by Tia Siren
“Luke?” she gasped out, holding onto the bags before they could fall to the ground. “What are you doing here?”
Luke rose from the table where he had been nursing a cup of coffee. He reached out to grab the grocery bags from her hands.
“I needed to talk to someone about a few things,” he said. “You talked about how wonderful your dad was at giving advice.” He set the bags down on the counter. “And you’re right. He is.”
She was at an utter loss for words.
Paige swiveled to glance at her mother, who stood rooted in surprise as well with groceries in her arms. Her heart pounded furiously against her ribcage as she ran her eyes over him, willing him to disappear like she was in a dream, but he remained standing there.
He looked worn out from the dark bags under his eyes, but in much better shape than she had seen him in Peter’s office. His blonde hair was tied back. A bristle of a beard covered his strong jaw, and he wasn’t dressed in his normal attire of fancy clothes. He was in a pair of tattered jeans, sneakers, and a sweater.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Just seeing him for the first time since in Peter’s office brought a fresh wave of emotion over her. “If you came here to tell me off for going back on our deal, then—”
“I’m not here for that,” Luke said smoothly. He glanced back at her father, who nodded in some sort of understanding. “Can we go for a walk together? I only have an hour before I have to get on a plane to go to Florida.”
“Florida?” Paige echoed, but she reluctantly let her arms drop. “I guess we can talk since you’ve obviously won my father’s stamp of approval.”
Harry stood up from the table to help his wife with the bags of groceries. He sighed at Paige in exasperation.
“I am not heartless,” he said, and he patted Luke on the shoulder. “Mr. Turner arrived here after you two left to go to town. He came clean to me about everything that has happened between you two.”
Paige’s eyes widened. “And you're okay with that?”
“Not all of it,” Harry said. “I made my opinions very clear to him, and he has responded with respect. He respects what I told him.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Go for a walk,” her father said, ushering Paige out the door with Luke in tow. “Listen to what he has to say.”
Dizzy with confusion, Paige stood on the back patio as Luke gazed at her with an indescribable expression. There was nothing she could think of to say. She had no idea why Luke had come all the way out to Wyoming, and it unnerved her that he had just shown up without warning.
It gave her little time to sort through her feelings.
“I thought you would be in New York,” she said finally. “I’m a bit surprised you’re here.”
“I wanted to come find you,” Luke said. He glanced out over the acres of land stretched in front of them. “The only place I could think you’d go to was your parents’ house—even if you didn’t want to go back.”
“I was confident that if I went back to New York, I’d be kicked out for lack of payment.”
Luke sighed as he shook his head. “I know you’re upset—”
“Damn right I am,” she blurted out, fresh tears streaming down her face. “How could you do what you did to me?”
“I’m sorry, Paige. I shouldn’t have—” He stopped talking and turned to look at her. Gathering her cold and sweaty hands in his own, Luke looked at her with a passionate gaze. “Just hear me out. Yes, it started out with me not caring if I got you into my bed; I just wanted you there. But things started to change for me over the past thirty days. You saw parts of me that even Toby doesn’t see.”
Her eyes fluttered shut as confusion crashed over her. “Don’t do this to me, Luke. I’m already confused enough about how I feel toward you right now. I don’t even know if I want to see you.”
“Well, I know how I feel about you,” he said firmly. “After you left Peter’s office, I got drunk—drunker than I have ever been in my life—because I knew what I had to do to make all of this right.”
“Which was what?”
“I needed to tell you that I love you.” Her eyes opened in surprise at hearing that. “I had to tell you that in person, because I do love you. It took me some time this past week to figure out why I ran from you, but it’s because I love you. I didn’t want to prove my father right, but I realize he wanted me to be in love. He wanted me to have a good life and not turn out like him.”
Paige scanned his face intently for any flicker of deception. There was nothing but genuine love and care there. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had seen Luke appear so honest and carefree.
“And that involves me?” she whispered.
Her heart lifted in relief when Luke nodded. His strong and steady fingers gave her hands a tender squeeze.
“Yes,” he whispered back. “I came out here to apologize to your father too. I told him everything that’s happened, and what I plan to do to fix all the damage I have done.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I managed to get into a treatment center in Florida for alcohol abuse,” he said plainly. “I’m getting on a plane today to go there, but I had to see you first.”
“What about—”
“My inheritance?” he supplied, smiling slightly. “Peter agreed to look over my father’s business while I still run it after I take some time to myself. I want to do things properly— the way it was originally set up.”
Pressing a kiss to the back of Paige’s knuckles, he fished something out of the pocket of his jeans. Paige’s heart skipped a beat when she realized he was holding the ring she had taken off back in North Dakota.
“I still want you to be my wife,” he said. “Not tomorrow. Not even at the end of sixty days when I’m done with this program. I want it to be when you’re done going to school, or when you feel the time is right.”
He slid the ring on her finger with a smile. “This ring belonged to you in the first place. I know it’ll take some time to forgive me, but I hope that you do.”
It had to be a dream. That was all Paige could think as she stared up at Luke with the chilly fall breeze stirring his hair. But it wasn’t a dream. The past two weeks seemed to fade away from them.
He had come all the way to Wyoming to apologize, to tell her that he loved her and planned on waiting as long as it took to get her back. She couldn’t have asked for anything else.
“I love you,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for you too.”
Luke smiled at her before leaning down to kiss her. They kissed each other with a cold breeze circling them, but they were warm in each other’s arms.
THE END
Big Bad Fake Groom: Deleted Scenes
Paige
She didn’t intend to spy on him, but it happened on accident. They were snowed in together at his father’s lodge in Bismarck, North Dakota. Many of Luke’s father’s friends were down the hallway chatting about business while Luke jumped into the shower in the bedroom they were to share to ready himself for dinner.
Oil tycoons.
She was in the company of very wealthy men who dominated the oil business, but only to appease the game Luke wanted to play with them and the press. He wanted to play a game with her too. The only difference was that she knew what game he wanted to play, and while she resisted it, she was crumbling.
Who could resist a man like Luke Turner? He was wealthy. He was cunning. He was as sharp as a surgical blade. It didn’t help that he was irresistible with those long blond locks of hair that were always pushed back from his strong face. His cerulean eyes were the color of a stormy sea during a hot summer day. His body was built from years of working on his father’s oil rig in the Dakotas. Muscles constantly bulged out beneath whatever Luke wore.
The door to the master bathroom was wide open. Steam from the shower curled out from the bathroom and into the bedroom Luke had insisted they share. To help make
it seem real. All of it was a business arrangement, but it was pure curiosity and lust that made Paige slowly drop her things to the bed covers.
Her toes were cold as she tiptoed across the hardwood floors to peek around the corner of the door. It took a moment for her eyes to peer through the thick cloud of white steam. When they did, they landed on the strong backside of Luke standing in the middle of the glass shower with hot water pouring over him. Droplets of water trailed down his slightly reddened skin.
Paige’s mouth went dry as she watched one droplet of water trail down the bumps of his spine before disappearing between the valley his taut buttocks. It didn’t seem possible that someone could be so attractive and intelligent at the same time, but Luke was a good combination of both.
She realized with a jolt that one of Luke’s hands was occupied with something out of her sight and in between his legs.
Her fingers digging into the wooden frame of the door, Paige felt an unfamiliar fire flicker to life in her lower belly. She gasped at the sensation of it.
Luke’s head tilted back against the glass of the shower. There was no doubt in her mind what his hand was occupied with. Her eyes were wide with alarm when Luke turned slightly to reveal a hard and large arousal in his hand. There were times throughout her life when Paige had wondered why certain men walked around confidently. Were they confident because of what they possessed below the belt? Or was it because they were trying to make up for the lack of something?
For Luke, it was obvious that he walked around confidently for a good reason. He had the equipment to back it up.
His lips parted as his hand continued to pump up and down. With each movement, his hips thrust forward, and it made that fire in her belly grow until it burned her in all the right ways.
Her mouth went dry when a groan of satisfaction echoed in the bathroom. Then she heard it, a hushed moan and whisper over the sound of the shower.
“Paige.”
He was fantasizing about her.
The thought filled her with feminine smugness. This was a man who could have had any woman in the world to serve a purpose for himself—whether it was for pure sexual needs or for business.
In Paige’s case, he wanted her for both.
It was tempting to lower her guard and forget what she had promised herself years ago. Losing her virginity to Luke Turner was not a part of the deal, though. Sex was not a part of the deal no matter how many times Luke had tried to get her into his bed.
Though there were times it was hard to think of anything else besides jumping into Luke’s bed to let an experienced man guide her in pleasure.
Luke’s eyes fluttered open. They focused on where she stood, completely paralyzed by the sight him naked in the shower, torn between the crashing emotions she felt.
Humiliation filled her at being caught. Her fingers slipped from the wooden doorframe, and she started to turn to flee when Luke calmly pushed the shower door open. He walked toward her with such calm and precision that it rooted Paige to the ground. Her toes were curled into the cold hardwood floor.
Run!
Her legs refused to move. Luke came to stand in front of her. As he tilted his head down to look at her, drops of hot water trailed down the faint blond scruff of his cheeks. The smell of fresh soap filled her lungs. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she watched drops of water trail down his broad and sculpted chest to the hardness protruding between his hips.
“Like what you see?” he asked, a coy grin tugging at his lips.
“I-I—” She didn’t know what to say to that. She was in a dangerous situation with a tempting and dangerous man. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“I don’t care if you watch,” he said. “You can help me. By all means, please do.”
Paige took a step back in alarm, but he wouldn’t let her go easily. He matched her steps. She shook her head at him while trying to formulate an appropriate response to his offer.
“You know I can’t,” Paige said. “It’s not—”
“Not what? Appropriate? The godly thing to do?”
“Don’t mock me,” she snapped, and she turned on her heel to hurry away from him. “I was just getting something from the room you insisted we have to share together.”
“We do have to share it, or else my father’s friends would think something is up.”
“Something is up,” Paige said, and she heard him chuckle deeply at that. “I didn’t mean it like that, you jerk. I’m sorry I walked in on your personal time.” She grabbed her sketchbook from her bag while keeping her back to him. “I have to get back to playing your perfect wife-to-be, so please—”
Strong fingers curled around her elbow, halting her mid-step. Her hand was a few inches from the brass doorknob.
That was when a damp and hot body pressed up against every inch of Paige’s back. Calloused hands cupped her hips, gripping the bones there sensually.
“Luke—” she started, but her warning fell short on the tip of her tongue when hot lips pressed against the column of her neck.
His lips trailed up to breathe hotly against her ear. “It’s okay to feel good with someone you are attracted to.”
A shiver shot up Paige’s spine at that. She swallowed thickly as she tried to regain control of her rapidly unraveling self-control.
“I never said that I disagree with you on that,” she whispered.
“Then why are you holding yourself back from me?”
“You know why,” Paige said, her heart beating erratically in her chest. “Please, Luke. Don’t put me in a position to have to struggle against you.”
Luke nuzzled the back of her neck, stirring the little hairs there.
“I don’t think you are in a position to fight against me right now. Your body says an entirely different thing, sweetheart.”
“What is it saying, since you’re such the expert here?”
Within a matter of seconds, Luke had whirled her around to pin her up against the bedroom door. It slammed shut under their weight, and he reached around to slide the lock into place. In the next instant, his lips were on hers in a searing kiss that rendered Paige into a hot puddle of nerves.
His tongue worked through her lips to caress her own teasingly. One hand meandered down the back of her spine and molded itself into her lower back. Her pelvis pushed forward to grind up against him.
A moan left Luke’s lips. His hand continued to press against her lower back while he nipped and sucked at the skin below her ear. Paige’s self-control was quickly unraveling with every touch and kiss. It was sorely tempting to just throw it all to the wind—to forget her vows, the conditions to their arrangement, and to just cave into something wonderful for once.
Except, this was Luke Turner grinding up against her with enthusiasm. He wanted her in his bed, but that was it. He wanted nothing else from anyone.
“Luke—” she gasped, and she steadied herself by using his strong shoulders to keep balance. “We have to stop. We can’t have—”
“Sex?” he supplied, not letting her push away easily. “We don’t have to have sex. Hell, I’m going to settle for just touching you right now.”
“You are touching me,” Paige said. Desperate to escape the flurry of desire between them, she tried to squirm out of his strong grip. That only caused him to grip harder. “Luke, your father’s friends are down the hallway.”
Calloused fingers gripped the back of her thigh before sliding around to trail upward teasingly. Her leg twitched when those fingertips reached the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. It felt too good to even think about anything else, but she clung stubbornly to the part of her that screamed that this was a bad idea.
The entire arrangement had been a bad idea from the beginning.
His fingers reached the hemline of the dress he had bought for her to wear. They disappeared upward before Paige felt them toying with the lace of her underwear. She bit her lip meekly when the pads of his fingers brushed against her intimately through
the fabric of her underwear.
Luke hummed into her ear in pleasure. “For someone who insists that she isn’t attracted to me, you feel ready for me.”
“That—” Her eyes widened when a finger shoved aside her underwear. “It doesn’t matter if you are attracted to someone. That doesn’t mean you jump into bed with them.”
“It’s worked for me,” Luke said. “I’ve done it a couple of times.”
That finger pushed against a bundle of nerves. Pleasure shot through Paige’s belly, and her fingers dug into Luke’s arms in response. He rubbed there in a circular motion that made Paige’s blood rise in temperature and her heart rate soar to an incredible speed.
“You can’t tell me that this doesn’t feel good,” Luke whispered, and for good measure, he pressed up against her even harder.
It had the desired effect. Pleasure spiraled through her again, and something loomed in the distance, a tension that wanted to be released from her lower belly.
Chuckling, he reached out with his free hand to tug her lower lip from beneath her teeth before they could puncture the skin.
“Relax,” he coaxed, rubbing against her in a steady friction. “Don’t try to fight it. Just let yourself feel what you feel. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
She clung stubbornly to the reality around her. The heat of the fire in the fireplace. The heat of Luke’s skin pressed up against hers. The way his lips tasted of whiskey when he leaned in to kiss her deeply. She was on the cusp of some sort of delicious oblivion that her body begged to jump into.
And that little tug terrified her beyond measure. There were things Luke was doing to her that made every inch of her crave something more than just his hand pleasuring her steadily with ease and confidence. Her eyes drifted down to the hard organ protruding between his legs. A part of her wondered what it would feel like to have that inside her.
Luke’s mouth tore from hers to trail hot kisses down her neck again. He didn’t stop at her collarbone. Using his free hand, he tugged the fabric of her dress and bra down to bare her breasts to him.