Sheer Luck (7 page)

No...fucking...escape.

And I didn’t
want one
...

Two hours later I sat in my living room,
holding my phone in my hand, still debating my text. She’d asked me
to give her dinner ideas, not send her sonnets. Yet here I sat,
inactive.

Fuck it. I shot off the text.

Me:
Can I have you for dinner?

There. That summed up our relationship, at
least the part I was supposed to be focusing on.

Lily:
You can have me for dessert. What
about Greek for dinner? Or Chinese?

Christ in heaven. Did the woman have a
flaw?

Me:
I’d rather skip to dessert
.

Lily:
I can do impressive things with an
egg roll and my mouth
...

I sucked a harsh inhale through my nose and
stroked myself. Like a teenager. I was goddamn hard from
sexting.

Me:
Chinese it is. See you soon
.

Turned out, she wasn’t kidding about the egg
roll thing. At six-fifteen, she exited the elevator and we ate on
the couch facing each other. And she did have a flaw. She didn’t
like shrimp. I was grasping at straws with that, but whatever. We
had something of a food fight when I tried to feed her a bite of
shrimp rangoon, and she wrapped her full lips around an egg roll in
response. And moaned. Then she went to work eating the thing like
she was giving head. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

As we were cleaning up, she noticed
something was wrong when I winced. My ibuprofen was wearing off,
but I thought I’d hidden my discomfort well. Except nothing escaped
Lily. Her baby blues seemed to see everything. I don’t think I’d
ever had someone in my life as perceptive as her.

“I’m fine. I just overdid it in the gym
today.”
Trying to forget about you
.

A frown of worry wrinkled her forehead. She
took my hand. “Come on.”

Down the hall we went, to my bathroom, where
she ran the bath. I eyed her as she began to strip out of her
clothes. I lifted my brows. “You promised dessert.”

She threw her head back and laughed. Christ,
she had the best laugh. “How about a massage? A good soak will
loosen your muscles. Dessert after.”

This felt oddly like she was trying to take
care of me. And I liked it. So I stayed dressed by the side of the
tub while she slipped into the water.

“Did I forget to say full body massage?”

I groaned. Hell, I was already toast where
she was concerned. Stripping, I sank in the hot water in front of
her, the square-shaped tub accommodating us both, and shut off the
faucet.

Wrapping her long legs around me, she eased
me back to recline on her chest. “Where does it hurt?”

I thought about saying everywhere, but
couldn’t get the words past my throat. We’d laughed and played
during dinner, and now we were in the bath in a scene that bordered
on romantic. I didn’t do romance.

“Here?” she said in the silence, and started
rubbing my shoulders.

Fuck, that felt good. I laid my head on her
collarbone and closed my eyes. Her nimble little fingers kneaded my
sore muscles in smooth, even strokes, never pressing too hard. Up
my neck, down my shoulders. She worked her way across my back, her
hands sliding between our bodies. I couldn’t move. My tension
released degree by degree, until I felt like I could sleep for a
week.

After awhile, she moved from behind me to
straddle my hips, massaging my pecs and abdomen. Lazily, I blinked
at her and offered a half-grin. She kneeled between my legs and
stroked my thighs, which got my cock interested in her proximity,
but her fingers headed south to my calves, then my feet. Hell, she
even did my arches.

My voice a coarse rasp, I said, “You can
stop doing that in about ten years.” A beat of silence passed and I
realized what I’d said. We didn’t have but three days left, two
nights. Years wasn’t an option when our time boiled down to
hours.

“You feel more relaxed,” she said, as if I
hadn’t spoken. “One muscle is still pretty hard, though.” Her
fingers wrapped around my cock and I hissed.

God love her. “I don’t think that’ll go away
anytime soon,
mo milis.”

Her thumb grazed my slit. “What does that
phrase mean? You said it last night, too.”

Balls aching, I thrust into her hands. “My
sweet.”

Her gaze went tender, her smile soft. My
chest started to throb behind my ribs in tune with my cock, but
more insistent. I held my breath, realizing she wasn’t immune to
the slight shift in us either. Perhaps this wasn’t all on me. Which
only made things worse.

“Well,” she said, dipping her head. She
licked around the crown of my shaft. “This is dessert, after all.
It should be sweet.” Her tongue darted out again, repeating the
same path with more pressure.

“Fuck me,
mo milis.”
I fisted my
hands in her hair and gave it everything I had not to thrust into
her mouth. “Christ, Lily.” From day one, I’d envisioned her lips
around me, we just never got there, too insistent, too wrapped up
in having each other. I still hadn’t tasted her yet, made her come
with my mouth, and hell if I was letting our time slip by without
doing it.

But she said something in French and
swallowed half of me in one fell swoop. The back of my head hit the
tub and I forgot my name.

I
awoke alone.
Again. My gut sank. Logically, I knew Lily had to work and I was a
late riser, not to mention a heavy sleeper, but I’d never get
another opportunity to spend a morning waking up beside someone and
I wanted to experience it. Just this one time.

Disappointed, I did my usual morning
routine, checked my email, and headed into the kitchen. There was
another pink note by the coffeepot, and I grinned like an
idiot.

Hope you’re feeling better today. I’m
getting off work a little early. I can make dinner, if you like.
Dessert for sure. I’ve developed a sweet tooth. See you soon.
xoxo

Christ. I reread the thing a couple times,
put in my nightstand with the other one, and worked out in the gym.
The exercise did little to burn off my desire or ease the pressure
in my chest. A ball of regret, chock full of what-ifs, had been
lodged in my throat for days. I didn’t know what to do, if
anything. It sure felt like I was breaking my own self-imposed
rule. The numero uno one. I should’ve known—hell, I
did
know—I would fall for her, that we couldn’t just be about physical
release.

Today was my day to pick up my nephew, Liam,
from school. His babysitter had off on Tuesdays and Aiden had the
pub. Typically, Liam and I chilled out at Aiden’s until he got home
from Irish Eyes. We would do his homework, play a few video games,
and battle to the death at checkers. But...Lily was a factor this
week. I didn’t want to bail on her, not with our time running out,
but getting her involved with my family pushed the boundaries.

I spent half the day a mess, phone in hand,
attempting to figure out what to tell Lily. In the end, I picked up
Liam and brought him to my place, never contacting her.

In the elevator, I rubbed my hand over
Liam’s soft brown hair, mussing the strands. “This okay, pal? My
house for dinner?”

He shrugged. “Sure. As long as you get me
home by bedtime. I have an English test tomorrow.”

I shook my head, sighing dramatically.
“Dude, you’re eight. Quit being a grown up.”

The elevator doors pinged open and the scent
of something spicy wafted from the kitchen. I stopped dead in my
tracks at the sight of Lily, back to me, cooking something on the
stove. Christ in heaven, she was...it was...too
right
. My
heart did some kind of stutter-step and headed toward cardiac
arrest while the rest of me felt like I was coming out of a deep
freeze.

Liam looked between me and her, confusion
wrinkling his forehead. “Miss Lily?”

She shrieked, obviously not having heard us,
and whirled. “Liam!”

My nephew walked right into her embrace as
if they’d been cozy for years. “What are you doing here?”

Her flustered state lasted point five
seconds before she waved her hand with a grin. “Making dinner. I
didn’t know you’d be here. Do you like enchiladas?”

“Heck, yeah.” Liam turned toward me—I was
still in some kind of shock and holding ground in the entryway—only
to face Lily again. “Do you live here now?”

Forget cardiac arrest. I was in heart
failure. Black dots swam before my eyes.

She laughed in that warm, husky way that
filled a room. “Naw. I just hang out with your Uncle Declan
sometimes. We’re friends.”

Friends. We so were
not
that, or not
only that. I blinked and seemed to recover. Somehow. “How do you
two know each other?”

Lily wrapped an arm around Liam’s shoulders,
her smile genuine. “Liam used to be in the story hour group at the
library. Now he’s in our young adult book club. Aren’t you? How far
are you on Harry Potter?” She glanced at me. “They just started
book one this week.”

Liam bounced on his toes. “Harry just got to
Hogwarts. You were right. It’s better than the movie.”

She rolled her eyes fondly. “Books are
usually better than the film. They did a good job with the Potter
movies, though.”

My gaze darted back and forth like a ping
pong ball. I scrubbed my shaking hands through my hair. “Hey, pal.
Why don’t you head into my office to start your homework? I’ll be
there in a sec.” Why the hell couldn’t I breathe?

“Sure.” Liam gave Lily a fist bump and
disappeared down the hall.

I stared after him, not sure what to do, to
say. Lily obviously was on friendly terms with Aiden, but I had no
clue she knew Liam. And so well. For years, it seemed.

Suddenly, this whole adventure with Lily
ground to a halt. The repercussions hit me like a tsunami and
pulled me under. Lily and I had agreed to no awkwardness after we
were through, but that was before my...
feelings
became
involved. Before I had any idea Liam was a part of her world.

I closed my eyes and tried to pull air into
my lungs. Futile.

“I-I’m so sorry.” She stepped back, creating
distance from me, and reached behind her back to untie her apron.
An apron
. Christ help me, even that was hot. “I had no idea
he’d be here. I’ll go.”

In her note, she’d said she’d get off early
and make dinner. I didn’t realize she’d be home
this
early,
though. And it was my fault. I should have texted her instead of
avoiding the situation like a pussy.

She started past me and I grabbed her
arm.

“No, don’t go. I...” Hell, what? “I have
Liam on Tuesday nights. I should’ve told you.”

Avoiding my gaze, she nodded quickly. “I
understand. I’ll see you later.”

“Lily...” I backed her to the cabinets and
caged her with my hands on either side of her on the counter. A
swift glance over her shoulder told me Liam’s eyes weren’t on us.
Placing my feet between hers, I leaned closer, every inch of me
flush with every inch of her.

And
there
. There was my normal pulse
rhythm and ability to breathe. The scent of her surrounded me, her
warmth enveloping, and the restless energy and panic drained right
out of me. She could turn my brain to pudding and my cock to lethal
stiffness. She made me desperate and insane with lust. But she also
calmed my soul, quieted the crazy.

I dropped my forehead to hers and worked a
swallow. “Don’t go,
mo milis.
” Brushing my lips across her
cheek, down her jaw, I said what I’d never in my life said before.
“Stay.”

Her uneven exhale skated across my neck.
“This isn’t a good idea, Declan.”

I kissed her in the soft spot behind her ear
and closed my eyes. Two more nights and she’d be gone. “I know.
Stay anyway.” I cupped the back of her head and kissed her mouth
gently. No passion, no heat, just a tenderness I didn’t know I had
in me. She brought that side of me to the surface, and I feared I’d
never be able to shove it down when she left.

Wrapping her arms around my waist, she
nodded. The concession came with a price. In her eyes, I found the
same shattered reality and fruitless hope I’d been battling. No
words needed to be said. We seemed to be able to read each other
without speaking, a silent language all our own. Right then,
holding her in my arms, I never hated my fucking circumstances
more.

She was falling, too.

Real love couldn’t possibly move at this
kind of warp speed, could it? I’d never given much thought to love
at first sight, but she had impacted me from the moment I’d set
eyes on her all those months ago. But love? No. It never came into
play until I got to know her. Having never been here before, I
still wasn’t sure if this was jacked up lust, infatuation, or the
real deal.