Cheater (Curious Liaisons #1)(77)

I frowned and looked down; his hand was placed over my heart.

Understanding dawned. “What if it’s not all mine anymore?”

Silence.

“Lucas—”

His lips met mine softly and then more aggressively as he lifted me into his arms, our bodies grinding together.

I reached for the button of his pants, my hands greedily tearing at whatever I could find to get there faster.

“Damn it, Avery.” He kissed me harder. “What have you done to me?”

His pants were free. I glanced up at him and saw such a raw intensity I almost backed away and ran out of the room.

The real Lucas Thorn was staring at me, not the cheater, not the one who told me he couldn’t be trusted. The real thing.

And he was mine.

I reached out, grazing his abdomen with my knuckles. His sharp intake of breath quickened my heart. I gripped his thick erection and moved my hand slowly up and down, squeezing gently.

He cursed and bit down on my bottom lip, then lifted me onto the dresser. A feral gleam lit his eyes as he parted my legs and our bodies joined, and he claimed me with one abrupt thrust, stealing my breath.

He kissed away my whimper.

He covered my mouth when I screamed out his name. The tension built, hard and fast, as he pumped and I bucked. The room filled with a musky scent that made me even hotter.

The hot pressure at my center became unbearable just as he stiffened and drove himself into me in a ragged rhythm. He swallowed my helpless cries with a deep kiss. And as we both floated on the devastation of our release, I knew it was too late.

He had me.

He’d always owned me.

I just didn’t know it until now.





Chapter Thirty-Nine


LUCAS

I loved her.

I still didn’t trust myself not to hurt her—but I loved her. The last thing in this world I wanted was to make Avery Black cry, again, because of me.

When she was done biting the hell out of my shoulder, she jerked back, her eyes filled with horror. “How loud were we?”

“Quiet,” I lied. “Like church mice.” I coughed.

Her eyes narrowed. “I think it’s best we leave the nice polite church mice out of this scenario, Thorn.”

I flashed her a smile and helped her off the dresser, then made sure my shirt was tucked in again while she shimmied her dress back down her thighs.

It was no use.

Our clothes looked fine.

But our faces told a completely different story. She was biting her lip and trying not to smile; her cheeks were flushed, and her mouth was red.

Her hair looked like I’d used it as a harness and held on for dear life while I screwed her.

“You look fine,” I said quickly. “And nobody heard.” I was pretty sure that even the neighbors at the end of the street had heard. “Just act normal.” Which would be hard, considering it was Avery we were talking about.

“If you weren’t so pretty to look at, I’d punch you for all of those lies.” She pointed at me, then jabbed me in the chest. “I’m just going to hold my head high and get another glass of wine.”

“Solid plan.”

She smacked me on the chest before opening the door and then slamming it again.

“Avery?”

“The moms.” She breathed out the words like a curse.

“What do you mean ‘the moms’?”

“They’re there.”

A knock sounded.

Avery backed up.

I rolled my eyes. “What are they going to do, ground you?”

When I opened the door, I grinned wide and tried to think of a good greeting for Avery’s mother other than “Lovely day” or “You look just like your daughter!” Because neither was going to earn me any points since I’d just had my way with her daughter on my childhood dresser.

“Lucas Thorn!” Mom stomped her foot. “We have guests!”

“We were just, um”—Avery piped in—“looking for . . .” And silence. Good, Avery, great lie.

“I know exactly what you were looking for, young lady!” Tess pressed her hands on her temples. “I can’t believe you two! You”—she thrust a finger at me—“keep it in your pants. Do you even realize how high we had to raise the volume on the music to keep people from asking questions! Your father started dropping metal pans . . . on purpose.”

My lips twitched.

Mom smacked me in the arm. “This isn’t funny.”

“No, ma’am.” Avery nodded sternly. “And I apologize that I allowed him to lure me into his sex lair.”

Tess rolled her eyes heavenward, and I elbowed Avery in the side.

“You poor, poor girl,” Mom said, dripping with sarcasm. “That must have been why you screamed his name. You were angry, terrified, I imagine.”

“He’s very . . . intimidating.”

“All Thorn men are that way . . . in the bedroom.”

I groaned and waved my hands in the air. “This conversation just took a really unfortunate turn. We’ll go make sure the guests are happy and eat cake, and forget this ever happened.”

“I highly doubt poor Rocko will forget.” Mom sighed. “Poor dog was in the corner howling and then tried to hump your father’s leg!”