Chasing Forever (The Forever Series #1)(44)



Her hands moved across his chest and then down his stomach until they reached his erection, already hard and ready. “Mmm,” he groaned as she stroked him slowly from his tip to his shaft.

“You’re demanding,” she said, laughing lightly. “First, in the middle of the night and now early in the morning. I thought we’d sleep in and take advantage of our day away from the office.”

“I can’t help it. We have a lot of lost time to make up for.” And he believed it. He couldn’t believe he walked away from her once. He wouldn’t do that again, not without fighting for her and not without giving the relationship everything he had and more.

Grabbing a condom from the nightstand, he rolled it on and slid into her, rocking back and forth slowly, letting her feel every inch of him, each thrust intensifying his need for her. He watched her face, taking notice of every sensitive spot because he wanted her to know how much he wanted her.

She pulled him closer and gasped as he sped up his thrusts. “Do you enjoy waking up like this?” he asked, kissing her hard.

She pulled her mouth away from his. “I can’t even tell you how much.”

“Me too,” he said as he bit her lower lip lightly. He only hoped he would be lucky enough to have many more mornings like this one with Regan. He lifted one of her legs wrapping it around his body and that subtle adjustment was enough to tip her over the edge of oblivion. Her walls contracted around him and he couldn’t hold back any longer—one strong shove and he spilled into her. He was exhausted and completely spent but more alive than he’d been in a long time. Still he craved more of her and not just in bed. He wanted everything she’d give him and more. He wanted forever.

***

The day passed more rapidly than Lucas would have liked. He wanted to savor the freedom of being with Regan before reality came back with a vengeance. Two days weren’t enough. He needed more time. Reality was his enemy.

After meeting Jack at his hotel for breakfast, they hiked to a lake near the Village and went paddle boating even though he insisted it was for children, because when he saw that look on her face, he’d give her anything she wanted.

After lunch, they went into Vail and he stopped to buy her a Vail hat from a tourist shop after lecturing her about the strength of the summer mountain sun, but more importantly he wanted her to have something to remember their time together even if it was small and insignificant. They ate at a sidewalk café where they shared a bottle of wine and mussels. By the time they piled into the car for the airport, Lucas knew he had shared two absolutely perfect days with Regan, and he wanted more time with her to see where it would lead.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know what Regan wanted. He wanted to ask her about her relationship with Parker, about the plan for work next week, and a million other things, but he didn’t want to pressure her. She’d finally let down her guard with him again, and he didn’t want her to pull away, but with work looming over them, they needed to have a serious talk.

***

When their plane took off an hour later, Lucas pulled her hand into his lap and smiled.

She rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m tired,” she said, yawning.

“Don’t sleep yet.”

“Why not?” she asked, closing her eyes.

He kissed the top of her head. “I want to talk about next week.”

“What about it?”

“We need to discuss what we’re going to do when we get back to San Francisco and go into work on Monday.”

“Okay,” she said, shifting in her seat to look at him, hesitant and unsure.

“When we go back to work on Monday, I think we should keep everything professional. I don’t think anyone at work needs to know what happened between us. Let’s keep this uncomplicated.”

Her stomach dropped. This conversation sounded faintly reminiscent of a conversation they had six years ago when she asked why he acted differently when his friends were around. He’d blown off the conversation, and told her his life was complicated, which made sense given what happened later. Not sharing their relationship with coworkers was probably a good idea, but she didn’t like the idea of being his dirty little secret either. “So what would you suggest?” she asked attempting to keep her voice light and unconcerned.

He rubbed his thumb over her wrist. “I really want to continue seeing you, but until your summer associate position ends, I think we need to keep it between us. I don’t want to jeopardize your future whether it’s at Martin and Black or some other firm.”

She nodded.

“We should establish some rules of conduct so we both know what to expect, and no one gets hurt.”

For some reason, not entirely founded in rational thought, his statement angered her more than she’d ever admit, and a tiny part of her wanted to hurt him too. Tugging her hand out of his grasp, she ran her hands through her hair, pushing it out of her face. “You’re right. We both have a lot of things going on right now. Maybe we should shelve this until the end of the summer when we’ve both had time to think about it with a clear head.”

His eyes narrowed, and he didn’t seem as though he liked her answer. “Other than work, what are you referring to?”

“Well, technically, I’m still dating Parker.”

“You said you went on two dates with him. That doesn’t count as dating him or at least that’s what you said a week ago. Did something change you didn’t tell me about?”

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