“My kitchen isn’t that exciting, I swear,” Luc said, as she followed close behind him. “I know I’ve never given you the royal tour, but there’s not much to see. Living room, kitchen, small dining area to your left, which I rarely use. Then of course, there are the bedrooms and baths. Two of each.” His voice was flirty, but she wasn’t falling for it. Not with his dad here. “And the walls are pretty thick.”
Kassie stood in the corner of the kitchen, her back was to the cupboards, and she watched him retrieve drinks from the refrigerator. He wasn’t complaining, and she knew better than to think he would, but she still noticed him wince when moving his neck.
“Maybe you’d be interested in a tour of the master bedroom?” Luc trapped her in the corner and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close.
His breath was hot on her face, and she swore he must be able to hear her own heartbeat pounding against her chest. His hard body barely pressed against hers, she stared into his deep, devious eyes. They gleamed with flirty enjoyment.
“Kassie, I’m tired of worrying about the code. My mind is made up. I want this.” Luc stood strong and was sure of his words. This was him fighting for what he wanted, regardless of what it cost him.
He towered over her. She stood silent and weak at the knees. She couldn’t dispute it, she wanted this too, but the words weren’t forming. She wanted to scream it from the rooftops how she felt about him.
“You know as well as I do that we have something here. Something real. And I’m not ashamed to tell you that this is something I’ve never felt before.”
Her heart pounded, and her pulse raced. Being this close to Luc was giving her butterflies and made her breathing shallow with excitement. “You have to be on the ice with Kaden, and you guys have to get along.”
He tilted her chin up so their eyes met. “Sweets, you worry too much about your brother. He and I will be just fine. We’ll work everything out when we talk. Haven’t you and I wasted enough time worrying about what everyone else thinks? The only people we should be concerned with right now is us. And speaking of us, I’d really like it if you stayed with me tonight. I don’t want to be away from you tonight.”
“Oh, Luc. But your dad?” She didn’t feel comfortable staying here with his dad. What would I sleep in, and where would I sleep? With Luc? While his dad is here? It was an uncomfortable situation.
“What about my dad? He won’t care. Kass, I’m a big boy, I can have overnight guests if I want. Not to mention, it is my place.” He dropped a hot kiss on her neck, then another. “Trust me.”
“Oh, I don’t know… Won’t it be weird?”
His lips were like fire piercing her skin. It’d been an exhausting night, and getting lost with Luc seemed like just what the doctor ordered.
“Don’t mind me, kids. Seriously,” Luc’s dad called from the living room.
The sound of his voice made Kassie jump. She didn’t know he was right there while Luc was trying to put the moves on her.
“See, he doesn’t mind,” Luc whispered in her ear in between kisses. “Just stay.”
Part of her wanted to stay after the night they had been through. She’d been so scared of losing him. Now, knowing he was okay, she was extra needy. Spending the night alone in her cold bed seemed sad, and she wanted no part of it.
“Only if you’re sure it’s okay,” she whispered, suddenly bashful.
“I’m sure.” Luc and his dad said at the same time.
Her face burned with embarrassment.
Luc’s dad stood at the entrance of the kitchen. “Kids, it’s late. I’m going to turn in now. Goodnight, you two. I’ll be going to my room now. The one all the way down the hall. Where I can’t even hear Luc snore, much less anything else. Sweet dreams.”
Kassie covered her face with her hands, as Luc’s dad walked away. Burying her face in Luc’s chest, wanting to faint from embarrassment, she mumbled, “Goodnight, Mr. Marcella.”
“Call me Joe!” he called from down the hall, right before he closed his door.
“This is weird.” Even just staying innocently in Luc’s bed for the night felt odd. But the look in his eye told her his intentions were anything but innocent.
“No. It’s fine. It was an odd night though, and in all honesty, I don’t want to move from your side.” He took her face in his hands and looked directly into her eyes. “Sweets, you were the first thing I thought of when I knew something bad was going to happen. What if I never got to see your sweet face again?”
His warm lips brushed against her in the gentlest way.
Her heart ached at his words. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.” She felt the same way he did. Even in the hospital, she’d hung onto him, not wanting to let go. Ever. The fear of losing him was so overwhelming that it physically ached.
“I know.” He pulled her into his chest and held her.
She listened to his heartbeat for a few minutes and just held him. Kassie needed to be with Luc as much as he seemed to need her. He dropped a kiss on top of her head before she looked up at him. His eyes had weariness mixed with his usual playfulness.
Kassie took his hand. “Why don’t we go lie down; you’re tired.” She led him down the hallway, guessing which room was his.
The other bedroom door, Joe’s room, was closed. The faint sound of the TV could be heard from the hall.
The master bedroom was almost as large as the living room and had its own bathroom. It was obviously professionally decorated, with a gray and burgundy color scheme, right down to a painting on the wall and vases on the dresser.
“Don’t close that door yet. I don’t want the big light on; my head is still kind of hurting.” Luc walked to the bathroom and turned that light on. The open door illuminated a trail on the carpet.
It was just enough light. Kassie sat down on the edge of the bed. She’d been so preoccupied with the events of the evening that she hadn’t even noticed how handsome he looked today. Between the stress of dinner with her brother and the accident, she had overlooked how cute the toque was that he wore, his tight blue jeans, and the tennis shoes that matched his button-down shirt.
“Do you need me to get you ibuprofen or anything for your head? Are you sure this is okay?”
“No thanks. I’ll be fine. But I appreciate your being concerned. Um, Kass, would you like one of my t-shirts to sleep in?” He pulled off the toque and tossed it to the dresser, then ran his hand through his flat hat-hair, messing it up.
“Um…”
“Kass, you don’t need to be uncomfortable. I can give you shorts too, if you want. But my dad won’t bother us, I can promise you that.” He slid off his shoes and joined her on the bed. “Ironically, my dad knew how we felt, long before we did.”
“Oh?” She slid down on the bed until her head lay on the pillow.
Luc moved his muscular body on top of hers. “I never believed I could feel this way about someone so soon. I didn’t want to scare you away.” His breath was hot on her face.
Kassie curled her arms around his shoulders and met his lips with hers.