Explosive Desire (Love With a Price Book 4)

by N. J. Young

  When she didn’t follow him, he looked back to where she stood by the couch and cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “Luke.” She took a shaky breath and swiped her tongue over her lips. His gaze seemed to focus on her mouth, and she wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw his eyes darken. That small sign was enough to give her the courage she needed. “Luke, I made a terrible mistake. I didn’t—”

  “I get it. You didn’t mean to lead me on, and you want to part as friends. There’s no need to drag it out, Harper.”

  What? Now, she was really confused. “What on earth are you talking about?”

  “That’s why you came here, isn’t it? To let me down easy. To not hurt my ‘feelings’.” He made air quotes around the word. “Well, consider your conscience eased.”

  She shook her head slowly, not understanding. “I didn’t come here to let you down easy.”

  He perched his hands on his hips, those luscious denim-clad hips. “No? Then why did you come here?” When he noticed she was looking at the giant bulge in his pants, a mean grin crossed his face. “Oh, I get it.” He stalked toward her like a tiger ready to pounce. “You need a good fuck, Pretty? Is that what this is about?”

  The heat rose in her cheeks, and she swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Why are you being like this? This isn’t you.”

  “No?” He stepped closer. “Well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought. If you just wanted to slum it, fuck the hot construction worker with the pretty face, you should have just said so. We could’ve saved a lot of time.”

  Before she could respond, he wrapped an arm around her and dragged her to him, making her gasp in shock. Luke took advantage of her momentary surprise and crushed his mouth down on hers. His tongue surged forward immediately, thrusting between her parted lips. Her hands went up to press against his chest, but when she pressed her palms flat against his pectorals, she felt the steady beat of his heart … and it sped up. Her hands fisted his t-shirt, and instead of pushing him away, she found herself holding him to her, pressing her body against his.

  His scent was intoxicating, and she was finding it harder to think straight. His tongue explored her mouth, rubbing against her tongue, tasting her, teasing her. One of his hands tangled in her blonde curls, pulling her head back firmly enough that her scalp tingled. She tilted her head back on a moan, and Luke attacked her throat, his teeth nipping sharply enough to cause little bursts of pain. Then his tongue immediately soothed the path.

  When one of his big hands found her ass, he pressed her lower half to his, and she felt his erection, thick and hard, rubbing against her. Somehow, her hands managed to wind their way around his neck, and he took advantage of her position, lifting her up and walking a few paces until she was pressed up against the wall, cutting off her escape.

  She said his name on a moan, and he found her mouth again in a fierce kiss. His tongue thrust rhythmically in her mouth, signifying what she desperately wanted his cock to do.

  But this wasn’t why she’d come here. The fog of desire threatened to engulf her, but whatever the reason Luke thought she’d come here, she somehow thought if she gave him her body—and she desperately wanted to—then he would think that was all she wanted. She needed him to listen to her.

  Wrenching her head to the side, she gulped in a deep breath. “Luke, wait.” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded wanton and husky.

  He acted as if he hadn’t heard her. Instead, he attacked the sensitive spot under her ear, sucking gently and sending electric sparks shooting through her body.

  “Luke, no,” she said on a moan. God, he felt so good. “Luke, we have to stop.”

  But he didn’t stop. His hands found the hem of her shirt and slid underneath, sliding up her torso and cupping her breasts. His thumbs brushed over her rock-hard nipples, the fabric of her bra helping to create a delicious friction. Holy fuck, she wanted him so much.

  “No, Luke, please. You have to stop.” Her voice sounded breathless and very unconvincing, even to her own ears.

  “Stop?” he asked in a harsh whisper. “Say ‘no’ and ‘stop’ all you want, Harper. You know how much it turns me on. You know you want this, Pretty. How wet are you right now? Are you ready for me to bury my cock into that tight little cunt? Or maybe you want to come against my tongue again? I can still taste you, Pretty. You taste so fucking sweet.”

  His mouth found hers again, and she felt her control slipping away. It would be so easy just to let go, to let him take her. But a voice inside of her told her that if she did let go, she would lose him forever. And there was only one thing she could do to make him stop.

  “Luke,” she breathed.

  “Yes, Pretty?” He punctuated each syllable with a kiss.

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Bamboozled.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  It took a good five seconds before Harper’s safeword registered in Luke’s brain. When it did, he immediately released her and backed away so fast that she stumbled before she righted herself. They stared at each other, breathing heavily.

  Harper had never looked so fucking beautiful. Her face was flushed, her hair tousled, her eyes lidded with desire, and her lips parted—definitely a look that said, “fuck me”. His whole body throbbed for her. His cock felt as if it had a heartbeat all its own.

  What am I doing? What the fuck am I doing? He backed away and pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes, willing himself to gain control. Jesus, he’d shoved her up against a wall and forced himself on her. She’d said no, and he didn’t stop. They weren’t at a BDSM club. They weren’t playing. She shouldn’t have needed to say a safeword. She’d said no, and he should have stopped immediately. He really was a bastard.

  He turned and sank onto the couch, his head in his hands. All the fight drained out of him, leaving him weak. He couldn’t even bear to look at her.

  “I’m sorry, Harper. I’m so sorry. You should go.”

  The couch next to him gave under her weight as she sat down. He felt her hand gentle on his upper thigh. “I’m not leaving,” she said softly. “I came here to talk to you, and I’m not going until I do.”

  Luke lowered his hands from his face. His eyes burned, and it felt hard to swallow. He didn’t want her to see the anguish he felt at losing her, and he certainly didn’t want to talk, but he supposed he owed her that. His hand covered hers, and he briefly wondered if this would be the last time he touched her.

  Without looking up, he gave her a jerky nod, indicating that he was listening if she wanted to talk.

  “Luke, what did you mean when you said I only wanted you for a … for a fuck?”

  A bitter taste filled his mouth. “It’s okay, Harper. I don’t blame you.” He gently traced her fingers with his own. “You wouldn’t be the first woman who just wanted to bed down with me. I should be used to it. If women want smart, they go for Ethan. Charming, they go for Dylan. Funny, they go for Foster. But if they want a roll in the hay and nothing more, they come to me.” He gave a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t have the brains that my brothers do. I’m not stupid, but I know I’m not on the same level. Plus, I don’t do feelings. I’ve lived here in Oakville my whole life. Whenever a woman has shown interest, it’s been for either sex or because she wants my money.”

  Harper’s hand tightened on his thigh. “Luke Price, you look at me right now.” Her angry tone caused his head to pop up. Fire flashed in her big blue eyes. “If you think that’s why I’m interested in you, then I should tie you up and … I don’t know, flog you. Isn’t that what they do in that cat club of yours?”

  A smile tugged at the corners of his lips at her description of the Calico. “Pretty, you don’t need to be angry. I’m just trying to tell you that I get it.” He ran a hand over the scruff on his face, realizing he hadn’t shaved. “The other night, you looked terrified of me. I’ve been so worried about you with the fucking letters and your car. When I realized you weren’t telling me everything, I was upset.
But then I realized—why would you share your life with me if you’re only here to have fun? You want a good time with me, that’s fine.” He lifted a shoulder. It wasn’t fine. Not really. “I guess I just thought it was more.”

  She gawked at him as if he’d sprouted another head.

  “Fuck.” He leaned back into the couch and rubbed his eyes. This wasn’t coming out right. “Look, I’m sorry. I just thought—”

  “I’m falling for you, you big blockhead.”

  Luke’s heart stuttered in his chest. His hands lowered slowly, and he stared at Harper. He must have heard her wrong. “What?”

  “I said I’m falling for you.” She sounded very matter-of-fact. “Oh, and also, you’re an idiot.”

  He blinked at her in confusion. “I’m an … wait. What?”

  She smiled and reached up to run her fingertips over his face, making him shiver. “I’m the one that should be sorry. I overreacted the other night.”

  Her smile faded as she looked down, obviously remembering the night at the hospital. He reached up to cup her face, bringing her eyes back up to meet his. “Talk to me, Harper.”

  That pink tongue came out to swipe over her lips, making his cock jerk. Then she began to speak.

  “The only man that was ever in my life for any period of time was my father. He was an alcoholic, and he uh…” Her voice trailed off, and he could feel her start to tremble. “He was abusive. He liked to use his fists. A lot. My mom… I love my mom, but she was so afraid to leave him. I used to be so angry with her for staying and putting us both through that, but now … well, I’ve seen so many patients come in who are victims of abuse. I’ve learned how hard it must have been for her.”

  She shrugged. “So, I’ve never really done relationships. I’ve had boyfriends here and there, but nothing serious. And the guys I’ve dated were pretty meek and soft-spoken. The whole aggressive thing always kind of scared me, the possibility of what someone might be capable of.” Her eyes stared off into space for a moment, as if she were looking at a time from her past, a time she would rather forget. “You’re different than anyone I’ve ever dated, Luke.” Finally, those blue eyes turned back to him. “You’ve turned my whole world on its axis. That’s thrilling, but it’s also scary. The other night at the hospital, when I saw you so angry that you punched something, everything with my dad came rushing back.”

  He swallowed thickly as he thought of the scared little girl she’d once been, and he wanted to kick himself for making her feel anything resembling fear because of him.

  “I mean, I know you’re not my dad,” she continued. “I just have to figure out how to deal with this in my head. I’ve never had to deal with it before because men have never really been a big part of my life. The fact that I’m overweight keeps a lot of guys at bay. Plus, some seem intimidated by the whole doctor thing.” She gave a humorless laugh. “I guess they go for skinny dumb girls.”

  Reaching over, Luke grabbed Harper around the waist and pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him. “There is so much wrong with what you just said, Pretty. But let’s start with this. You’re not overweight. You have the most gorgeous body I’ve ever seen. Christ, Harper, I go to bed dreaming of you, spread out naked in front of me.” As if to prove it, he slid his hands up and down over her body, enjoying the way her breath caught.

  “Second,” he continued, “I am an idiot. I scared you at the hospital. The way I acted … you had every right to react like you did.” No wonder she’d been scared to death of him.

  “I was scared, but then I realized something.”

  He looked at her questioningly.

  “I realized you’re not my dad. I may not have known you very long, but I know your heart.” Tears pooled in her eyes as she laid her palm gently against his chest. “It’s a good heart, a beautiful heart. I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone. And I’m sorry, Luke.” A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, and he reached up to brush it away with his thumb. “I’m so sorry I ever put you in the same category as my dad. You don’t deserve that.”

  “Oh, Pretty.” He ran the backs of his knuckles over her cheeks. “Never. Never in a million years would I hurt you.”

  Turning her head, she pressed a kiss to the backs of his knuckles. “I know that now.” She kissed his hand again, then turned to look at him. “And Luke, you have to know that the only reason I didn’t tell you about that letter is because I just wanted a little time to see what it was like to be part of your world for a couple of hours, part of your family.” A blush rose in her cheeks. “It’s silly, really. But you have to know, it wasn’t because I didn’t trust you.”

  Luke felt tears prick his eyes. Never had he been this affected by a woman in his life. He swallowed deeply and inhaled her scent. “Tell me the other thing again.”

  Harper arched a brow at him. “The other thing?”

  A smile played on his lips. “Yeah, you know. The thing you said before you told me I was an idiot.”

  A smile lit her face. “I’m falling for you, hard, Luke Aaron Price.”

  “Pretty,” he breathed as he twisted his fingers in her blonde curls and dragged her mouth to his.

  Chapter Twenty

  She could smell the light scent of his aftershave as his lips slid over hers. Every brush of his tongue over her lips sent a new jolt of heat flashing through her body. Her hands slid up his back, reveling in the corded muscles she felt beneath his t-shirt.

  Luke pulled back a little from her, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers. “You sure about this, Harper?” His voice was husky against her lips. “You need to be sure because after this, I’m not leaving again. You’re mine, and I won’t let you go.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “God yes, that’s all I want. I’m very, very sure.”

  His thick fingers ran along her jaw, threading through her hair. “I’d ask if you remembered your safeword, but I think you’ve already proved that you do.”

  She felt herself flush. “I’m sorry. I just wanted us to talk. It’s not like I wanted you to stop. It was all I could do to get the word out.”

  He arched a dark brow at her. “Oh really? So you like it a little rough, Pretty?”

  Her insides immediately turned to jelly at the deep tone of his voice. “I like everything you do to me,” she breathed.

  His hand curved around the back of her neck as his lips descended, grazing hers once more. And then he took her mouth, claiming it, ravishing it until she gasped for breath. He kissed her until she was dizzy, his hands cupping her face, his rough fingers trailing over her cheeks.

  When he finally pulled up, she was breathless.

  Luke didn’t say a word as he stood and then bent down and picked her up as if she weighed nothing. She wound her arms around his neck, burying her face against him, and took a moment to enjoy the fact that her whole body was humming. She wasn’t really paying any attention to where he was taking her, assuming it was the bedroom.

  When he turned the corner into a room off the kitchen and nudged the light switch on with his elbow, she realized she was wrong.

  Her mouth popped open at the room before her. “Holy shit.”

  Luke let go of her legs, and her feet slid to the floor. Harper could only stand and stare at the room around her. Black, everything was black. The walls looked like they were covered in a black patterned fabric, and all the furniture in the room was black. Even the carpet was black. She slipped her sandals off and sighed as her bare feet sank into the plush carpet.

  A huge king-sized bed stood against one wall, but it was the rest of the furniture that caught her attention. She walked to what looked like a giant X in one corner of the room. It was taller than she was by a couple of feet and completely padded in leather.

  “That’s a Saint Andrew’s Cross.” Luke’s voice was so close behind her, it startled her.

  “I’ve uh, I’ve read about this in a book.” Or books, she should say. He really would be surprised if he saw the amount of hot BDSM
erotica on her iPad. She wondered if Luke would be surprised that she actually knew what a lot of the stuff in this room was. She might not have ever seen some of it in person, but the descriptions she’d read were spot on.

  She walked slowly to the next piece of furniture, trailing her fingers along the smooth leather of what could only be a spanking bench.

  Luke followed her. “That’s a—”

  “Spanking bench,” she interrupted. “I know.”

  She glanced back at him, and smiled at how his eyebrows had shot up his forehead. “Well, well, well, you never cease to amaze me, Pretty.”

  Grinning, she turned, continuing her exploration around the room. There was a table that looked like a cross between a massage table and a table she used to give gynecological exams. Except this one had way more straps on it.

  She crossed in front of the wall where various crops, paddles, and floggers hung, and then she came to the final piece of furniture in the corner. It almost reminded her of something she’d seen at yoga class the one time she’d gone. But instead of silks hanging from the ceiling, these were thick leather straps. The leather looked strong and sturdy, and came together to form a cushioned seat. Padded cuffs were located at various places on the straps, and she felt herself go warm and wet at the thought of Luke strapping her into this swing. She’d be at the perfect height for him.

  He’d moved to stand next to her and she heard him chuckle.

  She jerked her eyes to him “What?”

  “Well, from the look on your face, I’d say you found a favorite.”

  She gave him a small smile. “I was just thinking of the potential.”

  His brilliant smile lit up the room. “Oh, Pretty, you have no idea. And we’ll get to that, but I have some other things I want from you first.”