by Cathryn Fox
Of course she never expected it to go anywhere. He wasn’t from her world. He never expected it to go anywhere either, but hearing her say it—pointing out the obvious between them—pissed him off a hell of a lot more than it should have.
With her out of the office he concentrated on hardwiring her monitoring system. Every now and then he caught a whiff of her scent, and his mind went back to the way she felt in his arms. She was so fucking warm, so soft and pliable under his mouth, he was ready to take her right there, until she reached out and touched him. He loved the way her hands felt on his body, the way she splayed her fingers like she wanted to explore and acquaint herself with every inch of his body. His cock twitched just thinking about it.
Okay, so the way he saw it, he had two choices. One, fuck someone else to get his mind off of her, or two, fuck her. Even though being with her went against everything he stood for, there was no denying they both wanted each other.
With that last thought in mind, Luke focused on the task at hand. Close to an hour later, Luke’s cell rang, and when he saw that it was Theresa, his secretary, he slid his finger over the screen to answer. “Hey, Theresa. What’s up?”
“Shari, from Jewelry is Forever, called. She said she was having some static problems with her monitors.”
Shari…
It was almost like a sign. Not only would sleeping with Shari get him over his hang-up with Emery, it would get him out of the store before Lane brought her back. Yeah, the timing for her call was perfect, just perfect.
“Okay, call her back and tell her I’ll be right over.” He hung up, walked through the market and hurried to the van.
“Hey, guys,” he called out, sticking his head in the door. “I have to stop in and check on Shari. Apparently she’s having some wiring problems. I’ll grab us some cold drinks and lunch on my way back.”
“Yeah, sure, boss man,” Colt said, a smirk on his face. In fact he’d been in a pretty good mood all day, which led Luke to believe he was the lucky one with Daisy last night.
Luke glared at him. “What?”
“You tell us Emery is hands off and…”
Just then Tanner nudged him and he went quiet.
“You’ve got something to say, Colt?” he asked, squaring off with his comrade. Honest to God, he loved the guy, and he knew Colt was just razzing him, but for some reason he hated Colt thinking about Emery, or even talking about her. It made him want to beat the crap out of him. Shit. He needed Shari, and he needed her now.
“The only thing he’s got to say is thank you for hiring his sorry ass when no one else would. Isn’t that right, Colt?”
“Damn straight,” Colt said, adjusting his Stetson. “We’ve got everything under control here. And make mine a Coke, will ya?”
“Sure thing.”
Luke left them to work and walked to his motorcycle parked behind the van. He pulled on his helmet and was just about to slip into traffic when Lane drove past him and pulled in up ahead.
Emery spoke to him for a moment, then she got out of the car. Damn douchebag didn’t even open the door for her. With a little finger wave, she started toward the store. Luke revved his bike and she turned to him. Their eyes met for a brief second, then he peeled out of his parking spot.
Twenty minutes later he pulled up in front of Shari’s small boutique. He secured his bike and made his way inside, the bell overhead jangling when he entered.
Her face lit when she saw him. Just like old times.
“Luke,” she said loudly, catching the attention of two teens who were trying on rings. “Thanks for coming by so quickly.” She waved him closer, the bangles on her wrists clanging.
“What’s up?” he asked, and she bit her lip playfully, a familiar gesture that spoke volumes.
Her glance dropped to his crotch. “You tell me.”
Now if that wasn’t an invitation he didn’t know what was. They’d get to that, but first he needed to check her equipment—of the security variety.
“Theresa said you had static on your monitor.”
She pouted. “Yeah, it’s acting strange.”
He stepped around the long counter, and a fan blew across his face. No expensive air conditioning in this place. He dropped to his knees and looked over the monitor he had placed below the counter.
“When did the problems start?”
“Yesterday,” she said, kneeling down beside him. She moved close, her body brushing up against him as her sweet familiar scent wafted before his nose.
“Have you banged it or moved it?”
“No, but Jamie was working last night and it’s possible that she could have.”
He pulled the monitor out and checked the wires on the back. “There we go. Looks like you just had a loose connection.” He twirled it, and as soon as he tightened it, her screen became picture perfect once again.
“Well look at that. I fiddled with the dials earlier, but nothing happened. I guess you just have the right touch.”
“It’s my job to know what I’m doing.”
“And you’re very good at what you do.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, he thought back to Emery and how she pretty much said the same thing to him when he was bandaging her leg. Emery. Ah shit. He somehow suspected even if he did take Shari to her bed, it would do nothing to get Emery out of his head. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.
She blinked long dark lashes at him. “Have you had lunch yet? I was about to lock up for the next hour.”
He stood. “I have to run, I’m in the middle of another job.”
“Oh, so soon. I was hoping you could stay for a bit. We always did make the best of our lunch breaks.”
“I can’t, Shari. I’m really busy.” He walked around the counter. “Everything should be okay now but if you have any more trouble, just call.”
“Bye, Luke,” she said, waving him off and turning her attention to the guy who’d just come through the door. Luke grinned, sensing she’d instantly found someone else to keep her occupied for the next hour.
He made his way back to the market and parked his bike. He was about to walk down the street when he saw Emery leaving the van.
Yeah, he was pretty sure he was going to have to fuck her. Swiping moisture from his forehead he walked to the van, and he frowned when he saw Colt and Tanner with a stack of sandwiches.
Colt took a big slurp of his soda, then gestured toward the small counter. “Dig in,” he said.
Luke grabbed a sticky note and wrote down everything she’d delivered so far. “We’re paying for this stuff,” he said. “We don’t take handouts.”
“Whatever you say, boss man,” Colt said.
The rest of the day sped by, and as Luke worked he thought about Trent, hoping he was going to show up at the center tomorrow. He planned to go by, to check on him, and the others he’d sent in the past, and if he wasn’t there, he and Luke were definitely going to have words. Although something in Luke’s gut told him the boy would show up.
When quitting time came around, Emery was still inside working. Tanner jumped behind the wheel. “You coming to Sky Bar tonight?” he asked Luke as Colt jumped into the passenger seat.
“Yeah, I’ll probably stop by.”
Colt suddenly looked sullen. “What’s the matter with you?” Luke asked.
“Nothing.”
Luke slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, kid. Daisy is all yours.”
With that Colt’s face lit up, and Luke opened the sliding door. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” In need of a shower, Luke climbed on his bike, taking one last glance into the market before he called it a week. He pulled into Friday night rush hour traffic and made his way to his apartment. It was in a shitty part of town, but not as bad as where he’d grown up. After his buddy Brad Crosby moved into the old Victorian house he’d restored, with his new wife, Madison, Luke had taken over the lease.
He stepped inside and enjoyed the air conditioning Brad had
installed in the window and left for him. Rex jumped from the sofa and came barreling over, his tail wagging hard.
“Hey, boy.” As he scrubbed a hand over his Shepherd’s head he looked around at his belongings, or lack thereof. He could only imagine what Emery would think of the place.
Sweet Emery who wanted him, and brought him food and drink. For a moment he thought about the underlying reason she’d hired him. Clearly she believed in his firm’s work, but did she believe in him on a personal level?
“Want to go for a run?”
Rex’s tail went faster as Luke grabbed the leash. A minute later they made their way outside, and as the sun set, the air cooled slightly. He took Rex to their favorite park and let him off leash. They ran the outskirts of the park, Luke keeping a close eye on Rex. He didn’t want to overwork him and tire him out, especially since they’d both be working at the compound tomorrow.
Once Rex started to slow, Luke leashed him and they headed back to the apartment. He fed Rex, gave him a big bowl of water and walked to his fridge to get a drink for himself. After downing it, he took note of Rex fast asleep on the sofa. He grinned. The old boy spent more hours sleeping than anything these days. He walked past him and jumped into the shower.
After a good long scrub, he pulled on his boxer briefs and plunked himself down on his sofa next to snoring Rex and watched some mind-numbing television until darkness fell over the city. Deciding he needed to get up and out before he crashed for the night, he climbed into a clean pair of jeans and tugged on a T-shirt. He left his apartment, took the stairs two at a time and jumped onto his bike.
He started into traffic, making his way to Sky Bar, but decided to take the long way around. He drove by the market, wondering if Emery was still working, but when he saw her once again walking down the street, a shopping bag tucked under her arm, he cursed.
He followed her, determined to find out exactly what she was up to this time. Once again shadows came out of the woodwork, and while he wanted to get to the bottom of matters, he couldn’t stand back and do nothing when her safety was at risk.
He revved his bike and pulled up beside her.
She turned toward him, and her eyes went wide.
“Luke?” she said, sounding breathless.
“What are you doing?”
She clutched the brown paper bag tighter. “I could be asking you the same thing.”
“Okay, then I’m following you. Your turn.”
“Why are you following me?”
“Answer my question first.”
“I’m…” She looked into her bag. “I’m doing a delivery.”
He stared at her, reading her body language. “Try again.”
She lifted her chin slightly. “It’s true.” She looked behind her. “At least, I was doing a delivery until you scared them off.”
Luke searched the shadows. “Scared who off?”
“If you must know, I was delivering the day-old bread to a few people.” She shrugged, like it was nothing. “It gets thrown out anyway.”
His heart nearly stopped beating, because he knew it wasn’t nothing, and he knew exactly what was going on. “What people?”
“Just some men my father banned from the store a few years ago.”
“Go on.”
She stepped toward him and lowered her voice so that whoever lurked in the shadows couldn’t hear her. “They’re good people. They’re just hungry.”
He braced one hand on his knee, and said, “Put the bag down and get on.”
She gave a hard shake of her head. “Last night they missed out because—”
“Emery,” he said, cutting her off. He stole another glance around. “I’m guessing whoever I frightened away is still watching and will get the food when I leave, right?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“So get on.”
When she hesitated, he reached out to her, grabbed her by her blouse and tugged her closer. As soon as she was close enough, he reached for his spare helmet and put it on her head. Even though he’d taught her how to use the buckle, he did it for her anyway. Once he finished he gestured to the bag.
“Now put it down. You’re coming with me.”
She set the bag down on the sidewalk, and he crooked his finger when she looked like she was going to hang around a moment longer.
“I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“I come here every night. I’m fine.”
“Yeah, well last night you weren’t so fine. You got hit by a car.”
“I was distracted.”
“And I’m not taking a chance that you’ll get distracted again. Besides, I don’t like you out here by yourself. If you want to give away day-old bread, can’t you make the exchange at the store, before dark?”
“If my father ever…” She stopped speaking and folded her arms. “Why are you doing this? Why are you following me?”
“Because you clearly need someone to watch out for you.”
Going on the defensive, she shot back, “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was a child. I’ve pretty much mastered it.”
“Then maybe it’s time you let someone else do it.”
He slipped his hand under the helmet clasp and urged her closer, until their helmets bumped. “I’m not leaving here without you.”
“Fine,” she said. “You can take me back to the store.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“I’m not going home.”
He stiffened and wondered if she had another date with that asshole Lane. Today he’d made her go out with him, and now he suddenly found himself ready to walk barefoot over a bed of nails to stop her. Fuck. Talk about a mood swing. Maybe he should check to see if he was menstruating, or better yet, head on over Sky Bar and get one of the guys to kick him in the ovaries.
Chapter Five
“Where are you going?” Luke asked.
She hesitated for a moment. She had the sneaking suspicion that he’d insist on taking her. He continued to stare at her, those dark, gray eyes of his searching her face, and making her feel as if he could see right through her. Honest to God, she had no idea what was going on between them. One minute they were in a hot embrace, with Emery basically telling him she was up for a no-strings affair—even though it was probably a very bad idea—and the next she knew he was pushing her out the door to go to lunch with Ethan. She wished he’d make up his mind whether he hated her, or wanted to take her to his bed. Because clearly slipping between the sheets with her was on his mind. She felt it in his kisses and in his body when he pushed up against her.
“I’m going to visit my brother, so if you’ll just drop me back at the market, I can get on my way.”
“Is your car there?”
She didn’t own a car. It was an expense she didn’t need at the moment. “No,” she said. “I’ve made other arrangements.”
“Such as.”
God, did he never let up? “I’m going to call a cab.”
“No you’re not. I’m taking you. Get on.”
Sensing he wasn’t going to drop it, and wanting to get to her brother before visiting hours ended at ten, she said, “Fine, you can drop me off at the doors.”
“Address?”
She told him the address and climbed on. He waited for a moment, then reached for her hands and pulled them around his waist. Unable to help herself, she spread her fingers, wanting to feel all his hardness beneath her palms.
With the warm wind in her face she clung to Luke as he drove to the center some twenty miles outside of town. When he pulled into a parking space instead of dropping her off at the doors like she’d asked, she climbed off and reached for the fastener on her helmet. Except his big hands were there first. He gave a little tug to urge her closer, and when the juncture of her legs pressed up against his knee, he released the clasp to pull it off.
His knee moved. It was slight, but she noticed it, noticed the way he was nudging her legs open and positioning his in between. Oh, God, sh
e was practically sitting on his thigh, practically rubbing herself on his hard muscles.
But instead of moving, she found herself smoothing her hair, and her breathing became a little wobbly as he sat there staring at her.
“Thanks,” she managed to get out.
“You’re welcome,” he said, and the next thing she knew he was climbing off.
“What are you doing?”
“I thought I’d hang out inside. I’d rather wait in there than out here if you don’t mind.”
“You don’t have to wait for me. I can call a cab. It’s what I always do.”
He rolled one shoulder. “And I can wait for you.”
Truthfully, while she secretly liked the idea of him waiting for her and taking her home afterward, she wasn’t keen on him coming into the center. She had no idea how he’d react when he saw her brother. The men she’d dated in the past eventually learned about her brother’s intellectual disability—or what the cruel school kids used to call retarded—and there wasn’t one that ever wanted to talk about him, let alone visit the place with her.
“There’s a lounge in the front lobby. You can wait there.”
“Okay.”
She began walking toward the doors, and he secured their helmets and jogged to catch up. Hyper aware of his hard body next to her and the sexual energy arcing between them it took all her concentration to put one foot in front of the other. She went to open the heavy glass door but he reached past her and gave it a tug. His hand moved to the small of her back and she caught his scent as he guided her in. God, the man smelled good!
She nodded to Sally at the front reception counter, then gestured to a chair. “I’ll be a while,” she said.
He picked up a Good Housekeeping magazine. “No worries. I’ve been meaning to catch up on this month’s issue anyway.”
Feeling his gaze on her back, she made her way down the hall and into the common room. All thoughts of Luke dispersed when she saw her brother, sitting in his favorite lounge chair and staring at the chessboard. Other center residents, as well as their visitors, were scattered throughout the room, playing board games or cards or simply watching the big TV on the wall with their loved ones. Two guards stood on opposite walls, keeping an eye on things.
