Way to Her Heart (14 page)

“Lucas...” she moaned.

He gave her a wicked smile and said, “You wanted a striptease so I’m giving you what you wanted.”

The shirt finally came off and he started on the belt buckle. Once again, he was moving slower than slow, or so it seemed to Sherri. She was already getting wet between her legs, and she could feel her nipples expanding, growing big and hard. Lucas was enjoying her reaction. His movements got more provocative, his hips gyrating and pumping as he inched the belt out of the loops on his jeans.

“If we were in the club I’d be getting some bills,” he pointed out.

She rose to her knees and stroked her flat stomach down to her neat patch of curls. Rotating her hips she purred, “I’ve got your bills right here, big man.”

“To hell with this,” he muttered, stripping off his jeans and briefs. He joined her on the bed and grabbed her around the waist. “Now what was that about you ravishing me?”

She pushed him back so that he was resting against the pile of pillows at the head of his giant four-poster bed. Her eyes were alight with equal parts desire and mischief as she reached under the pillows and pulled out two silk scarves.

“Do you trust me?”

“You know I do. What are we doing, babe?”

Sherri didn’t say anything as she straddled his chest and took one of his hands in hers. She guided it up to the bedpost and tied it loosely with the scarf, then repeated her action with the other hand. Lucas was smiling as she started in on his chest, rubbing the palms of her hands over his flat nipples in a circular pattern. His breathing got harsh as her thumbs began circling his sensitive nipples, making them bullet-hard. One hand continued its manipulation while her tongue took over on the other side.

She used her tongue and then her teeth to get him ready for more. After she toyed and teased his chest until he was making sounds of satisfaction, she licked her way down his torso to his navel and began kissing it like it was his mouth, circling it with her hot, clever tongue and exploring it until she heard his urgent moaning. She finally relented and kissed her way down to his manhood. Cupping him with one hand and stroking with the other, she tenderly caressed the sensitive tip before using her tongue to tantalize him into submission. Treating him like she would a lollipop, she licked and sucked and tongued until he was trembling and his hips were thrusting wildly. She had no intention of stopping, but Lucas easily freed his hands and took over.

The next thing Sherri knew, she was on her back with her legs apart to take Lucas in as he entered her yearning body. She was more than ready for him, meeting his urgency with the same hot desire. Every time he plunged into her she gripped and squeezed him with her inner walls, pumping harder and harder until he grasped her hips and held her tightly. A deep moan rose from his throat and he pushed again, grinding against her until he couldn’t hold back any longer. He let the explosive climax claim him just when Sherri’s release came, and their cries mingled in the love-scented glow of the candles.

Chapter 14

Sherri decided to put everything out of her mind except enjoying the day. She and Lucas had a great breakfast and made good time on the drive to Hilton Head to collect Sydney. It was a perfect day with a brilliantly blue sky. She couldn’t wait to see her baby. There were very few occasions when Sydney wasn’t with her. She had the occasional sleepover with one of her little friends, and sometimes she would spend the night with Alexis, but for the most part, Sherri was a full-time hands-on mom. Having Sydney away for a whole week was a first, and it had had its weird moments. She’d actually gone into Sydney’s bedroom on a couple of mornings to wake her up. The feeling that came over her when she looked at the empty bed was hard to bear.

When they arrived at the VanBurens, Sydney ran and jumped into her arms, yelling, “Hi, Mommy!” at the top of her very healthy young lungs. Now they were back together again and everything felt totally right. Sherri got lots of hugs from everyone in the VanBuren family, too. Lucas’s parents were effusively glad to see her and hugged her tightly, as did his grandmother.

After they got settled, Delilah couldn’t resist making a pithy remark to Sherri. “So you took my advice about my grandson, didn’t you? I said you two would make a lovely couple and I was right,” she gloated.

Because she was sitting next to Lucas on the old-fashioned glider and he had his arm around her shoulders, there was no point in denying the obvious. Sherri just smiled and tried not to blush. His grandmother was absolutely delighted with the developments and so was Sydney. She was way too young to suss out the intimate details of their new relationship, but she could tell that things were different between her mother and her beloved Uncle Lucas.

Sydney and Courtney, Damon’s little girl, watched the two of them carefully all day, and every time Lucas embraced Sherri or gave her a quick kiss, they would giggle madly. Courtney’s twin brother, Gabriel, wasn’t as intrigued by the spectacle; he didn’t see what the big deal was. But Sydney was already deciding what she wanted her dress to look like for the wedding, although she prudently kept that to herself.

Altogether it was a fun day. Sherri brought the VanBurens a gift basket of her homemade cookies and brownies along with a nice bottle of wine to thank them for keeping Sydney. Vanessa protested that it was their pleasure, but Sherri could tell the older woman appreciated the gesture.

Lucas and Damon took the children to the farmers’ market where they loaded up on fruits and vegetables, and Lucas bought baseball caps for the three children. Then Damon and Lucas made a great lunch for everyone, and Sherri had a great time talking with Jared’s parents.

She felt welcomed and well-liked by everyone. It felt like being part of a family, which was a nice way for her to feel. It certainly wasn’t like being around her family; there was no judging, no criticizing, no ice-cold indifference and, best of all, everyone here cared for her little girl. While she was mulling this over, Sydney was sitting on Vanessa’s lap having her hair rebraided. They were deep in conversation, just like she really was part of their family.

Her parents had always been cool, unemotional people with high expectations for their children, and she and her brother, David, had always exceeded those expectations. They’d both been straight-A students, they both had won full scholarships to college and they were both successful professionals. The one misstep Sherri had in her whole life was thinking that Trevor Barnes loved her. The end result of that liaison was Sydney, a beautiful baby who’d grown into a wonderful child. Her parents would have had her abort her baby or give it up for adoption rather than appreciate what a joy she was.

And now that louse Trevor had suddenly popped up and said he wanted them back, and her own mother was knee-deep in his twisted plan.
“Mother Stratton” my ass,
she thought angrily, then pushed the angry thoughts away. She was going to keep her mind clear and relaxed until the weekend was over. But when it was over, she was going to lay the law down to Trevor because she didn’t want him anywhere around her or her daughter. Never.

When it was time to drive back to Columbia, it was hard to say goodbye to everyone. Sherri’s heart was full of gratitude when she saw for herself that her little girl would be dearly missed by everyone. Her eyes got a little misty when Sydney was giving hugs to Delilah and the elder VanBurens. Vanessa was actually teary-eyed.

“I’m going to miss my little Sydney so much, Sherri. You must let her come and spend time with us again. She’s such a sweet child. You’ve raised her to be kind and well-mannered and she’s so helpful. You’re a wonderful mother, Sherri.”

Dr. VanBuren put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and leaned down to kiss her on her temple. “You’re an exceptional duo, the two of you,” he told Sherri. “And Vanessa means every word of what she’s saying. We’d love to have Sydney anytime at all. She’s part of our family now. She already invited us to her birthday party.” He smiled. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course, that would be perfect,” Sherri said warmly. “We don’t do anything spectacular for birthdays. We usually have a cookout and a birthday cake and that’s it, but you’re surely welcome. And I know Sydney would love it if Courtney and Gabriel could spend the weekend with us this summer.”

After a lot of heartfelt thank-yous from Sherri and Sydney and we’ll-miss-yous from the VanBurens, Lucas, Sherri and Sydney headed home. Sydney followed her usual pattern of chattering away like a magpie for the first fifteen minutes or so, then falling sound asleep. Her slumber made it possible for Lucas and Sherri to talk without worrying about her sharp little ears picking up every word. Sherri had warned him that she had ears like a fruit bat.

“I love your family, Lucas.”

He smiled and reached for her hand. “They love you, too. And man, are they crazy about Sydney. If you’d let them, they’d be glad to keep her the rest of the summer. But we couldn’t be without her for that long—we’d miss her way too much.”

Sherri was thinking so hard that she missed his endearing use of the word
we
in talking about Sydney. It just sounded so natural that she didn’t pay it any attention. Her mind was full of scattered thoughts, wondering why her own parents were so cold and aloof and what it would have been like to grow up with warmth and closeness the way that Lucas obviously had. And despite her vow to forget about Trevor for the weekend, she was still curious about why her parents had decided to be his allies and what his ultimate purpose was as far as she and Sydney were concerned. She didn’t believe for a minute that he’d suddenly seen the error of his ways and wanted to embrace them into some ready-made family. That was just crazy talk.

She and Lucas talked for a while as he drove to Columbia, but after a while, the soft music and his soothing voice lulled her into sleep. She didn’t wake up until he pulled into her driveway. When the SUV came to a stop, her eyes blinked open and she yawned.

“I’m so embarrassed,” she said. “I never fall asleep when I’m supposed to be riding shotgun.” She sat up hurriedly and rubbed her eyes, unaware that she looked just like Sydney waking from a nap.

Lucas laughed gently. “You weren’t supposed to be riding shotgun. You were supposed to be relaxing.” He cupped her face with his hand and kissed her deeply. “Why don’t you get the door while I get the little one?”

He came around the side of the Rover and opened Sherri’s door, helping her down and watching her until she had the front door open. Sydney didn’t wake up as he carried her into the condo—not even when he took her upstairs to her bedroom.

“She sleeps like a boulder, doesn’t she?” Sherri said fondly. “She always has. Just put her on the bed and I’ll wash her up and get her pajamas on.”

By the time Lucas had unpacked the Rover and brought everything upstairs, Sherri had Sydney’s face and hands washed, her summer pajamas on and she was all tucked in bed. He couldn’t resist giving her a good-night kiss, but she didn’t wake up. They went downstairs, and Sherri thanked him again for taking her to Hilton Head.

He walked her over to the sofa and sat down, pulling her into his lap. “Don’t be crazy, woman. You never have to thank me for doing anything for you and Sydney.”

She put one hand on either side of his face. “Of course I do. It’s good manners, for one thing, and for another, I don’t want you to think I take you for granted.” She punctuated her words with a sweet kiss. Sherri would have been quite content to keep kissing him, but he had other ideas.

“Sweetheart, I didn’t say anything earlier, but I think we should discuss it now. What’s going on with this Trevor guy?”

She buried her head in his neck and moaned. “Do we have to talk about him right now? Because I really don’t want to,” she said softly. “I’m tired and you’re tired and we’re supposed to go to church tomorrow and he’s the last thing I want on my mind before I go to sleep.”

“You’re right,” he said softly as he rubbed his cheek against her hair, inhaling her delicate fragrance. “What would you like to think about before you go off to dreamland?”

She turned her face up to him and smiled. “This,” she murmured as she parted her lips for his kiss.

* * *

Sherri didn’t make it to church after all. She decided to sleep in, and Sydney hopped in bed with her. She got a call from Alexis, who was also giving church a miss that day.

“Listen, do you and Sydney want to meet me at Seven-Seventeen for brunch? Jared and Lucas got this brilliant idea for a Sunday Jazz Brunch and this is its debut. Plus, I’m starving,” she said cheerfully.

It sounded like a great idea to Sherri, so she and Sydney got bathed and dressed to meet Alexis. The restaurant was already crowded when they arrived, but Alexis had a nice table in a secluded corner with a big potted palm next to it. It looked as though the brunch was a great success, judging from the number of people lining up for the buffet.

“Where’s Uncle Lucas?” Sydney asked.

“He’s busy in the kitchen, sweetie. He and Uncle Jared are doing a lot of cooking today,” Alexis told her. “Did you have fun with Courtney and Gabriel?”

Sydney’s face lit up, and she regaled Alexis with stories of everything she’d done during her visit. Sherri smiled and perused the menu. Every single dish made her mouth water, and she was ready to attack the buffet with her bare hands. A handsome young man wearing the Seven-Seventeen uniform came to their table with milk for Sydney and a pot of coffee for Sherri and Alexis. He smiled as he greeted them.

“Good morning, ladies, and welcome to our first Jazz Brunch. Chef VanBuren asked me to tell you that a special meal is being prepared for you and will be brought to your table. In the meantime, we’ll be serving you a variety of selections from the buffet.”

In minutes a pretty server brought them dishes of strawberries and fresh pineapple, piping hot biscuits, creamy grits and shrimp and crisply fried okra. Their first server came back with a passion-fruit Bellini for Sherri and fresh pineapple juice for Sydney and Alexis. Sherri was absolutely in heaven.