by Fiona Lowe
The town owns his memory.
His burger stuck in his throat. Her dead husband was every goddamn place he turned.
Chapter Thirteen
Nicole watched Tony ball his napkin and toss it into the empty basket before rising to his feet.
“Nice to meet you all but I’ve got work waiting.”
A zip of regret turned the delicious burger in her stomach to stone. She’d hoped he’d stay longer so they could actually talk rather than him having only been a silent observer in a wedding business meeting.
Luke stood up to shake his hand. “Erin and I will walk out with you.”
“Sorry, Luke, change of plan,” Erin said. “Now you’ve said yes to the Littlejohn wedding, Nicole and I have a bunch of things to sort out.”
Annoyance played around his lips. “I can still change my mind.”
Erin laughed but the sound was brittle. “Can we reschedule our, um...” she bit her lip, “...appointment? I’m free from six after I’ve finished a studio shoot. I could bring some of that chocolate peanut butter ice cream you want to try back with me.”
Nicole’s gaze swung between the two of them, her interest piqued.
Luke’s eyes twinkled. “That might go some way toward easing the inconvenience. Just make sure you don’t get lost because it will melt.”
Luke walked out with Tony and as soon as the diner door closed behind them, Nicole blurted out, “Oh my God, you and Luke are having sex. I’m so envious.”
Erin blinked and looked worried. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you had a thing for Luke.”
She shook her head. “I don’t.” She fiddled with her wedding ring, which she had a habit of doing when she was nervous, and then realized what she was doing and sat on her hands. “I like Tony but I’m not sure he feels the same way.
“We’ve sort of been doing this quiet, slow-burn thing with both of us arriving to buy coffee at the same time every morning, and we spent a fun day together hiking with Max. I thought it went great but since then I haven’t seen him anywhere, and you saw right now, how he couldn’t leave quick enough.”
Erin wriggled her nose. “Did something specific happen that might have made him want to avoid you? Some uncomfortable moment?”
Nicole thought back to the hike and with a groan dropped her head in her hands.
“What?”
She raised her gaze. “I told him how much I appreciated his friendship.”
“Oh, dear.” Erin gave her an affectionate yet pitying look. “You really are out of practice.”
“I was never in practice.” Her voice rose on a squeak and she sucked in a deep breath. “I married my high school sweetheart and he was the only guy I’ve ever been with. He died over a year ago.”
Erin looked thoughtful. “This might sound blunt, but if you’re really ready to move on and you’re interested in the chief, it might be time to part with your wedding ring.”
She brought her hand back to the table and stared at the gold band that had been there for so long she barely noticed it anymore. Once, she’d ripped it off her finger and sent it spinning across her dresser where it had rolled off the edge to rest with the dust bunnies. A week later, she’d been forced to retrieve it and slide it back on to get through Bradley’s funeral. Its absence would have sparked questions she was too shocked and angry to deal with. She’d intended to take it off again immediately after, but that was before she’d been hit with everyone else’s grief. It had gotten harder and harder to find the right time to remove it.
Erin was right. It was giving out the wrong message to Tony and she tugged it off, zipping it quickly into her purse. “I’m not sure taking it off is enough. The problem is that the last time I dated, Britney Spears was a young, sweet thing launching her debut album, so basically, I’m clueless.”
Erin sipped her milkshake. “What about getting a sitter for Max and inviting him out to supper?”
Nicole’s fingers reached to swivel the ring and found only skin. “Won’t that look like I’m desperate? I mean I was the one who asked him out on the hike and he’s avoided me ever since.”
Erin laughed. “He didn’t avoid you today.”
“He didn’t stay long either.”
“Women are allowed to make the first move you know, Nicole. I have a tiny sidearm to my business called boudoir photography. You’d be surprised how many women want to have tasteful photographs taken of themselves which show their sexy side. They make the perfect gift for a lover.”
Erin got a dreamy look on her face. “Personally, I love taking these photos in black and white. There’s something elemental about the medium and with your hair out and some gorgeous lingerie, the pictures would be amazing.”
The idea both appealed and terrified her. “Wouldn’t that be rushing things? I mean we’re both so restrained and polite around each other that I want to scream.”
“Like I said before, the ring was probably seriously getting in the way. Perhaps the chief needs something like a gorgeous photo so he stops seeing the widow Nicole and starts seeing the woman?”
Her mouth dried as quivers of excitement thrummed inside her. Could she really do something like that? Something so bold?
What if he really isn’t interested?
Fear instantly doused the excitement. “Maybe I’ll start with supper first and see how that goes.”
Erin smiled. “Sure. You need to do whatever makes you feel most comfortable, but if you ever change your mind, just call me.”
* * *
Have tub of ice cream, two spoons and am naked. E.
Luke read the text and grinned. He’d known for a couple of hours that she was back at the cottage. He’d seen her car when he’d gone down to check on a problematic irrigator but he loved the way she was letting him know. He couldn’t deny he’d been ticked off when she’d passed on their planned matinee this afternoon but it looked like she was making it up to him now.
He whistled Mac and drove to the cottage. He found Erin dressed in her cow pajamas staring at her computer screen. A bride with a faraway look in her eyes was gazing across the lake as if that was where her future lay and she couldn’t wait to step into it. The raw emotion on her face—happiness, excitement and a belief that this was her path—caught him in the chest. God, he’d love to be that sure of his life again.
He tried to block the envy. “I thought you were naked.” The tightness of his throat made the words sound harsh.
Two small lines appeared at the bridge of Erin’s nose and her eyes flickered. “Everything okay?”
No. “Everything’s fine except for those damn cow pajamas.” He gently tugged her to her feet. “Like I said, I thought you were naked.”
Her fingers caressed his temple before burying themselves in his hair. “I imagine I will be very soon.”
Her husky voice drove him to action. He tugged the offending shirt over her head and called her dog. “Prove your worth, Maggie-May. Go play.” He balled the shirt and threw it at the dog.
“Hey, they’re my only pajamas,” Erin protested, her breasts moving against his chest as she reached for his outstretched arm.
He upended her and amidst her token squeals of protest, he whipped off the pajama bottoms and tossed them to Mac. As the dogs took off, wrestling with the clothing, he pulled her into his lap and gazed at her appreciatively. “Now this is so much better.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You do realize they’re going to play tug-of-war with them and shred them to pieces.”
“That’s the general idea, yes.” He kissed her.
She moved her lips from his and hooked him with a penetrating gaze. “I thought you liked cows.”
This thing with Erin was all about forgetting the farm, not talking and thinking about it even more. He nuzzled t
he hollow in her neck—the place he knew from experience made her stop talking and start panting. Her head fell back, and her breathing quickened.
Now we’re talking. This was the only conversation he wanted right now and it didn’t involve the language of words.
Using his tongue, he traced a line straight down to his favorite place, the spot that nestled between her two beautiful breasts. He let his face rest there for a moment, savoring the pillow softness that caressed his cheeks. She smelled of vanilla and tasted of salt and he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her body. Reverently, he cupped her breasts in his hands, savoring the weight of them against his palm.
She gave a moan of pleasure and he felt her breasts tighten. He grinned. He’d never had a lover this responsive. Very slowly, he moved the pad of his thumbs across her nipples. Her body jerked and her eyes opened as wide as a cat’s. In the clear, green depths he clearly read desire—hot, molten need for him.
And God, he wanted her. Sex with Erin—losing himself in her lush body—drove every unsettled thought from his mind. It gave him a break from the farm, from his family, from his life, and it was beyond fun playing these sex games with her. He lowered his mouth planning to draw one dusky, erect nipple into his mouth and tantalize her with his tongue to the point of screaming, when he felt her palms pushing firmly on his chest, sending him tumbling backward onto the bed. A second later she was straddling him.
He stared up at her and shook his head. “You have control issues, Erin Davis.”
Her eyes danced. “No, I just know what I like.”
Her fingers tweaked his nipples and red-hot blood streaked to his groin, making him ache in the most delicious way. She leaned over him, her breasts caressing his chest, and kissed him hard.
Stars exploded in his head as her tongue both stroked and lashed, giving and taking, making his body burn with a visceral craving. He felt his mind slipping as her hand closed around him and started to move firmly and rhythmically up and down. He fought the feeling. He loved that she was so sexually confident but this time he wanted to call the play. He wanted to feel her muscles gripping him, not her hand. He wanted to watch her shatter as his thrusts sent her over the edge.
His hands found her hips, gripping them, and then he kneaded her buttocks as his mouth wrenched back control of the kiss. He plundered her mouth and swallowed her moans of pleasure. As her body slackened, he flipped her over onto her back and caught her hands in his.
Surprise thundered through Erin as she felt the pressure of the mattress against her back and Luke’s fingers loosely around her wrists, pinning them to the bed. She trusted him implicitly but a tiny part of her felt exposed and vulnerable. “Wh...what are you doing?”
He smiled down at her. “I promise you, you’re going to like it.”
“I liked what we were doing a second ago.” I knew what I was doing. I was in charge.
“You’ll like this just as much.”
His hands slid down her body, setting up a delicious shiver from head to toe, and then he was pulling her gently across the bed until her buttocks rested on the edge. He rose to his feet and she was momentarily distracted by the sight of him—thick, erect and beautiful.
“Comfy?” he asked.
She blinked, remembering where she was. “Uh-huh.”
“Good.” His hands lifted her thighs, raising her legs until they touched his chest.
“Luke, I’m not a gymnast. Are you sure—”
“Do you trust me?” Intense blue eyes hooked hers.
“Yes.”
“Then let me show you what can happen if you give up the need to be in charge all the time.”
He had no idea what he was asking of her. She hadn’t allowed anyone to be in charge of her since she was eighteen because that way no one could let her down. Her hands automatically gripped the sheet as every part of her railed against the fact he was asking her to hand over the reins to him.
“Relax, it’s going to be fine.”
She wasn’t convinced.
He kissed the back of her knee before resting her calves against his shoulders. A moment later his fingers found her slick, wet clitoris and stroked it in small, magic circles.
Her body instantly liquefied, giving in to the pleasure and betraying her mind by overruling the fact she was flat on her back with her legs in the air, not able to move or even reach Luke with her hands.
As the warm, rich ball of heat started to build inside her, Luke gently entered her.
“Oh,” she breathed out in wonder. “That feels amazing.”
“I promise you,” he said huskily, “there’s more.”
Each thrust sent him deeper and deeper and still his fingers caressed her. Hot, tingling, tempting sensations spiraled inside her, calling her to catch hold and ride with them. She sucked in short, sharp breaths, somehow unable to fill her lungs completely as her body forged its own path and she was swept along in the slipstream.
He moved against her, stretching and filling her completely, each stroke making her gasp. Her muscles convulsed, gripping him, never wanting to let him go and urging him to keep touching the spot that made her both heavy and light all at the same time. She wanted to consume him until he was part of her.
“Oh, God.” Her head thrashed against the bed as the sensations met each other, merging into one. She burned for more of the same, yet fought it, too, because with each thrust she lost more and more control over her body.
I need to pee.
She gasped, horrified at the thought which tried to settle and rule her. “Luke, I—Oh!” Her body rejected all thought with another wave of mind-altering pleasure. It hit her, catching her up in its promise of even better things to come and she followed it willingly, desperately and addictively. “Keep. Doing. That.”
“You. Bet.”
His breathless voice rained over her as her body started to shake.
Luke’s hands tightened on her legs as he plunged into her.
“Yes!” she heard her mouth shout as her mind gave way completely. She was melting and exploding as wave after wave of sublime intensity rocked her unlike anything she’d ever known. Tingling streaked from her toes to her hair and the room vanished in a vortex of bliss as she spun out, separating from Luke and flung far from everything familiar, including herself.
* * *
Luke lay on his back next to a boneless Erin and grinned. He’d not only made her beg for him to keep going but he’d sent her flying. Watching her come apart had been almost as amazing as his own orgasm. Usually, he was the one who fell asleep pretty fast after sex but tonight he was too wired. He’d stared at the photo on her computer screen. He didn’t particularly want to look at it but it had a hypnotic effect and kept on drawing his gaze. “That’s not your average bride photo.”
Erin slowly rubbed her foot against his calf and beamed. “Thank you. You’re looking at the Erin Davis touch.” The pride in her voice was unmistakable.
“You mean you use Photoshop?”
She slapped his chest indignantly. “No, I do not.”
He quirked a brow.
“Only to even out skin tones because no one needs acne on their wedding-day photos. What I’m talking about is the inner glow Jenna has. It radiates from her, doesn’t it? It’s why you keep looking at it.”
“She looks hopeful and optimistic.” Two things he missed.
“She does, but fifteen minutes before I took that shot, she was in a furious argument with her mother.”
He rolled onto his side to face her. “So really, this isn’t a true depiction of her day at all.”
“You think she wants to be reminded of how her mother tried to control her wedding?” Her voice developed an edge. “My job is to show happiness and to that end I can and will make any bride look happy. Life has enough crap and sadness in
it and I refuse to record it.”
Show happiness. He stroked her hair as her words blasted into him. Shouldn’t that be showing love? “Has your life had crap and sadness in it?”
She stiffened against him. “Oh, you know, divorce, bankruptcy, just the usual stuff.”
He knew about manageable debt but he’d not experienced the other things. Had she? The idea that she might have been married surprised him. Drawing back slightly, he looked into her eyes for clues. “You’re divorced?”
She shook her head. “God, no. That would mean I was once dumb enough to get married. No, it was my parents who got divorced.”
He understood her feelings on marriage as they mirrored his own, but something made him think of her tattoo. “Because of the bankruptcy?”
“Sort of. It was the final straw in a long line of financial indiscretions.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
She wriggled her nose. “It’s all pretty boring, really.”
He doubted that. “Try me.”
She met his gaze, her eyes swirling with a thousand thoughts and then she moved into him, resting her forehead on his chest. The hair on the back of her head tickled his nose and he fully expected her to change the subject.
“My father calls himself an entrepreneur.” Her voice was muffled against his skin. “My mother calls him a gambler.”
He stroked her hair. “Horses? Slots?”
“Nope. Businesses.” Her sigh rolled the length of her body and she flipped onto her back but her legs stayed tangled with his. “High risk with big returns. Only, there’s a massive downside to businesses like that.”
Her fingers fiddled with the top sheet as if she was having an internal argument. Silence played out between them and then, slowly, she started talking again. “Financial highs and lows punctuated our lives. I’ve only got snapshot memories from when I was young. Stuff like Mom giving me clothes to wear that I knew had belonged to my cousins and the look on her face, which was at odds with her words when she told me I was lucky because they were mine now.”