“Sure thing.” Luke ambled over to the sink and washed his hands. Trinity kept her attention focused on the tomato, dicing it into the smallest bits he’d ever seen. “You aiming to turn that into sauce?”
Trinity’s cheeks burned as she stopped in mid-chop and stared down at the desecrated tomatoes. “I, uh, like them that way.” She lifted the cutting board and scraped the tomato goop into a bowl with the knife.
Darned if she was going to tell Luke that she’d been daydreaming about him the whole time she was dicing the tomato. He was all she’d been thinking about, every minute, and it was going to drive her crazy.
“How would you like to join us for dinner first of the week, too, Luke?” Skylar asked from behind them. “Rylie’s coming with her brother Levi, and we’re playing poker afterward. You’d make it an even six.”
Trinity cut her gaze to meet Luke’s and he grinned. “Strip poker?” he said with a teasing glint in his eyes and Skylar laughed. “Count me in.”
“Just be prepared to ante up, cowboy.” Skylar banged the frying pan against a burner as she moved it off the heat. “And keep your clothes on.”
Luke chuckled and gave Trinity a look that said he could see right through her blouse. Her body ached so badly for him she could hardly stand it.
“I’m finished with the taco shells,” Skylar said, and Trinity glanced over her shoulder to see her sister shut off the stovetop burner. “I’ll let Zack know dinner’s about ready,” Skylar added. “Back in a sec.”
The moment she left the kitchen, Luke moved close to Trinity, his jean-clad thighs brushing against her as he murmured, “How was your afternoon?”
Luke’s spicy aftershave flowed over Trinity, bringing back memories of the Christmas party and of the hot tub, and the way he held her today when he talked to her on their walk.
How was she supposed to concentrate on his words?
She looked away from Luke and slipped the vegetable knife into the dishwasher, barely able to think with him so close. “Ah... fine,” she said as she shut the dishwasher door. “But I enjoyed my lunch a lot more.”
He caught her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. His touch caused her skin to tingle and her nipples to peak beneath her blouse.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, his blue eyes intent. “And you know how much I want you.”
“I... um...” Trinity could scarcely breathe the way Luke was looking at her. “Want...”
Yeah. That’s what she was doing.
Wanting.
It was all she could do.
His smile was tight. “You think you’re about over breaking up with what’s-his-name?”
“Race,” Trinity muttered, vaguely remembering her ex-boyfriend’s e-mail. “Nothing to get over, really. It wasn’t that kind of relationship.”
Damn, she wanted to slide her fingers into the thick brown hair beneath his cowboy hat. She wanted to see his incredible body again, touch him and taste him... and finally, finally feel him inside her.
Cripes but she had it bad.
Lust. A serious case of cowboy lust.
Luke’s smile turned sensual as he ran his thumb along her lower lip. “I can read those pretty green eyes, sugar. We’re right for one another, but you’re not feeling sure about that yet, are you?”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking,” she whispered. “And you don’t know we’re right for each other.”
“It’s the truth.” Luke lowered his head, bringing his mouth inches above hers. “You’re flat out too scared to admit it.”
Trinity pressed her palms against his chest and almost groaned out loud. She could feel the play of his powerful muscles beneath his shirt.
“I—I barely know you,” she finally said.
“Sugar, we already know each other better than some folks who’ve been together for years.”
She shook her head. “We only met a few days ago.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He brought his face closer and filled all her senses with his presence. She felt as though she was drowning, losing herself in this virile man, and wanting to lose herself in him. “Somehow, I’ll give you another day—or two, if that’s what you need to be sure.”
“I want you now, Luke. I want you tonight.”
His lips touched hers, then pulled back, sending shivers of pleasure across every inch of her skin.
“Not yet.” His blue eyes pinned her where she stood. “Because I already know this much—when I take you, I won’t be letting you go.”
The sound of Skylar’s and Zack’s voices snapped Trinity out of her Luke-induced trance. Pulling free of his grip, she grabbed the bowl of mutilated tomatoes and dodged to the other side of the kitchen just as her sister and brother-in-law entered the room.
Luke’s soft laugh punctuated the pounding of her heart and she didn’t know whether to fling the whole bowl of diced tomatoes at him, or throw herself into his arms.
Chapter 20
On Tuesday night, exactly eight days from when she first met the man, Luke moved beside Trinity as she dug out the playing cards from the china cabinet drawer. She shivered from his nearness. The light cotton dress she was wearing suddenly felt too thin, made her feel too vulnerable, like she was wearing nothing around him.
All evening during last Friday night’s dinner, and then again tonight, Luke had taken every opportunity to brush against her, to touch her when no one was looking.
When I take you, I won’t be letting you go...
Cripes, the cowboy didn’t play fair. Not at all.
“What are we playing?” Rylie asked from behind Trinity as she finally located the cards, and Trinity almost dropped the whole damned deck.
“How about five card stud?” Luke said, the warmth of his breath caressing her ear.
Levi slipped past Trinity and Luke as Rylie tossed the deck onto the dinner table. “Sounds as good as any,” Levi said.
Zack had removed the two middle table leaves a few minutes earlier, so that the table was much smaller and cozier for playing poker. Now instead of a long oblong table, it was almost circular.
Rylie’s blond hair bounced against her shoulders as she punched her brother in the shoulder and she laughed when he grabbed his arm. The man’s hair was as blond as his sister’s, and almost as curly. “You ready for me to kick your ass, Deputy Levi Thorn?”
“Now this I gotta see.” Zack pulled a chair up to the table, his gray eyes glinting with humor as he grabbed the deck of cards. “I always said local law enforcement was nothing but a bunch of—ah—” He cleared his throat and grinned at Skylar. “A bunch of bad card players.”
“Watch it, Hunter.” Rylie gave Zack a mock glare then kissed her brother on the cheek before slipping into the chair next to Levi.
Skylar carried in a tray from the kitchen, filled with bowls of pretzels, bottles of beer and wine, along with wineglasses. Blue followed at Skylar’s heels, and then settled himself under her chair, his head on his paws.
Trinity helped her sister, and after everything was distributed, Trinity took her seat next to Luke, who was dealing out stacks of red, white, and blue poker chips. When she eased into her chair, he paused and gave her that dark, sexy look that made her ache. She had no idea how she was going to make it through this night without having him.
I won’t be letting you go...
Damn, damn. Damn. Damn.
She wanted sex.
The handsome, sexy guy was the one who wanted something more serious.
In what world was that friggin’ fair?
Trinity had already decided to stick around long enough to help Skylar—and DropCaps wasn’t even expecting her to get going at full speed until after the holidays. They were shipping her gear to her, along with a brand-spanking-new high bandwidth satellite dish to stick in Skylar’s back flower bed. With that puppy, she’d be able to send DropCaps files the size of Montana in about three seconds—so, really, she could work at the ranch as long as she needed to.
T
hat meant she could enjoy a few rolls in the hay with Luke.
But it’s not fair. I won’t be staying forever... Besides, I’m afraid that I could lose my heart to this cowboy.
She’d never done casual sex or one-night stands. No. She couldn’t have sex with Luke knowing that the relationship definitely wouldn’t go any further.
Right?
Shee-yeah.
She was ready for all out heavy, wild, screaming sex with the man.
Trinity sighed and took a long sip of her Zinfandel, letting the liquid slide down her throat until it warmed her belly. She could feel Luke’s eyes on her, but she refused to look at him. Every time those blue eyes met hers, she forgot all the reasons why it wouldn’t work out in the long run.
Zack finished shuffling the deck. “Deuces are wild,” he said as he dealt each player five cards, the first two face down and the other three face up.
Rylie and Skylar chatted about the new shooting range that had been opened up several miles west of Douglas, while Trinity, Levi, and Luke watched Zack deal the cards. It still seemed so odd that Zack was her brother-in-law now.
It was even stranger to realize how comfortable she felt with the six of them having dinner together, and playing cards.
Friends.
And family.
She could get used to this.
No surprises.
No mysteries.
But with Luke... well, yeah, there was lots of mystery in the man, but she knew exactly where she stood with him. He wanted her. And damn but she wanted him.
It’s time, Trinity.
She could barely look at her own hand, for looking at him instead.
It’s time to tell him you’re pretty sure you’re ready.
It’s time to be ready.
But was she?
“You heading home for Christmas, Luke?” Skylar asked as she looked over her cards. “Hey, no peeking,” she added to Zack with a frown as he leaned back in his chair as though he might glance at her cards.
Luke gave a noncommittal shrug as he discarded one card and drew another. He was deep enough undercover that if a search was done on him, it would come up that he was born and raised in an obscure town in Texas, and had studied agribusiness at Auburn University.
Truth of the matter was he’d lived on a ranch outside Houston his entire life before heading off to the University of Texas to earn his bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and then going into the academy.
He wondered what Trinity would think once she learned that he wasn’t who she thought he was. Well, he’d just have to cross that cattle guard when he came to it.
“You don’t have any place to go for Christmas?” Trinity asked after she tossed a card onto the discard pile. Her green eyes were wide, as though she felt concerned that he’d be alone over the holidays.
He smiled as his gaze met hers. Wouldn’t hurt to tell a bit of the truth. “If I don’t show up Christmas Day for some of my mama’s roasted turkey, cornbread stuffing, and her special pecan pie, she’ll never forgive me.”
“And I’ll bet you’d never disappoint her,” Trinity said softly, looked to the cards in her hand. “You have a big family—I remember you telling me that. How many brothers and sisters?”
“Two of each.” He grinned at the thought of them. “And between all of them, damn near a dozen nieces and nephews. Miss them like hell.”
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “I can’t imagine what that’s like.” She gestured toward her sister with one of her cards. “For so long it’s just been the two of us, except for Zack horning in now and again.”
“Hey,” Zack grumbled. “I don’t horn.”
Rylie snickered, and Zack acted like he was about throw his cards at her.
“Not talking about horns. TMI.” Skylar nodded to Luke. “It’s your turn, Rider.”
He studied his cards. Two pair, not too bad. “I’ll hold.”
“Come on, Texas.” Trinity’s eyes played off his face. “I already know you’re bluffing.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
“Your drawl.” Her eyes focused on Luke. “It gets worse when you’re holding back on something.”
Well, shit.
“Is something going on between you two that we ought to know about?” Rylie interrupted in her usual direct manner. “It’s your play, Trinity.”
Luke smiled as Trinity’s cheeks flushed again and she studied her cards.
“I’ll hold. I think.” She frowned and looked at them again. “Yes, I’ll hold.”
Before Trinity had the chance to bug Luke about bluffing again, Luke asked Zack something about Satan, that spoiled-rotten bull of Skylar’s.
As the night progressed, and more beer and wine had been consumed, the whole evening took on a surreal feel to Trinity. No one seemed to notice the times that Luke would deliberately brush her breast with his hand, or lean close to whisper in her ear.
Then Luke slipped one hand under the table and caressed her thigh.
She froze, her gaze locked on her cards. Afraid to move and afraid to make a sound, like someone at the table might notice that Luke’s hand was creeping up the inside of her thigh under her dress. Even though everyone seemed wrapped up in the poker game, or tipsy from the alcohol, how could they not notice that Luke only had one hand on the tabletop?
Yet she couldn’t get herself to make him stop.
While play continued, the chatter around the table was nothing more than a loud buzzing noise to Trinity’s ears. She stared at her cards, not seeing them at all as Luke’s finger reached the center of her panties. If anyone had asked her at that moment what she had in her hand, she wouldn’t have been able to name the cards. No matter that she was staring right at them.
Luke slid his fingers inside the elastic, and touched the soft curls underneath.
She almost closed her eyes. Oh, jeez. She had to make him stop.
Mindlessly she tried to play the poker game as his finger entered her wetness and stroked. If it wasn’t for Luke whispering suggestions throughout each hand, she would have lost everything within moments.
She could smell his flesh, could smell her own arousal. Could everyone else smell it, too?
The sensations in her abdomen grew stronger and tighter, and she knew she was close to climax. “You can’t scream,” Luke whispered in her ear. “You’re gonna have to hold it in, sugar.”
Trinity bit down hard on her lower lip as the orgasm took hold of her body and shook it like a mesquite tree in a summer storm. She braced her hand on her forehead and looked down, shielding her face from everyone at the table as her body trembled, and Luke’s finger drew the climax out even longer.
“You all right, Trinity?” Skylar asked through Trinity’s alcohol and orgasm haze.
Luke slipped his hand out of Trinity’s panties and she fought to control her breathing, to let her heart rate slow to a normal pace.
“Too much wine,” Trinity mumbled and rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger. “I think I’m done for.”
Luke chuckled and murmured so that only she could hear, “Like I’ve already told you, sugar, we haven’t even started yet. You just let me know when you’re ready.”
Trinity tossed and turned in her bed, slipping in and out of a misty dream world.
The poker game went on and on, like it was never going to end.
And then she was on her back on the table, her dress hiked up around her waist and Luke sliding deep inside her.
Everyone continued playing around them, tossing their now rainbow- colored poker chips onto Trinity’s bare belly. Even as Luke took her, she realized the poker chips on her belly were actually condoms. Lots and lots of condoms across her stomach and scattered across the table, but Luke hadn’t put one on.
He kept driving into her, the game around them never stopping. Skylar and Rylie repeated something that sounded like poison, poison, while Zack and Levi responded with fire, fire.
All Trinity knew was
that she needed to come so bad she couldn’t stand it. But the tension in her abdomen only intensified until she thought she’d lose her mind...
And then she was alone.
Utterly and completely alone. Standing somewhere dark and cold, like a cave, and she was entirely naked.
Where was Luke? Without him she felt incomplete, lonely even.
Trinity didn’t know what had happened, or where she was, but something in her gut suddenly told her that Skylar was in danger.
She had to find her sister. Had to help her.
And then Trinity was out in the open. She ran across the dream desert... she dodged through tumbleweeds and mesquite bushes, hurrying toward the barn. Yes, that was it. She had to get to the barn. She had to hurry—
Trinity’s eyes flew open and she stared up at the white canopy above her bed. Her heart raced like she’d really been running and she couldn’t catch her breath.
Her limbs trembled as she sat up in bed and braced her back against the headboard with her arms on her knees. That horrible feeling that something was wrong wouldn’t go away. She’d never been superstitious. Never been one to believe in dreams or intuition, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she should get up and go check on things. Why, she didn’t know, but she just had to do it.
A sense of urgency took over. She hurried out of bed, pulled her nightgown over her head and tossed it onto a chair. After she yanked on her sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, she stuffed her feet into her Nikes. She grabbed her jacket as she headed down the hall and toward the front door.
Someone had left on the Christmas lights, and they helped her make her way without stumbling. Blue stirred in the kitchen and Trinity heard the dog’s nails click against the tile as he followed her into the living room.
“You sense it too, don’t you, boy?” Trinity murmured as she neared the window.
Blue’s ears pricked forward as he jumped up and rested his front paws on the windowsill and looked out into the night with Trinity.
Everything was still. Nothing moved.
And then Blue growled.
Luke (Armed and Dangerous Book 2) Page 13
