Road to Recovery (17 page)

Next to the shower was a corner tub.
She had a hard time imagining Lucas sitting in that jetted tub,
though she could easily imagine herself lounging in there for hours
on end.

In the far corner was a double vanity
with gray marble counters. Walking up to the empty counter space,
she carefully lined up her lotion, hair products, then toothbrush
and toothpaste.

When she was done, she turned to look
at him. He was leaning casually against the doorframe with his feet
crossed in front of him, his hands in the pockets of his suit
pants. He had taken off his jacket and tie before they made the
drive home. And he was smirking at her. “You all set now? Have
everything organized just right?” he asked with a trace of humor in
his voice.

She shrugged. “Sorry. I like things a
certain way.”

“
No problem. It’s kind of
cute.” He ignored her snort. “Are you hungry? Or do you want to try
for that run? It’s actually pretty nice out now. But it’s up to
you.”

“
A run sounds good.” She
hedged. “But don’t feel like we have to go together.”

Frowning at her now, he asked, “Why
wouldn’t we go together?”

“
This is my first time out
in a year. I don’t want to hold you up. I’m only saying you can go
at your normal pace. Don’t worry about slowing down for me,” she
explained.

He waved his hand. “No, we can go
together. You set the pace and I’ll follow your lead. Besides, it
lets me get close to you in your tight little athletic shorts for
once.” A smile split across his face. “I’ve only been able to
admire them from a distance. So now is my chance, up close and
personal. I’ll try to keep my hands to myself.”

Rolling her eyes, she walked back to
his bedroom and changed into her workout gear, while he stepped
into his closet to change his own clothes.

A few minutes later, they were walking
down his long driveway back to the main road. “I normally run down
the road, then turn around when I’m halfway through. Nothing
exciting, but it gets the job done. It’s still better than the
treadmill during the week.”

Putting her ear buds in place and
tucking her iPod into the little zippered pocket inside of her
shorts, she started off at his pace. She knew he was going slowly
for her benefit. She had watched him enough in the gym to know his
actual pace.

She enjoyed watching him. He always ran
so effortlessly. She knew she had a graceful run, but that was
before her accident. Right now she only wanted to get through
without stopping.

She was so lost in the music she didn’t
realize how far they had gone until she felt his hand on her arm.
Pulling out one of her ear buds, she realized he had been trying to
talk to her. “Sorry. What?”

“
I said we’ve gone about
fifteen minutes. Let’s turn around and head back. I don’t think you
want to push it much more than that, right?”

“
No. That is probably my
limit.”

Turning around and heading back in the
other direction, he stopped her hand from putting her ear bud back
in. “How are you doing? OK?”

“
Yes. I know you are taking
it easy on me. Let’s increase the pace a bit. I want to at least
get my heart rate up. My leg is fine. Trust me.” She stared him
down when she saw him start to protest.

They finished the second half of the
distance faster than the first, then slowed down and walked the
rest of the way to the house. He pulled out his own ear buds and
shut off his music. “Feel good?” he questioned.

She couldn’t help smiling back at him.
In the past she would have gotten annoyed over the question, but
she was feeling too good right now, too proud of herself. Not only
was she able to run the whole distance, but also her leg felt
great. So did her back. Of course she still had endorphins running
through her. But she was glad to have reached that milestone with
him. “Great, actually. Thanks for indulging me.”

“
My pleasure. And it was. I
was right, those shorts look even better up close.”

Giggling, she tried to sidestep his
hand that reached for her shorts. She felt carefree in that moment,
for the first time in a long time. She didn’t know if it was the
surroundings or the company, but either way, she was feeling like
nothing she had ever felt before. And she didn’t want to question
it right now. Go with the flow—sticking with her new
motto.

“
Do you mind if I take a
quick shower before dinner?” she asked, toeing her shoes off in the
mudroom.

“
No, because I planned on it
too. And we can conserve time and water by taking one together.”
Then he grabbed her hand playfully and pulled her through the
house.

***

“
I have a surprise for you,”
he said picking up the plate of marinated chicken.

“
Really? I thought you gave
me one upstairs,” she retorted, sending him a bright
smile.

“
Nah, that was a warm up.”
He slid open one of the glass doors to the deck. “The surprise is
out here. Come have a look.”

“
That’s a really nice grill.
But I was kind of hoping that you would cook tonight,” she said
with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

“
Thanks, for the grill
comment. You know men and their grills, so hands off. It’s mine.”
He loved listening to her laugh. “Look around toward the side of
the house there a bit.” He pointed in the direction.

“
Oh, wow.” She eyed the hot
tub on a smaller deck with a roof over it, looking more like a
gazebo.

“
I thought you would enjoy
it. I know how much you like your hot baths. And it might help ease
any soreness from the run earlier.” Seeing the pleasure on her face
warmed him. “Later tonight, when it cools down a bit, we can come
out here and relax. But right now, let’s get the dinner going,
because I’m starved.”

Two hours later he found himself
laughing at her when she said, “I didn’t bring a bathing suit.” He
poured a glass of wine for her and grabbed himself a beer in
preparation for the hot tub.

“
Don’t worry. I won’t wear
one either. There, does that make you feel better?” he
asked.

Ignoring him, she pressed on. “What if
someone sees us?”

“
Brooke, look around. No one
is going to see us. Trees surround us. Short of someone coming
through the woods, or up the dock, we’re safe.” He stopped her
before she could protest anymore. “And no, neither of those things
is going to happen. We are pretty secluded here.”

He could see her hesitation. The
internal battle she always waged with herself. And then the moment
where she finally let go. “You’re right. Let’s go,” she
conceded.

Not waiting around for her to change
her mind, he grabbed her wine and his beer, headed for the deck and
didn’t look back to see if she followed.

He was getting into the tub when she
started to lift her shirt over her head. He didn’t want her to feel
embarrassed, but he wasn’t about to look away either. Reclining
back, he took a sip of his beer. “What? Just enjoying the show,” he
commented when she hesitated with her clothing.

The pink hue rose from her neck to her
face. It didn’t matter how many times they had been together, he
still could make her blush with a look, or a word, and definitely
with both at the same time. He thought it was hilarious.

She stripped the rest of her clothes
off as fast as she could and climbed in the steaming water opposite
him. He raised his eyebrow at her, wondering why she settled so far
away, but handed her the wine glass.

Taking a sip, she reclined back, closed
her eyes, and laid her head on the padded ledge behind her. “This
is so much better than my tub at home.” She let out a blissful
sigh.

“
It’s meant to be. Much
hotter too, so you really can’t relax in here too long.”

Brooke jerked about ten minutes later
when his hand touched her foot. “Jump much?” He laughed at her. He
saw her body start to relax, her eyes clouding over.

“
Sorry, I actually felt
myself drifting off. I could fall asleep right now, between the
wine and the heat,” she confessed.

“
Close your eyes again. Let
me help you relax some more. Not ticklish, are you?” he asked, then
he started to massage the arch of her foot. Her low groan was
encouragement enough.

“
No. And, wow, that feels so
good.” She turned and set the now empty wine glass down before it
could slip out of her hand.

His hand continued to knead her arch,
moved back to her heel, then her arch, finally moving to her toes.
Pushing them forward and back, stretching her foot with one hand as
he continued to push his thumb deep into the center of her arch. He
lowered it back into the water minutes later. “Lift your other foot
for me,” he stated, then started the same ministrations
again.

“
You have beautiful feet, so
long and slim. Just like your legs, an extension of your legs. I
love everything about your body. Soft and feminine and strong. You
make strong look sexy.”

He saw her body slide down further into
the water, her arms go limp, and her head fall back against the
cushion as she sighed deeply. He moved closer while he ran his
hands up her leg, slowly caressing her calf. Then he ran his
fingertips over her knee, massaging more as he went. His fingers
gently tracing the curves of her knee, then behind, back down her
calf and up again, teasing her endlessly.

When she moaned low in her throat and
involuntarily arched her back, his hand started to slide higher up
her inner thigh, then retreated back, and up again. He wanted her
to burn. Burn for him.

Lifting her and shifting her in front
of him, between his thighs, he rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Does that feel good? You like that don’t you?” he asked as his one
hand slid higher up her thigh, between her legs, resting it at her
junction.

He had pulled her up a little
straighter so that her breasts were barely covered by the bubbling
water rising around her nipples. Making them harden before he even
touched them.

Looking down he saw them pebbled,
begging for his touch. He moved one hand up her waist, under her
breast and then over, cupped her, covering her completely.
Massaging her there as well. “I think you like when I touch you
here, don’t you?”

The arching of her back into his hand
caused her shoulders to push into his chest, exposing her neck to
his mouth. Delicately, he traced her collarbone with his tongue,
and then gently nipped her with his teeth, finally settling on a
spot with his lips to suck.

She was writhing in his arms. “Tell me
what you want. Tell me what you want me to do to you,” he
whispered.

She stammered, “Inside. Inside
me.”

“
Like this,” he boasted as
he slid two fingers inside her. Like he knew she loved.

“
Yes, like that. Just like
that. Don’t stop,” she moaned, her hands gripping his
thighs.

Moving his other hand away from her
breast and down between her legs, he started to rub her while he
deepened his fingers inside her more. Curved them just enough,
found the spot she was craving.

Suddenly she exploded over him.
Shudders raked her body, her hips lifted as she ground her pelvis
into his hand.

He held her there, until the last spasm
left her body. She lay limply in his arms, breathing heavily, as
the water continued to lap around her breasts, making her shiver.
As much as he would have loved to hold her like that all night, he
had held onto his control as much as he could.

Standing up, cradling her in his arms,
he set her on the deck, reached for one of the towels he brought
out earlier, and wrapped it around her. She continued to look dazed
and confused and blissfully relaxed. “Come on, baby, let’s finish
this inside.” He wrapped the other towel around his hips and led
her to his bedroom.

As always, the sun shining through the
windows woke Lucas. He refused to get blinds to cover the view,
didn’t mind the early wake-up call. Stretching over blindly to the
other side of bed, he reached for Brooke where she always slept
huddled away. And found emptiness.

Reluctantly he opened his eyes,
squinted against the bright rays of sunshine, and noticed that she
was nowhere to be found in the room. He listened for a minute but
didn’t hear anything coming from the bathroom either. Grabbing
shorts from the side of the bed, he slipped them on and made his
way out the open double doors.

He saw her the minute he stepped on the
landing overlooking the family room below. There she was, in knee
length yoga pants and a fitted crop top, standing in front of the
wall of glass, balancing on one leg. Bent forward at the waist,
both hands reaching in front of her, head up, while her other leg
was level with her arms. Looking like Superman pretending to fly
through the air.

As he quietly continued to watch her,
she slowly arched her back, grabbed the leg that was already lifted
and pulled it higher, body forming a bow as she continued to reach
forward with the other hand. Focused effortlessly. Gracefully
moving from one position to the next, oblivious to her
audience.