He lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. “Maybe that was for the best, too. With me gone, Emily had a chance to make a place for herself here. You went to college and got established in your career. And I started my own business in California which will allow me to live comfortably for the rest of my life.”
She bit her lip and looked away. “You’re saying that the past is better left alone. That everything is different now.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” he muttered, dragging her so close there could be no doubt he wanted her now as badly as he ever had. “Some things haven’t changed at all.”
He crushed her mouth beneath his, his hands biting into her hips, holding her against him.
Again, she was struck by the difference in the way he kissed her now. No tentativeness. No holding back. There was no need, now, to make allowances for youth, or inexperience, or girlish hesitation.
Rachel responded with a woman’s passion. A woman’s hunger. A woman’s need.
Lucas kissed her until she melted against him. Until she clutched at him and greedily demanded more.
He stripped her coat off her shoulders and down her arms, tossing it carelessly aside. She didn’t feel the cold through her sweater; in fact, she felt flushed with heat.
She tugged at his leather jacket, figuring he didn’t need the extra warmth, either.
Lucas lowered himself to the quilt, tugging her down with him so that she was stretched over him. “No one has ever looked more beautiful to me than you,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “No one else has ever made me feel the way you do.”
She ran her hands over his face, seeking and finding the differences fifteen years had made in him. The line of his jaw was harder now, more sharply defined. The shallow lines around his eyes and mouth only added to the attractiveness of his face, as far as Rachel was concerned.
“You were always the best-looking guy in Honoria,” she told him. “You still are.”
He cupped a hand behind her head and brought her mouth down to his. This kiss held a new tenderness, a sweetness that brought a lump to her throat. This was the Lucas Rachel had fallen in love with so long ago, the Lucas she had never stopped loving.
He nibbled her lower lip as she gave them both a chance to breathe. His hands slipped beneath the hem of her sweater, his palms cool and rough against her skin. She shivered in pleasure. Lucas draped her more snugly over him. Their bluejeaned legs tangled.
She tried to maintain some semblance of rationality. “Lucas, what about the wallet? Shouldn’t we...?”
“There’s nothing we can do about
the wallet now,” he replied, speaking against her lips. “We’ll look into it—later.”
His right hand slid down her spine to her bottom, pressing her more snugly against the hard ridge beneath his jeans. A moan escaped her before she could swallow it.
“Lucas.” His mouth was so temptingly close, she couldn’t resist kissing him. “We shouldn’t do this.”
“What’s stopping us?”
For some reason, she couldn’t think of one good answer. They were here—alone. Neither of them had anywhere else to be at the moment. They were unattached adults, and at least one of them had dreamed about this for years.
And it was Christmas—which had absolutely nothing to do with anything, except that Rachel was suddenly tempted to give herself a gift she’d been wanting for years.
Somehow Lucas’s right hand had slipped between them, closing gently around her left breast. Rachel’s breath caught as shattering sensations coursed through her.
So maybe she would be rational and practical later.
She pressed her mouth to his again.
Lucas pushed the lace cup of her bra out of the way, giving him better access to her sensitized nipple. She arched restlessly, her right knee bending, sliding up his leg.
“You used to slap my hand when I did this,” Lucas said, circling his thumb in a way that made her gasp.
“Now I’ll slap it if you stop,” she murmured, emphasizing her words with a little wriggle.
His husky chuckle was a sweet reward. Lucas’s laughter was so rare these days.
He lifted her higher against him, bringing her breasts level with his mouth. Rachel buried her hands in his hair and closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift on waves of sensation as he nuzzled beneath her sweater, his mouth unexpectedly hot against her tender flesh.