by Elena Aitken
There was no point in drawing it out any longer. With a deep breath, Chloe reached out and knocked on the door, but it opened, leaving her arm hanging in front of her.
“I’m glad you made it.”
She couldn’t answer right away because her voice had been completely stolen by the appearance of Luke in front of her. She was so used to seeing him a little on the scruffier side, in worn-out jeans and a flannel shirt or basic t-shirt, that she was totally unprepared for the clean-shaven, neatly dressed, ridiculously handsome man only inches from her. His hair, still damp from the shower, was combed back and Chloe had to clench her hands together to keep from reaching out and mussing it up. Not because she didn’t like the way he looked, but because she found it increasingly harder not to touch him.
Even with the crisp scent of the soap on his skin, when Chloe inhaled all she could smell was Luke’s unique scent that made her bear go crazy with need. She swallowed hard and took a step back.
Luke’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Don’t go.”
“I…I wasn’t…”
She didn’t know what she was going to do. But the feelings and sensations flooding her were getting way too intense to keep standing in one spot.
“Come in.”
She nodded dumbly and stepped forward, letting him lead her into his cabin. Her skin burned from his touch, even through her blouse, but the last thing she wanted was for him to let go.
Chloe used the opportunity to look around and distract herself from the situation. His cabin was a lot more put together than she would have expected from him. It was simple, but decorated in an outdoorsy way that she would have expected. A big brown leather couch with a matching chair sat in front of a stone fireplace; a pine table was tucked in one corner and shelves lined one wall. The back corner opened into a small kitchen and on the wall next to it was the door she assumed led to the bedroom. It was closed, and Chloe was more than fine with that. She drifted naturally toward the shelves; there were a few books in a stack, mostly about fishing or guidebooks for hikes in the area. But it was the framed photographs that caught her attention. Chloe moved away from him, her arm instantly feeling the absence of his touch, as she picked up the first frame.
“My family.”
Chloe nodded and let her finger trail over the glass. The picture was faded and old; the kids were little. Luke couldn’t have been more than two or three. Axel, slightly older, stood behind him holding a baby about six or seven months old with a bow on her head, but behind both boys were what Chloe assumed were their parents. Their mother was gorgeous. Tall and slim, with long brown hair that fell over one shoulder. She held the other baby in her arms, Kade. But it was their father who drew her attention. It was easy to see where Axel’s looks came from. The tallest and darkest of all the brothers, he was a carbon copy of his dad.
“This is a beautiful picture.” She turned to look at Luke, whose face gave away nothing. He never talked about his family, but from the little she had learned, their parents had given them up to the patriarch of the Jackson clan, their mother’s father. There was no real reason for it, except a vague explanation of their grandfather not approving of their mother’s mate.
Luke shrugged. “It was taken right before we went to live with the clan. It’s the only picture of all of us. I like to look at it sometimes.”
“Of course. That makes sense.”
“I think it’s important to remember that while it can be destructive and ruin lives, there’s also a lot of good that can come from love and fated mates.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
Luke shrugged again and reached for her. “Surprised?”
She nodded and let him pull her close.
“I never said I was against mating. That’s Kade.”
“But you—”
“I only said I didn’t think I’d ever need a mate. Or find one. And I guess, I didn’t really know what it was all about. I mean, I’d seen it happen to Kira. And then more recently, to Axel and Harper, but it’s different, when…you know.”
She did know, but instead of answering him, she swallowed hard and turned her attention back to the photo. “Well, it’s a nice photo. And you’re right: a lot of good came from their love.” Chloe turned in his arms, forcing him to release her as she put the picture back on the shelf. “Something smells really good.” It was safer to change the subject completely. “What did Kade make?”
“Kade?” Luke scoffed, pretending to be offended. “My little brother isn’t the only chef around here, you know.” She followed him into the tiny kitchen and leaned against the counter while Luke finished prepping the dinner that was smelling better and better. “In fact, I’m the only one of us who has a kitchen in their cabin.”
“Really?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.” He took out a ladle and spooned some sauce over the fish in the pan. “I love to cook, but to be fair, I don’t do it very often these days.”
“Why is that?”
“I only like to cook fish or meat I caught myself, and there hasn’t been as much time lately to go hunting or fishing.” He dipped his finger into the sauce before he stuck it in his mouth. He added a bit more salt and tasted again, this time smiling. “Perfect.”
It was perfect.
She glanced away before she could let the thought stick.
“I hope you’re hungry.” With expertise, Luke plated the fish over rice and laid some carrots alongside. It looked delicious and Chloe’s mouth watered a little.
“Starving.” She sat at the table and he presented the plate with a flourish that made her laugh. “So you caught this yourself?” She pointed at the fish and waited while he poured them each a glass of wine before he sat across from her.
“I did. I went up this afternoon.” He grinned. “After you agreed to dinner.”
“That didn’t take long. You got lucky.”
“Not yet.” He winked and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Kidding. And yes, some of it’s luck, but it’s also knowing your stream. At any rate, I got them pretty quick and had lots of time to get ready for you. Are you going to taste it or what?”
“Right.” She slid her knife through the soft flesh of the fish and scooped up a bite on her fork. Chloe had been hoping it would taste as good as it smelled, and she wasn’t disappointed. It was better. “Luke, this is…oh my goodness. What is that?”
He took a bite before he answered. “It’s just a garlic lemon butter sauce. Damn, that is good.” He smiled, obviously pleased with himself, and took another bite. “It’s best to keep it simple and really let the flavors of the fish shine through.”
“Well, it really is delicious. Thank you.”
Luke put his fork down. “No.” His tone turned serious. “Thank you. I didn’t think you’d agree to come here tonight. I’m glad you did.”
Chloe reached across the table and took his hand before she answered as honestly as possible. “I’m glad too.”
He couldn’t have asked for a better night. Well, maybe he could. But the night wasn’t over yet.
After finishing their dinner, Chloe agreed to share another glass of wine, and they’d moved to the couch, where she curled up her legs and got comfortable. Luke would have liked to help her get a whole lot more comfortable, but he was a patient man. Sometimes.
Their conversation had moved easily and by the time they were done with their second glass of wine, they’d talked about their childhoods, places they’d traveled, and places they’d like to go. He was more confident than ever that Chloe was the only one for him and he’d meant what he’d said to her earlier. He’d never been against the idea of mating. Not really. Sure, he’d given Axel a hard time when he’d first found Harper, but that was different. Mostly, he just had no idea how it would feel when it happened to him.
And it most definitely had happened to him.
There was no way he was going to let this woman walk out of his cabin and out of his life after her work was done on th
e Ridge.
No way.
“Luke?”
He blinked and focused on Chloe, who looked at him with a question on her face. It was clear he’d totally missed whatever she’d asked him.
“I was saying that it was a good thing you didn’t have guests for a few days since Harper seems so tired lately.”
“Does she?”
“You hadn’t noticed?” She laughed a little and a strand of hair escaped the clip she had it caught up in. He’d been restraining himself from reaching up and taking the clip out completely to let her hair free. What he wouldn’t give to weave his fingers through that silky softness and pull her toward him to kiss her so thoroughly she made that sexy little groan of hers. “Maybe she’s been working too hard.” Chloe was still talking. “I’d like to do something nice for her. After all, this is…” She waved her hand and changed direction before she could elaborate. “I mean, I haven’t been the nicest to her and she’s been so good to me. Almost like a friend and Lord knows it would be nice to have—”
“I don’t want to talk about Harper.”
Chloe closed her mouth slowly. “Oh.”
Luke scooted across the couch so their knees almost touched. “Not that I don’t love Harper. But what I should have said is, I want to talk about you.” He reached out and let his fingers trail along her knee ever so slowly. “You and me.”
“Luke, there’s no—”
He silenced her with a finger to her mouth. “I don’t want to hear it.”
She shook her head. “Whether you want to or not, it still needs to be said. I told you when this started what I could and couldn’t do, Luke.” She started to shift away from him, but he could sense the hesitation in her. He’d been sensing it all night. She was battling with herself. “I told you, no—”
“I’m telling you that it’s okay to change your mind.”
Chloe started to shake her head and Luke hit his breaking point. He’d been restraining himself all night, but he couldn’t keep his hands off her any longer. He moved quickly so he was over her on the couch, trapping her within his arms. “If you can tell me that you don’t really feel it, that you don’t know with every fiber of your body that to walk out of here and never look back would break you, then I’ll go. I’ll get up and let you walk out. But I don’t think you can do it.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.
“Don’t lie, Chloe. Don’t lie to me. But especially don’t lie to yourself. You want this and you can have it. You can be happy.”
She shook her head so he slid one hand to her cheek and held it.
“You can, Chloe.” He kissed her then and almost at once felt her melt against him. “And I’m going to convince you,” he murmured against her mouth and kissed her again. Hard.
She groaned, that sexy sound that made his bear come alive, and that was all he needed to hear. Luke scooped her up in his arms and stood.
“Luke, put me down. You—”
“One night, Chloe. Put away all your rules and everything you think you want and should have and just let yourself feel. If at the end of the night you still feel the same, I’ll walk away.” He wasn’t sure he could, but he knew if she didn’t want him as a mate, he’d have to. “But if you’re honest with yourself and you think maybe this could happen, then…”
Her body trembled in his arms. “Then what?”
“Then you’re mine.”
Her eyes flared with desire. She bit down on her lower lip for a moment, and finally nodded. “One night.”
He growled in response and his dick hardened in his pants. He’d promised one night, but the way she looked at him, he was confident it wouldn’t take that long. He strode across the room to the bedroom and kicked open the door. Her eyes widened, and he could have sworn he heard her growl, too.
He tossed her on the bed and she immediately unbuttoned her blouse.
No, it wouldn’t take all night, but they had it, so he planned to make full use of it.
Luke crawled up on the bed and on top of her. He stilled her hands and with a quick yank, tore the rest of the buttons of her blouse away to expose the creamy perfect skin of her belly and a blue satin bra that just barely contained her breasts. The full globes straining against the fabric called to him and he wanted nothing more than to bury his face between the perfection of her tits, but there would be time for that later.
With a tug, he pulled her leggings down to her ankles and shed himself of his own clothing.
“There’s no way you can know what you do to me.” His voice was hoarse and strained as he looked down at his woman—so ready, so perfect, so much his.
She licked her lips before she reached up and with one hand behind his neck, pulled him down to her. “Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea.”
Being with Luke was all-consuming. Chloe didn’t have time to think about all her reasons for not being with him, because all she could think about was being with him and making it last as long as possible.
Why can’t it last forever?
That was the one thought in her head as they came together in their first shattering climax. They worked so well together, especially in the bedroom. Maybe if she’d experienced this type of passion with someone else she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed by it.
But maybe the reason she’d never had it before was because…
Because she’d never had Luke.
Chloe curled up against him, letting him pull her close while he kissed the back of her neck and stroked her hair over her shoulder. At some point, it had escaped the clip and lay tangled across her back.
“I like your hair down.” Luke twined his fingers through her strands and Chloe was pretty sure she’d never felt anything so sinfully erotic and exquisitely sweet at the same time. “It’s so sexy.” He left a trail of kisses down her neck. “You’re so sexy. Perfect.”
It might have been her postcoital bliss, but Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she felt so happy and content. As if she was right where she belonged. She snuggled into him a little more, letting her backside rub up seductively. It elicited just the response from him she hoped for.
She knew she was playing with fire. And it wasn’t fair to him to lead him on that she’d give him more than one night. He wanted to mate. That much wasn’t a secret. He’d made it pretty clear that he wanted her for more than just one night. He wanted her forever. Shivers raced through her body at the thought.
In response, Luke pulled her closer and kissed her neck.
Her heart clenched in her chest in a way that was painfully perfect.
It felt so right. He felt right.
But forever was a long time.
Forever meant giving up everything she’d worked for with her career. But all that might be gone anyway after all the drama with the setup and the Blackwoods, or whatever it was that was going on, was finished. And even if it wasn’t over…
It didn’t have to end.
Chloe squeezed her eyes shut as Luke’s hand traveled down her bare arm. She was well aware that it was her, not him, who’d put labels and barriers on what was going on between them. And it was totally in her power to put an end to all of them. His hand moved lower, to the dip in her waist, where it rested for a moment. Heat flared through her body at his touch, the way it always did.
It was up to her. What had he said? Put away all your rules and everything you think you want and should have and just let yourself feel.
The problem was…when she did that…when she let herself feel…she knew exactly what she wanted.
“Luke?”
“Um hmm?” His hand moved over her hip and squeezed; his fingers danced on her skin, sending shockwaves to her core.
“About what you said earlier…about one night? About letting myself feel?”
“I remember.”
She swallowed hard, hardly able to believe she was about to say what she was going to say.
“I’m feeling.”
Her voice was barely
more than a whisper, but his hand stilled on her body.
When he didn’t respond right away, Chloe bit her lip and tried to turn her head to see him. “Luke?”
“What is it you feel?” His fingers tightened on her hip, as if she’d bolt. And maybe she would have.
Chloe swallowed hard. “I think you know.”
“I want to hear you say it.” She felt him move behind her; a moment later, he rolled her onto her back so she looked up into his intense eyes. “Tell me how you feel,” he demanded. “Tell me you love me.”
“It’s…I…” She stumbled over the words because they weren’t enough. “I can’t,” she said.
Luke growled, but she wasn’t scared. Her bear was only just under the surface, ready to respond to him in every way.
Chloe propped herself up on her elbows. “But only because it’s more than love. You know that. Love is so…”
“Say it, Chloe.”
“Love isn’t enough to explain how I feel,” she blurted and then before she could stop herself, “You’re mine, Luke, and I want to be yours.”
“Are you saying—”
“I want to mate.” Her whole body reacted to the words. “I want to—”
It didn’t matter what she was going to say, because he’d already heard all he needed to. He bent and took her mouth with his in a long, hard kiss. She was his. And now he was going to make it official. Permanent.
Beneath him, Chloe groaned and arched her back up into him.
Luke’s bear was only just contained, right beneath the surface. He couldn’t wait.
He needed her.
Now.
But as much as his body ached to take her, he was determined to enjoy every minute of claiming her as his own.
With a hand on each of her hips, he deftly flipped her so she was on her stomach, her perfect, round ass exposed to him.
“Damn, you’re gorgeous.”
