Touch the Sky (Free Fall Book 1) by Nyrae Dawn, Christina Lee Page B

yesterday. My mom decided to wait to tell me, which feels so strange, like I was an afterthought. Guess I’ve always been to them.”
    I’m rambling but he sits down beside me and zeroes right in, picking out the important pieces. “Your uncle, the pilot? The guy who took you up in his plane?”
    I slouch backward feeling much more relaxed than I have in hours. “Yeah, fuck. See this is why I knew you’d understand.”
    My lip is trembling as my gaze meets his. I feel like a baby for being so emotional. Guess I’m more shocked than anything about my uncle’s death. He seemed so invincible to me, so larger than life.
    “Come here,” Lucas says and pulls me toward him. “Tell me what you need.”
    “Just this. Just you…” I mumble and then cringe at how desperate I sound.
    My head lands on his shoulder and I sniff him. He smells like comfort and calm and home. Goddamn, he smells like home. Not the home I left. No way in hell. But the home I wish he could somehow become.
    But that’s just my emotions talking. That kind of thinking will only hurt later, when Lucas realizes I’m some clingy messed up dude who runs hot and cold and still needs to get his life in order.
    Lucas shifts downward, taking me with him, and now I’m lying on top of him. I feel like I fit perfectly here, hip to hip, chest to chest, in the circle of his arms.
    He reaches for the remote to turn on the television and flips to a comedy, exactly what I need. I sigh and snuggle farther into his warmth as his hand reaches up absently to stroke my hair.
    “I’m sorry about your uncle,” Lucas whispers a minute later.
    When I glance up, his hand traces my cheek, and he hauls me into such a devastatingly tender kiss I’m not sure if my heart can handle it right now.
    “Thank you,” I murmur as our tongues flick lazily against each other once more. “I guess it’s just…he’s the first significant person in my life to die and it feels…I don’t know.”
    Lucas becomes completely motionless as a flash of pain flits through his irises. He’s staring straight through me to the wall. I grasp for his chin, forcing him to look at me.
    “Tell me, Lucas.” I lightly kiss his lips. “I know there’s something else. Please tell me.”
    Our eyes latch for a long moment and then his arms are tugging me closer, wrapping me so tight against him, I can scarcely breathe.
    A whimper bursts from his throat and his mouth is bruising, his tongue slashes past my lips and he’s kissing me like his life depends on it.
    When he drags his mouth away, I see a dusting of tears on his lashes, but I don’t draw attention to it. He’s more closed off than I know him to be and I desperately want him to trust me again. Whenever he’s ready.
    “I will tell you, just not today. Today is about you.” He pecks my temple. “Now lie back down and watch a movie with me.”
----
    I don’t remember falling asleep but Lucas’s arms are lax around my shoulders and my cheek is against his chest, as his heart beats a languid staccato rhythm. I lift my head and see his eyelashes fluttering like he’s lost in a dream and I can’t help watching him.
    Tearing my gaze away and looking toward the window, I notice that it’s already dawn. I’ve got to get my ass home and soon. I can’t miss work today.
    I nestle back into his warmth and give myself five more minutes. Lucas mumbles something and sighs and I can feel his morning wood digging into my stomach.
    It lights a fire in my groin, and suddenly I’m blinded by the idea of tasting him. Right the fuck now.
    I slide lower on the couch and reach for his waist. When I unbutton and unzip his jeans, his hips sway a little in my direction, and damn if he isn’t sexy, even in his sleep. “Luke—”
    “Yes…” he mumbles softly, as he rocks toward me again.
    As I stretch the waistband of his briefs down his hips, I notice that his heavy cock is flushed and hard as a fence post. I didn’t get a good enough look the other