Page 49 of Beautiful Harmony

Are you kidding me? Where did that come from?

It came mostly from his desire to show Emma that sex with him wouldn’t hurt, although a small part of it was just his own fucking need for her. As shameful as this was and as horrible as he felt for hurting her, the memory of the tight slick grip of her pussy refused to disappear.

“A do-over,” Emma said with a blank look.

“Yes, of last night,” he said.

Her hands clenched down on his knitting, and she stared at his mouth before looking away. “That’s not a good idea.”

“I think it is,” he said.

“It’ll ruin our friendship,” she said.

“You were willing to have sex with me last night. Why not now?” Lucas asked.

She cleared her throat. “Because I was pissed off at you for punching Brad, but also a little turned on by alpha Lucas. It was a bad decision-making combination.”

God, he fucking loved how honest she was.

“I can punch your neighbour right now if that’s what you need to get turned on,” he said with a flirty grin.

She stared blankly at him. “Punch Colin? Why would you punch Colin?”

She shook her head before he could reply. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t have sex, Lucas.”

“We can,” he said. “We did last night.”

“And now our friendship is on the verge of being ruined,” she said.

“I disagree,” he said. “I think having sex will make us even better friends.”

“You just want to get laid,” she said before crossing to the kitchen window and staring out it.

He stood and joined her, hesitating briefly before sliding his arms around her waist and resting his chin in the crook of her neck. “It’ll help ease the tension between us.”

He was secretly delighted when she leaned against him, running her hands over his forearms. “What if you’re wrong? What if it doesn’t fix it but makes it worse?”

“I don’t believe it will, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.” He pressed a kiss against her neck. “This is your choice, Emma. If you say no, then we’ll continue to be friends only. I won’t be angry or upset, okay? I know I can’t change the outcome of last night, but it’s important to me to show you that sex with a guy shouldn’t be like that.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Partly ego, I suppose, but also because you’re one of the most important people in my life, and I hate that I hurt you.”

He squeezed her waist, burying his face in her throat and inhaling the good clean scent of her skin. “I want to sleep with you, and I won’t pretend that I don’t, but you have my word that if you truly don’t want this, it won’t affect how I feel about you or our friendship. I’m just asking that you think it over for a day or two before saying no.”

They stood silently for a few seconds before he kissed her neck again. “I’m gonna go. Call me later, okay? Just remember that no matter your decision, we’re still best friends and always will be.”

He walked away, pausing in the doorway when Emma called his name. He turned to face her, hope flaring in his chest even as anxiety swirled in his stomach.

Her face composed, but her hands twisting against each other, Emma said, “It can only be this one time, Lucas.”

“That’s all I’ll need to show you how awesome sex with a dick is,” he said with a grin. “I’m, like, really good at it.”

She rolled her eyes, but he knew she was fighting the urge to laugh. “After this, we return to being friends and don’t talk about how we had sex ever again. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” he said.

“I mean it,” she said. “We pretend it never happened, and we tell no one. Not even Connor or Rayna.”

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