Saints and Sinners: The Complete Series

by Eden Butler

  Luka considered her, doing that with a swagger that impressed her. He was cool and utterly composed, leaning back on one elbow, folding his free arm over his waist as he tilted his head. He seemed to want a good look at Gia, like he’d never seen anyone or anything like her before. For a long time, Luka only seemed able to stare, that dark gaze raking over her face, down her body like he couldn’t get enough of the look of her.

  Finally, when he seemed satisfied, Luka’s mouth lifted at one side and he motioned with two fingers. “Come here.” There was a small plead in his voice that worked a small kind of magic over Gia. It was in the flirting tone of his voice, and the sweet timbre that was half joke, half beg, both leaving her a little helpless.

  Gia took one step, resting for half a second before she relaxed against the mattress and went to her side to face Luka, their hands a half breath apart. “I’m…here.”

  “I see that.”

  He wanted to kiss her. That same look he’d given her in the showers was starting to inch in his eyes. It started as a hazy cloud that darkened his irises, then became a twist of his mouth that pressed his lips together when Gia brushed her hair off her shoulder. Like he’d done it a hundred times before, Luka reached for her long, dark hair, playing with the ends like it was a comfortable habit, like the curl in each strand was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen.

  “You stood there,” he started, his attention on her hair as he looped it around his fingers, “half a foot from me in that shower, looking fierce and beautiful, fucking sexy.” Luka closed his eyes, inhaling deep as his nostrils flared. “And totally off limits.” He dropped Gia’s hair and jerked his gaze at her. “I wasn’t lying to you. You have no clue what you could have. The effect you have…”

  Gia’s breath felt thick, as though something had become embedded in the oxygen in her lungs, but she didn’t move as Luka inched closer, lifting a hand to smooth the tip of one finger across her cheek. “Took everything in me not to touch.” She held her breath, heartbeat like a runner’s now as Luka moved his hand, threading his fingers between her thick hair. “Took everything in me not to touch you from the first time I saw you.” Gia opened her mouth, but didn’t speak, not when Luka shook his head, not when he gave her the same, no-excuse shrug that told her enough that he was being honest. “Standing out there among all those knuckle head men that have no idea what to make of you. Looking proud and bold.” He moved closer, his thigh touching hers. “You looked like you belonged. Like you were made to be on that field, like no man would ever tell you to stand back.”

  “I’m…just starting at the bottom.”

  He shook his head like he wouldn’t hear her making excuses and Gia exhaled, letting her smile stretch and that swell of pride in her chest keep her sated and warm. “You know, my kuku…” he grinned at Gia’s confused frown, amending immediately, “My grandfather always says the bottom is a good place to start. It gives you a steady foundation.” He moved Gia’s chin up with a knuckle and his breath fanned out across her face. “Fearless,” he said, sounding awed.

  Gia forgot how to breathe, could only manage to let small sounds that were small noises of anticipation leave her mouth. “Luka…”

  The name came out a plea and prayer but got cut off as he pulled Gia down against the mattress. He hovered over her, keeping her still with one large hand against her face. “You tell me to stop, I stop. You tell me to never stop, I fucking won’t.” He leaned still closer, warm, wet lips grazing once against her mouth. “Your call.” Then, just like he’d slipped into every waking dream Gia had ever had about this moment, Luka dipped over her, taking his time, teasing her mouth with the curve of his bottom lip and the soft, wet tip of his tongue before he finally kissed her.

  It was slow and still, wet and hot with just enough pressure that she felt the contours of his lips, but not overwhelmed by how he guided her, led them both. Luka moved himself on top of her, holding her face up to get a better angle of her mouth as he adjusted his heavy body so that he held most of his own weight on his free hand and right thigh.

  Gia relaxed into his touch, loving the sensation of his warm breath against her face and the weight of his strong body over her. Luka groaned, seeming to like her nails moving up his back as she responded to his kiss and her leg curling around his as he moved them closer together.

  He tasted like mocha and mint and smelled like fall—woodsmoke and apple spice. It was everywhere on campus this time of year and the deeper Luka kissed her, the more Gia got lost.

  When she pressed close, tugging on his waist, pulling him nearer, aching to feel all of him, Luka let out a long, grunting breath, balancing on both palms as he stared down at her.

  “My brother…” he started, adjusting to rub his face like he needed to clear away the muddled thoughts clogging his head before he focused on her again. “Kona has gotten himself entangled.”

  “Um… okay.” Gia didn’t know why Luka had chosen that exact moment to discuss Kona and Keira but didn’t ask him why he was mentioning his twin.

  He hesitated, glancing at her face before he shook his head and for some reason Gia couldn’t name, she was reminded of Kona’s warning about Luka from just days ago. “I…I got no plans to be entangled,” he told her.

  The muscles of Gia’s face tightened when she frowned and she sat up, pushing away from Luka to watch his expression. It was mild, his eyebrows wrinkled together making him look older than he was but he didn’t hurry to explain himself or make excuses when Gia curled her arms across her chest.

  “G…it’s just that you’re… off limits. That’s been established.” Luka grabbed Gia’s finger, pulling her hand down. “It’s known and I don’t really like breaking the rules my coaches set.”

  “So why are you here?” She wasn’t angry. Gia wasn’t a kid. She understood who Luka was and what kind of life most players had while they were in college. This wasn’t a time for long-term commitments to anyone other than your team and your sport. Relationships usually weren’t ever considerations. Gia respected the game and the team enough to know that.

  But that didn’t mean her pride wasn’t hurt a little bit.

  “If I’m so off limits and you’re worried about pissing off my uncle then why did you try to take out Drew today?”

  Luka didn’t bother to hide his laugh. He leaned back, covering his face before he shrugged, head shaking. “I got no answer for that…except maybe…maybe I guess I don’t like you being entangled with anyone else.”

  This time, Gia laughed, shoving Luka when he reached for her. “That’s not fair, you bastard!”

  “I’m a complicated guy,” he said, moving closer, ignoring her half-hearted smack against his arm before he pulled Gia onto his lap. “Does that make me an asshole?”

  “Yeah. Little bit.”

  “Well, I’m sorry. I…don’t mean to be.” He kissed her forehead, breath coming out in a sigh. When he spoke again, it was through an exhale. “You want me to get out of here?”

  There was so much to say to him, Gia knew. So many voices clouding in her mind telling her that she should demand something permanent, that she was owed more. It was probably why she felt and acted so indecisive all the time. But Gia didn’t know what she wanted herself. She only knew she liked Luka. She only knew he made her feel good. He made her smile. She knew she wanted him, and she wanted to make him good too.

  Life experiences, she told herself, blocking out the good girl mandates her mother had always told her were so important. Gia just wanted to live in this moment. She decided just then she’d figure out what came next later.

  “No…” Gia said, curling an arm around Luka’s neck before she stole a kiss. “I don’t think I want you to go anywhere.”

  “Good.” He gripped Gia to pull her closer. Luka’s movements were quick, working her hips to his as he pulled her face near enough to take her lips.

  “Umm…” Gia said, responding to Luka’s touch, fingers against his face, leaning into the sensation of
his mouth against her chin and along her neck. She held her breath, heart hammering hard when he kissed her collarbone, teasing the skin there with his lips and tongue before Gia’s grip on Luka’s hair and soft, anxious hum of pleasure had Luka stopping.

  He watched her, arms still around her, mouth still inches from her skin, gaze on her face before he spoke. “Gia…I don’t do…” Luka went quiet when she shook her head.

  “I heard you the first time.”

  “You know that means… If I stay…”

  She shrugged, brushing the hair from his face before she kissed Luka’s cheek, then once against his mouth. “No entanglements?”

  He returned the kiss, thumb against her bottom lip, his tongue wetting his mouth as though he had to keep from devouring her. “This…right here, I want this. I want more than this…I…I wanted you in the shower but anyone could have seen us. It wouldn’t have been safe. But no matter how much I want you… I’m not expecting anything.”

  Gia got his meaning. She’d offered everything she had to Luka. Inside of twenty minutes they were on Claire’s bed making out, not promising each other a thing. At the moment, Gia wasn’t sure if that mattered to her, but then, she was never sure of anything at all. She only knew that Luka was a good person and a beautiful man and she had no intention of spending the rest of the night thinking about what might or might not happen in the future.

  “Good. Then, we’ll just see where we end up.”

  5.

  LUKA

  In the dark, there were no shadows.

  He was no one’s brother. No one’s son. No one’s mistake.

  There was only the curve of her hip and the arch of her spine. There was only the spread of her breasts and the hollow of her throat. There was only the dark, secret spaces—honey and sweetness that only Luka could taste for that night. For those long, stolen days that followed.

  They lived on an island no one else could penetrate.

  “Deeper. Please.”

  Gia panted. She begged and Luka became a man possessed by the want and need of nothing but the need and want of pleasing her.

  He wanted to fill her. Because no one else ever had. It was a confession she made the second night.

  “Four times?” he’d asked, laying next to her, their bodies damp and sated, but not exhausted. He’d felt her nod, but they hadn’t yet learned each other well enough. There were still too many hurdles to clear before everything was open. There may be no entanglements, but there wouldn’t be inhibitions either. “Why only four?”

  “No one could ever do it…right.”

  “What do you mean?” He had an idea what she meant but didn’t want to rely on assumptions. He was a good lover. At least, every woman he’d touched seemed to always want him again. They’d always seemed happy at least. He’d never had complaints. But women were gods among mortals when it came to inflating egos.

  “I just mean…they’ve never made me…you know…”

  That had Luka sitting up, coming to his knees, determined, smirking when Gia watched him, confused at first, if that frown was anything to go by, then curious when Luka pushed her knees apart.

  “No excuse for it…” he told her and then remedied the problem.

  Now she had no problems telling him what she wanted. “Deeper, Luka,” she’d asked, around the end of the second night and then, “Harder, please, so much harder,” and he obliged because Luka damn well loved the way Gia’s body lit up when she was turned on. He’d never seen anything like it before. She glowed when she was turned on. All that beautiful skin became iridescent, shimmering and flawless. She went breathless and weak and made him feel such power, such control, knowing he’d been the only one to do that to her. The only man to build her up and let her shatter. She gave him that.

  It would be damn hard to walk away from this. From her.

  “I was thinking,” she said later, completely naked now, draped across him, his hand cupping her left breast.

  “What about?”

  “Seeing each other on the field.” He leaned toward her but didn’t speak. Ridiculous as it sounded to himself, the visual was enough to make his stomach turn. His teammates knew to keep away from her. Coach had made sure of that, but the warning had never kept them from looking. Hell, Luka had looked. He’d kept looking from the first day she stepped foot on the field. He’d just been the only one stupid enough to touch, too.

  “It’ll be okay,” he lied, gritting his teeth at the thought of Gia servicing his teammates, giving them water or towels. No, he couldn’t have that. “I’m sure you’ll be…We’ll be…”

  “Next semester will be different. I won’t be on the field.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Uncle Mike got me an internship in the business office.”

  “Business?” Luka’s face felt tight as he frowned at Gia and it must have looked ridiculous. Her slow grin twitched, then grew wider until she laughed, going megawatt.

  “You don’t like me being in the business office?”

  “Not on the field in the middle of the game?” He leaned back, resting his palms on the mattress behind him as Gia scooted onto his lap to move her legs around his hips. He held her leg, adjusting her hip to get her close. “In some bullshit office looking at film to see who the next pick will be?”

  “Hell yes,” she told him, her naked body warming, her nipples hardening as she spoke. Luka glanced down at her smooth, olive skin, unable to keep his hands from her breasts as she straddled him. Gia inhaled and a small chill worked over her shoulders. “Me in the middle of negotiations, trying to find players that fit on the team. Scouting the best potential players. Learning how to recognize real talent when I see it. Finding out when a coach or player needs the fear of God put into them to rev up their performance.”

  She closed her eyes, inhaling as though just the thought of all the business bullshit side of the game Luka had never paid attention to was some kind of great life wisdom Gia couldn’t wait to discover. She shifted again, coming so close that her nipples rubbed against his chest and he held her waist, humming a deep noise of pleasure as she pressed her warm body against him.

  “I love the game,” she said, kissing his neck, trailing her tongue to his ear. “I especially love to see you pulverize some cocky offensive lineman.” For good measure, Gia nibbled Luka’s ear, earning a teasing grab of his hand on her ass when she did it again. “But the idea of learning the business…God, Lu…that makes me wet.”

  “Aw, hell…” he groaned, then flipped Gia over, settling her on the mattress before he slipped inside her.

  “This was fun,” she told him as he dressed in her dorm room the last night of Thanksgiving break. They hadn’t spent the entire time together. Luka had been forced to help his mother and grandfather out with the holiday meal prep since, as he’d relayed to Gia, Kona had been defiant enough that he invited Keira, whom their mother hated, to lunch and Luka was expected to play middle man and divert any pending disasters. It had worked fine for most of the day, according to him. Kona had followed Keira back to the Northshore, Luka had played board games with his kuku Koa and then slipped to Gia’s dorm with a heavy plate of Thanksgiving leftovers and the promise of burning off every carb she ate the second after she’d consumed them.

  “Still fun, G. I haven’t left yet.” Luka hoped his voice sounded relaxed. He didn’t like the way worry started to creep inside his chest when he heard the dismissal in Gia’s words. It was ridiculous to let his thoughts move in that direction. There were no obligations. No entanglements. For God’s sake, he wasn’t Kona. Gia wasn’t Keira. They were just having fun, not being ridiculous and involved like his twin and his girl had found themselves.

  So why did it feel like something inside his gut was turning sour when he thought of leaving her room? Why did the prospect of no entanglements with Gia make Luka feel like there might be no more chances for him to ever taste her again? The thought made him feel a little desperate.

  “Of course yo
u’re still here,” she said, adjusting his collar as she knelt in front of him on the mattress. “I like this.” She fingered the smooth black stone pendant he wore on a thick leather strap around his neck. “Where’d you get this?”

  “Oahu, when I was a kid,” he told her, pulling it out of her hand before he stuffed it under his shirt. “Swam out to the caves near White Sands Beach and me and Kona found these little bits of obsidian. I think we might be the only kids to make it there and back that day.” He shrugged when she smiled at him. “These pendants are important to us.”

  “Well, it’s pretty.” She leaned up, kissing him once on the mouth. “You’re pretty,” she said, smiling when he laughed. “And I’m glad you’re still here.” Gia seemed to be trying for cool, unaffected but couldn’t quite keep her gaze away from Luka’s face as she messed with his shirt. “It can continue to be fun…if you want.” She stopped looking away when he grabbed her hands, holding them still at the wrists to keep her attention on him. “What?” Her tone was sharp, but barely above a whisper.

  “You want that?”

  “Maybe, but I know you said…”

  Luka shook his head, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t make him sound like a hypocrite or a flake. He wanted her. He probably would go on wanting her for the rest of his life. And he knew Coach would take his balls if he ever found out about them, but damn if Luka seemed unable to help himself.

  “I said no entanglements,” he finally admitted, deciding vagueness was best. “Didn’t say I was opposed to accidental meetings.”

  “Oh?” Gia relaxed, her smile coming easy as she leaned against him, arms around his neck. “And where would one such accidental meeting take place?”

  “Maybe…if say, you happen to stop by the library at ten tomorrow night and find your way to the fourth floor…you’ll run into me in the study room I have booked for the semester.”

  “The study rooms have glass windows that…”