The MacAllisters of Rivers End Collection Books 1-4

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Shannon made it to the top of the stairs, keys in hand. She had her door open, firm in her resolve to go straight into her own apartment and go to bed. Alone. She’d just come out of a relationship and had sworn off dating until she was settled into her place and a job. What if she found a permanent position somewhere else and had to leave? It would be so much harder if she and Lucas were involved. Even worse, if something went sideways between them and Lucas took off again, she’d feel terrible about depriving Sara of her uncle a second time.

“Shannon.”

His voice stopped her in her tracks. Just walk through the door! But she couldn’t get her body to cooperate. Against her better judgement, she turned to look at him. “Lucas, I just don’t think this is a good idea.” She said the words even as her traitorous body leaned towards him.

“You’re right,” Lucas said.

Why couldn’t he argue with her, dammit? He had some seriously sexy stubble going on, and all she could think about was feeling the rasp of his cheek against her skin.

“You and me would be complicated. Messy. Risky.” Lucas stepped in and brushed her hair off her face gently. And then he closed the gap and whispered in her ear, “And maybe just a little bit amazing.”

And yep. There was that contact. Maybe thinking was overrated, after all. Thinking had got her Jackson, and look how that had turned out. Maybe this time around she’d just focus on what felt right. And boy, did Lucas feel right. They could have some fun, keep it light, and see where it went from there.

He was gently tracing the curve of her breast, one finger between the fabric of her dress and her skin.

“You’re making it very hard to think of anything but getting you naked.” His breath on her neck felt so, so right. She wondered how his hands would feel if they had the freedom to explore the rest of her. This time, she’d remember every second. His breath tickled her ear when he whispered, “Stop thinking, Shannon. I can hear those wheels turning.”

When he tipped her head up and his mouth took hers, the gentleness disappeared. All she felt now was hunger, passion, and possession. There was no rejection here. And no question. He wanted her.

And she wanted him every bit as much. They were both consenting adults. It would only be as complicated as they made it.

Screw thinking.

“You wanna get naked, coffee boy?” Lucas barked out a laugh as Shannon grabbed his hand and pulled him through her doorway. “Why don’t we try waking up in my bed this time?”

He had to admit, waking up in her bed wasn’t half-bad. They’d slept in after spending hours learning each other’s bodies. It hadn’t been awkward at all. It had felt like coming home.

They’d had fun feeling their way around in the dark. But now it was light, and he wanted to see her. See her writhe when he kissed just the right places. See her eyes glass over when he slipped inside her.

Her body fit with his perfectly, and his fingers lazily traced gentle patterns on her shoulder, her arm, the curve of her hip. He still couldn’t quite believe it was real.

When he’d told her just to go with what they felt, he’d been talking about more than just the physical.

His feelings for her weren’t complicated. They were quite simple. He loved her, and had for years. Really, since the day they’d met. He’d run all those years ago because he couldn’t stand to see the disappointment in her eyes when she looked at him. Or witness Isaac’s heartbreak. Everything his family touched turned to crap. It had taken him a long time to realize that was only because of the choices they made along the way. Grown-up Lucas knew he could create positive relationships if he was willing to stick around and work at it.

What he felt for Shannon was only complicated in the larger context of their lives. With so much shared history, and so much shared family, there was room for things to get messy. They were neighbours, for crying out loud. What happened if things didn’t work out and they were stuck living beside each other?

But when she turned to him, her eyes drifting open and a lazy smile lighting up her face, all of those complications slipped away. They’d figure it out.

“Good morning, sunshine.” Shannon rolled over fully and wrapped herself around him, fitting her body tightly against his and snuggling in.

It was Saturday morning, he was in bed with the woman of his dreams, and he wasn’t about to waste a single second of that time making things more complicated than they needed to be.

“Why haven’t you made coffee yet?”

She was so cute when she was caffeine deprived. He raised an eyebrow at her. “I thought maybe we’d make coffee priority number two for this morning, since coffee would mean getting out of bed.” She opened her mouth to protest, but whatever she was going to say came out as a moan when his fingers found their way home and his mouth locked onto her n****e.

“Yes. You’re right. Sooo right. You now. Coffee later.”