Dare You To Love Me (A NOLA Heart Novel Book 3)

by Maria Luis

  “Give me your glass, sweetheart,” he murmured. The endearment soothed the demand, and Anna gave up her wine without a fuss. Sex with Luke trumped wine any day of the week, and yes, she understood that made her completely shameless. His gaze flicked to the bed, silently telling her where to go.

  So she did.

  And as she did, she stripped off her clothes, hoping to throw Luke off the same way he’d done to her. She heard his groan when she kicked off her heels, and then his guttural “fuck” when she undid the tab of her dress’s side-zipper. Her dress fell to her waist, and she unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor. Just to remind him from earlier that evening that her panties were lace, red, and they were solely for him, she added an extra sway to her step.

  She didn’t hear him launch into motion. But she sure as hell felt the heavy band of his arm around her waist, and his lips dragging down the back of her neck. Shivers threaded down her spine as she curled one hand into his brown hair, and whispered the words she’d thought so many times, “I dare you to love me, Luke.”

  His arm tightened. Then a single kiss to her right shoulder. “I’m going to.” Another kiss. “Right now.”

  With a teasing push, he toppled her onto his bed and ordered her to turn onto her back. She loved how bossy he was in the bedroom, especially since she was bossy out of it.

  Anna twisted on the bed, made a move to shove her dress down the length of her legs, but Luke growled, “No. Leave it on.”

  She quirked a brow, noting the fact that he still held her wine glass in one hand. “Yeah? I think it defeats the purpose of me getting naked.”

  “We’ll get there.” With his pants still unbuckled, he crawled onto the bed, careful not to spill the wine. “Trust me.”

  A little thrill curled her toes, but he didn’t give her time to form a witty reply. Instead his lips were on hers, stealing the words from her tongue, teasing her with the prospect of more. She loved the way he kissed: powerful and naughty and raw. She tipped her head back, absorbing the feel of his big body pressing hers into the mattress. The way his thighs spread hers apart. The way he nipped at her lower lip and demanded entry.

  But then the warmth of his body was abruptly replaced with liquid, and Anna’s body bucked off the bed. “Oh!”

  She lowered her gaze to the wine trickling down her sternum and gave a wry laugh. “This is why I always tell Jules no drinks or food in the bed.” Patting Luke’s arm, she gestured for him to get up. “I’ll grab a towel before the wine stains your sheets.”

  Luke stilled her with a hand to her shoulder. “All part of the plan.”

  “To ruin your sheets?” she asked, eyeing him dubiously.

  “Nah,” he said with a soft chuckle, “to do this.”

  And then he lowered his mouth to just above her belly button and licked the wine off her skin.

  “Oh, my God.”

  His darkened gaze met hers as he slipped his tongue up her diaphragm, erasing the wine from her flesh. “Is that a ‘keep going’ or ‘you’re wasting the wine’ oh-my-god?”

  Neither. Both. Anna had no clue. Until Luke, she might as well have been a born-again virgin—and here he was, stripping every last one of her defenses.

  “Anna?”

  “More.”

  This time, he didn’t even chuckle. His green eyes gleamed as he gave her exactly what she wanted. The wine teased down her right breast, her nipple hardening with the smooth glide of Luke’s tongue. Her head fell back, her fingers clutching his head. It all felt too good, the way he softly blew against the rigid bud and playfully nipped it. When he repeated it all on her left side, Anna worried she might orgasm with nothing but wine, his lips on her breasts, and his promise to love her.

  Her legs tangled beneath his, her fingers yanking on his hair, a moan escaping her mouth, when he allowed the wine to almost escape beneath her dress. But he didn’t. He lapped at the wine, driving her crazy with need to have him just a little farther down between her legs. Then, he was placing the glass on the floor so he could strip off the dress and underwear, along with his pants and briefs.

  He was blessedly naked.

  So was she.

  And maybe she should have anticipated the extent of his naughtiness, but she didn’t. Not when he spread her thighs wide. Not when he tipped the glass and sent the small remainder of wine cascading onto her pelvic bone. Not when he waited until the wine had slipped between her legs before making his move.

  “Oh.”

  He left no wine forgotten; he sipped on her skin, on her clit, on every erogenous zone that he knew would leave her trembling. His fingers joined the mix, first flicking over her before tracing her slit and thrusting inside. But his lips, oh, his lips didn’t move from ground zero. They worked her body, fast and hard then slow and gentle, never allowing her that chance to slip over the edge.

  “Now, Luke,” she whispered. “Please, now.”

  His lips glistened red from the wine when he glanced up, and it was by far the hottest thing she’d ever seen. “Now?” he echoed, even as he worked another finger into her body. He angled them forward, hitting her just there, and Anna cried out. “What if I’m not done yet?” he added smugly.

  Obviously, his plan was to ruin her for all other men. Body trembling, she pulled hard on his shoulders. “I don’t care. Right now, I want you inside me.”

  The words must have done the trick. His fingers left her, leaving her to feel hollow and empty, but then he was urging her farther up the bed until her head hit the softness of his pillows. There was the telltale sound of a condom unwrapping—despite the fact that she now knew his secret—and then he was kneeling between her thighs, positioning her just so, so that her legs were looped around his waist.

  “No, wait,” she whispered, a hand pressed to his clenching thigh.

  Green eyes clouded with confusion. He cleared his throat, his Adam’s apple dodging down. “Did you change your mind?”

  Yes, but not about loving him. She waited until he met her gaze to say, “I don’t have anything.” Oh, God, like that was specific. It was her turn to clear her throat awkwardly. “What I meant to say is, I’m clean. Besides you, I haven’t had sex in years, and . . . I’m also on the pill.”

  To say that Luke’s face stilled would be an understatement. His shoulders went rigid, and he seemed to be working for much-needed air. “Hell, I”—he looked down, scrubbed a hand over his face—“I’ve never . . .”

  “I know.”

  “And you . . .” His brows lowered, his lips pulling into a straight line. “You trust me like that?”

  Anna swallowed past the nerves, tipped her chin up, and said, “Only you, Luke. I only trust you with this.”

  “Fuck.” The word echoed in the quiet room, as did his heavy breathing. But it was the awestruck look in his eyes that stopped her, that clued her in that maybe she’d just offered him something he’d never expected to receive. His calloused hands left her thighs to strip off the condom, and he tossed it aside, aiming for the small trashcan next to the bed. But then his hands were on her again, skimming her body reverently. “You’ve ruined me, you know,” he growled, guiding his bare cock to her entrance. “I just need you to know that no one . . . no one has ever reached me like you do, Blondie.”

  There wasn’t a chance to respond to his heartfelt confession. With a single thrust, he entered her.

  It was glorious.

  Everything about it was glorious.

  His big hands spanned the width of her belly as he rocked himself inside her. Her nails dug into his thighs, grounding her, as she took every inch of him.

  “Is this what you wanted?”

  Her gaze jerked up to meet his. She whimpered when he pulled out of her, almost completely. Moaned when he thrust back inside. Cursed when he stilled, waiting for her answer.

  “Yes,” she whispered, “yes, this is what I wanted.”

  His green eyes sharpened, darkening to a dark emerald, hips once more picking up a rhythm th
at drove her wild. “Is this what you meant when you dared me to love you?”

  Her fingers shifted from his thighs to the bedsheets, fisting the fabric as she arched her back, seeking more of that delicious pumping of his cock. “Yes.” Her words escaped on a sigh. “I want you to love me . . . only me.”

  His smooth rhythm became disjointed, fragmenting, as though her words had thrown off his equilibrium.

  If possible, his lack of control heightened her own pleasure. His lips crashed down on hers in a heated kiss; his hands slipped down to grasp her wrists, locking them together above her head. Their chests pressed together. His pace was wild, furious, hard, and it was everything Anna had ever wanted.

  His pelvic bone rubbed her clit with each thrust of his hips, and when he growled, “Come for me,” in her ear, there was nothing she could do to stave off her orgasm. It stole her breath and her heart, splintering her body into a million little pieces of pleasure, before fusing them back together again just as he shattered above her with a deep-seated moan.

  Anna ran a hand over his back, tracing figure-eights over his spine and shoulders. Happiness warmed her joints, and she pressed a kiss to Luke’s slick forehead.

  “The wine bit was different,” she murmured when their breathing had evened out. “I’ll probably never be able to look at Malbec the same way again.”

  He propped his chin on her collarbone. “Sex wine. That’s what we’re calling it from now on.”

  Anna laughed. “Is it? Do you think we should trademark the name in case we hit it big?”

  His hand curved over her hip, the touch more lulling than arousing, as though he couldn’t help himself. “You’re the businesswoman,” he said, “so I’ll leave that bit to you.”

  But he could be a businessman, too, if he wanted. Thinking back to his response about co-owning Herbal Heaven with his mom, Anna said, “Do you not want to work with your mom anymore?”

  Body stiffening, he made as though he planned to move away, but Anna locked her legs around his lean hips. “Open up to me, Luke.” She didn’t beg him, didn’t add a pleading note to her voice. She could be just as bossy as he was.

  With a little sigh, he kissed her chest. “I don’t know what I want. I’ve been living the military life for so long now that I honestly don’t think I’d be happy doing anything else.”

  “But were you happy in the army?”

  Her blunt question made him laugh. “Honestly? Not so much in the last few years. I was restless, wanting something I couldn’t put my finger on.”

  “You were wanting me, obviously.” Anna winked at him to show that she was just teasing, but he surprised her.

  “Maybe I was.” His lashes swept down as he looked to where his fingers traced circles on her hip. “I meant what I said earlier, Anna. I wasn’t interested in dating. It wasn’t in the cards for me, but with you . . . God, I want it. I want everything with you. And part of the reason for that is how open you are with me. You don’t hold back. You give everything.”

  Her heart pinched. That wasn’t all true, was it? If anything, she was holding back the biggest secret of them all—Julian’s father. She’d grown so accustomed to never mentioning Tony Mardeaux that she hadn’t realized until this moment that her silence on the matter might be mistaken for trying to deceive Luke.

  She wasn’t, not at all.

  She should tell him right now. Just get it out into the open, so that they could get on with their lives with a completely new slate. After all, Mardeaux was in jail, and he’d be in jail for a good many years.

  “Luke, I—”

  The sound of her phone ringing interrupted the moment. Damn it. She had no idea what time it was, but if someone was calling at this hour it had to be important. Plucking at Luke’s arm, she murmured, “Let me up.”

  He didn’t protest, just rolled over and off of her.

  Anna hurried to where she’d left her purse on the couch, trying not to care that she was completely naked. Or that she needed to use the restroom to . . . clean up. Then again, considering that Luke had licked actual wine off her body, the whole naked-nervous thing was probably overkill.

  Her fingers brushed her phone and she pulled it out. Jules. Swiping her finger to answer his call, her heart dropped with anxiety at him calling when he was supposed to be at a sleepover with his buddies. “Julian?” she said the moment she heard his rough breathing on the other end of the line. “Honey, what’s wrong? You’re supposed to be at Kevin’s house with Toby and the boys.”

  “Where are you?”

  The shredded note in his voice made him sound so much younger than his fourteen years. Her grip on the phone tightened as she noticed Luke gathering their clothes and coming over to her, concern etched on his face. “I’m at . . .” She swallowed down the lie. “I’m at Luke’s. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I came home.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. Did Kevin’s parents drop you off?”

  “Yeah.” His voice cracked, and Anna’s nerves shot through the roof. “Mom, please come home.”

  Her baby boy hadn’t pleaded with her to come home since he’d hit ten years old. Sandwiching the phone between her ear and shoulder, she snagged her bra from the pile of clothes Luke had set out for her. “I’m on my way, baby,” she said, struggling to get the clasp hooked. Luke took pity, turning her around and fastening the eye hooks for her. “I’ll be there in twenty, okay? Less than that. Ten.”

  “Okay.”

  She worried it wasn’t okay. “Do you want to stay on the line with me?”

  He gave a deep, rattling breath. “No, no, I’m okay.”

  “You aren’t, Jules. I can hear you.”

  There was silence, and then the words she wished she’d never have to hear: “He called, Mom. Dad called me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Blondie, give me the keys.”

  Jesus, she was freaking him out. Since the moment Jules had called her, she hadn’t said a word. Mechanically, she’d pulled on her clothes, allowing him to zip up her dress and untangle her hair from beneath the fabric.

  It had been Luke who offered to drive her home, even though he had no idea where she lived and even though he hadn’t driven a car in what felt like years. But the way Anna had shut down on him . . . there was not a single chance in hell of him letting her handle whatever it was alone.

  They were together.

  They were a pack.

  He fucking loved her in a way he’d never loved anyone before.

  “Keys, sweetheart.” He clapped one hand on the top of her vehicle, and then motioned with her to hand over the goods with the other. “Let me be there for you.”

  The words must have done the trick because she handed the keys over and silently climbed into the passenger’s seat.

  Good, that was good.

  Step one, done.

  He followed suit, dropping his big body into the driver’s seat, his knees kissing his chest since she had the seat pulled so far forward.

  “Sorry.” The words were weak, her throat sounding scratchy like she was on the verge of tears.

  Luke yanked the lever back, and sucked in a relieved breath. “Don’t be, Blondie. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. Now tell me where I’m heading.”

  She listed off her address, her hands clutching her purse to her stomach. Moonlight spotlighted her panicked expression, and he took one hand off the wheel to set it on her thigh. “Breathe,” he murmured, “you have to breathe.”

  Her answering nod was jerky. “I’m trying.”

  Luke’s gaze tracked oncoming traffic as he directed the car toward the I-10 W on-ramp, the quickest way to her house. He’d been out of the city for so long, but New Orleans was ingrained in his brain. Always had been, even thousands of miles away.

  Right now, when Anna looked so lost, he had to keep her here, mentally, with him. “You asked me earlier whether or not I want to work with my mom on a permanent basis. I don’t. It has nothing to do with her shop�
��hell, maybe all those herbs have calmed me down since I’ve gotten back. But it’s not what I want with my life.”

  The passenger’s seat creaked as she took him in. “What do you want?”

  “Besides you and Jules?” He squeezed her thigh again, hoping he’d made her smile, at least. “What I want and what’s realistic are probably two very separate things. I need to be active, Blondie. Sitting at a register all day isn’t my speed, literally. My hip is strengthening, and I think, maybe, with a few more months of P-T, I want . . .” He just had to put it out there, voice the hopes he’d been hiding for weeks now. “I’d like to try and get on with the NOPD. It might be nothing but a pipe dream. I mean, the army discharged me. There’s a good chance I won’t even be able to pass the physical with the police department, but I want to try.”

  “You’ll get on.”

  He grinned into the darkness. “Gotta say, I love your blind faith in my abilities, but—”

  “It’s not blind faith, Luke.” Her hand slipped under his, so that their palms kissed. “You said that you joined the military because you wanted to take care of your family. You spent thirteen years doing just that. You came back to New Orleans, and once again started helping your mom.”

  He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “She helped me out, Blondie. Financially, I’m solid—saved everything I could while in the army—but she helped me to keep my sanity, to work my way back into regular life.”

  “Yes,” Anna said, “but you helped her just as much. As a mother, there is nothing more important than seeing your son home and—” She broke off, her fingers tightening around his.

  Luke pulled off the highway. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Tony called Jules.”

  “Tony . . .?” She tried to tug her hand away, and he held on tight. Anna’s car bounced over the city’s shitty streets as he headed toward her neighborhood up by the Mississippi River. “Tony, who?”

  Her shaky sigh was loud in his ears. “Mardeaux. Anthony Mardeaux.”

  Why the hell did that name sound so fucking familiar—

  Luke's gut churned. Hell no. There was no way that the man who had nearly ended Brady’s career last year would also be calling Julian, a fourteen-year-old kid who had no connection to a murderer except that his cousin’s fiancé had arrested the douchebag.