Chapter 80
As their kisses grew more heated, Lucky rolled onto his back, pulling Elizabeth on top of him. She felt a shudder go through her body as he slid his hands under her nightshirt, gently caressing her sides.
“Cold?” he asked huskily in between kisses.
“Uh-uh,” she replied, pulling back to look at him. He lifted his head enough to capture her mouth again, running his hands up her back. She moaned slightly against his lips, then pulled away again, suddenly realizing what they were doing.
“Lucky, we can’t....we shouldn’t.....” she stammered, out of breath.
“Why not?” he asked dreamily, staring into her eyes.
“Um, we’re not...we might....” she started to lose her train of thought as she felt herself being pulled into his intense gaze. “Tomorrow, we’ll regret it.”
“No, we won’t,” Lucky murmured, leaning up to trail kisses along her collarbone, then moved up to her neck. She closed her eyes, forgetting everything she had just been arguing about. He gently flicked his tongue along her pulse, causing her to whimper softly.
“Then again, we are married,” she mumbled, pushing him away from her neck so she could attack his lips. After a few minutes of feverish kisses, Liz pulled away and began kissing his bare chest.
Lucky gently dug his fingers into her back, unable to believe the effect she was having on him. Was this really the same woman he had spent the past few years hating so much?
“Elizabeth,” he gasped suddenly, starting to come to his senses. “You’re right, we can’t do this.”
“Sure we can,” she muttered, moving up to his neck in much the same manner he had been kissing her earlier. He groaned and closed his eyes, trying desperately to fight the desire he was feeling.
“No, you were right the first time. We’ll regret this if we go any farther,” he insisted weakly.
Liz stopped and lifted her head, meeting his gaze as he opened his eyes. She sighed and rolled off of him, laying on her back and covering her face. “What’s wrong with us?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head. “It must be this whole marriage thing. We’re confusing the act with what’s real.”
“You think?” she asked, turning her head to look at him.
“Yeah, it’s the only logical explanation, right?”
“Right. Well, I guess we should go to sleep then. Good night.”
“Night,” he said, leaning in to kiss her, then stopping himself when he realized what he was doing. That’s what started this whole thing in the first place. He nervously cleared his throat, then rolled over to the edge of the bed, turning his back to her.
Liz sighed and turned over as well, trying to block out what they had almost done. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep, wondering what kind of dreams she was going to have after that!
~*~
Liz woke up the next morning to the shrill beeping of her alarm. She groaned and started to reach out to shut off, then realized she was being held back. Lucky had rolled over behind her, and had his arms wrapped around her, holding her against his chest. She shifted enough to look back at him just as he opened his eyes.
“Hi,” he whispered, squinting as the morning sunlight came through her window.
“Um, I need to turn that off,” she said, wriggling a little to try and loosen his grasp. He looked down and quickly let her go.
“We have got to stop doing that!” he grumbled, rolling onto his back. Liz chuckled softly and slid out of bed, hurrying into the bathroom to get ready for work. She had one more shift at Kelly’s to do before leaving tomorrow with Lucky.
When they were both ready, they went downstairs and found Charisma already up, sipping coffee in the kitchen. She looked up and smiled at them warmly.
“Morning. How was dinner?”
“Fine,” Lucky answered, quickly filling his own mug. Liz waited for him to finish, then did the same.
Charisma watched them quietly, sensing that something was up. “Did you sleep well last night?”
They both stopped and looked at each other, blushing slightly. “Um, yeah, like a rock,” Lucky answered, looking away from both of them as he took a seat at the table.
There was obviously more to this than they let on, but she knew she couldn’t push any farther. “That’s good. Are you ready to leave tomorrow?”
“Yeah, oh, I almost forgot.” Lucky looked over at Liz, who was sitting next to him, then back at Charisma. “Elizabeth is going to be joining me for that first week. Do you think it will be a problem?”
Charisma smiled and shook her head, happy that Luke’s plan had worked. “Not at all. Just make sure you bring a nice dress,” she added to Liz.
“Why?” Liz asked, glancing over at Lucky, who looked equally confused.
Charisma looked over at Lucky and laughed. “The AMAs, remember? They’re next Wednesday night! I’m kind of relieved, actually. I was going to have to be his date, but now I don’t have to!”
“AMAs?” Liz asked.
“American Music Awards,” Charisma explained. “They’re not as big as the Grammys, but they’re still nationally televised.”
“Oh, well, if you were already planning to go with him...” Liz started, trying to get out of it.
“Nonsense, you’re his wife, you should go. Trust me, I’ve been to enough of these by now that they’re all the same to me. Frankly, I’m tired of them. Every time I go with him to one of these things, the rags spend the next month or so talking about how we’re secret lovers and we’re going to get married soon. It’s so irritating!”
Lucky chuckled softly, knowing she was right. He looked over at Liz and smiled when he saw what looked like jealousy in her eyes. “Well, since we’re already married, I guess we don’t have to worry about that, right honey?”
“Sure,” she answered, taking a drink of her coffee to avoid saying anything else.
Charisma stood up and put her mug in the sink. “I better get going. I have to look for a new apartment today. I’ll see you two later?”
They both nodded, waiting for her to leave before speaking again. Once they heard the front door close, Liz sighed and shook her head. “An awards show? On television? Lucky, this is getting a little out of hand, don’t you think?”
“Why?” he asked. “I mean, the only time we’ll even be on camera is if I win, and even then it’s only for a few seconds. I’ll kiss you really quick, then go up to give my acceptance speech. Then again, that means I’ll have to thank you....”
She groaned and rolled her eyes, reaching over to hit him playfully.
“Hey, watch it,” he grumbled, rubbing his shoulder. “Don’t worry, it won’t be as bad as you think.”
“I guess not. Anyway, I’ve always wanted to go to one of those things.”
Lucky nodded, looking down into his coffee, then frowned as he remembered something. “Oh, wait, I forgot about the parties afterwards.”
“Parties?” she asked, perking up suddenly. “You mean, with the other singers?”
“Yeah, that’s usually who goes. But, that means we’d have to be acting like newlyweds the entire time. You never know when someone’s watching, especially the press. Maybe we shouldn’t go to them.”
“Oh,” she said, disappointed. “Wouldn’t that look odd if you didn’t go?”
“It might, but then again we just got married. I could just say we’re still on our honeymoon and are in a hurry to get back to the hotel.” He wiggled his eyebrows a little, laughing as she blushed.
“Ugh, you’re as bad as Luke!” she groaned, standing up and carrying her empty coffee mug to the sink.
“Ouch, you really know how to hurt a guy,” he complained, watching her walk back to the table. He suddenly had a flashback to the previous night, of her kissing his chest. He shook his head quickly, trying to clear away the thought before it went any farther.
Liz watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing. “Um, I better get going. I have to get to work. I guess I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here,” he said, looking up at her as she walked to the door. “Have fun.”
“Oh yeah, always,” she grumbled, pushing the door open. At least working gave her an excuse to get away from Lucky, and would hopefully distract her from the memories of the previous night that kept floating through her head.
