Page 165 of Love Unspoken

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "You're doing this to arouse me and make me lose control, aren't you?"

I pulled back and gave him my most innocent look. "No. I'm genuinely curious." I paused and winked at him. "The losing control part is a side benefit."

He sipped his wine, his eyes never leaving mine. "I'd love to fuck you in public sometime where we're worried someone would catch us. Like…in the bathroom of a restaurant."

I swallowed.

"Or in your office at the college or mine. We'd have to be very quiet. You get noisy, so," he dropped his voice and leaned closer, "you'll have to be silent when I'm inside you. I'll slide a finger inside your ass, the way you like it, and pound into you."

Okay, so he was better at this than I was. I was being playful, and he just took it for a spin around the room.

Thankfully, the waiter showed up to take our orders.

"I've missed this," he told me. "Just being with you, talking."

"Without arguing," I agreed. "Or being angry or hurt or guilty."

He chuckled softly, a sound that sent a little thrill through me. "But we are horny."

"Speak for yourself." I raised an eyebrow, fighting a smile.

"Tesoro, I can smell how wet you are, and if I slipped a hand up your silky thighs and touched your pussy," he crooned, leaning back in his chair, his expression heated, "you'd come in seconds."

He was right about that. To cool myself down, I drank some water.

"We're driving each other a little nuts, aren't we?"

"Yeah, baby, we are, and it feels damn good…even if it is frustrating, and my hand is getting tired of jacking me off while I think of you on your knees."

The waiter brought our food: pumpkin ravioli with shaved truffles for me and pasta vongole for Lucas.

"So, tell me," I shifted gears, "what's your honest take on how the focus group went today?"

"You think I wasn't being honest when I said how amazing you were?" he shot back.

"I believe you. My question is centered around what you thought about the content of our discussion."

"The doctors had a lot of valuable insights, stuff that I haven't ever given much consideration to. Opened my eyes to the difficulties and challenges that they face on a daily basis, making it harder for them to take care of their patients."

"I agree. Based on the next two focus groups and the qualitative research we do, I think we'll be ready to run a survey next month," I told him. "Then we'll have all the data we need to start analyzing, which you know is my favorite part."

"I love how passionate you are about your work. It's one of the things I've always admired about you—you care so much about what you do. It's inspiring."

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, but I kept my tone light. "Thanks, Lucas. It means a lot to hear you say that."

Our conversation flowed easily, moving from work to lighter topics—funny stories about our colleagues and little anecdotes from our day-to-day lives. There was no tension, no undercurrent of unresolved issues. It was just…us—not like we used to be, but…better. Much better!

Lucas told me about a project he was working on at LPC—a new initiative to introduce sustainable practices to some of their older operations.

His eyes lit up as he spoke, the passion in his voice reminding me of the man I'd fallen for, the one who could make even the most mundane topic sound fascinating.

"That sounds incredible." I was genuinely impressed. "I know sustainability has not been top of mind for you before."

"I know," he admitted. "But I was working to grow the company and didn't want to deal with the green agenda, so to speak. Now, I wish I'd started earlier. Our sustainability initiatives are going to only benefit the company."

"I'm proud of you, Lucas; I always have been."

He smiled a little sheepishly, and I realized how much I'd missed this—seeing him like this, open and genuine, without the walls we'd both put up over the past few months.