Page 20 of The Unseen

“G IVE ME YOUR KEY.”

Nicole fumbled in her purse to find it and hand it over.

Lucas took the key, let them into the house, and closed the door. She wasn’t sure what to say, what to do. It had been years since she’d felt any real desire for a man, and she’d never felt this kind of heat.

Her nervousness swelled. She wanted him to kiss her again. Wanted him to hold her. She just plain wanted him.

He must have sensed her uncertainty because he pushed her up against the wall and his mouth claimed hers once more. Nicole made a little sound in her throat as damp heat pulsed through her. Her nipples turned hard where they brushed against his white dress shirt.

He nibbled the side of her neck. “Stop me now if this isn’t what you want.”

She could barely swallow, barely form the words. She wanted more of him, not less, wanted to follow where he was leading, but she didn’t know how to ask. Since she wasn’t sure what to say, she just went up on her toes and kissed him.

Lucas growled low in his throat and kissed her back—hot, wet, and deep.

Heat raged between them. Reaching behind her, he unzipped her dress and slid it off her shoulders; popped the clasp on her bra, slid it off, and tossed it away.

His hands cupped her breasts, and her knees went weak.

Lucas’s arm went around her waist to hold her up as he bent his head and took the fullness into his mouth.

Nicole made a soft sound in her throat and Lucas swept her up in his arms. “Where’s your bedroom?”

“Down the hall on your right.” As he started in that direction, doubt gripped her.

She wasn’t a virgin, but suddenly she felt like one.

It had been so long—and it had never been very good.

She thought of Sean and how he would feel if he found out she was sleeping with the man who ran his school, a man he practically idolized.

Her stomach knotted.

Lucas carried her into the bedroom and set her on her feet; then he bent and took off her heeled sandals.

Pushing the dress down over her hips, he left her in only a plain white thong.

As he started unbuttoning his shirt, she sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed her arms over her bare breasts.

As his shirt fell open, she caught a glimpse of the tantalizing muscles on his chest; then he paused.

He must have read the nerves building inside her, making her mouth feel dry and her heart pound for an entirely different reason than the lust she had felt before.

“I can stop right now,” he said. “If that’s what you want. Is it?”

She swallowed, her arms still over her breasts. “No … Yes … I don’t know.” She pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry, Lucas. I’m not the type of woman who would lead you on and then say no. It’s just that …”

He reached down and his hand cradled her cheek. “Tell me, cher. ”

Her eyes burned. This wasn’t supposed to be happening.

“You said you knew a lot about sex, and, well, I don’t.

Every time I’ve been in an intimate relationship, it’s been a disaster.

” Her eyes filled, then overflowed onto her cheeks.

Feeling like an idiot, she wiped the tears away with the tips of her fingers. She should never have started this.

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “I knew I would screw this up.”

He sat down on the bed, lifted her, and then set her on his lap. “You haven’t screwed anything up. We’ve barely gotten started.” She could feel his erection beneath her. At Darla’s house, she’d been too terrified to notice.

“I want you,” he said. “You can feel exactly how much. I was hoping if we got this out of the way, you’d be more willing to trust me. You know my life story and I know almost nothing about you. I’d like that to change.”

Lucas wanted to know about her. The men she’d known only wanted to talk about themselves. But did she want to tell him? He’d tried to draw her out at supper, but she had always been good at dodging questions.

“Most men hate the after-sex talk.”

He took her hand and brought her fingers to his lips. “All right, then, so we’ll talk about it now. You’re a beautiful woman, cher. Why has it been so difficult for you to be with a man?”

She didn’t want to discuss this. Too many unwanted memories. “I told you, I always screw it up.”

“There’s got to be more. Tell me.”

It sounded like a request, but it was more a demand, and she couldn’t seem to resist. Resigned, she released a slow breath.

“I have trust issues. My parents divorced. When my mother moved away and married Sean’s father, I was sent to a girls’ boarding school. I rarely saw either one of them, even on holidays. I was on my own by the time I finished boarding school.”

“At least you were smart enough to stay out of trouble.”

Nicole made no reply. She had never been in trouble. She had just been lonely most of her life. Fortunately, she had an aunt she cared about and now she had a brother. And though she tried to deny it, she was coming to care for Lucas.

“What happened to your father?”

“He died when I was in college. I got a phone call from his second wife. He’d already been cremated. There was no memorial service. I hadn’t even talked to him in a couple of years.”

She expected a look of pity, but it was more like understanding.

“What about college?” Lucas asked. “You told me you went to Louisiana State.”

“That’s right. I studied art history, even got a scholarship for a year at the Sorbonne in Paris. That’s when I realized I didn’t want to study works of art. I wanted to paint them.”

“You must have dated,” he said, still holding her hand. “I imagine you had an endless stream of male admirers.”

“I was busy with my painting, and I didn’t really care about dating.

The few men I went out with were just like my parents.

They didn’t really give a damn about me.

They just wanted sex. It didn’t take me long to figure that out.

Three years ago, I met an artist from New Orleans.

He was handsome and well-traveled. I thought it might be different with Ryan Markley.

Turned out he was just the same. We lasted less than six months.

He said I was a lousy lover. He said I wasn’t responsive. He was right.”

One of Lucas’s dark eyebrows went up. “Maybe he was the problem, not you.”

She thought of the way she’d felt when Lucas kissed her. No man had ever made her feel that way. “You really think that’s possible?”

“You liked it when I kissed you.”

“I liked it. Yes … very much.”

“Why don’t we find out what else you might like?”

He was asking for permission. She wanted him to make love to her so much, she ached with it. But she was terrified she would fail again.

“I don’t want to disappoint you.”

His mouth edged up. “Just looking at you makes me hard, sweetheart. There’s nothing you could do to disappoint me.”

She knew he was attracted to her. The problem lay with her.

His gaze met hers as he traced a finger over her trembling lips. “You don’t need to worry. I think I know what your problem has been.” Lucas slid his fingers into her thick auburn hair, pulled her head back, and his mouth came down over hers.

The kiss started softly and slowly, urging her to trust him. Seconds later, he took possession, the pressure of his lips turning hot and fierce, then deeper and even more demanding. Nicole clutched his shoulders as heat burned through her, flashed like kindling into flame.

Lucas kissed her and kissed her; taking, then giving; soft and coaxing, then hard and deep.

She felt his hand cupping her breasts, teasing her nipples.

His clever hands moved lower, sliding over her most sensitive places.

The more he touched her, the more she wanted; and all the while, he kissed her.

Her hands trembled as she worked the last button on his shirt, pulled it out of his waistband, and slid it off his shoulders. His body was lean, not an ounce of fat, and he was hard—everywhere. Pecs, abs, biceps. He was a fighter, once part of a gang.

It occurred to her that the guys she had dated were boys. Lucas Devereaux was a man.

She felt his hands again, stroking over her flesh as if he owned every inch of her. He knew just where to touch her, how to bring her pleasure. She stifled a cry as an unexpected orgasm ripped through her, wild and erotic, completely unstoppable.

For a moment, she rested her head on his shoulder, fighting to catch her breath. Then he moved, and she felt his mouth on her breasts, teasing and tasting, demanding a response, and a second climax struck, something that had never happened before.

She heard the buzz of his zipper. He lifted her astride him before she had time to think, kissed her deeply, and gripped her hips to hold her in place as he drove himself deep.

Nicole whimpered and held on to him tighter. Lucas kissed her in that soft way he had that made her feel safe, urging her to relax, and then he began to move.

The pleasure started building again. He touched her and kissed her and didn’t stop until she was poised on the edge, then sailing over the brink, biting back the sound of his name on her lips. Lucas followed her to release.

For long seconds, she just sat there, her head on his shoulder, her body still wrapped around him, tiny ripples of pleasure pulsing through her.

She felt his lips on the top of her head.

“All right?” he asked.

She wanted to grin. She wanted to dance for the sheer joy of it. She wanted to weep.

“Thank you,” she said stupidly, and felt a faint rumble of laughter in his chest. He kissed her softly one last time.

“Now do you believe it wasn’t you?”

“Maybe.” She looked up at him. “I guess being with you changes things.”

Lucas said nothing. Reality was setting in. Maybe it hadn’t been as good for him as it was for her. The thought made her stomach ache.

Lucas lifted her away and rose from the edge of the bed. With his height and narrow-hipped, broad-shouldered build, he looked as good from the back as he did from the front as he headed into the bathroom to dispose of the condom she hadn’t realized he’d put on.

When he returned, he grabbed his shirt off the floor, and she figured he was leaving. Her eyes burned, but she clenched her jaw. He’s just like Ryan, she thought.

“Drive safely,” she said.

Lucas turned. “You think I’m leaving?”

Nicole made no reply.

Lucas just smiled. He tossed the shirt over a chair, then bent and swept her up. He settled her in the bed.

“You’re staying?”

“Yes, and if you’re going to freak out again, I’ll just have to start over.”

He was staying, but for how long?

And what about Sean? Her brother came first, and no man wanted to be second.

And Rachel? Whatever was happening, Rachel was in trouble.

Her family depended on her. They had to be her priority.

And she still wasn’t certain if she should trust him. She looked up at him, a question in her eyes.

“I’m staying,” he said as he stripped off the rest of his clothes. “Get used to it.” Then he climbed onto the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms.