“I’m looking forward to it.”
My cock twitched, and I willed it to behave.This was about so much more than sex.This was giving Valerie a safe place to be herself.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Valerie
I woke early the next morning in my bed with Lucas wrapped around me.
While last night’s meeting with my family had been the clusterfuck I knew it would be, Lucas had been my rock.Kendall was as out of control, as usual, and my parents, of course, played their regular roles.Nothing new there, until Lucas.He hadn’t tolerated it at all, and he’d stood up for me when I stayed silent.
Staying silent was no longer an option.It was time for me to stand up to my family, no matter how much it pained me to do so.Last night, Lucas had shown me how much I meant to him.It was time for me to act.I shifted out of his embrace and climbed out of bed, shutting the bathroom door after I slipped inside.
Damn, my family had messed my head up more than I realized.Had I been testing my trust in Lucas?I didn’t want to think that, but it was possible.I turned on the shower, and once it warmed up, I stepped in, still trying to figure out why the insecure little girl inside me wanted approval from the people who’d raised me.
Ducking my head under the water to clear out the cobwebs, I knew deep down that approval from my parents would never happen.That didn’t stop me from hoping for it.
They would never change.And never stop.On the drive home, my phone had started blowing up.My parents.I turned the phone off and hadn’t turned it back on yet.
We’d grabbed pizza, and when Lucas asked me where we should go, his place or mine, I chose mine.I not only needed to change but to be around things that reminded me I didn’t need my parents’ approval for anything.This was my home, and who I chose to share it with was my business.
Lucas had been so considerate last night, making sure I ate, covering me with my favorite plush throw when I mentioned I was chilled.
He even allowed me to pick the movie we watched.I sighed.I was falling for Lucas all over again.That wasn’t a bad thing, but could I trust him?Men didn’t stay.They preferred women like Kendall, not me.
Heck, even Lucas had left me.I shook my head.He’d explained what happened, and I believed him, but how much did a leopard change his spots in five years?That was a question I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to.
Last night, though, he’d pushed Kendall away, so that was a point in the plus column.
Hiding in the bathroom wasn’t going to get me closer to any answers.
After finishing my shower, I dressed.I glanced at the bed as I walked through the room.Lucas was sound asleep, looking very innocent.
My face heated.He hadn’t been so innocent last night when he made love to me.That man knew just which buttons to push.I grinned and walked to the kitchen.First order of business: coffee.Once that was started, I looked at what I had in my fridge.
A can of cinnamon rolls sat on the top shelf.Perfect.A carby, sugary, delicious breakfast.I glanced at the clock.Seven.Surprise hit me at the early hour since we’d gone to bed about midnight and didn’t fall asleep until after two.
I’d wait until Lucas woke up before I started them.The coffee was finished, so I grabbed a mug and filled it, I made my way to the back patio.The chilly air caused me to shiver.I nabbed one of the throws I left by the back door and sat down.
Thinking about his defense of me last night had something unraveling.We may have had our differences, but last night, he proved he was here for the long term.I shifted and snuggled down in the chair.Lucas put me first last night, and that meant something.
“It’s a little chilly to be out here, isn’t it?”Lucas leaned over and brushed a soft kiss over my lips.
“Good morning.”My lips tingled from the brief contact.“It is chilly, but I love it.You, on the other hand, might need some more clothes.”He wore a pair of sweats, no shirt and no shoes.Damn, he had a fine body.Not like I didn’t know that before now, but my nipples tightened.
“I’d rather share.”He fingered the throw.
“A little hard out here.”While the chair might hold both of us, the throw wasn’t made for two.
He wrinkled his nose.“Why don’t we go back inside?”
I stood, and before I could take a step, he scooped me up in his arms.
“Careful, I’ve got coffee in my hands.”I held the mug out so it wouldn’t spill on him.
“No worries.I have very steady hands.”
Those words sent a shaft of need through me.“I know all about your hands.”
