Unbound Read Free Page B

in the morning and Lucas was staying home.  A single parent also raised him but going to college out of state wasn’t an option for him.  He would attend community college and continue to work in order to help his mom with his two little brothers.  Dani wouldn’t see him again until Thanksgiving.
    He drew little circular patterns all over her face as if trying to memorize every pore.  She began to place little wet kisses on his chin and down his neck.  He shuttered with anticipation. Chills ran down her spine with every tender stroke of his fingers over her skin.
    They had never been this close to the edge before and just when she tried to push him beyond the point of no return, he rolled her over and pinned her arms above her head.
    “I can’t do this," he panted.  “Not this way. Not outside in my truck.  You deserve better than this, Danielle.”  A tear escaped his lashes and landed on her face.  She cleared her throat and tried to pretend she hadn’t seen the pained emotion he was fighting.
    “Lucas, all I want is you.  Nothing else matters.  Please let me love you, ” she pleaded in a whisper.
    “No.  Don’t you see?  The first time can’t be like this.  It feels too much like goodbye.  I want you so bad but I won’t rush you into this because you’re trying to prove your love before you leave me.”
    Feeling embarrassed and rejected, she wrestled to reclaim her arms and push him off.  She struggled to unzip the sleeping bag.  Mostly naked, she scrambled for her clothes as the tears began to flow.  Why did he always do this?
    What is so wrong with her that he didn’t want to make love to her?  There’s always an excuse.  She wished he would just be honest and say he didn’t want her.
    “Dani, please stop and talk to me.  Don’t be angry.  I just want the best for you, baby.”  He pleaded as she continued to search for her shoes.  She was pissed.  How could he ruin this for them?
    “Damn it, Lucas!  We’ve waited four years.” She said each word slowly.  “We always get so close and you stop.  Did you ever think I might need you to show me your love?”  Her heartbeat pounded in her head as she stood there topless in the lace panties she’d bought for the occasion and glared at Lucas. She realized distantly that this was a first time he’d seen her quite so bare.  Lucas stared slack jawed and something suddenly came over Dani.  She didn’t care what he thought any longer.  She was going to take what she wanted and she wanted Lucas.
    She slid her underwear over her hips and let them fall to her feet.  Lucas watched the scrap of black lace as if mesmerized.  Dani climbed onto his lap looking deeply into his eyes.
    “Don’t you want me Lucas?”
    He didn’t answer.  Still staring at her, his eyes glazed over and she started hungrily kissing him, trying to make him feel her need for him, her love for him through the kiss.  His hands moved hotly over her body while she licked down his neck.  She began to feel strange, as if the world had somehow shifted.  Suddenly her vision was very sharp and the night seemed brighter.  Every beat of his heart was too loud and the heat pouring off him made her…hungry.  Dani’s head started to spin.  This was not the sweet, heavy petting of their past.  This was hot and the feelings he aroused in her body were overwhelming.  She pulled his shirt off, continuing to bathe him with her tongue.
    Warmth spread through her body and suddenly odd pictures began to flash through her mind.  Were they memories?  They weren’t her memories but they were memories of her from the outside.  She was so excited and confused all at once.  She saw herself the first day of high school, homecoming dances, the prom, playing in the snow with Lucas’s brothers, walking across the stage at graduation.  It just kept coming.  They were Lucas’s memories, only that couldn’t really be her.  This girl looked just like her down to the