Page 126 of A Very Merry Enemy
When we’re inside, he doesn’t turn on the lights. Moonlight streams through the windows, casting everything in silver. His house is warm and smells like him. It’s a mixture of pine, wood smoke, and leather gloves. The door closes behind us, and suddenly, we’re alone in the darkness.
“Holiday,” he says, my name like a prayer. “The past five days?—”
I don’t let him finish whatever he was going to say. I step forward and kiss him, pouring fifteen years of want into it. He makes a sound low in his throat, and his hands slide into my hair.
We stumble through the entryway, kissing and touching and trying to get closer. He backs me against the wall, and I gasp as his body presses against mine. I can feel how much he wants me and it makes me ache from the inside out.
He keeps kissing me like he can’t stop. Finally, he pulls back enough to take my hand, and then he lifts me into his arms and carries me up the stairs.
“And you say I’m dramatic,” I tell him, kissing his neck as he pushes open the door to his room.
His bed is made, and the lights outside on the top eave make the inside of his room glow.
For a moment, we just look at each other. His green eyes are full of want. His hair is messed up from my fingers. Lucas is so beautiful, it leaves me speechless.
“I’ve dreamed about this,” he says.
“Me too.I didn’t know if we’d still have anything left. Years have passed, but…”
“Somehow, it still feels like yesterday.” He steps closer and cups my face in his hands. “I want to take my time with you. I want to make you feel good. I want—” His voice catches. “I want you to know how much I missed you.”
Tears prick at my eyes. “I couldn’t stop thinking about what might’ve been.”
His thumbs brush across my cheekbones.
“I never stopped loving you,” I whisper. “Even when I should have. There was always this secret compartment in my heart that was just yours.”
He kisses me and it’s full of everything we haven’t said.
“I have loved you since we were kids. I loved you when I tried to move on and couldn’t. No one can ever replace you, Holiday. You’re it for me and I know that. I’ve known that from the moment we walked down the aisle together at Tricia’s wedding,” he says.
A smile touches my lips as I loosen his tie. “I promised you I would always love you. And I know you thought I broke that promise, but I didn’t. I know you thought I wouldn’t come back like I promised, but here I am.”
“Here you are.” He smiles, moving some hair out of my face.
“If I could go back in time,” I whisper.
“All that matters is you’re here now,” he says against my lips.
His hands find the zipper of my dress—the same zipper he started to undo in the carriage. This time, there’s no Hudson to interrupt us. This time, we can finish what we started. I pull it down and the dress slides off my shoulders and pools at my feet, leaving me in just the burgundy lace bra and matching underwear.
Lucas steps back to look at me and the expression on his face makes me feel beautiful and seen in a way I haven’t felt in years.
“You’re perfect,” he says.
“I’m not.”
“Pure artwork.” He reaches out and traces his finger along the edge of my bra. “And mine.”
I reach for his shirt and start unbuttoning it with shaking fingers. He helps me, shrugging it off and letting it fall to the floor. Then his hands go to his belt, and I watch as he undresses, revealing the body I used to know so well.
He’s different now. Older. More muscled from years of working on the farm. There are new scars I don’t recognize and tattoos up his arm and across his chest. But he’s still Lucas. Still exactly what I want.
He walks me backward until my legs touch the bed, and then we’re falling onto the mattress together. The sheets are cool against my back, but Lucas is warm above me. His mouth is on my neck, sucking and kissing across my collarbone, and between my breasts. His hands slide behind my back, and he unhooks my bra. When he removes it, I suddenly feel vulnerable.
Lucas looks at me like I’m a masterpiece.
“Beautiful,” he whispers, his mouth finding my breast. “So fucking beautiful.”
