by R. E. Hunter
Brett pulled the velvet box from his pocket, holding it open for Morgan. The large diamond glittered brilliantly under the fluorescent lights. “I was never really good with words, but I’ve always been good with you.” His words were laced with emotion. “I love you, Morgan, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
Tears were already streaming down her cheeks as Morgan nodded eagerly. A huge look of relief crossed over Brett’s face, then he grinned and took her left hand, sliding the ring up her fourth finger. Standing up, he wrapped her in his arms and dipped her back, making a show of kissing his future wife as everyone in the room clapped and cheered. Embry let out a small sigh and swiped at her eyes. It was perfect.
“You all right, beautiful?” Luke asked, sweetly looking down at her and gently brushing a stray strand of hair from her face.
Embry smiled up at him. “I am.”
While they waited for the newly engaged couple to make their way around the room, Embry and Luke chatted with Morgan and Brett’s friends and family, sipping on champagne and sampling the hand-passed hors d’oeuvres. Finally, Morgan plopped down in the empty chair beside Embry and hugged her neck while Brett took a seat next to Luke.
“Hello, future Mrs. Parker!” Embry crooned.
Morgan laughed, then tilted her head in thought. “It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” She was glowing with happiness.
“It does! Speaking of rings…” Embry grabbed Morgan’s hand, inspecting the beautiful diamond perfectly at home on her ring finger. “I’ve seen it before, you know, but it looks even better on you.”
Morgan’s eyes went wide. “You saw it?”
Embry nodded. “Brett told me at Bésame. I have to admit…” Her lips tipped into a guilty smile. “I have been avoiding you. I was so scared I’d ruin the surprise.”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “With you avoiding me and Brett acting so weird, I should’ve known something was up!”
“We finally got one over on you,” Embry teased, nudging her friend.
Morgan narrowed her eyes at Embry, a wicked grin on her lips. “Do you remember that time you dragged me to yoga?”
Embry raised an eyebrow. “Yes,” she answered cautiously.
“And do you remember I told you that you owed me?”
Embry nodded, having a slight idea where Morgan was going with this.
“And do you remember I told you it’d be really obnoxious?” Morgan scrunched her nose.
Embry rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile playing at her lips. “What did you have in mind, M?”
“Well…” Morgan started, her eyes shining. “What do you say to wearing a ridiculously fluffy and pink dress and being my Maid of Honor?”
Embry squealed and threw her arms around Morgan. “I’d love nothing more!”
Embry stared out the window in silence, watching the scenery whiz by in a blur of dark and light. Luke had offered to drive them home since he’d caught a ride to the restaurant with Brett. He’d left her to her thoughts on the long drive, as if he knew she’d reached a turning point.
She was overjoyed for Brett and Morgan, but she couldn’t help the wave of sadness that had come over her. Her best friend was getting married, and she couldn’t even get it together enough to commit to the man she loved. She couldn’t say the words, paralyzed by the fear of being hurt once more, but she also couldn’t deny how she felt about him. Taking it slow had simply become a way to protect herself, to keep things from getting real. Because if things got real, then her heart was at risk. And they’d had real. Before he’d ripped her heart in two and shattered every idea she’d had about how special their relationship was.
But Morgan was right. If she was going to stay with Luke, really try again, she couldn’t continue to hold it over his head.
Something had to change.
Still, she warred with her feelings, knowing that she had to make a decision— either commit or walk away. She could either give in to the fear of being hurt again—never opening herself up to what they could be—or take the risk and choose love. There wasn’t a single part of her that wanted things to be over with Luke, but they couldn’t stay in limbo forever. She was sure he’d continue to wait, but she couldn’t do that to him. Either she was all in, or she was out.
She bit her lip in the silence, already feeling nervous at the ramifications. This was big for her. She knew what she wanted; now she just had to be brave enough to choose it, to take the leap and trust him with her heart again.
It felt like forever before Luke pulled into his driveway, and Embry gulped as she silently ran through what she wanted to say to him, where she wanted tonight to go.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, probably assuming she’d be heading straight home since she’d been so quiet.
Embry shook her head, knowing that if she left now, she might not have the courage to come back, to open herself up to him. “Can I stay?”
“Of course,” he rasped, his eyes bright with hope.
As they stepped into the house, Embry stood in the entryway, awkwardly teetering on her heeled boots, her feet sore from an evening of mostly standing.
Luke’s eyes roamed her body. “Want to get out of those clothes?”
She nodded and they headed up to his room. Somehow a wall had gone up between them. All of their joking, the sexual tension, the fooling around, it was all a façade, a way to hide the underlying pain and worry that plagued them both.
They were both quiet as they came into his room. Luke stepped into his walk-in closet while Embry sat back on the bed, her thoughts twisting and turning, spinning out of control.
“Do you want it?” he called from the closet.
Embry blinked, shaking herself from her thoughts. “Huh?”
“You okay out there?” he asked curiously.
“Yeah, sorry. What did you say?”
He came out of the closet, flannel pants hanging low on his hips, his bare chest begging to be licked. He held out what looked to be pants and a sweatshirt. “I said I found a pair of your pajama pants in here, and I have a sweatshirt if you want it.”
She stood automatically, taking the clothes. “Yes, thank you.” Eyeing his naked chest, muscles rippling under the surface of his skin, she knew she needed Luke fully clothed if she was going to be able to concentrate on anything other than sex. “Actually, I know it’s, um, winter… and this sounds crazy… but can we sit out on the water for a bit? I just…” she wrung her hands nervously, “it would be really nice to breathe in the salty air. You still have small outdoor chimney, right?”
Luke nodded and smiled. “Sure.”
He disappeared back into the closet for a sweatshirt, and Embry hastily stripped out of her heels and dress, tugging on the flannel pajama pants and cozy sweatshirt.
Before heading downstairs, Luke stopped to pull a thick, fleece blanket from the linen closet.
Embry eyed him with a smirk. “You sure you can handle the cold with your thin southern blood?”
“I’ll be just fine, sweetheart.” His eyes caressed her body. “I’ll just hold onto you if I need warming up.”
She rolled her eyes, mouth curving into a slow smile. She liked the sound of that.
Luke flicked on the living room fireplace on the way out the door. “This’ll make it nice and toasty in here for when we come back in,” he explained, smiling.
He opened the sliding door, and Embry stepped out into the cold night. Coming up behind her, he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze. “Hang here and I’ll get the fire lit,” he offered as he opened a small storage container on the deck and pulled out a few logs.
“And miss your Boy Scout fire-lighting skills?” She smiled. “Not a chance!”
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged.
Embry sat on the edge of the cushioned chaise lounge, watching as Luke set small pieces of kindling and balled up newspaper into the bottom of the chiminea before placing a large log on t
op. He lit the paper beneath and then the kindling began to crackle, a low glow rising up from the bottom as the fire sprang to life.
“Impressive.” She nodded her head toward the amber glow.
Luke rubbed his hands together, warming them up. “Boy Scout approved,” he said on a wink, then stalked toward her, huddled in his sweatshirt against the cold. “Stand up.”
She did as she was told, and he dragged the lounge chair in front of the fire. Taking the blanket from her shoulders, he sat back against the lounge, his legs open. “Come here.”
“I sit and stay, too,” she joked as she made her way over to him.
He narrowed his eyes and patted the cushioned chair.
Sighing in defeat, she arranged herself between his legs, her back against his chest. He draped the blanket over them before wrapping his arms around her.
The crisp, cold wind licked at their cheeks, but the fire crackling in the outdoor chimney threw enough warmth to make it bearable.
Snuggled beneath the blanket, they both stared silently out at the bay.
“You’ve been quiet since we left the party,” Luke observed.
Embry nodded. “Just thinking.”
“Want to share?”
She wanted to tell him she loved him, that she was sorry for holding back, but the words wouldn’t come. “Not yet.”
They sat in companionable silence as Embry stared out into the night; the only light the moon’s reflection on the glassy surface of the bay and the slow burning embers in the fireplace. She leaned her head back against him, lulled by the steady sound of his heartbeat. His chest expanded beneath her as he drew in a deep breath.
“Embry?”
“Hmmm?”
“I love you.” His voice was thick and throaty, but she caught the slight trace of uncertainty, almost as if he was scared of being rejected again.
She sat silent, thinking, trying to make sense of the thoughts swirling in her mind.
He tightened his arms around her. “I love you, Embry,” he repeated more forcefully. “And I know you love me, too. But I need to hear it. I need to know if you’re in this with me… because if you’re not, then…”
He shifted beneath her, and Embry turned in his arms, looking up into sad blue eyes.
“Then what?” she prompted, her face etched with worry.
A battle waged in his eyes—a mix of honesty, pain, and desire. “Then I’ll let you go.”
She sat up, facing him as her heart began to race uncontrollably and tears stung her eyes. “I’m terrified, Luke.” Her voice cracked. “I’ve never felt this way. I’ve never been so vulnerable. I gave you my heart, and you were reckless with it.”
He dropped his head and, when his eyes met hers again, they were filled with anguish. “I’ll never be able to express to you how sorry I am, Bree. But I don’t know what more I can do,” he said, defeated. “I’ll try harder, give you everything. I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life making it up to you, showing you that you didn’t make a mistake by giving me another chance. But if you don’t believe that, if you can’t let go and trust that I won’t hurt you again, then there’s nothing more I can do.”
A pit formed in her stomach, her heart aching at the thought of losing him.
He’d meant every word. The pain was clear on his face, and she’d heard the sincerity in his voice. I love you, Embry. I know you love me too. As she let his words rush through her, her fear began to dissipate, slowly floating away on the wind as threads of trust began to form and strengthen her resolve. She decided right then and there that she was all in.
Shaking her head, she leaned lightly into him and tilted her face toward his. “No,” she whispered, hot tears staining her cheeks. “Don’t give up on me.”
His dark eyes clouded with confusion. “I don’t un—”
Silencing him with a finger over his lips, she held his eyes, trying to convey everything she was feeling—love, fear, longing, pain. She needed him to understand. “I love you, too.”
He drank her in as he cupped her cheeks, his hands warm against her cold skin. “Thank you,” he said softly, his voice nearly shaking with relief. He pressed his lips to hers, teasing the seam of her mouth until she opened for him. The soft caress of his tongue sent a wave of longing through her entire being as she dug her hands into his hair, pulling him closer, as close as she could get him.
After a few seconds, he broke the kiss, his large hands gently holding her face as his eyes clung to hers. “I need you.” There was so much longing in his voice.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. “Then take me.”
Hooking his arms beneath her, he cradled her to his chest, then he stood and grabbed the blanket, carrying her into the house. The room was dark, except for the soft glow of the fireplace, shadows from the flames dancing across the walls.
Luke set Embry down and laid the blanket in front of the hearth. Gently pushing the loose hairs from her face, he reclaimed her lips and coaxed her mouth open, his tongue swirling with hers as his hands roamed her body, fingers tracing every curve. Chills broke out across her sensitive skin as he slowly pushed the sweatshirt up her torso. His lips left hers only to pull it over her head, revealing the cropped corset she’d worn under her party dress.
He eyed the sheer lace, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as his fingers brushed her skin just above the waistline of her flannel pants. Tugging at the satin drawstring, the pants fell to the floor, and she stood before him in matching lace panties.
He blinked rapidly, his eyes raking over her body. “Jesus fuck. You’re fucking beautiful.” Finally, his calm shattered, and he crushed her to him. His mouth devoured her softness as his hands traveled the length of her back, searching out and unclasping the delicate eyelets of her corset. The sheer lace fell to the floor, exposing her breasts, her nipples hardening under his teasing touch. Wrapped up in the sensation of hands and lips, pleasure coursed through her, and Embry found herself on the floor, soft fleece beneath her bare back. As Luke settled above her, his lips and tongue trailed down the long column of her neck, working toward her breasts.
He was still fully clothed, and she was filled with the need to feel his skin against hers. “Luke,” she sighed as his tongue swirled around the hardened tip of her nipple.
He looked up from beneath his long, dark lashes, cobalt eyes burning into her. Caught up in her desire and unable to form coherent words, she tugged at his sweatshirt. He took the hint and kneeled between her legs, yanking it over his head and exposing the gorgeous expanse of his chest. Her eyes blazed, heat rushing to her core as she watched him untie the drawstring of his pants, exposing the thick length jutting out from his hips.
Luke slowly ran his hands up her thighs, his eyes never leaving hers as he reached the lace of her panties and dragged them down her legs. He tossed them aside and grabbed her knees, pushing her legs up and open and leaving her completely exposed. She shivered beneath him, her body ready to explode before he’d even touched her.
Bending his head, he started at her knee, licking and kissing his way to the apex of her thighs. He explored her body with his lips and hands, driving her to the point of madness. She arched her hips toward his mouth, silently begging for him. Finally, he ran a long finger through her wetness, his tongue following suit as he stroked her pussy.
“Please, Luke!” she cried out, her fingers roughly digging into his hair.
He splayed his large hand against her stomach, holding her in place. “I’m just getting started, baby.” He made another pass with his tongue before sucking her clit into his mouth, plunging his fingers deep inside of her. Her back arched up, her head hitting the floor as she came undone over and over again.
But even that didn’t suppress the ache between her legs. She needed him, all of him.
He kissed and licked his way up her body, leaving a trail of heat until he was hovering over her, his biceps taut and straining under his weight as he held himself above her.
He loo
ked down at her, eyes hooded. “I love you so fucking much.”
She smiled up at him, winding her arms around his neck and tunneling her hands through the hair at the back of his head. “I love you, too.”
As he lowered himself, his tongue traced the fullness of her mouth, then pushed past her lips and tangled with hers. She felt his erection hard and heavy against her belly, intensifying her ache for him.
She broke the kiss, panting and shaking beneath him as she reached between them, gripping his cock and lifting her hips toward him. “Make love to me. Please, I need to feel you.”
Blue eyes, large and liquid, stared into hers as he positioned himself at her entrance and sunk into her, groaning in pleasure. Embry cried out, every feeling and emotion crashing into her at once as he filled her, completed her. He’d broken her down, shattered her, then put her back together again. With every kiss, every slow thrust, every heated touch, another broken piece fell back into place until she was whole again.
He moved inside of her, a steady, carnal rhythm driving her toward the edge as their mouths explored each other, tongues tangling. His strong arms held her close as he took her, owning every inch as he dragged himself out of her then pushed in deeper, bringing her closer and closer.
She gave herself over to him, body and soul, falling apart beneath him and calling out his name as they fell over the edge together.
They lay in bed a short while later, naked limbs tangled together, chills breaking out across Luke’s skin as Embry’s delicate fingers traced the curves of his chest. Tonight had been perfect. She was perfect—here, with him, beside him in his bed. There was nothing in the world he’d ever want more than her body curled against his, wrapped in his arms.
“I missed you,” she whispered shyly.
He rolled toward her, his arms coming around her to roam the bare length of her back. “I missed you, too,” he spoke against her lips.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” she wondered aloud.
“What is?”
“That we’ve kind of been back together for a while now, but I still missed you.”
