I made it halfway back up the stairs before pivoting and heading down them again. I argued with myself back and forth until I felt completely mentally exhausted. I finally stopped moving and sat down on a stair.
“Well, hell.” I’d been sitting there for a little while before Elizabeth passed me. “Don’t you look utterly confused. What’s wrong?”
I frowned. It hadn’t been that long ago that I was an asshole to Elizabeth. She’d been the reason that control of the ranch went to Alex. It seemed now that, if Dad’s will was still in force, I was the rightful heir. I had the first child. The ranch was technically mine. I wasn’t as excited as I thought I would be in that moment, though. I had a son to raise. A scared, scarred son. Hell, I had a son I didn’t even know. A son who didn’t know me. I needed to spend a lot of one-on-one time with him, if the way he clung to Sammie was any indication. Sammie. Could Mason let her go? Is there any way we could keep her?
“Earth to Lucas?” Elizabeth waved her hand in front of my face. “You in there?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sorry. How is she?”
“Sammie? She’s fine. Seems a little weary right now. I like her. Do you?”
A growl escaped my chest.
“I’ll take that as a yes. She should be out of the shower soon. Good luck, Lucas.”
I waited a few minutes and then headed up to Sammie’s room. My chest tightened and I realized I was desperately nervous. It was pathetic, but I was terrified to screw this up by saying or doing the wrong thing. I knocked on the door and leaned closer so I could listen for a reply.
I heard soft, muffled cries from her side of the door and I didn’t think twice about pushing it open and letting myself into the room. Something was wrong.
The sounds grew louder near the bathroom and I rushed in. She was huddled in the corner of the shower, sobbing. My heart twisted and I ran to her.
Sammie gasped when she saw me and tried to cover herself, but I just grabbed her and pulled her into my chest so I could wrap her in my arms and hold her. She struggled feebly at first, but I rested my chin on her head and held her tighter.
“It’s okay. Just let me hold you.”
She instantly went lax and slumped into my body. I could hear how hard her heart was beating and she shook as I held her.
“I’ve got you, Sammie.” I stroked her hair and back, forcing myself to ignore all the bare skin and soft curves pressed against me. I just wanted to take away her pain, help her get through, make it okay.
Water saturated my clothes, but I didn’t care. I held her until her tears quieted and then she stiffened against me once more. I pulled back slightly and looked down at her face. “Better?”
Her cheeks were flaming red. “I’m naked.”
I groaned. “Don’t remind me. I didn’t come in here to sneak a peek, sweetheart. I heard you crying. You okay now?”
She snaked her arms around my waist and gently moved her hands over my back. “You’re soaked.”
I nodded. “I’m fine. Are you okay?”
She rested her forehead against my chest and shivered against me. “Not really. I don’t want to think about it, Lucas.”
I couldn’t have missed the sudden change in her demeanor if I’d been blind, deaf, and completely stupid. Her body squirmed against mine. Her thighs rubbed together and then her hands slowly edged to the front of my body running up under my shirt. She lifted it until she could pull it off.
When she backed away, her naked body was completely on display for me. Her breasts were full with tight rosy-pink nipples, her soft stomach let down to a small patch of brown curls. I was already hard, but I felt myself growing even harder when the scent of her arousal reached my nostrils.
Sammie’s knuckles brushed my lower abdomen as she unbuttoned my jeans. “Help take my mind off of it.”
CHAPTER 7: Sammie
I hadn’t meant to cry. One thought had led to another and the next thing I knew, I was falling apart like a blubbering fool in the shower. I would’ve gathered myself eventually. But, then Lucas barged in and took me in his arms, and in that moment everything about him soothed and comforted me. Until it didn’t. I hadn’t meant to beg him to screw me like a love-starved harlot.
Lucas gently lifted my face so I was looking at him. “I can distract you in other ways. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“You don’t want to?” Had I misread the situation?
“Of course I do; I just want you to be sure.”
I was sure. There was something about the man that had me yearning for him more than I could ever remember wanting anyone or anything else.