In Love With Lucy (NSFW) (16 page)

“Well, next time should last more than thirty seconds,” he said.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “That was perfect. I wouldn’t want ice cream at every meal, ya know?”

He chuckled along with me, the open, affectionate look that I loved back on his face. Slowly, he pulled out of me and my still sensitive flesh quivered.

“Be right back.” He touched his nose to mine before he rolled off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

I heard a toilet flush and water running before he reappeared, beautifully naked. I rolled over onto my side and watched him walk back to the bed, a work of art in motion.

He climbed onto the bed and faced me, mirroring my position, lying on his side, bending his arm, and resting his head on his hand. “What were you thinking just now?” he asked.

I grinned, wondering what he would think. “I want to take nude pictures of you.”

Chris smiled back, but his was pure mischief. I’d never seen that look before, but I liked it a lot.

“Would you let me?” I prodded.

“I don’t know. Would the pictures end up in one of your shows or for sale at some point?”

I bit my bottom lip. “No, those pictures would be for my private collection only.”

He leaned forward and kissed me. “Then we’ll have to set an appointment for me to come model for you.”

Chris shoved the comforter down, yanked me against his chest, and covered us with the blanket. I snuggled closer and traced his pectoral with my index finger.

“So, what happened at BioSign Corp today?” I asked.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Who am I gonna tell?”

He sighed. “True.”

When he didn’t speak again, I pinched his side. “Tell me already.”

“The embezzler came forward. The CEO and the board have not and will not report the theft to the police as the money was returned.”

He stopped.

“Chris,” I said threateningly.

“I shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Okay, fine, fine, you can’t give me details.”

“How about this? The thief’s motive wasn’t greed. Her son is very ill and the insurance company that BioSignCorp uses refused to pay for experimental treatment for him after traditional treatment didn’t work.”

I stiffened. “Is he okay?”

Chris squeezed me tightly. “Yeah. She returned the money and her little boy got the treatment. It’s early, but he seems to be responding well.”

“But how did she pay for it if the insurance doesn’t cover it?”

“The Barden Foundation is paying for his treatment.”

I blinked, staring blankly at the wall. I’d forgotten that Chris chaired a foundation. They funded medical treatment, scholarships, grants, and other programs that helped children and young adults in need.

“Wow, I fell in love with an awesome guy,” I muttered.

He didn’t respond, but he wouldn’t. He never talked about his philanthropic work. He was so close-mouthed about it that it slipped my mind how active he was in the foundation.

I gasped when he hauled me on top of him and kissed me long and hard.

“Let’s do something with our mouths that doesn’t involve words,” he said.

I grinned, wiggling against his growing erection. “Well, we could discuss my new favorite number.”

Chris kissed me again. “I love the way your mind works, Lucy.” He brushed my hair out of my face as he looked up at me. “Actually, I think I love everything about you.”

“I love you too.” I nipped his lower lip. “Now, do you want to be the six or the nine?”

There was no better sound than Chris’ laughter. After three years of never hearing it, I couldn’t wait to make up for lost time, and not just for laughing, but for everything else.

Six months later

W
e were in
an art gallery in New York and the place was packed. I was standing with Chris, Davide, and Marcus, drinking champagne and wearing a fabulous minidress in peacock blue. When someone jostled me from behind for the third time, I rolled my eyes to Marcus.

“Doesn’t a contributing photographer rate VIP treatment?” I asked irritably.

He grinned. “Sorry, darlin’. I don’t even get rate consideration here in New York.”

I sighed but grinned back. Despite the crowds and the noise, I was having a fantastic time. I only wished that my girlfriends could have been here with me. I know they would have loved New York and it would have been nice to escape from the sausage-fest of the three men in my life for a little girl time at the spa or Bloomingdale’s.

Suddenly, a hand covered my eyes from behind. “Surprise!”

I stiffened and squealed in excitement. I knew that voice. The hand was removed and I whirled around to find Grier, Tanya, Chelsea, and even Yancy standing behind me. I felt tears sting my eyes as I stared at the four of them, excited beyond belief that they were there.

I threw my arms around them all. “I’m so happy you’re here! How on earth did you do it?”

Grier winked at me. “Thank Chris. He made it all happen.”

I glanced around for my incredibly sweet yet incredibly sneaky boyfriend, but he was no where to be seen. I turned to Marcus to find him staring intently at Grier. In fact, he looked almost gobsmacked. My gaze shifted to my friend and I smiled just a little. She was looking everywhere but at Marcus, a sure sign that she was nervous. Hmmm…I might have to consider a little matchmaking while we were in New York.

“Marcus?” When he didn’t respond, I had to hold back a snort. “Marcus?” I repeated.

He blinked and removed his eyes from Grier to look at me. “What?”

“Have you seen Chris?” I asked.

The fuzziness faded from Marcus’ gaze quickly at my question and he grinned slyly. “Yeah. He asked you to meet him in the office in the back.”

My brow furrowed. “Okay.” I turned to my friends. “Girls, you remember Davide and Marcus. Keep an eye on them and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

They didn’t look like they believed me, which made me even more suspicious. I began to make my way through the crowd, slowly but surely, until I reached the back of the gallery and shoved through the door that led to the storage room and office space in the rear.

I went to the office door and pushed it open. It was pitch black inside.

“Chris?”

A hand shot out of the darkness and dragged me inside, shutting the door behind us.

“If this isn’t you, Chris, I have advanced self-defense training and I will remove your gonads with my bare hands.”

There was a quiet chuckled next to my ear. “Way to ruin the romance,” Chris murmured.

I rolled my eyes. “Romance is dim candlelight, not complete darkness.”

His face was pressed against my bare shoulder so I felt him smile against my skin. “Maybe.”

I felt him toying with my left hand, sweet and gentle, something he’d been doing a lot lately. I let myself lean back against him. “Okay, so this is kind of nice.”

He laughed again. “Sorry about the dark, but I wanted to surprise you.”

“With what?”

Suddenly the lights came on and I blinked. It took a few seconds for my eyesight to adjust and then I gasped. All around me were framed photos I’d taken of Chris over the last six months. Pictures of him sleeping, reading, even several nude photos I’d snapped after a particularly satisfying romp. My favorite, which I’d surreptitiously made my screensaver, was the largest and in the middle of the entire collection.

I turned to look at Chris. “I thought you didn’t want me to print them out.”

That had been our deal. He would let me take as many pictures as I wanted as long as I didn’t make hard copies and only saved them to a flash drive that we kept in our safe. I couldn’t blame him for his carefulness.

“Well, as long as you keep the Playgirl spread you took in a private place, I’m okay with you hanging the rest anywhere you’d like in the house.”

I reached up to cup his face with both hands, my eyes going to my hand when a flash of light caught my attention. I stared wordlessly at the huge diamond ring now adorning my left hand.

“Uh, Chris, is there something you want to ask me?”

He smiled at me, the cold, distant man he’d once been an almost forgotten memory. “Can’t I just tell you to marry me and leave it at that?”

I merely gave him what he liked to call
the look
.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He cleared his throat and pushed me arms’ length away. He knelt onto one knee, holding my left hand in his. “Lucy Daniels, you have brought light and joy into my life. I love your generous heart, strong spirit, and smart mouth. Will you please marry me?”

Though his words made me smile, the sincerity in his gaze and his voice brought tears to my eyes.

“Yes, Chris Barden, I will marry you.”

He rose and swept me off my feet into a tight hug. “I promise I will make you as happy as you make me.”

I giggled. “I guess I better make you pretty damn happy then.”

He squeezed me tighter until I patted his shoulder in surrender. “You already have.”

I realized, in that golden, frozen moment, that all my dreams had come true. Even the ones I hadn’t known existed.

The End

A native Texan, C.C. grew up either reading or playing the piano. Years later, she’s still not grown up and doing the same things. Since the voices in her head never shut up, C.C. decided to try and profit from their crazy stories and started writing books.

Now that she has a baby girl at home, C.C.’s non-writing time is usually spent cleaning up poopy diapers or feeding the poop machine. Sometimes she teaches piano, cooks, or spends time bugging her hubby and two beagles.

C.C. loves to hear from her readers!

Facebook:
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Girl Next Door Series:

Friends with Benefits

Frenemies

Drive Me Crazy

Girl Next Door-The Complete Series

Kiss Series:

A Kiss for Christmas

Kiss Me

NSFW Series:

In Love With Lucy

Seasons of Sorrow

Bitten Series

Bite Me

Once Bitten, Twice Shy