28
Chapter Twenty Eight
“I’ve barely seen you these last three weeks,” Lucas noted, running the tips of his fingers along Amanda’s shoulder.
They were in his boat, lying together in his bedroom. It was the first time they’d gotten together since the night Amanda showed up there after her father gave Rebecca control of the company.
“We’ve both been busy,” she replied.
“I suppose we have. I guess I never expected it would be so hard to get you alone.”
“Yeah,” she mumbled.
She sounded distracted, as if there was something else in her mind. He also wasn’t entirely buying the being busy excuse. At some point, he could have sworn she was actively avoiding him. After what happened with her father and Rebecca, she had occupied herself with the ongoing project. He totally understood that. But, he was also afraid that she could be considering putting the brakes on their arrangement.
“Samuel came to see me three weeks ago,” she revealed out of the blue.
His fingers went still.
“With apologies,” she added, “and asking for a second chance. Can you believe it?”
No wonder she had been so withdrawn of late. It wasn’t just about the issue with the company.
“And?” he prompted.
“And what?”
“Have you been thinking about it?”
Amanda shifted in his arms to face him. “Thinking about what… Actually giving him a second chance?”
He nodded.
She scoffed. “Are you kidding?”
“He came to see you, then you avoided me for three weeks.”
“I thought we’ve both agreed that was because we’ve both been busy…” she pulled out of his embrace and sat up on the bed. “What the hell, do you actually think I would go back to him?”
His jaw ticked. “I see women going back to assholes all the time because they apologised.”
She held his gaze for a few more seconds before turning and climbing out of the bed. “Yeah they do, don’t they?”
He said nothing as she made her way to the bathroom. She was gone for a while, in which time he realised he should have thought twice before reacting that way. But he couldn’t help thinking like that.
He hadn’t expected to miss her so hard the last three weeks. And now, he was finding out that maybe she had stayed away because her ex messed up with her mind. What he thought he knew about her didn’t matter. He had seen perfectly smart people make the dumbest decisions when it came to relationships. People who appeared to have control over their lives allowing someone else to take advantage of them and drag them down.
When she didn’t appear, he left the bed, pulled on a pair of shorts, and walked into the salon. He went to the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of water, and that was when she walked into the room. He was about to give an apology when she reached for her pants which had been left in the room earlier on as they rushed to get each other naked.
“What are you doing?” he asked, staring on as she pulled her legs through the pants.
“What does it look like?” she shot back, zipping up the pair of jeans and securing the button.
Lucas placed the bottle of water on the counter and approached. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she dismissed, walking past him to collect the shirt that was hanging on the couch in the room. She pulled it on. “It’s nice finding out what you think of me.”
He reached forward and held her arm. “That’s not it, Amanda. I just—”
“What?” she challenged, whirling on him. “You just thought I have such low standards and little respect for myself that I would go back to that jerk the moment he came calling, right? That I’m just some woman who lets men walk all over her because they’re… What. Men?”
“Ama—"
She tilted her head. “Oh, or just because I agreed to casual sex with you, you figured I’m easy and will let any man get whatever they want from me, right?”
“I’m sorry, I truly am. I judged you like that and I shouldn’t have. I’m really sorry.” He shook his head. “And no, I never thought you were easy or something.”
“Really? I fúcked you the first night we met.”
“So did I.”
She huffed, then tried to release her arm from his hold. “Let me go, Lucas.”
“Look, Amanda. I just don’t like it when the women I like settle for less than they deserve. And for a second, back there, I feared you were thinking of doing that. And every time, when I’m getting into someone and she shows me that she’s willing to belittle herself for things like male attention, it just puts me off.”
“What did I do to suggest that?”
“Nothing. I was just being paranoid, is all.”
“Why is it even any of your business? We’re just sex partners. Or do you have such high standards for those you bed, too?”
He let go of her arm. “Yes. I’m picky in that too.”
Amanda crossed her arms over her chest. “Really? How many women were you involved with in New York, again?”
He arched an eyebrow. “What, did you go looking for information about me on the tabloids that branded me a Casanova?”
“You were not?”
“I had several short relationships, that’s all.”
“Relationships, you say.”
“Should I call them flings, then? Whether it’s for sex or romance, I only go out with one woman at a time, Amanda.”
Her eyes widened. “You do?”
He almost found offense at her perplexed expression. Just because he had an active sex life didn’t mean he went around picking up women all over the place! “Yes!”
“So you’re saying that these three weeks we haven’t seen each other, you haven’t slept with anyone?”
“I haven’t.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Did you think I did?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t really think about it. It’s none of my business.”
“So, you wouldn’t mind if I slept with another woman right now?”
She held his gaze, blinked, then looked away. Her eyes flickered to the wooden clock next to the door leading to the main cabin. “I have to go before it’s too late.”
She only managed to take one step towards the bedroom before he snagged her hand in his. “Our conversation is not over, Amanda. And you’re not going anywhere.”
He pulled his hand, bringing her body against his. He didn’t give her time to react as he swooped in and claimed her lips, giving her firm open mouthed kisses. Her free hand was on his chest, pushing him away. But, that must have been her brain fighting a losing battle with her body because she was responding to his kisses.
When he pulled away, he ran the pad of his thumb on her wet bottom lip. “Do you want me to be kissing some other woman like that, Amanda?”
That bottom lip escaped his thumb as she drew it between her teeth. He leaned forward, bringing his mouth to her ear. “Or whispering in her ear how much I want her.”
He pressed kisses to her ear, to the spot below her ear lobe, and down her neck. “To tell her how much I like how her skin smells.”
He trailed the tip of his nose up her neck, going back to facing her. He released her hand and lifted his right hand to his nose. He took a deep breath. “That, and the lingering scent of her sex on my fingers after I make her come.”
Her breathing quickened, her face flushed. When he stuck his index finger in his mouth and sucked on it, she turned away abruptly. “You’re too much!” she accused in a flustered voice, then attempted another escape.
He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. “Give me an answer.”
“I’ve never thought about it. I don’t know.”
“Think about it, then.”
“I don’t want to.”
He pushed her white shirt to the side and kissed her bare shoulder. “You’ll never know unless you do.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“Why? Are you afraid you’ll hate it so much?”
She said nothing, but she didn’t have to. Her body stiffened for a second, then she tried to pry his arm away. “Just let me go.”
“Will you feel jealous?”
“Stop with your mind games, Lucas!”
He wasn’t about to give up. “Do you think you don’t have the right to hate it, or feel jealous, because we’re only here for sex?”
“Yes, dammit, yes! Are you happy now?”
He grinned and let go of her. “Yes. Admitting that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
She huffed and disappeared into the bedroom. He went after her.
“I want us to set something straight first, though,” he said.
Amanda turned around, her arms going around her body defensively.
He stepped up to her. “We are not just fúck buddies.”
She frowned, catching his gaze. “No?”
He shook his head. “We are friends who like sleeping with each other.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yes. Since we’re friends, it means I can care about you without you questioning why. It also means I can like you.”
“Wait,” she started, uncrossing her arms and taking a seat on the bed. “You keep throwing this ‘like' word around all the time. What do you mean by that?”
“It means that, if you were looking for a relationship, I would gladly get into one with you.”
“I thought we both didn’t want a relationship.”
“Back then, I didn’t. Now, I would want one, with you.”
“That was like, only two months ago. When did you change your mind? Why?”
“I met the right person, I guess.”
“Lucas, this is serious!”
“I’m serious,” he claimed. “Look, Amanda. I just want you to know where I am in this. Right now, if you were to ditch me and get with someone else, I would be jealous as hell. Many of my flings ended uneventfully, and I didn’t care. Because I didn’t feel a connection to any of them. But I feel it with you. And it’s important to me that you understand you’re not just some hot woman I managed to get into bed.”
She shrugged. “Okay. As long as you don’t start getting ideas. I like what we have, but I’m not looking to get into a serious relationship right now.”
“It would be great if you could keep me around until you change your mind.”
“That’s going to take a while,” she let him know. “How long do you think you can remain interested in me?”
His grey eyes stared into hers. “Long enough.”
