Perfect Stranger (Novella)

by Carly Phillips

  He stopped the car down the street from his ultimate destination, not wanting to ruin the surprise, and parked.

  By the time Luke climbed out of the truck, Alexa waited by the trunk for him to open it up and reveal his surprise. She hopped up and down, excitement filling her, wondering what he had planned for them today.

  “I can’t imagine what you’re like at Christmas,” Luke said, chuckling.

  “Christmas was never like this,” she spoke, more to herself than to him.

  He turned, one hand propped on the trunk door, eyeing her with a serious look on his face. “Talk.”

  She sighed, knowing that, once again, she’d be revealing something more about herself and, oddly enough, wanting to share with him. “Dad didn’t have time for a tree, his mother didn’t care, hence…no tree.”

  Luke stiffened. “No tree.” He sounded appalled, his expression disgusted.

  “Okay, now you know. I come from a family of Scrooges.” She ducked her head and avoided his gaze. “So if the bloom’s off this rose, you can take me back home now,” she said, wanting to give him an out.

  “Hey.” He touched her arm. “I wouldn’t take you home just because you never had a Christmas tree! What kind of jerk do you think I am?”

  She managed a laugh. “I was more worried about what you thought of me. But I can assure you that I have a Christmas tree. Even if I’m not home much to enjoy it, I make sure I have one.” She was rambling from embarrassment and changed the subject. “So what’s in the trunk?” she asked too brightly.

  He stared at her for an uncomfortable minute. It was probably just a second or two but it felt like a full sixty seconds. “Something else I’m now thinking you didn’t get to experience.” He reached into the trunk and pulled out a pair of ice skates.

  Brand-new, shiny white skates with purple laces.

  “Oh my God.” She didn’t know what got to her more, the gesture or the purple laces. “My favorite color.” The lump in her throat grew bigger, her awareness of just how deep this man went dawning on her.

  He just laughed. “Can you skate?” he asked.

  “I used to go with a friend when I was younger. Until my dad found out and made me stop because it was too dangerous. What happens if a blade cuts your hand? How will you ever operate? Or be a doctor?” she said in a perfect imitation of her parent.

  “How old were you?” Luke asked, his voice gentle.

  A bigger lump swelled in her throat. She swallowed hard. “Fourteen.”

  “Son of a bitch.” He slammed a hand against the truck. “You should have been out having fun with your friends, not worrying about a future I’m sure you didn’t even think you wanted.”

  Her eyes misted. “Did you know what you wanted at that age?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You did?” she asked.

  A grin took hold and a wicked gleam lit his gaze. “Yep. I wanted to get my hands up Lucy Granders’s shirt.”

  She chuckled, softly at first, then harder. “You are too much!”

  “I’m also deadly serious. I played, but wasn’t thinking about pro football when I was fourteen. And you shouldn’t have had to think about medicine.” He held her hands in his larger ones. “Now, do you want to go ice-skating?”

  “Will you hold on to me until I get the hang of it?”

  His eyes darkened. “Oh yeah, darlin’. I’ll hold on to you.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re still that fourteen-year-old boy at heart, aren’t you?”

  “God, I hope so.”

  She grasped his shoulders and pulled him close. “Me, too,” she said, and settled her lips on his.

  Sparks ignited immediately. She curled her fingers into his jacket and pressed herself into him. She might have started the kiss but his low groan gave her fair warning he’d be taking over. And he did. His tongue delved deep into her mouth, possessing her, marking her in a way she’d never forget. She loved his taste, the hint of mint and the dark flavor that was all Luke. Add in the sweet part of him and the impossible was happening.

  She was falling hard for this man. Too bad all they had was a few days of time. Because when all was said and done, nothing in her life had changed, her time for a relationship was zero, and Luke Thompson was a good man who lived in the state of Texas.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Luke didn’t have to guess what Alexa wanted or how she was feeling. She wore her heart on her sleeve, her feelings on her face. And when she reached for him, he knew he was a goner. If he let the kiss go on, they’d end up on the ground, not on the ice. As much as he wanted her, he had plans for her first.

  With more willpower than he thought he had, he broke the kiss. “Skating, darlin’.”

  Eyes glazed, she looked up at him and nodded. “Skating.”

  “You gonna be steady out there?” he asked, his hands on her forearms, keeping her upright.

  “No, but you already said you’d hold on to me.” She grinned and stepped back. “Do I get to try on my skates now?”

  He nodded and walked with her to the ice rink, already knowing that they fit. This time he’d had to go to the source, her best friend, Cara Hartley, a Serendipity police officer who Luke found at her home. And it hadn’t been easy to get her address. When he got there, she looked him up and down, placed her hands on her hips, and divulged Alexa’s shoe size. “I have a gun and I know how to use it,” she then said. “Break her heart and you’ll answer to me.”

  “Message received,” he told her. “I like how you two look out for each other.” He inclined his head. “Well done. And glad to see you’re feelin’ better.”

  The big bad cop’s expression softened. “Thanks.”

  “Also glad your man came around,” Luke said, pushing his luck a little further.

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “And now I’m getting out while the getting’s good.” With a wink, he’d taken off, heading next to the small store located in the skating rink in the next town over.

  Sawyer joined him for the ride, laughing all the way there—and back. Luke ignored him, figuring he’d have some chuckles of his own when the other man found his woman.

  Now, Luke turned back to his female and watched her lacing up the skates.

  “They fit!” she exclaimed, her excitement like that of his niece’s on Christmas.

  “But they’re new, so you’ll probably end up with blisters,” he warned her. “We’ll take it easy.” He stood and held out a hand, which she readily grabbed.

  A few minutes later, they were on the ice. He wished he could say she was a natural. She wasn’t. But what she lacked in skill, she more than made up for in both enthusiasm and a willingness to keep getting back up—no matter how many spills she took. And unfortunately for her, she took plenty. Her ass was going to be sore tomorrow, which meant he’d have to give her some TLC today.

  No big chore.

  On what felt to Luke like her hundredth tumble, he caught her before her butt hit the ice. “And we’re all finished for today,” he said.

  “I can go more,” she said through chattering teeth.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and steered them toward the edge of the rink. “If you won’t admit to freezing your ass off, I will. I’m cold and I need your body heat to warm me up.”

  Her eyes darkened, but she didn’t give up that easily. “One more circle around the rink.”

  At that moment, Luke cursed her father for instilling that need to prove herself in his daughter. “No. You’re freezing and your butt cheeks hurt like hell, but I’ll bet you’ve never given up on anything in your life. If I don’t call it a day, we’ll be out here while you try to prove something to me you don’t have to prove. This was supposed to be fun, remember?”

  She blushed. “I…yeah, I remember. And I did have fun!” From the sparkle in her eyes, he couldn’t help but believe her.

  “Me, too. Now just a short drive away, we have a cabin all to ourselves where the heat’s pumping and the bed’
s warm. So you tell me, do you want to keep on bruising your pretty behind, or let me ease those aches and pains in a way that I promise you’ll like?” His own blood pumped faster at the notion. He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to decide.

  “Well, when you put it that way…” She grasped his hand. “Last one to the truck is a rotten egg.” She took off, but Luke wasn’t about to let her fall again, so he grabbed her around the waist and carried her off the ice, listening to her shrieks of put me down the entire way.

  * * *

  Alexa had a blast on the ice. Sure, she sucked at skating. Who knew that it wasn’t like riding a bike, easy to pick up again? Not that her father encouraged that either—Concussions are dangerous, Alexa. But Luke never lost patience, he just held out a hand, helped her back onto her feet, and off they went again, him holding her tight in his strong arms until she was ready to try going solo again. She inevitably fell onto her butt again.

  By the end, her feet hurt like hell, she probably had those blisters he’d mentioned, and the cold was setting in, and he’d still had to drag her off the ice. “Luke?” she asked, as he drove them from the rink to the cabin.

  “Yeah?”

  “I loved every minute,” she said, wanting him to know exactly what kind of gift he’d given her.

  “Yeah?” A smile pulled at his lips.

  “Absolutely.”

  He parked in front of the cabin and cut the engine, got out, and met her on the passenger side, opening her door.

  Before she could hop out, he braced a hand on the roof over her head. “You know you didn’t need to prove anything to me. I didn’t care if you could skate or not. I just wanted you to enjoy the day.” His serious gaze told her he was worried she’d pushed herself too hard.

  “I did. Every last minute. Even when I fell on my ass,” she said with a grin.

  He scowled at her comment. “You won’t be feeling so generous about that tomorrow.”

  She smoothed the frown lines on either side of his luscious mouth with her fingers. “I will if you take care of me like you promised,” she said, her voice deep and husky.

  Next thing she knew, she was back in his arms as he carried her to the front door. He smelled delicious, a combination of outdoors and sexy man, and she tangled her fingers in his hair as he somehow worked the key, never putting her down as he let them in.

  “What’d you have to promise Sawyer to get this cabin again?” she asked as she kicked off her shoes and let them fall to the floor.

  He laughed, the deep sound rumbling through her. “Just my firstborn.” On his kidding words, his gaze snared hers and her breath caught at the intensity she saw there.

  Luke and kids. The idea, once planted, no matter how lightly, buzzed around her brain. Alexa loved kids, worked with them when she could, because as patients, they were far more fun than cranky adults. Hence her youth center hours and free medical care for them. She was beginning to think she’d never have a family of her own. With one joking comment, this man caused a yearning deep in her soul.

  “Alexa? Lex?” Luke asked. “What’s wrong?” He laid her down on the bed and eased next to her.

  She blinked and deliberately cleared her mind. “Not a single thing,” she assured him.

  Fanciful thoughts and feelings about a man she’d known a few days were ridiculous. What he was giving her in this precious time, the chance to experience life and to live all she’d been missing, was priceless. When he was gone, she knew she’d have choices to make about how she wanted to go forward from here.

  But right now, she had him.

  And just like he taught her, she intended to live in the here and now. So she unzipped her jacket, shrugged it off, and tossed it to the floor, then reached for his zipper and did the same to his.

  He wore a fitted long sleeve thermal in a chocolate brown that brought out the gold in his eyes and accentuated the muscles in his chest and arms. With her mouth watering, she tugged at the bottom of the shirt, pulling it out of his jeans and working it up and over his head. With a targeted toss, the shirt hit his jacket on the floor.

  “Hey, I thought I was going to take care of you?”

  If that’s what the man wanted, that’s what he’d get, Alexa thought. “Go for it,” she told him. “I’m all yours.”

  With a low growl from deep in his throat, he raised himself up on one knee and began divesting her of her clothes, piece by piece. Her jeans, damp from her many falls on the ice, took some effort, but finally he’d bared her to him, except for her lacy underwear and matching bra.

  “You take my breath away, darlin’.”

  Her breath caught and her throat swelled. “You do the same to me. But more than that, you make me feel good. Special. I’ll never forget that.” She glanced away, embarrassed that she was revealing so much, yet unable to hold back the words.

  “You are special.”

  Not according to her father. Surgeons like you are a dime a dozen, Alexa. Try harder. Do better. Give more of yourself or you’ll never stand out. God, she was so sick of his words tormenting her. She’d taken the full day off, covered her patients with a reliable doctor, and deliberately not checked in with her service or looked at her phone. Yet the pressure remained, a subtle heaviness in her chest and that damned voice in her head.

  “Lex,” Luke said in a concerned tone.

  “I’m here.” She smiled into his warm eyes, liking how he shortened her name. It was special.

  “You weren’t.”

  “I am now,” she said, with what she hoped was a seductive smile. She had no desire to get into where her mind had wandered. Not when she had such a sexy specimen in front of her.

  But she was coming to know Luke, and if she didn’t distract him, he’d push her for answers and kill the mood. She refused to let that happen. She reached for the front hook of her bra and released the clasp, then slowly lowered the straps over her shoulders and down her arms. The cups eased down, one catching on her nipple, and Luke grinned at the sight.

  “Let me help you with that.” He bent his head and, using his teeth, he gently pried the material away from her breast.

  The material fell away and Luke’s mouth quickly replaced it. One lap of his tongue and Alexa’s head fell back against the pillows, the sensations so strong and startling, she let out a moan. He licked again, nipped harder, and she began to tremble.

  * * *

  Luke had never had a woman be so open and genuinely responsive. There was no pretense, no artifice, everything she felt, she showed, and knowing he could take her so high so fast gave him no small amount of satisfaction. She’d been starved, not just for sex but for affection, and he wanted to give her everything he could in the time he had.

  While he kept up the friction on her breast with one hand, he used the other to slide her panties off her body. He cupped her mound, feeling the heat emanating from her, and stifled a groan as his cock let him know exactly how much he liked what he was feeling.

  “Luke.” She sighed his name, parting her legs. He took advantage, slipping his finger into her slick opening.

  Her hips jerked, sucking his digit in deeper. He grit his teeth and slid his thumb over the tiny knot of nerves, rewarded when she arched her back, her head thrashing from side to side.

  “Beautiful,” he muttered, watching the flush on her cheeks as she lost every inhibition she possessed.

  Her body shook, her lashes fluttered up and her eyes locked on his. “I need—”

  “I know what you need.” But she wasn’t coming alone or without him inside her. He rose and quickly shed the rest of his clothes, pausing only to grab a condom from his pocket before returning.

  Taking him by surprise, she plucked the packet out of his hand, ripped it open, and managed to roll the latex over his straining erection.

  She grinned at the results. “Now hurry.”

  He swung a leg over her and positioned himself at her entrance. She whimpered, the sound inflaming his need, and he braced a hand above
her shoulder, looking into her beautiful eyes as he thrust deep. Thrust home.

  Her eyes widened, then rolled back slightly before she managed to focus on him once more. “Oh, God.”

  “That’s not God, darlin’. That’s you. And me.” And damn they were hot and wet.

  He pulled out, slid back, the slick sounds of sex surrounding them along with Alexa’s whispered pleas of harder, faster, and oh, God, nearly making him come too soon. He held on, gritting his teeth as she bent her knees, taking him deeper. Then, without warning, her body gripped his, clamping on tight as she came.

  Her orgasm released his tenuous hold and restraint. He pumped into her, feeling more than he ever had, knowing in his gut this was so much more than sex, and he accepted it and reveled in it as he came.

  It took a while for them to catch their breath, and finally Luke rolled off her. “You okay?” he asked.

  She met his gaze, her eyes glazed and dreamy. “Never better.”

  “Glad to hear it.” He kissed her nose, then pulled himself up and headed for the bathroom.

  He returned to find her staring at the ceiling, a satisfied smile on her face and a healthy, happy glow on her cheeks. One he’d put there, Luke thought, grinning, too.

  “Roll,” he said to her.

  “Hmm?”

  “Roll over.” He lightly patted her hip.

  She groaned but turned over as he asked. He glanced at her bare bottom, white smooth skin with hints of pink and more than a few scrapes. He frowned at the sight. “Hurt?” he asked, rubbing his hand over first one cheek then the other.

  “A little sore,” she admitted, her words muffled in the pillow.

  “Sorry, sugar. I never meant to cause you pain.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek and she giggled.

  “I’ll live,” she assured him.

  “I hope so.” He massaged her skin and she sighed in contentment.

  “When do you leave?” she asked, the question muffled. She didn’t peek out from where she’d buried her head in her arms.

  The question was long overdue. “I have to be home for my niece’s birthday party on Saturday.” He pulled in a deep breath. “So my flight’s tomorrow.”