Lucifer. Play with me.” He said it with such little-boy glee that I couldn’t help grinning back.
“If this is another thinly veiled marriage proposal, you’re going to owe me an hour in my workshop as penance.”
He reached for me, smacking a quick kiss across my mouth. My lips curled at the edges, and he dropped a second kiss across my smile.
“Honey, all you need to get me into your studio is to ask. I’ve been dying to watch you.”
I arched a brow. “It’s hot, sweaty work.”
He gestured to his chest. “I’m no stranger to either one. Baby, taking it easy didn’t build this body.” He flexed, making his pecs dance. He looked so silly, brows and chest pumping in rhythm, that I dissolved against him, giggling.
“Apparently, modesty didn’t either,” I got out when I could talk again.
He grinned, unrepentant. “Modesty and me are only passing acquaintances. It takes bravery to go up against you.”
“Hmm…” I tapped my lips to hide my smile, eyes flickering from freckle to mole to freckle. “Does your encoded message say ‘hotshot’?”
He pursed his lips. “Try again.”