Page 49 of Lemon Crush

“I bet it’s hotter here,” I said inanely, my voice breathless.

“I think you’re right. A better view too.”

The intensity of his gaze sent my train of thought careening off track. He might have a polite way of doing chores, opening doors and crawling through attics, but there was something about him that made me think Wade Hudson might be a beast in the bedroom. If I were the tiniest bit more self-confident, I might try to find out for myself.

Excuses, excuses.

His hands closed around my hips and the water swirled around us, pushing our bodies apart and pulling them back together.

You didn’t realize how loud the world was until the power was suddenly gone. When the soft whirring and humming and buzzing of the appliances and creature comforts we barely noticed was yanked away, the quiet left behind could be a shock to the system.

Without light or sound, all I could do was feel the heat coming off of him, piercing the heavy air around us. His chest hair brushed against the skin above my clinging shirt, and I put my hands on his strong, slippery shoulders.

Because in the dark, I could.

The flex of his fingers told me he agreed, but he didn’t pull me closer or lean in to erase what was left of the distance between us.

I let my legs part to slide against his outer thighs. It was a subtle invitation, but enough to make his breath hitch and grow ragged along with mine.

My thighs floated up to graze his hips and I held my breath. It was slow torture, waiting for that moment when the water would finally press us against each other. But neither one of us seemed willing to end the suspense.

I was afraid to break the spell of this seven-minutes-in-heaven seduction. The risky, forbidden nature of it was too alluring. I’d say I felt like a teenager again, but even when I was more hormones than brain cells, I hadn’t needed like this.

He was the first to give in. The proof of his erectionnudged me at the same time his fingers slipped under the hem of my shirt and up, his palms feathering over my ribs until he cupped my breast through my sports bra.

I exhaled sharply and he grunted in response, hand tightening to hold me in place while he lightly traced the peak of my hard nipple through the fabric. Too lightly.

My hips bucked restlessly in reaction, silently begging for more pressure. More contact.

“What are we doing?” I whispered, unable to help myself.

“Finally being honest about why I’ve kept my distance,” he rasped, throwing me completely off kilter.

Was he saying what I thought he was?

Our panting breaths mingled and our eyes met, each of us waiting for the other to pull away. To look away. To stop whatever it was that was happening between us, or take that last step and finally give in.

My gaze lowered to his lips and he groaned softly. He was going to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted all of him right now.

As long as we were being honest.

The barking inside the house came on suddenly, pitched high enough to startle us both. Wade dropped his hands and I turned my head in time to see a lantern bobbing through the back gate, followed by a familiar ginger beard. “Howdy, campers.”

“Lucy?”

He took in the two of us for a long, speaking moment before glancing over his shoulder at the house. “There’s a tree on your roof, little sister. When I couldn’t get either one of you on the phone, I decided to add you to my rounds. Rick’s on Bernie and Pheebs, by the way.”

Wade, who’d fixed my shirt and put a discreet distance between us faster than my scrambled brain could have, ran a hand through his wet hair, looking relieved. “They’re okay?”

“Lost power, like everybody else in the neighborhood. But that house generator you decided on is really paying off. Good call.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, hoping I sounded more pleasantly surprised than sexually frustrated.

Lucy smirked as if he knew exactly what we’d been up to. “Straight to business, I see. Okay then. Ho ho ho, who wants a few cans of gas, a generator and a window unit from Santa?”

I immediately forgave the interruption and raised my hand, because I had priorities and icy-cold air was very near the top. “I do.”

Lucy chuckled and gave us one more interested glance drenched in innuendo, then headed back to what I assumed was his sleigh full of toys.

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