She glanced toward me at the same time he did, then back at him.
I felt a visceral tug of feminine satisfaction because Luke’s focus was completely and totally on me. His lids drooped. He said something to the reporter, not even looking away from me as he did so.
He started for me. The people between us fell away.
Sam moved a couple of steps to the side, lingering close just long enough to say, “Her lippie is totally kiss proof, hot stuff. Feel free to plant one on her any time you like.”
I blushed to the roots of my expertly styled hair. “Sam, shut up.”
He laughed, the devilish sound of mirth filling the room.
Luke reached up and feathered his fingers along my jawline. “Sam’s right...you do look ravishing.”
“I told you so,” Sam said from the other side of the room.
Luke ignored him, still staring at me. “But then, I’ve always thought you were beautiful.” He caught my hand and lifted it, pressing a kiss to the back of it.
Wow. Cinderella, indeed.
It hadn’t taken long for the location of the temporary residence to be discovered. For the past couple of weeks we’d all been dodging the occasional reporter or photographer, and even just random groups of people standing around hoping to see Luke, or even one of his siblings.
But as we made our way through the lobby, packed with residents who lived in the building, it was more than obvious we weren’t just going to see a couple of reporters, photographers or people. The noise was apparent even from in here.
London, her arm hooked through Chase’s, giggled. “Man, this is so exciting!”
Every Cochran, save for Liam who’d elected to stay at the rehab center and watch the event unfold with Joanne, as well have a private, in-room screening of the movie, was going to the event.
Having them all there fanned out around me made me feel a little less like a sore thumb, especially London and Bella, both of them open about their excitement, and Ellie, who had already told me she was more than a little terrified about all of this. Chris’s girlfriend—she was about as used to being in the limelight as I was.
Luke stroked a protective hand down my back and let it settle at the base of my spine. “Relax. You’ve got this,” he said, dipping his head to murmur in my ear as we drew closer to the front doors.
Cameras were already going off. More than a few shouted our names, mine and his. “Look left,” he said. “Smile.”
I did as he suggested, smile fixed in place.
“You’ve walked through this kind of scene with me before, Ina,” he said, his thumb stroking over my back.
“It wasn’t like this,” I said as my heart started to flutter.
Two security personnel held the doors open. The others went through, as Kelly had requested, leaving Luke and me for last.
“You’ve still done it. Tell me, have you been thinking about what I’m going to do to you once I get you alone again, Ina?”
I sucked in my breath. My chest started aching and I had to force myself to expel it—just as we stepped outside.
“Smile,” Luke said.
“You did that on purpose,” I said, smiling nonetheless.
“Of course I did. Have you? I want you thinking about it.”
More cameras flashed. Something landed at my feet. I looked down, confused. It was a teddy bear.
“Do you want it?” Luke asked softly.
“Yeah,” I said after a moment.
He stooped and picked it up, turning it over to me. A whoop went up from the crowd and more items came flying out way—flowers, more stuffed animals. Luke snagged a rose out of mid-air and presented it to me and we kept on walking to the gleaming black limo ahead.
The door was already open and waiting, but instead of climbing directly in, I looked back at him. “Which part do you want me thinking about?” I asked. “Where you are on your knees? Or I’m on mine?”
It was only fair, right? If he wanted me all hot and bothered, he should have a bit of the same.
I expected to have the protection of company in the car—Luke would behave himself around his siblings. To some extent, at least.
But as I slid across the leather seat, I realized nobody else was in the car.
The door shut behind me and I braced myself, curling my fingers around the edge of the seat.
“Why don’t you tell me which part you want to think about, Sabrina?” Luke said as he settled on the seat across from me.
Across from me. Distance.
That was good.
At least I thought it was.
Until he sprawled lower in the seat and pressed the flat of his hand to his cock.
I gulped.
He was already hard, his erection straining the front of his dress slacks. From under hooded lids, he watched me, mouth unsmiling, his expression stark. “Nothing to say, Ina?”
“I’m still thinking.” Pressing my knees together in a futile attempt to ease the ache in my pussy, I licked my lips.
“How about I fill in some details, then you can decide?” He stroked himself again, then as I watched, he slowly, freed himself from his trousers and boxers, wrapping his hand around his straining cock.
“Luke!” I darted a look at the driver, but the privacy screen was up.
A faint smile finally cracked the taut mask of hunger on his face. “You pulled the tiger’s tail, Ina. Now you’re stuck with the consequences.”
“You tease me all the time,” I retorted.
“And I’m an unrepentant ass most of the time, as I’ve already established.”
“No, you’re not,” I argued. But the words were weak. How could I argue with him about anything when he had his hand wrapped around his cock, fisting it with slow, lazy strokes, the fat head disappearing before slowing pushing back into view.
My mouth watered. I licked my lips. They were dry.
“Do you want to be on your knees first, Ina?” he asked, voice low and raw. “You’re licking your lips almost like you’re thinking about that very thing. Are you?”
“Yes.”
Luke shuddered and rocked up, thrusting into his fist and moving harder, faster.
I squirmed, aching and empty.
“I love hearing that. I want to see your mouth stretched around my dick. But I also want to push that blue lace up over your hips, your ass. Hold you in my hands while I lick your pussy and fuck you with my fingers until you’re moaning and begging for more.”
“You’re rotten, Luke, doing this to me.”
His eyes gleamed wickedly. “At least you’re not worrying about cameras and reporters now, are you?”
He gave his cock one final stroke, then with a grimace, started to adjust his clothing.
“You’re even more rotten now,” I said, huffing and slumping back into the seat. All that squirming had done absolutely nothing but drive home just how wet he’d made me. “I’ve got to get through the next few hours with wet panties and all of...” I waved a hand at him. “You in my mind!”
He barked out a laugh and slid from his seat to join me. He took my hand. “All of me on your mind, Ina? I think I like that. I’ve got you on my mind, nothing but you half the time. And I like it.” He kissed me, light and quick, then pulled back. “I’ve got something for you.”
“Luke...”
“Don’t argue with me,” he said, giving me a surly look. “I felt like buying you something. I wanted to do it. It made me happy. You can wear it or not.”
I could tell by the way he quickly averted his gaze that if I didn’t wear it, it would hurt his feelings. I wasn’t about to do that. Still, it made me uncomfortable when he spent money on me, and he’d been doing it more and more lately. He’d always done it, really, small gifts, mostly, but he clearly enjoyed buying things for the people in his life. Lately, though, the gifts he’d bought for me weren’t just little.
Both trepidation and exasperation filled me as he reached inside his steel-blue dress coat. The shirt he wore
was silk, the same color as my dress—Kelly and Harley’s work, no doubt.
He pulled out a flat, long velvet box.
I tightened my grip on the seat as he flipped it open and turned it around.
Pearls glimmered on a bed of black satin. Dozens, maybe hundreds of them. I sucked in a stunned breath as he lifted the necklace out and offered it to me.
Slowly, I accepted, my fingers trembling as the smooth, silky pearls slithered into my hands.
“Oh, my goodness,” I whispered.
“Kelly told me what kind of dress you were wearing. I had Bella go to the jewelry store with me and help me figure out the right kind of necklace to get you, but I picked it out.” There was something achingly vulnerable in his words. “Do you like it?”
I looked away from the choker-style necklace—three strands of beautiful, perfect pearls, and met his eyes. “I love it.”
Chapter Thirty
Luke
THE TEXT I’D GOTTEN an hour after we’d left Madison was burning a hole through my brain.
My first instinct had been to smash my phone into pieces.
My second had been to delete the message.
I hadn’t done either.
I’d sent off a quick reply. I wasn’t soothed by the response that came a few minutes later, a bland acknowledgment of the busy schedule ahead of me for the rest of the day, but that we needed to make time to talk—in person and alone—as soon as this bullshit was over.
The paraphrasing, including the term bullshit, was mine, of course.
The text itself was almost...innocuous. But considering what had happened earlier, I knew there was no innocent request behind this.
The schedule Kelly and the Belle Rive PR team had chained me to kept me from being able to think about it too much, and then I’d seen Sabrina, and for a little while, all thought had gone out the window.
Teasing her, thinking about what I was going to do to her and with her after we got back to the condo, all of that offered a brief respite and once we’d hit the controlled chaos waiting for us at the theater in Louisville’s East End, the reporters and photographers and fans had been another welcome distraction.
But once the movie started, it was no longer possible to think about anything but the message and what it might mean.
By the time the credits rolled, my mood was ugly and dark and I had to shove everything into a box. A catered cocktail party awaited us back in downtown at the Brown Hotel, and while I’d rather gouge my eyes out than fake my way through another hour or two of this bullshit, I had to attend.
One hour. Maybe two, I told myself. Then I could stop pretending everything was all right.
“Are you okay?”
Sabrina stroked her fingers down my arm as I settled on the limo seat next to her.
“I’m fine. Did you have a good time?”
She eyed me narrowly and I knew she hadn’t bought it. She’d always seen through me too easily. She probably would have realized something was wrong earlier, but she’d been nervous about the premier. It was a good thing, because I didn’t need her pushing at me while I was fighting to level out.
“It was...educational. Also, you’re lying.” She took my hand.
I yanked it back.
Hurt flashed in her eyes but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared, hidden under that serene mask she showed the world.
She shifted slightly, somehow managing to put distance between us without moving at all. “If you don’t want to talk about it, fine. But...Luke? Don’t lie to me. I think I deserve better than that.”
She looked away, staring out the window.
Fuck.
I told myself to let it go. Right now, my head was in a bad place and it was better off if I kept people at a distance until I had myself under control.
But knowing I’d hurt her was a weight I couldn’t carry. More, knowing that I’d hurt her, of all people, was just plain unacceptable.
“Ina...”
I slid across the seat, tucking my body up behind hers. She stiffened as I pressed my lips to her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I...we’ll talk about it later, okay?”
Her breath shuddered out of her. “Okay, Luke. Okay.”
There was a world of doubt in her voice and I knew she wasn’t sure if she believed me.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, then I pressed another kiss to her soft, smooth skin, seeking out the scent that had been haunting me for hours. She still didn’t relax. But she didn’t pull away either. As I kissed my way up to her neck, the tension faded and when I slid a hand around to cup her breast, she sighed, all but melting into me.
I reached down, pulling at her skirt.
“Luke...” She caught my hand.
“I need this,” I muttered against her ear. “Let me touch you right now, Ina. I need it.”
Her hand fell away.
The material of her dress clung tightly, but I’d been finessing my way around and under women’s clothing for years and the only barrier that would stop me would be resistance from Sabrina.
I encountered something silky covering her legs and had to stifle a groan when I reached the top and realized she was wearing garters. They fastened to yet another enticing garment, one I spent a minute learning by touch as I toyed with the fastener of the garter, then higher, encountering lace and other material stretched taut over her thighs. I shifted her around more, then eased her legs farther apart.
Her breath tripped as I found the edge of her panties and tugged them aside. A low, weak mewl followed as I pushed two fingers inside her. “Moan for me, Sabrina. I want to hear it. I love knowing I can make you fall apart like this.”
She caught my hand, clutching my wrist. I stilled, not sure if she was pulling me away. Fireworks exploded behind my eyes as she wiggled, then moved against my touch, urging me closer at the same time.
And she moaned, a low, husky sound that made my cock go hard as a pike as my balls drew tight against me.
Touching her, bring her pleasure was more of a turn-on for me than having another woman on her knees in front of me.
I could happily spend the rest of my life doing this, pleasing Sabrina.
She rocked against my hand now. I twisted and pumped my fingers, flicking my thumb over her clit, again and again.
A tinny voice came over the speaker. “We’ll be arriving in roughly ten minutes, sir.”
I ignored it, I focused on her.
She cried out and reached up, shoving her hand into my hair. She twisted her fingers in the strands and came, her pussy clenching around my fingers like a fist.
As she sagged against me, I whispered into her ear, “What do you say we skip the party and go straight back to the condo?”
She didn’t answer right away.
When she finally did, she rolled her head on my shoulder to peer up at me through dazed eyes. “I think Kelly would have our heads.”
“She would.” Sighing, I smoothed her skirt down. “You better fix your hair.”
“WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE glaring at, maybe you should delete it.”
We’d just pulled up in front of the Brown as Sabrina said those words and I looked up, startled. With a scowl, I shoved the phone into my coat pocket.
She held out her hand, brow arched.
“It’s no big deal.”
“What did I say about lying to me?” she asked gently.
I dragged a hand down my face and looked away.
“Either let me see the message or delete it. You can’t keep brooding about it, whatever it is.”
“Even if I delete it, I’ll still see the damn message,” I pointed out.
“I know that. But you won’t keep pulling out your phone and glaring at it, sliding off into that ugly, angry little world that turns you into an asshole.” She snapped her fingers impatiently. “Decide.”
Since I wasn’t about to let her read that message—I didn’t trust her to let me handle it—I deleted it, then flipped
the phone around to show her the blank screen.
“It’s deleted. Promise.”
She pursed her lips and studied the phone before looking up at me with thoughtful eyes.
“I’ve never broken a promise to you, Sabrina.”
A slow smile bloomed over her face. “I know.”
The door opened and light spilled in. Cameras were already flashing. I didn’t hold up a hand, although it was still instinct. “Get ready to smile, darlin’.”
THE FIRST HALF HOUR passed in a blur and some of the tension started to fade. Sabrina slipped away from me to use the restroom. She hadn’t been gone more than a few minutes when London took her place, looping her arm through mine and holding her phone, flashing the reporter in front of me an unrepentant smile. “You don’t mind, do you?” she said. “Sisterly prerogative. I’ve got tons of people on my Twitter begging me for pics.”
The reporter smiled at us both. “Of course...as long as you’ll let my photographer get one of the two of you.”
London beamed. “Absolutely. Just a second.”
I rolled my eyes but turned to face my sister’s phone as she shot a couple of selfies of us. “Hold on!” she said imperiously. “You’ve got to see them.”
“You’re such a pest,” I said affectionately, directing my attention to the pictures. “They’re fine.”
She flicked through each of them—she’d managed to take five in rapid succession.
“Wait, hold up.” I caught the camera and lifted it, scrutinizing it. I bit back an ugly curse as I sent the final picture to me, then deleted it from her phone. “The last one sucked. I was blinking so I deleted it.”
“I didn’t notice—”
“I did.” Cutting her off, I turned the phone back over to her, resisting the urge to turn around and find the figure I’d spied standing just a few feet behind me. I wasn’t going to do this tonight. I just wasn’t.
Draping my arm around London’s shoulders, I pulled her in close and looked at the photographer. He’d already hefted his camera.
“That’s perfect...a couple more.”
Cocksure (The Cochrans of Cocker County) Page 22