The tape job wasn't particularly neat and definitely wasn't pretty, but Lucas didn't care. It would do the job. They'd stretched a double layer of plastic as tight as they could. If the wind blew hard enough, the plastic might run against the remaining broken glass but it would take a while before the glass cut through the layers.
The repair only had to last until morning. Lucas thought it would. While he applied an extra layer of tape all the way around, she mopped up the water. The rain had started up again while they were covering the window and she looked as if she'd taken a shower with her clothes on.
He probably looked the same.
He kept glancing over at her as she worked. They'd moved the lantern onto the floor so she could see where she needed to mop, and the light allowed him to do some unobtrusive ogling. Every time she gave the handle a firm twist to wring out the mop, her breasts quivered under her wet shirt. The shirt didn't disguise much. Either she was chilly or aroused.
She wrung more water into the bucket and looked over at him. "Are you finished?"
"Not quite. Why?"
"You're just standing there holding a roll of tape."
"Distracted by the view." And getting harder by the second.
"Watching a woman mop a floor tunes you on?"
"It does if her shirt is wet enough."
She glanced down. "Oh." She pulled the material away from her breasts with her free hand. "Didn't mean to give you a show."
"And here I was hoping you'd intended to."
Holding his gaze, she let go of the material and allowed it to cling to her breasts. Her fully visable nipples tightened. "I didn't think of it, but better late than never."
His jeans grew uncomfortably tight. "That shirt must feel clammy against your skin." Her velvet soft skink that blushed pink when he made love to her.
"It does."
"You could take it off."
"You said you weren't finished."
"Turns out I am." He tossed the tape to the floor. "How about you?"
Her green eyes took on a devilish gleam. "I'll need at least another ten minutes, maybe fifteen."
"Wrong answer." He closed the distance between them, took the mop away and sent it clattering to the floor. "Finished."
When he swept her up into his arms, her boots fell off her feet but somehow he avoided tripping over them as he turned toward the bed. "I promised you dry sheets. Is that a deal breaker?"
"Sure isn't." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Takes too much time and I'm already wet."
"Is that a fact?" He was dizzy from wanting her. Carrying her to the foot of the bed, he laid her on the damp coverlet and followed her down. "Where would you be wet, exactly?"
Her voice was low and silky. "Everywhere, baby. Everywhere."
Ah, there was the sexy girl he remembered. "I might need to check out your story."
Her saucy smile taunted him. "Please do."
With a deep groan, he took possession of her mouth while reaching under the hem of her soaked shirt so he could unbutton her pants. Only there was no button. Hallelujah, nothing barred his way except a drawstring.
"Love the drawstring concept."
"Allows for expansion."
"Allows me easy access."
"Wasn't a factor." She helped him by wiggling out of her undies and pants.
"Is now." Sliding his hand between her satiny thighs, he sought the heat he knew would be waiting for him.
"Sure enough, you're wet everywhere"
She gasped as he began stroking her. During their relationship he'd discovered this was the quickest way to give her pleasure so he took the shortcut because he longed to hear her cry of surrender. In seconds she arched off the bed, her eyes dark with passion and his name on her lips.
As she lay dazed and panting in the aftermath of her climax, he pushed away from the bed so he could nudge off his boots and strip off his cloths. He felt as though he'd forgotten something as he helped her out of her shirt and bra and scooted her farther up the mattress. It wasn't until he leaned over her, his knees nudging her thighs apart and his heart pounding like a drum that he remembered what it was.
On some level he'd known why this night would be different but the implication hadn't fully registered until now. As he slowly eased into her warm channel, he closed his eyes and shuddered in anticipation.
She cupped his face in both hands. "What is it? Why are you shaking?"
"You're pregnant." He gazed into her flushed face.
"Lucas, you won't hurt the baby."
"I know. But I've never made love without a condom. I'm shaking because this feels amazing."
She stroked his cheekbones with her thumbs. "I predict you'll like this experience."
"I predict I'll love it." Pulling back, he thrust deep and moaned. "I'm definitely gonna love it."
Her fingertips pressed into his glutes. "I'm pretty happy about it, too, especially if you'll move a little."
Leaning down, he brushed his mouth over hers. "I plan to move a lot." He initiated a slow rhythm and groaned in delight. "And I thought we had fun in high school."
"We did."
"But this is better. Way better." He nibbled on her bottom lip. "Thank you, Brooke. Thank you for letting me make love to you tonight." He shifted his angle so he could reach her G spot.
She gulped in air. "You're very….persuasive."
"And you're the sexiest woman I've ever known." He increased the pace.
"Mmmm-hmmm." Her breathing grew shallow.
"Cum for me, Brooke." He braced himself on his forearms so he could watch as desire claimed her. Her second climax was usually more powerful than her first. "Show me the fire. Show me what you've got."
"Lucas…." She began to pant.
Now it wasn't just her fingertips pressing into his glutes. He could feel her nails. "That's it, baby. Go for it." He moved faster now and the friction was sweet, so sweet. She'd been responsive before, but now he sensed an untapped depth of passion rising within her.
"Lucas!" Her body bowed under him as her plunged into her again and again, coaxing more wild cries from her as she flung herself into the fire. Her energetic release triggered his.
The force of it shot from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, wringing a strangled cry of triumph from him. Gasping, he managed to keep from collapsing onto her as his bran slowly stopped spinning and his surroundings came back into focus.
He looked down to see how she was doing and she was staring right back at him.
Her lips formed the word wow but no sound came out.
He smiled. "You can say that again."
She mouthed the word again and laughed. "I wonder if pregnant ladies have more fun."
"Looks like it to me."
"And I'm starving."
"I'll bet you are. I'm hungry and I'm not even the pregnant person in this bed."
"We can't eat the mac and cheese. No way it finished cooking before the power went out." She reached up and patted his cheek. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted me to taste it."
"Yeah, well, given the choice. I can't get upset about how the evening turned out."
"Me, either."
He leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. Then he cocked his head, listening. "Sounds like the rain's stopped, so here's an idea. When I found the lantern I also saw a camp stove. We could make some scrambled eggs. Will that work?"
"You're planning to fire up that stove in the kitchen?"
"Nope. In the yard. You can sit on the porch steps while I impress you with my superior camp stove cooking skills."
"That sounds fabulous expect for the current state of my clothes."
"I love the current state of your clothes."
"Wrinkled and wet?"
"Gone." He flattened his palms on the mattress and pushed back so he could get a better look. His breath hissed out in appreciation.
"I'm not sitting on the porch like this, Lucas Scott. Or naked and wearing your boots."
"No, you're not. I'll get a blanket for you to wrap yourself in while we shake out you cloths and put them on hangers to dry."
"But I probable can't wear them when I go back to Haley's."
He gazed into her eyes. "You could, stay." But he could see from the way she was looking at him that wasn't an option. "You don't want to?"
"Not tonight. I'm a guest and besides, it's… it's too much, too fast."
She was probably right, but that didn't stop him from wishing she'd said yes. "Okay. After diner I'll drive you back to Haley's."
"Thank you, Lucas."
"You're welcome. Maybe over dinner we can come up with a name for the baby." He left her warmth reluctantly and climbed out on the far side of the bed to avoid slivers of glass.
"We don't have to decide tonight."
"I know, but it's fun to talk about." He turned back to her ad almost lost his place in the conversations. Seeing her lying there in the lantern light, all rosy from what they'd done together, gave him a real high. "Don't get up. Let me bring you the blanket and the boots."
If he could make a video of that, he wouldn't ask for anything more. Well, not true. A video wasn't much compared to having the actual woman in his bed.
He brought the boots to her and began gathering up her clothes. They managed to get everything on hangers with several kisses and fondling incidents thrown in.
Finally they made it to the porch, stopping for a towel and the stove along the way. She put down the lantern. "I'll wipe off the steps while you get the stove ready."
Although he had the urge to do everything for her he realized they'd have food sooner if they if they shared the chores. "Thanks." He gave her the towel.
"You bet. The pioneer women did their part, and with the power outage I'm feeling sort of pioneer-ish."
"Okay pioneer woman. Are you okay in the dark if I take the lantern with me to the kitchen?"
"Absolutely. It's nice out here now that the clouds have cleared away. I'll look at the starts and listen to the crickets. In fact, would you bring my phone when you come back out? I have this constellation app."
"Sure."
"This is a great setup, Luke. I'm glad you suggested it."
"Me, too. Be right back." He made short work of chopping up the potatoes and whisking the eggs. He stuck a bottle of beer in one back pocket and bottle of root beer in the other before carrying everything outside. Knowing she was naked under the dark green blanket, he'd have to be careful he didn't light himself on fire while cooking over the camp stove. He hadn't worked with one in years.
He handed over her phone and the root beer. After opening his beer and taking a quick swallow, he got to work on dinner.
"You look proficient at that."
He glanced up and discovered her watching him, the bottle of root beer dangling between her fingers. He would rather be kissing her than stirring eggs, but she needed food more than she needed kisses. "It's been a while, but it's coming back to me." He returned his attention to the stove before she took another sip of her drink. He'd have the urge to lick any stray drops from her mouth and after that, dinner would become a casualty of his lust.
"Is it like riding a bike?"
He chuckled. 'Sort of. When I was a kid, Keith would take me and the guys for camping trips. We'd hike and fish, and cook dinner on a camp stove."
"You miss him, huh?"
"Yeah." But he never truly let the nostalgia overtake him.
Well maybe you can take our daughter camping one day."
That comment made his day. This morning he'd been afraid being in her life was impossible. Tonight he'd opened a crack in the wall she'd built around herself and the baby. He'd work on making it winder.