by Jill Sanders
Cassey couldn’t seem to control the shaking. Her fingers shook as she pulled Luke’s shirt off his arms. When she felt his skin exposed, she dipped her head down and licked his salty skin. He tasted better than the honey cookies she’d devoured less than a half hour ago.
His fingers went into her hair, holding her to his skin as he moaned her name over and over.
“I want you so bad,” he groaned as she lapped at his flat nipples with her tongue. When her fingers reached for his belt buckle, he pushed them aside and reversed their positions until she was pushed up against the wall, her hands held over her head in one of his.
“My turn,” he moaned as he flipped up her shirt and exposed her skin. With his free hand, he pushed down her bra until her nipples puckered in the cool air of the broom closet. She’d been so blinded with lust, she had settled for the first room that wasn’t below zero. Now as he tugged at the hem of her jeans, she wished they were in her room and that they had the whole day to explore each other.
His hands released hers above her head and traveled down her body, exploring and causing her skin to heat where he touched. He pulled on her jeans until she was exposed, then he ran his fingers over her cotton underwear.
“Nice,” he said as he played over the soft material until she felt them turn moist from her desire.
“Luke.” She dug her nails into his skin, trying to pull him closer to her.
“I know,” he groaned as he yanked her jeans off her long legs. Then he dug his fingers into her hips as he ran his mouth over her exposed chest. She reached for him and flipped open his jeans, then wrapped her fingers around his length. He was perfect. She could spend hours exploring the length of him, enjoying the way he felt in her hands.
His jeans hung on his hips and he almost fell when he moved to step closer to her.
Cursing under his breath, he stepped back, kicked off his shoes, and freed his legs from the jeans.
It was too dark in the small room to see clearly. She quickly disposed of the rest of her clothing when she heard him remove his. Then he came back to her and pressed up against her, starting a kiss that deepened more than any she’d ever experienced before.
He took her left leg in his hand and pulled it up high until her knee was next to his chest, fully exposing all of her to him, and then he slid into her heat as they both moaned. Her leg wrapped around his hip, pulling him closer as he pushed her back up against the wall.
“Cass, I can’t…” he moaned breathlessly.
She dug her nails into his shoulders as his thrusts grew faster and harder. Her head fell back and her eyes closed to the wonder of it all. Their skin was slick with heat as the darkness veiled them, causing the feeling, tastes, and sounds to be heightened. She’d never experienced sensory overload until that moment.
His fingers traveled over her skin, pinching her nipples lightly. His lips ran over her neck, just below her ears, as he nibbled his way back to her earlobe.
When she felt herself losing control, she reached up and took his hair into her hands and pulled his mouth back to hers as she felt his final thrust.
A few minutes later, when she flipped on the light in the small closet, she tried not to laugh. It looked like a scene from a movie. Their clothes were thrown all over the small room. She found her underwear on the top shelf with several rolls of toilet paper. Her left shoe was in the empty mop bucket and her other one was wedged behind a broom.
“I didn’t know you could have so much fun in a broom closet.” He chuckled as he pulled on his shirt.
She smiled. “Neither did I. Maybe we should try out the supply closet upstairs sometime,” she said, pulling on her shoes while trying not to fall flat on her face.
He chuckled. “I’m game.”
Just then, they heard voices down the hall and stopped moving. She held her breath as she heard Wendy talking to someone outside the doorway. Screaming was more like it.
“Are you stupid?” they heard her saying. “Or do you just want to get yourself killed?”
“Neither,” Cassey heard her brother Cole say. She didn’t know he was still there. After what Marcus had said, she’d expected Cole to be on a plane heading to Australia.
She put her finger over her lips and nodded to Luke, who was sitting on an overturned bucket, putting on his shoes.
“I thought you’d learned your lesson last time. I won’t cover for you again like that,” Wendy said.
“And I appreciate your help keeping my family from finding out, but I can handle this. Besides, I need the money to help Cass out.”
“Bullshit,” Wendy said. “You live for the danger. It’s a death wish.”
Cole chuckled. “I told you, it’s more dangerous coming around here all the time, eating those honey cookies of yours. A guy’s likely to get fat and lazy sticking in the same place for too long.”
“Then go,” Wendy yelled. “See if I care.” They heard her walk off.
“Wendy.” They heard Cole chase after her.
“I didn’t know they were a couple,” Luke said, standing up again.
Cassey spun around quickly. “What?” Then she laughed. “No, Cole and Wendy aren’t dating.” She almost felt like laughing again, but something held her back. The conversation they’d just overheard could have easily been interpreted as an argument between a couple, but she knew better. Her brother had a different woman on every beach he surfed.
“Really?” He smiled at her and started walking towards her. “They could have fooled me.”
She shook her head. “They fight more than my brothers do. Honestly, I don’t think Wendy can stand Cole. They tolerate each other for my sake. It’s a hate, hate relationship.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Like we used to have?” He smiled, then dipped his head down and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Luke’s words played over and over in her mind for the rest of the day. She tried to concentrate on cleaning, but she just couldn’t shake what had happened during lunch.
She’d always been able to keep her feelings separate from her physical relationships. She’d always had a plan as far as relationships went. Keeping her heart safe had been the number one goal in her life. Why, then, was she starting to feel like her heart wasn’t listening to the goals she’d set for herself?
Luke was the son of her enemy, or so she kept telling herself. So far, he’d been there for her, physically and personally, but he just wasn’t the kind of man she saw herself falling for. For one, he was rich. She wasn’t a snob but she was realistic. He’d grown up with money, lots of money. He’d probably never experienced wanting for anything in his childhood. In all the stories he’d told her about his childhood, he’d never had to go long without getting what he wanted.
He’d lived in one of the nicest hotels, eaten at one of the most expensive restaurants, and gone to school at one of the most prestigious colleges around.
By the time everyone called it an evening, she’d talked herself out of having any feelings for Luke. It was for the best. He was out of her league.
When she locked up for the night, she took a second look around. First thing in the morning, the inspector would be there, deciding her fate.
The place had never looked as clean as it did now. Everything shined. Her brothers had helped her employees for most of the day, but after lunch, Cole had left to head to the airport and his surf trip. The news had gotten wind that he’d be surfing the storm waves and it was all over the television set by nightfall.
She hadn’t worried much until she stopped below one of the sets in the bar that was playing a piece about the storm, and she got her first real look at the waves her brother was flying halfway across the world to surf. Marcus walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered, “He’ll be fine.”
Still, she wished she would have said something else to Cole before he’d left. Maybe if she had yelled at him like Wendy had, he would have stayed.
She was sta
nding at the top of the stairs, her hand on the railing, when Luke walked up the stairs towards her.
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to go smoothly tomorrow.” He smiled and took her hips into his hands.
She shook her head. “Actually, I was worrying about my brother.”
He tilted his head. “Cole?” When she nodded, he smiled. “That man is an ledgend. I’ve never seen a surfer who was born for the water like him, and I’ve seen some of the best. When I was in college, I took a summer off and went to Hawaii. Spent a few months bumming around the beaches, trying to find out what I wanted to do in life. Since I can’t surf, and I wasn’t a threat to the locals, I made friends easily.” He continued his story as he took her hand and walked the rest of the staircase towards her apartment. “Well, I bumped into Maka one day.” He stopped and she watched as a smile crossed his face, reaching all the way to his eyes.
“Maka? You mean—”
He nodded. “The best surfer ever. He holds more records in surfing than they have for surfing. Well, Maka decided to take me under his wing that summer.” He paused as she opened her door. “He told me that if I wanted to, I could be surfing like him by the end of the summer.” He shook his head. “I sat with him on the beach, and every day he would try to convince me to get in the water.” She turned just in time to see a sad look cross his face. Reaching over, she took his arm. He shook his head and sighed. “But because of what happened to Calvin…” He shook his head again. “Anyway, I watched surfers come and go, all trying to impress Maka, seeing if they could convince him to teach them. Maka would sit and point out what each surfer was doing wrong. Then your brother showed up with a group of surfers. He wasn’t there to impress the great Maka. Instead, he headed down the beach to a spot where the surfing wasn’t as good and enjoyed the water. Maka saw him down the way surfing and took my arm and said, “There, that one. He has a ka'i'ininokekai, water heart. He has the power to ride whatever wave he wants in life. Look how he stands, how he rides the waves like they are made just for him.”
“He said that about Cole?” She reached for his arm. Luke nodded.
“I left the next day after my father tracked me down and told me he’d signed me up for summer classes.” He shook his head. “Cole will be fine. He was the best surfer on the beach in Hawaii, and I’m sure he will be the best in Australia.”
She smiled up at him. “I know you’re right. Now all I have to worry about is the inspector tomorrow.”
He chuckled. “I have a few ideas to keep your mind off that.” He pulled her close and kissed her until she no longer worried about her brother or the inspector.
