Up to the Challenge ai-2 Read online

  “My work here is done,” Beth said, looking much too pleased with herself. “You kids have fun. I better get back to Dempsey’s before Joe has a cow.”

  Lucas would be having a talk with Beth before he left Anchor Island. She was never to dress Sid in this fashion again. Especially not when he wasn’t there to let every other man know exactly to whom she belonged.

  “That reminds me,” Sid said, taking Drillbit from his grip. “I need to feed her before we go.”

  As Sid sashayed into the kitchen, Lucas took several deep breaths. He did not own this woman. In a couple weeks, he’d be gone and she would be entitled to dress like a pole-dancing pirate for anyone she wanted. Just as he would be entitled to drive back to the island and kick that anyone’s ass.

  “Okay, I’m good,” Sid said, snagging her keys off the end table. Her smile hit like a bolt of lightning. “You’re rocking that pirate look pretty good yourself, by the way.”

  Sid made a mental note to suggest Lucas go without shaving more often. The dusting of whiskers suited his high seas adventure look perfectly. She never remembered Joe looking so delicious in this outfit. The pirate standing in her living room looked good enough to eat.

  Since Joe was slightly broader in the shoulders than his brother, the normally loosely fitting shirt billowed even more on Lucas. She recognized the black pants as his own. Joe’s wardrobe would never include a pair this fancy, but the knee-high boots added a hint of sexy that made her forget why they were heading out the door instead of down the hall to her bedroom.

  “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, we’ll never get out of here,” he said, then crossed the distance between them and slid his hands up to cup her face. “Not that I’d have a problem with that. I hate the thought of any other man seeing you dressed like this.”

  Before she could respond, he took her mouth in a way he never had before. This wasn’t just a kiss but a claiming. A man staking out his territory in a manner that brooked no argument. And Sid had never experienced anything so arousing.

  “We don’t really have to go.” The words were breathed more than said as she dropped her head back and enjoyed the sensations of Lucas’s tongue sliding along her skin. When he reached the top of her breasts, she thought her entire body might go up in flames.

  “Aren’t you supposed to help Opal with her dessert table?” Lucas asked, between the tender bites he was dropping along her shoulder.

  Damn it. She’d forgotten about that. “We don’t have to stay long though, right?”

  His attention returned to her face, his hazel eyes a deep, mossy green as he ran a thumb along her bottom lip. “An hour tops. I don’t think I can take more than that.”

  “Deal,” she said, taking his mouth for another scorching kiss. Pulling back, she took his hand and reached for the door. “Let’s go then. We’re killing time.”

  Rows of tents formed a frame around the city park, which was little more than a wide open area bordered by towering oaks, whose branches brushed the ground as if bowing to the guests. Young pirates flitted through the crowd, stopping now and then to parry and thrust their wooden swords in battle with an enemy.

  The older buccaneers, some dressed more elaborately than others, carried giant drumsticks and tankards of what had to be nonalcoholic ale, as no adult beverages were permitted in the park. Johnny Roger and his Mutineers provided traditional tunes for the swashbucklers looking to twirl around the dance floor.

  Business at Opal’s dessert table had been steady for half an hour, making it difficult for Sid to keep tabs on Lucas. Kinzie, Opal’s granddaughter and apprentice of sorts, worked the end opposite Sid, looking adorable in a long black skirt, red corset cincher, and puffy white blouse. A hint on the plump side, the pastry-chef-in-training fit the role of pirate wench turned ship cook perfectly.

  Sid had always thought of Kinzie, with her ready smile and pleasant disposition, as her polar opposite. Sunny. Happy. Friendly. All things Sid was not. Which made it odd that they got along so well.

  “We might have to hire you to wear that outfit and work at the store, Sid,” Kinzie said, laughter in her voice. “Grandma’s cakes are good, but you’re the hot cake bringing in the customers tonight.”

  Opal handed a large cupcake to a blushing teenage male, who nearly dropped his booty due to not taking his eyes off Sid. “We could just put you out front on the porch and we’d sell out every day.”

  Her two tablemates giggled, and though Sid knew they were only teasing, she couldn’t help but feel conspicuous. She’d tugged at her neckline, which rested way too many inches below her neck, to no avail. Lifting the top only raised the bottom, and the fishnets Curly had insisted she wear didn’t exactly provide much coverage either. She feared her own booty was in danger of flashing the entire crowd. Or at least anyone standing behind her.

  “I didn’t realize the dress would be so small when Curly put it on me.” Another tug up. “I feel like an idiot.”

  “Oh, we were only teasing,” Opal said, giving her a reassuring pat on the arm. “You look beautiful and we’re just jealous. Don’t mind us.”

  But she did mind all the male eyes that kept sliding over her body as if she were wearing nothing at all. “I think I need to go home and change. Do either of you see Lucas?” Sid craned her neck to look through the crowd.

  “You mean your pirate protector who has been standing twenty feet to our right shooting mental daggers at every man who’s smiled your way?” Kinzie took two dollars from a kid who looked no more than ten, and handed over a slice of apple pie. “Two hands, little man. No replacements if you drop that.”

  Sid glanced to her right to find Lucas standing with his feet apart, arms crossed, and brows together. He looked ready to tear someone apart.

  “Has he been there the whole time?” she asked. A ribbon of heat snaked through her system, but instead of the shot of lust she was used to, this one went straight for the heart.

  Oh, that wasn’t good.

  “The whole time,” Opal said. “Like an angry Adonis. Too bad men don’t dress this way anymore.” The older woman sighed, drawing Sid’s attention. Did she just call Lucas an Adonis?

  Sid glanced Lucas’s way again. Opal did have a point, but it was the look in his eyes more than the outfit that was doing funny things to Sid’s sense of balance. Her world was tilting and she had no idea how to get her bearings.

  You don’t get to keep him, girlfriend. Do not get too attached.

  But it was too late. Sid was definitely attached.

  “No wonder there are so many desserts floating around this crowd,” Manny said, stepping up to the booth. “The sweetest piece in the room is hiding behind this table.”

  The sweetest piece? He better not be talking about her.

  “Hi, Manny,” Kinzie all but purred. Her face was an odd shade of pink and she seemed to be bouncing on her tiptoes. “I made some meringues for you.” A box of fluffy white concoctions appeared from under the table.

  “Hey,” he said, pulling the box across the table. “Is this my grandmother’s recipe?”

  “It is,” Kinzie beamed.

  So that’s how things were.

  Sid pondered the possible couple. Kinzie and Manny were the same age but that’s where the similarities ended. Then again, she and Lucas were about as different as a tuna and a marlin so who was she to judge?

  “How much do I owe you for these?” Manny asked, reaching for his wallet.

  “Since you gave me the recipe, we’ll call it even. I’m sure they’re not as good as your grandmother’s, but I hope they’re close.”

  He shot the blushing pirate wench a smile and took a quick swipe off the top of one of the delicacies. Popping the taste in his mouth, his eyes rolled back. “Al igual que la abuela.”

  Sid assumed that meant the white puffs were good.

  Manny cradled the box against his chest. “Thanks, Kinzie. This gives me a little taste of home.”

  Pride beamed from the happy b
aker until Manny turned Sid’s way. “Why don’t you take a break and come sit with me for a while.” He held up the box. “I’m willing to share.”

  Oh, no. Sid looked over to Kinzie in time to see the woman practically deflate to the floor. Manny could not be this dense. “I think the one who made them should get to have some, don’t you?” she asked, nodding her head furiously in Kinzie’s direction.

  Manny didn’t get the message. “Come on. Don’t you want some of this?” By this he clearly didn’t mean the desserts. Men were so damn stupid.

  “Time’s up, Sullivan. You’re holding up the line.” Lucas appeared at the end of the booth, standing as close to Sid as possible with three feet of table between them. She could feel the anger rolling off him.

  “What’s up with you, man? Don’t you need to get back to that fancy lawyer gig of yours?”

  On a normal day, Sid would expect laid-back Lucas to ignore the challenge in Manny’s voice and bring a rational, mature end to this ridiculous scene. But a crowd was gathering and Lucas looked neither laid-back nor rational.

  “I think it’s time to dance,” she said, hopping over the side of the booth, hoping she hadn’t just flashed her girly parts to the crowd at large. “Come on, Lucas. Twirl me around the floor.”

  Sid was not a dancer. She’d never twirled around anything, never mind a dance floor. But unless she wanted to see the typically bored Anchor Island Police Department, all two of them, be called into action, she had to think quick.

  When they reached the dance floor, she pulled Lucas into the crowd, hoping to put obstacles as well as distance between the two men. Not two seconds after reaching the middle of the floor, the toe-tapping number came to an end, and another song, slow and mournful, began.

  For several seconds they stood unmoving, eyes locked, surrounded by tension. Sid bit her bottom lip and raised her brows. “You going to leave me hanging?” she asked.

  “I don’t want to,” he said, hands at his sides.

  “You don’t want to dance?” This was not how she expected the night to go. “We don’t have to …”

  Before she could wind her way back off the floor, he caught her hand and pulled her against him. “I don’t want to leave you hanging,” he said, as if the statement made any kind of sense. “I need you to know that.”

  Okay. Now she was completely confused. He held her so tight, she had to push away from him just to lean back far enough to see his face. When he finally looked down, she said, “What does that mean?”

  He ignored the question, laying his forehead against hers. “Can we get out of here?” he asked.

  They’d begun to sway to the music and Sid realized dancing had something going for it. Hips pressed together. Lucas holding on tight. The music floating around them as their bodies moved in time as if melded together.

  “Can we finish this song?”

  Lucas smiled, though his eyes remained dark and stormy. “Yeah. We can do that.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Sid didn’t say much on the way home, which was good since Lucas didn’t have the words to explain whatever this was spinning through his system. Her scrap of a dress didn’t include pockets so he’d carried the keys. Reaching the truck, they seemed to decide he would drive without either of them saying a word.

  With Sid curled against his side on the bench seat, Lucas absorbed the feeling of having her close. A memory he could bring to mind once he was back in Richmond. It would be a while before the scent of watermelon made him think of anything other than Sid in his arms.

  Once they reached the house, Lucas circled the truck to lift Sid out. Even with no one around, he didn’t want her jumping out wearing the handkerchief Beth considered a dress.

  “I’ve never let anyone drive my truck before,” she said, as if talking about the weather instead of revealing how much she’d come to trust him. Lucas’s chest tightened.

  “I can see why. There’s a lot of power under that hood. Takes a steady hand.” He slid a knuckle along her jawline, knowing he wasn’t talking about the truck. Recognizing the understanding in her eyes.

  “Right.” Sid looked down but didn’t move. “I need the keys to unlock the door.”

  “I’ve got it,” he said, following her to the house, his hand possessive on the small of her back. As he slipped the key into the lock, Sid stopped him with a touch on his arm.

  “I appreciate this chivalry thing, but I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.” She hesitated, as if searching for the right words. “Playing the passive damsel doesn’t sit well with me.”

  In the fading light he could see uncertainty in her expression. As if walking a thin line, worried it might break. “I’m sorry,” he said, stepping back to give her access to the door. “You’re right. I’m acting like a caveman.”

  Lucas had never been the grunting, Neanderthal type, but something changed when he was with Sid. He wanted to take care of her. Keep her close and send a message that she was taken.

  Which, of course, she wasn’t. At least not beyond the next couple weeks. Which didn’t feel nearly long enough. For what, he didn’t know. He only knew thinking about leaving made his gut feel like it was being shoved through a meat grinder.

  Sid pushed into the house and Lucas followed. She dropped her keys on the end table, then waited for him to reach the couch.

  “What happened back there?”

  Lucas shrugged and sat down to remove the ridiculous black boots. “I didn’t like the way Manny was talking to you.”

  “I got that,” she said. “We all got that. I admit this jealousy thing was flattering at first. I’ve never had a guy get riled up on my behalf. But now it’s just annoying.”

  She had every right to be angry, though he’d have expected a more brilliant display of temper. A good fight would lead to make-up sex, with the bonus of heightened intensity. Not that having sex with Sid wasn’t already the most intense thing he’d ever done in his life.

  “It was a knee-jerk reaction. I’ll control it better from now on.” With one boot off, he moved to the next.

  “Have I given off the ‘helpless’ vibe?” Sid asked, ripping her own boots off. “Something that says I need to be taken care of?”

  She flung the boots to the floor and started untying the leather piece around her waist. Lucas crossed the room and stilled her hands. “Listen to me. There is nothing helpless about you. Nothing. My stupid male ego just takes charge and I turn into a grunting idiot.” He pulled her with him until he was sitting on the coffee table, saving her from straining her neck to see his face. “I’m sorry if my actions made you feel weak. You’re the strongest person I know.” Resting his head against her stomach, he mumbled. “Stronger than I am.”

  She had been the one to keep things casual, after all. Something at which he’d failed miserably.

  With a firm touch beneath his chin, she forced him to look up. “Why would you say that? You’ve worked your ass off to become a powerful lawyer. You did it all on your own. And you came down here without a second thought to help your family when they needed you. When they needed your strength the most, you came through.”

  A thousand arguments ran through his mind, but he didn’t want to fight with Sid. He wanted to love her.

  With great care, he dropped a kiss in each of her palms, then pulled her closer, until she was sitting sideways in his lap.

  The distraction worked because Sid gave up the fight and said, “I don’t think this table can hold the both of us.”

  “Then we’d better find a surface that can.” He took her mouth as he rose to his feet. Standing there, in the middle of Sid’s whitewashed cottage, Lucas made a silent vow that tonight would be different. Tonight would be about more than sex.

  Tonight, Sid would know that she was loved. He couldn’t say it with words, but he could show her with his body.

  By the time they reached her bedroom, all of Sid’s typical moves to get Lucas to speed things up had failed. The man was det
ermined to take his time, and once he laid her gently on the bed, sending Drillbit hissing from the room, she decided to let him. Instead of ripping her clothes off, their usual first step, Lucas undressed himself, slowly, while maintaining eye contact. His shirt went first, then the pants.

  She never failed to be amazed by how beautiful he was.

  Sid had a death grip on the comforter by the time he returned to her. But Lucas never looked away. As if he were trying to tell her something important. Make her understand what he was thinking.

  If the blood hadn’t all rushed out of her head, she might have been able to download the message. However, brain function wasn’t operating at the highest levels in that moment. The only thoughts running through her mind were of the good God this is going to be good variety.

  Lucas reached out a hand and like an obedient child following the Pied Piper, Sid gave her own and was pulled off the bed. She’d half untied the cincher and now Lucas proceeded to unlace it the rest of the way. With no urgency whatsoever. She’d thought him totally unaffected until his hands brushed her breasts and he moaned.

  Moaning was a good sign.

  The leather fell away and Lucas moved to her shoulders, sliding the dress down little by little. The material slid over her now sensitized breasts, lighting fires across her skin as if every nerve ending were exposed. The dress finally dropped, the cool air fluttering along her body raising goose bumps everywhere. Or maybe that was the anticipation of what would happen next.

  The way Lucas was handling the situation, it was hard to tell what he had in mind. He had to know by now seduction was unnecessary. Not that she was going to remind him. Why spoil the man’s fun?

  And her own.

  Instead of taking her mouth, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. A little chaste considering what they were about to do. Then his hands starting roaming. Taking his time, as if memorizing her, Lucas traced fingertips along her neck, over her shoulders, then his palms brushed over her tightened nipples.