Authors: Samantha Chase
A muscle ticked in Lucas’s jaw as he stared down at the damp and barely covered Emma. He had knocked, dammit, and when she hadn’t answered he’d felt confident in the fact that he could come into the bedroom and grab an extra sweatshirt without seeing Emma.
This was way more of Emma than he could handle seeing.
He stared down at her and swallowed hard. “I was able find a towing company to come out and get your car,” he said, his voice sounding like gravel. “They should be here within the hour.”
“Oh.” Emma took a deep breath and simply inhaled the scent that was solely Lucas. Slowly she raised her eyes to his and released her breath, bringing her body into closer contact with his.
“Emma,” he sighed, so ready to say to hell with his doubts and just take what he so desperately needed from her. “I…”
“Yes, Lucas,” she whispered and he swore she became more beautiful right before his eyes.
“I…” he hesitated and studied Emma’s face. He saw desire there for sure but he saw something else; trust. She trusted him. He silently cursed because he knew he didn’t deserve her trust. Emma did not strike him as the kind of woman who would be okay with a one time encounter and he was in the awkward position of being somewhat of an employer to her and as much as it pained him, again, Lucas knew that he could never betray her trust. “I just needed to grab another sweatshirt. The snow has stopped but it’s still below freezing outside.”
He released her immediately and Emma nearly wept at the loss of his warmth. Frantically she reached for the robe and turned her back to Lucas as she put it on; all the while cursing him for sending her such constant mixed signals. Before she could turn around and speak her mind on the subject, she heard the door close and knew he was gone.
The urge to scream was nearly overwhelming. Dropping the towel to the floor, Emma kicked it into a corner and then stomped back into the bathroom. She ransacked the bathroom in search of a spare toothbrush and was rewarded when she found a new one in the back of one of the drawers. She scrubbed her teeth and then took her hair down from
its messy twist and shook it free.
“Damn him, damn him, damn him!” she said as she slammed a cabinet door shut after being unable to find a suitable comb for her hair. Storming from the bathroom, Emma went to the bedroom and went about the task of setting everything back to its original appearance. She wanted to wipe any and all traces of her being there. With any luck, she could get a ride with the tow truck driver into town and get a rental car and get home. There was no way she could spend another night here with Lucas and play whatever game it was he was playing at.
Yanking open the bedroom door, she stomped over to where Lucas stood in the kitchen. His coffee mug suspended midway to his mouth, the sight of Emma coming toward him had him frozen to the spot.
“When the tow truck gets here, I want him to get me into town so I can get a rental and get home,” she stated bluntly and then crossed her arms across her chest in defiance.
“No.” Lucas finally took a drink of his coffee and then put the mug down with a little too much force on the countertop and winced when the hot liquid splashed at him.
“No? What do you mean no?” Emma’s tone got louder and she took a step toward him.
Lucas was just as fired up as she was, possibly even more so. She’d had him tied in knots since she got here. Who was he kidding? Emma had him tied in knots for well over a year. “I mean,” he said menacingly, closing the distance between them, “no. The tow truck driver has more important things to do than chauffeur you around looking for a rental car. Did you think you were the only car trapped in this storm?”
Unfortunately, she had. “It’s not your decision to make, Lucas. I may not be able to drive my own car right now but I can damn well leave if I want to!” If her voice hadn’t shaken on the last word, she would have almost believed her own bravado. Lucas almost had too.
“Emma,” he began patiently, “no one is saying that you can’t leave; but the towing company has to battle enough things right now without adding driving you around to their list. All of the roads aren’t even cleared yet and you’ll probably be hard pressed to find a rental place open. Be reasonable.”
Right now Emma didn’t want to be reasonable. She wanted to kick, scream and pout. None of this was fair.
All she’d wanted was to get away for a few days and had gotten dazzled with the possibility of an all-expense paid weekend at a spa. Look where it had gotten her? She took Lucas’s patience as condescension and she simply snapped.
“Reasonable? I’m supposed to be reasonable? I drive up here into the unknown in the middle of a damn snow storm and nearly get myself killed! My car is probably totaled and has your father even bothered to see what’s happened to me? No! I
mean, I risked my damn life to get some stupid papers to him and he hasn’t even called me to see if I’m okay? Who does that?”
Lucas was ready to defend his father but Emma had merely stopped to take a breath.
“I have worked my tail off for Montgomery’s and this is what I get? I’m snowed in and stuck here with a man who treats me like I’ve got the damn plague!” Her chest was heaving by the time she was done and the lack of response from Lucas was the final straw for her. Emma didn’t care if she had to walk all the way back into town herself, she was getting out of here. She spun on her heel to get away from Lucas when he grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he snarled. “I have never treated you like you have the plague!”
“Oh, really?” she asked snidely. “You have spent the better part of my time here going from looking at me like you want me to walking away like I disgust you! And you know what, Lucas? It’s pretty damn insulting.”
They were pressed together from chest to thigh and Emma almost purred with delight at the feel of him and then remembered that every time she gave in to that feeling, Lucas seemed to pull back. Doing her best, she gave him a look of disgust. “Let go of me,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Not a chance,” he said just before he lowered his head and claimed her lips with his. Everything in Lucas’s head told him not to do this; that it was a mistake. But the sight of Emma so riled up with so much heated emotion had him needing to give in to all he’d been denying himself.
The kiss started out punishing; he had to make Emma feel all of the anger and frustration he’d been feeling but as soon as she caught up to him and clenched the front of his shirt in her fists to pull him closer, Lucas was lost. One hand came up to cup the back of Emma’s head and he heard her whimper.
There was no turning back, it wasn’t enough. One taste was never going to be enough. Lucas changed the angle of his head and swept his tongue into Emma’s mouth to mate with hers and everything in Emma seemed to soften. She melted against him and Lucas found himself gentling the kiss; stroking instead of taking. Emma’s hands let go of his shirt to work their way up around his neck. The feel of her hands on his skin and then raking up into his hair was driving him wild. He wanted to feel her hands on other parts of him and not while they were standing in his kitchen.
Lucas reluctantly left her mouth and worked a trail of kisses along her cheek to her throat, nudging the collar of his robe aside to taste more of her skin. Emma’s head fell back to give him better access as she sighed his name.
He could get very used to hearing her say it like that.
His hands began their own journey; first skimming down her back, then cupping her rear before trailing up her sides to the swell of her breasts. Lucas was certain that he was going to go mad if he didn’t have her soon. In his mad dash to claim her as his, one hand slid to the sash of the robe. He was about to pull it free when there was a very loud knock at the front door.
“What the…?” he asked as he raised his head. Emma’s face was flushed, her breathing was ragged and he had never seen a sexier sight.
“I think it’s the tow truck,” she said quietly.
Lucas stepped back from her and watched as she righted the robe and tried to fix her hair. If it weren’t so important to try and get Emma’s car free from the ditch he would have gladly ignored the door. “Dammit, Emma, I’ve got to go out there.” He skimmed a hand along her cheek and ran a thumb along her now-swollen lower lip.
“I know.” She didn’t want him to leave but knew that the car had to be the priority here.
Reluctantly, Lucas went to the door and looked back at Emma once again. He wanted to say something, anything, but what was there to say? If he hadn’t made the call, there was no doubt he’d be deep inside her right this minute. But maybe this was for the best; after all, wasn’t he the one who knew better? That their sleeping together would be something that Emma would come to regret?
No, this was definitely for the best and the distance between them right now would help them to both see that. Without another word, Lucas stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
Emma stood speechless in the kitchen. Well, how could she possibly doubt his feelings for her now? It was obvious that he wanted her and surely he could tell that she felt the same way. But where did this leave them?
Who knew how long he’d be outside with the tow truck? And when he came back inside, then what? Was she supposed to be waiting for him? Waiting to pick up where they’d left off? Was she supposed to just forget what had almost happened? Right, like that was going to happen. Ever.
The sound of a cell phone ringing in the distance had Emma searching for its whereabouts. She walked over to the living room and found Lucas’s phone on the sofa. The display showed it to be his father so she decided to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Emma! My goodness, girl, how are you? Lucas told me about the accident but you were in the shower so I told him I’d wait until today to call and check on you! Are you all right? What can I do to make this up to you?”
His tone was near frantic and Emma had to suppress a smile. Not twenty minutes ago she would have said she was furious with her boss but hearing the sincerity in his voice right now had Emma reconsidering. “I’m better today, thank you, sir.”
“Oh, stop being so formal,” he chided. “Lucas said you had a concussion.”
“That was his opinion but I don’t think it was all that bad. He woke me up every two hours last night and had me reciting state capitals to the
months of the year and I passed with flying colors.”
“Ah…I remember the days when we had to do that for him. It’s never a good feeling to watch someone you care about and not know the extent of their injuries.”
“Well, I’m down to just a mild headache that is completely doable and my ankle is feeling better as well. Lucas was able to secure a tow truck and he’s outside with the driver right now in hopes of getting my car out of the ditch.”
“I am so sorry, Emma. I had no idea that a storm was brewing. I tend to think that the weather where we live is exactly as it’s going to be up here. I never seem to be able to accept that there can be such a difference in a two hour drive.”
“It’s okay, Mr. Montgomery. I’m fine, really, and my car? Well…”
“Don’t you worry about a thing. We’ll take care of all of the repair costs and the rental car for you. This was completely my fault and I just feel sick at the thought of what could have happened if you’d gotten hurt anywhere but on Lucas’s property.”
“Yes, thank heavens for small miracles,” Emma murmured. “Are you and Mrs. Montgomery okay? Did you have any trouble with the storm?”
“Us? No! We’re used to this sort of thing even when it sneaks up on us. Luckily Lucas takes after us. He said he had stocked up on supplies yesterday so the two of you should be fine for the duration.”
“Um…I’m not sure about the duration. I’m hoping to bum a ride with the tow truck driver into town to try and find a rental car place so that I can get home.”
“No, you can’t!” he replied too quickly and then caught himself. “Emma, the roads are a mess; you shouldn’t be out driving just yet. Plus, everything up here is closed down because a lot of the roads haven’t been plowed yet.
I can’t bear the thought of you possibly getting hurt again.”
She smiled at his concern. “I appreciate that but I think it would be best if I tried to get home.”
“Why? Has Lucas done something to upset you?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that,” she lied. “It’s just that he really lives a very solitary life up here and I’m just frazzled from the wreck and I think it would be best if we each sort of had our own space. I don’t understand how I ended up here rather than your place though…”
“I’m afraid I had a senior moment,” he admitted sheepishly. “I’m just so used to rattling off Lucas’s address to people and having things sent to him that when you asked, I automatically gave his address. I’m embarrassed to have to admit that I made such a foolish mistake. You know that’s not like me at all.”
No, it wasn’t like him at all and she knew her boss well enough to know that he wasn’t being one hundred percent honest with her but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why he would do such a thing.
“I’m just relieved to know that you’re all right. Promise me that you won’t get on the road until they’re cleared better.”