“Why did you say she needed help and then say you thought she would be fine?”
“I… well…” I sighed. “Okay. Suppose I said that I helped her out? Would that be breaking a Community First rule?”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Helped her out in what way?”
I twirled a strand of hair around my finger, all too aware of his hot gaze on my face. “By getting her some food. Not from the pantry. But from home.” I shrugged pitifully.
A deep and painful silence stretched on. Luke continued to stare at me, but his emotions were unreadable.
“Why would you do that?” he finally asked.
The question confused me. “Because she needed it. She has three kids. I mean, Jesus Christ, her husband just left her. All I did was buy her baby some formula and pick some stuff from the garden.” My voice rose as I went on. “So, you know what? I don’t think I did anything wrong, and I don’t care if I broke a Community First rule. I’m not just going to stand around while some kids go hungry. So fuck that shit.”
I crossed my arms in defense. There. I’d said my piece, and it was too late to take it back. Whatever was going to happen would happen. If Luke banned me from Community First and turned his back on me forever, I’d find another way to go on. I’d get on that dating site where young women can hook up with rich men. What was it called? Sugar daddy dot com?
Whatever it was I had to do, I would do it. What I said was true. I wasn’t about to just watch a woman struggle to feed her children.
Luke gazed evenly at me, his hands still pressed against the edge of the counter. I waited for him to speak, but the painful silence only stretched on and on.
“Please say something,” I whispered.
One corner of his mouth twitched. “I don’t know what to think of you.”
“I think you’ve said that before.”
“Then it’s definitely true.”
We watched each other across the island’s counter, the only sound in the room the barely audible humming of the refrigerator.
Luke spoke. “So that’s what happened to your aunt’s tomatoes, huh?” He smiled.
I tilted my head to the side and stared him down. “Do you remember everything that anyone says?”
“I only remember everything you say.”
My entire body froze and then contracted. The volume on all of my senses turned up a notch. My fingers were hot and slick with sweat. The passing shouting of kids on the street grew so loud I could nearly make out their words. The light in the room grew and glowed, and Luke’s blue eyes became the brightest they’d ever been.
The smile was gone from Luke’s face, yet his gaze on me never wavered. I swallowed hard, intensely self-conscious in front of his scrutiny. I wanted to look away, but I also didn’t want to miss anything. I had a sudden and intense knowing that if I broke our eye contact for even half a second, I could miss something mysteriously important, something borderline holy.
Luke tilted his head down, his eyes dropping from mine, and pressed his weight against the bar.
“Your sandwich is ready,” he said.
“Okay, thank you.”
Neither one of us made a move.
He chuckled and then peered back at me from beneath his lashes. With a sigh, he shook his head.
“You’re going to drive me crazy,” he said, his voice soft, gentle.
My throat felt unbelievably thick. “I’m not doing anything.”
He rubbed his face. “I can’t play games, Grace. I won’t play games.”
I bit down gently on my tongue. Was he waiting for me to promise to not do just that?
If so, it was too late.
Then again, my plans for our future life together wasn’t a game. I was taking it all very seriously. Maybe I wasn’t being upfront about everything, but who was? Certainly there had to be things Luke hid from me as well.
Luke straightened up and walked around the counter, and I thought he was bringing me a sandwich, but his hands were empty. He moved with quick, fluid steps, and the second he got to me, his hands came up and grasped the sides of my face.
His lips struck mine with a force hard enough to take my breath away. I froze as he kissed me, the whole action so quick I was still processing what was going on, even as his taste floated across my tongue.
Luke bent over me, his hands pushing my head up tighter against his. The shock of the touch over, my torso relaxed and sagged while my lips pressed back into his.
His tongue swirled over mine, sweet and familiar. I’d craved it so much after our first kiss and tried so desperately not to think about it. Not knowing when I’d get his mouth on mine again, I hadn’t wanted to torment myself with fantasies of the future. Just replaying the scene on the porch over and over again in my mind had been enough delicious torture.
Luke’s palms pressed against the back of my head, pushing me closer to him. My feet slipped off the bottom bar of the stool and fell on the floor. Never breaking our kiss, I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist. The muscles in his lower back rippled underneath my arms, and I shuddered.
Luke must have felt me quake beneath him, and he responded by looping his arms around my back to hug me close. Our mouths moved faster, their movement frenetic and hungry. I grabbed the back of Luke’s shirt, twisting the fabric in my fist. His mouth broke away from mine and traveled across my jaw, his hot lips grazing my skin. His breath entered my ear, and he spoke in the deepest whisper.
“You’re dangerous,” was all he said.
My grip on his shirt loosened. With two little words, I had been defeated. I didn’t care what names anyone called me, or what vile things they thought about me… as long as that person wasn’t Luke Anderson.
To be no good in his eyes seemed like the worst fate in the world.
Slowly, I took a step back. Our arms were still around each other, but our grips slack. I studied Luke’s face. His lips red and bright from kissing, the slight blond stubble popping across his jaw. How could I ever prove myself good enough for him?
And better yet, how could I ever be good enough for him?
It was a question I never thought I would even ask. In the land that I came from, life was all about appearances. Who you seemed to be was more important than who you actually were. The people you went to brunch with, the bag you carried, and the neighborhood you lived in… those were the things that others judged you on.
But not Luke. He didn’t care about those things. He wanted to see the person beneath all of the external, material stuff.
For me, that person wasn’t worth showing.
I struggled for my breath. Try as hard as I might, I would never be good enough for him. The craziest thing about it was that, until that moment, I’d never cared. As long as I appeared good enough, things would be golden. That’s what I had always thought.
But it wasn’t true.
Yes, I thought about saying. I am dangerous. I will lie to you and do everything I can to make you think I’m something I’m not. You should run for the hills while you still can.
I opened my mouth to say it, but my tongue was too thick. How could I do it? How could I possibly let the most amazing man I’d ever met go?
Luke pressed his mouth against mine again, and the room swirled around us, turning into a blur of colors before fading away. I closed my eyes and released myself into the sweet darkness. In such a place there were no thoughts, no questions, no worrying about whether I was good enough or what would come tomorrow. There was only Luke’s touch against my skin; his breath pushing into my mouth.
Faster and faster we kissed. Luke’s hands slid down my back and underneath my shorts. In one swift motion, he picked me up and held me against him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding on tight. Still, I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see anything, only wanting to kiss away all the questions and fears.
He held me tight against his rigid body and walked backwards into another room.
I was faintly aware of the livin
g room, and then a hallway. Luke bumped up against something, and his grip tightened even more on me.
“I want to take you to my bedroom,” he whispered.
“I want that too,” I gasped, fighting to keep down a moan of anticipation.
He started walking again, kissing and sucking on my neck.
When I cracked my eyes open, we were in a bedroom. If the new room was just as bare as the other ones, I didn’t know it because Luke turned around and laid me down on the bed. A second later, his weight pressed down on me, one hand holding both of mine above my head.
His tongue delved deep into my mouth, exploring each inch of it. His weight shifted, and his hard bulge pressed against my groin. Instantly, heat rushed between my legs. I could feel the wetness pooling and an ache so intense it was painful.
I slipped my wrists free of his grasp and grabbed the top of his pants. Luke cursed and nipped at my ear as I worked frantically to undo his pants. My hands shook even more than they had in the driveway, and my heart pounded so loudly it was all I could hear.
The zipper on his jeans undone, I slipped one hand beneath his boxers and into the intense warmth there. His length was thick and throbbing, and its heat seemed to double as I wrapped my hand around it. Luke’s tongue slipped into my ear, making me squirm, and I tightened my grip on his cock.
Slowly, he licked a trail down along my neck and to the base of my throat. I grabbed the back of his pants with my free hand, doing my best to try and tug them off. My entire body screamed with its desperate need to feel his naked skin against mine, and if I didn’t appease its commands, I would soon explode.
Luke drew away to pull his pants off. Instead of coming back to kiss me, though, he stood up and stripped while I watched. The bright light coming through the window behind me illuminated his naked body, striking each hard muscle. I sucked in a sharp breath, my fingers curling into the soft blanket.
My mouth watered at the very sight of him. I wanted to run my tongue against the lines of each of his muscles, to taste the salty goodness of his skin and feel the velvety smoothness of his dick pressed against the back of my throat.
I sat up on my elbows, and he came forward, his mouth the first thing to touch me. His hands grasped my hair, tugging it slightly before going down and underneath my shirt. His fingers ran over the fabric of my bra, teasing at my hard nipples, and my head fell back in contentment. One hand followed the length of the bra strap and, with one fluid motion, unhooked the clasp.
Luke reached forward again to tug my shirt off. The bra followed, dropping away, and Luke pressed me gently down onto the bed. His legs straddling mine, he kissed up and down my torso, taking extra time on my breasts. At the same time, he tugged and pulled my shorts and underwear off, leaving us both naked.
“So beautiful,” he murmured.
A ripple of anticipation went through my body as Luke’s hands pressed into my skin, swirling over my hips and moving between my legs. His fingers circled my clit, making a bolt of pleasure shoot through me.
I gasped something even I didn’t understand, and then Luke’s mouth was back on mine again, the two of us kissing frantically while he slid a finger inside of me.
“You’re so wet,” he said against my lips, and my clit nearly spasmed under his touch.
I clutched his shoulders, hanging on. Being there with him was so good I was half-afraid it couldn’t be real. I would open my eyes and find he had disappeared, gone from my life forever.
Luke pushed deeper into me, and I ground against his hand. His teeth nipped at my bottom lip, the action animalistic. He added a second finger and pressed them up and in, curling and twisting against my walls, making me shake again.
“I need you,” I gasped into his mouth, my fingers digging into his back.
He made a satisfied noise in response, then pulled away from me so he could lean over and grab something from the bedside table. I leaned back into the pillows and watched him, enjoying the heavy sounds of our breathing and the sight of his hard form in the bright light. He pulled a condom out and slid it over his rigid length. I relaxed even further, ready and eager to accept his body into mine.
Luke moved forward again, planting a kiss on my knee. My legs fell open automatically at his close proximity, and he pressed his face between them. His hot breath washed over my folds, teasing me. Slow and steady, he licked up and down, each motion driving me closer and closer to insanity.
I gritted my teeth and grabbed his arms, lugging him up towards me. A satisfied smile flashed across his face, and he nestled down against me, his shape fitting perfectly into mine.
“Please. I need you now.”
Incrementally slow, Luke pushed into me, one hand holding my leg and the other grasping onto the back of my hair. I gasped and pressed my hips against him, urging him to speed up. To fill me. To join us completely. He took his time, though, teasing me as my body stretched around his invasion.
Leaning down to press his torso against mine, Luke kissed me gently. His tongue pressed delicately against my lips, giving me just a taste before retreating. Sweat began to collect on us, pooling between our bodies as he set a rhythm that increased from slow to just this side of pounding.
I keened, sinking my teeth into his shoulder as he changed the angle of penetration and the base of his shaft rubbed my clit. I was losing control, too much happening at once. The weight of him. The feel of him. The smell. His breath. The way our body fit together so right. The pressure of his lips on mine. The way he was driving me to a mind breaking climax.
Sensing I was close, Luke slowed down, bringing me away from the point of peaking. I broke off the kiss and buried my head in his neck. He sucked gently on the spot beneath my ear and pushed even deeper into me. The pleasure ratcheted up, and Luke gripped my leg tighter. His breath came out sharper, matching my own, and when he groaned into my neck, I knew he was close.
I slid my hands down his back and to his hips, the muscles contracting and expanding beneath my touch. Luke slipped one palm underneath my lower back, lifting so he could hit a new angle inside of me. It was all I needed.
“That’s right, baby. Let it go.”
I did.
Everything inside me tensed, then shuddered as the orgasm ripped through me. I wailed, and his mouth captured the sound. He didn’t stop, just kept pounding and kissing, his hand deep in my hair, pulling until pain mingled with pleasure washing over and through me.
Luke groaned, cursing into my throat and thrust one more powerful time before stilling on top of me. His breath floated down in hot waves against my neck, the feel of his heart pounding against my breasts. That was it. No other movement or sound. Just us. Together. Floating down from the mountain we’d just climbed.
Holding his weight slightly off of me, Luke turned and kissed my forehead. The simple gesture was so sweet that I sighed. His lips moved lower, brushing along my temple and down my jaw.
Slowly, he moved over to lay next to me, one of his strong arms slipping under my back and the other one laying across my chest. I closed my eyes and nestled into the crook of his arm. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been held in such a comforting way — if ever — and it felt like floating away on a soft, fluffy cloud.
Luke’s hand trailed through my hair, gently massaging my scalp. The bandanna I’d put on that morning had mysteriously disappeared, but at what point it had been lost, I had no clue.
Luke moved and I tensed, waiting for him to move away. All he did though was grab the sheet and pull it over us, shielding us from the slight chill as the sweat dried from our bodies.
“Thank you for today,” he said into my hair.
I cocked my head slightly, brushing my cheek across his chest. “You already said that.”
“I know… but I want you to know I really mean it.”
“I think you’ve thanked me enough. Especially within the last twenty minutes,” I joked.
His hand found mine and our fingers laced together. “I’d like to tha
nk you for a lot longer than that,” he responded, making a whole new flush of desire sweep through me.
I didn’t know what else to say. Things were still so uncertain between us, and I didn’t want to ruin the perfection of the moment.
And so I said nothing. Instead, I closed my eyes and focused on the rising and falling of Luke’s chest underneath my cheek, letting it carry me away to a peaceful place where words weren’t necessary.
*
My eyes still closed, I groaned and rolled over, grasping at the edges of the pillow. My body felt sore but deliciously rested. Stretching my legs and arms, I sighed and finally opened my eyes. The light in Luke’s bedroom had dimmed significantly, though it was hard to tell exactly what time it was. An eerie grayness filled the room, the only light coming from somewhere down the hall.
Crickets chirped outside, and a dog barked far away, but the house was silent. Turning my head, I looked at the spot next to me. Luke was gone.
Slowly I sat up and rubbed the back of my neck, which was slightly sore.
The curtains were open and for the first time, I got a good look at the double windows looking out onto Luke’s backyard. Little solar lights on the ground were on, making a glowing path leading to the swimming pool. I could make out a few lawn chairs near the edge of the water, but other than that, it was hard to see much more of the yard.
I gazed around the other walls of the bedroom. The standard furniture was there: a dresser, a bookshelf. Even with the poor light, I could see there wasn’t much else in the room other than books. The shelves were half full with them, some of the neatly stacked together and others laying haphazardly on their sides.
I cocked my head, listening for clues as to Luke’s whereabouts. When I didn’t hear anything, I lifted the sheet off me and climbed out of bed. Feeling around on the floor, I found my shorts and shirt. The bandanna that had slipped from my hair was MIA and apparently so was my underwear. Settling for going commando, I pulled the available clothes on and padded out of the room.
Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) Page 15
