Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Ninth encounter
Lucas’ gaze slid down Anna’s bare back. She was on her stomach, her hands clasped beneath her head, sound asleep. He had only been gone for thirty seconds to get a glass of water! How could she possibly be asleep?
Chuckling softly, he shook his head and traced the contours of her body one last time before kneeling on the mattress and gently kissing her neck. Then, he dressed and left.
Shortly after nine, Lucas finally pulled into his driveway. It was dark, and he was annoyed that he hadn’t been able to put Mel to bed again. Even though she would still be awake, it was the first attempt that really mattered.
Coach Gray had gone over just about every play they’d messed up in the last two years before sending most of the team home. Poor Fox, however, was still there performing his captain’s duties.
His phone vibrated with the third text from Hazel:
Who’s Anna? Why aren’t you answering me?
She’s nobody
he texted back impatiently, wearily running a hand over his face before unlocking the front door. The sounds of the TV wafted toward him. He took off his shoes, his back muscles automatically tensing. Anna was here. In his house.
He’d never had one of his…women here. Hazel was here often, but then he’d never slept with his agent, or even wanted to sleep with her.
Knowing that Anna was sitting on his couch was disconcerting. It put his whole body on alert, which was bad because he tended to act like a shit when he was uncomfortable. He’d actually planned to be nice to Anna. In a non-physical way. He had no problem with her, and they both knew that.
God, she’d saved his ass today. He owed her a thank you. A favor. An apology.
He walked down the hall, peeked into the kitchen, which was a mess of pasta – and green pesto? – opened the living room door…and froze.
Melody was asleep. And she wasn’t the only one.
They were both lying on the couch, a blanket wrapped around their legs.
Anna had her head on the armrest and her arm around Melody, who was slumbering on her shoulder.
A loud song came from the TV – some Disney movie was playing – apparently not disturbing the two of them at all.
His heart twisted strangely as his gaze flickered over them.
It contracted and expanded at the same time, alternating warm and cold.
It was as if it were going through a car wash.
They looked peaceful. Both of them. They were perfectly content to wake up tomorrow with a stiff neck.
And yet Mel never fell asleep knowing he was due back later. Not for months, she hadn’t. Nevertheless, there she was, asleep, her mouth slightly open, drooling on Anna’s t-shirt. What had Anna done to make her so exhausted?
Shaking his head, he stepped closer to the couch and carefully pulled the blanket off Melody’s body before lifting her into his arms. He carried her through the hallway and up the stairs, careful not to make any sudden movements… yet he still woke her.
“Lu?” she whispered, wrapping her slender arms around his neck.
“Yeah, I’m back,” he murmured, kissing her gently on the cheek.
She nodded. “I had a lot of fun.”
A smile tugged at his mouth as he pushed open her bedroom door with his foot. “I’m glad. What did you do?”
“I fixed Anna,” she explained, her voice quiet and sleepy. “She kept breaking her ankle. I put a bandage on her. She helped me. I’m going to be a super, super doctor.”
“Very good,” he murmured, putting her into bed. She was already in her pajamas.
“Yes. Anna is super smart. She’s fixed a lot of people. And she taught me how to tell if my appendix is bad.”
He chuckled, knelt beside her, and covered her. “You’ll have to show me that tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Her eyes fluttered closed again, but apparently, she couldn’t stop talking. She and Anna were similar in that area. “Did you know we have a bone in our ears that’s super small and called an iron?”
She meant the stirrup, but he couldn’t bring himself to correct her. “That’s amazing.”
“Yes. And then we had ice cream. But shhh. It’s a secret.”
He smiled and stroked her head. “Okay, I’ll keep it to myself.”
“Good.” Relieved, she snuggled into her pillow. “Dad?”
His heart clenched. The word slipped out sometimes when she was tired or when she wanted to try it out because the kids at kindergarten used it all the time.
“Yes?”
“Did you know that Anna doesn’t have a mom anymore either? She’s like me. So you have to be extra nice to her.”
A lump formed in his throat, which he quickly swallowed. “I’ll try.”
He couldn’t promise more because he felt that sometimes, he simply lost control of his mind and body in Anna’s presence.
She nodded again before her breathing evened out.
He gave her another kiss on the head and laid Lulu in her bed before getting up, quietly closing the door, and going back downstairs to the living room.
Anna hadn’t moved. She was still sleeping like the dead.
He walked slowly around the couch and stared at her face and the dark fringe of eyelashes resting on her cheek.
He had often watched Anna sleep, more often than a non-stalker should.
But Anna fell asleep faster than a hockey player could say fuck.
So, it’s not like he’d had a choice. And she looked so damn…
beautiful when she slept. Naked or clothed.
She radiated a calmness he had never possessed even though everyone believed he did.
But it was an illusion. When she slept, everything about her was mellow and gentle, the complete opposite of her waking self. And he found both sides fascinating.
I’m getting the feeling that if I’d known you, I wouldn’t have slept with you — and I hate that thought because that means I made a mistake.
He rubbed his chin and closed his eyes. It had been reckless. Impulsive. But…a mistake?
No. He’d always considered it necessary.
He’d needed it. He didn’t know how he’d have gotten through the first few months after Laney’s death without that one hour a week where he absolutely didn’t have to think.
When he’d just been a man, not suddenly a father or a hockey player who’d just blown the playoffs. Not Moreau or Killer. Just…Lucas.
“Anna?” he said softly, touching her leg.
She didn’t move.
“Anna,” he murmured louder, sitting next to her on the couch and gently squeezing her shoulder.
Her eyelids fluttered and she lifted her head from the armrest. “Hmm?” She yawned and glanced around the room, disoriented for a few seconds until her gaze settled on his face.
“Oh God.” She winced, then laughed and rubbed her eyes.
“Right, I’m at your place. And you’re back.
And…” She blinked and yawned again. “Damn, did I fall asleep?”
“Yep.”
“Oh man, sorry, but Melody has so much energy, it’s truly exhausting.”
“Yep.”
“Where is she?”
“Carried her to bed.”
“Good. She was tired.” She slipped the blanket off her legs and yawned. She held her hands above her head and stretched her back so that the fabric of her t-shirt stretched across her chest.
Moreau glanced away out of sheer self-protection. “Was everything okay?”
“Yeah, it was great, though you do have to buy new toilet paper. We made a lot of bandages.”
“Ah, yeah. She said you broke your ankle.”
“Multiple times,” she said seriously. “It was a rather complicated fracture. Good thing a competent doctor like Melody was on hand.”
He smiled. “Thanks.”
“For breaking my ankle?”
“For babysitting.”
“No problem.” She yawned again. “Melody’s a pretty cool kid.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
He saw out of the corner of his eye and felt it in his chest that she smiled. “Rather surprising that you’re actually related.”
“Oh, I’m cool too,” he said dryly, looking at her. “The word ice is in my job description.”
She laughed, her light blue eyes sparkling in the dim light of a floor lamp in the corner. “I can’t argue with that.”
He nodded and slumped back on the sofa. “She had a great time tonight — she loves you.”
Her smile widened. “Well, I’m very lovable. Melody apparently is a good judge of character.”
“Hmm. I don’t know...she’s always rooting for Mother Gothel in Tangled because she believes an overprotective mom is better than no mom at all.”
“Well, she’s right, isn’t she?” she replied softly with a shrug.
“Yes.” He rubbed his face. God, Anna had talked to Melody about her mother. On their first day together. He found it hard to even think about the subject; it only reminded him that he wasn’t what Melody deserved.
“You know, Melody told me your dirtiest secrets,” Anna admitted openly, successfully stopping him from his mental whirlwind.
Intrigued, he raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? And here I thought you were my dirtiest secret.”
“No. No, no.” She waved a hand. “I’m just your best-kept secret. Better kept than Melody, if you don’t mind me saying. Hazel stared at me for about five minutes and said, Who are you? I’ve never heard your name. But now I know you do the best braids in all of L.A.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “That’s not true. They’re the best in California.”
She laughed. “You’ll have to prove it to me.”
“Hmm.” He turned on the sofa so he could look at her face, his gaze playfully wandering over her brown curls that tickled her shoulders.
He knew exactly how they felt between his fingers, and against his chest, when Anna kissed it.
On his stomach when she moved her mouth lower. In his fists when he held her in place.
He reached out, tucked his hand into the side of her hair, and stroked her temple with his thumb. “What would you like?” he murmured, gazing into her eyes. He knew it was a mistake, and yet he couldn’t stop himself. “Boxer braids? Fishtail braid?”
He combed his fingers through her soft curls and saw goosebumps creep down her neck. He saw her swallow hard. Her eyes darkened a shade…
“But, no.” He hastily dropped his hand and pulled it into his lap. What the hell was he doing? “You couldn’t afford me. I charge two finger paints per braid.”