Lucas hated the early shift. The hours were long and boring. There were hardly any walk-ins. All they were doing was waiting around for the weekend rush to begin. Which meant he’d spend at least three hours pretending Carly wasn’t sniping at him every chance she got. What was worse, Jenny hadn’t responded to his last few texts. He’d sat in the shop mulling over her reserved, quiet attitude that’d hit sometime yesterday.

For about half an hour, he’d wondered if she knew. If someone had told her about his part in Walker’s arrest, but if Jenny knew that, he’d expect some sort of reaction. Likely one intent on bodily harm.

If not that, then why the sudden distance?

Hopefully, they had some time to talk tomorrow morning before she went to work. It’d be nice to go into the weekend with at least one front going well for him.

He unlocked the front door, listening for any movement.

Jenny had taken Omen home with her after they’d eaten dinner in the office. It’d been the highlight of his day. Well, next to now. Even with things going weird for no reason, she was still the one thing that made him smile.

Not a soul stirred in the house.

He flipped the deadbolt and left his bag at the front door with his boots.

Just a few more moments.

He tip toed up the stairs, slow and steady. Waking Omen or Dolly meant spending time with the pups, and what he really wanted was to crawl in bed.

Lucas reached the second floor without so much as a creak. Relieved, he padded down the hall to the bedroom. He shouldered the door open before he remembered—

The hinges squealed in protest.

They’d never gotten around to using the oil for the old door.

Jenny sat up in bed, gasping down a breath.

“It’s me, it’s okay,” Lucas said, holding up his hands in case she reached for something hard and pointy to throw his way.

“Lucas?” Jenny turned on the bedside lap, blinking at him. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”

Shit.

She rubbed at her eyes and peered at the clock.

He’d just assumed that since he’d slept here every night since Saturday, this was what they were doing now. Was he wrong? Had he read into the gift of a key too much?

“I’m...sorry. You took Omen, and I thought...” He stammered out words that didn’t quite make a sentence.

Jenny tossed the comforter back and slid out of bed. She wore a simple, oversized shirt he thought might be his.

“You’re here now. I’m going to pee.” She walked into the darkened bathroom, not bothering with the lights.

Well, fuck. He’d just stepped in it, hadn’t he?

In his defense, he’d texted her that he’d be off late and to her place even later, but if she were already in bed, she wouldn’t have seen it. He’d let himself get so caught up in the silly drama at work that he’d put off coordinating the night’s sleeping arrangements too late.

“You sure you don’t want me to go?” he asked.

“You just scared me is all. Get in bed,” she called from the bathroom.

There was no right thing to do now.

Lucas circled to the other side of the bed and dropped his pants. He draped them over the armchair in the corner of the room and tossed his shirt into the hamper. Jenny finished in the bathroom and strolled out, climbing into bed without another word. He pulled his socks off and slid in beside her. She turned the light off, plunging them into darkness and silence.

Jenny had her back toward him almost at the very edge of the bed.

Was she pissed he’d woken her up, or was this more of the same disconnect?

He slid his hand toward her, but still couldn’t reach her.

“Why are you all the way over there?” he asked.

“Hm?” She turned.

“Did I do something wrong?” He should have waited until tomorrow to ask, but they were here now, and the question was eating at him.

“No.”

“Okay. Would you tell me if I did something?”

“What would you have done wrong?”

“Come here.” He reached over and slid his hand around her waist, tugging her across the bed.

Jenny scooted over, but didn’t seem too thrilled about it.

“What’s wrong, then?” He wasn’t stupid. He could tell things weren’t going right.

“Nothing.”

“Is it something you don’t want to talk to me about?”

“There’s nothing wrong.”

“Jen, I’m not stupid. I know you clean and get busy when you’re upset about something. I didn’t say anything because I figured eventually you’d let me have it. You forget, I know you and your habits. You’re pissed, maybe not at me, but about something and you aren’t sharing it with me. Why?”

“It’s nothing. I’m frustrated with myself, is all.”

“Then why not talk to me about it?” There was a time when he’d get one to five calls from Jenny a day, griping about issues as insignificant as coffee grounds in the sink to major life concerns.

“I don’t know...”

Lucas slid his hand up and down her side, wishing he could see her face in the darkness.

He wanted to fight for this, them, but he didn’t know where to start. If she’d toss him a line, give him some hint about what was bothering her, he’d calm her fears.

“Are you unhappy I’m here?” he asked, edging his way toward the question that needed asking. Just because he’d accepted that he was in love with her didn’t mean she returned the sentiment.

“No,” she said after a slight pause.

“Do you regret us? Is this something you have buyer’s remorse over?”

“Lucas, it’s like, one in the morning. Why do you want to talk about this now?”

“Because if you don’t really want me here, then I shouldn’t be here.”

“I gave you a key.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Why didn’t you go to your Mom’s for dinner last night? Why haven’t you told her about me?”

“That’s two completely different situations.” He sighed and shoved the pillow under his neck. “Mom wants Dad to retire. He doesn’t want to. Mom wants me to talk him into it. Any mention of retirement makes him angry. Given the option to sit around watching my parents fight, or spend it with you, I know what choice I’m going to make.”

“Oh...”

“And Mom knows about you. I have both texted and spoken to her, and told her I was hanging out with you. Did I spell it out for her? No. I wasn’t going to say that without us talking. Mom’s a smart lady, so I’m guessing she has a good idea that we’re not just friends, and she likes you. I know you said people blamed you for the way things ended with Walker, so I thought it was better for us to...not invite outside opinion. Why invite trouble? Why make you or me a target?”

“Oh...”

“That’s all you have to say? Oh?”

“I just... That all makes sense. Now I feel stupid.”

Lucas tightened his arm around her waist, tugging her a tiny bit closer.

“Don’t.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

Her questions answered two things—namely, why he hadn’t seen Mom’s text for a while and also her odd behavior last night and throughout the day. It didn’t explain why she’d been odd all day yesterday.

“Is there anything else bothering you?” he asked.

“No.”

“You sure? Jenny, I’m not Walker. I’m not going to get upset at you if I did something to piss you off.”

“You’re nothing like him. I’m just...I never thought things would get here, and I think maybe I’m freaking out and creating problems in my head.”

“Would you do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Next time you brainstorm a problem, would you tell me?”

“Maybe.”

“Please?”

“Okay.”

He kissed her cheek and found her mouth by touch. She leaned into him and he sighed.

One hurtle passed.

They would get through this. He believed that if Jenny meant what she said, that she didn’t want to just fool around, that she was serious about them, then this would work. They could have what they’d denied themselves before.

Lucas squeezed her, then eased away. This was about little victories, establishing a better bond—more communication—and creating a foundation that would last. He might want her all the fucking time, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was the best thing for her.

“I’ll roll over so you can go back to sleep,” he whispered.

Jenny hooked her arm around his neck, pulling him toward her. She kissed him, her tongue teasing his mouth and her teeth nipping his lips. He groaned and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her partly on top of him.

Sometimes he didn’t quite understand Jenny. For as close as they’d been, for as well as he knew her, she still had secrets he was learning. But when they kissed, the whole world seemed right and all he wanted to do was to keep kissing this beautiful, amazing woman.

Her hand slid inside his boxers. She fisted his dick with no hesitation. He dug his fingers into her hair, relishing the feel of her skin on his. She was rarely shy about the same thing twice. The first time he’d shown her how to touch him, she’d been tentative, but now there was no such hesitation. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and he loved that.

Lucas stroked his hand down her chest, cupping her breasts, stroking her hips. She’s always been his ideal. The perfect woman. He’d done his best to ignore it, to deny that there was anything special about her, that he could find someone similar and be happy, but the truth was no one could replace Jenny. And now, no one had to.

He cupped her mound, stroking her panties with his fingers.

Jenny groaned into his mouth and straddled his thighs, barely breaking her stride.

She sat up, shifting her hips, stroking herself on his hand and working his cock in her palm. He pushed her shirt up until he could touch her breast and toy with her nipple. He couldn’t see her expression in the darkness, but he could imagine it.

Her hair over one shoulder, that wanton gleam in her eye. She’d never been sexier.

Lucas pushed her panties aside, dipping his fingers into her pussy. He could spend years loving her and it wouldn’t be enough.

Jenny groaned and tilted her head back, riding his fingers, her slick channel gripped him, pulling him knuckles deep.

When he came to bed, he really had intended to go to sleep, but he wasn’t about to tell the woman holding his cock no.

She leaned forward and kissed him, devouring his mouth. He tweaked her nipple and she gasped, her whole body seeming to shudder.

“Stop, stop, stop,” she chanted.

“Okay.” He let go and stilled his fingers.

“Oh, God. I’m going to come.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

He felt her glare.

The lady wanted what the lady wanted.

He lifted his head and kissed the tip of her nose, chuckling into the darkness.

She let go of him and crawled across the bed, a single-minded creature focused on pleasure.

Lucas pushed his boxers off, tossing them over the edge of the bed. He sat up and stroked her back, working the too-big shirt up to her shoulders.

The nightstand banged open. Condom wrappers crinkled. She pulled one off a strip and ripped it open. He’d never been with a woman who had a preference when it came to rubbers, but it all boiled down to the nuances that made Jenny unique. Loveable.

She sat back, pressing against him, and pulled the shirt off. He kissed her shoulder and neck. She turned in his arms, searching for his mouth. Her lips found his, her need telegraphed in every slide of skin on skin.

In all the time he’d thought about what they might be like, he hadn’t expected it to be like this. The need knitting him together. It was as though they were a perfect match, and nothing else he’d experienced in his life could compare to these moments together.

What would she do if he told her? Would the admission strengthen their relationship, or scare her?

His body broke out in cold chills at the thought of a life without Jenny in it. Before he’d come back to Dallas, he’d been miserable but carrying on. Now, after holding her, he couldn’t give her up. He couldn’t lose her. And that was why he couldn’t say a word.

Jenny lay back on the mattress, her dark hair fanning out around her. She grasped his arm, pulling him on top of her. He straddled her waist, his cock pointed toward her.

Instead of rolling the condom on like he expected, she dug her nails into his ass, urging him forward. She lifted her head and licked the underside of his erection.

“Holy—fuck.” His throat closed up and his vision hazed.

Her lips wrapped around him and she pulled him closer still. His brain seemed to short circuit and the only thing that mattered was the feel of her hot, wet mouth around him, sucking him deeper. Her nails urged him on until he bumped the back of her throat.

“God damn.” He braced his hands on the headboard. “Jenny...”

She let her head fall back and his cock slip from her lips.

“What? Too close to orgasm?” Her voice taunted him.

The minx.

She rolled the condom on with quick efficiency, her smile so wide he could see it in the relative darkness of the room.

He scooted down her body, taking her panties with him until she, too, was naked.

That done, he kissed one knee, then the other, crawling up her body, pausing nowhere long. The driving need to be in her, to wrap himself around her, was all consuming.

“We made it to a bed this time,” he said.

Jenny chuckled, but the sound quickly turned into a gasp as he thrust into her. Her spine arched as he slid deep, meeting no resistance. She was so damn wet and ready, easing in wasn’t necessary.

“Oh—Lucas.” She dug her nails into his biceps and wrapped her legs around his hips.

This was what he wanted. Right now, it was just them, the raw desire, the passion, no questions or second guesses.

He stroked into her, her lips brushing his face, her breath on his skin. The bed squeaked and the head board thumped against the wall. Her hips lifted, meeting his thrusts, driving him deeper.

Jenny chanted his name, her spine bowing and breasts pressed to his chest. He kept kissing her even as her body shuddered around him. His skin prickled.

The longest he could hold out was a few more moments.

He eased more of his weight down onto her, holding her where he wanted her, fucking her like it was the last thing he’d do in his life.

“You’re so damn tight and wet, Jen. I love it.” He muttered words, hardly realizing what he said.

Her nails dug into his back, raking up his spine.

He shouted and thrust deep, the pleasure rolling up through his body.

God damn, there was nothing better in this world than her.

Jenny buried her face against his shoulder.

They both sucked down air, sweat dampening his skin and their bodies.

Jenny made an odd noise. Was he smothering her?

Lucas pushed up to give her more air.

Her sob sliced through the darkness, chilling him to the bone.

“Jen? Jen, what’s wrong?” He eased to his side, but she kept her arms wrapped tightly around him.

His cock slid from inside of her and he shuddered at the loss of connection.

“Did I hurt you? What happened?” He bumped her chin up, desperate to fix whatever he’d done.

“N-nothing,” she stammered and pressed her forehead to his shoulder.

“Then why are you crying? What’d I do?”

“Nothing, okay?” The high, tight notes of her voice were a warning, venture with care.

“Okay. Okay.” Lucas held onto her just as tightly as she clung to him, all the while he was panicking on the inside. Had he been too rough? Was he too heavy? What?

Neither spoke for several, long moments. She kept her face hidden, and he didn’t ask questions. Eventually, her sobs ended and the silence stretched on, more awkward and tense than before.

Shit.

What did he do?

Something was clearly wrong, and yet he didn’t know what.

“Jen, do you want some water?” He could start with safe, generic things that might help.

“Sure. Cold, please,” she muttered.

“Okay. Hang tight. I’ll be right back.”

Lucas untangled their limbs and rolled out of bed. He tucked the comforter up under her chin so she wouldn’t catch a chill, then headed downstairs without bothering with clothes. In the kitchen, he could hear the thump of her feet and the creak of the ancient pipes.

She’d sent him on an errand so she could have a moment alone.

What was he doing wrong?

He got the water, then stuck his head out to the patio to ensure Dolly was passed out. Omen wagged her tail, but otherwise remained sprawled out in her crate as well.

With nothing else to check on, he climbed the stairs, finding all the squeaky boards and taking his time. By the time he pushed the bedroom door open again, Jenny was back in bed, the covers pulled up. The lamp was on, illuminating the dark circles under her eyes.

Lucas offered her the water, then wordlessly took his turn in the bathroom.

One moment, everything had been fine-ish. Now, he didn’t know what to make of things.

He washed up, still debating the right thing to do or say.

She didn’t turn off the lamp, but neither did she call out for him. Ill prepared to face whatever was happening, Lucas returned to the bedroom.

Jenny sat with her back against the headboard, knees drawn up and the comforter tucked around her. She looked so young like this, uncertain and maybe a touch scared.

Lucas couldn’t ignore this. Sweeping stuff under the rug created more problems. He circled to the other side of the bed and slipped in, sitting up next to her, debating what to say first, where to start.

“I’m sorry for...that. You didn’t do anything. It’s just...me.” She kept her gaze on the comforter and her head bowed.

“Want to talk about it?” He reached over and took her hand in his.

“No.”

“Is there something I can do better?”

“No.” Her voice hitched up at the end, taking on a watery quality that broke his heart.

“Jen...” Lucas wrapped his arm around her, pulling her partially into his lap so he could cradle her.

“You don’t...make fun of me.”

“Make—what?” He stared down at the top of her head, rolling those words through his head, the implications firing off deductions he so did not want to make.

Lucas might kill Walker, if he ever saw him again.

Jenny turned her face into his chest and hunched her shoulders.

She always seemed so confident, ready to take charge and flip the bird to anyone who said a cross word toward her.

“You’re smart, and caring, and funny. Your confidence is dead sexy. What is there to not love about you? You’re fucking fantastic, Jen.”

“Don’t say that,” she whispered.

“What? That you’re fantastic?” Lucas could play it safe, or he could lay it all out for her. She was the one who’d said she didn’t want to fool around, that she wanted to be serious. Well, so did he. “I love you, Jen. I always have.”

Jenny sat up, blinking at him.

He held his breath. Was that the right thing to say?

“Oh...” She pushed her hair back behind her ear.

“That’s just how I feel. I’ve always cared about you. Nothing is going to change that.” He squeezed her hand, refusing to be put off by that wide-eyed stare of hers. “Why don’t we get some sleep? We can talk about it all later with a clear head.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

Shit, had he just fucked up?

Jenny turned, flipped off the light and lay down, all before Lucas had so much as moved.

He’d just told her he loved her and she was looking for a reason to stop talking to him. He kept trying to remind himself that he hadn’t come back for Jenny, that she didn’t owe him anything, but now that they’d been together, now that she’d let him in, he wanted it all.

But what if she found out about what he’d done?

•  •