Waiting on the Rain by Claudia Connor

26

Ava’s nerves jittered on what seemed like an endless drive to the cabin. She was a grown woman, she knew what she wanted, but this was Luke and there were nerves.

When they finally, finally arrived, he turned off the truck. He made no move to get out, but she heard him shift in his seat.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she said back. She could tell by the sound of his voice he was facing her. Looking at her. Waiting for her?

“We’re here.”

“Yeah. I figured that,” she said with a shaky laugh.

“Ava. We don’t—”

“No.” She faced him. “I want you. I’m scared to want you as much as I do, but I do.”

“Then we’re on the same page.”

There was no cabin tour this time. There was only one goal and they both knew what it was. They’d fought it as long as they could. The second the door closed behind them, Luke pressed her body back against it, took her mouth with the same ferocious need that she felt. The kiss was hot, wild, his hands possessive and strong as his hard body pressed into hers.

She gripped his shoulders as he took her mouth like he was starving for her. Like he couldn’t get enough. Neither could she. She raked her fingers through his hair, moaned into his mouth when he slipped a heavy thigh between her legs.

“Ava.” He said her name roughly, his lips streaking a hot path down her throat. “I want you under me. Over me. I want to move inside you and watch those eyes when you come apart.”

His hands skimmed up her body, thigh to breast, setting every nerve on fire. He held there, molding her breast in his hand.

Ava suckedin a breath when Luke lifted her, wrapped her legs around his hips, bringing his erection against her core. Her mind blurred as they hit the bed still wrapped around each other. Rolled, kissed as they stripped off clothing, fighting to free themselves. Her top then her jeans. His shirt and shoes. She was going for the button on his jeans when he pulled back.

The warmth of his chest was gone from hers and she felt a chill of air. She could hear his rapid breathing, feel the weight of his body on the mattress beside her.

“Luke?” She moved to cover herself and he stopped her hand.

“No. Don’t move. Please. Just give me a second.”

She couldn’t read his eyes, had no idea what he was thinking, feeling. And she hated the little gallop in her heart that wanted to run. “Luke.” She reached out, felt his wrist on the bed beside her. She ran her hand up his arm, felt the tension there. “You have to tell me what you’re thinking.”

“What?”

“I can’t see your face. I don’t know what you’re thinking. If you’re changing your mind or—”

“Ava, baby.” He cupped her face and maybe now more than ever he felt what it was to be her. To not see, to not know. He leaned over her, took her mouth again mixing tenderness with heat. “I’m looking at you …dumbstruck. There’s no other word for it.” He trailed one finger slowly down her chest between her breasts. “I’ve wanted you since the first minute I saw you.”

“No, you didn’t,” she said breathless. “You thought I was drunk.”

“Since the first second. You in that dress, your hair that I was dying to touch. And your eyes. Damn when you looked at me with those eyes…”

He cupped one breast, grazed the rough pad of his thumb over her nipple. She gasped and he did it again, then it wasn’t his thumb, it was his mouth, hot and hungry.

He moaned as his hands cupped and stroked, his hungry mouth moved from one to the other and she felt that burn of pleasure rising inside her. Felt the heat like a tide and distantly heard him moaning, felt the hard erection pressed against her leg.

“It’s been awhile,” she said, as his teeth grazed the line of her throat.

“For me, too. Afraid you forgot?”

He pressed smiling lips to the skin of her throat, stayed there a minute and she shuddered.

“Forgot? No,” she said, on a shaky breath. “Remember it feeling like this? Never.”

Luke watchedthe desire in the rising color on her cheeks. Elation filled him as Ava opened for him and he delved into the sweetness of her mouth. How long had he known her? He couldn’t think clearly enough to do the math, but it felt like he’d been waiting forever to kiss her like this. Touch her like this.

Her breasts were small, pale and so perfect he may have whispered a prayer. He cupped one in his hand and watched her eyes close, heard her sigh. He wanted her trembling with need. Wanted to watch her face when he took her over the edge.

Every touch with his hands and mouth was pure heaven. And she managed to hold off any thoughts that would darken it. Luke was her friend, her lover and she wanted him. And for the first time in a long time felt very much wanted in return.

He came over her, took his time, using lips and hands. Going back to her mouth again and again, moving down her body until she was hot, wet. Until she was begging.

“Now,” she said. Her hands pulled at his hair, his shoulders. “I want you inside me.”

He grabbed a condom, then he was over her, her soft legs parting for him. The wild need he’d tried to bury burst to the surface.With his own blood roaring in his ears, he drove into her. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, clutched there. When she rose to meet him stroke for stroke, his heart rammed into his throat.

He could have gone over, could have driven them both, but she slowed, drawing it out, driving them both mad with it. But he gave them just enough before pulling back then filling her again. He’d wanted women before but he’d never felt this razor-sharp edge of need. He fought for the patience and control he’d honed the past twenty years.

He watched her. Her face, her breasts swaying, the flush on her chest. Her legs were open to him, wound around him. Her body gripped him, dragged at him, then pulled him back in. But when he felt her tighten around him, heard her strangled cry of release, all this violent need he felt for her erupted. He drove into her, thrust deep and went over.

When he came back to himself, his face was pressed into the side of her neck. Strands of her hair stuck to his cheek. He shifted, took in her closed eyes and slack, satisfied expression. Rolling, he brought her limp body into his side, stroked a hand down her back over smooth, damp skin, and felt pretty damn satisfied himself.

Ava lay there,trying to recover from the mind-blowing sex she’d just had. She felt each beat of Luke’s heart under her hand. He was so warm, so hard, her hand moved over his chest savoring the warmth. She’d needed this, hadn’t known how much until it had happened.

Her fingers touched something small and cool and metal. She rubbed it between her fingers, felt the raised grooves on the small oval shape.

“Saint Christopher,” he told her. “Hannah gave it to me years ago. Figured it’d be bad luck to thumb my nose at the saints by not wearing it.”

She moved her fingers over the medal again, thought about all the moments Luke must have needed a saint on his side.

“Hungry?”

She smiled against his chest. “Are you asking me if I am or telling me you are?”

“Both.”

“I am actually. The swimming and then the…”

Luke sat up, snagged his jeans from the floor and tugged them on. Then he turned, leaned over her. “I still owe you dinner.”

“You do.”

“I have frozen pizza and maybe a casserole Hannah’s always pushing on me.”

“What kind of pizza?”

He slipped a hand over her side and up to her breast because it was right there and he wasn’t done touching her. Not by a long shot. “Barbecue chicken and a pepperoni and sausage.”

“I like either.”

“Then I’ll make both.”

Ava’s phone chimed with a message from Maddie. She’d listen to it later but it did remind her to text her parents.

Luke found her in the bathroom, speaking into her phone.

“Your message to mom says, I went swimming and now I’m at Luke’s. Ready to send it?”

“No!”

“Okay.”

Luke stood just outside the open door listening to Ava talking to herself and he smiled.

“Don’t wait up, I’ll be having sex with Luke all night. Yeah, that’s a no.”

“I kinda liked that one,” he said, feeling only a little guilty when she jumped.

“What are you doing?”

“Coming to ask if you want me to run out for salad or something. I didn’t want to interrupt your messaging.”

She scowled at him. “Thanks.”

“Hey, Siri, text Mom.”

“Texting Mom.”

“Hey, Mom, I’m with Luke. Don’t wait up.”

Siri repeated the message Luke had given, then asked, “Ready to send it?”

“No!” Ava said. But Luke said yes louder and held the phone out of her reach.

“There. Done. Now we can eat.” He slid his hands around her, cupping her bottom. “Then we can do other things.”

* * *

Ava wokein Luke’s bed to the scent of coffee. She hadn’t meant to stay, didn’t know if he’d meant for her to stay. Sex between adults was one thing. Sleeping together was something else entirely. After a night of mind blowing sex, she should feel loose. Instead she was tense and uncomfortable. She hated not knowing where things stood, where she stood. She’d spent too many months not knowing where she stood with Blake.

But she was a big girl. She’d get up, get dressed, and face whatever it was. Get the answers she needed. It could still be simple. They’d let the fire smoldering between catch and burn. Now things would probably cool off. Nothing to be uncomfortable about.

Although the room was a square and not a circle, Ava pictured the room like a clock, putting herself at six. The chest of drawers was to her left, at nine. The door out to the kitchen at ten or eleven.

She didn’t know where her clothes had ended up. When she felt around with her foot, she touched cloth, picked it up, felt Luke’s jeans. She brought them to her face and felt a little foolish for smiling. Making her way around the room, using her feet for feelers, it didn’t take her long to find her bra, shirt, and pants. Took a while longer to find her underwear hidden in the sheets.

Dressed, she went in search of that life-giving liquid. She wasn’t sure where Luke was. Maybe he was already out doing stuff. She hadn’t asked her phone for the time.

She used her cane and one hand on the wall to find her way to the kitchen. “Hey,” he said, when she reached the corner.

“Hey.” She was more tense than she’d been before. Those insecurities she’d had as a teen, then overcome with Blake only to have them come roaring back tenfold bombarded her.

Was he looking at her, at his watch, his phone? Was he frowning? Scowling? Wanting her to leave but not sure how to say it?

“You breathing over there?”

“What?”

“I asked if you were breathing. You stopped, froze like a statue. Need help?”

“No. Yes, I’m breathing. I was just thinking.” She held her hand out to use the wall for guidance.

“I could tell.”

“Do you know where my phone is? I need to call a ride. I could start yelling, ‘Hey, Siri’, but it might be awkward since you’re standing right here.”

Luke didn’t answer but she heard his footsteps, felt the vibration of the wood under her bare feet. He stopped right in front of her.

“Trying to run away?”

“Nope. Not running. Just going. I’ve got things and…you’ve got things.”

Luke couldn’t get inside her head, no matter how much he wished he could. But the unsettled, uncomfortable feelings were vibrating off of her loud and clear. Because they’d had sex? She certainly hadn’t seemed uncertain or uncomfortable during that part. Was it the morning after? Regrets? Because of him specifically or just in general? He wanted time to figure it out. Figure her out and himself. Them.

Luke caught her fingers in his and stepped into her. “You’re thinking too much,” he said slipping his arm around her waist. He brushed the hair from her neck so he could kiss her there. “I made you breakfast. You think your things can wait until after that?”

“Um…sure. Sounds good. Smells good.”

“You know, if I wanted to rush you out the door I would have only made enough for one.”

It made her heart jerk to know he read her thoughts so easily and she didn’t care for it. “Maybe you’re too polite to only make breakfast for yourself.”

“And maybe you’re looking to get the hell out of dodge. Planning to call Hannah and cancel any scheduled rides.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I don’t know what you’re thinking either, Ava. Just feeling my way here.”

He led her to the little table Hannah had added to the room last week. “And what if I was too polite, which I’m not. Would I ask what you were doing later? And I’d be asking for the purpose of seeing you again, in case you didn’t get that.”

Ava heard the teasing note in his voice, heard the smile in it. She grinned and forked up a bite of the eggs he’d placed in front of her.

“Are you gonna tell me what you’re doing later?”

“Maybe. I think I’ll try the eggs first.”