“Then why do you have them?” he asked.
“Full disclosure, my mom used to have company over. Her friends enjoyed both the wine and the beer—as did she. I like mixed drinks, myself,” she told him as they walked into the house. She flipped on the light switch before closing the door.
“So why don’t you have that?” he asked her.
“Because the idea of drinking alone is so sad,” she confessed.
“You don’t entertain?” He knew he was probing, but he found himself really curious about what she did outside the office.
Kayley smiled at the question. “I’m too busy working to do any entertaining.”
“You’re serious?” he asked her uncertainly.
“Why would I lie about something like that?” she responded. She looked up at him. “Tonight is the first time I’ve been out in a long, long time.”
He believed her. “Then I’m glad I asked you to come with me.”
“So am I,” she admitted.
Her words were hardly louder than a whisper. He was standing so close to her she was certain he could hear her heart pounding in her chest.
And the next moment, she was certain he could not only hear it but feel it, as well, because he was holding her close as he kissed her and there wasn’t enough space to fit an eyelash between them.
Chapter Seventeen
Just an instant later, Luke drew back from her. It was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do, but he wasn’t about to allow his emotions and urges to dictate his actions. Most of all, he didn’t want Kayley to feel that she had to kiss him.
“Sorry,” he said.
“For what?” Kayley asked. “For being human? For allowing me to feel human?”
“No, for my presuming too much,” Luke replied honestly.
She realized he was being serious. They didn’t make Boys Scouts like him anymore. “If you have anything to apologize for, maybe it’s for presuming too little,” she told him.
It had been years since he’d been in this sort of a situation. Luke felt as if he were inching along, trying to find his way—blindfolded—in completely uncharted terrain.
“Then you didn’t mind?” he asked.
Kayley pressed her lips together for a second as she tried to gather her thoughts. It was clear that Luke was going to make her spell this out. Not because he wanted his ego stroked, but because he honestly didn’t know how attracted she was to him.
She smiled up at him. “You’re not going to leave me any dignity, are you?”
His eyebrows drew together. If anything, he was more confused, not less. “I thought that was what I was trying to do.”
“By having me make all the first moves?” she asked in disbelief.
He shifted closer again, his blood heating as he tried to understand exactly what was going on here. “Then you didn’t mind my doing this?” he asked, slowly brushing his lips against first one side of her neck and then the other.
With every movement, every kiss, Kayley could feel the anticipation in her veins increasing by what felt like geometric leaps and bounds.
“Last chance,” she heard Luke breathe.
Now it was her turn to be confused. “You’re leaving?”
“No,” he told her, his voice thick with desire. “Last chance to have me stop.”
“Oh.” Now it made sense to her. “That train has long since left the station,” she said, beginning to thread her arms around his neck.
Still wavering, he caught Kayley’s hands in his, holding them steady. “I don’t want to do something you’re going to regret.”
How did she get him to understand?
“The only regret I’ll have is if you decide to stop right now and walk away.”
Part of him felt that he should walk away for so many reasons, not the least of which was that if he went through with this, he’d feel guilty about turning his back on the memory of his wife. But the pull he felt was just too strong to ignore.
“I don’t think I can,” he told her honestly.
“Good,” Kayley whispered just before she rose up on her toes, wove her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the bottled-up feelings that had been threatening to explode within her.
After that, there was no turning back for either of them.
The only path left open was the one that led them forward, to a totally new plateau in their relationship.
His desires unleashed, Luke kissed her over and over again, grazing his lips over her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks and then back to her mouth again.
He kissed her chin, the tender areas of her neck and throat before moving down to the swell of her breasts.
Wanting to feel him against her skin, Kayley urgently undid the zipper at the back of her gown so that in a single heartbeat, nothing remained between his lips and her skin.
Her act of silent surrender increased his need for this woman tenfold and he anointed every part of her with his mouth, his tongue, nipping sensitive parts of her skin with his teeth.
Hearing her ragged sigh added more fuel to the fire, which already felt as if it were burning at top capacity.
Luke undid the hook at the back of her strapless bra. Then with his hands resting on either side of her hips, he gently coaxed the flimsiest of bikini panties down until they floated to the floor around her ankles.
When she drew back from him, Luke looked at her, startled. Had he misread the signs coming from her after all?
And then she smiled wickedly.
“You’re overdressed,” she told him.
The next second, she was tugging his jacket off his shoulders and down his arms. She repeated the action with his shirt after first unbuttoning it, her fingers moving so urgently she all but tore the buttons off before she managed to push them through the holes.
Undressing Luke was both fast and slow because neither of them could keep their lips away from one another for long while Kayley was stripping away his garments.
She pulled on his belt so hard that she almost ripped the hole that the metal tongue was in. When she finally managed to successfully unbuckle his belt, she went to work on freeing Luke from his last remaining garment. One button undone, one zipper pulled down, and his gray slacks went the way of her gown, overlapping and pooling with it on the floor.
Moments after that, there was nothing left between them but the hunger all but devouring both of them.
Unable to hold back long enough to go up to her bedroom, they remained where they were, allowing the bright flame of their lust to consume them in the living room.
Sinking onto the sofa, their bodies melded into one another, sealed by heat and urgency as they kissed over and over again, leaving no parts of each other’s bodies untouched.
Kayley thought she knew what she was in for, thought that there were no surprises for her when it came to lovemaking.
She was wrong.
Luke was both gentle and passionate at the same time, causing desire to crescendo and peak within her not once but several times until she was on the edge of exhaustion.
Just when Kayley thought she was approaching the final moment, the ultimate union, Luke moved her back and began to explore her body all over again, doing so with such thorough movements that he was bringing her to the verge of a climax a moment before it came crashing over her body.
Stunned, she arched up against him, against his wondrous lips and tongue, which had swept her into this uncharted region so effectively. His lips pulled back into a smile against her skin just as an almost guttural sound escaped her.
Her body shuddered as the final effects of the magic he’d performed replayed themselves before they finally ebbed away.
Panting, she found the strength from somewhere to reverse their positions as well a
s their roles. She wouldn’t have been able to do it if she hadn’t managed to catch him off guard the way she had.
Feeling utterly brazen and wicked, she began to do to him what he had done to her, stroking him with her tongue until he was all but primed and aching to release.
At the last possible second, he caught her by her shoulders and drew her up along his body until their eyes met. Hers reflected confusion. “Don’t you want me to do that?”
“Yes,” he uttered almost hoarsely.
“Then why...?” She didn’t understand why he’d pulled her up like that.
“The only thing I want more,” Luke told her, “is to be able to see your face when that moment happens and the only way for that is for you to be right where you are this moment.”
Before she could say another word, Luke wrapped his arms around her and, in one movement, flipped them over so that he was the one who was on top again.
“Traditional?” she questioned, referring to their positions.
“Just this first time,” Luke answered with a smile she couldn’t quite pin down.
Was he telling her that there would be more times in their future? she wondered, her blood racing again as her heart sang.
His eyes were on hers as he finally brought them together, entering her with barely restrained urgency. Kayley wrapped her legs around him as he began to move within her, starting slowly, the tempo growing with every press of his hips.
Not to be left behind, Kayley mimicked his movements, thrusting harder each time that he did. In the end, it was impossible for her to determine which of them was leading and who was following. They were going on that most intimate of journeys together, urging one another on until they reached the end at once, absorbing the earth-shattering explosion, their bodies and lips sealed to one another’s, holding on tightly so as not to be jarred from the face of the earth.
She clung to him on the way down, savoring the aftereffects while she held on to the euphoria, at the same time realizing that it would fade all too soon.
When it did, she felt him slump against her and then disengage their union, moving to her side. Kayley was surprised that he didn’t make any attempt to draw into himself, as well. Instead, Luke gathered her to him and pressed a small, precise kiss to the side of her temple.
“Is that your way of saying I did good?” she asked Luke. It would have been teasing if she’d had the energy for that.
“That’s my way of saying that you completely wore me out,” he told her. Luke exhaled a long sigh, then asked her, “Am I sitting up yet? I need to sit up so I can leave.”
She barely contained the laugh that bubbled up in response to his comical question. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re still lying down.”
“Oh,” he said as it that was news to him.
Right now he was being so adorable she was convinced she was in love with him. “Why don’t you try later?” she suggested.
“You mean stay here on this sofa like this until later?” he asked as if they were having a serious conversation.
By now she was grinning from ear to ear, delighted that he could be playful like this. “Yes.”
“And what will you do?” he asked, continuing the pretense.
“Stay here with you,” she answered innocently.
“That’s your plan?” he asked, doing his best to sound somber.
Luke could feel her smiling against his side. “That’s my plan,” she replied.
He pretended to think over what she had just told him. “Can’t say there’s much to it.”
“Doesn’t have to be,” she answered, lightly and playfully sliding her hand along his chest. “Just has to work.”
“Uh-huh.” He felt Kayley laughing beside him. Shifting so that he could look at her, Luke asked, “What’s so funny?”
Her eyes crinkled slightly as she grinned. “I would have never thought, not in a million years, that you had this in you.”
“You mean lovemaking?” he asked, feeding her a straight line.
She waved his words away. “No, that I knew. I’m talking about being so laid-back and actually having a sense of humor.”
“You take that back,” Luke deadpanned. “I don’t have a sense of humor.”
That only made her laugh more. “Sorry, too late. Cat’s out of the bag, I’m afraid.”
Luke’s eyes glided over her. She was beautiful, he thought. He realized that he was completely and totally smitten with her, as well as extremely turned on.
“Why don’t we see about trying to put the cat back in that bag?” he said wickedly.
When he shifted his body completely toward hers, she could feel him wanting her all over again. The man had incredible resilience, she thought. Who would have ever thought...?
Her own thoughts evaporated as he pulled her to him and began to kiss her over and over again. It was hard for Kayley to think of anything except how much she wanted Luke to make love with her again.
Her blood surging, Kayley returned his kisses with ardor, absorbing everything and glorying in the fact that when they’d finished making love the first time, Luke hadn’t just abruptly gotten dressed and left. He’d remained beside her, making her feel as if this first time had been special for both of them.
She knew what to expect but was still blown away by Luke’s tenderness as well as his passion. Moreover, she knew he was putting her needs ahead of his own without a single word to that effect.
When they’d finished enjoying one another for a second time, Kayley was certain that her heart was just going to explode in her chest. It was hammering so very hard.
And the best part was the way Luke held her after it was over. As if she was precious—and as if he wasn’t sorry for the way things had played out.
She’d been braced for that, for some show of regret on Luke’s part. But so far, there wasn’t any.
Mentally, she crossed her fingers, praying that there never would be. Most of all, she prayed that she was right in believing that this was not the last time they would come together.
* * *
Luke knew he should be going home. If Barbara was still awake, she would undoubtedly be wondering where he was.
No, she wouldn’t be, he amended. Knowing Barbara, she’d know exactly where he was. One way or another, she had been urging him to make this happen, to move on with his life. You’d think, he reflected, that the woman were his mother rather than Jill’s.
Even so, he really needed to get dressed and go home... he told himself. In a minute, he hedged. Or maybe five. He just needed to close his eyes for a second and then he’d be up to leaving, Luke thought.
Just another second...
Chapter Eighteen
“Really?” Lily squealed, covering her small rosebud mouth with her hands as she tried to contain her joy.
For his part, Luke had never seen his daughter this excited before. Granted, she had been becoming progressively more and more enthusiastic, but this was a new high.
Lily was reacting to the news that a trip to the happiest place on earth was in her near future. He had made the announcement when they’d walked in the door the following morning. He did it in part to distract his daughter from the fact that he was still wearing the same clothes he’d had on the night before.
Kayley had urged him to be the one to tell Lily about the amusement park even though she’d been the one who had scored the family-pack tickets. She hadn’t said it in so many words but he knew that she felt he needed to get closer to his daughter by appearing to be the hero in her eyes. Nothing was more heroic to a five-year-old than being taken to the most famous amusement park in the world.
He smiled at her. “Really,” he answered Lily.
“And you’ll come, too?” Lily asked, grabbing his hand with both of her
s as if that would somehow make him agree. Lily might be five, he thought, but it was a wise five. His daughter took nothing for granted.
“I’ll come, too,” he promised.
On a winning streak, Lily asked him, “Can Grandma come?”
“Wouldn’t think of going without her,” he told his daughter. Looking over her head, his eyes met his mother-in-law’s and he saw the approval on her face. Obviously, he’d said the right thing. Never mind that it was also the truth.
“How about Kayley?” Lily asked, suddenly turning shy on him. It didn’t stop her from asking, but she wasn’t quite as animated about it now. “Can Kayley come with us? It’ll be fun with her,” she begged.
He did what he could to keep a straight face. “Meaning it won’t be fun with just me?”
“It’ll be funner,” Lily said diplomatically, if not grammatically. “Grandma likes her, too, don’t you, Grandma?” She turned toward her grandmother and asked as if that would seal the discussion.
“Absolutely,” Barbara said with feeling, looking over at the young woman she’d been championing from the very first moment she had become aware of her.
“This is a family pack of tickets,” Kayley told the little girl. “That means that it’s for the family.”
Lily didn’t hesitate for a moment. “But you can be part of the family.” She looked at her grandmother for backup. “Can’t she, Grandma?”
“That would be up to Kayley,” Barbara told her granddaughter. “But if my vote counts,” she added warmly, “I vote yes.”
Lily turned toward her father, raising her hand as far as she could.
“I vote yes, too!” She looked hopefully at him with her wide, wide blue eyes. “Vote yes, Daddy.” It was half a request, half a plea.
This was really putting Luke on the spot, Kayley thought. Yes, they’d spent a really wonderful night together, but that was behind them and she didn’t want him to think she was one of those clingy women who never let go once she’d gotten hold of a man, no matter how slender that hold was.
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