by Bella Scott
Luke pulled his hands back long enough to shed the garment and toss it carelessly aside. He then returned to unfastening her bodice, and when the red, lacy thing was undone, he discarded it, as well. Rose felt the chill of the bedroom air hit her as he pulled the corset away, but in a moment, the heat between them reclaimed her.
He kissed slowly down her neck as one of his hands returned to her ass and the other slid up to squeeze her breast. Her lips claimed his hungrily, and her hands began to rub and caress the firm muscles of his chest. Eventually, her impatience became too strong to ignore, and she pulled her hips back just enough to slip her hand into his pocket again to grab his length.
He groaned into her mouth and then trailed his lips slowly down her neck. “Eager—are we?”
“For you? Every minute of every day.” She moaned softly as his lips worked her neck, and she gave him a squeeze.
“God, I want inside you,” he growled into her ear. The hand on her ass pulled hard at her panties, and she heard the material rip. He pulled the lace from her body and tossed it aside, murmuring a promise to replace the underwear. Before his words had formed completely, she’d yanked down his pants and boxers.
“Doesn’t matter. Take me.”
The second she spoke the words, he complied, pushing into her and beginning to thrust immediately, forcefully.
“Yes!” Rose cried, reveling in the feeling of him moving within her.
“Yes—what?” His hands latched onto her hips, and he used them as leverage to move in deeper.
“Yes—Luke—make love—to me—” She groaned roughly, sliding her arms around his neck and knotting her hands into his hair.
His lips returned to her ear. “All night.” He laid his head on her shoulder and pushed in deeper.
Rose didn’t fight the satisfied smile sliding onto her lips. Luke paused in his thrusts to circle his hips, and Rose let out a long moan as his mouth worked at her breast and his hard cock reached places she’d forgotten about.
“Luke…”
He leaned down to flick his tongue over her nipple and took it into his mouth, and between his firm sucks and the motions of his hips, Rose knew she was about to shatter. She gripped his back tightly, her nails digging into his skin as her other hand tugged on his pale-blond hair. He resumed his thrusts, each firmer than the last.
“Scream for me,” he growled against her breast.
His name burst from her lips as she came hard, her nails sinking into his back and neck. Luke grunted loudly and finished within her. Rose groaned, her head rolling backward. The rest of her body was beyond her ability to move.
Luke hovered over her for a moment, catching his breath. He then slid out of her and dropped down at her side, pulling her into his arms.
Rose leaned against him as she struggled to put her thoughts back in order and slow her pulse. “Oh, darling,” she breathed.
Luke chuckled softly. “Does that mean you enjoyed yourself?”
“I enjoyed you. You are… unbelievable.”
He rolled onto his side and slid his hand up her stomach, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his unsteady breath. “Thank you.” He leaned in and kissed along her cheek. “And you are irresistible.”
She smiled. “You think so?”
“Mhm. And I love that my words can still make you blush when I’ve seen, touched, and tasted every inch of you more times than I can count.” He grinned and trailed his lips down to her neck.
“What can I say? You have a powerful effect on me.”
“And I love watching that effect as it happens.” He nipped at the sensitive spot just above her clavicle, and she let out a squeak. “And before—you say—that’s not what you meant,” he continued between soft bites, “I know.”
Rose laughed, raising her hand to stroke his hair. “No, it wasn’t. But you’re fabulous at that, too.”
“At what—exactly?” he purred against her skin.
“At satisfying me. At making me come.”
With a growl, he climbed onto her, his mouth drifting down from her neck to cover her breasts in kisses and nips as his hands ran along her waist. She groaned under his lips and hands, her head rolling backward.
“You drive me—absolutely—mad…” She abandoned her efforts to speak, overwhelmed by the heat of desire as he nibbled the swell of her breast.
After a few moments, he lifted his face just slightly. “I may have left a bit of a mark there.”
“Leave them everywhere.”
Luke chuckled and continued, and she moaned and twisted beneath him, her chest aching from her panting and from the pleasure of his mouth.
“Luke...”
His hands slid down her waist to rub her hips, and she lifted them toward him. He slipped a hand between her legs. She bit the inside of her cheek hard as he stroked her slowly before starting to rub her clit. When she dragged her fingernails down his back hard, he let out a groan.
“You know,” he muttered, “I have a promise to keep...” He kissed down her stomach slowly, taking extra time as he neared her hips. She twisted beneath his lips, holding to him tightly.
“Mm—please?”
“Please what? Tell me.”
“Your mouth… please…”
“Of course.” He shifted her legs onto his shoulders and buried his face between her thighs. She moaned, the sound loud and full of lust as her hands twisted into his hair and his tongue worked within her. He let out a low, dark laugh, and the sound sent vibrations pulsing through her that threatened her sanity.
“Feels—so good—” Her hands tightened in his hair.
Luke pulled his tongue back long enough to speak. “Good,” he said, employing the low, rough voice that had always shot straight through her. “You taste so good.”
He resumed the work of his mouth, and Rose couldn’t hold back the lust-drenched noises rolling from her throat. She loved how easily he could do this to her—could reduce her to a panting, writhing mess, wringing her hands in his hair with her feet skimming along his back as her legs worked to release some of her pent-up energy. She came quickly and with a sharp, satisfied moan. He traced her with his tongue and then lifted his face as he shifted her legs back onto the bed. He kissed up her stomach, and she reached for his shoulders with trembling hands. She dug her nails into his skin.
Luke let out a hiss and watched her face with darkened eyes as he leaned up to kiss her lips. She kissed him back hungrily and pulled him closer. Her mind was still in a fog from the pleasure of his mouth, but she felt the hardness of his cock against her thigh, and a ripple of white-hot excitement shot through her. It was clear that he’d missed her every bit as much as she’d missed him, and neither of them could get enough.
“I’m ready for you,” she groaned.
“Are you?” He brushed his fingers over her opening and slipped one into her as he nipped at her neck.
She bit her lip to stifle a groan. “Yes!”
He growled against her skin and removed his finger before sliding into her. “Mmh... Rose...” He grunted and began to thrust once more.
She clung to his shoulders, her heart hammering from exertion as she rocked up toward him. His pace increased with each thrust, and she clung to him tightly, leaning up to kiss along his throat as he moved and pulsed within her. Sweat clung to her skin, and she felt it slicking his back.
Her thighs squeezed him as, after minutes, she felt herself about to break, and at last, she slipped over the edge. Her hands wrung his shoulders as her body quaked and pleasure coursed through her entire being. Luke spilled within her with a groan of her name, and Rose caressed his back as she lay still and struggled to breathe.
“I love you,” she said softly.
“I love you.”
The words washed over and enveloped her. He still loved her. Finally, everything felt right. He brought his lips to hers, and this time, his kiss was overwhelmingly tender. She slid her arms around him and kissed him back.
Chapter Eleve
n
“Luke? Hello?”
He sat up slowly, his tired mind attempting to process where the voice was coming from. Rose was still asleep beside him, her face peaceful and her hair forming a strawberry-blond halo on her pillow.
“Are you up?”
His mind clicked into overdrive. The smooth, powerful voice out in the hallway was his mother’s. The last thing she would want was to find him naked in bed, especially considering that he wasn’t alone. Reluctantly, he rolled out from under the sheets and threw on the first set of clean clothes he could find. He didn’t bother picking up the garments that he and Rose had left strewn across the floor the previous night—he couldn’t let his mother come in with her still asleep anyway, so the mess could be dealt with later. With a deep breath, he opened the door, shutting it behind him again as soon as he’d stepped out into the hallway.
His mother stood a few paces away, her light brown hair pulled back elegantly behind her head. She wore a white pencil skirt and a matching jacket, and Luke sighed inwardly as he realized how slim the chances were that she was here for anything other than business.
“Morning, Mom.”
She closed the distance between them and pulled him into a hug, and he let himself relax a bit.
“Morning, honey. Late night? You look tired.”
Luke laughed under his breath as he pulled back. “I was just about to go make coffee. Want some?”
“I’d love some, thank you.”
He led her to the kitchen, and she sat at the bar while he made a pot of coffee and prepared hers the way he’d always watched her do it while he’d grown up in this house—more cream and sugar than actual coffee. He knew Rose liked it that way, too, and he’d teased her often about why she would bother drinking it if she couldn’t even taste the flavor it was supposed to have.
Luke sat next to his mother and took a sip from his mug. “How’s Washington been treating you?” he asked.
“Oh, you know, the usual. Trying to get any actual change in policy passed is like trying to move a mountain with your bare hands. All anyone can think about is the election coming up next year.”
Luke knew more than his fair share about the political process. His mother had been involved in it for as long as he could remember, and if this had taught him anything, it was that he had absolutely no desire to go into the field himself. November hadn’t even rolled around yet this year, and the politicians were already getting ready for the next one, when they would have to fight to keep their spots. It was enough to give him second thoughts about running for state’s attorney someday, though he told himself that race couldn’t be as awful as what his mother dealt with.
“Where does that leave you?” he asked, raising his mug to his lips again.
“In need of your help, actually.”
Luke returned his mug to the countertop slowly. “In what way?”
“The fundraiser I’ve been telling you about is tonight. Downtown. It would mean the world to me if you’d be there.”
Luke sighed. For the past few years, since his name had become tabloid fodder after the fight at the bar, he’d done his best to stay out of the spotlight where his mother’s political career was concerned. She’d requested as much from him for a little while, but even after she’d returned to asking him to attend her parties and balls and all other kinds of fundraisers and elbow-rubbing events, he’d seldom been able to bring himself to do it. It had taken him long enough to rebuild his reputation and persuade the state’s attorney that he was worth taking a chance on. He didn’t want to risk having the past dredged up again by some reporter looking to smear his mother’s name and having his own career put into jeopardy. How could he be taken seriously as a prosecutor when the media painted him as a criminal? He’d held out on giving her an answer about this particular event for several weeks now. He didn’t want to disappoint her, but he didn’t really want to go, either.
“I don’t know, Mom,” he said quietly.
“I’ve made arrangements for you to sit with your father and me at our table, so in theory, we’d be able to intercept anyone who tries to bother you.”
“In theory,” he repeated.
Luke’s mother reached out to take his hand in both of hers. “Please. We need the whole family to be together. Lenny’s going to be there. You could bring someone, if you like. Have you been seeing anybody lately?”
His cheeks hot, Luke attempted to work out the best way to respond. If the reporters had been willing to pull a scandal out of one fight gone wrong, he couldn’t imagine what they would do if word got out about what was happening between Rose and himself. He could see the headline in his mind: “Senator’s Son Sleeping with Pregnant Ex-Fiancée.”
“You are, aren’t you?” A smile crept onto his mother’s mauve-painted lips, and Luke fought the urge to lie. He couldn’t imagine Rose would want the world to know about their… What would we even call it? Luke asked himself. Were they together again? Each of them had admitted to loving the other, but did that mean they were on the path toward what they had once been? If he wasn’t even sure what to call their relationship, he certainly didn’t want to try to put a label on it for anyone else.
But he also wasn’t about to deny that everything he’d longed for since Rose had left was beginning to come true. She was here in his house, asleep in his bed, and she didn’t seem to want to leave anytime soon. Denying the progress between them seemed like a bad omen, like doing so might make him lose it all. Again.
“It’s complicated,” he said.
“Do you think she’d want to go?” his mother asked, sipping her coffee.
“I don’t know. It’s very short notice. And she’s not really eager to be in the spotlight, Mom. That’s why I hadn’t told you about her yet.”
“Well, I still think it’s fantastic.” His mother’s smile widened. “You really should bring her. I’d love to meet the woman who managed to get you out of your shell again.”
With a bit of effort, Luke managed not to laugh. He wasn’t sure how his mother would react if she knew the woman in question was the same one he’d spent so long trying to get over. His mother and Rose had always gotten along well when he’d been with her before, and he hoped that everything that had happened wouldn’t ruin that.
“How about this—I’ll talk with her about it and get back to you as soon as I know?” he offered.
His mother nodded. “Thank you.” She lifted her mug and took a long drink, and when she replaced it on the table, he realized that she’d gotten through her coffee much more quickly than he had. “I’m afraid I can’t stay long right now, but let me know what she says, and we’ll make arrangements about how to get you to the fundraiser. And please remember to dress well. There’s… well, there’s a dance.”
Luke closed his eyes and pulled in a deep breath. The last thing he and Rose needed was to be put on display in front of a crowd of people. Sitting at a table was one thing. A dance was an entirely different problem. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.
“Thank you.”
He heard his mother shifting, and he opened his eyes as she stood and embraced him once more.
“I’ll call you in a little while and see how everything’s going,” she said.
He nodded, and after she turned and went out into the hallway, he let out a heavy sigh.
Why do I feel like this is going to go terribly wrong?
His mother’s footsteps retreated, and he heard the front door open and close. A few moments later, the sound was replaced by the soft padding of bare feet as they moved down the hallway outside the kitchen. Within moments, Rose stood in the doorway, and the sight of her there gave him pause. She wore the shirt he’d taken off the night before, and only the shirt. It was buttoned a little more than halfway, leaving her breasts partially visible. The urge to stand up, cross the room, and pull her against him washed over Luke, and he attempted to distract himself by remaining on his stool and taking another drink of coffee.
“Morning,” he said. His throat was tight, and he knew he was probably doing a poor job of pretending he didn’t notice how little she was wearing. His shirt was long on her, but though that meant it fell to her upper thighs, it did nothing to hide her long, shapely legs.
“Morning.” She smiled, and the sight of the expression sent a wave of warmth through his stomach.
“Did you happen to hear any of that?” Luke asked.
“A little.” Rose crossed the kitchen and settled onto the stool his mother had just vacated. “I was planning to come in, but then I heard her voice and figured I probably shouldn’t be walking around like this with your mom here. I take it she doesn’t know it’s me you’re seeing.”
He breathed in the scent of vanilla and cinnamon that hung in the air around her, and he mentally filed away her choice of words. So she did consider it a relationship, for what that was worth. Was it one she saw a future for, or was it temporary?
“No, not yet,” he said with a shake of his head. “I wanted to ask you before I said anything.”
Rose nodded. “So she wants us to…”
“Go to her campaign fundraiser tonight. It’s a dance.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
Luke considered the question. Though he wasn’t ready for the media to swarm them or for anyone to press them for answers he didn’t have, he couldn’t deny that the idea of spending the night pretending they were a normal couple with nothing to worry about except the next dance was highly appealing.
“I want to leave it up to you,” he said at last. “If you’re not comfortable with it, we don’t have to go. I’ll just tell her we both have to work tomorrow and can’t stay out too late.”
“I do have to work tomorrow,” said Rose, “but I know how much it would mean to her if you go. And maybe if I go with you, I can keep your mind off the stress.”
She took his hand, and his skin tingled beneath her touch. He smiled.
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” he said.