Page 64 of Frenched (Frenched 1)
I liked that Lucas was
the opposite of Tucker, and Lucas liked the necessary short and sweet nature of our fling. It had an expiration date that wouldn’t be his fault—he wouldn’t have to break my heart to end things.
And the sex? Well, we both liked that.
As the tension drained from my shoulders and my mind wandered to the episode in the back seat, my entire body rippled with gooseflesh. My nipples got hard.
It didn’t go unnoticed.
Lucas put a hand on my thigh and tipped his mouth to my ear. “Are you doing that on purpose? You know, your bathing suit top is white.”
I smiled without opening my eyes.
“You are a very bad girl, Mia Devine,” he whispered. “I think you need to be punished tonight.”
My toes curled.
#
For dinner that night, one of the patios was transformed into an outdoor dining space with a long picnic-style table covered with soft, cream-colored cloth, benches lined with colorful pillows, and various lanterns hanging from the ribbed pergola roof. All twenty-four guests were seated at the table while the meal was served by waiters supervised by a critical-eyed Jean-Paul at one end of the table. He was seated across from Henri, whom I couldn’t help think of as The Count and picture in a black cape. He was tall and lanky like his sons, silver-haired like Jean-Paul, although not quite as handsome, and had welcomed me warmly.
Music played on hidden speakers, accompanied by the low hum of conversation and the clinks of forks and glasses. The food was delicious, platters laden with local produce and poultry, flavored with herbs grown in Jean-Paul’s gardens. The wine was delectable, almost as delectable as Lucas, who sat beside me wearing charcoal slacks and a white shirt that set off the color in his cheeks from the sun today. But it was the tie around his neck that really made my insides clench.
Is that the one he mentioned before?
As if that wasn’t enough, he’d let me fuss with his hair after he got out of the shower. I’d put some product in and sort of neatened the curls while he stood there with a towel around his hips.
It was too tempting. I’d yanked it off and dropped to my knees.
We were late for dinner.
I only hoped Lucas found me as enticing as I found him tonight.
I was finally wearing my new shoes, which he’d watched me put on with an incredulous look on his face. “God, Mia. Your legs in that dress…and those shoes…” He swallowed. “I know we’re late already, but damn. Let me just look at you.”
I’d stood in from of him, blushing like crazy. My hair was pinned up in a twist to complement the flirty strapless dress I’d worn my first night in Paris. I was happy to give it a much nicer memory than wandering the streets of the Latin Quarter alone. Had that really been just four nights ago? It didn’t seem possible.
Not when Lucas would slip his hand onto my lap and gently rub my leg. Not when he’d lean over and brush his lips across my bare shoulder. Not when he’d put his mouth to my ear and say, “You look so beautiful tonight, princess. Too beautiful. It’s making me so crazy, I can hardly sit still. My dick has been hard for hours. You’ll have to pay for that.”
Once, I leaned over to him and whispered back, “If I was wearing panties, they’d be soaked right now.”
The look he gave me could have seared flesh.
God, what a relief it was to fall back into this easy pattern of sex and teasing. As long as the vibe between us crackled with this kind of sexual energy, I couldn’t think about anything other than our physical attraction.
After dessert, the younger crowd went to the pool deck for more music and drinks, but Lucas shook his head when I asked if we’d join them. “I have other plans for us,” he said, taking my hand.
I was a little tipsy from the wine and pastis, but I said nothing when Lucas took me into the living room and grabbed a bottle of scotch off a bar cart. From there he led me into the kitchen and asked one of the waiters for a bucket of ice. While we waited for it, he kept one hand pressed to my upper back, fingers spread. It was possessive in a way that ratcheted the tension between us one notch higher. The word appetites kept running through my mind.
Upstairs in our room, Lucas shut the door behind us and locked it without turning on the light. I drifted toward the open window, stopping just short of where moonlight pooled on the floor, and stood listening to the sounds from the party below.
“We can hear them. They could hear us.” Lucas set the bucket down and came up behind me, standing so close my entire body was on edge. I could feel his breath on my neck, his chest on my back, his erection on my ass. “So you can’t make any noise.”
I nodded, unable to find my voice.
He kissed the back of my neck. “If you want me to stop at any time tonight, just tell me. OK?”
My belly flipped—what was he planning to do to me?
