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 Pfft. Leo shook his head and looked to Maddy.  Can you believe him? Then he
looked back at Evan.  I m secure enough in my masculinity to admit when another man
is hot. That s that. Now go get me another glass of that wicked champagne if you re not
going to entertain me by hitting on the patrons.
Evan laughed and walked to the bar, shaking his head. Coming home had been a
good idea, and it seemed Lucas really was the push he needed to find his self-
forgiveness. Even though Lucas was still MIA.
118 L. C. Chase
He glanced at his watch while waiting for the bartender to fill their drink order.
Ten thirty. The reception ended at eleven o clock, and Lucas was still a no-show. He
sighed. Let it go, Evan. Maybe he should go chat up that guy his brother had pointed
out. Except that he looked too much like Lucas, and Evan couldn t go there. No more
blonds.
What had he expected anyway? He and Lucas were strangers who d connected for
just a few days in time. Yes, the connection had been amazingly strong, though under
unusual circumstances. Of course it was understandable that they d developed a pretty
solid bond, what with almost being sliced and diced by an escaped lunatic. But that was
it. He should be grateful he d had that time at all. The only contact he d had with Lucas
since had been, well& an e-mail.
* * * *
The opening exhibit had been a big success all around, and Evan kept up a solid
front while he drove Leo and Maddy home, but the second he was alone, he let the
disappointment wash over him.
Leo was right. He had to put Lucas behind him and get on with his life. There
were plenty of men out there. But only one Lucas Briscoe, a traitorous voice whispered in
the back of his mind.
Evan turned the corner onto his street, and a shiver that had nothing to do with
the temperature trickled down his spine. Sitting in his driveway was a black late-model
Chevy Tahoe with tinted windows and black utility rims. The kind of vehicle secret
agents or mobsters or officers of the federal government would drive.
Hope spread throughout his body in a warm rush. Could it really be?
Evan s headlights splashed across the yard, alighting briefly on a figure standing
on his front porch, as he pulled in behind the SUV. He sat there for a moment to try to
collect his racing heart. Then he slowly unfolded from the car, walked toward the
house, and stopped just before the steps that led up to the landing.
Riding with Heaven 119
Leaning against the post was a man named Heaven. But Evan could only stand
there and stare, his heart beating a rapid staccato in his chest and in his eardrums.
Lucas was really here. At his house. And good God, the man looked even better than he
did the first time they met.
 Hey, Lucas said, his voice low and husky.
 Hey.
Lucas pushed off from the post and stepped down to stand right in front of Evan,
leaving only a sliver of space to separate them. He cupped his hand around the back of
Evan s head and pulled him in for a kiss. Evan s entire body melted into Lucas at that
first touch. He wrapped his arms around Lucas and reveled under the slide of lips in a
kiss that didn t just speak of beginnings it screamed at the top of its lungs.
And the last four months disappeared.
Just as Evan felt like his body had begun to levitate, Lucas broke the kiss and
gazed into his eyes.  I m sorry, Evan.
Evan furrowed his brow.  Sorry about what?
 I haven t been on a case all this time. Lucas ran a hand through his hair and
flashed Evan an oddly unsure look.
 So you have been avoiding me all this time. It pinched inside to think that, but&
 The way you just kissed me 
 You were the best thing I d come across in years, Evan. I didn t want to let you
go, but I couldn t keep you. I had no choice. There was half a country between us, our
lives are so different, and I couldn t do it. I couldn t only hear your voice and not see
you, touch you. I couldn t touch you only on stolen weekends here and there. It would
never have been enough. I needed all of you or none.
 But I m back. I live here now.
Lucas nodded.  I know.
 Why didn t you call or come to the gallery?
120 L. C. Chase
 I actually was working this week. I wanted to see your show, but I knew the
moment I saw you again, I wouldn t be able to keep my hands off of you.
 Which would be bad because?
 Public.
Evan s eyebrows shot up.  We had sex in a rest-stop bathroom!
A sly smile stretched Lucas s mouth at the memory, and a wave of heat crashed
over Evan.  But sex on the gallery floor during an opening exhibit would be taking it
just a bit too far.
The image came to life in Evan s mind, and suddenly he wondered what they
were doing on the front porch talking when all he wanted was to feel Lucas again. In
every way.
 We have some talking to do.
The smile slipped from Lucas s face, and he looked down.
 But first I need your hands on me, Evan said. His voice was hoarse with desire.
 Everywhere.
Lucas moaned deep in his chest and pulled Evan to him, their bodies flush, and
claimed his mouth in a desperate, messy kiss that made Evan s very bones shudder.
Yes, this. This was what he needed. Teeth bumped, and tongues twined, and gasping
breaths escaped in shallow bursts. Lucas s hands were everywhere on Evan s body,
tugging at his shirt and sliding over the cool, sensitive skin on his back.
Then Lucas spun around with Evan in his arms, clumsily guided Evan backward
and up the three porch steps, and then they slammed up against the front door. He
broke the kiss just long enough to rasp,  Open it, but he didn t loosen his hold on Evan
and instead kept pulling at his clothes, tugging at his tie until he finally managed to
divest it and carelessly let it fall to the porch floorboards.
Riding with Heaven 121
 Lucas&  Evan moaned as Lucas unbuttoned Evan s vest and slid it over his
shoulders. Lucas rocked his hips into Evan s, trapping the vest between Evan and the
door. The hard length of Lucas s erection pressed against his thigh.  Stop.
 Never.
 Stop so I can open oh God the door.
 Kick it down.
Evan laughed.  Hold on, Lethal Weapon.
Lucas groaned a loud complaint, dropped his hands to Evan s hips and his
forehead to Evan s shoulder, and panted like he d just run a balls-out five-mile sprint.
Evan fumbled with the lock for a minute, trying to open it at the odd angle his
back to the door while Lucas chanted  Hurry, hurry, hurry over and over and
continued rocking his hips.
The second the lock clicked over, Lucas shoved Evan across the threshold, kicked
the door shut with his boot, and pushed Evan up against the closest wall. They bumped
into an entry table, sending keys and whatever else clattering to the floor.
 Sorry, he mumbled, barely breaking the fevered kiss.  I need you, Evan. I gotta
have you right now.
Lucas s hands shook as he fumbled and fought with Evan s to undo the buttons of
Evan s shirt. Impatient, Lucas gave it one hard yank, and the remaining buttons
snapped off and pinged across the marble tiles. He roughly yanked the torn material off [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]