The Turning Point (14 page)

“Oh, Lucas,” I said with a rueful sigh.

“Yeah. I was such an idiot. Didn’t even fucking know. It was bad enough that she left me for someone else and didn’t bother to tell me, but to find out she’d been cheating?” Letting go of my hand again, he scrubbed his face. “You know, it isn’t even that I care about her anymore; it’s just the principle. You don’t fucking cheat. That’s what pissed me off.”

He fixed his stormy, bleak gaze on me. “Want to know the real reason I came to Italy?”

“Mmm-hmm.” The look in his eyes worried me, like a threatening storm gathering on the horizon. As he delved into his story, I braced for impact, sure I was about to be pummeled with truths I didn’t want to hear.

“After the non-wedding-from-hell, I tried to pick up where I’d left off, but it wasn’t working. I needed to get away. From everybody. At home, people pretended to act normal around me, but I saw the accusation in their eyes: ‘What did
you
do to send Julia running?’” he huffed. “I asked myself that same question, every day.

“Italy had always been a place that interested me. I’d always wanted to go. And the women…they have the sexiest damn accent. My goal was to put as many miles—and women—between Julia and myself as I could. Anything to make me forget the sound of her laughter, the whisper of her breath in my ear.”

And the storm breaks loose.
Women?
Laughter? Her breath?
I ingested his acrid words. So he wasn’t in the sex slave industry, but one-night stands were a thing. He sure traveled a long way to sleep around. What the hell was he doing with me? How many other solo vacations had he hijacked?

“You didn’t really come here to do research on one of your games?” That was the story he’d given me the day we met. I liked that version better. His words hit my stomach with a punch, their nauseating poison filling my insides. If I were smart, I’d get off this bed and leave. No way was I going to be a stand-in for someone else.

I turned away, staring at the busy lights outside the window. Lucas continued anyway. “I’ve been miserable, Sophia.” Hearing my name, I turned around. “With each encounter, I thought I’d find some sort of peace, or resolution, find the courage to give Julia the big ‘fuck you.’ It never came. I still felt like shit. Up until two weeks ago.”

“What happened then?”

“A beautiful girl knocked some sense into me.” He winked.

Ugh!
Please.
He wielded his damn charm like a fishing pole. How many other girls had been lured in by that wink? Embarrassment flared on my cheeks. Why hadn’t I declined his lunch invitation and carried on with my vacation as planned? There was a reason I was a loner, found solace in academia…It was safe. All mind, no heart. No risk of getting hurt.

But dammit, somewhere along the way he’d reeled me in.

S
o, why are you telling me this? I’m just a distraction from reality? What do we have here?” The question was directed at him, but in all fairness, I should have asked myself, too. Wasn’t I doing the same thing—using him as a distraction, a reason to hide from my real problems? Granted, I wasn’t sleeping with every Prince Charming who flashed his dimple, but I had put miles and a man between a profound, life-altering decision waiting for me at home. I had no right to be angry with him, but yet I was. It hurt to be used.

“I don’t know what this”—he waved a hand between us—“is. What I do know…I haven’t thought about Julia once since I met you.”

I guessed he wasn’t counting his unconscious thoughts into that equation. Did he even know that he talked in his sleep?

“I’m not going to lie—the second I laid eyes on you, I wanted to take you back to my room and forget Julia existed.”

I stuck out my tongue. No girl wanted to hear that. “And that line works for you?” I was sympathetic to his plight, but with all his talk of one-night stands, it was quickly boiling away, leaving a toxic by-product. Meaningless sex? Yeah, that’s what Scotty had been. Been there, done that. Not a fan.

“No. Sitting on my ass in the middle of Pompeii, I shielded my eyes from the sun but looked up and saw something much brighter. I watched your eyes widen in shock as you realized you’d knocked me over. You clapped a hand over your mouth, and
two
seconds after I saw you, I knew you were different. Not the type I wanted to take back to my room and forget about the moment we finished. I wanted to remember your name, the number of freckles across your nose, the sound of your voice. I hadn’t breathed in six years, and in that instant, I could.”

“So, you didn’t want to sleep with me?” I was so confused. First he was saying how much he wanted to get into my pants, and then he changed his tune. I didn’t know whether to be insulted, impressed, or thankful. I did know my lady parts had gone into mourning. When it came to Lucas, they were under the assumption that he was not meaningless.

“That’s not what I said.” Tilting his head to the side, he pinched his eyes halfway closed, studying me. “Give me your hand.”

“Why?”

Open palmed, he flapped his fingers back and forth impatiently. “Let me have your hand.”

I extended my right hand, palm up. Lucas took my wrist, faced it palm down, and laid it right on his crotch.

Hello, jaw, meet floor.
Holy. Freaking. Shit.
My eyes snapped open wide.

“Does this answer your question? This is pretty much how I am when you’re around.”

He was so hard. My lady parts threw off their black veils, their clothes, and their lingerie, ready to get busy.

I lifted my hand, slowly, taking note of the lust blazing from his eyes. I settled my hand back onto my lap, unsure of what his expectations were at this point. I knew he tried to avoid those, but with what I just felt in his pants, I was fairly confident he expected us to slip between the sheets. Was I ready for that?

“When I said you were different, I meant it. I don’t want you to be another Julia-induced fuck.”

Wow. Okay. That was blunt. No sheets, then?

“You know what’s funny?”

I shook my head because after having my hand on his…you know…words had fled my brain.

“All those one-night stands were meant to distance Julia from me, but they only kept her close. It was really fucking hard to forget about her when all I kept doing was comparing. Then you came around, and I wasn’t comparing. I saw you. I wanted to get to know
you
.” He fanned his fingers across my cheek, his eyes searching mine. “That’s why I’ve been so careful.” He leaned in closer, our faces a fingerbreadth apart. “I didn’t want to mess things up. I want more time.”

More time. He picked the wrong girl for that. It’s quite possible I already have one foot in the grave. I should tell him. I needed to tell him.

“Sophia, sharing a hotel room with you has been a blessing and a curse. I’m fascinated by the little things you do. The way you loop your hair into a bun and keep it in place with an ink pen.” His hand on my cheek swept back, combing through my hair. “When you sit down, you tuck your right foot beneath you.” His other hand smoothed over my thigh. “The way you rub lip balm onto your lips with your pinky finger before you go to bed.” With the faintest of touches, he moved his mouth over mine, mimicking the back and forth motion of my pinky finger.

His lips continued to brush over mine. “I want to catalogue each and every one of these Sophia quirks.”

“Quirks?” I breathed. “Do you think I’m odd?”

Pulling back a little, I saw him smile. “Quite the opposite. I’m captivated by every little thing you do. It’s refreshing. At night, when we turn out the lights, it’s like I’m in a tug-of-war match with the sun. I lie awake, listening to you breathe, feel the warmth radiating from your side of the room. Every clenched muscle in my body aches, trying to resist your gravitational pull. I’ve been in a dark place for a while, and all I want to do is step into your light.”

My heart was going to beat right out of my chest. Why did he say all the right things? I should still be mad at him, but dammit, I wasn’t.

“The first night I walked you back to your hotel, I couldn’t get the image of that pretty mouth of yours out of my head. It took all my restraint to kiss only your cheek.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip. I sucked in a breath, my lips parting. “And then, the other night, in the alley, I lost control. I promised myself I wouldn’t but…”

He stared at my mouth.
Lose control…lose control,
my heart thumped.

“I’m glad you did.” My words were a garbled whisper. He reminded me how bright, how fun life could be…how much I’d been missing. I wanted
more
…with him.

His eyes pulled tight, the two small creases between his brows deepened, and a few wisps of blond hair touched his forehead. “Even after everything I’ve told you?”

I nodded infinitesimally, our noses brushing. “Even more so.” He’d finally let me in. “Most of what you said was hard to take; I didn’t want to hear it. But I’m glad you trusted me with the truth.”

“I was scared you’d run. I’ve had enough running to last me a lifetime. I didn’t want to give you a reason to leave.”

“I’m not running.” I said, punctuating my statement by touching the button on his pants.

“Sophia.” He swallowed my name and shook his head. His eyes burned with that brightness I craved…I wanted to feel that alive.

Working the button open, I lowered the zipper. My eyes remained locked on his as my fingers pushed beneath the hem of his shirt. Flirting with the waistband of his boxer briefs, I mustered the courage to dip my fingers inside, roaming over the hard V-shaped muscle below his abdomen.

I wasn’t sure where my sex-kitten confidence came from, other than the fact that I felt safe with Lucas, but I went with it.

He dropped his forehead against mine and inhaled, his eyelids fluttering closed. “Sophia, this isn’t a good idea,” he said through clenched teeth. “Not after what I told you.”

“Shh, it’s okay. I trust you.” I did trust him. I knew what we’d shared over the last couple weeks wasn’t something fleeting and forgettable.

“You have no idea how badly I want you.” He kissed me softly, inhaling my breath.

“Then show me.”

The world fell away. It was only Lucas, me, and the agonizing bliss that connected us.

Spurred on by the rush of endorphins, I pulled my fingers away from his lower region long enough to yank the shirt over his head. I’d seen him shirtless before, getting ready in the morning…at night, before bed. He shamelessly walked around the hotel room without a shirt just to torture me, I was sure. I’d pretend not to look; staring was rude…especially openmouthed staring, which I tended to do. But when he was occupied, his attention focused elsewhere, I’d look my fill.

If surfing built bodies like his, I was surfing’s newest fan.
Sweet Jesus!

Now I not only got to look, but also touch. I splayed my fingers over the ridges of his stomach, feeling his muscles ripple under my touch.

Lucas pushed my shoulders back, easing me onto the pillow. Coming to his knees, he brought his leg over my body, straddling me. “I’m only breaking this one rule,” he growled, running his hands over my arms. I loved how his round, hard biceps flexed when his fingertips pressed into my skin.

“What rule?”

“I promised myself I wasn’t going to touch you.” His hands gripped the bottom of my shirt and pulled it off in one, swift motion. “As you can see, that’s shot all to hell and then some.” A rush of indescribable pleasure reduced me to a quivering mass of rapidly firing nerve endings the moment Lucas put his hands on me. I arched my back, begging for more.

“I won’t break anymore.” Despite the words, his voice didn’t have the same verve, almost like he was thinking out loud, willing himself not to cross any more lines, but I prayed he would.

His thumbs traced over my nipples, through the thin lace of my bra, sending a direct current of electricity right between my legs. Before I could process words, Lucas moved his hands to my stomach and unfastened my button and zipper in record time. Hooking his thumbs beneath the top of my shorts, he eased them down as I lifted my hips. He didn’t waste any time with my panties either, pulling them off just as quickly.

Shifting down on the bed, he nestled himself between my legs. He ran his nose along the inside of my thigh, while his tongue teased the sensitive skin. His palms pressed to the inside of my knees, pushing my legs wider; then he kissed me…
there
.

Uh…wha—

Holy. Shit!

Like flipping through radio stations, my brain went from scrambled static to an operatic soprano singing high notes in octaves well out of reach.

His tongue did things a tongue has no business knowing how to do. My body succumbed to the new sensations, quaking each time he moaned against my core. With his hands at my hips, he drew me closer, demanding more. My back arched and my hips begged to move. I’d never felt more alive. The ache low in my belly grew more intense with each flick of his gifted tongue. I knew his mouth was enchanting, but this was on a whole different level. He’d cast a spell and consumed me.

Then, when I didn’t think I could take any more, he sent me over the edge. A starburst of white light bloomed across my closed eyes. My arms and legs clenched, and I bucked beneath him as he set every spasm free.

When I came back to earth, he was at my side, tracing lazy circles across my stomach, his hair mussed and a cocky grin plastered on his face. “You’re fascinating.” His deep bedroom voice rumbled low in his chest.

I cleared my dry, scratchy throat and turned away, my cheeks reddening from what we’d…he’d done. “Yeah, right.”

“No, truly, watching you fall apart was sexy as hell.” He inched his hand higher, curling it over my breast, across my neck, and onto my cheek. With the slightest bit of pressure, he turned my head in his direction. “When I said I wanted to catalogue all the Sophia quirks, I meant these, too. What makes your body come alive? Where can I touch you and make you scream my name?” He moved his mouth to my ear. “What you feel like on the inside right before you come.”

I shivered.

His hand moved southward again, slowly, memorizing all the soft curves of my body. Pressure built in the hollowness between my legs again, demanding to be filled. With only words and a smooth touch, he’d already lit another fire inside me.