“No.”
“I can go then, right?” I ask and wait for his nod before making my way toward the door.
My new reality doesn’t sink in until I’m standing on the sidewalk outside my probation officer’s door. It’s been the longest four years of my life, but it’s finally over. I don’t have to lurk in the shadows anymore. I’m free, free to see her, touch her.My Annie.
I take out my phone and pull up a rideshare app. I hadn’t wanted to risk leaving my bike on the street in this part of town, so I left it at my buddy’s place. I’m anxious to get back to it so I can find Annie. I won’t have to look for her long, I know where she is. I always know where my girl is.
“Lucas!”
I freeze, then look back at the sidewalk. My eyes find her, and for a moment, I think I’ve conjured her in my head. She steps up to me, and her short frame pushes against me, looping her arms around my neck and sucking all the air out of my lungs. My arms go around her waist instinctively.
My Annie.
I bury my face in her neck, and I greedily inhale against her, recommitting her scent to memory. She smells the same as she did four years ago. She smells of lavender and something else sweet that is so uniquely her.
“Annie,” my voice is rough, as if I’m just learning to speak for the first time.
I pull her tighter against me to assure myself that I’m not dreaming. I’ve been without her touch for so long.
“Annie.” I say again in a reverent whisper.
She is soft, so soft that she radiates comfort. I want to bury myself in her and never let her go. I want to give her everything, so she’s as desperate for me as I am for her.
So that she loves me as much as I love her.
Her soft breasts push against me, sending an ache to my throbbing cock, and I have to lean back a little, so she doesn’t feel my erection.
Her muffled sobs snap me back to the present.
“I missed you so much, Lucas.” Her words only work to fuel the need that is building up in me. She still cares. Even after the time apart, she still wants me.
“I missed you, too,” I say honestly as she pulls back from our embrace. Her wet eyes meet mine, and once again, I am lost in that beautiful green. It’s the first time in so long that I’ve been close enough to Annie to see the color of her eyes.
For the last four years, while I’ve been serving out my probation and those fucking restraining orders have been in place, I’ve had to settle for stalking my best friend, watching her every move. The judge in my case didn’t just sign an order keeping me away from Chase, but one keeping me away from Annie, too. He said he thought my relationship with Annie was unhealthy and tried to send me to California to live with my father. Fortunately, my old man doesn’t give a shit about me, and as soon as my flight landed, I jumped right back on a plane home. I’ve kept up with the terms of my probation, and I’ve kept my distance from Annie, settling for watching her from the shadows. But no more. I don’t have to hide anymore, and it’s time I claimed what’s mine.My Annie.
I lift my fingers and swipe at the tears on her flushed cheeks.
“It’s okay, I’m here now.”
CHAPTER TWO
Anna
Something is different about Lucas.
I mean, I am not naïve enough to believe he’d be the same after spending four years apart, but there’s more to him than just that, and the tattoos covering his arms have nothing to do with it.
Speaking of tattoos, I lick my lips and avoid looking my best friend in the eye. Tattoos run the length of both arms, and I can see bits of them peeking from the collar of his shirt. Speaking of his arms, I don’t remember him being this muscular. Lucas was always strong, but he’s even bigger than he was in high school. Everything about my best friend is more intense than I remember.
“What are you doing here, Annie?” Lucas asks, interrupting my perusal of his body.
“My dad told me about your probation ending today.” I reply.
Over the past four years, my dad has been my only source of information about Lucas. Despite the restraining order keeping him away from me, Lucas has continued to stay in touch with my dad. No matter how much I’d beg for any scrap of information about Lucas, my father always refused to tell me anything. So, I was surprised when he volunteered the information about Lucas’s appointment with his probation officer today.
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Lucas says stubbornly.
I grab his hands, but I get distracted by how big and warm they are against mine. The roughness I’d felt in them when they’d held me moments ago sends a damp sensation between my thighs as I think of how they’d feel against my body.