“This position or this situation?” She cocked a grin at him. Her core pulsed.
“I’m supposed to be working right now.”
“I know and I wish you’d get on with it already.” She ran her hands down his T-shirt, feeling the hard muscles twitch beneath it.
“Penny, stop.”
“Killjoy.”
“I want to have a conversation with you.”
“Why?” Penny traced the bottom edge of his shirt with her fingernail. “Why do we have to talk at all? What is there to say that would make any difference?”
“How about ‘I care about you’?”
She held her breath, waiting for the but.
“I want to know that you take care of yourself. It seems like we skipped some of the important conversations to have before having sex.” Luke placed his hands on her hips lightly.
“What kind of conversations?” she asked suspiciously.
“How many people have you been with?”
Her heart hitched. This seemed like a huge trap. “I don’t want to play this game.”
She moved to get off him, but his hands held her tightly.
“Okay, no numbers,” he said. He clearly wasn’t happy about it, though.
She stopped trying to move off him. The real number probably wasn’t as high as he imagined it was. She had no reason to be ashamed of the amount of men she’d been with, but this was Luke. Her first and her latest.
“Have you always been safe?” His eyes delved into hers.
“Is this the doctor asking?” she teased, trying to ease the tension growing inside her.
“No, it’s the man who’s having sex with you and plans on doing it again. I know we are using condoms, but have you always?”
“Yes, always.” She met his gaze head-on. If he wanted to know the details, why the hell not? “You?”
He nodded and his fingers relaxed their grip of her hips. “Do you get tested?”
She nodded and raised her eyebrow at him as if to say, Do you?
“Of course.” He shifted slightly beneath her. “When was the last time you had sex?”
“You should know. You were there. Was I that forgettable?” She fake pouted and then winked, not able to resist trying to lighten this conversation. Why was he suddenly being so serious?
He pulled her in tightly against him. He was solid everywhere and it made her want him more. “With someone else.”
She threaded her fingers through his hair. “Well, Doctor, let’s see.... It was before the wedding, before planning the wedding, before Maggie and Brady got back together.... Was it spring last year or winter? Damn, it’s been a while. Good thing you’re here.”
Leaning into him, she placed a kiss on his lips. His arms wrapped around her, holding her, and he opened his mouth beneath hers. Pleasure raced down her spine as his tongue brushed against hers. It was as if he were rewarding her for her answer. If those were the types of rewards he was doling out, he could ask away. He pulled back and she whimpered. His satisfied smile made her want to key him up and then leave him hanging as he was doing to her. The most sensual torture.
“I’m not done asking questions,” he said.
“What if I’m done answering questions?”
“Fine. Ask me a question, then.”
She sat back and thought for a moment. “When was your last serious relationship?”
For a moment, hurt flashed in his eyes. Was he remembering them? His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I haven’t had time for serious.”
That one hurt. This great guy hadn’t had anyone in his life. What was the point of breaking it off if he didn’t find that special someone who would be the woman he needed? She asked, “Semi-serious?”
He shook his head. This crazy feeling started in her chest, like a boa constrictor releasing its prey. She shouldn’t feel this way about Luke. It was dangerous to even consider anything past tonight. She’d just end up more ruined.
“You?” he asked.
“Not even kind of serious.” She met his eyes and could see the relief in them, but there was still some reserve. Something he was holding back.
“Have you loved anyone?” he asked.
Since you? She couldn’t make her voice work, so she shook her head.
“Me neither.” He relaxed against the couch and pulled her hips forward. “Do you think we are broken?”
“How do you mean?”
“Like the reason we can’t love someone is because of the stuff we went through as kids?” Luke leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling. “I was a mess after Mom and Dad died.”
“You weren’t that bad,” she said softly and cradled his face in her hand.
“I was a walking disaster. I almost had to repeat a year in high school because my grades were so low. I picked fights with anyone who looked at me the wrong way—”
“You were hurt. You were lashing out.”
He’d been a wounded animal. She’d recognized him as a kindred spirit right away.
“You were, too.” He brushed her hair off her cheek and cradled the back of her head. “We should have self-destructed. Instead we came together.”
“You needed someone. I needed someone.” She shrugged. “We made sense.”
“What about now?” He pulled her in close but held back from kissing her. His breath was warm against her lips. Tantalizing, teasing. “Do we make sense now, Penny?”
Heaven help her. Her eyes fluttered closed, waiting for him to take her. “Didn’t we self-destruct back then?”
“I want you.” He brushed his lips across hers. “I can’t get you out of my head. When I’m sitting alone, I wish you were there to talk to. When I’m working on the farm, I want you there beside me.”
“So you can push me in the mud?” She tried to inch forward, but he held her back.
“Can’t you be serious for one minute?” He tsked and leaned down to nip at her neck.
She released a low moan as he hit a spot that made her whole body quake with desire. “I want you, Luke. Any way you want me. Anytime. I want you now. I’ll want you tomorrow and the next day. I crave your touch and covet your time.”
He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. Their eyes locked. “What’s happening?”
“Do we have to pick it apart?” she whispered. The ache in her core was driving her insane. “Do we have to analyze this? Can’t it just be what it is?”
“But what is it?” Luke brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Is this just a sex thing? Or is more going on?”
Her hands started to shake, and deep in her chest that boa wrapped tightly around her heart again. She wanted to scream that she was unlovable. That even if he thought he was in love with her, it wouldn’t last.
“Are you willing to admit that we have more than sex between us?” Luke brushed his lips against hers again.
“Do you want me to admit that I need you? Because that’s not going to happen. I don’t need anyone. I have my house, my business, my dog—”
“I’m not asking you to need me, Penny.” Luke lifted her to her feet and stood before her.
“Then what do you want?”
“A chance. A date. To get to know the woman you are and not the girl I knew.” He stroked his knuckles down the side of her face. “I don’t know where any of this is going. Or what’s going to happen in a week. But I know I want to spend time with you.”
“So you want to hang out without having sex?” She looked up at him through her eyelashes.
“Yes.”
She smiled and raised her eyebrow. “No sex?”
“I’m sorry, but sex is definitely on the table...or the floor, if you prefer.” Luke grabbed her hips and pulled her close. “Or even a bed. You do own one, right?”
He wiggled his eyebrows wickedly. “Point the way.”
She put her hand to his chest to stop him. “My bedroom is off-limits.”
Wrinkles formed on his forehead. “You do live alone, right?”
“Yes, I live alone. My rules.” She didn’t want to tell him that it was her personal space and that to invite someone in was too scary.
“I’ll go out with you and have sex with you, but not in my bedroom.”
Luke held her hand against his heart. “Someday you’ll have to let someone in.”
She smiled sadly. Not today. Never again.
“Can I offer you a drink?” She took his hand in hers and led him through the dining room. With her other hand, she started unbuttoning her blouse. “There’s a lovely view out of the kitchen.”
“I don’t think the view could get much lovelier.”
“Keep up lines like that and I might let you take me to dinner.”
“I can keep it up all night if you like.”
Chapter Eleven
“I can walk myself.” Sam shoved Luke away for the third time.
Luke ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not trying to hold your hand, you ninny. The gravel drive isn’t a stable surface and you have steps up the porch.”
“That I’ve been climbing since I was one.” Sam gave him a menacing look when Luke stepped closer. “I’ll be fine, but you won’t if you keep trying to touch me.”
“Fine.” Luke held his hands up. “Just don’t take one step past the downstairs bedroom.”
Sam made a rude gesture and continued to plod his way to the house.
The screen door opened and Penny came out. Her ginger hair shone in the sunlight. She wore a pink tank top and a pair of cutoff jeans with sandals. Even though the days were warming up, the nights were still cool.
“I just finished putting away the groceries,” she said as Sam shuffled past without even a look.
Clearly, Luke had misread the few times either of them had brought up the other. Seeing that kiss had colored his view. They barely acknowledged each other even when they were in the same room.
“Thanks, Penny.” Luke leaned over and kissed her before going into the house. His chest felt warm; being able to claim her in public put him in a great mood. Before he’d left to pick up Sam, they’d had breakfast at The Rooster Café in Tawnee Valley. She’d even held his hand across the table. It was ridiculous how good that made him feel when hours before he’d been in heaven in her arms.
“I’ll get dinner ready, but then I need to go into town.” Penny shut the screen door and moved to the stove.
“You aren’t going to eat with us?” Luke set down Sam’s hospital bag and came up behind Penny. He pulled her back against him while she lit the stove under a pot with water and potatoes in it.
“I have to get some work done and put Flicker out.”
He bit down lightly on the place where her shoulder and neck met. “What about later?”
“Sam’s here. You are going to have your hands full. I’ve got a big day tomorrow at the store.” She turned in his arms to face him. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We can see each other the following day.”
Sam’s here. Did that have anything to do with her not wanting to be with him? God, he was clingy.
“That’s fine.” He returned to Sam’s bag and lifted it. “I’m going to make sure Sam is settled in.”
“Yup.” She turned back to the potatoes.
Something was up, but after pushing her so hard last night, he didn’t know if pushing her today would be a good idea. Penny had always bottled her emotions. It’d been difficult for her to be honest about her feelings. He wanted to respect that, but at times it drove him crazy.
“Your room is all set up and you can easily get to the family room from here.” Luke paused in the doorway. Sam sat on the bed, holding his side. His face was crumpled in pain.
“What happened?” Luke dropped the bag and moved forward. He automatically reached for Sam’s pulse.
“I just got winded.” Sam took a shaky breath in. “You don’t think they gave me a bum heart valve, do you?”
His pulse was fine. A little higher than Luke would like, but not in a danger zone. “You need to lie down for a bit and rest.”
Luke kneeled and undid Sam’s sneakers.
“I’m not a baby.” Sam coughed and groaned.
“No, but you just had surgery, so lay off.” Tossing the sneakers to the side, Luke helped lift Sam’s legs onto the bed. “You have water on your nightstand and also a bell.”
“A bell?” Sam looked over as if Luke had said a snake was over there.
“To ring when you need something.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“No. You can’t. When you ring the bell, I’ll come help you. Trust me, it’s only temporary. Don’t get used to it.” Luke stood and put the curtains down to block some of the sunlight. “Rest.”
“Whatever.” Sam punched the pillow. He laid back and closed his eyes.
Luke started out of the room.
“Luke?”
“Do you need something?”
Sam didn’t open his eyes. “Thanks.”
Luke didn’t hide his shock. “You’re welcome.”
Sam grunted and rolled to face away from the door.
Luke stared at his back. How long had it been since he’d had a conversation with Sam that wasn’t just a status update? How long since they’d been honest with each other? Luke had never brought up Sam’s betrayal, but it had eaten away at what had been left of their relationship.
Shaking his head, Luke left the door open a crack before returning to the kitchen. Perfectly at home, Penny moved around the kitchen to make dinner for him and Sam.
“Are you sure you won’t eat with us?”
Penny stopped midreach for the salt in the cupboard. Her mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but then she closed it as if she’d changed her mind. She shook her head instead and grabbed the salt.
“No salt for Sam.” Luke leaned on the counter next to the stove.
“Oh, right.” She set the salt on the counter and stirred the pot. “That’s about as spicy as I get with cooking, I’m afraid.”
Luke crossed to the cabinet and pulled down a few dried herbs, which had probably been in there since his mother died. “Try these.”
“Thank you.”
He wanted to say more. He wanted to talk about Sam, but she seemed so distant. Was she already starting to push him away? Why, after letting him closer last night? It was a vicious cycle with Penny. Even in high school, one day she’d be warm and caring. The next she’d be cold and distant. He’d thought it was the birth control she’d been on, but maybe it’d been more her than he’d wanted to believe.
“Are you going to stare at me while I cook? Aren’t there chores or something to be done?” Penny glanced over and flashed him a wicked smile. “Don’t make me get inventive with this wooden spoon.”
His chest loosened and he held up his hands in surrender. “I don’t know what you have in mind, but something tells me I wouldn’t like it. I’ll go see if the pigs could use some cuddling.”
* * *
Penny hadn’t exactly lied about having work to do this morning, but she could have stayed longer last night if she wanted to. The problem was every time she was near Sam she felt sick to her stomach. She may not be overly discriminating with whom she went out with these days, but back then...
She picked up the small tea sets and placed them on her cart. Once a month she did a full cleaning of the store. Everything came off the shelf. She cleaned each and every piece and did an inventory. It took her about a week to get through the entire s
tore, but it made the store smell less like old stuff and more clean and fresh, with just a hint of old-stuff smell for atmosphere.
The door jangled as someone entered. She set down her rag and wiped her hands on the towel.
“Hello?” she called out as she walked to the front of the store.
“Hello?” returned a male voice that seemed familiar.
“Can I help you?” She stopped when she saw him. Jasper Ballard stood at her door. All six-foot, well-built, hunky goodness of him. Dark hair and brown eyes and a dimple on his right cheek.
“Hey, I was passing through town...” He smiled that lopsided smile of his that had always gotten her motor revving. But not this time.
She shook herself out of her shocked stillness and headed for the cash register and the desk that would separate her from him. “How long are you in town?”
Her actions seemed to confuse him. She was usually overly friendly when he made his jaunts through Tawnee Valley. The local eligible male population was sadly lacking and most of them didn’t hold a candle to Jasper. Jasper wasn’t exactly a migrant worker, but he went from place to place looking for farming work. She rarely saw him in the winter, but when he was in town, he definitely liked to hook up. Normally she was all for it, but this time, it was complicated.
“For a few weeks. Looking for some easy money.” He leaned his hands against her desk.
“Easy? Right. Because working on a farm is a piece of cake.”
“For me it is.” He flexed his arms, showing her their strength. If possible he’d developed more muscle since the last time he’d been in town. “Can I see you while I’m in town?”
“Uh...” Penny didn’t want to burn this particular bridge. He was easy on the eyes and good in bed. But right now, she didn’t want anyone but Luke. But Luke wouldn’t be around forever, and eventually she’d have an itch.
The bell above the door saved her from having to come up with some excuse without blowing him off entirely.
Her eyes went to the door. Her heart froze in her chest. Luke.
His gaze took in Jasper’s form and his casual stance. Then those blue eyes flowed over her. He noticed every detail, making her want to squirm under his scrutiny.
ONE NIGHT WITH THE BEST MAN Page 9