Vanessa was totally turned on as she met his gaze face-to-face. She sighed as he nibbled at her neck, supporting her trembling frame completely with his rock-hard arms.
He turned her and laid her back on the bed, her legs draping over the side. He pressed hot kisses to her breasts, stopping to drop a kiss on the mole that she’d always meant to get removed, but Luke seemed to like it. He continued to slip down between her thighs.
Kneeling on the floor, he lifted her legs over his shoulders and nipped the inside of her thigh as his fingers gently delved inside her.
“Oh, Luke, yes,” she gasped.
“That’s it, honey, let me do this for you,” he crooned until she was crying out again, shaking uncontrollably as a storm of sensation blew through her. As the waves passed, she was the one left panting, limp.
“That was lovely,” he whispered against her skin. His eyes met hers.
“You’re telling me,” she said, with a shaky laugh.
She watched as he reached over to his wallet, a wicked smile playing on his lips as he brought her legs up, hitching them around his hips.
She took in the planes of his chest, the corded muscles of his arms and the sight sent a quiver down her spine. Luke’s eyes met hers as he ran his hands up and down the length of her thighs and calves, then planted his hands on either side of the slick flesh of her sex as he parted her, his cock poised to enter.
“I love seeing where we’re joined.”
She nodded, enjoying the thread of warmth that ran through her, the pulsing rhythm in her bloodstream. It was so easy to need him.
“Yes.”
“Tell me what you want, Vanessa.”
He slid himself gently along her sex, then back again, prolonging the moment.
“I want you to...talk to me, tell me what you feel,” she said, sucking in a breath as his intimate touch sent a bolt of sensation through her. When had she ever felt this much?
“Whatever you want. You’re so sweet, so hot,” he said. “You make me feel...need. I need you.”
“Luke,” she said, not sounding like herself at all. She could feel every sensation, every touch, sizzling along her nerve endings at the words.
Luke needed her.
In the back of her mind, she knew he meant it sexually, but the idea touched a deeper recess that melted her.
Luke eased inside, and she watched him watching their joining. She took in the ruddy color of his cheeks and chest, how the muscles in his arms and torso flexed and trembled as if he had to hold himself back to make himself go slowly.
“You’re so beautiful, Vanessa,” he said in awe.
His hands moved to her hips, and she arched up from the bed, wanting everything he could give her.
She moaned as he withdrew and then entered again with more force than the first time.
“Don’t hold back, Luke,” she demanded, all shyness gone now. “I want all of you.”
He held her tight around him as he picked up the speed of his thrusts.
“Look at me, Vanessa.”
She opened her eyes, watched Luke holding her legs in a firm grip as he thrust deeply. She could tell he was close. His jaw was tight, his eyes intense as she reached for the spark of pleasure that was over the horizon. He continued to move and build that lovely friction inside her.
“Luke,” she cried out, wanting more.
“Hmmm?” Sweat made every hard angle of his perfect body shine.
“Come with me... Please?” Instinct told her that her soft plea would be his undoing, and she was right.
His response was a deep growl as he did just that. She had to dig her hands into the sheets to hold on as he moaned her name. Vanessa writhed under him, and then she burst again, everything inside her shattering. He lost control, surging over her as if he couldn’t get enough of her. It was delicious, to know she could do this to him. Time stopped, and Vanessa wasn’t sure how long it all lasted, though she never wanted it to end.
But then all was quiet, and Vanessa wasn’t able to think clearly for several long moments. Finally, she opened her eyes to see Luke still watching her. His face was more relaxed, his gaze soft as he stared at her. Then his brow furrowed.
“Vanessa,” he asked, on a labored breath. “Are you okay?”
Was he kidding?
“I’m so okay. I’m sterling,” she said with a grin.
His relief was visible in how his shoulders loosened, and he nodded. “You were so quiet,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if that was good for you.”
“It was wonderful,” she assured him and propped herself up on her elbows, intrigued that he could possibly be insecure with her. How was that possible? Vanessa couldn’t stop smiling as he excused himself for a minute, but she wondered what would happen now.
Would he leave? Would he want to talk? Sleep? Would he want to do it again? In spite of everything, she found that she did want more. How amazing, she thought.
“That’s a very sexy smile,” he said as he returned.
“I was hoping you weren’t planning on going. I want more.”
He lowered himself down on the bed next to her. “Wanton hussy,” he accused playfully as he nipped her shoulder. “More, indeed. I’m lucky I still have use of my legs.”
She felt playful and flirty. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”
He was suddenly dead serious. “No, I don’t. This is special. With you.”
He kissed her, and Vanessa curled around him, pressing into the warmth of his body. And what a body it was, all lean, hard and fit. She wanted to know every inch of him. She wanted to believe what he was telling her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, putting a hand to his face as she broke the kiss. “I was being glib. I didn’t mean to imply that—”
He turned his mouth into her hand, kissed her palm, interrupting her. “There was a time that might have been true, when sex was more of a game to me. That was a long time ago. And nothing was ever like this.”
Warmth flooded her chest, the pleasure seeping down lower. But his response also confused her. He was so sincere, so serious, but this had been spontaneous, a diversion from the stress. Luke still had feelings for Julie, obviously, and she had to remember that they were here for a reason, and that reason wasn’t romance. He leaned his forehead against hers.
“Are you hungry?”
“Oh, yes,” she said, licking her lips.
“I mean, for food. Maybe we can go check out the galley, see what’s there. I think I need to recover a bit,” he said with a smile so sweet it nearly curled her toes.
“Food would be good,” she said, but her apprehension must have shown through her voice. She didn’t want to break the spell, lose the magic. She wanted this to last as long as it could.
Luke tipped her chin up, kissed the tip of her nose, which made her blink.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, and stood up, holding out his hand.
Vanessa cautioned herself not to take his words too seriously as she joined him. Surely he meant that he wasn’t going anywhere right now, for the night, or at least while they were on the boat. She didn’t dare hope for more than that, not when they didn’t know what would happen once they reached their destination.
6
LUKE CARRIED TWO plates to where Vanessa was stretched out on a sofa in the living room on the main deck. He’d told her to go rest, worried about the injury she’d sustained and how tired she looked.
Sure enough, when he returned, she was softly snoozing. Her lips were parted, and he hardened, thinking about what those lips had done to him only an hour or so earlier. He wanted to know them again.
Her face was relaxed in sleep, her hair still a mess from his hands.
Damn, she was sweet. He paused, wondering
if he should wake her.
“Luke?” she asked sleepily, her eyes focusing on her surroundings as if she wasn’t sure where she was for a second.
“I’m here. Do you want something to eat?”
“Oh, yes, thank you. I could smell that in my sleep. What is it?”
“Frittata.”
“It smells heavenly.” She took the plate from him as she dug in. He did, too, taking the spot next to her.
They didn’t talk at all, finishing their meal in quiet. He slanted a look in her direction as she let her head fall back, inhaling the aromas.
Vanessa was a sensualist. She might not realize it, or maybe she did, but it was a quality Luke very much appreciated. For her, life was sensual on every level, not only during sex.
When they were done, he took their plates and returned to the sofa. She curled up into him as if they did this every night. And yet, her hand on his chest, her touch, as her finger moved lightly over him, was new. New, and wonderful.
Every other woman he’d known, Nicky included, wanted to talk incessantly after sex. Luke liked talk during sex—he found it deepened the connection and expanded the possibilities when you could freely communicate with your partner about what you wanted—but afterward, he liked quiet. He wanted to soak up the experience rather than dissect it.
This was perfect.
Vanessa was perfect.
He couldn’t believe the level of intimacy that they’d been able to achieve so quickly, and how open she’d been to him. Luke liked to experiment, and he liked to push the limits in his sex life. Some women were okay with that, some not. He let them set the boundaries, and sometimes he had to hold back on his own desires. With Vanessa, he hadn’t held back at all. She was a kindred spirit for him—at least in bed.
He didn’t want to think past that point.
As she’d said, they didn’t know how much time they had, what would happen once they got off this boat, or what the future held. So why not enjoy this before it all changed? In China, Luke had been celibate. Since he’d been home, no one had sexually inspired him until now.
Vanessa was bright, sexy and gorgeous. She was clearly more emotional and more open than Nicky, less manipulative, and yes, less experienced. He liked that, particularly. That she hadn’t already done all that was out there to be done. That he could share something with her that would be only theirs, and that he could experience something new, too, perhaps.
But she was still Nicky’s sister. That part of her was an unknown. People changed when it came to family, and if she was like Nicky at all—well, he had to be careful. He’d been completely taken in by Nicky, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again. He liked Vanessa—and he wanted her—but Luke couldn’t trust anyone this quickly. He’d been burned too badly for that.
“But this...between us. It’s only for right now, isn’t it?”
Luke nodded. “Yes.”
She was silent for a second, and he expected her to pull away, to decide that she couldn’t deal with that. Then, she surprised him yet again.
Pulling the sash on her robe so that it fell open in front, she lifted up and levered over him, the blue terry draped around her naked form. He was naked, too, under his, and was hard within seconds as she pressed down against him.
“Then we shouldn’t waste any time,” she said, going from blushing innocent to sultry siren.
Her kiss was deep, hot, and Luke let her set the pace, let her tell him what she wanted.
It was clear as she pinned his hands down at his sides. Explored his mouth with her tongue, nipped his lip.
“Control,” she whispered, as he thought it.
He settled back into the sofa, didn’t move to touch or hold.
“You have it. As much as you want. Would you like me to be tied up? We can do that,” he offered, his blood pulsing at the idea of Vanessa doing whatever she wanted with him.
He knew he would like it all. And he’d give her as much control as she wanted; it was something she needed, he could tell. Maybe because she’d never had much before, sexually. Or maybe because of what was happening in her life at the moment. Either way, he understood.
She swallowed, her lips parting, cheeks flushed as she slipped the tie from the loops in the robe and looked at it, considering.
Luke held his breath.
“We should be discreet, shouldn’t we?” She nodded toward the large windows that surrounded the room. “What if someone looked in?” she asked.
At first he thought she was worried about that, and then realized it was another fantasy.
“Would you like that? If someone was out there? Maybe looking at us, from a distance, from another boat? Or one of the deck hands, perhaps? What would they see?”
“They’d see me, sitting here over your lap,” she whispered as she returned to him, running her fingers through his hair. Luke tilted his head back into her touch. Let her nibble at his neck.
This woman was going to drive him mad and he loved it.
“They might notice that my robe is undone, but they can’t really see me, like you can. They’d see us kissing.”
That went on for several, long, amazing minutes. Luke did love the way Vanessa kissed.
“They’d be so curious, wondering if it’s going to go further,” she said into his ear. “They’d want to see more.”
“What else?” he asked on a held breath.
“You tell me, and then I’ll decide if I will grant your request or not,” she said with a sparkle of sexy mischief.
Luke’s heart raced. How could she know so well what he liked, too?
He spoke to her, quietly, in her ear as he told her everything he wanted. She stopped him suddenly, her lips on his, their mouths mating deeply.
Luke broke the kiss, breathing hard. “I don’t have—”
“We’re okay...we talked about it all earlier, remember? And I’m protected, safe...you, too?”
He was, but he could only nod.
“And Luke,” she said as her eyes met his, the hottest part of her poised over the tip of his erection. “Don’t touch me or kiss me unless I tell you to.”
Luke shuddered with desire and nodded in acquiescence.
She sighed happily as she encompassed him. A smile played at her lips as she danced over him, moving as she pleased, teasing him with her heat.
Luke griped the cushion, unsure how long he could keep his control. He wanted badly to kiss her, to take hold of her hips and set the pace, but he held back. He’d give her what she wanted if it killed him. The restraint made him as hot as it made Vanessa. They were both burning up.
She rotated her hips in delicious circles, one hand on her breasts as her lips parted. Her eyes closed as her head fell back, a low moan and his name dropped from her lips as she teased him.
“Oh, Luke, that’s so good,” she moaned as she came apart, her voice sounding like she might weep from the pleasure.
Luke clenched his jaw, on the edge but needing more than her gentle pressure to find his own release. When she finished, looking at him with her eyes blurry, her cheeks and lips smudged with roses, she lifted from him.
As if she knew exactly what he needed, she lowered and took him deep in her mouth. His hips bucked, his arms still at his sides, his body arched like a bow as his climax consumed him.
He’d thought that he was letting her have control, playacting, but she had completely taken the reins. Vanessa had been awesome, her instincts dead-on in her mastery. He’d loved every second of it.
He was still shaking when she took his hand from where it was still curled into the couch and wrapped her fingers around his. They stayed like that for several long moments.
They finally got up as if from some silent agreement, no words exchanged between them, hands still linked and walked back t
o her berth. All the way there, Luke told himself that this didn’t mean anything more and shut down the mocking voice in his head that called him a liar.
* * *
VANESSA WOKE UP SLOWLY, stretching sore muscles and then smiling at the memory of why she was so achy—in the best of possible ways. Except for her side, of course, but that wasn’t bothering her all that much.
She rolled over in the huge bed and found she was alone. The shower was running.
Luke.
Her hand went to her face in a combined gesture of humor, embarrassment and amazement as she thought about the night before.
Had that really been her?
Yesterday this time, she’d been despondent and lost. Right now, she felt more alive than she ever had. She’d had the most—and the best—sex she had ever had. And all in one night.
Thank goodness there was one more day before they got to the island, she thought with a wry smile. Then she sobered, remembering why they were there and what their purpose was.
This wasn’t a vacation. This was a mission.
Vanessa wanted to find Julie, and Luke wanted to put her in jail. It was, as they said, the elephant in the room, and Vanessa was going to ignore it for a while longer. She hoped it didn’t end up stomping all over her.
She wasn’t terribly experienced in having temporary affairs, but she knew she’d probably never see Luke after this and accepted that. Although she understood his pain and anger with Julie. Vanessa couldn’t help but want to save her sister from the trouble she was in, while Luke had no such mercy. She refused to think Julie was evil—certainly circumstances played a part, and Luke might not know the whole story, but he was convinced of her guilt.
Her happy fog faded as she threw her legs over the side of the bed and planted her face in her hands. She’d meant what she told him the night before. If the worst happened, if one of them was hurt or killed, if Julie went to prison and she and Luke never saw each other again, this would still mean something. It would always be one of the best times in her life, being here with him.
Luke might hate Julie now, but he’d loved her at some point. How could he look at Vanessa and not think about Julie? How could Vanessa ever look at him and not see the man who took her sister away from her, when she had only just found her again? Or even harder, she might have to actually see them together again someday, reconciled.
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