“I feel it too,” he assured her, his hands braced on the mattress, his hips in charge of her pleasure… and his, if the low groan from his chest and the tight pull of his lips were any indication.
His hips began a steady thrusting that sent her spiraling higher and higher until her orgasm hit, her body soaring outside itself, pleasure all she knew.
He let go then, a steady series of thrusts continuing the bliss that had overtaken her until he came with a groan, pumping into her over and over until he collapsed on top of her, his cheek nestled against hers, his breath rough and hard in her ear.
“I love you, Maxie.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest, and she couldn’t have stopped the words that followed if she wanted to. “I love you too, Lucas.”
“Thank fuck.”
Somehow she laughed, even as she shoved at his shoulders. “I can’t breathe.”
He pushed himself up and off her, rolling to the side, facing her. “You can’t take it back.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “Who says I want to?” she asked.
But she couldn’t stop the feeling of panic filling her chest, practically suffocating her. Because the last time she’d given herself up to this feeling of happiness, she’d been pregnant, and it had been cruelly taken away from her. And no matter how much love she felt for this man, she didn’t trust the feeling. Not for an instant.
Chapter Ten
Maxie woke up queasy again, but today she ignored the nausea as best she could, focusing instead on the plan to get rid of the flash drive. She and Lucas hoped Vincent Bernardi would be waiting outside as he had been most mornings. With luck, this was the last time they’d see the man again. She gathered her courage as she dressed for work, admitting that the bulk of her bravery stemmed from the fact that she wouldn’t be alone when she faced Bernardi. Lucas would be by her side.
And to his credit, he didn’t try and convince her to let him handle the handoff on his own despite his feelings on the matter. Her respect for him multiplied each time he allowed her the space to grow and to be herself. Each time he proved how different he was from his brother.
She couldn’t deny she loved the man. Considering the depth of her feelings for him for years, she hadn’t had a long way to fall. Trusting the feelings was another story, but all she could do was take things one day at a time and hope nothing happened to cause a seismic shift in the happiness she was currently experiencing.
“Ready?” Lucas asked as they met up at the front door.
“As I’ll ever be.” She held out the USB drive.
He eyed it warily but didn’t ask for her to hand it over to him. Hands linked, they took the elevator downstairs and stepped out into the bright sunshine of the cool November day. The man Lucas had hired as security stood in his dark glasses by the revolving door to the building.
Maxie shaded her eyes and looked down the street while Lucas glanced in the opposite direction.
“Figures. No sign of Bernardi,” she muttered.
“There’s always this afternoon,” Lucas said, sounding as frustrated as she felt.
He pulled his car keys from his pocket. “Let’s go back inside and get my car.” They’d need to take the elevator down to the parking garage below street level.
Lucas nodded to the security guard, and he turned to follow them inside.
Maxie took one last look down the street as Vincent Bernardi strode out of the market on the corner. “Lucas, wait. There he is.” She pointed directly at the big man, her stomach turning over as he met her gaze and started walking toward them.
Lucas put up a hand, indicating the security guard shouldn’t step in.
“Are you looking for me?” Bernardi said as he walked up to them, coffee in hand.
“Possibly. First I want to know what your plan is once you have what you came for,” Lucas said.
Maxie was only too happy to let him lead the exchange. She wanted to be here in person. She didn’t care if she ever spoke to the man again.
Bernardi frowned. “None of your damned business. I’m assuming from the way you were looking around for me that you have my property?” He glanced at Maxie.
She straightened her shoulders and nodded. “I found the flash drive.”
He extended his arm palm up. “Hand it over.”