Read Online Caress Part Two (Arcadia) by Josie Litton - Free Book Online
Authors: Josie Litton
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the usual wide-eyed fascination.
“How do you know so much about what kids are reading?” I
asked as we walked away finally with a small shopping bag holding several
titles.
“I’ve got a niece and nephew, twins, just turned four.
They’re crazy about books.” A smile lit his face. “About most things actually
but they’re learning to read and I like to encourage them.”
I tried to imagine Lucas catering to the wishes of two
four-year-olds and discovered that it wasn’t hard to do so. For all his
domineering manner, I’d seen a tenderer side of him. I thought of our
breakfasts on the terrace and caught myself smiling.
“So you and Caroline have a sibling?” It wasn’t totally
impossible that the vibrant young woman I had met could have become a mother to
twins while still in her teens but I thought that extremely unlikely.
Lucas hesitated. Finally, he said, “My younger brother,
Jared, is the middle child but he’s not the twins’ father. That would be our
half-brother, Adam. My father was married once before, briefly. Adam was the
result. He’s a great guy.”
I thought of how much I missed my own brother and nodded.
“It’s wonderful that you were able to grow up knowing each other.”
“Actually, we didn’t,” Lucas said. “Adam didn’t want
anything to do with our father.”
He was silent for a moment before he added, “If they had
ever reconciled, it’s likely that the business would have gone to Adam. He’s
four years older than I am, got through Harvard on scholarships and grit, and
runs a very successful construction company.”
Was he really saying that he had been his father’s second
choice and he accepted that without resentment? If that was the case, I
wondered if his success was due in some measure to his determination to prove
his own worthiness.
That sudden insight into the nature of the man who I could
no longer deny fascinated me was followed quickly by another: I struggled to
live down my father’s reputation. Lucas, on the other hand, had not only lived
up to his but had far surpassed him. Yet for all the differences in our experiences,
both of our lives had been shaped by our relationships with our fathers.
“Do you think your half-brother regrets not inheriting the business?”
I asked.
It wasn’t the most discrete question but I wanted to know
more about the dynamics of Lucas’ family, if only for the insights they might
provide into the man himself.
“That’s not Adam’s style,” he said. “He loves ribbing me
about how I’m stuck in an office all day while he gets to roam around
construction sites. He sent me a selfie a few weeks ago of him at the controls
of a kick ass crane on the fiftieth floor of a building he’s putting up right
now. Bastard knew how envious I’d be.”
“Well, sure, who wouldn’t be envious of somebody with his
own crane? That’s like having a giant Erector set.”
Lucas stopped walking again. He stared at me with amusement
and something more—a hot, dark something that made my heartbeat race.
“Really? A giant one?”
I shot him a chiding look as the penny dropped. “What are
you, fourteen?”
He laughed and said, “I’ll tell you a secret, sweetheart. Inside
every guy, there’s still a fourteen year old. Mine wants to know if you were
one of those girls who wished she could have an Erector set of her very own?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake—”
He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I was gone, laughing right
along with him. When I finally caught my breath, I said, “I’ll have you know
that I had lots of Erector sets. They were among my favorite toys.”
Lucas’ smile faded. He put a hand on my waist and drew me to
him. Standing right there in the middle of the sidewalk with the crowd of
booklovers all around us, he gently rocked his hips against me, just enough so
that I felt his hardening erection.
“Dare I hope that you might still feel the same way?” he
asked.
I inhaled sharply, fighting the urge
“How do you know so much about what kids are reading?” I
asked as we walked away finally with a small shopping bag holding several
titles.
“I’ve got a niece and nephew, twins, just turned four.
They’re crazy about books.” A smile lit his face. “About most things actually
but they’re learning to read and I like to encourage them.”
I tried to imagine Lucas catering to the wishes of two
four-year-olds and discovered that it wasn’t hard to do so. For all his
domineering manner, I’d seen a tenderer side of him. I thought of our
breakfasts on the terrace and caught myself smiling.
“So you and Caroline have a sibling?” It wasn’t totally
impossible that the vibrant young woman I had met could have become a mother to
twins while still in her teens but I thought that extremely unlikely.
Lucas hesitated. Finally, he said, “My younger brother,
Jared, is the middle child but he’s not the twins’ father. That would be our
half-brother, Adam. My father was married once before, briefly. Adam was the
result. He’s a great guy.”
I thought of how much I missed my own brother and nodded.
“It’s wonderful that you were able to grow up knowing each other.”
“Actually, we didn’t,” Lucas said. “Adam didn’t want
anything to do with our father.”
He was silent for a moment before he added, “If they had
ever reconciled, it’s likely that the business would have gone to Adam. He’s
four years older than I am, got through Harvard on scholarships and grit, and
runs a very successful construction company.”
Was he really saying that he had been his father’s second
choice and he accepted that without resentment? If that was the case, I
wondered if his success was due in some measure to his determination to prove
his own worthiness.
That sudden insight into the nature of the man who I could
no longer deny fascinated me was followed quickly by another: I struggled to
live down my father’s reputation. Lucas, on the other hand, had not only lived
up to his but had far surpassed him. Yet for all the differences in our experiences,
both of our lives had been shaped by our relationships with our fathers.
“Do you think your half-brother regrets not inheriting the business?”
I asked.
It wasn’t the most discrete question but I wanted to know
more about the dynamics of Lucas’ family, if only for the insights they might
provide into the man himself.
“That’s not Adam’s style,” he said. “He loves ribbing me
about how I’m stuck in an office all day while he gets to roam around
construction sites. He sent me a selfie a few weeks ago of him at the controls
of a kick ass crane on the fiftieth floor of a building he’s putting up right
now. Bastard knew how envious I’d be.”
“Well, sure, who wouldn’t be envious of somebody with his
own crane? That’s like having a giant Erector set.”
Lucas stopped walking again. He stared at me with amusement
and something more—a hot, dark something that made my heartbeat race.
“Really? A giant one?”
I shot him a chiding look as the penny dropped. “What are
you, fourteen?”
He laughed and said, “I’ll tell you a secret, sweetheart. Inside
every guy, there’s still a fourteen year old. Mine wants to know if you were
one of those girls who wished she could have an Erector set of her very own?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake—”
He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I was gone, laughing right
along with him. When I finally caught my breath, I said, “I’ll have you know
that I had lots of Erector sets. They were among my favorite toys.”
Lucas’ smile faded. He put a hand on my waist and drew me to
him. Standing right there in the middle of the sidewalk with the crowd of
booklovers all around us, he gently rocked his hips against me, just enough so
that I felt his hardening erection.
“Dare I hope that you might still feel the same way?” he
asked.
I inhaled sharply, fighting the urge
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