Rika, the Cuban Flame

20. I'll Protect You

Rika

Those four taps, and four more taps, and another four taps send me into protective mode upon seeing Lucas tremble, and I embrace him with enough force that we both fall back on the bed. Our heads find the pillows and I pull the thick bedsheets and comforter over us. We'd be ice cubes without them. We didn't need the covers before as our... activities kept both of us warm. Now, snuggling under the covers and pressing into each other will give us that same warmth.

I can't help but be a little angry and I already hate this Denise. That bitch just ruined the most fun I've had in years. We were so close to finishing to and it would have been spectacular... The build-up was complete and we were about to start the final act until those stupid phone vibrations went off. If Lucas had only put his phone on silent, we would be in the middle of the most epic throws either of us has ever experienced right now.

I even have damn protection in the nightstand drawer, ready to go. Ugh! I was so hot for him. I'm still hot for him despite Lucas being in a complete state of distraught. He needs the other side of me now, the side I rarely show, and that's totally okay.

I won't lie. I thought some sorority girl was texting him, saying how much she misses him or something. What else am I supposed to think when I see walls of text on his phone from an unsaved number? Sure, I could have gotten context from reading them, but Lucas reacted to them so fast I barely had time to process that he needed the softer side of me.

We spoon under the covers, him the little spoon, and me the big spoon.

"Denise Alayna..." Lucas says.

"You said she's your stepmom?"

"Yeah, she married my dad a long time ago, even though I begged him not to."

I run kisses along his neck. "So you don't like her?"

"No."

"That was a quick answer," I say into his ear. Lucas snuggles back into me and taps my arm twice. "Lucas, now isn't the time to—"

He turns so he can look at me. "I didn't tap for you to choke me. I tapped to be in a tighter hold."

"Like... a tighter cuddle?"

Lucas nods. "Yeah." I should have known that. He turns and offers me his back and neck, once again the little spoon. "Here."

The simple act of him giving up his back to me makes me melt on the bedsheets we lay on. I grin since maybe he wants to be under my control, so he feels safe and that's fine with me. With my muscles, abs, and power, I'll be that protection he needs. I scoot toward him, still the big spoon and wrap an arm around his neck. My leg hikes up and swings around his waist, and I use my free hand to run my fingers through his hair. I don't choke him. I don't submit him. Instead, I squeeze and hug him, pressing him into my body so he feels my warmth. We lay like this with only our heads poking out from the comfort of the sheets. Lucas taps me four times and I release him, only for him to reach over and turn the lamp off on the nightstand. It's not completely dark with the moon and lights from the city. Lucas snuggles back against me, tapping me once and I put him back into my warm embrace and he yet again melts into me and snuggles in. Just the way I want him to.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I whisper.

Lucas shakes, not his head, but his body shakes and trembles. "I probably need to talk about it... I never saw anyone."

I smell his hair. "What do you mean?"

"Like therapy," he sighs. He shakes some more. I can tell he's trying so hard to be brave for me. Like he's not this pathetic wimp. If I thought he was, he wouldn't be lying in this bed with me. He's one of the strongest people I know, and that's no joke. Physical strength isn't everything, and arguably, emotional strength beats physical strength every time. "I don't think I can go back to my apartment..."