less than twenty feet away so Lucas made a hard right, dropped his two on the deck, then slid them toward the door. When he turned back, Sid was sitting with her arms over her head, trying to protect herself from the pounding hail.
“Wait,” she screamed. “We need the gas!”
He bent at the knees so she could reach the two cans, then once she had a solid grip, broke into a run again. He’d wonder later where he found the strength to pull off the Herculean task, but in that moment he’d have carried the damn shed if it meant getting Sid safe inside.
Ducking into the garage, he tossed Sid to her feet and turned to close the door behind them. As he slid the latch home, Lucas heard Sid dragging the generator into the middle of the floor.
“Forget it,” he barked, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the inside door.
“But we need—”
“Dry first.” Pushing her into the kitchen, he bent to loosen his shoelaces, kicking the Nikes off next to the entry rug, then ripping off his socks and dropping them inside. “You got towels around here?” he asked, looking up to find Sid staring at him.
He couldn’t see more than her outline in the darkness, but her stance expressed loud and clear what his body had been telling him for days. They stood there, in Sid’s pristine kitchen, panting and dripping in silence for what felt like an eternity before Sid launched herself against him.
Their lips met as if their lives depended on it. She clung to his wet body, vibrating with the tension coursing between them. Sid had always wanted to jump Lucas’s bones, but never more than in this moment. All day he’d been teasing her with that tool belt hanging low over his perfect ass. She’d wanted him so bad she could taste it. And now she could taste him.
Fuck Death By Chocolate. Sid wanted to die devouring every last bite of Lucas Dempsey. His tongue was hot and invading, dueling with hers when he wasn’t taking tiny bites of her lower lip. She jammed her hands in his wet hair as Lucas spun, setting her on the counter and sliding his hands beneath her shirt.
Without hesitation she broke the kiss, leaned back and jerked her shirt over her head. She’d have worn the black lace if she’d known this would happen today, but Lucas didn’t seem to mind the white satin with colorful stars. He was looking with his hands more than his eyes, and Sid thought she might die from the sensations assaulting her.
Desperate to feel his skin against hers, to run her tongue over the muscles bunching and flexing under her touch, she slipped her hands under the hem of his shirt, pushing the wet material over perfect abs until she could take a nipple between her teeth. Lucas growled and pulled her core hard against his hips. He cradled her ass, lifting her off the counter so he could take her mouth again.
Seconds later he’d moved to her earlobe, rolled his tongue down her neck, and licked the top of her breast above the confining satin. “Where’s your room?” he asked, his voice thick and heavy.
Reveling in the feel of his hot breath between her breasts, Sid wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, anchoring against him, and wound her arms around his neck. “Through the living room. Blue door. Right.”
Lucas found the room without breaking the lip-lock. Bless the man for being a multitasker.
The lack of electricity rendered the light switch useless, but her alarm clock battery had kicked on, the large glowing numbers illuminating the room enough for Lucas to find the bed. When he did, they toppled down together, him throwing his weight to one side, seemingly to keep from squishing her, but Sid was having none of that.
She shifted further onto the bed and urged Lucas to move with her. He was hard and ready against her thigh, sending waves of panic coursing alongside the overload of adrenaline already drowning her brain.
What if she did this wrong? What if he could tell she didn’t know what she was doing? What if she was awful at it?
In that instant, Lucas rose off the bed and Sid feared she’d aired her doubts aloud. But then he pulled his shirt over his head and her brain shut down. Good Lord, the man was gorgeous. Like rock star gorgeous. Even in the dim blue light of the clock, Lucas was a god.
And he was reaching for the button on his pants.
Panic took hold again, sending Sid scooting back against the headboard. Lucas froze.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Do you want to stop?” The words were barely audible through his heavy breathing. The tension in his body as he fought for control was palpable.
Sid shook her head no.
“Then why does it feel as if you’re about to run out the door?”
Sid shook her head again.
“We’re not going to do anything you don’t want to do, Sid. I don’t think I can make it home now, but I’ll go stay on the couch.”
“No!” she yelled, more afraid he’d leave than stay. “I’m just …” She was just what? If she told him she didn’t do this much, he’d bolt for sure. This was supposed to be casual. She was supposed to be good with casual sex. “I just wish it wasn’t so dark in here. I want to see you.”
That part was true. She’d give anything to see him in full light, naked in her bedroom.
“I want to see you too,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. “We’ll just have to make sure we each get a good look when the sun comes up.” Leaning over until his hands were braced against the mattress, Lucas grinned. “Come down here, Sid.”
As if pulled by an invisible string, Sid scooted down the bed, powered by the wave of lust that had brought her this far. “You want to do this?” he asked, nuzzling along her jawline. “A summer fling could be fun.”
She had no doubt a summer fling with Lucas would be the most fun she’d ever have in her life. But what would happen when summer rolled into fall? When the fling was over and Lucas was gone?
“I did promise to show you a good time,” she said, with more swagger than she felt. “Are you up for the challenge?” Was she up for the heartbreak?
Lucas crawled back onto the bed until Sid was prone beneath him and ground his hips against her thigh. “I’m up, Sid. I’m definitely up.”
He took her mouth slowly this time, savoring her. Tasting and teasing, his hands on the bed beside her head instead of where she wanted them, on her body. Her hands explored at will, showing Lucas what she wanted in return. The muscles of his upper arms were rock solid as he held himself above her, leaving too much space between them. When she reached up and tugged on his neck, he kept the distance, but ground his hips once again.
An odd sound filled the air and Sid realized the animal moan had come from her own throat. A kind of purr she’d never uttered before. For a brief second the sound made her wonder where Drillbit was, but then Lucas rolled his hips once more and thoughts of the feline fled.
When he left her mouth to shift attention to her neck, Sid begged. “Touch me, please.”
“Patience. We have all night.”
Sid did not have all night. If he didn’t touch her in the next five seconds, she would burst into flames and die without ever feeling Lucas inside her. With a move honed from years of wrestling a giant of a brother, Sid locked her legs around Lucas’s waist and flipped them both until she was on top.
Hands braced on his shoulders, she stared down into startled eyes and smiled.
“
“By all means,” he said, sliding his hands over her thighs. “Present your case, Ms. Navarro.”
Sitting up taller, Sid reached back and freed her hair. She’d always seen chicks look hot doing that in the movies, and hoped she was pulling off the same effect.
“I love your hair,” he whispered, a potent hoarseness in his voice. “I’ve wanted to yank out that ponytail for a week.”
She wiggled one finger before his nose. “There will be no hair pulling.”
His grin turned wicked. “We’ll table that one for further discussion.”
Sid’s stomach clenched as Lucas thrust up off the bed. Her hands hit his shoulders again, draping the both
