“You’re Lucas Greyson,” I remind him back. “Expect to be in every single picture they take.”
I’m totally right. In fact, Megan has Luke pose with just her in several pictures. It’s not at all awkward, or anything. He also poses with Bran’s mom, who still doesn’t really know who he is, but thinks he’s the most gorgeous thing she’s ever laid eyes on. She giggles and tentatively gropes his muscles as the cameras click away. Luke is a good sport about all over it. He’s used to it, after all. Meanwhile, I feel like I’m growing fangs and claws here.
It’s the same thing at the wedding reception. Luke is the Pied Piper; wherever he goes, everyone follows. Megan has him seated at the wedding party table, and it’s constantly surrounded. Not because people want to talk to the bride and groom—you know, the reason why we’re all gathered here. It’s definitely more annoying when the people drooling over your fake boyfriend are related to you in some way. Lucy Bahr, who once called me a psycho bitch trapped in a man’s body, is acting like we’re best friends right now. I haven’t seen her since her mother’s third wedding. I thought she died.
The only time Luke and I get any privacy is when he asks me to dance, and then drags me onto the candlelit dance floor when I say no. A slow song with a sexy beat is playing, and he puts his hands on my hips and draws me close. He moves effortlessly to the music, and I have no choice but to move with him. We’ve actually danced together before, so it’s not as awkward as I’m probably making it seem.
“Hey, I liked your speech,” Luke says with the beginnings of a smirk. “It was pretty epic.”
“No one warned me that I was supposed to talk,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I’m not responsible for what comes out of my mouth when I’m not prepared. And like most of them didn’t already know that Bran was my boyfriend first. They’re just lucky I didn’t bring up the sex on my bed thing.”
Luke starts laughing in that deep utterly masculine way of his. “You never fail to entertain me, Tiger. No matter what.” He smiles down at me, but his beautiful eyes seem serious. “Can I keep you?”
That fluttery feeling in my stomach intensifies. My hands start to fall away from his shoulders, but Luke grabs them and secures them around his neck, putting me almost flush against him. I breathe in the cool sexy scent of his cologne, and lust hits me like a big rig.
What the hell is happening to me? My movements become stiff and uncoordinated. Luke pulls back to look at me with just a hint of a smile. “What’s wrong?” he asks.
I look away, cricking my neck to the side. “My hair,” I mutter. “I’ve got about a millions pins sticking me in the scalp right now.”
“Hm…let me see if I can help you with that.”
Luke reaches up to my hair and gently pulls a pin out. Then another and another, until one curl after another falls out of my bun—and my hair is loose and flowing down my back. He puts the pins in his suit pockets.
“Better?” he asks, tenderly arranging long locks of hair over my shoulders.
I can barely speak at this point. I am so confused and flustered—and confused. The feeling of my hair brushing against my bare back is nearly painful to my overly sensitized skin. I stand very still and stare up at him with wide eyes.
“What are you doing, Luke?” I whisper.
He leans closer, his mouth next to my ear. “I’m seducing you. That okay with you?”
I slowly shake my head. “I don’t want to be seduced.”
“Too late,” he says, and kisses me.
The kisses are slow, melting, and absolutely tortuous. We hold on to each other like we’re afraid to let go, oblivious of everything else. I don’t hold anything back. All my doubts, fears, and insecurities are washed away in warm waves of magic. God, if he kisses all his co-stars like this, then it’s no wonder they always look on the verge of orgasm in his presence. I feel like I could—
What the hell is poking me in the ass?
I break apart from Luke to glare at the little girl staring up at me with wide solemn eyes.
“Please stop,” she says in an annoying little girl voice. Then she calmly walks away. She should be running.
I turn to go after the little monster, but I am still weak-kneed and on fire from those amazing kisses. I stumble and fall back against Luke, who immediately catches me.
“We need to talk,” he says grimly, holding an arm out to steady me.
He positions me in front of him, keeping a firm hold on my hips as we exit the banquet room. It feels like all eyes are on us as we leave. I know everyone’s thinking the same thing—that we’re running away to have sex.
You know what? They’re right.
Chapter 20
Once outside of the reception room, he grabs my hand and leads me down a short hallway. We duck into a darkened recessed area next to a carpeted flight of stairs, and Luke immediately lets go of me to start pacing.
I lean against the railing for support and watch his frustrated movements. “I thought you said the next time you kissed me, I would be naked and under you,” I say, just to rile him up.
Luke flashes me a dark look. “I’ll take a rain check on that.” He yanks irritably at his tie, loosening it around his neck so that it hangs slightly skewed.
Why the hell does he seem so pissed? I know he was as into those kisses as I was—the evidence kept poking me in the back as we left the party. So why isn’t he smiling at me right now? Why isn’t dragging me to his truck so he can have his way with me? Not that I would let him. Well, probably not, at first.
"I know that you think you can’t trust me," Luke finally blurts out, running both hands through his hair. "I fucked up enough times to know I deserve it. That thing with Kat is a mistake I regret every damn minute of every day."
My posture immediately stiffens. I hate that I care so much that he slept with her. I hate knowing that he cares about her. I hate that I have the overwhelming urge to climb him like a tree and suck every thought of another girl out of him. The dirty way.
“You’re right, I don't trust you," I say, looking him in the eye. “I know you too well.”
Luke nods, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. He closes his eyes briefly. When he reopens them, they seem to glow like jewels in the sun. “Then I’ll have to earn it.”
He takes my hand, and squeezes it. “But I trust you, Andi. I trust that you know me better than anyone—and to kick my ass when I need it. You tell me the straight up truth when everyone else around me is blowing smoke up my ass. Sometimes I feel like I’m suffocating—and then I look around and realize it’s because you’re not there. When I’m with you, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Even when you’re tearing me apart.”
I just stare at him, utterly confused, and inexplicably defensive. This doesn’t sound like the little hook-up speech he gave me in church. What is this nonsense? Is it because of the wedding? Weddings make people sentimental and shitty sometimes. That’s one of the reasons I hate them.
I don’t know how to deal with the way Luke is looking at me right now. “I have to go to the bathroom,” I blurt out, moving abruptly away from him.
But he grabs me as I try to escape, and hauls me back to him. “Stop trying to run away from me,” he growls, eyes sparking with anger. “Maybe you don’t want to hear what I have to say, but you’re gonna to hear it—even if I have to handcuff you to the railing.”
I pull away from him, glaring. “Sorry, but I’m not into that. You’re mistaking me for Katiya Poriskova. Remember, I know all your dirty little secrets since I’m the one who had to clean up after you!”
Luke grits his teeth. “I know that! I can’t change the past,” he grinds out. “But I can promise you the future.”
“Isn’t that from a so—?”
“I love you, Andi,” he says, effectively shutting me up. “I’m in love with you. Let me make my intentions perfectly clear since it’s pretty fucking obvious you’re clueless.”
He places two fingers under my sagging jaw and gently pu
shes up so my mouth clicks shut. Looking deeply into my eyes, he continues, “I want you, and only you for as long as you’ll have me. And even if you don’t want me, I’ll still be here trying like hell to change your mind.”
Luke’s face is so close to mine. He’s looking at me like I’m the only thing that exists in his world. And what do I do? I snort in his face.
“Come on, Luke,” I say, shaking my head. “It sounds like you’re about to—”
“Propose?” My eyes go wide as saucers as that. His voice turns warm and husky as he trails his fingers along my cheek. “Would you say yes, Tiger?”
I outright laugh at him this time. “Now I know you’re fucking with me.”
Luke’s mouth is smiling, but his eyes are deadly serious. “I’m not, but don’t worry. I won’t ask you until you’re ready. Baby steps, right?”
He grabs my hand and leads me toward the stairs. He lowers himself on a step, and gently pulls me down next to him. I only realize how much my feet hurt once I’m sitting down, and they start noticeably throbbing. I hide my wince as I carefully arrange my dress so I don’t accidentally flash Luke. Gosh, I remember when I was prepared to do more than that—until he opened his stupid mouth.
“So.” Luke nudges me in the side. “Do I get a chance to prove myself to you?”
I hesitate, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. “Just to clarify…you want, like, a…relationship with me?”
Luke laughs at my cautious tone. “Yeah, Andi. I want a relationship with you,” he says like it’s an understatement.
“So…you mean more than just a physical relationship?”
“Definitely more,” he says firmly. “I want everything from you.”
I exhale harshly, unaware that I’d been holding my breath until now. “I need a minute,” I say weakly.
Luke shrugs casually, but I can see that he’s both tense and uncertain. That line between his eyes is back, and his jaw tightens slightly as he looks away.
He fucking loves me? When the hell did this happen? I’m not even loveable. Why would he want me? Luke knows me better than anyone. He knows I’m not a good person, and that I would bring nothing positive to a relationship. I would ruin both him, and his career. I…
I mentally shake my head. I can’t, even for a moment, fantasize what it would be like to be with him like that. It’s too much. It would blow up in my face, and I’d never recover. Not from that. Not from him.
“I can’t,” I say finally, staring down at my hands.
“Why?” Luke asks after a pregnant pause. “And don’t tell me it’s because you don’t have feelings for me. I know you do. You can lie to yourself, but not to me.”
His tone is full of pent-up frustration. Well, I’m frustrated, too! “Why?” I echo incredulously, looking up at him. “You’re not just some random guy off the street. You’re Lucas Greyson!”
Luke shakes his head in disgust. “I know who I am. So, what? Because I’m me, I don’t get to be with the only person I care about?!”
Too agitated to sit, I spring to my feet. I nearly trip over my dress, but Luke quickly catches me, also standing to help me regain my balance.
“It’s not that simple and you know it,” I say angrily. “You said before that you feel like you have a target on your back all the time. Well, what do you think will happen to me if we get together? I’ll be the unworthy nobody bitch who took the hottest young actor in the world off the market. They’ll vilify me!”
“That’s not what you’re afraid of.” Luke’s gold-green eyes burn into mine. “Come on, Andi! You know me, you know my world. You won’t let yourself get sucked in, or destroyed by all the bullshit. You’re stronger than that.”
“Easy for you to say!” I sneer at him. “You’re not the one who—”
Luke’s lips crash into mine, effectively swallowing up my protests. Lightning strikes, and my body tingles from head to toe. I clutch onto his suit jacket, pulling him closer to me as much for support as desire. The taste of him is simply intoxicating, and I want more, more, more.
He is the first to pull back. He presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “Give me a chance,” he pleads softly. “We’ll go as slow as you want. And we’ll figure this out together. I swear I won’t let anything happen to you. I need you, Andi. I can’t be me without you.”
“Who else would you be—Jackson Frazier?” I retort, rolling my eyes in confusion.
“Smart ass.” He has the nerve to lightly smack my butt before pulling me back against his tall strong body. “So, what do you say, Tiger? You gonna give me a break here?”
“I don’t know, Luke,” I reply hesitantly. “I just don’t know if we’d be good together.”
“Are you kidding me?” Luke smiles lazily down at me, running his hands up and down my bare back. “We’d be awesome together. We’d have these hot knock-down, drag-out fights just so we can have dirty animal make up sex after.”
His expression darkens and intensifies when he says that last bit, and I suddenly feel like a hunter’s cornered prey. I force a laugh. “Yeah—no,” I mutter.
“What, you don’t think it’d be like that between us?” Luke’s tone is playful, but with an underlying seriousness.
I shrug carelessly. “I never really thought about it,” I lie.
“Oh, yeah?” He flashes his sexy smirk at me. “I bet I can make you think about it right now.”
Trying to calm my racing heart and all my overexcited girl parts, I feign nonchalance as I break out of his hold, moving back against the railing and reaching back to grasp the metal balusters. “Right here on the stairs? That’s not very romantic,” I say.
“Fuck romance. Say yes, and I won’t give a damn where we are—and I’d make it my goddamn mission to make you come so hard, you can’t stop…until I let you."
I suck in a shaky breath as an insidious warmth spills low in my stomach at his words. Oh, god, he nearly did that already, without even being conscious!
I try desperately to find my words. “Luke…”
"But I meant what I said about taking things slow. We won’t have sex until you beg me for it.”
“Beg?” I repeat with a dangerous note in my tone. “That will never happen. You’ll be the one begging me, hot shot.”
“Really?” A slow smile starts to spread across his gorgeous face. “That sounds like a challenge, Tiger.”
“Make it a bet,” I snap. “A hundred bucks says you cave first.”
Luke’s smile turns into a full-fledged smirk. He stares challengingly into my eyes as he takes his wallet from his back pocket, and pulls out a fat stack of crisp fifties. His gaze continues to hold mine hostage, even when I feel him tugging, on the long skirt of my dress. Without taking his eyes from mine, he lifts my skirt up to my waist, and deftly reaches under it. I gasp in shock when I feel him slip that wad of cash down the front of my panties, careful not to brush his fingers against my heated skin. His smirk deepens as he steps back, carefully straightening my skirt back in place.
"I'll take that bet. And I'll be putting my mouth where my money is sooner than you think."
I flush crimson from head to toe. I can feel the bills brushing against a very sensitive part of my body, reminding me that it actually happened—he really stuck his money down my panties like I’m a dirty little stripper. I swallow thickly, caught in a heavy daze, though I can feel my blood pumping furiously through certain parts of my traitorous body.
Luke’s expression is both intense and triumphant, knowing that he’s affected me. Irritation diverts the blood back to my head.
“Very smooth,” I manage to say, though in a somewhat husky tone. “But then you've had lots of experience sticking money in women's underwear.”
He shakes his head at me. “There you go again bringing up my past. Trust me; the only panties I want to stick something in are yours.”
I shift self-consciously, crossing my arms over my chest. “Beg me first.”
“You don’t know how muc
h I want to.” He leans close to brush his lips against mine in a teasing kiss. “Keep the money. I just want you, Andi. Say yes. I’ll get down on my knees and beg if you want.”
I bite down hard on my lip, looking away. Why does it feel like I’m running head first toward a steep cliff? And the scary thing is, I want to take that leap more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life. I open my mouth, having no idea what I’m going to say.
“We can try,” is what comes out to my complete astonishment. “Luke—”
He shuts me up again by kissing me. I respond by throwing my arms around his neck, and letting myself sink into him. For now I’m going to enjoy the leap.
I’ll worry about the landing some other day.
Chapter 21
Back in California…
“Goddamnit, Andi! I wasn’t trying to imply anything! I just thought you might want a new outfit.”
I throw Luke’s black credit card with my name on it in his face. “Because all my clothes are too low class for your fancy party, right?” I sneer at him. “I told you before, if you’re ashamed of me, why are you making me go?!”
Luke makes an inarticulate sound of anger. He runs his hands through his short blonde hair, locking them behind his head, and making the ropy muscles in his arms bulge. “I’m not ashamed of you,” he growls. He exhales an exasperated sigh. “I don’t care what the fuck you wear, I just want you to be comfortable!”
“I’ll be comfortable if I don’t go!” I snap back. “Why do you want me to, anyway?”
“We’ve had this conversation.” He towers over me, his entire body vibrating with tension. “You’re my girlfriend. I want you involved in every part of my life. I need you there with me.”
It’s my turn to sigh. We’ve had this fight before. Luke wants us to go public while I have no problem remaining his dirty little secret. I throw a tantrum over him trying to give me money hoping we’d get into another fight, and I could get out of going to his director friend’s stupid party. What kind of asshole throws garden parties, anyway?
CELEB CRUSH Page 19