by Maria Luis
“Was it?” Her brows drew together, her arms wrapping around her belly.
“No.” Luke hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. God, he could still remember the way he’d strutted around the military base after that. No prospect of ever having kids? It’d been his teenage version of living the dream.
“I did the test, just like I wanted. And I’d been right, the baby wasn’t mine. Not much of a surprise, considering the fact that she lived just off base and hooked up with a lot of my buddies. But then the doc told me the reason why . . . low sperm count.” He practically choked out the words because, hell, telling the woman you cared about that you were lacking in some capacity wasn’t his idea of fun.
It was the opposite of fun, actually.
It was hell.
Luke eyed his empty beer bottle. “Guess up to fifteen-percent of us lucky assholes have infertility issues. Luck of the draw, or what not.” Jesus, could this get any more painful? He rolled his shoulders, then gripped the bottle between hands just so that he didn’t have to sit motionless. “I’ve been with a lot of women over the years, but I don’t want you to think I was reckless when it came to protection.”
He expected her to stand up and maybe crack her palm across his face. Maybe storm out of the bar without another word to him. But he should have known better, he should have known that wasn’t her. Anna was passionate, yeah, but she was level-headed. So, when she placed her hand on top of his and asked, “How did you feel knowing that you couldn’t have children?” Luke felt like she’d taken a sledgehammer to his chest and stolen every last bit of oxygen from his body.
Not even his family knew about his infertility, and it felt . . . right that Anna be the first person to know. The only person to know. He shifted, but didn’t pull away from her hand. She grounded him; her touch reminded him that he was still living.
“I guess, in theory, I could have children,” he said, voice low, “but I was advised it’s pretty unlikely. Until three months ago, I’ve lived a pretty nomadic lifestyle. I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I’ve been here in New Orleans for longer than a month during the last decade. After Mariah, I didn’t care for a repeat with the women who lived near base. So, the childless thing didn’t bother me. I rarely thought about it.”
Until you.
He needed to say it, needed to be honest, but she beat him to the punch.
“Is that why you told me to date someone else?” she asked. Her fingers retreated from his, and it was crazy the way he wanted to steal them back. “Because you asked me one time whether or not I wanted any more children?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not fair to—”
The sharpness in her blue eyes cut him off mid-sentence. “No, what’s not fair is that you asked me that question without bothering to give me any other information. You took my completely objective answer, and judged me on that. Were you scared that I’d say no and you’d feel pressured to date me?”
“Fuck no!” When he saw heads snap in his direction, he lowered his voice. “Did I want to date you in the beginning? I’m not going to lie to you, Anna, I wasn’t interested. But I wasn’t interested in anyone. Then you were popping up everywhere, demanding that I find you dates, and I grew to crave that time with you. I didn’t want you dating anyone else but me.”
“What about Julian?”
He met her gaze straight-on, so that she could see he was telling the truth. “What about Julian? He’s a great kid.”
Her chin kicked up defiantly. “That’s not what I mean. Julian and I are a package deal. You can’t have me without him.”
Something warm spread in his chest. This had to be a good sign, right? If she was talking packages, then that had to mean she wasn’t totally put off by what he’d told her. He offered her a grin, the first since she’d sat down at their booth. “Did I ask for you without Julian? The kid is awesome, Anna. You raised him right.”
Her cheeks colored again, and then it was her turn to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Like she felt weird with the praise. “I like to think that I did,” she murmured. “If you were to ask me to choose, I couldn’t . . .”
“I’d never.” He leaned forward, touching his thumb to her chin. “Don’t forget that I come from a broken home, sweetheart. I spent years—hell, I still do—taking care of my mom and my sister at the expense of myself because we’re a family, even when certain individuals tick me off. Family is family. I would never, never, ask you to choose me over Julian. That’s not the way this works. He’s your kid, your life, and that’s how it should be.”
She gave a little sigh of happiness, or maybe it was relief, and then promptly stole his heart when she grasped his wrist so she could nuzzle her face into his palm. One upward glance, and she slayed him. “I want another night, Luke.”
Lust hit him hard. It didn’t matter that he’d had a taste of her just hours ago. He wanted another, and another after that, until neither of them could walk straight again. In a gravel-pitched voice, he said, “You can have as many nights as you want.” You can have forever.
“Tonight.”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
With a roll of her eyes, she muttered, “Don’t call me that. It makes me feel old.”
Luke pulled away from her, slid from the booth, and then motioned for her to take his hands. She did, allowing him to tug her up onto her feet, and then tipped back her head, as if knowing he planned to steal a kiss.
And he did. Soft and coaxing, he worked her mouth the same way he planned to work her body. Slowly, until she clawed at his chest in need. Breathing hard, he dropped his mouth to her ear and murmured, “You’re older, Blondie.” He kissed the sensitive place behind her earlobe. “A cougar, some might say.” She made a move to swat his chest, and he grasped her hand, flipping it over so he could flick his tongue against the soft flesh of her wrist. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
28
Luke swung the door open with such force that poor Sassy leapt into the air, proving that gravity had nothing on size or weight.
Anna curled her fingers into the waistband of his pants, leaning up to plant a kiss on his shoulder. “You scared the crap out of him.”
Under her lips, she felt the deep rumble of Luke’s laugh, and, oh boy, but her toes curled in her heels and her legs trembled with want, need.
“Hopefully not literally,” Luke teased, motioning for the Dane to come over to them. Sassy did so with a wary expression in his dark eyes. But the suspicion fled fast under a wave of pure excitement, and he trotted over, his thin tail wagging happily. Luke snagged the leash off its hook, then planted a quick kiss on Anna’s mouth. “Let me just walk him real fast so he doesn’t bother us.”
It was crazy to think that just weeks ago Luke hadn’t been able to walk his dog at all. He still had his limp, something that Anna doubted would ever even out completely, but it was just something else about him that she adored. No, she loved.
Running a hand over Sassy’s lean spine, she scratched his butt and then stepped to the side. “Want me to pour some wine while you scare off the Quarter’s cat population?”
Luke gave her a panty-melting grin. It brightened his green eyes and turned up his lips, and, oh, but it was unfair that he was so ruggedly good-looking. “Nah, sweetheart,” he drawled, “I’d prefer it if you got naked.”
Laughter teased her chest. “How romantic.”
“Want some romance?” His grin turned wicked, and Anna’s breath caught. Pressing his hands over Sassy’s ears, as though to protect his innocence, he murmured, “Take out the wine, then. I have a plan.”
“That sounds terrifying.”
“Terrifyingly hot,” he amended with a wink. “Get naked, Anna. I’ll be back in ten.”
And with that, he led his dog out the front door and then shut it behind him, leaving Anna alone.
“Girl, you are nuts,” she muttered out loud as she headed for the kitchen. Sex with Luke twice in
one day? Call her crazy, but she desperately hoped this would be her new normal.
Not that she and Luke could spend the day hooking up when Julian was home, of course.
Her steps faltered. Their conversation at the bar had been so unexpected. But it also had made sense. Luke’s aversion to talking about children? His playboy lifestyle? It was hard to believe that he couldn’t have children. What had he said—low sperm count? While working at La Parisienne, she’d come across a lot of couples with infertility issues. A low sperm count didn’t necessarily mean that Luke was sterile, though, it just . . . lowered his chances overall of having kids.
Don’t get your hopes up.
Right. At the end of the day, she and Julian had been just fine together for years. Did she want another baby? Yes. But did she need one to be happy? No, she didn’t. If she had Jules and Luke . . . Her heart swelled with the possibilities. That was the life she so desperately wanted, more kids or not.
She fished the red wine out of his makeshift wine storage, uncorked it, and then poured two glasses. The wine settled, rich and the color of burgundy, and Anna hummed with happiness.
How had it only been just a month ago that she’d questioned ever finding a partner at all? And now here she was, pouring wine for the guy of her dreams.
The front door creaked open and then Luke’s rough timbre called out, “You naked yet?”
Oops. She’d spent too long thinking about him. Was that weird to say? It was probably too weird to say. She hooked her fingers around the wineglass stems and re-entered the main part of the apartment to see him hanging up Sassy’s leash, before luring the Dane into his new monster-sized kennel with a purple stuffed dinosaur.
“I thought you’d like to do the honors.”
Broad shoulders straightened. “Of stripping you naked?” He stepped closer, his blunt fingers going to the buttons of his dress shirt. One by one each button popped through its matching hole, revealing his muscular chest and rock-hard abs.
Would the sight of him ever have less of an effect on her? She tightened her grasp on the wine when he took his striptease one step further by pulling his shirt from his waistband, letting it fall from his body, and then undoing his buckle and the top button of his slacks.
Holy cow, she felt overheated. Overheated and so turned on that she felt swollen already down there, and he’d yet to even touch her. “Wine?” she croaked, thrusting one glass at him.
Without a word, he accepted her offering. Swirled the wine in the bottom of its bowl, and then lifted the glass to his lips. Over the rim, he watched her as he took his fill, green eyes glittering with sexual promise.
Would she be upset about the prospect of never having any more children? Not if he continued to look at her like that for the rest of their lives.
“Give me your glass, sweetheart,” he murmured. The endearment soothed the demand, and Anna gave up her wine without a fuss. Sex with Luke trumped wine any day of the week, and yes, she understood that made her completely shameless. His gaze flicked to the bed, silently telling her where to go.
So she did.
And as she did, she stripped off her clothes, hoping to throw Luke off the same way he’d done to her. She heard his groan when she kicked off her heels, and then his guttural “fuck” when she undid the tab of her dress’s side-zipper. Her dress fell to her waist, and she unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor. Just to remind him from earlier that evening that her panties were lace, red, and they were solely for him, she added an extra sway to her step.
She didn’t hear him launch into motion. But she sure as hell felt the heavy band of his arm around her waist, and his lips dragging down the back of her neck. Shivers threaded down her spine as she curled one hand into his brown hair, and whispered the words she’d thought so many times, “I dare you to love me, Luke.”
His arm tightened. Then a single kiss to her right shoulder. “I’m going to.” Another kiss. “Right now.”
With a teasing push, he toppled her onto his bed and ordered her to turn onto her back. She loved how bossy he was in the bedroom, especially since she was bossy out of it.
Anna twisted on the bed, made a move to shove her dress down the length of her legs, but Luke growled, “No. Leave it on.”
She quirked a brow, noting the fact that he still held her wine glass in one hand. “Yeah? I think it defeats the purpose of me getting naked.”
“We’ll get there.” With his pants still unbuckled, he crawled onto the bed, careful not to spill the wine. “Trust me.”
A little thrill curled her toes, but he didn’t give her time to form a witty reply. Instead his lips were on hers, stealing the words from her tongue, teasing her with the prospect of more. She loved the way he kissed: powerful and naughty and raw. She tipped her head back, absorbing the feel of his big body pressing hers into the mattress. The way his thighs spread hers apart. The way he nipped at her lower lip and demanded entry.
But then the warmth of his body was abruptly replaced with liquid, and Anna’s body bucked off the bed. “Oh!”
She lowered her gaze to the wine trickling down her sternum and gave a wry laugh. “This is why I always tell Jules no drinks or food in the bed.” Patting Luke’s arm, she gestured for him to get up. “I’ll grab a towel before the wine stains your sheets.”
Luke stilled her with a hand to her shoulder. “All part of the plan.”
“To ruin your sheets?” she asked, eyeing him dubiously.
“Nah,” he said with a soft chuckle, “to do this.”
And then he lowered his mouth to just above her belly button and licked the wine off her skin.
“Oh, my God.”
His darkened gaze met hers as he slipped his tongue up her diaphragm, erasing the wine from her flesh. “Is that a ‘keep going’ or ‘you’re wasting the wine’ oh-my-god?”
Neither. Both. Anna had no clue. Until Luke, she might as well have been a born-again virgin—and here he was, stripping every last one of her defenses.
“Anna?”
“More.”
This time, he didn’t even chuckle. His green eyes gleamed as he gave her exactly what she wanted. The wine teased down her right breast, her nipple hardening with the smooth glide of Luke’s tongue. Her head fell back, her fingers clutching his head. It all felt too good, the way he softly blew against the rigid bud and playfully nipped it. When he repeated it all on her left side, Anna worried she might orgasm with nothing but wine, his lips on her breasts, and his promise to love her.
Her legs tangled beneath his, her fingers yanking on his hair, a moan escaping her mouth, when he allowed the wine to almost escape beneath her dress. But he didn’t. He lapped at the wine, driving her crazy with need to have him just a little farther down between her legs. Then, he was placing the glass on the floor so he could strip off the dress and underwear, along with his pants and briefs.
He was blessedly naked.
So was she.
And maybe she should have anticipated the extent of his naughtiness, but she didn’t. Not when he spread her thighs wide. Not when he tipped the glass and sent the small remainder of wine cascading onto her pelvic bone. Not when he waited until the wine had slipped between her legs before making his move.
“Oh.”
He left no wine forgotten; he sipped on her skin, on her clit, on every erogenous zone that he knew would leave her trembling. His fingers joined the mix, first flicking over her before tracing her slit and thrusting inside. But his lips, oh, his lips didn’t move from ground zero. They worked her body, fast and hard then slow and gentle, never allowing her that chance to slip over the edge.
“Now, Luke,” she whispered. “Please, now.”
His lips glistened red from the wine when he glanced up, and it was by far the hottest thing she’d ever seen. “Now?” he echoed, even as he worked another finger into her body. He angled them forward, hitting her just there, and Anna cried out. “What if I’m not done yet?” he added smugly.
Obviously, his plan was to ruin her for all other men. Body trembling, she pulled hard on his shoulders. “I don’t care. Right now, I want you inside me.”
The words must have done the trick. His fingers left her, leaving her to feel hollow and empty, but then he was urging her farther up the bed until her head hit the softness of his pillows. There was the telltale sound of a condom unwrapping—despite the fact that she now knew his secret—and then he was kneeling between her thighs, positioning her just so, so that her legs were looped around his waist.
“No, wait,” she whispered, a hand pressed to his clenching thigh.
Green eyes clouded with confusion. He cleared his throat, his Adam’s apple dodging down. “Did you change your mind?”
Yes, but not about loving him. She waited until he met her gaze to say, “I don’t have anything.” Oh, God, like that was specific. It was her turn to clear her throat awkwardly. “What I meant to say is, I’m clean. Besides you, I haven’t had sex in years, and . . . I’m also on the pill.”
To say that Luke’s face stilled would be an understatement. His shoulders went rigid, and he seemed to be working for much-needed air. “Hell, I”—he looked down, scrubbed a hand over his face—“I’ve never . . .”
“I know.”
“And you . . .” His brows lowered, his lips pulling into a straight line. “You trust me like that?”
Anna swallowed past the nerves, tipped her chin up, and said, “Only you, Luke. I only trust you with this.”
“Fuck.” The word echoed in the quiet room, as did his heavy breathing. But it was the awestruck look in his eyes that stopped her, that clued her in that maybe she’d just offered him something he’d never expected to receive. His calloused hands left her thighs to strip off the condom, and he tossed it aside, aiming for the small trashcan next to the bed. But then his hands were on her again, skimming her body reverently. “You’ve ruined me, you know,” he growled, guiding his bare cock to her entrance. “I just need you to know that no one . . . no one has ever reached me like you do, Blondie.”
