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“I’m worried about what will happen if this Perkins woman starts calling everyone in my family. We’ve been so vague with the details that I can’t imagine she’ll get the same version of events twice. It’s going to look terrible. I wish I was a better actress. She just made me so nervous that I couldn’t think straight.”
“I know,cara.” Her eyes widened in surprise. It was the first time I’d used a term of endearment since I got to Esperance, unless it was for show. I winced inwardly, because it was a sign that my self-control was slipping. “There’s nothing we can do now, but ride it out and hope for the best.”
“I guess.”
“If the worst does happen, we’ll figure it out.”
“It’s easy enough for me, all I have to do is find a way to pay the medical bills. It’s harder for you.”
“I’ll be fine.” She smiled at that, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. That made me feel bad. “I’m sorry for all this,” I said quietly.
“It’s not your fault.”
“Or yours.”
“Sometimes I wonder…”
I set my fork down, leaving my pie half eaten on the table. Something in Lucy’s tone had tension oozing through my system. “Sometimes you wonder?”
She looked away.
“Tell me.”
“If I’m doing the right thing, keeping the baby.” The last words were whispered so quietly I had to lean in to hear her, and the words cut at my heart. She didn’t deserve to feel this way.
“You are one hundred per cent doing the right thing.”
“You sound pretty confident.” Doubt still tinged her words. “I just never thought it would be like this, you know? I had this great five-year plan, with everything perfectly laid out. I’d have the house almost paid off, I’d have the business set up so I could take a step back, and I’d bedamnedsure to have the right level of fucking insurance cover. And that’s not even discussing what’s at risk for you, so…” She toyed with the tie of her dressing gown, running it through her fingers nervously. “If I…you know…then I could still do all of that. And you…”
The idea that she was having these thoughts almost broke me. “Listen to me, Lucy.” Her gaze snapped to mine at the tone in my voice. “Getting rid of the baby is absolutely not an option for you, so stop thinking about it. You’re only torturing yourself and feeling worse about everything. You can do this, you can make it work. And you won’t be on your own.” A stab of regret hit me for what might have been if I’d been wired differently. “I’ll support you financially, and you’ve got your family for all the rest. It’ll work out. And do not worry about me.”
I felt a rush of relief when she nodded and in a firmer voice, said, “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“Good.” I picked up the plate and ate the rest of the pie, while Lucy went back to watching tv. “I’m gonna grab a quick shower now, if you don’t need the bathroom.”
Something flickered in her eyes when she looked at me, too fast for me to read before it was gone again. Then she said, “Sure, go ahead.”
Stepping under the streaming water, I turned it as cold as I could stand it. I’d be back in the spare room tonight now that Stef was gone, and I needed, desperately, to lower the heat in my blood. The cold water hardly brought any relief, and minutes later when I’d pulled on a pair of sweats and headed into the kitchen, I was at half-mast. I almost turned around to go to my room when I saw Lucy, standing at the freezer, pulling out the ice cream tub. She wore black satin pajamas, and her hair was down, flowing around her shoulders. It made me want to wrap it in my fist and kiss her senseless. Suddenly, I couldn’t remember why I was in the kitchen.
Pulling a spoon from the drawer, Lucy leaned back against the counter, opened the tub and scooped out a generous spoonful. I watched, spellbound, as she put it in her mouth, watching me the whole time. When she let out a soft moan of pleasure, I was done for, my cock rock hard and desperate.
Dammit, was she doing this on purpose? Licking the spoon, she flicked a glance down at my crotch and back up again. Yes, she fucking was. I had no idea what had changed, why sex was suddenly on the table, but I was fully prepared to pick up what she was laying down.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” I stepped closer.
Her smile was hot and sexy as fuck. “If it’s anything like what you do to me, yeah, I do.” She replaced the lid on the ice cream tub and put it back in the freezer. “I don’t know if it’s my hormones being so out of whack, or just the knowledge of how good it can be, but honestly, I can’t stop thinking about fucking you, Dante. It’s torture.”
“I don’t know how much longer I can resist you.”
Running her hand over my bare chest, her eyes dark with desire, she said, “Then don’t.”
That was all the invitation I needed.
CHAPTER29
Lucy
My words hung in the air between us for a brief moment before Dante crushed his lips to mine in a merciless kiss. The dim recognition of how good he was to me, how we really could have had something special together, if only things were a little different, flickered at the edges of my brain before I surrendered completely to the soul-searing heat of his kiss.
