Sheer Luck (6 page)

She nodded. “Why hasn’t anyone tried to
break the curse?”

I shrugged. “Many have. My grandfather
married for convenience, swearing he never loved my grandmother.
She died anyway. One of my uncles is gay. His lover emptied his
bank account and fled. My mother lasted the longest. My father,
before proposing to her, spent hours scouring fields for a four
leaf clover to present to her, thinking he had to pick it himself.
After months of searching, he found one. She died in a car accident
a year after having me.”

She set her wine aside, her lips pouting.
“Has any woman tried to give one of your relatives a clover?”

“Not that I’m aware.”

She set her chin in her hand. “It might make
the difference. Just a thought, should you meet a woman one day who
sweeps you off your feet.” She grinned, the candlelight
illuminating her warm, yielding eyes. “Regardless, I understand
your hesitation. I think scorned by a lover is more romantic
personally. Go Hemingway style next time you tell your tale.”

I stilled, shaking my head. My chest swelled
to capacity with some foreign sensation that both hurt and felt
oddly good. I just didn’t know what to make of her. Our
conversations never lagged, we had obvious chemistry, she was sweet
and sassy equally, her mind was sharp as a blade, and we shared
similar interests. She wasn’t just the perfect woman, as I’d
thought earlier, but the perfect woman
for me
.

Fuck. I knew I should’ve left her on that
park bench in my memory.

I nodded toward her plate. “Let’s eat.”

Another notch in her perfect column? She ate
everything. No bitching about carbs or whatever. She ate and
enjoyed the food. And I enjoyed her. Too much.

I
awoke in the
middle of the night to an empty bed. By the coolness of the sheets,
Lily had been up awhile. She’d done this the night before as well,
but I hadn’t chased after her, figuring she’d wanted some privacy.
Even when we fell asleep wrapped in each other, she was a restless
sleeper. I wondered what haunted her. Sometimes, when she thought I
wasn’t watching, a lost, gutted expression filled her eyes that had
my stomach bottoming out. Little did she know, I was always
watching her.

Scratching the stubble on my jaw, I rolled
to check the time, noting it was only two. I debated leaving the
bed, but curiosity got to me. Shoving the covers aside, I padded
barefoot down the hall, wearing nothing but my boxers.

I found her facing the bank of windows in
the living room, a blanket wrapped around her. Moonlight lit her
pale skin. The vastness of the city beyond made her seem fragile.
Though she appeared lost in thought, the weight of the world sank
her slender shoulders.

I rubbed the ache in my chest. “I guess two
orgasms weren’t enough to knock you out. I’ll have to try harder.”
After dinner, we’d barely made it inside the apartment before I’d
taken her on the kitchen counter and then again up against the wall
in the hallway. We’d also watched a movie. I’d let her pick and had
been pleased to learn she liked variety. Action, sci-fi, comedy.
She was game.

She turned her head, offering a sweet, sad
smile that had the ache in my chest spreading to my gut. “I’m sorry
I woke you.”

“You didn’t.” I stepped deeper into the room
and eased behind her, resting my chin on her shoulder. “You have
work tomorrow. You should come back to bed.”

She hummed her agreement and leaned into me,
gaze back on the city. “I don’t sleep very well.”

Skimming my lips over her neck, I said, “Are
you uncomfortable here?” She always smelled so good. Her light
perfume combined with her unique scent.

“No.” She sighed, and even that sounded
weary. “It’s not you. I don’t sleep well anywhere. Layover from my
childhood, I suppose.”

Icy tendrils of dread wove up my spine. I
slid my arm around her belly, the other held her jaw, turning it
toward me. I should’ve tugged the blanket off her and taken her up
against the window, which had been one of the fantasies we’d worked
out together. Instead, I said, “Explain,” like I had any right to
her life.

Her gaze swept my face, finally settling on
my eyes. In the dark, her irises looked more like twilight than
blue. She swallowed. “I grew up in foster care. Constantly moving
around, I never got into a good sleep rhythm.”

The breath stalled in my lungs. She had no
family? Hell, fucked up as mine was, I didn’t know what I’d do
without them. A thousand questions pounded through my skull, never
making it to my mouth. Because I wanted to know more, to hold her
in my arms and coax the ghosts from her past, I did the only thing
I could. I gave her my body instead.

Dipping my finger between her breasts, I
yanked the blanket from her hold, finding her naked underneath.
Christ, I loved her body. “I’ll just have to find clever ways to
wear you out. Any suggestions?” Cupping her breasts, I licked the
pulse in her neck and groaned when it thumped wildly for me. Some
of her earlier ideas swam through my mind, and I tried to fit one
to this moment.

Arching into my touch, she moaned low in her
throat. “Declan.”

I growled. “Again.” Stepping out of my
boxers, I kicked them away and pressed my cock into the crease of
her ass. “Say my name again. See what happens.” A dare, one I hoped
she’d take. I knew exactly which fantasy of hers I’d fulfill
tonight. Sliding my hand down her belly, past her mound, I parted
her folds. Fuck, I loved this about her, too. She was always so
drenched, so ready for me.

She brought her arms up and fisted her hands
in my hair, thrusting me deeper into her crevice. “Declan.”

Checkmate. Grabbing her hips, I spun her
around, bent her over the couch, and kicked her legs apart. I
paused just before taking her, my body shaking with feral need. My
cock pulsed in my hand as I stared at her wet folds, the delicate
curve of her spine. This was one of her top choices. To be taken
from behind, roughly.

“I’m on the pill. I’m safe, too.” She turned
her head to pin her wanton, needy gaze to mine. “Or go get a
condom. Up to you.”

Air rasped in my lungs. I’d never had sex
without a condom, never intended to. And I was safe, as well. A
strong part of me trusted her, was more intimate with her than
anyone else. I wanted this so bad my balls pinched with a sharp
pang. To claim her, no barriers, no walls, spoke to me as if an
unforeseen force was driving me.

I looked from her eyes, to where we would
join, and back to her eyes again. Her gaze pleaded, begged.

I thrust inside her, hard, deep, and
clenched my jaw at the bombardment of sensory overload. She was so
fucking tight in this position. Her cry of delight hit my ears. Her
warm, giving flesh under my hands trembled in satisfaction. And her
hot, wet sheath enveloping me without anything between us was the
closest thing to heaven a guy like me would ever get.

Claim...her...

Wrapping her dark hair around my hand, I
gently tugged her head back. Her palms met the cushion before her,
the knuckles white. I withdrew and drove into her, our skin
slapping.

She cried out, desperation leaking from the
sound.

My chest heaving, I stopped, just to be
sure. “Too hard?” She’d said she’d wanted this, and though she’d
taken me before, I had to be certain our tolerance was on the same
level. Rough wasn’t typically my style, but when the mood called
for it, I could go barbarian.

“No,” she panted. “More. Please.”

Fuck. Yes.

I ground against her perfect, round ass,
moved inside her until my eyes rolled to the back of my skull. I
pulled out, shoved back in. Repeat. She met me each time, pushing
her hips back into my pelvis. Her supple walls wrapped around every
rigid inch of my cock.
Yes, yes, yes
. Each thrust was
delivered with more force. Her breasts swung over the couch. Her
ass reddened as we slapped together. She made the most fucking
unbelievably sexy sounds, muttering my name over and over.

When I was getting close, I brought my
fingers to her swollen clit and pinched. That sent her spiraling
into an orgasm. Her inner muscles closed around my shaft as she
vibrated beneath me. I thrust twice more, air trapping painfully in
my lungs as pleasure assaulted the rest of me. My release was so
jarring, tears filled my eyes and my throat closed, blocking my
roar of pleasure. Jaw wide, I emptied inside her.

When my lungs worked again, I leaned over
her, curving my body around hers. “You undo me,
mo milis
.”
My sweet.

Too satisfied and happy to care that I’d
shifted endearments, I carried her to bed, tucked us in, and pulled
her back flush with my chest. After she drifted to sleep, I buried
my face in her hair and closed my eyes.

The next morning, when sunlight through the
blinds woke me, I was alone again. Rolling to my back, my gaze
automatically landed on her clothes hanging on my closet door and
her bag on a corner chair. She hadn’t left me. She’d just gone to
work.

My heart rate calming, I blew out a stream
of air and scrubbed my hands over my face. I was getting in too
deep if Lily being gone brought a surge of panic. I couldn’t keep
her. I knew that. I’d always known forever wasn’t an option, not
with anyone.

Climbing out of bed, I relieved myself in
the bathroom, avoided my reflection, and strode into the kitchen.
Next to the coffeepot was a folded piece of pink paper. It did not
make me stupidly happy to see she’d left me a note. Okay, it
did.

So screwed.

I snatched the paper and opened it.

I made coffee. I’m going to swing by my
apartment after work to get my car. I should be back by six. I can
pick up dinner, if you like. Text me with requests. I had fun this
weekend. xoxo

My gaze locked onto the Xs and Os scrawled
in her neat, willowy writing. Hugs and kisses. A simple inflection.
Nothing to indicate she’d gotten attached.

My hands itched to text her. I ignored
them.

I read the note twice more, the fucking
pathetic sap I was, and poured myself a cup of coffee. I drank it
in front of the windows, the very spot in my apartment that seemed
to be her favorite, and rinsed the carafe out when I was done.

Still didn’t text her. Progress.

Taking the note, I tossed it in my
nightstand drawer and stepped into a pair of nylon shorts. I needed
a good workout to expel her from my mind. This wasn’t healthy, her
constantly being in my head. Under my skin.

I headed into the spare bedroom I’d turned
into a home office and booted the computer. I’d turned in a few
articles at the Post, but checked to make sure my editor hadn’t
emailed with revisions. He hadn’t, which was disappointing because
that would’ve at least kept me occupied.

I looked at my phone, scowled, and didn’t
text. Go me.

Task complete, I made my way to the other
spare room to pound out my frustration the old fashioned way.
Scrolling through my playlist, I set my iPod station to hard rock
and started on the treadmill. By the time I’d completed three
miles, I was drenched in sweat and it had very little to do with
the workout. The entire trek, I’d envisioned all the things I
wanted to do to her when she got home from work.

Home.
This wasn’t her home. She was
temporary, the situation a fleeting blip in my life.

Christ. I wiped my face with a towel and
moved on to the rowing machine, then lifted weights. Muscles tense
and strained, I headed toward a shower. I knew I’d overdone the
workout when it hurt to turn the water on.

Letting steam fill my bathroom, I shifted to
drop my shorts and froze. On the gray marble vanity, next to a
small bamboo plant, was Lily’s toothbrush. Next to that, her
cosmetic bag. She’d cleaned up after herself, had put her things in
a tidy pile off to the side, but she was in here. In my space. The
room still smelled like her shampoo from her shower this
morning.

I got a rare sense of what it was like to
live with another person, and I was shocked at how much it didn’t
scare me. I had no idea if that was because of Lily or the
deep-rooted part of me that wanted things I couldn’t have. I liked
women, but there was something uniquely satisfying about belonging
to someone. One person to share everything with. Years ago, I’d
shut down that desire. A few days with her and it all came flooding
to the surface.

Closing my eyes, I placed my hands on the
counter and leaned into them. I took a few calming breaths, but
anxiety coiled in my gut and tension tightened my chest. Every male
in my family had tried and failed to defy the curse. One hundred
years, nothing but loss and regret. I couldn’t do that to Lily. I
needed to get a hold of myself.

Pushing off the vanity, I popped a few
ibuprofen, and turned to the shower. Behind the sheer
bamboo-printed curtain, her shampoo bottle sat next to mine.