Page 65 of Lavender and Lightning

Lydia

Atfirst,whenLucaspulls away, I have the unsettling drop in my stomach that comes right before falling, off balance and panicky. But as we settle into the drive, I become hyperaware of the way my body feels atop a machine like this. I can feel the heat of the exhaust even through my jeans, and the vibration of the engine between my legs. I follow as Lucas leads, tilting with him as he makes smooth curves and turns. I can feel the way his chest expands and relaxes with each breath, and I find a tiny kernel of longing for his scent that I usually get when I’m this close. But the helmet blocks it out, along with the rush of the wind past us.

″Breathe, Lydi-bug, or you’ll pass out.”

I jump as I hear his voice inside my helmet, as if he was speaking into my ear. Sucking in a sharp inhale, I realize that I haven’t actually done that since we left Caleb’s house. I can feel my face heat, and I’m glad that Lucas can’t see me.

″Want to go faster?” he asks.

″This isn’t fast?” I ask back with a breathless chuckle.

Lucas pulls to a stop at a red light and we both sit up slightly from our bent position. I stretch my back, but I find that I sort of enjoy the way my body feels with the exertion.

″We’re in the city, sweetheart. Thirty is hardly that fast,” Lucas teases.

I swallow hard, adjusting my grip. Thirty certainly felt fast, but I can’t deny the little tickle in the back of my mind that is curious about how it would feel to say yes. Eventually, as the light changes, I can’t deny that curiosity any longer.

″Yeah, let’s do it,” I tell him, clinging tighter as we lean down again.

″Then hold on tight.”

His words are the only warning I get before the engine roars, and we take off like a shot through the city streets. The buildings are like gray blurs on either side of us, but I can hardly take anything in. The wind whips at the tendrils of my hair that aren’t contained by my helmet, and I feel the bite of the air against the exposed skin on the backs of my hands. But all of those sensations are secondary to the soaring in my heart as we continue to pick up speed. I want to scream and laugh and cry all at the same time, but nothing about the emotions in my chest feels wrong or painful. In fact, a weight seems to fall away as we round a bend and Lucas really lays on the accelerator.

The route Lucas takes is definitely the long way home, but I don’t mind at all. My cheeks hurt from smiling by the time we make it to the gate of Bristol Point. We don’t speak as we drive much slower through the curving streets, pulling into the driveway and down the hill to the lower garage. Once the noise of the engine fades, I realize how hard my heart is pounding. I dismount clumsily, watching as Lucas moves fluidly, swinging his leg over the bike and turning to me. My hands shake as I pull the helmet off and turn to set it on the worktable behind me.

″Luc, that was—”

I don’t get to finish my sentence because his lips find mine in a crushing kiss, his fingers threading into my windswept hair. My eyes go wide for a moment before I relent with a moan, eyelids sliding down as my tongue meets his. His taste is all pine smoke, a heady rush of lust that instantly sets my stomach quivering and my thighs clenching.

His hands move down to cup my breasts through the tight leather jacket, and I arch into the touch, my own hands fisting in the hair at the nape of his neck. We’ve kissed and cuddled plenty, but it’s always been a dance with us, neither of us wanting to lead without the other’s permission. Circling the drain of desire has been driving me crazy, and I’m more than ready to be sucked under. I let him walk us backwards blindly until the backs of my thighs hit the edge of the worktable. I hop up and he presses forward into the cradle of my thighs, and I can feel the bulge of his cock against my core when I wrap my legs around his.

″Fuck, Lydia. I need you,” Lucas pants when he pulls away for air.

The raw desire in his voice threatens to undo me. My hands come down to the hem of his t-shirt, and we pull it up over his head in one smooth motion. I can’t help but run my fingers across the expanse of colorful images inked into the skin of his chest and arms, admiring the artistry. Lucas uses a finger to draw my gaze back to his face. There’s an intensity to his steel-blue eyes I haven’t seen before, and I find I can’t look away.

″We don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to,” he starts, words barely above a whisper.

I blink once in confusion, but something roars to life in my chest as I finally recognize that intense look. He’s nervous and insecure, emotions I know all too well. I toss my hair as I unzip the jacket, shucking it and tossing it on the floor, letting my shirt and bra follow behind shortly.

″I want you, too, Luc,” I say simply, looking back up into his face.

Lucas groans as he looks me up and down once before leaning in and tilting his lips over mine again. I lean back, drawing him down with me. Papers and books slide under my hands, but I shove them away, not caring as they scatter across the floor. Lucas does the same until my back is against the smooth wood and the warm skin of his chest is flush against mine.

He breaks the kiss, trailing his mouth down my throat and chest in open-mouthed kisses until his lips finally close over my nipple. I whimper and arch into the sensation, my fingers coming to tangle in his hair again. I give an experimental tug, rewarded with a low moan and the brush of teeth against my skin.

I exhale his name as his mouth moves to my other breast, and his hands massage my aching flesh with tender fingers. My entire body fills with the need for more. I tug again, and his fingers flex and relax, digging with the pressure that I crave.

″You’re not the only one who likes a bit of pain,” I manage through breathy chuckles.

Lucas looks up at me through the curtain of his fringe, mouth slanted into a smirk. He returns his mouth to my breasts, this time with much firmer touches that make my skin light up. I can feel my slick soaking through my panties as his hips idly grind against mine, but it’s not enough.

″Give me… I need…” I start, words slipping like water through my fingers as I try to voice the all-consuming need under my skin.

″I know, sweetheart. I’ve got you,” he mumbles against my skin.

Lucas trails down my stomach, his lips brushing feather light kisses until he reaches the button of my jeans. I gasp as he tugs purposefully with his mouth, deftly popping the button and dragging down the zipper with nothing but his teeth. His short nails drag along my skin as he pulls off my jeans, leaving me in nothing but my soaked panties.

″Lucas? Lydia?”

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