by S. J. Sylvis
I looked up from the ground to find a dark figure looming on the nearby porch.
“There’s a cat!” I yelled, digging my fingers into the bark of the branch.
“Get up here!” Luke yelled back down to me, but I ignored him.
I cooed, “It’s okay, kitty. Hold on.”
“Cammie, get the fuck up here right now! You’re going to get yourself killed!” Luke’s voice was demanding and full of testosterone, but I kept on.
By the time I got the branch off the cat, Luke was down beside me, preparing to drag me back inside. I watched as the cat scrambled underneath the opening of Luke’s porch, and I let out a huge breath. The cat was safe now. The porch would shelter it, for sure.
After letting out another a long breath, I felt two strong and sturdy hands lift me up from underneath my armpits. Once my feet hit the ground again, they were only there for a moment before I was whisked up even higher.
“Luke! What the hell!” I yelled over the rain pounding his soaked back.
“You are the most infuriating person I’ve ever met,” he grumbled, carrying me over his shoulder, up the porch stairs, and into the entryway of his house.
The warmth of his house hit me instantly as he placed me back on the floor. I quivered from the cold rain seeping into my skin.
“Stay,” he stressed.
I crossed my arms over my chest and watched him disappear into the darkness of the hall way. I could hear his stomping feet and when he returned, he handed me a cotton towel.
I whipped it out of his hand and wrapped myself in it, smelling the fresh, laundered scent.
“Come on,” he whispered as he ushered me forward. I followed behind him closely through the darkness until we reached another room.
I could tell it was his bedroom by the soft glow of a candle flickering in the far corner. His bed wasn’t made, the dark covers rumpled and bunched, as if he had been in it just before he’d come outside.
My gaze filtered around the room until I found him again, pulling clothes out of his dresser. He looked at me, eyebrows still furrowed, and handed me a long t-shirt, a pair of boxers, and some socks.
“Get dressed. I’ll grab some blankets.”
Then he exited the room, holding his own dry clothes in his hand. So demanding, and yet so sexy.
I dressed quickly, pretending like my mind wasn’t drifting beyond the imaginary line that I’d drawn. Luke’s boxers were now resting on my most intimate parts. His dick had been in these at one point, and now they were touching me… Hmm.
Draping my wet clothes over the edge of his bedroom door, I walked out into the dark hallway, using the wall as my guide to the living room.
The flickering of the candles illuminated the room, and I found Luke standing beside the couch, placing blankets on the soft leather. I bypassed him quickly and lowered myself onto the sofa, wrapping two blankets around my cold, shivering frame.
“You’re an idiot,” he said when he looked down at me.
“Did you expect me to just let the cat die?” I said, staring at anything but his face.
“Somehow I think I value your life more than I do a cat’s, Cammie.”
I grinned. “Was that a compliment, Soldier?”
“I said I think, it’s not decided yet,” he quipped. The couch dipped low as he sat down beside me. Our bodies were only a foot apart, yet it felt like they were miles apart. I wanted to inch closer, but I was still thinking rationally. I couldn’t do that. It was probably a bad idea that I was even here, let alone wearing HIS clothes!
I was in so much trouble.
I was in even more trouble considering I had just jumped closer to him at the loud bang outside. It sounded as if another branch had fallen down.
He chuckled beside me, turning away to look out the window. You couldn’t see a damn thing. It was too dark. Even the few candles did nothing to light the room except display some dancing shadows along the far wall.
“So,” I croaked, suddenly feeling awkward sitting here next to him in a dead silence. The room was crackling with tension. Whether that be sexual tension or just the normal tension that seemed to follow us, I wasn’t sure, but there was definitely a crackling spark of energy in the air.
Luke sat forward, leaning his arms on his cotton pants. “Do you remember…” he looked over at me, “That time we pranked your ex and he was sleeping with a blow-up doll?” Luke laughed so hard that the entire couch moved beneath us.
“I hate you,” I said, holding back my own laugher.
Then he laughed harder and I followed suit. I crossed my bare legs under the warm blanket and rested my elbows on my knees, my head hanging down.
“I can’t believe I’m admitting this…” I intoned, “But I’m so embarrassed that you saw that.”
That only made him cackle harder. I continued to stare at the blanket on my lap until he finally gave up and caught his breath.
When I got the nerve to look over at him, his eyes were twinkling with amusement.
“Tell me something, Cammie.” I clenched my teeth at how raspy and sexy his voice suddenly sounded saying my name. I literally felt my body heat from the inside out. “Did he ever…please you?”
I groaned internally and sat up a little straighter. “That’s hardly your business, Luke.” My voice dripped with irritation, which was a serious telltale sign that my answer was, No. Grant never really pleased me. He was a lousy lay, but I was blinded by lust. Or stability. Whatever it was that held me to him.
The idea came to me so quickly that I pretty much yelled it, “I’m actually a virgin.”
I heard the gasp from Luke before I looked over. His mouth was hanging wide open and his eyebrows shot up towards his forehead, crinkling the skin.
I couldn’t hold in my giggle.
He shoved my arm softly and shook his head. “Good one, but I knew you weren’t a virgin.”
“What? How?” I asked, innocently.
“Because no virgin responds like you did the other night…”
That had me closing my mouth, abruptly. Visions of his mouth on my nipple came crashing through my mind. Mmhm, I’m in trouble.
We sat in silence a little bit longer, and if I’d thought the air was full of tension earlier, now it was completely suffocating. Sitting here, on this couch, mere inches from Luke, smelling the fresh rain mixed with his scent, his hair jumbled on top and still a bit damp…it was intoxicating. I felt drunk on him, and I hadn’t even touched him.
My body was literally humming.
“Let’s dance,” he uttered and I turned toward him, eyes narrowing.
“What?”
“Come on,” he jumped off the couch, blankets falling to the floor. “Let’s dance.”
Trying my best to get out of the situation, I said, “There isn’t any music. I’m not dancing with you.”
“Listen,” he whispered, standing a few feet from me. He reached his hand for mine. “The rain can be our music.”
The room was filled with silence, except for the pattering of the rain against the house and the wind whistling and howling from a distance. My heart went into triple speed in my chest, staring at his long fingers stretched out to meet mine.
“Live a little, Doc.”
My eyes flew to his, and even though I knew I shouldn’t have done it, knew that I shouldn’t be letting myself get caught up in him, I still found myself walking over to him without an ounce of resistance from my limbs.
It was almost like he was honey and I was the bee. I couldn’t stay away, even if I’d tried.
Seventeen
The second I took the last step in front of Luke, my heart felt calm. It felt even calmer when I wrapped my hands around his neck, and then when his glided their way to my lower back. I trembled when they landed on me, but I pretended like I was just chilly from my escapade outside. He had a serious effect on my body, and he knew it.
I stared straight at his chest, rocking back and forth in the middle of his barely lit living
room, feeling myself melt into a swoony puddle full of Luke. The way his hands felt on my back, the way his chest rose and fell ever so softly…I was in too deep. Way. Too. Deep. I was going to need more than a lifejacket to get out of this mess.
“We shouldn’t do this, Luke,” I whispered, tightening my hands around his neck.
His breath was warm as it trailed down my neck, “Why?”
I opened my mouth to say something again, but he interrupted me, “I planned to dance with you at the ball, and we didn’t get a chance. Just—” We continued swaying back and forth, our feet never once stumbling into one another’s. “Just let me dance with you…”
“But…” My voice trailed when one of his hands lifted from my lower back and slowly started to skim my spine underneath his t-shirt I was wearing. I swallowed loudly and tried to focus on our feet moving back and forth to the sound of the rain, but I lost the battle. Pretty fucking quick.
When his mouth nuzzled my neck, I let my head fall to the side, enjoying his scruffy chin on my skin.
I breathed, “Luke…” My insides were on fire. Simmering, hot fire. I wanted him. In every way possible.
Luke slowly pulled me away from his body, his darkened eyes scanning the pair of mine. They dipped to my mouth, then back up again, and I knew I couldn’t resist. The control I held on my attraction was slowly seeping through the cracks of my fingers. He leaned in a fraction, letting me make the move, and I did.
I made it as slow and as sensual as I possibly could, giving myself that small fraction of time to back away at the last second. But I didn’t. I didn’t back away. I placed my lips on his, enjoying his minty breath. I slid my tongue in first, and then his hands gripped my hips and I was pushed up against his hard body in a flash.
Luke’s tongue was talented and experienced, and I felt like I was free-falling just by the stroke of it. Catching our breath, he pulled me away again. I could tell he was about to sweep the floor right out from under my feet, so I stopped him.
“We really shouldn’t do this.” My voice was barely audible. I forced myself to say it, the words strained against my lips. They almost felt wrong.
“Why?”
“Because I won’t get involved with you, Luke. It’s the one hard rule in my life. I won’t do it.” My voice broke a little at the end and I felt my heart still in my chest.
Luke took a deep breath. “I understand, Cammie.” I could hear the disappointment in his voice clear as day. “I understand why you won’t get involved with someone like me. Considering your past. I get it. I do. But…”
I licked my lips. “But what?”
“That doesn’t mean I like it.” He flicked his eyes to mine. “I don’t like it at all. Because… you’re the woman I want.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. I moved my eyes away from his piercing stare and glanced at the candles, watching the flame flicker slowly.
Then I took a huge gulp of air and brought my eyes back to his. My voice was barely above a whisper. “Maybe we can just pretend…” I felt heat travel up my neck. I was dunked in a huge pool of vulnerability, and I didn’t like it.
Luke looked away, for just a second. “Like a one-time thing?”
A one-time thing. Could I handle a one-time thing like this with someone like him? Every time I was around him, I found myself wanting more. I wanted more time with him. Sex aside, I just wanted more. It didn’t matter what we were doing, I just wanted to be around him. To be with him.
I found myself nodding despite every single thing flying through my head.
“Are you sure?” He looked concerned, but I nodded my head again.
He blew out a long breath and murmured, “Okay…” Then he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist.
I took my hands and cupped them onto the sides of his face and let my emotions do the rest of the talking. I blocked out every single thing going on in my head, but not before the last thought filtered through, What if I broke the rules for him?
* * *
When we reached Luke’s bedroom, he flung me around swiftly and sat me on top of his messy covers. My legs were hanging off the side of the bed and he was towering over me, pulling his shirt over his head in one swift movement. I was already ready for him; I could feel the warmness between my legs. I was almost embarrassed at how needy I was.
When he lowered himself over me, he grabbed my hands and pushed them up above my head, sneaking kisses behind my ear and trailing them down my neck. Releasing his hand that was intertwined with mine, he pushed my shirt up just a little and let his fingers skim the skin on my stomach. I shivered. When his hand dipped lower, I couldn’t contain the breathy moan that escaped my lips.
His next words really did me in. “I’m going to taste every last bit of you, Cammie. Especially since this is a one-time thing.”
Holy shit, my fantasy was coming true.
Luke’s hand pulled the waistband of my (his) boxers down to my thighs and slowly slipped them over my legs. It was excruciatingly slow and I felt every piece of fabric pass across my skin, which only intensified my need for his touch.
First, he bent his head down and kissed my hip bone, causing my entire body to tremble. My nipples hardened underneath my shirt at the same time that one of his hands went underneath it to softly caress my mound. A moan escaped my mouth, and then I was rendered speechless because his warm mouth found my center.
The first soft kiss placed between my legs was enough to make my toes curl. My breath caught and my eyes flew open at the incredible amount of pleasure pumping through my veins.
Luke was definitely a mastermind with his tongue. He licked, sucked, and nipped me several times before I started to buck my hips up to meet his mouth. I was so close to falling over the edge, and he pushed me even further when he took his thumb and started to circle me. His tongue fucked me fast, and I was desperate. I finally took my hand and pushed my fingers through his hair as my hips met his warm mouth one last time, because I was coming. And I was coming hard.
The pulsing feeling lasted for what seemed like an eternity. I was in a blissful state and I could barely keep my eyes open when Luke stood up, dropping his pants in two seconds flat. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and I was thankful for the tiny flame on the dresser, giving me just the right amount of light to see him in all his glory.
He was like a Calvin Klein model, and even as cliché as that sounded, I couldn’t come up with a better example. I could literally picture him in one of those magazine ads, showcasing the dips and contours of his firm muscles. They had my core tightening even after a mind-blowing orgasm from his mouth. His cock was as stiff as a board when he pulled the condom on, and I licked my lips at the sight of it. I was honestly satisfied just staring at him.
But then again, the thought of that inside of me sounded pretty fucking epic.
He must have had the same notion as his eyes trailed down my body, expressing a reverent, longing stare, and then his mouth was set in a fine line. He crawled over my body like a lion ready to pounce. His long, deft fingers pulled the shirt over my head and I was left lying on his bed, completely exposed, in more ways than one. Not only was my body completely naked, stripped down to nothing, but so was my heart. So were my feelings. It was evident in that moment that I was completely in over my head. It was evident in that moment that Luke had me hooked in every way possible.
He had me.
I was at his mercy.
Luke’s eyes scanned me one more time before he bent down low, spreading my legs wide. “I’m going to make this as slow and steady as possible, Cammie. Because tonight, you’re mine.”
My body erupted into hot flames; I was on fire and he was holding the torch.
Luke’s mouth captured mine as soon as his tip started to enter me. He only released my mouth when he was fully inside, allowing my body to adjust to his glorious length. I took a deep breath and stared up into his eyes. One side of his face was visible from the light of the candle, but the ot
her was hidden.
The hurricane winds and rain slapping on the window mixed with the darkness of the room made the moment that much better. It kind of felt like it was forbidden: like it was the end of the world and this was our one chance to savor each other’s bodies, right here and right now.
Luke started to move slowly inside me, pulling out so far that he almost left my body, but then he would slowly enter again. My moans were soft and his groans were loud. He trailed kisses on my jaw line and my hands gripped his biceps.
He started to thrust into me harder just as his mouth found my nipple. He pulled and tugged gently and I started to thrust up to meet his slow slams. If I thought his mouth was good at fucking me, I was completely stricken with his actual cock.
He was a machine. A war-fighting machine and I knew that no man would ever be able to compare. My poor future husband had no idea what he was up against.
Because Luke was everything.
Bliss.
Ecstasy.
Lust.
Love.
He had it all.
He was everything.
I started to wiggle beneath his firm body, feeling the familiar buildup again. His ramming motion made me lose control in the best way. His body slapping against mine matched the slaps of rain against the window, like we were in sync with the hurricane.
His hand cupped my butt and he spewed in a strained voice, “I’ll never get enough of you, Cammie…” his voice trailed for a few more thrusts and then I was free-falling straight into heaven.
He fell, too, way louder than I had. Thank God there was a full-blown hurricane happening because I was pretty sure the neighbors could have heard us.
Luke exited me and I instantly mourned his body out of mine. I already mourned the moment, because that little voice in the back of my head whispered, “One-time thing…”
But, did it really have to be?
Our bodies were sweaty and we were both clearly exhausted. We laid flat on our backs and stared up at the ceiling, trying to catch our breath. Luke sat up slowly, took his condom off, and wiped himself down with a nearby towel, doing the same to me. It felt extremely intimate and forbidden to let him do that, to let him dote on me, but no matter how hard I pushed back on Luke, he was always there, taking care of me—and that was the last thought I remembered having before falling into a deep slumber, letting the howling winds lull me to sleep.