She picked up the set anyway, trying it on. When she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn’t help but fall in love with the pieces. The bra held her breasts high and proud, as if they were offering themselves to her lover. And the tops of the bra barely covered her nipples. Could she…?
Grabbing the set, she walked out of the dressing rooms, determined to purchase the items. She didn’t have to wear them tonight, she told herself. She could just…have them on hand.
A pretty, white silk robe caught her eye as well and she walked over to it, looking at the impressive lace against the white silk. She could imagine herself answering the door to Luke wearing only the bra and panty set with just this robe covering her. Or maybe not the bra and panty, she thought with excitement.
She grabbed the robe as well, walking hurriedly over to the cashier before she could change her mind.
As she drove home that afternoon, her body was still vibrating with excitement, need, and outright terror. She was grateful that not a lot was happening with her clients, because she most likely would have made a muck of anything she did today.
When she stepped into her house, she looked around, purse and shopping bag in her hand and she honestly wasn’t sure what to do first.
Shower, she thought. Or maybe make some cookies or something nice for tonight? No! That was bad. This was all about sex, she reminded herself. Exactly what she’d just negotiated with Luke a few hours ago. No romantic gestures, she thought. It was just after three o’clock. She still had several hours before he would come pick her up. He was right about picking her up, she thought. If left to herself, she would have called to cancel. Actually, she would have wimped out and not called, she would have texted him to cancel. A phone call would mean talking with him. Talking with him would mean hearing his voice. Hearing his voice would send all those delicious shivers throughout her body and she would fail in her mission.
Naya took a deep breath. She was losing it. Yep, it was official. She was losing her mind.
Taking another deep breath, she tried to calm down, to talk herself out of the crazy panic that was hitting her. Hard! People did this all the time! People didn’t need to get overwhelmed by the thought of sex! It was just a natural thing for two people to do.
This was not a big deal! Shower, change into something pretty and get ready. Then sit down and do a bit of work. Not so hard! Just calm down.
Or maybe she should head to the gym for a good, hard work out. That would relax her, she thought. It would also help her feel more confident. Yes, she hated the gym and her personal trainer would definitely torture her. But she loved the way her body felt after a tough workout. She had been working out almost every day and she’d definitely toned up. So, a workout would be a good thing, she thought. Yes, a workout would even help her to be more confident tonight when she was naked in Luke’s arms!
Yeah, she could do this, she told herself as she changed into workout clothes.
Sixty minutes later, Naya felt one hundred percent better! She’d jogged on the treadmill, worked her muscles on the machines, and now she was all sweaty and feeling strong. Much more relaxed.
And confident! It had occurred to her that she should drive over to his place. She’d have her car, so she could leave if she needed to. So just as she was leaving the gym, she’d texted him and told him that she’d meet him at his place. He’d texted back, asking if she was sure, and she’d felt good and powerful at that point so she’d quickly texted back that she would be there.
Ten minutes before she should leave to head over to Luke’s place, she was showered and dressed, her sexy bits of nothings felt strange against her body and she was a nervous wreck! All the positive effects of her workout were gone and she was jumping up from her sofa to her chair, to the kitchen to clean something then back to the sofa to force herself to try and relax. Just go, she told herself. Drive over to his place and get this over with!
Twenty minutes later, Naya sat in her car in the parking garage of his building, trembling so hard, she could barely open her car door.
Not that she was trying very hard. She was just sitting there, her body trembling, her mind going a mile a minute as she tried to figure out a way to get out of this mess.
She’d agreed to something that she couldn’t follow through on. She had to call him and tell him that she’d lost her mind. That she was sick. That she had a client. Anything so that she could avoid meeting with him tonight.
She couldn’t do this!
A knock on her window startled her and she jerked around, staring up into the sharp, green eyes of Luke. He was waiting patiently for her to get out of the car, but she just sat there. Not moving. Terrified out of her mind.
He helped her by opening the door for her, taking her hand, and gently tugging her out.
“It’s going to be okay, Naya,” he assured her and kissed her temple. “Just come on up to my place and we’ll talk.”
Naya stared up at him, her whole body trembling, but for a different reason this time. Normally, she trembled around Luke because she was fully, completely aware of him as a man. And what he could do to her as a woman.
Right now, she was trembling because she was afraid she was making the worst mistake of her life.
“I shouldn’t,” she started to say.
“You should,” he interrupted. The two simple words and his gentle, coaxing touch made her feel better somehow. His thumb rubbed against the back of her knuckles, somehow reassuring her that his words were true.
For a long moment, she just stared up at him, her mind fuzzy and confused. “Why?”
He smiled and pulled her closer, slamming her car door closed. “Because we need this, Naya.” He led her over to the elevator, his fingers holding her hand while his thumb continued to rub against her knuckles gently.
She concentrated on breathing. In and out. Slowly, so she didn’t start hyperventilating. The elevator smoothly brought them up to his floor and opened. She stood there for a long moment, looking at the hallway. Looking at the long steps towards his condo. There weren’t many doors on this floor, which meant he had one of the larger condos. Not the penthouse, she thought. Relieved.
“It isn’t a walk to death row, Naya,” he teased. Putting a hand to the small of her back, he coaxed her to his door and pulled her gently inside. When the door was closed, he released her hands, moving deeper into his condo.
“Wine?” he asked.
Naya looked at the already open bottle and nodded her head with short, jerky movements. Wine would be good. Wine would be prefect. She should object to wine because it sort of fell into the romantic category. But she was so relieved that he wasn’t going to pull her into his bedroom and strip her naked that she grasped onto anything.
“Why were you sitting in your car?” he asked as he poured two glasses, then handed one to her.
Naya took the offered wine, looking down at the dark liquid and wondering if it would be too revealing to guzzle the whole thing. Probably. Especially since he was staring at her like she was going to explode at any moment.
“I’m fine,” she told him, not really answering the question, but she was still standing almost near the doorway.
“You’re not fine,” he laughed softly. “Tell me what’s going on in your head.”
Naya’s shoulders slumped. This was the point that she didn’t want to reveal but he was going to know soon anyway. “I’ve never done this before.”
He chuckled again. “You’ve never laid down the law to a potential lover in such an obvious manner?”
She shook her head, setting the wine glass down on the counter before she spilled it with her shaking hands. “No. I’ve never done any of this before. I’m terrified and think I should just…”
His eyes sharpened as he looked at her, noticed her trembling and pale cheeks despite the additional makeup she’d put on for tonight. “Naya,” he interrupted. “Are you saying that you’ve never had sex with anyone?” he demanded, moving across the roo
m to stand directly in front of her. The idea that Naya was a virgin had never entered his mind.
When she looked down at her glass of wine again, he knew that he’d hit it right on the mark. Naya was a virgin! Naya’s body, her lush curves, and her amazing smile…they were all his!
“Yes. I haven’t ever had sex before. But I don’t like the term virgin,” she told him fiercely. “It seems like an archaic term.”
“But accurate,” he said and chuckled, shaking his head.
“Are you laughing at me?” she demanded, pulling away from him and glaring into his green eyes.
“Laughing? No. Never. I’m thrilled, Naya. I’m thrilled and honored and amazed.” He moved closer, not allowing her any space now. Just thinking about making love to her made his voice drop several levels. “You’re all mine, Naya.”
She shook her head. “I’m not anyone’s possession.”
He chuckled. “Ah, I’m wondering if you’ll be saying that tomorrow morning.”
She shifted uncomfortably. “I won’t be here tomorrow morning. No spending the night. Remember?” Had they agreed to that rule? She couldn’t remember. She couldn’t think of anything right at the moment.
He shook his head. “Naya, you’ve never had an affair before and you’re still sticking to the rules we talked about earlier today?”
She stiffened in his arms. “One doesn’t have anything to do with the other. The rules still apply, Luke. Please don’t back out of our agreement at this point. I’ll have to leave.”
He was startled. “You can’t mean that. Not now.”
She bristled. “Luke, you don’t understand. I wasn’t going to tell you about my lack of experience, but,” she shrugged. “Well, you would have figured it out eventually. But it doesn’t change anything. Those rules, I need them. I need you to promise me that you’ll still adhere to the rules.”
He sighed, not sure he could do that. But if that was the only way he could have her, then he would go with the damn rules. For now. “Fine. They are still in place.” He watched the relief in her eyes. “For as long as you want them to be, anyway.”
Naya’s head tilted slightly. “What does that mean?”
His hand reached out, a finger curling around a red lock of her hair. “It means that I’ll abide by your terms until you decide that you want something different.”
Chapter 6
Luke took one look at her terrified features and pulled her into his arms. “Honey, we don’t have to do anything tonight,” he kissed the top of her head, running his hands down her back. “We can just go out for dinner and talk, if that would make you feel more comfortable.”
Naya breathed in the male scent of Luke. Just his arms around her and his words helped her regain perspective. This was Luke. She’d almost had sex with him several times ever since she’d met the man. It wasn’t going to be bad. He could make her feel things that no other man ever had. If there was anyone she should be having sex with, it was him.
Pulling back, she looked up into his concerned, green eyes. “No. I want this,” she told him. “I really do. I just needed…a moment,” she breathed. “I let things get tangled around in my brain and I got a little nuts. But I’m okay now.” More than okay, she thought, the excitement increasing with his arms around her like this. His strong, muscular arms had almost immediately banished any fear she was feeling over the events of tonight.
He pulled back and looked down into her beautiful, brown eyes. “Are you sure?” he asked gently.
“Yes,” she said but her hands were fisted against his lean waist. “I’m definitely sure.”
He took one of her hands in his and uncurled her fingers, placing her hand flat against his chest. “Let’s just have some wine, see where things go, okay?”
Naya’s smile brightened. “I could do wine,” she agreed. “Wine is good.”
He chuckled as he picked up her glass of wine again, handing it to her, then he put his arm around her waist as he led her out to the sofa. Sitting down, he tugged her next to him, trying to help her relax.
Naya was painfully conscious of the sexy pink underwear she’d put on earlier. Could he tell that she was wearing something different? Her other underthings weren’t risqué, but they weren’t horrible either. They were functional. These pieces though, they definitely had a wow factor.
She took a sip of her wine and stared out the floor to ceiling windows of his condo. Unfortunately, she didn’t really see the view, the skyscrapers or the dark ocean beyond. She was too nervous and trying hard to hide it. Naya bit her lip, struggling to find something to talk to him about. “The title search on the land came back,” she finally said, glancing up into his eyes.
“That’s good. Logan has started drawing up preliminary plans for the house. Would you mind taking a look?”
Her eyes widened. “I would love to. But why do you need my opinion?”
“Because I like your house and I love the ideas you’ve mentioned so far. While we we’ve been looking at land, you gave me some good ideas. I want to incorporate them into the house, but you need to look at the plans, see if they’ll work.” He stood up suddenly and walked over to the double fridge, pulling something out and walking back to the sofa. “I know you said no dinners, but I thought some appetizers would be okay,” and he set down a bowl filled with a dip that looked cheesy and decadent along with a tray of already sliced baguettes.
“That looks delicious,” she sighed, relieved that they weren’t going to just head into the bedroom and have at it. “This all looks perfect,” she told him, touched that he’d gone to so much trouble for tonight.
“Relax,” he encouraged and dipped one of the baguettes into the dip, bringing it to her lips.
Automatically, she opened her mouth and took a bite. “Oh my!” she sighed as the garlic flavor hit her. “This is fabulous!”
They talked and ate the delicious dip that she discovered had crab and tiny shrimp mixed with various cheeses, sipped wine and talked about their day. Actually, Luke talked about his day. Naya didn’t have much to say since she’d spent the morning stressing about talking with him and the afternoon stressing about the results of her talk with him. Not a very productive day.
The wine helped her relax, but now all Naya wanted was for Luke to take her into his arms and kiss her. And make love to her.
So…how did one convey that desire to a man? She looked at him over the rim of her wine glass, not sure what to say or do. He seemed perfectly content to talk tonight.
Naya didn’t want to talk. She wanted him. She was here, she was finally relaxed…what could she do?!
“Luke,” she whispered, looking up at him.
Instantly, he knew what she was going to say. She didn’t even need to say the words. His eyes understood. He took her wine and set the glass down on the table next to his own then turned to look at her. “Are you sure, Naya?” he asked softly.
That voice! Goodness, from the first moment she’d met him, his voice had been making her body respond. It still worked!
“Yes,” she replied, ignoring the twinge of fear. It wasn’t doubt. Nope, there was no doubt in her mind now. She wanted this. She wanted him!
Leaning forward, his hand cupped her cheek and he kissed her. Just a gentle, careful caress of his lips before he pulled back. “If you don’t…” he started to say, but she put a hand to his arm, her fingers curling around the muscles straining there, and that was the end of his control.
“Naya,” he groaned. A moment later, she was sitting on his lap and he was kissing her, ravaging her mouth. She didn’t want this to ever stop. It occurred to her that she’d been crazy to put no kissing on the list of rules when she absolutely loved the way Luke kissed, but her mind was too focused on all the other sensations flying through her body. Amazing what half a glass of wine and Luke’s kisses could do for her.
When he lifted her into his arms and carried her into his bedroom, there was a small spark of nervousness, but it was quickly tamped down when
he stood in front of her and pulled the soft sweater over his head, dumping it onto the floor without a care for the expensive wool.
He took her hand, his fingers tangling with hers as he looked down. “Every time you’ve touched me, touched my chest over the past week, I’ve imagined what it would feel like to have you touch me like this,” he said and spread her fingers out over his chest.
Instantly, Naya was consumed by the heat of his skin, of the muscles that flexed as her fingers spread out over the broad expanse of his chest.
“Damn,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “Better than I imagined.”
With those words, she moved her fingers over that tanned skin, fascinated by the man, by all of the muscles everywhere. His arms were bulging with them, his chest was rippled with them and his shoulders were padded high with those amazing muscles.
“You’re gorgeous, Luke,” she whispered, not taking her eyes from where her fingers were exploring.
There was a slight groan and she looked up, smiling when she saw that he had his eyes closed.
Something in her must have alerted Luke that she was looking at him because his eyes opened and she gasped with the heat there.
“You think this is funny?” he asked, his fingers moving to the bow on her wrap dress.
She shook her head, backing up slightly. Not because she was scared but because that was just what she always did when Luke made a move. “Sorry,” she muttered and moved back. “Habit.”
He smiled slightly, his eyes moving towards the dress. “That’s a habit that needs to be banished,” he muttered, spreading the sides of her dress open wide. Then she heard another growl a moment before her dress was pushed off of her shoulders. Instinctively, she started to cover herself, but Luke stopped her hands from fluttering upwards by taking them in his. “Let me look, Naya,” he told her firmly, his voice deep and sexier than she’d ever heard it.
Her hands dropped to her sides and she stood there, trembling only a little, as his eyes moved over her body. She was glad that she’d taken the time to buy something new and pretty for tonight. The bits of pink lace made her feel…sexy. Beautiful!
Defying His Charm Page 8