Going All Out (10 page)

“Well, thanks.” Her smile suddenly felt too big, too eager. “And I appreciate your offer. I figured I could alter in between the fun stuff.”

“The fun stuff?”

“Mm-hmm. The whole reason I invited you here. We’re on a time limit.”

True enough. She didn’t have time for standing here feeling like a young girl with a crush. She’d meant to challenge Lucas, hadn’t expected him to challenge her back.

But Bree liked knowing he wasn’t as predictable as she’d expected, wasn’t her run-of-the-mill power freak. “Mind if I join you?”

“I’ve been waiting.” Lucas brought the wineglass to his lips and sipped while he eyed her over the rim.

His deep gaze became a dare, and she knew exactly what would heighten this man’s anticipation.

Tossing her hair back over her shoulders, Bree reached for the fastening at her waist….

T
HE WINE SEEMED TO
solidify in his throat as Lucas watched Bree cross the small courtyard, her steps measured and graceful, her hips swaying gently. His breath caught, too. The courtyard was only partially walled, and Bree strolled over to the wrought-iron gate to gaze out at the bayou. With her back to him, she provided an attractive display of graceful motion as she worked that zipper down, down, down….

Anticipation got the better of him, and Lucas swallowed hard before he choked. He didn’t want to make a sound to
distract her when she began slithering down that narrow skirt to reveal long legs encased in silky black hose.

Stepping from the circle of fabric almost absently, she knelt to retrieve her skirt from the terrace.

Time slowed to a crawl as Lucas watched. Her hair shone dark against the fading sky as waves threaded sexily along her shoulders and down her back, clinging to her sweater. Muscle played along her thighs as she knelt to give him a prime shot of her heart-shaped bottom.

Lucas had no doubt she was playing to her audience, but he was an appreciative one. Josie had called this woman sweet, but he saw nothing but fire. Boldness. Excitement. A woman who knew her power over a man and took great pleasure in wielding it.

She knelt there for a moment, giving him a chance to admire the sight she made with her body compressed tightly as she sat propped on her strappy sandals, her hair flowing down her back.

Then she rose in a fluid move and asked casually, “Did you unpack yet?”

He nodded, and she met his gaze easily, as if she hadn’t noticed she wore nothing but sheer black panty hose and a clingy red sweater.

But he noticed with every nerve in his body and was glad the circulating water hid his reaction. “Join me.”

She smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt and draped it over a chair. “I plan to.”

“Naked.”

“Of course.”

Her expression was pure indulgence, and as fascinating as it was to watch her beautiful face, his gaze slid down to the manicured fingers deftly working the buttons of her sweater.

The downy fabric parted at her throat, then her chest,
to reveal the swell of her breasts barely contained in black lace. And her fingers kept going….

He hardly knew this woman, yet he watched her as if he’d waited forever to get her naked. His chest constricted around a breath. His crotch surged with a wildfire heat. What was it about Bree that nailed him everywhere it counted?

Lucas could barely think, let alone analyze the situation. He could only try to keep from drooling when she peeled the sleeves down her arms, baring her upper body, all golden skin and sexy black bra.

He knew she taunted him when she turned her back to unfasten her bra, sliding the straps down with a few provocative motions that made her hair play peekaboo with her skin.

She tossed her bra at the chair, and he might have wanted her to turn around so he could enjoy the show. But that would mean missing the sight of her from behind, and when Bree slipped her fingers inside the waistband of her hose, Lucas wouldn’t have missed this show for anything.

He forgot the steady heat of the spa. The jets that pounded at his back. The fading light as the sun sank in the sky. He forgot that he’d only just met Bree Addison.

Lucas only knew that he’d never watched a woman peel away her panty hose with as much élan. That he’d never felt so damn lucky to see each inch of any woman’s leg revealed. But he already knew the feel of those legs, remembered the shape of her calves, her knees, her thighs. He knew where each scratch had marred her because he’d touched her already.

Now he wanted to explore her.

And when she pulled away the last of the hose and turned partway toward him, his crotch gave one hard throb. His gaze scrambled to take in everything—those long thighs, the
curve of her backside, the slope of a hip, a flash of silky hair between her thighs, the smooth expanse of her stomach.

Then she granted his wish and turned fully around.

Bree Addison was incredible. Her skin was golden, not tan but a rich, healthy color that looked as if she’d been poured of honey. The long lines of her body were lush, not model-thin or emaciated. She had the muscle tone of an active woman. Her breasts were full, her nipples rosy, and he wanted to discover all of her with his hands, his mouth.

Bree smiled, clearly enjoying the way he watched her. She wasn’t shy or coy. She was…natural, facing him as easily as she had in a glittery gown or worn jeans or a clingy skirt.

A wind kicked up, lifting strands of hair off her shoulders and whipping them around her face. She gave him another prime shot as she piled her hair onto her head and fastened it with a clip. “Brr, chilly.”

Not from where Lucas was sitting. Sweat rolled down his temple when she hugged herself to ward off the chill, plumping full breasts over her arms as she hurried toward him.

Lucas was smiling again. And holding his breath.

“Oh, let me in. I’m freezing.” She was close enough for him to see the spray of goose bumps over her skin and want to warm her up.

He sat up and extended a hand. She took it, levering herself as she slid onto the rim of the spa. Her knees came together gracefully, hiding glimpses of everything between her thighs as she swung her legs around and slid into the water.

She sat on the seat opposite his. Her dark gaze flashed across the distance. “So here we are, Lucas. Naked.”

“N
AKED
,” L
UCAS AGREED
.

The sound of the word sliding off his lips gave Bree a thrill. Or maybe the feel of his hard legs slipping between hers was responsible for the way she felt right now.

Decadent. Daring. As if she’d found something special where she’d least expected and needed to make the most of every second before it got away.

Settling back on the seat, she nudged her foot between his legs, forcing Lucas to part his thighs so she could wiggle her toes up enticingly close to some private places she hoped would respond to her boldness.

His muscles shifted and her foot slid home, and she met his gaze to find him watching her with that quiet expression.

“
Very
naked,” she said.

He inclined his head, and Bree smiled, deciding she liked to watch his face. There always seemed to be more behind his expressions than he let on, which made her wonder what he was thinking.

“Did you think I was a prostitute the night I fell into your yard?”

His strong hands slid down her calf, a move that made her jump. He inspected the scratches on her knee, which were already healing. “I wondered what you were doing
out so late dressed to the nines, but then I recognized you.”

“Josie told you about me?”

“No. I noticed you at the wedding.” He dragged his hands down her calf and massaged her ankle with his thumbs. “Hard not to. You’re a very beautiful woman.”

She sank down a little in the water so he couldn’t see her nipples growing hard. Wouldn’t do to let the man know that his smallest touch was making her react now, would it?

“I’m glad you think so. Tell me, what did you notice about me first? Was it my dress? What did I wear to Josie’s wedding?” She cocked her head to the side and considered. “Oh, my turquoise slip dress.”

“Actually, I’m not sure I noticed you. Might have been Tally.”

Bree laughed. “I thought you said you could tell us apart.”

“I can now.” His green eyes twinkled. “But then I hadn’t gotten close enough to know we had chemistry. I don’t remember what you were wearing.”

“So much for the turquoise slip dress. Guess I’ll retire it if it’s not making a lasting impression.”

“You made an impression.” He eased his thumbs toward her foot, whether because he wanted to stop her from teasing all his private places or because he had a thing for feet, she couldn’t say, but he suddenly had the control.

“Did I?”

He stroked her instep luxuriantly. “You did.”

“Well, if you didn’t notice a tall, handsome Cajun man nearby, it’s safe to say I wasn’t Tally.”

“I would have noticed him. So you want to know what caught my attention?”

She nodded, although she wasn’t entirely sure why she was so interested in what he thought about her. She simply was.

“Not your dress, obviously. And all I’d heard about you was that you were one of the twins who’d bought Number One. I kept trying to meet you, but every time I made a move in your direction, some relative caught me. Josie must have invited everyone she’s ever met. Even cousins seven times removed.”

“It was her wedding. A wedding is supposed to be a big, fun celebration.”

His hands stilled their sultry motion, and he considered her thoughtfully. “Is that what you want your wedding to be?”

“Haven’t really given my own wedding much thought, to be honest.” She smiled. “You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted to get to know me.”

In a move she didn’t expect, Lucas lifted her leg. She automatically braced the rim of the spa to catch her balance, but he did nothing more than lift her foot from the water.

Toward his mouth.

Suddenly their gazes met across the steamy distance. His eyes were bright with purpose, and just as Bree realized the man meant some sexy business, she felt his mouth trail along her wet skin in a velvet caress.

“I want to know everything about you, Bree.”

His warm breath burst across her instep, and she had the wild thought that the meticulous grooming habits Tally always teased her about had paid off big. Sure, she’d devoted time to learning how to give herself a decent pedicure, but when Lucas slithered his tongue between her
toes, he made every second she’d spent with a pumice stone worth the effort.

Definitely a foot man, Bree decided when he sucked her pinkie toe inside his mouth.

Who knew how good
that
would feel?

There was just something about the sight of this man with his beautifully rugged face making love to her prettily painted toes that made the bottom drop out of Bree’s stomach.

Suddenly the whole moment became all about intimacies, about the way his hands felt on her skin, about the way his hot mouth sucked luxuriantly on one toe then the next, about how only the stretch of their legs separated their bodies.

The water caressed her skin in silky currents, heightening every sensation until it became an effort to simply sit and watch. Tingles shot up her leg and made her sex clench greedily. Had she been closer, she’d have grabbed his feet and started up a search expedition of her own.

Was he a fanatic about grooming details like so many other rich men? For some reason, Bree couldn’t picture him sitting in the massage chair of some upscale salon with his feet soaking in a pedicure spa. Maybe it was his oh-so-male face. Or maybe he’d thrown her with his candor. She wasn’t sure. She only knew that the thought of touching him excited her, made her grow breathless and edgy.

They’d jumped from kissing to naked in a single leap, but she felt comfortable in a way that came as such a surprise she was forced to ask why she felt so comfortable around Lucas. So eager.

She’d been ultraselective about the men she’d gotten involved with since extricating herself from her bad-news
ex. Was she just comfortable with the way Lucas had stepped boldly into her life and cleared a space for himself?

Was she ignoring her instincts? Making more out of a fling than she should? Wanting him felt so effortless when it really shouldn’t be. He was everything she typically didn’t go for in a man. Except for the little thoughtful things he did that made him not fit the privileged mold the way she expected.

She sighed, hating the way she had to question her every reaction, wishing she could just trust herself to enjoy the moment. “Why are you so easy to be with?”

“I’ve been asking myself that very question about you since we met.”

“Have you?”

He swirled his tongue around her big toe, a hot motion that made her breath hitch. “I have.”

“I want you. You want me. It feels so simple when it really shouldn’t be. We don’t know each other at all. And here you are nibbling on my toes.”

“Turning you on, I hope.”

“Mmm-hmm. I wouldn’t have pegged you a foot man, though.”

“Never was, but you’ve got sexy feet. One of the first things I noticed about you in the bushes.”

“I’m flattered.” Maybe she shouldn’t bother repairing that dress. She would definitely clean up the shoes, however. They’d made an impression.

He ran his tongue along her instep lightly.

She shivered. “That tickles.”

“I like touching you. Everywhere.”

“How opportune, Lucas. I like when you touch me everywhere.”

She’d meant to be playful, but Lucas clearly felt
goaded, because before she realized what was happening, he’d reached out with his free hand and grabbed her.

Her foot drifted back into the water, and the handsome man who’d been contentedly nibbling on her toes looked as if he hadn’t eaten a good meal in forever.

“Lucas,” she gasped on a surprised laugh, but that was all she got out. The next thing Bree knew, she was being dragged across the spa, the hot water caressing her in a way that made her feel just how naked she was. Just how naked Lucas was. And just how quickly he closed that distance between them.

Three…two…one…

Contact.

She landed against him, and his strong arms wound tight, maneuvering her until she draped across his lap, legs spreading to straddle him. His warm, wet skin was suddenly everywhere, his arms holding her close, his broad shoulders providing leverage to hang on, his hard thighs nudging her closer until she could feel his erection against her thighs.

“Couldn’t wait any longer,” he murmured in that husky voice.

They exchanged a breath a split second before their mouths came together.

All the calm of the moment disappeared.

He devoured her in a kiss, and she found herself responding with the same urgency, an eagerness to know everything, to touch everything. But while the calm had gone, that uncanny sense of effortlessness remained, breaking down all boundaries.

She wanted him. He wanted her. It really was that simple. They were in each other’s arms finally, and there was no longer any good reason to hold back.

So they didn’t.

Threading her arms around his neck, Bree arched her body into his until she could feel him everywhere. Her breasts crushed into his chest. Her thighs poised above his, so perfectly aligned that she could have sunk down and eased this ache that had her sex pulsing in time with her heartbeat.

He anchored her close with a whipcord arm around her waist, but his other hand was suddenly spearing inside her hair, dragging down her back, her waist, her hip, digging into her bottom. His fingers molded her butt, flexing as if he struggled not to pull her down and join them together as one.

She liked that he was struggling, enjoyed watching him react. To entice him, she broke her mouth away, trailed her lips over his face. She tasted him, learned the curve of his jaw with her kisses, the sculpted line of his cheek, the soft pulse that pounded as hard as her own.

“I want you, Lucas.” She blew the words into his ear, was rewarded when his erection swelled in reply, grazing her private places and making her burn.

If she expected Lucas to get on with it, Bree should have known better.

Dragging his hands along her ribs, he fitted them around her waist, exerting enough strength to make her arch backward.

And place her breasts at his mercy.

His mouth latched onto a nipple with a surprisingly gentle force, a slow pull that sent pleasure curling through her in a lavish wave. Her sex spasmed lazily, hungrily, and she was forced to hang on as muscles she hadn’t realized were there grew weak with wanting.

Threading her fingers into his hair, she occupied her
hands, tried to divert herself with touch so she didn’t sink down on top of him—unprotected as they were—and assuage this growing ache that made it nearly impossible not to respond.

Lost cause.

All Bree could do was press her breast into his mouth so he could work that magic filtering through her. She rocked her hips so his erection teased her intimately, a rhythm that made her melt in his lap.

She’d been worried about letting him know how deeply he affected her, but restraint right now was a joke. Every nerve ending sparked hotly, and she could only focus on one thought.

Satisfaction.

One upward thrust and Lucas would have been home. She didn’t know how he was controlling himself. Yet he feasted on her breasts with a single-minded focus, thumbing the undersides until she tingled, tasting her nipples with such thorough skill.

He stoked a fire deep within, and while she wanted to explore him, wanted to take back some control, she could only surrender to his touch. To do anything else would have meant stopping this sexy foreplay to deal with protection.

She didn’t want to stop, couldn’t ever remember struggling so hard to think—and she needed to think so she could capture every second of this incredible sensation in her memory. His mouth plucked at her nipples until she could barely stay still.

But Lucas kept that arm locked around her, anchoring her close and controlling the moment, savoring, pleasuring, refusing to be rushed in his pleasure.

He wanted to explore her, so he did.

Pressing her cheek to the top of his silky head, she let him control their pace, indulged him with an unfamiliar feeling of tenderness that made her brush kisses into his hair.

What was it about Lucas that made her feel as if he’d waited forever to touch her?

That was exactly how she felt right now. Wanted. Cherished. As if she were a gift that he intended to savor at his leisure.

As if her pleasure was his pleasure.

It was a singular sensation, one that touched her in places that went far beyond the sexy excitement of the moment, places that inspired her to sigh his name, to let him know that she cherished their closeness, too.

And something of her mood must have reached him, because suddenly he was dragging his hands up her back, pulling her down until she was tucked neatly into the folds of his body, sheltered by his strong arms and nestled against his chest.

With one shift of his hips, he maneuvered his erection to lie flush between her thighs, nestled cozily between her moist folds, safe from temptation. Then he tipped his face toward hers and captured her mouth in a kiss.

Bree yielded to the moment, so sudden in the midst of the arousal flaring through her—flaring through him, too, if that thick ridge between her thighs was any indication—so unexpectedly tender.

So very right.

Bree didn’t know why, but their kiss became about much more than sex. This kiss was a welcome. On some instinctive level she recognized this man,
knew
his feel, his scent, his taste. It was crazy. Maybe lust had numbed her brain. She’d seen that exact thing happen to her sister. Lust had
Tally seeing ghosts and Bree feeling as if she finally belonged.

She’d take belonging any day.

Bree wasn’t Tally, who didn’t have trouble letting others overshadow her. Bree needed to remember. But it was so hard to think in Lucas’s arms, so hard to do anything but abandon herself to the moment. She kissed Lucas with an excitement that swelled from within, a feeling so pure and right that she suddenly couldn’t stop from laughing against his mouth, sharing his warm breaths, tasting the throaty laughter that tumbled from his lips in reply.