Chpt. 4: Feel Like Makin' Love

I can't sleep so I decided to write an extra scene instead (not that this scene is really helping me fall asleep!) This one wasn't really part of the original plan and was written pretty quickly so if there are more grammatical mistakes than usual, I apologize. And wow! It is a lot longer than usual. Hope that's ok. Also, with work starting back up tomorrow, and Christmas fast approaching, the updates will probably be less frequent in the coming days but I'm going to try and stay on task!

By popular demand, the rating has been changed back to M. Sorry for the obvious chapter title but, well, some things are meant to be obvious, right?

Oh and I promised the story would follow along the show's previous episodes but I started writing this before Peyton had her 'mysterious' stomach pains. (BTW, we're all hoping for pregnancy, right?) I couldn't find a good way to squeeze the pains into the story so I wind up basically dismissing them here. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how the show follows through with that storyline, so I guess we will all have to wait till January. Until then…

It was past midnight when Lucas unlocked his front door. The lights were on but he knew Peyton had done that for him--she left a message earlier that she was headed to bed. He hadn't intended to be this late but his meetings in New York ran over and then, of course, his shuttle was delayed at the airport. He didn't mind, really, except he wasn't sure how Peyton felt about him spending so much time in New York. He had a brand new editor helping him shape ideas for a third book and he knew Peyton wasn't worried but things were going so well now, he didn't want anything stupid, like Lindsey drama, messing them up. Especially with Julian back in town. Peyton may not be the jealous type, but it was turning out that Lucas was. Just thinking about Julian made Luke uncomfortable; he felt a nagging need to prove to Peyton she hadn't made a mistake by waiting for him. Thinking along those lines, Luke searched the back of the pots and pans cabinet for an old shoe box. Knowing Peyton had given up solo cooking after their dash-of-salt incident in high school, he knew she had no reason to open that particular cabinet, thus creating the perfect hiding spot. But Luke was nervous nonetheless and most nights found himself sneaking off into the kitchen to look at her ring one last time before bed. He was like a kid who bought his Mom the perfect Christmas present--he could barely wait the two extra days before he could slip the ring on her finger during their anniversary celebration. But he held strong, slipping the ring back in the bag, under the recipe cards, inside the shoe box--you couldn't be too careful--and back into the cabinet.

Content that his suprise was still safely hidden, Lucas slipped into their bedroom to find his fiancé. He knew she liked to read for a while before falling asleep and he had hoped she was still awake. Unfortunately, though, she had already fallen asleep, with a copy of The Lovely Bones opened on her chest and the latest Rolling Stone issue wedged under her back. Shaking his head as he adjusted the covers she had kicked off, Lucas thought, not for the first time, that she slept like a two year old. He had spent many entertaining nights lying awake watching her toss and turn and listening to her talk in her sleep. (The secret "conversations" she had with Brooke, generally detailing each other's current sex lives, were his favorite snippets to catch.) When he removed the book on her chest his knuckles grazed lightly over her t-shirt-covered belly. His hand clenched into a fist resting tightly on top of her as he remembered watching her grip her stomach and double over in pain a few months ago. Though it turned out the pain was caused by a small kidney stone, he still couldn't shake the fear he felt when she told him the doctor was running some tests. Cancer. Such a scary word. Through all their heartaches and break ups and tears, Luke couldn't remember a bigger fight than the one they had when he discovered she had faced that fear alone.

"You don't always have to save me Lucas." It seemed to Peyton this was the millionth time they had had this particular fight since he caught her hiding in their bedroom, gasping from the now-familiar pains in her stomach.

"And you don't have to do everything by yourself. God, Peyton. You are talking tests for cancer. Even if its nothing, I should have been there."

"You were gone Luke. And Julian had just come to town and--"

"No." Luke was in front of her in a heartbeat, grabbing her arms and pulling her to her toes. "You won't use him. I'm going to be there, Peyton Sawyer. Always. I don't care how many ex-boyfriends are in town. Got it?" With that Luke turned to storm off, furious that she would use Julian and his schedule as an excuse to keep something so huge from him.

"Luke." Peyton's voice was barely a whisper and he couldn't help himself--he turned around. "Luke, don't leave like this. You're right, I should have told you. I shouldn't keep something like this from you. I was scared Luke. The doctor asked about Ellie and…" Luke was immediately back at her side. This time his grip on her arms was gentle as he pulled her to his chest.

"God Peyton. I didn't even think about Ellie. You--"

"Don't yell anymore, Luke, please. The doctor said its probably nothing. He ran a lot of tests. He even ran a pregnancy test." She knew that would distract him and she thought it would be as good a time as any to see what he was thinking about this issue. They had discussed kids--as in children, growing up, sometime in the hazy future--but never babies.

"Are you…?"

"No." Peyton shook her head. "That test came back pretty quick," she said with a rueful grin. "I was kind of hoping that was it. I mean I know we're not ready," Peyton hurried on, "but at least the pain could be for something, right?'

Luke just nodded. He couldn't get the image of Peyton pregnant out of his head. She was right, they probably weren't quite ready. But wasn't it just a fantastic thought?

"You're sure you're not in pain anymore?"

"It comes and it goes." Peyton knew she had to be honest. "But I'm fine right now. There's really no predicting it."

"Ok. So you were hoping you were pregnant?'

"Well, its better than cancer," Peyton leaned back to grin at him. "Oh God." She clamped a hand over her mouth even as she snorted out a laugh, "that sounded awful, didn't it?"

Luke just laughed at her distress. "You know," Luke began circling her to their bedroom, "they say some women take a while to get pregnant. It takes lots and lots of 'practice.'" Peyton wasn't the only one looking for a little distraction. "When we are ready to get pregnant, we want to be sure we can do it right."

"Uh huh." Peyton's arms slipped up from his waist to wrap around his neck. "So this is for the good of our family, right?"

"Exactly." Luke stopped in the middle of the hallway and leaned down to kiss her. Instant heat. Somehow that's what she had always sparked in him. Distance, familiarity, time--nothing seemed to lessen that spark.

Wanting to change the angle of the kiss--'more' was her only thought--Peyton used Luke's shoulders to boost herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She knew how he loved her lean legs wrapped around him and she could feel the effects as he instantly began to harden against her.

"Peyton…" Lucas groaned against her mouth as he swept his hands from her back and down her legs, scraping back up again to slip his fingertips under her shorts. Luke's mouth went dry when he discovered she didn't have any underwear on. This was something she did for convenience, usually when the laundry was backed up, but it never failed to send Luke's pulse racing. Lowering them both to the hallway floor, Luke knew it would be a while before they saw the inside of their bedroom.

Finally breaking from their kiss, Luke's hands rushed to touch her everywhere. Anywhere. God, just to touch. His mouth followed suit, streaking down her neck to trace his tongue over the hollow spot near her collarbone that they both loved so much.

If Peyton could think, she would think that loving Lucas for so long had some pretty sensational benefits. They both knew just what to do to drive the other crazy. Keeping her legs wrapped tight around his waist, Peyton slipped her hands inside the back of his jeans to pull him firmly against her. Luke's mouth continued its downward journey, moving lightly over her breast to grip her tight nipple between his teeth through the fabric of her thin t-shirt. Peyton began to writhe beneath him, using the pressure of her hands and hips to drive them both crazy.

Knowing he could send her over the edge already, Lucas slid one hand into her shorts and pressed his palm between her legs. Leaning up on his free hand, he watched her as he used one finger to lightly stroke her. This kind of light pressure could keep her in ecstasy--or was it agony?--forever, he knew, and he loved to watch her as she took it. "Holy shit Peyton, look at you." Peyton's eyes flew open to meet his gaze. Her hair was spread across the carpet and he knew she bit her lip in that sexy way to keep from crying out. Her shirt had ridden up so that one breast was bare and her legs, those sexy legs, were wrapped around his waist again, trapping his hand between them. "You're so hot baby. And so wet. God."

"Lucas." One word at a time was all Peyton could manage between pants. "Now. More. Please." Understanding Luke began to touch her in earnest, smothering her shouts with a kiss. When he felt her explode beneath his hand he knew the time was perfect to get her started all over again. Unbuttoning his jeans, he allowed Peyton to use her feet and legs to push them partially down. By now they were both impatient and Luke had pushed inside her before his pants were below his knees.

"Oh God." Peyton was already climbing high again. As Luke moved slowly above her, the friction created across her entire body was a delicious thing. Wanting to share some of it, she pulled him close for a kiss and rolled them both over. Now on top, Peyton began to move quickly, showing Lucas no mercy as she whipped them both into a fast and furious orgasm. Her nails dug into his chest as she sought to find purchase somewhere, anywhere. When she felt Lucas begin to tense beneath her she quickened her pace even more and let herself go--this time they moaned each other's names together.

Collapsing on his chest, Peyton smiled when she heard the pounding of Lucas's heart against her ear. In that moment, she thought there could be no greater sound in the world. And although she didn't want to break the contentment of that moment--Lucas certainly seemed distracted--Peyton knew there were things that had to be said. "I love you Lucas. You're right; even if its nothing, I should have told you about the pains right away." Peyton rose up on her elbows to look at him. "But I'm not scared to let you in Luke, I promise. I know you will always be there. I don't want you worried that I think you're going to leave." Lucas frowned because that was exactly what he was worried about. "We're done with all of that, Luke. I know it. I'm not worried about it. I just… It's hard when something scares me. Hard to let someone know."

"I know baby. And I get it." Luke tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "But I'm not just someone. You can tell me when you are scared. You will tell me when you're scared," he corrected. "I want to be scared together. Deal?'

"Yeah. Deal. Now. If you were feeling the need to save me again, I could really use someone to lift me off this floor." Rolling her over so he could hop up, Luke lifted her up and, shrugging, flipped her over his shoulder. When she squealed and began to smack his naked ass Luke replied, "I'm finishing up your punishment--I mean our practice--in the bedroom."

Luke smiled as he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed with Peyton. Placing his hand lightly on her stomach he thanked God, as he had every night since their fight, that Peyton's pains had finally passed . And he yearned for the day that her flat stomach would grow full and round under his hand, pulsing with the life of their child. But he didn't have long to enjoy the reverie. Peyton kicked off the blankets he had just replaced and flipped herself over, belly flopping directly onto Luke's chest. Snuggling in, she tucked her head under his chin, wedged one leg between his, and tucked her hands just past his head and under his pillow. Luke thought how this was one of the few positions where she would stay completely comfortable for a little while. And so, he knew, would he.

It never ceased to amaze him. With Lindsey Luke would lie awake at night, waiting for her to fall asleep so he could gently move her away from him and over to her side of the bed. He convinced himself that he simply wasn't a cuddler; most men weren't, right? Sleeping so close together would make anyone feel claustrophobic. But even then he knew it was a lie. He may have felt trapped with Lindsey but it had nothing to do with her sleeping habits. It wasn't how he was sleeping, but rather who he was sleeping with that didn't feel quite right. Nothing felt quite right without Peyton. Now as his fiancé wrapped herself around him in what he liked to think of as her 'Peyton bow,' Luke settled in to enjoy the comfort of her safely back in his arms.