by Cat Miller
Her orgasm was quickly building, but Everly wasn’t ready to let it take her yet. She wanted to hold Luc this close to her for as long as she could. He was hers for now. Just for now. And she didn’t want to let it end.
She took them both to the sharp edge of bliss and backed off, slowing her pace to hold off the inevitable climax several times before Luc’s blazing dark eyes pleaded with Everly to give him the delicious, consuming release they both needed so desperately.
Then she fucked him. Everly gave Luc the ride he’d asked her for when he pulled her body over his and let her have control. She let go. Together, she and Luc rocked the bed until it was pounding against the wall. They came together in a forceful frenzy of need.
Pushing. Pulling. Giving. Taking. Wanting. Needing. Touching. Kissing. And finally crying out with a pleasure so sharp it was pain. Then they started all over again.
Sometime later after catching their breath and consuming a delicious meal Luc ordered for them, Everly was feeling a little buzzed. There had been strawberries and an expensive bottle of champagne with the meal. She’d had a couple of glasses of the bubbly drink. Luc finished the rest of the bottle.
Drunk on several intense orgasms and tipsy on champagne Everly felt as if she could float away. Thankfully, Luc was holding her tightly to the earth. He was the anchor she wanted to tether her there forever.
Everly leaned back and looked deeply into Luc’s serious, dark eyes. He was thinking too. She could tell by his intense expression. He was going to break her heart. She knew it, but it was far too late to stop it from happening. Their time together was coming to an end. He would leave her tonight. Maybe he’d wait until morning. But when he walked out of her door this time, it would be forever. She couldn’t put off talking to him about her feelings any longer.
Luc was about to say something. His lips parted, and she was so afraid it would be goodbye. While she still had the nerve and before he crushed her, Everly wanted Luc to know she loved him. He needed to understand this wasn’t just a contractual obligation or a way for her to hold on to her family home. This was real for Everly. Even if it wasn’t for Luc. So Everly opened her mouth and let the truth spill out.
“I love you.” They both said in unison. Then they stared at each other in stunned silence.
* * *
Luc didn’t know what had taken him so long to realize that he was in love with Everly. He’d known since he met the woman that she made him crazy. She affected him in a way that no one else could.
He’d been struggling with just what exactly his attitude and behavior toward Everly meant for the last exhilarating week. She made him want things he never had before. Things like a real home instead of a suite in a hotel. She spoke so fondly of her home that it made Luc remember the tidy little house he’d grown up in. Not that he’d ever have a house that small. But maybe he needed something outside the city.
He also wished suddenly he had a job that didn’t require his constant attention. Over the last week though, he’d cut out of the office in time to have dinner with Everly nightly. He’d even taken a whole day off to take her out to Red Rock Canyon. And guess what? Nothing had fallen apart. His people did their jobs, and he got some much needed time with Everly. That had him thinking about a lot of things. Like why was he such a control freak?
It wasn’t until Everly admitted that she planned to leave tomorrow that it had really struck Luc. He knew the contract was ending soon. Knowing it and facing it were two different things. He’d been avoiding all thoughts of how Everly came to be with him and her family. Knowing that he was about to lose her had brought home exactly how much he wanted, no he needed, Everly in his life.
He loved her, and she was going to leave him. She would leave him because he hadn’t given her any reason to stay. He’d told her a week ago that they should just enjoy the time they had together. That was before, though. Before he realized he needed her.
Luc hadn’t believed he was capable of love after the loss of his grandmother. It had only been since he’d met Everly that he was able to admit to himself that the connection he felt for Rourke and Dolce was a familial love he’d had for them since he was a kid. They were like his siblings, and he loved them. He had family. Luc thought himself alone in the world. But he never really had been. They’d always been there for him. Damn it. He was going to give them both another raise.
The problem even now was him, as always. He was a suspicious son of a bitch. While he’d been enjoying Everly’s body and her undivided attention, Luc was still trying to work out her angle. He just didn’t understand why she’d signed that damn contract to start with. It plagued him. But he hadn’t found anything in her background that led him to an obvious answer. And he’d searched hard. She was exactly who she appeared to be.
It all boiled down to one simple, baffling fact. Luc loved her. It didn’t matter why she was there. He loved her. To hell with his suspicious nature. He had to tell her if he wanted a chance to make her love him back.
It wouldn’t be easy. He wasn’t a good man. He’d done many underhanded and frankly vicious things in his time. He’d even taken advantage of her very own father. Though he couldn’t exactly regret that move. It was what had brought the angry redheaded Fury to his door.
Her family would try to turn her away from him. He couldn’t blame them. He wasn’t the kind of man who deserved a woman like Everly. He’d have to find a way around that. She would be worth the fight.
His biggest worry after convincing her not to leave was how he would learn to be the kind of person an upstanding woman like Everly could love. He could do it. He’d never failed in his life. He’d find a way. She would love him eventually. They had a good foundation already.
After the most intense bout of sex of his life Luc understood the difference he felt when he was with Everly. Admitting to himself that he loved her had opened a door for him. He’d loved her body, not just used her for release. That was where the difference was. He used other women. Everly wasn’t other women. She was his woman and he loved her body.
He ordered dinner just to give himself time to think. He needed a plan. His internal caveman, who’d apparently known he was in love with Everly from the beginning, had a great plan. He suggested they keep Everly in bed until she agreed to stay. He would master her body until her heart got with the fucking program.
That might work for a day or two. Until her pain in the ass brother came pounding on the doors of The Inferno again. He’d have Dolce on his ass long before Mills made it back to Vegas. She’d appointed herself Everly’s guardian and was counting down the days until the contract expired. No, he couldn’t tie her to the bed. He had to find another way to convince Everly to give him a chance.
When the kitchen asked if he wanted anything else with his meal, Luc had added a huge bottle of bubbly and some strawberries. That was romantic, right? He could start there. He needed to woo Everly. He was no fucking Romeo. He’d never tried to keep a woman. He never wanted to keep one. Rather the opposite.
He’d have to talk to Rourke. Christ, he’d never hear the end of it, but he was going to go to Rourke for advice on how to treat a woman. Luc cringed.
They ate in companionable silence. She scarfed down her food. She was clearly hungry. It was very late, and he hadn’t fed her. That was something else he’d need to work on, taking someone else’s needs into consideration.
Everly looked over the night lights of Vegas. He wondered if she was thinking of her home. Was she was thinking about leaving him? She was probably planning her escape. Luc was planning, too. He was deep in thought when he poured the last of the champagne into his glass and swallowed it down.
After dinner, they wandered back down the hall and returned to bed. Luc was holding Everly in his arms. He was touching her luminescent skin and listening to her breath. She was so beautiful. Everything about her from her deep red hair to her creamy skin and her luscious curves made him want her more. More than that, she was kind and hardworking. She
understood people in a way he didn’t. It was like she possessed all the qualities he lacked.
This was what he wanted. Everly in his bed every night. This closeness and intimacy that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with being together. She was the only woman he’d ever actually slept with. Now he was glad.
Everly lifted up and looked down at him. She’d been thinking hard. There was a crease between her eyes that meant she had something serious to say. He didn’t want to hear goodbye. He was out of time and he had no plan for how to keep her with him.
“I love you,” he said it before she could end their time together. He just put it out there.
“I love you,” Everly said at the same time.
She loved him? Wait, what? Everly loved him? He stared stunned into her shocked green eyes. He couldn’t have heard her correctly.
“You love me?” he asked to verify that he hadn’t dreamed it.
“I do.” A shy little smile turned up the corners of her kiss reddened lips. “You love me?”
“Yes. I didn’t think I was capable of it, but I love you. I do,” he told her earnestly. She needed to believe him.
She was smiling down at him with wonder in her eyes. She loved him. They sat there looking at each other with goofy grins on their faces.
What now? What was he supposed to do? How do you do a good job of loving another person? He would have to talk to Rourke. Rourke was a happily married man. A very happily married man. A married man. That was it.
The smile left Luc’s face. Everly’s smile faded as well. She was searching his face, clearly unsure of what to do or say next. She was as lost as Luc was but he was working on a new plan.
He loved Everly. She loved him. There was only one thing left to do. And Luc would see it done before she had a chance to realize what a bad deal she was getting in Lucifer Christianson. She would not leave him. He wouldn’t have it. Not now. Not Ever.
* * *
Luc’s expression had gone from astonished and exultant to intense and thoughtful in the blink of an eye. He was up to something. She knew that determined look in his eyes. It was his business face.
“You aren’t leaving me. I won’t allow it. You’re mine now, Everly. That’s something you’ll just have to learn to live with. It’s your own fault. You shouldn’t have stolen from me.” He nodded to add emphasis to his blatant lie.
“I never stole from you!” Everly gasped, offended.
“You did.” He kissed her softly, slowly.
Everly was too bewildered to argue with him when he was kissing her like that.
Luc pulled back looking completely serious into her eyes. He took her hand and placed her palm over the center of his chest.
“You stole my heart. I can’t live without it, baby. You’re just going to have to stay with me now.” He quickly kissed her again.
Everly was blown away. He loved her and wanted her to stay. This was more than she could ever have hoped for. Maybe they really did have a chance at a real relationship.
The look on Everly’s face must not have pleased Luc. He was still glaring at her. He rolled so that she was under him and reached for the phone on the bedside table. He dialed and waited for an answer. Everly studied his beautiful, stern face while he spoke. She was still replaying his words in her head. He loved her. He’d said it more than once.
“Rourke, it’s Luc. Yes, I know I’m calling from Everly’s suite. Don’t act like you’re surprised. I need you to get a preacher and meet me at the chapel. Yes. I do know that’s it’s three in the morning.” He listened again. “No, not Pastor Davis. He won’t come, and he’d ask too many questions if he did.”
What is he doing? Why did he need a preacher at three in the morning? Was he drunk? She didn’t think so.
“I don’t care what you have to do get a preacher here, just do it and make sure they bring a marriage license.”
Everly’s head was spinning. Is he serious? Luc looked down at her as he finished his conversation with Rourke.
“Yes, I’m sure. Don’t try to talk me out of it, old friend. I love her. I’m not letting her walk away.”
A broad smile split Luc’s face. “Thank you. You’re right. She is the perfect woman for me. I’m glad you approve. Meet me at the chapel in thirty minutes.”
Luc hung up and rolled off of the bed pulling Everly with him. He pushed her in the direction of her closet and smacked her ass.
“Get dressed, woman! We’re getting married!”
EIGHTEEN
Everly was having so much fun. She’d complained that he never let her go into the club. He explained that it was because most of the women in the private area were employees. There were only a handful of female members, and the men knew who they were. She’d already caused a ruckus in Hell once. He didn’t want to have to ban a member for looking at her too long.
It was an insult and a compliment wrapped in one. He thought she had a knack for finding trouble. If he only knew she’d never seen a day of trouble in her life until she met him. He also thought she was too lovely for other men to behave themselves when she was around. It wasn’t true, but knowing he thought so made it hard for her to argue with him.
Luc suggested they spend the evening in Hell that night. That sounded like far less fun than it actually was. She and Luc had gone from room to room in his private club sampling a few drinks and playing card games. She was getting very good with Luc’s tutelage. They’d danced in one of the bars. They’d even spent a short time in that scandalous hall that was lined with rooms where people who enjoyed being watched could find a willing and eager audience to witness their sexual exploits.
It was shocking to her small town sensibilities, but it was exhilarating too. At first, when she’d come to The Inferno, Everly thought that it was dirty. Now she understood more about the needs of other people. Luc provided a safe place for them to explore their sensuality; it was as simple as that. See a need, fill a need. That was how Luc operated.
On the way back up to the penthouse, the sexual tension in the elevator was thick and delicious. Everly’s heart beat loud in her ears. Luc was watching her from where he leaned in the corner of the swiftly ascending car.
“I want you, baby. I want to tangle my hands in all of that silky red hair and ride you until we both scream for mercy.”
The sensual promise in his words thrilled Everly. She sauntered over to Luc getting in his personal space. She had to look up to see is face. He was holding onto the safety rail with a white knuckled grip.
He was holding himself back. Trying to contain his passion. That just wouldn’t do now, would it? This was the last night of the crazy agreement that had brought them together. She’d already decided to lay it all out in the open. This was her last chance to discover if they had a chance to really be together.
Everly was going to tell Luc she loved him tonight. That admission would either bring them closer or send Luc running back to his life of one night women and casual bed buddies. Either way, things were about to change. They had to.
Everly rose up on her tiptoes to place a kiss in the hollow of Luc’s throat. He was breathing deeply. His pulse thrummed visibly at his neck. She licked that pulse. Tasting Luc’s delicious salty essence.
Luc groaned and cursed. His hands released the railing to grasp her hips and pull her body against the straining arousal contained in his expensive trousers. He leaned into the wall heavily. Letting it support his weight so he could bend into her tender ministration. She was licking and sucking at his skin. Tasting him.
“Maybe I’m going to be the one riding you. Maybe I’ll be making you scream my name.” She nipped Luc’s earlobe. “Maybe you’re about to get fucked, Luc.”
The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. Luc wrapped his big muscular arms around Everly and hauled her up against his chest. His mouth crashed down on hers in a hot wet embrace. He carried her blindly to her door.
Everly fumbled in her bag for the keycard. It was made more di
fficult considering Luc refused to give up her mouth while she hunted blindly in the bag. She finally found the card, and Luc took it from her. He opened the door and carried her inside.
They were all lips, tongues and hands as they stripped each other. Everly was in the moment with Luc when thoughts of wanting their last night together to last forever. This was likely the last time they’d share a bed. Because after she told Luc she loved him, the difficult man would probably pull away from Everly in a hurry.
It would be hard to make a relationship work. She had responsibilities at home in Colorado that she couldn’t avoid. Kennedy still needed her at home. The graduation party was coming. Mills needed her help on the ranch. They would have to start the business over again.
There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between Luc and Everly that they would avoid the subject of her family and the business. They hadn’t spoken at all about her leaving or the contract. Nothing had been mentioned at all in the week since she and Dolce had run into trouble at Harlot.
Tonight, Everly would have to break the silence. If Luc wasn’t looking for something more permanent, Everly wouldn’t hang around. No matter what, she had to leave in the morning. She had to get back to her family and the business.
It would take a massive effort for both Luc and Everly to continue their relationship. They would both have to travel and sacrifice. Everly would have to find a way to make her family understand that she was in love with Luc. He was a good man. It wouldn’t be easy to convince them. They wouldn’t accept him at first. There was too much animosity there for the man who had tried to destroy them.
“Hey, hey, where’d you go?” Luc asked.
They were both half naked and bouncing off of the walls in a hurry to undress each other and get to the bed before they combusted. Luc cupped her face and brushed a thumb over her lower lip. Everly became so caught up in her inner turmoil that Luc had felt the change in her. She left the haze of lust to ponder the broken heart she feared was waiting to greet her before the night was out.
