I wipe my mouth on my arm, “Mmmhmm.” watching Luke finish his sandwich. He’s staring off, eyes distant as he thinks about my cousin, and what Santosh predicted. My eyes drop to the faded scar on his elbow. He fell the second time he rode his motorcycle—a 135 engine he could handle at age ten—it’s almost invisible now. But I’ll always know it’s there.
“Never thought I wanted to get married,” Luke confesses before taking his last bite.
“You say that like you’ve changed your mind.”
He locks eyes with me and his chewing slows. The stare narrows, dark fringe of lashes flickering once before they drop to his lap. Crumpling the wrapping, he balls it tight and prepares to throw it. “Dare me to litter?”
“You’d never do that.”
He gives a half-laugh and shoves it into the bag. “Nope, never would.” Bringing his knees up he locks thick arms around them and listens to the pine needles rustling. “Peaceful here. Atlas said he might ask you to marry him. What do you think about that?”
I choke on my last bite, coughing and turning red. Luke glances to me, watching with a cocked eyebrow. I wave my hand reassuring him that I’m not going to die today, and grab my water bottle to get the edges down my throat. “What do I think about that?” I rasp, voice raw.
“Has he done it?”
“You mean has he gotten me a ring and bent down and all that bullshit?”
“Yeah, that’s what I mean.”
Shoving my trash into the bag, I mutter, “No, he hasn’t.” Meeting his eyes, I hesitate, then confess, “Well, he brought it up, but not with all that stuff. He just said…” Under my breath I say, closing my eyes tightly for a second, “I can’t believe we’re talking about this right now, I hate it.” Luke is watching me like he wants to finish the story. Leaning back on my hands I shake my head. “Atlas was being stupid! He said that it ‘made sense,’ and I told him he was crazy. We argued for all of five minutes and then we dropped it.” Uncomfortable I stare back at Luke. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me. “You really think I’d marry Atlas?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Now you do.”
“You don’t love him?”
Huffing an ironic laugh I pick up the bag and throw it as far as I can. We watch it bounce down the mountain about fifty feet and get stuck on a fallen tree trunk.
Amused, Luke glances back to me. “Feel better?”
“Yes, actually.” Exhaling I throw my arm toward the litter. “We’ll pick that up on the way back down! I had to throw something and you’re too heavy.”
Luke grins, but drops his gaze to the boulder, smile disappearing. “Had to ask, Soph.”
“But why? I can’t believe you thought I’d want to! Can you really see me and Atlas happy for a lifetime? Would that have made it okay or something? If I loved him like that, then it wouldn’t matter that I’d…done what I did? You know me better than that. Sex has never meant love for me. Or for you! You’ve banged more girls on the road than I have guys.”
He nods, staring off. “Neither of us has ever fucked someone we were in love with before.” Turning his head, Luke’s gaze slowly travels around my face. “I wonder what that would feel like.”
My lips part. “Me too….I’ve been wondering that a lot, lately.”
We don’t break eye contact, goosebumps lifting to a new level. Luke stands and offers his hand to help me up. Normally he wouldn’t do that, and if he did, I wouldn’t take it. But today I rest my hand on his warm palm and watch his fingers wrap around mine.
He lets go, and kneels to climb down.
I ask, “We done…hiking?” because I have to say something, anything.
“Yeah,” he rasps, eyes on the rocks below. “Watch your step on the way down.”
My heart pounds in my throat.
I’ve already fallen.
Chapter 29
LUKE
Tyler grins as we lean back in our chairs on the outdoor patio of Casa Sedona. “They know how to make a margarita.”
Sofia Sol shakes out her wild hair with one hand as she pulls a nearby, empty chair closer with the toe of her boot. She’s wearing this white halter with lace on the top that I’ve never seen on her, and I can’t take my eyes off it for long. It’s fucking driving me crazy to pretend I’m not fascinated by how beautiful she is tonight. Throwing both boots on the extra chair, she smiles, “See, this is how you do it. Homemade tortillas, messy enchiladas with refried beans, none of that healthy black bean nonsense.”
Tyler eyes her. “I like black beans.”
“Me too,” I mutter, picking up a chip and trying not to stare at her. “But you gotta do it refried every now and then.”
She gives this sexy grin, two margaritas in. “That’s right! You’ve got to!” Reaching for her empty glass she swirls ice around with her straw. “I need another. You guys joining me?”
Tyler raises his glass in a yes and I don’t have to do anything. Two out of three wins the vote.
Sofia whoops and leans back like she wants to be the chair, letting her head fall back, neck exposed, wavy black hair almost touching the ground. And those breasts again, pushed way up and out. “I could use more vacations,” she sighs, hypnotizing me as her lungs expand and deflate. “Only five days but I feel like a whole new woman. Haven’t been this relaxed…in forever!”
I flick a glance to Tyler to find him smirking at me. He covers his mouth, trying not to laugh. I break into a grin, mouthing, fuck you. He snorts through his fingers, making Soph glance up, straightening her arched back and suspiciously asking, “Did I miss something?”
I’m stumped for an alibi.
Ty starts telling a story, “I remember the time when you guys were teenagers, and you were training out back, doing ground work…”
“Which time? We trained in getting out of each other’s choke holds and pins for years.”
“It was one of the last ones, before they banned you from ground work.” Tyler grins, pointing at the memory to explain, “Luke was under you, Soph. You had one knee on his stomach, the other on his thigh, because he’d almost successfully bucked you off of him. But you were a little spider monkey, wouldn’t let go. Our parents were all inside. I was overseeing your training that day, supposed to be guiding it, but you guys no longer needed a teacher, so I was just sitting in a rocking chair, scrolling through my phone. And there was this beat where—”
Sofia holds up her hand. “Stop right there. I remember.”
“I don’t. Finish the story, Ty.”
She looks at me, eyes flickering as they drop to her empty glass.
He kicks a boot onto the table, leg high, pants ripped, and gestures while he explains, “It got quiet for a second, so I look over, right? And I see you’ve got the upper hand, she’s pinned now, and you’re just staring at each other, not moving. You remember this now?”
My chest tightens, because I do. “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
“Bullshit! You were looking at Sofia Sol like you did just now when she threw her head back. Transparent as hell and so fuckin’ stupid, too, because my mom was in the kitchen, happened to look out and saw you guys. Rapped on the window with her knuckles, pissed the hell off that I hadn’t put a stop to it before she made me. But you know what? I wanted to see where it went.”
Grey eyes are locked on me as she asks, “You were staring at me just now, Luke?”
Tyler quickly reassures us, words tripping over each other as he explains, “Hey, I’m not the Cipher-police here. I still want to see where it goes. I think it’s fucking fascinating that you’re still doing it after these years…but not doing it. If you know what I mean.”
Ignoring him, she asks again, “Were you staring at me like that?”
I shout at the restaurant, “Can we get another round?” since we’re the only ones out here. Our server pokes her head out, and I spin my hand in a circle, gesturing for more booze. She nods and vanishes.
“That’s a yes,” Sofia
flatly says.
I snatch a fork off the table, watching it spin in my fingers.
She snatches a tortilla chip from the basket and chews it with her mouth open to make as much noise as possible.
Tyler whistles under his breath and rises up. “On that note, kiddies, I’m gonna head back to the hotel, call my wife. Too much sexual tension here, and it’s got nothing to do with me. Later.”
“I just ordered another round.”
“Luke, you need two. Drink mine,” he chuckles. “Loosen up, man. Take a chance, you get me?” His phone vibrates and he digs it out, standing over the table and munching one last chip as he talks. “It’s my Mom checking on us again. Must have sensed me talking about her. Or sensed you staring at Sofia Sol like you want to eat her alive, again,” he grins, tipping his head in goodbye. “See you freaks in the morning at breakfast.” He opens the old wood door, stained-glass window in it shimmering as the thing slams behind him.
Sofia’s leg is bouncing on the chair as she glares at the table.
I’m tight-lipped, toss the fork and lean back, legs spread, fingers tapping my thighs.
Take a chance.
Take a chance.
Take a chance.
My gut is a tight ball of heat.
Head throbbing with consequences.
Eyes flitting to the woman who does this to me.
And has since I was a little kid.
No way is this smart.
Finally the waitress opens the door with her hip, three margaritas barely held in small hands, ice sloshing threats during hurried strides. “He said you still wanted three?”
Sofia Sol rolls her eyes. “Our friend thought he was being funny. And yes, thank you, I’ll drink them if he doesn’t.” She throws her thumb toward me.
We watch the woman until she’s gone. Picking up our glasses, third one unmanned, we bring them together. Bad luck if you don’t clink before you drink.
Tense as fuck, I say, “To old friends.”
Like she might throw the glass, she repeats, “To old friends.”
We drink, and her eyes widen as I down it, freezing my throat in the process. I pick up the other glass. Her eyebrows twitch with interest as I lick my lips, ready myself, and drink this one down, too.
On a quiet, “Well, okay then,” Soph downs hers, dropping the glass sideways on the table, ice spilling onto the plastic table cloth as we stare at each other, history gazing back.
I stand up, and she rises with me. She searches my face, lips parted with surprise. Her breath catches as I slip unsteady fingers into her hair, cup her head like I did in the garage. Our lips hover close, tinted with tequila. I brush mine against hers and she shivers for both of us. My cock is punishing me, throbbing, straining for freedom. My voice is shaking as self-control cracks and disappears. “I want you, Soph. I’ve been lying to you this whole time, not just here in Sedona, but every day I’ve acted like I don’t. Truth is I ache for you, when you’re near me, and it’s even worse when you’re not.” I brush against her again, come just short of pressing harder.
“Luke, oh my God,” she whispers, breath ragged.
“You okay?”
She shakes her head, eyelashes closing for a second. “No.”
“Me neither.” I gather her close, dipping her head back so I can gaze at her in a whole new way, up close and with nobody stopping me. “I hate that he had you first.”
“I wish I could take it back!”
“You want to take this back?” I kiss her for real, feel her body trembling as she responds. Our mouths open slightly and our tongues taste each other for the first time in our lives. I was born knowing this woman. They laid her down next to me in the hospital and she pulled my hair. Throwing food at her is my first memory. She helped me climb my first tree out in our yard. I told her when I lost my virginity, especially because she’d done it before me, and I was jealous. The first time I shot at a real person and not a target on our property, she was the one who ran to ask if I was okay. They’d gotten away and she knew I’d beat myself up for that. And millions of other memories are attached to Sofia Sol.
Finally I’m kissing her and she’s pressing her body into mine like I always dreamed about. Our tongues slip and slide on our moans as those memories slam through me. The day she dropped her motorcycle and skinned her right side pretty bad, broke her leg, and I carried her off the freeway, leaving our bikes there even if they’d be hit, unmanned. Crushing Sofia Sol closer, I groan into her, “Let’s get out of here.”
Biting her wet lips, she nods and runs a hand through her hair to collect herself while I dig my cash out. “How much you think it is?”
“Who knows,” I mutter, throwing down a twenty for the tip, and the spilled ice. “Let’s go find out.”
Her eyes are locked on my hand like she wants to hold it, keep it. I extend my palm out, and she slides her fingers across, taking her time to treasure the tingles it gives us before flicking a glance up. “Luke, I’m shaking.”
“Me too.”
“I want this,” she frowns, mouth twisting. “Maybe too much.”
My blood is pounding hard in my head, my chest, my cock. “Me too.”
Our fingers link as we walk inside. “Can we get the bill?”
The staff reacts, surprised and exchanging glances.
Our server struggles for the check.
“Something wrong?” I ask.
“No, uh…”
Sofia catches on.
I never would have.
She offers an amused, “You thought we were brother and sister.”
“Yes! You’re not?”
“No…we are.”
A stifled laugh breaks from me. It’s half snort and half I-want-to-get-to-the-hotel. Handing over my card I smirk, “Don’t tell anyone.”
With a devilish grin, Sofia whispers, “Especially our parents. Shhhh.”
Pulling her to me I kiss her, full tongue, right in front of our audience. She hooks a leg around my hip and moans. The staff is horrified. We separate, grinning our asses off. As I sign my name I tell them, “We’re not related,” and cock an eyebrow. “We’re pulling your chains.”
Sofia makes a face, “Party pooper.”
“You’re sick,” I laugh, taking her hand and enjoying the warmth and the pressure as our fingers lace again. Our strides are hurried, boots echoing off the ceramic tile.
Chapter 30
SOFIA SOL
We nod hello and goodnight to the desk clerk, an older man who smiles perpetually, just like Sherry does. As we walk onto the waiting elevator I tell Luke, “They put something in the water here, or it’s that psychic vortex or nexus…or whatever she called it. People smile a lot.” The doors swoosh and, alone now, he turns to me, the look in his eyes pure lust and bad intentions.
He backs me to the wall, spreading my legs with his knee and raising it up so that I’m straddling his rock hard thigh. It’s such a sexy move that my heartbeat pulses between my legs, eyelids instantly heavy as I watch Luke staring through the lace of Celia’s white blouse with unchecked hunger.
I throw my arms above my head. “You don’t have to look away anymore.”
Thick fingers roughly trace my mounds through the fabric, pressing into the lace, dipping below their weight, lifting them, increasing the cleavage while he stares, breaths growing strained, ragged.
I thrust my chest out.
He groans, locking eyes with me. “Tease.”
“Not this time.”
Our lips lock, pleasure spinning out of control in my body. I had no idea kissing him would feel this good. It’s incomparable.
The doors open and Luke bends down, picks me up, and throws me over his shoulder like a doll. Laughing, I bounce all to way his room, stretch to scrape the carpet with my short nails. “I’m leaving a trail behind!”
“We’re leaving an old life behind.”
He swipes the key, kicks the door open then shut, and throws us both on the bed, quickly dominating
me, caging me like the trained fighter that he is.
“Do we have to leave the old life behind?” I ask, a little nervous this time. Not like I was with Atlas. Then it was just for fun. This feels like if it doesn’t work out I won’t recover.
“We know the consequences, Soph, there’s no going in blind here. This is a choice we’re making, you understand?” He searches my eyes as I trace his sharp cheekbones, watching the pads of my fingers run along his copper skin. He drops to kiss me, our eyes closing at the same time as sensations both physical and emotional tangle me.
Luke pushes off the bed. He crooks a beckoning finger, eyes darkening. “Come to me. I’m going to undress you.”
I slink off the bed like a cat, and try to kick my boots off with the same sensuality. But they fight me and now I look ridiculous. “Well, fuck,” I mutter as Luke laughs at me, crossing his arms while I lean over to tug them off. “Okay, I was sexy for the first half of this.”
Walking to me, he kneels to help me out of these boots. “You’re the sexiest woman I have ever seen in my life. Every town we’ve been in, when I’m on the road with or without you, I’ve tried to find someone else who did to me what you do. Never worked. Fuck, I can’t believe I’m admitting this.” He pulls off my socks and tosses them aside, running his hands up my jeans as he locks eyes with me. “You were off limits. I knew it, so every woman I fucked out there, I was thinking of you.” He rises up. “And when I heard that Atlas had done what I always believed was impossible, you know how I felt?”
I frown, stunned by these confessions, “Angry, you must have been very angry.”
“It was pure rage. Not just at you guys, but at myself for never having made a move.” He kisses me and murmurs against my lips, “Lost. I couldn’t be with you if you wanted him. I couldn’t try and take you away even when that’s all I wanted to do. You don’t want him, do you?”
“I want you. And I don’t want to lose you. I feel strange, Luke, like…” My mouth clamps shut. To save face I quickly lie, voice devoid of emotion. “I mean if this is just a fling or whatever, I’m fine with that.”
Cocky Rebel : Sofia Sol Cocker (Cocker Brothers, The Cocky Series Book 13) Page 15