She didn’t want to think about the past—or the future. She didn’t want to think about buried bracelets or wallets, or long-standing family feuds. She wanted to live in this glorious moment, to fulfill a dream that had been with her almost longer than she could remember.
He loosened her jeans and slid his hands inside the back waistband, cupping her bottom. Rachel fumbled with the buttons on Lucas’s shirt, wanting the same freedom to touch and explore that she was giving him.
His chest was hard. Solid. Lightly dusted with dark, soft hair that curled around her fingers when she ran her hands across it.
She slid downward on his body, pausing to kiss his jaw, his throat, his chest, his stomach. His breath was coming faster now. Rougher. She unsnapped his jeans and his stomach contracted forcefully.
Lucas was on the verge of losing some of the rigid emotional control he’d developed during the past fifteen years. It gave her a gratifying sense of power to be the one who’d brought him to this point.
He rolled suddenly, pinning her beneath him on the hard stone floor. She didn’t care about the minor discomfort. Her heart pounded, her breasts ached, and there was a moist, throbbing emptiness between her legs. Lucas loomed over her, his hair tumbling onto his forehead, his dark blue eyes glittering with an almost feral hunger.
“I’ve dreamed of having you, here, like this,” he muttered. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you sitting in the soda shop so long ago. I’ve never stopped wanting you.”
She reached up with both hands to pull his mouth down to hers. “I want you, too,” she whispered. “Make love with me, Lucas.”
They were words she had wanted so badly to say before, but had never found the courage until now.
A look of regret crossed his face. “I wasn’t prepared for this. I didn’t expect to do more than talk with you this morning. I can’t protect you, Rachel.”
“I protect myself. I’m on the pill.”
He cupped her face between his hands, looking at her steadily. “Do you want to see my health card?”
“Is there any reason I should?”
“No. Hell, I’ve practically been a monk for the past few years. All I seem to do is work and take meetings.”
His wry tone made her smile. “That sounds familiar. I can hardly remember my last date.”
Lucas kissed her deeply. Thoroughly. “I hear it’s like riding a bike. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it...”
She smothered the rest of his joking comment by covering his mouth with hers.
Lucas’s teasing mood changed as quickly as it had appeared. He was suddenly entirely serious.
In deference to the cool morning air, they removed only the necessary items of clothing. But Lucas still seemed to touch and claim every inch of her.
Because of the hard floor, Lucas rolled again to his back, pulling Rachel on top of him to spare her his weight. She wouldn’t have complained, regardless.
He guided her to him, murmuring words of encouragement and appreciation. All she could say was his name as he thrust deeply, powerfully into her.
For the first time since Lucas had left Honoria, Rachel felt complete.
His fingers bit into her hips. His head arched back, revealing his throat to her lips, and the edge of her teeth. He groaned and then gasped, and she knew he was thinking of nothing and no one but her.
For now—for this one perfect, precious moment—Lucas McBride was hers.
BUNDLED INTO their jackets, Lucas and Rachel sat side by side on the quilt, sharing the last cup of coffee. They hadn’t said much since their muffled cries of satisfaction had died away. But neither was in a hurry to leave.
Lucas’s arm rested behind Rachel’s back, keeping her close to his side. She laid her head on his shoulder. “What time is it?”
“I don’t care.”
“Lucas...”
He sighed and glanced at his watch. “Almost noon.”
“Is Emily expecting you for lunch?”