Road to Recovery (12 page)

The elevator reached their floor, and
everyone started to move toward their destinations. As she went to
a take step, he held on tighter, made her look over at him
again.

“
Bye,” he mouthed, then his
finger released hers.

***

That little episode of flirting in the
elevator was the start of him trying to unbalance her all
week.

From meetings in each other’s office,
to the cafeteria, elevator, and even the gym. They were never
completely alone, and though he never did or said anything
inappropriate, he was always teetering on the edge. If anyone
consistently saw the two of them together, they would start to put
the pieces together. Or at least suspect.

The worst was when he interrupted her
and Cori in the gym one day. She had thought he had a late meeting,
resulting in another missed opportunity for time together. At the
end of her day she changed her clothes, met up with Cori, and they
started their normal routine of lifting weights before
cardio.

A few minutes after they started riding
their bikes, Cori had interrupted her thoughts. “Hello, earth to
Brooke.”

Startled, she looked over. “I’m sorry,
were you saying something?”

“
I was telling you about my
date from hell last night. Which I have to say is a pretty amusing
story, but you weren’t listening to a word of it.” Cori huffed and
crossed her arms. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been awfully
distracted this week.”

“
Nothing really, just work.
I’m sorry, start again. I would really like to hear how your date
went,” Brooke urged, trying to placate Cori.

“
Oh, don’t give me that,”
Cori said, waving her hand in the air. “I don’t buy it. You are the
most organized and competent person I’ve ever known. No way work is
on your mind. What gives?” Before Brooke could blow her off once
more, the light seemed to dawn on Cori. “Or should I say
who
gives?” A smile lit up
Cori’s cherub face.

Brooke was tempted to deny it, but she
felt the telltale signs of a blush creeping up her neck and knew
there was no use. She started to open her mouth, but Cori cut her
off. “I knew it! When did that start? I called this a while ago and
you tried to blow it off then. Details, start from the beginning
and bring me right up to today,” she demanded while she bounced on
the seat of the stationary bike.

Brooke looked around the gym, glad that
it was relatively quiet and no one was within hearing distance. She
lowered her voice and started to fill Cori in on the weekend prior,
keeping out a lot of details. Only glossing over the time she and
Lucas spent together.

Cori wasn’t about to be put
off though. “OK, so you like each other. I get that. And he seems
to be pursuing you pretty hard, but I want
details.
How does he rate as a kisser?
I’m willing to bet it hasn’t gone much further than that, but
spill.”

“
This feels so juvenile. I
really can’t. I’m not going to describe it to you,” she hissed,
then looked around to make sure no one was watching.

“
What, you’ve never compared
one guy’s kiss to another? Seriously, come on. Give me something
here. I’m dying to know,” Cori begged.

Brooke remained closed
lipped.

Cori tried one more time. “Come on,
Brooke, one little detail. OK, on the Kiss-o-meter how does he
rank? One to ten. You can at least tell me that, can’t
you?”

But Brooke never had a chance to
answer, because a very familiar voice sounded from behind them.
“Eleven, definitely eleven. If you wanted to know how it rated on
my end that is.”

And with that Lucas strolled right past
them into the locker room, leaving Brooke’s face redder than ever
and Cori laughing.

***

It was the end of the week, and Brooke
was trying to make a grocery list for dinner later that night. When
Lucas brought up going out to dinner, she found herself saying,
“Why don’t I cook for you instead?” After it was out of her mouth,
she couldn’t take it back. Not that she wanted to.

There was no hesitation to Lucas’s
agreement, but he did ask for good measure. “Are you sure?” She
knew he wasn’t talking about dinner.

He had already warned her that it was
best they weren’t alone again until she was ready. And she was
ready. More than ready, if the truth was known.

But she was a nervous wreck. It had
been so long since she had been with a man. Even when she had been
having sex regularly, it was never anything to brag about, not that
she would. Always knowing there was something more out there but
never quite being able to find it had only left her frustrated.
Feeling like a failure.

Now she had the fear of disappointing
someone else. She really liked Lucas. A lot. But she didn’t have a
lot of experience to begin with, and what she did have hadn’t left
her with any good memories.

Since he was working late and was
unsure exactly when he would be out, they agreed he would text her
when he was on his way. That would give her plenty of time to buy
what she needed and hopefully calm her nerves.

By the end of the day, she felt like
she was going to crack, and she knew that Lucas could
tell.

He found some ridiculous excuse to stop
in and see her midday, which resulted in a bit of insane babbling
conversation on her part. She could tell all it did was amuse him,
but he tried his best to put her at ease, as always.

Now, with her steaks sitting in a quick
marinade, her cubed potatoes in the casserole dish with olive oil
and herbs, she decided to pour herself a small glass of wine. A
little bit of liquid courage never hurt.

The doorbell rang when she was starting
to chop vegetables for the salad. Putting the knife down and wiping
her hands on a dishtowel, she went to open the door.

Lucas leaned in for a quick kiss and
then licked his lips. “Starting without me?”

She looked at him questioningly, and he
responded, “Wine. I can taste it on your lips. Come here and give
me some more.” Then he pulled her tight to his body while he
wrapped his hand in her hair and continued to kiss the breath right
out of her.

She leaned in closer. He asked, “There,
you relaxed now?”

“
Huh?” She blinked at
him.

“
You think I couldn’t tell
you’ve been a ball of nerves all day? Relax, Brooke. OK?” He gently
caressed her cheek.

She nodded and let him continue to hold
her. “OK.”

“
Sorry, I was later than I
expected. We had more case files than I thought, and there were
some disagreements we had to work out.”

She noticed that he had already taken
off his suit jacket and removed his tie. Two buttons were undone on
his shirt, exposing his collarbone. She couldn't seem to tear her
eyes away from it.

Noticing his pulse leaping on his neck,
she raised her eyes up to his. And there she saw they were a deeper
shade of blue, passion-filled like hers, silently staring right
back at her.

“
I’ve decided dinner can
wait after all,” he announced, resting his mouth over hers. Slow at
first and then deeper when she moaned low in her throat. He
continued to hold her tight, his tongue coaxing hers out to
play.

His hand fisted into her hair, yanking
her closer. So close it felt as if her body had melted into his. He
ran his other hand down her back to her behind, pushed her into his
groin, and she felt how badly he wanted her.

She rubbed against him like a cat in
heat. Her body going up in flames, so hot was her need for
him.

He released her hair, brought his hand
down and lifted her up against him again, pressing her even more
against his hardness.

Reaching her arms around his neck, she
automatically lifted herself, wrapped her legs around his waist,
never breaking the kiss, then gently bit down on his
tongue.

He groaned and started walking toward
the back of the house toward her bedroom. Her legs still wrapped
around his waist, her hands around his neck. She was on a slippery
slope and enjoying every second of it.

He broke away from her mouth. “Which
door?”

“
Right side,” she answered,
then yanked his head back for another scorching kiss.

Brooke had no idea what had come over
her. She had never felt like this before. Never had acted like this
before. She didn’t seem to be controlled by any thoughts at all.
Her body was driving on its own accord. She was happy to enjoy the
ride.

***

Lucas managed to turn the doorknob and
push the door open with his body while Brooke continued to cling to
him. The combination of her long legs wrapped tightly around his
waist and the friction of her jeans rubbing against his arousal was
one of the most erotic things he’d felt since high school. He
prayed he had more control than he did as a teen.

He didn’t want this over with fast.
He’d waited long enough for this and he wanted to draw it out. Make
it great for both of them. But in order to do that, he had to get
her untangled from him and get her undressed. He needed to touch
her. Right now.

Reaching behind his back he unhooked
her legs and gently nudged them to the floor. Moving his lips
slowly, he kissed and nibbled his way under her ear, then down her
neck. He lifted her shirt up and moved back slightly to pull it
over her head and then dropped it to the floor.

Lips returning to her throat, he ran
his tongue down the pulse beating wildly on the side of her neck,
settled his lips over it, and tasted more of her. Her low moans
made him want to shove her to the bed and drive deep inside her.
But he didn’t. Not yet.

He took her hands and placed them on
his waist, where she seemed to get the hint as she started to pull
his shirt out of his waistband. He shivered when he felt her hands
slide under his shirt over his chest and back down to his
waist.

His hands went behind her back to
unhook the clasp of her bra and slid it off, not even taking time
to admire the soft peach lace that had been cupping her. Then he
took a step back and looked his fill. Her lips were red and
swollen, her eyes glassy and wide, her hair tumbling down her back.
A few wavy strands were lying across her breast.

Those breasts were rising and lowering
with each labored breath she took. As he continued to look, her
nipples hardened from his gaze alone.

“
You’re beautiful,” he
whispered.

Spreading his hands along her ribs, he
moved them up slowly, feeling the soft and sleek curves of her
body, resting his thumbs under her breasts. Never breaking eye
contact. He watched her whiskey-colored eyes deepen in color as her
arousal increased.

Finally dropping his gaze, he saw her
breasts completely. Not overly large, but plenty enough to fill his
hands. Perfectly round and perky.

He cupped her while his thumbs grazed
over each peach-colored nipple. They hardened even more under his
touch, if that was possible. Leaning down, he swirled his tongue
gently around one nipple and drew it into his mouth while he
pinched the other between his thumb and finger. Applied just enough
pain to mix in with the pleasure.

Brooke growled, arched her back, and
dug her nails into his back, under his shirt. “I need to see you. I
need to touch more of you,” she said with a moan.

“
Not yet. Not until I’ve had
my fill of you first.”

He stepped back, ran his hands down her
waist to the button of her jeans. Sliding his fingers in to
unbutton and unzip them, he pushed them down her hips. They pooled
at her feet and as much as he wanted to stand there and stare at
her in her little lace panties and heels, he knew it would have to
wait for another time. He was hanging on to the edge of his own
control as it was. “Step out of them and your shoes too.
Please.”

When she was done, he reached for her
again, his mouth covering hers while he backed her toward the bed.
When the back of her legs touched the bed, he lowered her down on
her back, but continued to hold her, cushioning her
fall.

As she lay on her back, feet on the
floor, he leaned back and started to kiss his way around her chest.
Stopping at each breast and giving them equal consideration on the
way to her navel. He swirled his tongue in and out of her belly
button. He couldn’t resist, it had begged the same attention as the
rest of her. He promised himself he would devote more attention
there another time, but right now he had somewhere else in
mind.

She squirmed under him, her body
silently pleading for more. He knew she was close, but he had
barely begun to touch her. Or play with her, or taste her. And he
planned on doing it all.

Sliding both hands to her hips, he
grasped the band of her panties and lowered them over her legs inch
by inch. Trailing his tongue down her hips and thigh, following the
path of his hands, he stopped to softly kiss her scar off to the
side of her thigh.