The kids ran off, excited and happy. As soon as they were around the corner and into the family room, Sam stood to start cleaning up.
Luke couldn’t help himself, he pulled her around and kissed her. What he meant to be a quick, innocent kiss quickly turned into more as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. As soon their tongues touched it was like something ignited inside of him, a desire that was more intense than anything he had ever known.
He had been wanting to kiss her all day, in fact, it had been hard to steer his mind anywhere else. Kissing her was beginning to be like an addiction to him. He wasn’t sure if he could ever get enough of her.
“Uncle Luke and Sam sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage,” Ariel and Bailey chanted and then ran back to the family room, giggling the whole way.
Sam laughed and turned back to the task of gathering up the paper plates.
“Thank you so much for helping me out today Sam,” Luke said sincerely, “This was not the date I had envisioned, believe me. But I've been having so much fun with you today.”
“It has been a perfect day,” she smiled sweetly as they worked together to clean the table and then joined the kids in the family room.
The children had agreed on Finding Nemo and, although Luke would have loved to cuddle up on the couch with Sam, unfortunately both of the spots next to her had been claimed by his two nieces.
Christopher only lasted about ten minutes into the movie before he was out cold, and Luke carried him upstairs, putting him to bed in the guest room. The girls and Sam both really seemed to enjoy the movie, and, as much as Luke was trying not to stare, he could not help it. Sam was just so beautiful, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
After the movie Sam’s phone rang and she reached into her purse and her face lit up. To Ariel and Bailey, she said, “Girls, look who’s calling me.”
Sam turned her phone outward so that the kids could see the picture of Karina sticking out her tongue at the camera that was displayed on her iPhone.
“OH MY GOSH!” The girls screamed and jumped around.
Sam put her finger up to her mouth, and the girls immediately quieted, watching Sam intently to see what she would do next. Sam swiped the screen to answer and said, “Hi Kar.”
The girls' excitement was palpable.
Karina’s voice came across the phone, “Hey Sammi, just wanted to check and see if you’ve turned in your V-card yet?”
Sam looked mortified as she desperately looked at Luke, “Karina you’re on speaker!”
“I am?”
“Yes, you are! Luke and I are watching his nieces and nephew at his Mom’s house.”
“Oh, uh...hi, everybody,” Karina said, sounding confused.
“Ariel and Bailey, Luke’s nieces, are two of your biggest fans, and they are sitting right here,” Sam said by way of explanation.
“Ah, gotcha!” Karina said, immediately switching on her 'Karina-Black-meeting-the-public' persona, “Well hello Ariel and Bailey. Are you ladies having fun with my best friend Sam?”
“Yes,” the girls said shyly.
“What have you girls been doing?” Karina asked, clearly used to her fans being speechless around her.
“We just finished watching Finding Nemo,” Bailey said.
“And before that we were playing UNO and Candy Land and Clue,” Ariel put in.
“That sounds like fun. Who won?” Karina asked.
“Mostly Sam,” The girls said in unison.
Karina broke momentarily from her pop-star-meet-and-greet voice and said in a flat tone, “Seriously Sam?”
“What it’s not like I cheated.” Sam defended herself.
Luke laughed, throwing his head back.
“Hey Luke,” Karina said.
Bailey grabbed his arm and stage whispered, “OH. MY. GOD. She knows who you are!”
Karina spoke again, and it was evident by her tone that she was smiling, “So, girls, do you have a favorite song of mine?”
The girls looked at each other and jumped up and down, “Love Bandit”
“Would you like me to sing it?”
“YES!”
Karina sang the song then took the time to speak individually with each one of the girls.
After a long day and Macaroni and Cheese with hot dogs for dinner, Luke was relieved when he saw that his Mom was calling his phone. He was happy to do his Uncle duty, but he sure wouldn't mind getting in some alone time with Sam before their very unconventional date was over!
“Hey Mom.”
“Hey, sweetie. It’s taking a little longer than we thought. She’s at about a 6.”
“Oh, God, I don't need to know that!”
“Well, yes. My point is, it could be a while longer,” His Mom sounded tired and a little worried.
He looked at Sam and motioned that he would be stepping into the other room to take the call.
Sam nodded and looked a little concerned.
“Sorry I said that before, about not needing to know that. It was just a gut reaction. But is Steph OK, Mom? Is the baby OK?”
“Oh, yes, sweetie, she’s fine. She just wants me to stay. But I really feel like I need to get back to the kids and relieve you and Sam.”
“No, no, Mom, don't be silly. We’re fine, and the kids are great. You stay with Steph and Chad. We’ve got everything under control.”
His Mom let out a sigh of relief, “Oh thanks so much, sweetie, I will be home as soon as I can.”
Luke hung up and walked back to the family room where Sam was playing the Wii with the kids.
They all looked at up at him waiting for any news on the baby.
He picked up Christopher and said, “No baby yet, buddy, but your Mommy is doing great.”
They all played the Wii until it was bath time. Once the kids were all in their Pjs, Sam sat and brushed the girls' hair. She twisted their long locks into a type of a braid that she explained her Mom had done for her when she was a little girl.
As Luke and Christopher built a fort for everyone to have a camp-out/sleep-over, he felt a warm sensation building in his chest.
He had watched Sam all day, watched how she interacted with the kids. She was patient and funny. She related to each one of them at their level. When Christopher had fallen and scraped his knee, she didn’t miss a beat. She scooped him up set him on the counter, got a band aid and Neosporin on it. When she set him down, he went racing off to find his cousins and show them his Sponge Bob band-aid.
This day had made him think of Sam as a Mom. He felt like they had been playing house today…and he liked it.
He had given her a pair of his old sweats to change into when they were putting the kids down, and she had pulled her hair back in a ponytail. He honestly thought she was the sexiest thing he had ever laid eyes on in his oversized sweats and t-shirt.
Luke laid on one end of the L shape couch and Sam laid on the other side, the kids on the floor in the fort between them.
Sam, Bailey, and Ariel were all asleep before Christopher, who was trying to stay up for the baby. He didn’t make it, though, and after he was sound asleep, Luke closed his eyes. The next thing he knew, his Mom was tapping him on the shoulder.
It took him a second to get his bearings but then quietly asked, “Is everything good? Are Steph and the baby OK?”
His Mom looked exhausted, but smiled, “Everyone is doing great, and you have a new nephew named Jeremy Carl Reynolds.”
“Carl, after Dad,” Luke felt himself getting a little choked up.
His Mom shook her head yes and he could see tears forming in her eyes. Instead of getting maudlin, though, she whispered briskly, “I’ll stay down here with the kids you and Sam can go sleep upstairs.”
Luke would have argued with her, but his back was killing him from his feet hanging off the end of the couch. Still, he felt like chivalry demanded that he at least put up a semblance of a fight.
“Are you
sure Mom? We can stay down here.”
She waved him off as she got down and laid with the kids.
Luke stood and stretched before picking Sam up off the couch.
She immediately snuggled up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
His heart started beating faster as he walked with her in his arms up the stairs of his childhood home, and it had nothing to do with physical exertion. No, he could not help but have a physical response to taking Sam to bed.
He knew nothing was going to happen. He wasn’t going to have her first time be in his childhood bedroom, with his Mom and nieces and nephew downstairs. But the intimacy of carrying her up to bed and then spending the night with her was wreaking havoc on his body.
Unfortunately it seemed that his dick hadn’t gotten the memo that there would be no hanky panky tonight.
He laid her down carefully on his childhood bed and spooned in behind her. She stirred a little, causing her rear end to rub up against him.
He didn’t know how he was possibly going to sleep at all with this raging hard-on.
But even though there was some discomfort from his erection and his heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest, Luke felt happy…content. Sam fit perfectly against him. It occurred to him that, lying in his family home, holding Sam in his arms, made Luke feel for the first time like his heart had found a home.
Chapter Twenty-one
Sam opened her eyes as sunshine shone through the window, and was shocked to find herself in bed with Luke.
She froze.
What was she supposed to say, or do? What was the morning after protocol?
She strained to remember what had happened the night before. The last thing she remembered, she had fallen asleep on the couch. She figured that Luke’s Mom must have returned sometime in the night and then Luke must have carried her upstairs.
After the initial shock of the situation wore off, she quickly came to the conclusion that she liked, no LOVED, the feeling of waking up in Luke’s arms. It felt so safe and secure. She had never thought about this part of being with someone, odd as it may sound. She had always just thought about the sex part that she was missing out, and the whole time she had no clue that she had been missing out on something as lovely as this.
“Morning, beautiful.”
Luke’s voice rasped in her ear and she shivered. And, there, yes - the goosebumps were back. Jeez, would her body always respond to him like that? Well, she thought as another shiver spread over her body, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
She turned to look at Luke and the sight of him took her breath away. He was by far the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in her life, and he was lying in bed next to her. It was almost too good to be true.
“Morning,” she said shyly.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, pulling her closer to him.
“A little too well I think,” she chuckled, “The last thing I remember is crashing on the couch.”
“Oh, yeah. My Mom got home around one so I brought you up here so you could get a better night's sleep.”
“I figured,” she said, snuggling her head against his shoulders. She needed to take a break from looking at him. His gaze was so intense it was a little overwhelming. She felt as if she were looking into the sun.
She glanced around the room, “So was this your bedroom growing up?” She saw a shift in his demeanor and he propped up on one elbow.
“Yep,” he looked at her with a mischievous glint in his eye, “Sorry I don’t have any posters of you.”
She laughed and smacked him on the arm.
He blocked it as he continued, “What? I’m just sayin, you know...I would have if you would have been on the scene.”
“As opposed to being in elementary school,” she pointed out.
“Ughh,” he flopped on his back and covered his face with a pillow, “you make me feel like such an old man.”
“Good, you deserve it,” She took the pillow from him, uncovering his face, which she leaned down and kissed.
This kiss was different than all those which had come before it. He had always been the one to make the move, but this time she had initiated the kiss. She liked that feeling. She liked being able to kiss Luke anytime she wanted to.
It wasn't long before Sam felt a shift in the dynamic between them, though. She may have been in control in the beginning of the kiss, but that quickly changed as Luke flipped Sam onto her back and covered, not only her mouth, but also her body with his own.
Sam felt a throbbing sensation beginning to build deep in her belly, his mouth on hers felt like magic. Every time his lips touched hers it was electric.
Sam moaned and he pulled one of her legs up so that his erection was pressing against her core. He moved rhythmically against her, grinding his hips against hers as he devoured her with his hands and mouth. Even though they were both in multiple layers of clothing, she felt an orgasm starting to build inside of her. She lifted her hips, straining against him, moving in his rhythm, wanting to hasten the build of intensity she felt within.
Knowing exactly what she needed, Luke slipped his hands inside her shirt and filled his palms with her breasts, kneading and massing them, pinching her nipples as he ground his hard-on against her.
She knew she was close, and getting closer by the second. Waves of ecstasy crashed over her as her hips began to buck of their own accord. Luke's mouth continued its sensual assault as he pulled her leg up a little higher and adjusted his position. Just a tiny little millimeter, that was all it took.
Sam felt fireworks going off in her body. She was exploding, bursts of pleasure firing off, one after the other, for what seemed like an eternity. She wrapped her arms around Luke’s neck, burying her head there, riding out the tidal wave of sensation.
When the roller coaster rush finally began to loosen its hold and lower her back to earth, she found Luke staring down at her with something behind his eyes that she couldn’t quite name.
The moment felt a little too personal, though, a little too heavy, a little too overwhelming. She decided that she needed to inject some lightness, and so she quipped, “Wow, my vibrator never made me feel like that.”
Luke burst out laughing just as there was a knock at the door.
Sam’s eyes widened and she tried to hide under the covers. That's what she got for forgetting herself, and thinking that she could be all carefree-woman-of the world!
“It’s OK, beautiful,” Luke reassured her in a quiet voice, “I locked the door last night.”
Sam sighed in relief. Luke turned his attention to their visitor, the early morning door knocker.
“Yes?” Luke said loudly.
There were giggles and more knocking, and then a chorus of tiny voices said, “Uncle Luke, Grandma says to tell you and Sam breakfast is ready!”
“Ok, we’ll be down in a minute.”
There was the pitter patter of little feet running down the hall, punctuated by more giggles and laughter, as Luke sat up and raked his hands through his hair.
Sam took a moment to take stock of things. She was in bed Luke Reynolds, who was shirtless in low riding sweats, sporting an impressive erection...and he had just given her the greatest orgasm of her life, fully clothed.
It was a good morning.
“As much as I would love to keep you in bed all day, I don't think this is exactly the place for it,” Luke smiled at her affectionately.
“Oh, I know!” Sam assured him.
“Well, beautiful, if you keep looking at me like that, I will never get myself under control enough to get out of this bed!”
“Like what?” Sam asked, not sure what he meant.
“Sam, you’re undressing me with your eyes,” Luke said, a twinkle in his, “and as much as I would love to strip us both down, I think what should probably happen is that you go freshen up in the bathroom, and I will meet you downstairs.”
He kissed her, all too briefly this time, “I threw our clothes in t
he washer and dryer after we changed into sweats, and yours are in the bathroom, along with fresh towels.”
He hopped up out of bed, then reached down and pulled her up with him. He kissed her one more time before turning her around in the direction of the bathroom door and playfully swatting her on her rear. She laughed as she skipped into the bathroom.
When Sam walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later, she found Luke sitting at the table with the kids, obviously freshly showered himself, as Ellen was flipping pancakes.
As soon as the kids saw her, the three of them jumped up and ran over to give her hugs.
Ellen turned when she saw the kids run in and came around the counter to give Sam a hug herself, “Thank you so much for spending the day watching these rug rats. I really appreciate it, sweetie.”
Feeling a little overwhelmed, Sam hugged each of them in turn, “It was no problem. We had fun, didn’t we guys?”
All three kids yelled, “Yes!”
They took their places around the table and enjoyed the pancake breakfast that Ellen had prepared. After it was over, Luke went to fix a leak he had noticed in the downstairs bathroom, the kids scampered off to play theWii, and Sam offered to help Ellen clean up.
The two women cleared the table and then Sam started washing the dishes while Ellen dried.
“I’m so happy to finally see you and Luke together,” Ellen said warmly, and she genuinely did look happy. Sam was confused.
She tilted her head and said, puzzled, “Luke and I only started working at Mountain Ridge together a few weeks ago.”
“Oh, I know,” Ellen said dismissively, “but he’s had his eye on you for years.”
Sam barked out a short, disbelieving laugh, “No he hasn’t.”
“Honey, he may not have been on your radar but you were definitely on his,” Ellen insisted.
“Really?” Sam said, still incredulous.
Ellen looked at her, considering, and it seemed to Sam like she was specifically weighing whether or not to say something that was on her mind.
Sweet Victory Page 21