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“It’s okay. And I can understand being protective, believe me. When we were in foster care, they split me and River up. I went to the Snyders. They were okay, not bad people, just in over their heads, I think. River went
to a real dirtbag. Scum-of-the-earth type. I didn’t know what River went through at the time, but later, when I learned the truth, it messed with my head a little. I hated that I hadn’t protected him,” he groused, his voice rough with emotion. “That I hadn’t been there for him.”
This time, Lucy reached out to him, and a familiar warmth seeped into her. What was it about Reilly that made her feel as if she’d known him her entire life? “Annabelle was too young to go through what she did. The older I got, the angrier I became. At first I was mad at my mom for dying on us and leaving us with Dad. Irrational, I know.”
“I think it’s a natural reaction, given the circumstances.” A beat of silence filled the air before he asked, “Where is your dad now?”
Reilly’s calm, gentle voice and feather-light touches over her fingers relaxed her the way nothing else ever had. She couldn’t remember a time when she and David had talked like this. Why was it so easy with Reilly? It scared her that she was opening herself to him so quickly.
Lucy thought of his question and cringed. “We don’t really speak. After Annabelle joined the army and I went off to college, Dad pretty much washed his hands of us. I tried to reach out at first, but you can’t make someone love you. They either do or they don’t.”
Reilly frowned. “His loss, if you ask me.”
“That’s pretty much the way I look at it.” Her voice trembled. The emotional topic or Reilly’s nearness? She had a sneaking suspicion it was a little of both.
He leaned closer and murmured, “I’m glad you came to the restaurant tonight.”
“Me too,” she whispered as her breathing increased and her temperature spiked.
Reilly angled his head and touched his lips to hers. It was a barely there caress that had Lucy craving so much more. She moaned and pressed more firmly against his mouth. A growl emanated from his chest; then his tongue teased at hers. Lucy closed her eyes and drifted into the kiss, tasting the delicious flavor of Reilly. She cupped his lean jaw in her hand, relishing the roughness of his five o’clock shadow against her palm.
He lifted an inch and said, “God, you are so beautiful, Lucy.”
She wanted to reply, but he stole her words with another scorching mating of lips. Her pulse beat a wild rhythm, and she suddenly took control, sliding her tongue into his mouth, licking at the wet warmth she found there. Reilly groaned and pulled away. Had she done something wrong? When he stood and stared down at her, dark desire etched into the rugged features of his face, a thrill of excitement raced up and down Lucy’s spine.
“Are you sure about this?” Reilly asked, his hands fisted at his sides.
As an answer, Lucy took hold of the right strap on her dress and tugged it downward. The left one went next. Soon her lace-covered breasts were exposed.
“I must be dreaming,” Reilly murmured as his hot gaze traveled her length. “That’s the only explanation.”
“That goes for both of us,” she replied. As Reilly licked his lips, Lucy’s nipples tingled and pulled into tight peaks beneath the see-through fabric.
She stood and slid the side zipper down, watching as Reilly froze in place. A blazing inferno roared out of control inside her. For the first time in her life, Lucy felt desirable and uninhibited. She let the dress fall to the floor and stepped out of it. Reilly slowly moved closer. He reminded Lucy of a great, prowling leopard.
“How can you say that your sister is breathtaking when you’re standing in front of me in nothing but a pair of baby-blue lace panties and bra? Sexy high-heeled shoes and all that dark, shiny hair spilling down your back, caressing your pretty ass?” He shook his head. “Not touching you is killing me here, sweetheart.”
His words tore away the last of her reservations. “So touch me.”
He cursed under his breath and seized her hips, pulling her close. Lucy lost her balance and tipped forward, landing against him.
“I want you so bad it hurts,” he groaned.
“It’s the same for me,” she confessed as she flung her arms around his neck and nestled her pelvis into the rigid length beneath his jeans. “But I don’t even know where to start. It’s been too long, and I’m…” Lucy didn’t know how to put into words the fact she felt that this was all so new to her. The relationship she’d had with David had never been terribly passionate. The sparks flying between her and Reilly now were in a class all their own.
He hummed his approval. “That’s okay, because I’ve got plenty of ideas. Hell, you have no clue what I want to do to you right now,” he whispered against the shell of her ear. “Be sure, Lucy.”
“Please,” she protested, “if you stop now, I just might clobber you.”
He chuckled. “Not a chance.” He dropped to his knees in front of her and rubbed his face against her belly. “Mm, your skin is silky soft.” Reilly slipped his arms around her and cupped her ass in his hands, squeezing and fondling. He effectively held her still while he plied her tender flesh. “You’re so goddamn sexy.” He reached up and pinched her nipple. Lucy whimpered. “I could come in my pants just staring at you.”
As he looked up at her, Lucy’s cheeks heated. Reilly slipped his fingers under the waistband of her panties and inched them down over her hips. When they pooled at her feet, she stepped out of them, her thigh muscles quivering as her need mounted. She released a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding and asked, “Shouldn’t we take this to the bedroom?”
“Soon,” he answered. “First, spread your legs for me. Show me how much you want me.”
Lucy did as he commanded. There was no possible way she could deny him. When Reilly touched a finger to the dark curls at her cleft, Lucy nearly exploded.
“Ah, that’s it, sweetheart.” Reilly stroked her clit. “Damn, you are hot for me, aren’t you? So nice and wet.” He looked deep into her eyes, as if desperate for her to submit to him entirely. She nearly begged him for more, but his fingers searched and parted her sex, and Lucy’s thoughts scattered. When he slipped a finger inside her wet heat, Lucy flung her head back and cried out, helpless to the craving this man provoked in her. She abandoned all sense of modesty, dug her fingers deep into Reilly’s hair and pulled him closer still.
