Read Online Beach Lane by Melissa de La Cruz - Free Book Online Page B

Luke splayed himself spread-eagle on top of the goose-down comforter. Jacqui curled up next to him. He tossed an arm around her and she snuggled on his chest. She listened to him breathe, happy to be so close to him again.
    “I remember this,” he said, tracing a finger on her cheek.
    Soon she felt his hand move down toward her breast, cupping it over her shirt, then slowly inch its way down underneath the neckline. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and his fingers were cold on her skin.
    “Oh . . . Luca,” she said, turning to kiss him fully on the mouth.
    He pulled her up on him, holding her close so she could feel him getting excited.
    They kissed, slobbering with open mouths, so quickly andurgently that Jacqui could barely catch her breath. All the while Luke tugged at her top. Finally he pulled it over her head and threw it to the corner of the room.
    She realized she was trembling a little—she’d missed him so much. It was everything she ever wanted and everything she had been yearning for when he left her in São Paolo.
    She sat up, looking down on him. They held hands and stared at each other.
    A trick of the moonlight lit up a photograph on his nightstand.
    It was her Luca, smiling, with his arm around a girl.
    Huh?
    Jacqui stopped and released his hands. He reached up to touch her face, but she pushed his hand away. “Who’s that?” she asked, pointing.
    He craned his neck to see what she was talking about.
    “Oh. Nobody.” He shrugged, gently laying the photo down. “Just someone I knew before I met you.”
    Jacqui felt a little better. But somehow the moment had passed. She rolled off him and slid underneath the sheets.
    He joined her, spooning her so that her back was pressed against his chest. He began to kiss between her shoulder blades, her most sensitive part. His hand awkwardly unbuttoned her fly. His fingers reached south.
    “Not tonight. Okay, baby?” Jacqui asked, grasping his hand right above her waist.
    “Uhmmmm?” Luke asked sleepily. “Are you sure?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Mm-kay.”
    They were quiet for a moment, and Jacqui listened to his soft breathing.
    “Luca? I love you,” she whispered. It was something they never had time to say to each other during their two weeks in São Paolo.
    But Luke was already snoring.

eliza is red, white, and definitely blue
    “ELIZA—WE’RE GOING . . .,” SUGAR CALLED OVER, interrupting the conversation. She stood outside the circle, tapping a kitten heel.
    “We’ll meet you out front,” Poppy said, ignoring the fawning looks from the throng. The sisters stalked off, fully aware that all eyes were on their perfectly sculpted backsides.
    “Sorry, guys. See y’all later?” Eliza asked.
    “Where are you staying?” Lindsay asked, miming a phone call.
    “My uncle’s place—uh, in Sagaponack. He’s not listed—but don’t worry, I’ll be in touch,” Eliza said, putting down her drink. “Sugar! Poppy! Wait up!”
    She ran after them, catching up just as the twins stopped to pose for the paparazzi stationed outside the entrance. She waited hesitantly just out of flashbulb range.
    “Hey—how ’bout one with your friend?” a photographer asked, noticing Eliza and shooing her into the picture. Eliza found herself wedged between the twins, giving them apologetic smiles.
    “Beautiful! Three of a kind!” The photographers wolf-whistled their approval.
    “That’s enough,” Poppy decided when the valet pulled up with their Mercedes SUV. He held open the door and handed her a ticket stub. “Oh no . . . I left my wallet at home,” she said patting her purse and looking around expectantly.
    “Don’t look at me,” Sugar said. “You know I never carry cash.”
    “Here, I got it,” Eliza offered, rooting in her Louis Vuitton Epi pouchette. “How much?”
    “Forty dollars, miss.”
    Holy . . . That was, like, half a day’s salary. Eliza paid the parking fee while Poppy slid behind the wheel.
    “Shotgun,” Sugar called.
    The girls piled