by Gray, June
When we pulled away to catch our breath, he tipped his head to mine and said, “God, I’ve missed you.”
I buried my face in his neck to hide what his confession was doing to me. I missed him as well, more than I would ever admit.
“Kat?”
“Just kiss me,” I said and crushed my lips against his once more.
His hands traveled down my back, his damp palms sliding along the curves of my hips and down to squeeze my ass as our kissing became more frenzied. I took his bottom lip between my teeth then kissed him harder, my tongue delving deeper. I wanted to crawl inside him and forget about everything but the way it felt to be touched.
“Luke,” I said against his ear as I opened my legs and straddled him, the length of his cock pressing against my mound. “Make me forget. Please.”
His nostrils flared as he nodded, understanding what I needed. His fingers dug into my ass and he took control of my hips, sliding me along his erection.
I hissed as he continued the rocking, my sensitive folds screaming out for more. Even my vibrator couldn’t recreate the feel of skin against skin, of his hardness gliding against my softness. He slid down the tub a little to give us more room, then brought a hand to my mound and traced circles on my clit with his thumb.
I rode him faster, wanting him inside me but not willing to interrupt the building sensation. If I did, I might come to my senses and get out of the tub altogether.
“Kat, I’m getting close…”
I held his face in my hands and fixed my gaze on the almost pained expression on his face as his body tightened under me. His thumb worked faster, bringing me closer and closer to that cliff’s edge.
With one last stroke the orgasm rocked through my body, my back arching and my legs quaking. Luke sat up and brought our lips together, groaning into me as he experienced his own climax.
We grasped at each other even as our bodies started to come down from the high. He leaned back into the tub, taking me with him.
“It wasn’t a fluke,” he said.
“What?”
His grip on my back tightened. “You and me.”
I braced my hands on the tub and pushed away. “This doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you.”
His smile faltered, but my triumph was short lived because I knew it was only a way to cover up what I really felt: regret. “This shouldn’t have happened,” I said, getting out of the tub. Luke watched me with those translucent grey eyes, his dark eyebrows knitted together. I turned my back and wrapped the towel around my body. “What? You’re not going to say anything?” I asked after the silence became too much.
He gave the smallest shake of the head. “I realize there’s nothing I can say that will make you change your mind,” he said. “But I still hold on to the hope that, one day, you’ll let your guard down and let me back in.”
Tears unexpectedly stung my eyes. Damn him and his stupid, sweet words! “Don’t hold your breath.”
Because I hadn’t had a chance to go shopping yet I had to put on Lukes pajamas again, then I went back to my last remaining sketchbook.
I started to draw, each grey stroke on the white page confident and bold, but after each design I realized I was only sketching the dresses I’d already made.
“I see the bath worked.”
I’d been so focused on drawing that Luke’s voice made me nearly jump out of my skin. “Holy crap, I need to put a bell around your neck!” I turned to find him nearly naked with only a towel wrapped around his waist.
He raised an eyebrow. “Or maybe it was the orgasm that fired up your creativity?”
I averted my eyes from his bare body, my cheeks heating up at the thought of what we’d been doing a few minutes earlier, when I’d rubbed up on him like a bitch in heat. “Don’t flatter yourself. It’s not like you have a magical schlong of ideas.”
His deep laugh echoed throughout the apartment, and I felt a rush of pleasure despite myself. He shook his head, continuing to chuckle as he started to walk away.
“Wait,” I called out.
He looked over his broad shoulder with raised eyebrows.
I frowned, my eyes fixed on the center of his back. “What happened to your other tattoo?”
“I got rid of it,” he said as if tattoo removal was as easy as getting a haircut. “So did you want something else?”
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding fast. I had never been good at this kind of thing. “Um… can I… I mean, is it okay if…”
He turned to face me. “If you can stay a little longer?”
I nodded, wiping my sweaty palms on my legs. “Just until I find another apartment.”
He fixed me with that stare that made me feel like a piece of glass, so fragile and transparent. “You’re welcome to stay forever.”
I broke eye contact and looked down at the desk. This was why I hated asking for help, because it put me in a position of vulnerability.
“This entire side can be yours,” he said. “We can have a kitchen installed. In the meantime my door is always open should you need to use mine.”
“I can’t afford this place,” I said, quietly doing the math. My father’s oil royalties went a long way in Ayashe but, in this big, expensive city, it was barely enough to pay for that dingy place in Bed-Stuy. There was no way I could afford to live in a huge apartment in this part of town.
“You can pay me with sexual favors.” He held up his hands when I made a disgusted face. “I was kidding. I own the place, so I don’t have to charge you a thing. However, if I know you, you’ll insist on paying. So how about this—you tell me what you can afford and we can figure something out.”
I chewed on my lip as I actually began to consider his idea. To live in such close quarters with the man who drove me nuts with anger and desire was going to be trouble, but it would also solve my problem. At least, temporarily. Not only would I be closer to school, I’d also be in a safer neighborhood with restaurants and shops close by. Not to mention this apartment was the perfect space for cutting and sewing. Already my mind was mapping out the room, figuring out where my worktable and dressforms would go.
For the first time since I’d walked upon that building on fire, I felt a glimmer of hope.
“I’m taking your silence as a yes.”
“I have some terms and conditions,” I said, ripping out a page from my sketchbook and starting a list.
“Let’s reconvene in the kitchen in five minutes,” he said, walking towards the patio door, the muscles in his back undulating with each step. “I only conduct negotiations over a glass of whiskey.”
Four minutes and ten seconds later I walked into the kitchen where Luke was already waiting wearing a pair of black pajama pants. He lifted a bottle filled with amber liquid. “Scotch?”
I had never tried it before, but hell if I was going to admit that. “Sure.” I sat on the stool at the other side of the counter, keeping the island between us, and slid the piece of paper over.
He picked it up and read it over while I took a tentative sip of the whiskey. I swallowed it as fast as I could, wondering how the hell anyone could drink it for fun.
“I have an addendum to number one.” He grabbed a pen and started to write on the list. “I’ve decided that I’m not charging you rent seeing as the apartment is already paid for. However, you can pay utilities.” When I opened my mouth to argue, he shook his head at me, his jaw tight. “You can argue with me until you’re blue in the face, but I’m not backing down.”
I wanted to tell him where to shove his edict, but my brain and heart were both yelling at me to tamp down my anger and just take the damn deal. And when the heart and the brain are both in agreement, there was really no other choice. “Okay.”
One dark eyebrow rose in surprise at how quickly I’d given in.
“What about the rest?” I pointed to number two on the list. “That one’s important.”
“You’ll have your privacy. I won’t enter your apartment without prior approval.�
�� He agreed to the rest of the terms until he reached the last on the list. He placed the sheet on the counter and set his hands down on either side. “Number seven should be struck from the deal. I don’t see how that could benefit either one of us.”
“This situation is complicated enough without sex.”
“Is that what you really want?” he asked, leaning over the counter.
I lifted my chin, pretending that dark, sexy look on his face didn’t affect me. “Yes.”
He went back to the list and scribbled something then slid it over to me. “How about this: I will not attempt to initiate any sexual relations with you,” he said with the hint of a grin.
“I see what you’re doing,” I said. “But I’m never going to try screwing you, so your sexual loophole won’t work.”
“Says the woman who just invited me to take a bath with her then proceeded to use my body for her pleasure.”
“I was in a bad place. I needed to take my mind off my problems.”
“And what will you do when you have another problem?” he asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
I averted my eyes, looking at anything else but him. “Then I’ll find some other guy to screw.”
He held out his hand. “May I see the list again?” He wrote down an eighth rule then handed over the page.
“What? No bringing dates to my apartment?” I asked incredulously. “What are you, my father?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, looking large and daunting. “You’re in New York to study, not date, young lady.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fuck that. Deal’s off.” I stalked off, crumpling the piece of paper in my hand.
I had almost reached the glass door when Luke said, “Wait.”
I turned, setting my hands on my waist.
“Fine,” he said, though it looked anything but. “Just… be discreet. Please.”
“Do you really think I’d parade men in front of you, Luke? What kind of a heartless bitch do you think I am?” Then, before my brain could catch up with my mouth, I added, “I’m not like you.”
His face immediately clouded over. “Fine. Cross out number eight. Do what you want,” he said with a dismissive wave of hand and strode off to his bedroom, leaving me to stand there feeling like the most heartless bitch on the planet.
8
LUKE
“You’re a chump,” Decker said as soon as I was done telling him about Kat’s contract. He sat down on the chair in front of my desk. “Completely pussy-whipped.”
“I’m not too worried.”
He leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. “So you’re telling me you’ll be fine if, one day, you come home and find her with another man?”
“No. I’m not a saint,” I said. “But it won’t come to that.”
“Oh?”
I shrugged. “I’m just going to have to win her back.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“It’ll work,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt.
“Hey, invite her out with us tonight,” Decker said, sitting up.
“And how’s that supposed to help?”
“Shower her with attention, show her that you only have eyes for her.” He grinned. “Then you can grind up on her on the dance floor. Women love that.”
“Somehow I don’t think Kat would fall it,” I said, even though the idea had its appeal. If nothing else, the night out might help take her mind off what she’d lost.
“I don’t have anything appropriate to wear,” was the first thing Kat said when I brought up the idea later. “I’ve only bought a few things so far to replace what I lost in the fire.”
“Wear what you have, what you’re comfortable with. It honestly doesn’t matter. It’s just the guys,” I said, loosening my tie. “I’m going to change into something casual myself.”
Kat looked around but, before she could come up with another excuse, I said, “Come on. Surely you don’t want to sit around here on a Friday night?”
“That was my grand plan,” she said, but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. When I held out my hand, she took it and allowed me to pull her up and out of the armchair.
“Come on. It’s about time you experienced the New York night life.”
I came back to her apartment a few minutes later, dressed in jeans and a v-neck tee shirt. When she came out of the bedroom, the sight of her knocked the breath from my lungs. Kat was decidedly not casual in her little black dress with a low scooped neck, a bodice that hugged her curves, and a hem that showed plenty of leg.
“Uhh…” was all my brain could manage.
She looked down, adjusting the dress. “Is this okay?” she asked, performing a tugging exhibition that kept either showing too much leg or too much cleavage. “I made it last week for an assignment.”
I walked around her, appreciating every angle. “You made this?”
She fiddled with the three-quarter sleeve. “Yeah. But maybe it’s too dressy for a bar.”
I stopped in front of her and took hold of her hands. “You look great,” I said. “Though now I’m a little underdressed.”
“I can change.”
I lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles, wanting to ease the lines of worry on her forehead. “Don’t you dare,” I said. “Just give me a second. I’ll meet you at my front door.”
After I put on a button-down shirt, Kat and I went downstairs. “Is it far?” she asked when we emerged on the sidewalk. “I’m just not used to walking long distances in heels.”
I held out my elbow. “It’s only two blocks from here.” I watched as she wobbled, then latched onto my elbow.
She straightened her back and walked, if a little wobbly at first. “I need to get used to walking in heels sometime, right?” she asked, her voice wavering. “Fake it till I make it.”
I patted her arm. “Relax. We’re just out to have fun.”
Decker and another friend, Lowe, were already sitting at the bar when we arrived.
Kat’s fingers dug into my arm as we walked closer, but once I began the introductions, she loosened her hold.
“You remember Decker,” I said, then motioned to the taller Asian guy. “This is Nathan Lowe, but we like to call him Lowest of the Lowe.”
Lowe grinned, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Kat. Luke has not told me one thing about you.”
“Probably for the best,” she mumbled.
Decker glanced at me before turning to Kat. “And we’ve met before. Unfortunately under terrible circumstances.”
Her jaw muscles worked but she nodded. I could feel her anger simmering under her skin and wondered for a moment if she would unleash the fury. But she only stretched her lips into a smile and walked past him towards the bar. “Glass of merlot please,” she said to the bartender, then turned to me. “What do you want?”
You. I want you. “Jack and Coke.”
We took our drinks to a rounded booth, Kat taking the edge of the seat farthest from the other two. Though she was trying to be discreet, her constant tugging at her collar revealed the extent of her discomfort.
I stretched my arm on the seat behind her, then leaned over and whispered, “If you’re uncomfortable, just say the word and we’ll leave.”
With her jaw set to the Stubborn setting, she shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Half an hour later, two other guys arrived—Dustin and Ledford—and joined us at the table. After introductions, Kat asked, “So are you all single?”
Ledford said, “I’m married. But these three losers are.”
“Who’s the loser in this scenario?” Dustin asked with a laugh. “We don’t have to answer to anyone.”
Kat, not looking too impressed with my friends, excused herself to go to the bathroom. All eyes were on her as she walked away. To anyone else she appeared confident and self-assured, but to someone who’d seen her at her best, Kat was unsteady. I suspected that, no matter how much I wanted it, she might never f
it in this lifestyle.
“She is sexy as hell,” Dustin said, his eyes still on Kat’s departing form. “So that’s the girl you’ve been mooning over?”
I leaned back. “I wasn’t mooning over her. She was in Alaska until recently.”
“She moved here for you?” Lowe asked.
“No. She’s here for fashion school.”
“Oh, you like ‘em young!” Dustin said, laughing. “Are you also taking her to prom then popping her cherry after?”
“Shut up. She’s twenty-five,” I said and knocked back half of my drink.
Decker watched me, flashing a look that conveyed he could sense what I was thinking. Out of our group of friends he was the only one who knew the entire story and, thankfully, he knew not to share it with anyone else.
“Oh shit.”
I followed Decker’s gaze to the beautiful blonde woman across the room who’d been stopped by a man wearing a tight shirt that revealed how much time he spent at the gym. He was leaning down, saying something close to her ear, and she was smiling and nodding.
And I was out of my seat and across the room in mere seconds.
“Kat, there you are,” I said, approaching casually.
The other guy straightened and gave me the once-over. “Oh, I didn’t know you were here with someone,” he said to Kat.
“We’re not together,” she said, her eyes narrowing slightly in my direction. She turned her attention back to him. “He and I are just friends.”
I rose to the unspoken challenge and took a step closer, slipping a hand around her waist. “Is that what we were last night, when we were naked and coming all over each other?” I asked, then brushed her hair away from her neck to press a kiss against the soft skin under her jaw.
Her gasp let beefy guy know exactly where he stood with her, which was on the other side of the room.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, coming to her senses as she watched the guy turn his back and walk away.
I straightened, a grin on my face. “When I told you last night that you could do whatever you wanted, I didn’t specify that that also meant I could do the same.”
