Chapter 2

The heat of Lucas' body surged right through Riley's satin gown. She stood motionless in his arms, caught up in the hum of desire between them even though the rest of the dancers on the floor had already shifted gears into an updated tango rhythm. "Do you care to clarify exactly what you mean by that, Mr. Friar?"

His cheek brushed her temple as he leaned closer. "Ever the lawyer, aren't you, Riley?" He trailed his hand possessively over the curve of her waist, the flare of her hip. "In this case, I'd be happy to spell it out for you, counsel."

He steered her toward the edge of the dance floor, into the shadows and away from the swirl of bright costumes and sequined skirts. "I don't want you to hide behind that cool lady–lawyer mask of yours any longer." He cupped her cheek with one warm palm. "And while you're at it, I also want an uncensored view of those red garters you're wearing, but I don't want to have to hunt for them under all those skirts." His thigh grazed hers as they spoke, making her all too aware of the gossamer cling of her silky stockings. "I want you to show them to me. Slowly."

Her breath caught in her throat and refused to return to normal. Her heart rhumbaed, salsaed, and slow–grooved in her chest, igniting an erratic flow of blood to her body parts. Her fingers chilled while her most secret places burned.

"Don't tell me I rendered the lady lawyer speechless." He ran his fingers down her shoulders until he held both her hands.

That's exactly what he'd done. Riley had never been at a loss for what to say, but she couldn't seem to distance herself from the tide of sensual hunger long enough to use her brain for thinking purposes. She simply stared at his mouth and thought how much easier it would be to kiss him….

Until Marie Curie–Isadora appeared over Lucas' shoulder and cleared her throat. Loudly.

Cleopatra–Maya materialized at her side, looking surprisingly compassionate given her "Let them eat cake" notoriety. "Riley, we just wanted to check up on you to make sure you're okay."

Did barely breathing count as okay? Riley managed a nod as Lucas backed up a step.

Fortunately, her knight was thinking more clearly. He offered a smile to Cleopatra, "Everything's okay short stack."

The Queen of Eqypt raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I sure hope so Huckleberry. I don't have to remind you that I'm Maya Hart — your worst nightmare if you hurt peaches again."

Riley found her tongue, "Did you know he's going to be here?" She shot a meaningful look in Lucas' direction. "Will you excuse us for a minute?"

Lucas walked his fingers down her spine, an intimate gesture her friends couldn't see behind her back but that Riley felt in every tingling nerve ending. "I've been meaning to have my fortune told tonight anyway. I'll meet you back here in five."

He leaned close to kiss her cheek. As he brushed his lips across her skin, he whispered, "I'm dying to know if this is my lucky night."

While she was still reeling from that comment and Lucas disappeared into the crowd, Maya and Isadora crowded her, hungry for details.

"We couldn't leave without checking on you." Isadora steered Riley toward the ladies' room, the age–old safe territory for discussing men.

As they plowed through the smoke–filled women's lounge toward the mirror, Maya draped an arm around Riley's waist. "I know you're upset with me, Riles, but I'd bet my Prada purse that he's the one who represents turbulence and change like the fortune–teller said. Just give Huckleberry a chance?"

Riley fluffed her curls as she stared back at her reflection. "The pact we made does not and should not include Lucas Friar."

Maya sighed as she withdrew a pick from her evening bag and worked on Riley's hair for her. Riley had always appreciated the warmth of her girlfriends' affection — right down to their fussing over her like Cinderella before a big date.

"We made a pact to force you to be more adventurous, but that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to repeat history," Maya admonished. "Be honest. If you are going to take the biggest leap, which is in your case is getting rid of your V card, why not let it happen with Lucas Friar. You loved the guy. Hell, you were ready to surrender it to him after prom."

"And look what that got me."

Maya enveloped her in a warm hug. "Give him a another chance Riles."

"Riley, we all know that the reason you don't have a boyfriend is because of Lucas. Wouldn't you want to use this opportunity to get some closure?" Isadora asked.

Now there was a loaded question. "It's been eight years you guys. Why now? You can't tell me that he suddenly realized that after all these years I am the one he wants to be with. We're too old to even think of things like this happening. Besides, I was initially thinking of Rafael. We battled it out in court last month and we were both — intrigued. He's too rich, too blue–blooded, and too much like the rest of the bottom–line oriented men I don't care for. Since there's no way I could fall for a guy like that, he's the perfect candidate for my night of daring and he'd never hurt me. Right?"

Maya and Isadora exchanged glances over Riley's head. A gesture she hadn't missed, thanks to the mirror. "I really don't need Lucas to bring turbulence and change to my life." Although the little voice in her head argued Lucas had already turned her world upside down. He had always intrigued her as much with that sharp mind of his as with those glorious pecs. But she didn't want to listen to any little voice that would talk her out of this. She wanted her night of daring, damn it! "I just have to tell Lucas to take a hike and see if I can find Rafael." She shook off Maya's primping and straightened her gown. "You guys might not want to follow through on the pact for adventure, but I do."

After Maya and Isadora their good–nights to Riley, Maya grabbed her phone and sent out a text.

No sooner had Riley emerged from the ladies' room into the club than her knight appeared — bronzed and gorgeous, his heated gaze meant only for her. "Ready?" he asked her.

A world of meaning communicated to her through that one word. Was she ever? The answer is no. For all the bravado she was spitting at Maya and Isadora, deep inside Riley knows that they are right. No amount of time would ever change how she feels for Lucas. "Yes. But I don't want anything so trite as a 'my place or yours' line. No more games Lucas."

His gaze dipped to ease over her breasts, belly, and finally — her thighs. "Riley, I wouldn't dream of asking you anything so trite."

Lucas didn't have to wait long for the lady lawyer to take action. "Maybe I'm a bit of an over–planner, but I booked a room upstairs so I didn't have to take a cab across town dressed as the Heart Queen today," Riley confided as she tugged him out of the hotel's ballroom and away from the masquerading revelers. "You and I can talk there."

"Perfect." It would also afford him an opportunity he'd been dreaming about ever since his first whiff of that flowery perfume of hers. "And let the record show I commend both your practical nature and your excellent planning, Riley." Lucas didn't waste any time hitting the "up" button for the nearest elevator.

He just hoped she'd still be talking to him come morning when she learned about his talk with her father. A lot has happened for the last eight years. He grew up. Growing up involves realizing past mistakes and manning up to fix them. Everything had worked out as he planned except for the exceptional woman who is now standing beside him.

As they rode past 10 floors on the way to her suite, Lucas assured himself Riley would appreciate what he'd accomplished so far and what more he wants to attain. Wouldn't she?

Riley pushed her way into the darkened suite and turned to beckon him inside. Lucas' breath caught in his throat at her sultry smile, the unintentional flick of her red skirt that flashed him a little more leg. Right now, all he only wanted to touch, taste, and breathe was Riley Matthews.

…

"Come on in." Riley wondered if that breathy voice really belonged to her.

The light from the hallway spilled into the room behind the silhouette of her medieval knight. As impressive as Lucas Friar looked with the bronze trappings of his costume accentuating his every muscle, Riley longed to pull off all his clothes, to run her finger over hot flesh instead of cool metal.

He stepped over the threshold into the darkness, an act that seemed to commit her to the turbulence and change the fortune–teller had predicted.

"Can we turn a light on?" Lucas asked as the heavy hotel door closed behind him.

"Not yet." There was a certain comfort in the dark. Besides, her room looked like a tornado had hit it since they'd gotten dressed for the party here earlier. "In a minute." Right now, she just wanted a few minutes to collect herself— the sooner the better.

"Riley," he whispered, backing her toward the bed as he loomed closer and closer still.

"Lucas?" She wanted this man more than she'd wanted to win any court case, which was saying a lot for a woman who'd worked nonstop to carve out her slot in a prestigious law firm. No matter what Riley had told her friends, she had never gotten over Lucas Friar.

"I had to fight my way past a Roman gladiator and two overprotective historical women to be alone with you. I'm not going to waste this opportunity."

She sensed the heat of his body closing in on hers, breathed the spice of his aftershave and the smooth potency of the single malt scotch he'd been drinking. Desire stirred low in her belly, radiated outward to her limbs and tingled every inch of her body.

He backed her up against the bed until her calves pressed into the mattress. His chest grazed hers, bronze plate to red satin. Her heart picked up speed to match her erratic breathing.

Slowly, he pulled off the shirt of his costume, an action Riley spied in the dim light filtering under the hotel room door. Muscles rippled in the shadowy outline of his shoulders, his arms.

"I think you will be backing down." His voice rasped across the spare inch separating them. "Right about now."

He leaned over her, effectively arching her backward into the soft comfort of the mattress. He followed her down, his body flush against hers. He steadied his weight with his arms planted alongside her shoulders. His arousal nudged her satin–covered hip and inspired a restless, aching hunger between her thighs.

She couldn't answer, couldn't speak. Instead, she settled for threading her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer to kiss his lips, to caress the gentle scratch of his five o'clock–shadowed cheeks. Her fingers found the slight scar high on one cheekbone, and she kissed that, too.

One day, she would ask him about that. But not now. Not when his broad palm skimmed up her calf and all the way to her thigh. Not when his work–hardened hands lingered over the top of her silk stocking, or his finger dipped below the sheer fabric to gently flick free the clasp. The fingers that brushed away the dangling strap of her garter lacked the manicured smoothness common in her blue–blooded world.

Something about the man's rough edges sizzled her from the inside out.

She wriggled beneath him, impatient to be free of her dress. Divining her thoughts as clearly as if she'd spoken the words, Lucas unzipped the red satin gown and slid it down her legs.

"I need to see you." Lucas reached above her head to click the bedside lamp on its lowest setting.

Riley blinked against the brightness, but the husky tone of Lucas' voice assured her he wasn't going to notice the tornado like condition of her hotel room right now.

"Holy hell, Riley."

His words surprised her, forced her eyelids open. He was staring unabashedly at her choice of lingerie — a red fishnet teddy with built–in bra she'd picked up at one of Manhattan's racier retail establishments. "What?"

"You're definitely grown–up as you look."

"Disappointed?" She walked her fingers down his chest to the waistband of his pants, then smoothed her hand over his erection, around his hip.

He sucked in a breath and gripped her wandering hand in the vise of his fingers. "Definitely not."

Riley was lost, soaring high from the moment he edged himself inside of her. The heat of his body, the stroke of his tongue over her barely covered breasts nudged her closer to a level of bliss she'd only dreamed about. He palmed her belly as he settled deeper within her, reached lower to touch her pulsing center.

With slow advance and retreat of his touch he teased and enticed her until she screamed his name with enough volume to wake the whole floor. Lucas followed her — more quietly — but with just as much power.

The endorphins she felt after eating a whole bowl of rocky road ice cream didn't even come close to the unadulterated ecstasy of her release. But like anything that delivered that much pleasure, Lucas Friar could prove to be a big mistake. She'd just bared her body, soul, and maybe even her heart to a man that already left her once. Could she really afford to blithely curl into the shelter of his arms and pretend morning wouldn't come?

Lucas had never been given such a gift. Riley had not only chosen him over her gladiator earlier tonight, she'd also fulfilled his every fantasy in her red fishnet teddy and stop–traffic garters.

And, heaven help him, she was inching her way closer again as they sprawled together in her bed.

He pried an eye open to find her studying his face with a tender concern that slugged him square in the gut and awakened his common sense.

"Riley," He had to tell her about his plan. "We need to talk."

She frowned, her soft lips puckering into a sexy pout. "Don't tell me you're married."

"Of course not! I wouldn't be here like this with you if I am." His finger itched to touch that sensual mouth, to trace the curves of an exaggerated Cupid's bow. "But there's a real–world issue I need to put on the table before we go any further."

If she was worried at his sober tone, her mischievous grin sure didn't give it away. "I didn't think it was possible to go much further than we've already been."

He propped himself up on one elbow, bracing himself for possible fall–out. "I should have told you earlier, Riley, in the interest of full disclosure. I've been here in New York for a couple of months now. The clinic had been open for weeks." He waited for her to start throwing his clothes in his face, but she seemed to still be listening. "I've actually met up with your parents couple of times."

She stared at him across the pillow, eyes wide. Great, she was probably in shock, horrified that she'd slept with a guy who withheld information.

"Why would you meet up with my parents?' She raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

…

He lifted both hands in mock surrender. "Please don't get mad. Hear me out first." His fingers skated across the blanket to land on her shoulder, and then traced the line of her collarbone.

His touch sent shock waves through her, accelerating her pulse and reminding her she had absolutely nothing on beneath the sheets.

"Maybe you'd better get up early in the morning to find a lawyer to present your case," she teased, allowing her eyes to drift shut in response to his wandering caress.

"I'm out of luck until Monday." He lifted her hair off her throat and leaned in to kiss her neck. Thoroughly. "On second thought, maybe I would just have to call in another favor."

Had she just heard him correctly?

"You have a lawyer on speed dial?" She scooted herself backward, away from the kiss that threatened to scramble her thoughts

"Not the lawyer but the husband. But I'm pretty sure the lawyer wouldn't mind. She happens to like me. I've never seen her in action but I heard that she's really good. One of the best in town actually."

Perhaps she looked confused because Lucas reached across the bed and hauled her to him. Tightly. "Riley, I'm talking about your mother."

Warmth curled through her, along with an anticipation for something that went far beyond sex. "Lucas, what's really going on?"

"Riley, I have been planning of ways to get you back for the past year or so. At first I enlisted Farkle's help but the genius is not that very good at scheming so we decided to get Maya in on it but apparently if this was to work without a hitch we needed the help of the King. I had to beg your dad and eventually asked your mother to present my case to him so he'll help me. It's a done deal, counselor, and don't even think about arguing your way out of this one." He outlined the curve of her hip with his hand, fitted her to his arousal by pressing her all the closer.

"I thought I was the Heart Queen tonight," she argued, just because it was fun to spar with him. She'd secretly missed the times they clashed in the past because he'd been a quick wit and a clever speaker.

"And you are. You are the Queen of my heart. I was stupid to leave you eight years ago. Believe me when I say that I will work hard to make an uptown girl fall head over heels in love with a veterinarian like me."

"I'm a step ahead of you, as usual." Riley combed her fingers through Lucas' hair and drew his mouth closer to hers. Her girlfriends would never believe how wildly successful tonight's man-hunting masquerade had been. "That particular romantic mission has already been completed."

He stared down at her in the half light, looking as dark and dangerous as a Medieval knight, as muscle–bound sexy as any model. "Then I'm going to spend tonight giving you a peek into your future, Riley, and show you just how much I'm going to love you right back. Are you game for the adventure of a lifetime?"

She bit her lip as if really deliberating the question, then flashed him an innocent smile. "Actually, I made this pact to be a little more daring…."

Lucas tackled her to the bed before she could even finish fully provoking him. And Riley knew with deep certainty that this man was going to bring the best kind of turbulence, change — and love — into her life, after all.

The End