Snowfall and Secrets (The Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 1) (15 page)

She didn’t see most of the movie. The anticipation was too much, so she buried her face in Lukas’s shoulder. Even the parts she did see would give her nightmares. Something changed in the last few years, and scary movies seemed scarier.

Lukas tapped her on the head. “Hey, it’s over.”

“You sure?” she mumbled.

“Yes, I’m sure. I turned it off. You said you liked these things.”

She looked into his dancing eyes. “I thought I did. Have they gotten scarier in the last seven or eight years?”

Lukas shook his head. “No. But I noticed that I stopped enjoying them a few years ago. Somehow they feel more real as we get older. Or maybe it’s that we don’t feel so invincible anymore. Do you remember when you were fifteen and thought you would live forever?”
She grinned. “Yes, and I remember thinking that was a long time to be miserable.”

“Were your teenage years that bad?”

“They were awful, but I don’t want to talk about them. I bet yours were pretty awesome.”

“They were. But I wouldn’t want to repeat them.”

Tess yawned and rested her head on his shoulder again. She sure liked having him around. She wondered how long it would be until he told her he wasn’t interested. Maybe when the storm was over.

“Are you tired?” Lukas asked.

“A bit. What about you?”

“I could sleep. We’ve got to do something about sleeping arrangements.”

Oh yeah. She told him they’d mess with it later. Well, it was later.

“Come on.” He stood and took her hand. She was trembling and couldn’t blame the cold anymore. Not with the heat on.

She didn’t know what she was so worried about. It’s not like this was new to her. Except that everything about Lukas was different. He surprised her at every turn. She figured after dancing, he’d scoop her up and take her to bed then, not play a four-hour board game. And let her win.

Lukas stopped her in the hallway and kissed her.

“I say you just sleep with me again tonight.”

She could say no. He’d respect that. Only she didn’t want to.

“Remember, we’re letting it happen naturally. If nothing else, I’ll be happy just holding you.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Of course I do. I’m a pretty patient man.”

“I will admit it. The anticipation is killing me. I almost want to get it over with so we can move on.”

He frowned. “That doesn’t sound romantic.”

She snorted. “When is sex ever romantic?”

“I think you’ve been sleeping with the wrong men.” He dropped her hand and stalked into the bedroom.

She said something wrong. Why the hell had that bothered him so much? She almost went into the living room but didn’t relish the thought of sleeping on the couch. Instead, she followed him into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. He had the door to the bathroom shut.

Dio jumped on the bed and rested her snout in Tess’s lap. Tess laid her hand on the dog’s side. Dio seemed so content that Tess almost expected her to start purring. She had a cat when she was growing up. Maybe when the storm was over, she’d look into getting a kitten to keep her company.

Lukas opened the door. He was shirtless, and his pajama pants hung low on his hips. If he didn’t want her to sleep with him, he was doing a poor job of making himself unattractive.

Tess grabbed her bag and slid past him into the bathroom. What would he do if she came out of the bathroom wearing nothing? Probably screw her and then send her on her way. That wasn’t what she wanted because that would ruin the day they had.

She brushed her teeth and dug out her pajamas. There was no reason to worry. Every time she opened her mouth she turned him off. Tess wasn’t sure how to handle Lukas.

The shower called her name. Tess took one this morning, but her shoulders were tense, and her hair was a mess from not being dried. She hopped in and turned on the hot water. The water ran down her shoulders and loosened the muscles in her neck. She spent a lot of time on edge today. Most of it was in a good way, but it was still nerves.

Tess massaged the shampoo into her hair and rinsed her hair out well. Once again she noticed the smell. She would have to ask Lukas where he got it.

Tess towel dried her hair and took her time combing it out, and then she dug out the blow dryer. Her hair always took forever to dry because it was so long. She looked in the mirror and took a few deep breaths. Who knew what would happen tonight? The tension that had left crawled right back into her neck.

L
ukas stood outside the bathroom and frowned. She’d been in there forever. He knew he screwed up. He shouldn’t have gotten angry with her, and he wasn’t. He was angry at every other man who had hurt her. Had she ever had a real boyfriend, or did guys just use her? He could see how it happened, but what he didn’t understand was why she let them. She didn’t seem like she was overly insecure.

He knocked. “Tess, are you okay?”

She opened the door and stood in front of him in those ridiculously small pajamas and her hair in a wild mane around her head. Once again she took his breath away.

She looked him in the eyes. “I wanted a shower before I went to bed. Sorry if I took too long.”

“It’s not a big deal. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” she said stiffly and tried to push past him.

He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

“No, you’re not. I said something that hurt you, and I’m sorry. Forgive me.”

Her hands were resting on his chest, and she flexed her fingers. “It’s not fair of you to ask that right now. What am I supposed to say, ‘no, get your incredibly hot body away from me’?”

His heart raced. “You like what you see?”

She sighed. She was trying to stay angry with him.

He could see it in her eyes. Again, the beautiful browns gave away her every thought.

“Very much. Like you don’t know what you do to me.”

“I don’t know, actually. Enlighten me, please.”

She pulled back and ran her hands down along the front of his chest. Her fingers teased the waistband of his pants, and he hissed.

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s how I feel every time I look at you. Especially when you don’t have a shirt on.” She wiggled out of his grip and backed away a few steps. “Thanks for letting me touch that, by the way. That was nice. I’ve been dying to get my hands on your abs since the first night when I had my hands up your jacket.”

She gave him a wicked grin and sashayed off to bed. He chased her down and caught her before she could climb under the covers. He slid his arm around her from behind and pulled her into his chest.

“I’ve been waiting for you to touch me like that since that first night too,” he said into her hair, and he meant every word. He’d been hers since the moment he laid eyes on her. The boldness in her touch was incredible. His skin burned where she’d touched him.

“Lukas,” she whispered.

“I know I said some crap about not pushing you or letting it just happen, but forget that.” He spun her to look at him. Now he wanted her to melt for him. He dug his fingers into her hair and kissed her hard. She stood on her tiptoes and returned his kiss, just as hungry and needy as he was.

He slid his hand under the back of her shirt. She gasped against his mouth. Her skin was gloriously soft and warm.

“Trust me,” he said against her mouth. The tension released from her body, and she turned to putty in his arms.

He kicked his hips back, and they tumbled onto the bed, all wrapped up in each other.

T
ess slipped quietly out of bed and into the kitchen. She found the coffee pot and started it. Last night had been wonderful. Heck the whole day had been amazing. She never felt more loved and appreciated in her life. And yet she felt awful. She let herself be completely seduced by Lukas. Too caught up in the special atmosphere, she never put up much of a fight, and he was the absolute last thing she needed right now.

She ran her hand over her belly. With its impending arrival and the hard choices Tess had to make, she had to have her head on straight and not be distracted by another loser looking to use her.

Maybe he would be different. He sure said the right things. Touched her in the right way. Made her believe him.

She wished she could go back to her apartment and pretend like this never happened.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of how she would handle it when he woke. She could always act like this was going somewhere. She’d make breakfast, and he’d wrap his arms around her and tell her that he wanted to wake up to her gorgeous face every day. Let them both believe it until the snow melted and then cry alone where he couldn’t see her tears.

“Hey.” She heard his soft voice, and her eyes flashed open. He stood in the doorway, staring at her.

“Hi,” she replied and waited. He made no move toward her, but he ran his hand through his hair, and she sighed. Why’d she always have to fall for the good looking ones?

“Listen,” he said.

Oh, no, he was going to tell her last night was a mistake. That was always the first thing they said when they wanted to make sure she knew there was no way in hell they’d ever be anything more with her.

“Save it,” she said. She couldn’t make it through the day with him if she had to hear those words. “I don’t want to hear it. If you didn’t want to have a relationship with me, then you shouldn’t have had sex with me.” She turned around so she didn’t have to face him. She opened the cupboard and grabbed two mugs. “I’m so sick of being a one night stand.”

The words slipped out on their own, but that kind of vulnerability was hers alone; he didn’t get to see that. Or shouldn’t have.

He took both mugs from her hands. “Is that what you think? That last night was just a one-time thing?”

Her breath caught. He was standing so close. “That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it? Trust me. It’s been said to me many times, and it always starts the same way, ‘Listen.’”

His face twisted into a scowl, and she knew she’d been right.

She stormed out of the room. She couldn’t get away from him. There was nowhere in this house for her to hide. He could find her anywhere. They were trapped with no way out until this damn snow started to melt. She made it to the bathroom before tears tumbled down her cheeks. Why did he have to be like everyone else? She slammed the door shut and sat with her back to the door. How could she face him after this?

The door handle jiggled. Geesh, he didn’t even try to knock.

“Tess, you need to let me in.”

“Uh, no I don’t. Leave me alone. I’m sorry about last night. It won’t happen again.” She swiped her face. There would be no tears, not until she got home.

“I want to talk to you. Please open the door.”

“No.”

The door handle stopped jiggling, and she thought maybe he left, but a few minutes later she heard him again. Within a few second the door gave way behind her. She fell backward. Lukas stood above her with a key in his hand and a stupid smirk on his face.

“Real mature.” Tess stood and faced him. This wasn’t fair. She crossed her arms. “I’m stuck here. The least you could do is give me my privacy.”

“So you can sit in the bathroom and cry or throw yourself a pity party or whatever it is women do when they think they’ve been wronged by a man.”

What a self-righteous asshole.

“When I think I’ve been wronged by a man? What do you call it when they wake up and call you a mistake? I suppose I should be grateful that you deigned to sleep with mere mortals like myself.”

He ran his hand through his hair, and she took a few steps back, looking for an escape. There wasn’t one.

“It’s not like that. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. But I can’t be with you,” he said. “Not like you need, not like you deserve.”

She snorted. “That’s what they all say.”

She moved past him and threw herself on the couch. She didn’t know how this was going to play out. She’d never been literally stuck, where she couldn’t get away. Chances were they’d say a whole bunch of stuff they didn’t mean to make the situation tolerable. She knew one thing for certain though. Tonight, she was getting her own room. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.