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“Seems rude if I were to say no,” I heard myself answer.
His response was a deep chuckle, but then he shifted down, making him face to face, eye to eye, breath to breath. Something so innocent a second ago suddenly turned heavy. When he took my lips, I sighed into the kiss. Unlike our first one or the one in the car the other day, this kiss was slow and sweet.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d made out with a man without being in a hurry to shed clothing. With sex off the table, the kiss took on a new depth. The way his tongue danced with mine, the way I bit lightly on his bottom lip. The way we explored each other in an unhurried cadence.
He pulled away first, burying his face in my neck and inhaling deeply. “Get some sleep, crazy girl.”
Part of me wanted to protest, especially with his nostalgic nickname for me, but I knew we’d gone as far as we could without making us both regret it come tomorrow.
It was early morning when I woke to the sound of a dog whining. Glancing over, I spotted Cocoa standing by the foot of the couch doing a potty dance. “Okay, hold on.”
Extricating myself from Lucas’ warmth took a moment. That he was able to sleep through my maneuver showed how exhausted he must have been.
After lifting both dogs onto the ground, I stopped by Henry’s bassinet. He was sleeping peacefully. I then took the dogs outside, where they did their business quickly.
When I came back inside, I was tempted to lie back down, but Henry had other ideas. I could hear him start to wake, so I fixed his bottle and sat down in the rocking chair to feed him.
An adorable Lucas sat up, his hair askew, his clothes rumpled from sleep. “Need help?”
“No. I’m okay. Both dogs have been out, and Henry is on schedule, waking at five thirty.”
He stretched, showing a delicious glimpse of his abs. “I should probably go. Want me to make coffee before I do?”
“Nah. I’m good, but thank you.”
“Sure. Let me get the dogs’ things.”
I watched while he gathered their paraphernalia and put on their leashes. All the while, I tried not to recall our make-out session last night or read anything into it. It had been nice, but nothing had changed. If anything, I understood better now why Lucas wasn’t looking for a relationship. But I could continue to be a good friend to him.
“If you decide to attend Myrna’s funeral, I’d be happy to go with you.”
He breathed out a sigh. “I appreciate the offer.”
After packing up all the gear, he stood in the living room. “Thanks again for everything.”
“Yeah, you too. Guess we were better together as a team than on our own.”
Judging by the way his expression changed to sheer panic, my comment had been the exact wrong thing to say to a man who feared attachment.
Maybe he wasn’t the only one good at sabotaging things.
“Yeah. I’ll see you around.”
It had been a great deal less awkward when I’d been the one to wake up first and had been able to slip out before we’d had to face each other. And last night we hadn’t even had sex. “Yep. See you around.”
