Miracle Road

study next spring.”

“This is the coolest thing I ever …” Hope’s voice trailed off as she turned a little more and brought her gaze from the ceiling to the floor. “Oh.”

“Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” Lucca asked, his voice ripe with amusement.

“I … um … well.” Hope pursed her lips, holding back a laugh as she studied the stalagmite rising from the cave floor. It was five feet tall and bore a startling resemblance to an erect penis. Then, because her mouth still tingled from his kiss and he looked so darned sexy standing there all dusty and outdoorsy, it seemed like the right thing to do. She turned a pointed stare to Lucca’s crotch, licked her lips, and said, “I’ve seen better.”

Lucca went to full arousal in seconds. He took a step toward her asking, “Do I take that as a compliment or a challenge or an invitation?”

She backed up a step. “We’re in a cave, Lucca.”

“Yeah. It’s private. It’s primitive. We wouldn’t be the first people to be naked in here.”

“Why do you say that? Is there cave-painting porn on the walls or something?”

“No, but there’s a sleeping bag and a nice thick quilt. A bottle of champagne and a big box of condoms.”

“What? I thought you said you haven’t been here before.”

“I haven’t. It’s private property, though. Cam and Sarah’s private property. And, Zach might have mentioned bringing Savannah here.”

Now she gaped at him. “So … this is what, the Eternity Springs version of Lover’s Lane? Guys get together and talk about scoring next to the giant penis?”

“Actually, that talk is usually about scoring with the giant penis.”

That made her laugh, so Lucca took another step closer. “And don’t lay all the blame at the guys’ feet. I think Zach might have said that the champagne was Savannah’s idea.”

“Zach ‘might have said’ quite a lot,” she replied. “We’ve had one public date, Lucca. How have I acted to make them assume …”

“I’m family. It’s not how you acted. It’s how I acted.” He caught her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss into her palm. “You are different for me, Hope. You are special.”

“You’re trying to seduce me.”

“Well, sure.” He slid a hand around her waist and pulled her against him. “That doesn’t mean I’m not speaking the truth.”

She rested her hand against his chest, not stopping him, but not encouraging him, either. “Lucca, I came to you when I was desperate. I need to know … I know that today is … not that it’s a problem. I just want to know … is that what this is? Escape?”

“No, Hope. It’s not. Escape is the last thing on my mind, the last thing I want. I am exactly where I want to be, with whom I want to be with.” He nuzzled her hair, inhaling the citrus scent of her shampoo, and nibbled at her ear. “I want you, Hope Montgomery. Tell me that you want me, too.”

“Oh, I want you, Lucca Romano.”

Despite the cool air of the cavern, the heat between them ratcheted up. Still playing with her hair, he whispered against her neck. “How about we take this movie script from PG to R?”

She laughed while wrapping her arms around him. “Somehow, I don’t see you stopping at R. You’re a triple X guy all the way.”

When her hand slipped down to caress him beneath a layer of denim, he hissed in pleasure. “Cave porn. I like it.”

Lucca knew that this time, she was giving herself to him. This time it would be without pain, without tears, without regret. This time she was inviting his touch, his body. Not demanding or needing it.

He reveled in the knowledge and in her expression: the glow in her eyes, the way her body moved toward his and melded into him as if created just for that space. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her deeply, the action a trigger for them both.

The fire ignited, their clothes were shed, their bodies connected. Hope responded with an appetite that nearly drove Lucca to the edge at first thrust. Her smooth skin, her passion, her soulful eyes … she took his breath away.

As he made love to her, a rare feeling of possessiveness coursed through him. Hope made him feel things that he’d never felt in his entire life, and instinctively he knew it was more than he’d bargained for. As her voice echoed around them with the sound of his name, Lucca let himself follow her into the sweet bliss.

Clutching her close, he realized that whatever it was that had brought them together initially—empathy, sadness, shared tragic history—what they had right now was damned near perfect.

He kissed her tenderly and smiled at her tearful expression. She knew. Somehow, she knew it. Whatever this was between them, she clung to it, too.

Hope trusted him with her secrets, and he’d done the same. That had connected them, body and soul. Beyond that, Lucca didn’t know.

Yet, lying on the cave floor with her sprawled and spent atop him, Lucca was certain of one thing: Hope Montgomery was light to his dark.

He couldn’t stop touching her, stroking his hand up and down the silky skin of her back. He was exhausted. He’d slept fitfully the night before, and facing the cave had drained him more than he’d anticipated or admitted. But he’d done it. He’d actually enjoyed the experience once he’d gotten past those first couple of minutes and decided that he wasn’t going to wig out. Having Hope with him had made all the difference. She hadn’t been able to hide her lack of enthusiasm for caving, yet she’d never hesitated to face the challenge.

He learned so much from her. The woman was a teacher in ways she didn’t begin to realize. How lucky he was to be spending this day with her. Last year … No. Don’t think about it.

But by then he’d cracked open the door, and the memories came rushing back. The laughter, the music. The dog. The stupid dog.

Mewling. He hears mewling. The fog clears from Lucca’s brain. The kids. Gotta get the kids. He reaches for his seat belt release. The van has come to rest on the driver’s side, so he holds himself off the unconscious man. He looks behind him and sees … a nightmare.

Oh, God, he prayed. Help us.

He assesses. Directly behind him, Alan’s head is crushed, his open eyes flat. Seth is bleeding profusely from a shard of something in his leg. In the next seat, Reed is sobbing and pulling on the handle to the van’s sliding door.

Seth moves, reaching for the mewling dog, and blood spurts like a geyser.

“Lucca?”

Hope pressed a kiss against his chest and pulled him out of the nightmare. “You’ve gone tense.”

She was right. His throat had gone tight. His teeth were clenched. His jaw had a thousand pounds of torque in it.

She ran her hand up and down his arm. He closed his eyes and willed his muscles to relax. He breathed deeply, inhaling her scent, and concentrated on the sensation of having her warm, naked body pressed against his. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “I’m okay. I was just thinking. About you.”

She lifted her head and frowned at him. “And thinking about me made you tense?”

“Thinking about you makes me hard.” He tugged her up so that his mouth could reach hers. He kissed her hard and quickly, then cradled her head against his chest. Against his heart. “Thinking about you fills me with awe. Your strength humbles me, Hope. I’ve been running from my monsters. You don’t run. You face your biggest terrors head-on. If I were in your shoes, I couldn’t have borne to be around children. What do you do? You surround yourself with them.”

Light from the lamps flickered in her caring eyes. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Remember, I have three years more of recovery than you do. I didn’t rush right into a kindergarten classroom the day that Holly was taken. You are conquering your fears. I’ll bet that’s what this trip has been about, hasn’t it? It was a test of some sort. Like the gym. You’re in a gym these days, coaching. It may have taken time, but you did it.”

She had a point. Lucca also knew that if not for her, he’d still be hiding away.

“Have you been claustrophobic since the accident, Lucca?”