by Elle Keating
Thank. Fucking. God.
He gripped her waist and thrust into her, matching the excruciating pace she had set. He would drag his cock along her hot heated walls as she rose to her knees only to slam back down and engulf him completely. She was relentless, craving and chasing a climax that was just out of reach.
“I’m coming, Luke!” she screamed.
Her pussy clenched around his length, squeezing him even tighter. He burrowed deep inside and filled her with his cum, ensuring that every inch was touched and claimed by him.
She collapsed onto his chest, her body still trembling from the aftershocks of her violent orgasm. Her pussy still gripped his sated cock, unable to let him go.
He wrapped his arms around her and pinned her against his chest. Her heartbeat soon fell in sync with his and he sighed. This was what true happiness felt like. What heaven felt like.
“I love you, baby,” he said, burying his face in her hair and getting lost in her scent.
“Will it always be like this, Luke? This addicting?” she asked, her tone filled with hope.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
She stared up at him and caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. “I don’t want to leave today. I wish we could stay like this forever.”
“We don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. My dad can handle things at the winery for a little while longer.”
He watched her face fall at his suggestion. Shit. He thought they were finally on the same page.
“I would love that… more than you can possibly imagine. But I need to get home. This morning Walt called and told me that my mother contacted Lainey and asked her for money. They then went to the police hoping that the call could be traced, but they were unsuccessful.”
“So she’s still out there,” he said, disappointed. He had hoped that Shelby Walters had fallen back in with the wrong crowd again and was lying unidentified in a morgue somewhere, no longer a threat to Peyton and her sister…or a reminder of the awful childhood they had. It was a morbid, selfish thought to have and he wondered what Peyton’s reaction would be if he voiced it.
As if reading his mind she said, “I know this sounds awful, but I wish Shelby was dead. I can’t forget all the terrible things she did to Lainey and me…everything she allowed to happen. There is no love in my heart for her. The only emotion I have when I think of her is desire. The desire to see her gone.” She searched his eyes. “Does that make me a horrible person? That I want the woman who gave birth to me to cease to exist?”
He was blown away by her honesty. “No. What she did to you and your sister…it’s unforgivable. Mothers are supposed to protect their children, put their needs above everything else, including drugs and men. Shelby never embraced that concept. Luckily, Gina did. I wish Gina was alive so I could thank her for what she did…for raising you, for giving you hope, for showing you that not all mothers are garbage.”
Her eyes welled, but she smiled. “She was wonderful. Funny, kind and devoted to her family, Gina was everything I dreamt of in a mother.”
As much as he hated that their time in Italy had come to an end, he knew what she needed. “So when do I get to meet Gus?”
Her eyes brightened at the mention of her dad. “Soon, I hope. I think you two will get along great.”
“Do you think he’ll approve of our relationship?” he asked, testing out the word.
She giggled and then gave him a quick but tempting kiss. “I think he’s going to be surprised.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve never brought a man home before.”
His heart swelled with the knowledge that he would be her first…and last. “Well, I’m determined to make a good first impression.”
Her smile faded a little. “So, you’re okay that we head home? That this has to come to an end?” she asked, gesturing to her surroundings.
In one fluid motion, Luke rolled her over until she was flat on her back, positioned beautifully beneath him. “We’ll come back here, to Villa Rosa, to see and really take Italy in. But Peyton, this…what you and I have…will never end.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Peyton
A quarter of the way into their flight, Peyton felt the lure of sleep too strongly to resist. She had conked out on Luke’s shoulder only to awake minutes before they touched down. She had been all set to apologize for being such lousy company when he told her that he too had spent most of the flight catching up on sleep, sleep they had forfeited last night and this morning because they were too busy attacking each other. Peyton smiled as she remembered the wakeup call she had given him.
Peyton and Luke grabbed a cab and headed away from the airport. She was thankful that she had gotten some rest on the plane, because she would otherwise have been completely useless right now. The long flight combined with the time zone change had the potential to wreak havoc and throw her off, but she was feeling almost herself. Luke too looked recharged and ready to have dinner with Gus, Walt and Lainey.
Peyton was happy, but a little nervous that Luke had agreed to come when she had suggested it. As she had told Luke earlier in bed, she had never brought a guy home to meet her dad. Having a boyfriend was a whole new experience for her and she couldn’t help but wonder how Gus was going to react. She imagined he would be skeptical at first and on high alert, wondering what Luke’s intentions were and if he was in it for the long haul, like any protective father would. But Gus was a romantic, so maybe he could look past the short time it had taken for his daughter to fall head over heels for Luke and just be happy that she was in love, which was exactly what he had wanted for her.
Still a few miles from home, Peyton snuggled against Luke and relished the feel of his strong arms encasing her, holding her protectively. With her head on his chest she could hear his heart beating. His limbs locked and his breathing quickened. She looked up and saw that his jaw was clenched as he gazed out the backseat window. Tension radiated off him in waves and she grew more concerned by the second.
“What’s wrong, Luke?”
He swallowed hard and then faced her. “I don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning, or any morning, without you in my arms.” His eyes were dead serious. The playful, sexy smirk she had grown accustomed to in Italy was long gone. “I want you in my bed, in my home, in my life always.” He cupped and tilted her chin with his fingers. “I want you to move in with me.”
She wanted to cry and scream yes. To throw her body into his lap and kiss him until they were both breathless. Because there was nothing she wanted more. Although they had only spent two nights together, she could no longer picture sleeping without him, feeling his body wrapped around hers, possessing her. But were they moving too fast? And then another thought occurred to her. Was he just asking her to move in because he was concerned for her safety? Shortly before she had fallen asleep on the plane, they had been having a conversation about Shelby. He had asked her if her mother was a threat. If Shelby associated with other lowlifes who wouldn’t think twice about going after Peyton physically if she didn’t give Shelby the money she needed for drugs. He also made mention that he despised the fact that Shelby had just shown up at Gus’s home, a home she was now going to be living in until she found her own place since her condo in New York was already on the market.
“What’s going through that beautiful mind of yours?” he asked. That slow, seductive smile made an appearance and she melted at the sight.
“I’m just…overwhelmed is all.” It wasn’t a lie. He had completely thrown her with his offer for her to move in with him.
“I don’t expect an answer from you, not right now, anyway. But I wanted you to know what I want and more importantly, where I stand when it comes to us.”
She nodded and rested her head against his chest. Silence accompanied them for the rest of the trip as she thought about his proposal and the possibility of waking up the next morning alone.
***
Luke
Pey
ton’s family had been everything she had described. Warm, down-to-earth and normal, Lainey, Walt and Gus had made him feel welcomed the moment he had stepped foot into Gus’s modest but well-maintained Cape Cod. Only a raised brow from Gus and a sly, mischievous smile from Lainey had been detected when Peyton introduced him as her boyfriend. After that, things had gone smoothly. Conversation with Gus and Walt had been easy. Gus had asked him about his family and what he did for a living, which he was more than happy to discuss. Luke had caught Peyton on several occasions grinning at him as he was being casually interviewed by Gus. The temptation to slip his hand beneath the tablecloth and trail his fingers along her inner thigh had been strong, but he had reluctantly refrained.
When the conversation jumped to sports, the Philadelphia Eagles and their starting quarterback in particular, Peyton and Lainey had decided to talk about Italy. Although he had been very interested in what Peyton had to say about their stay at Villa Rosa, he knew his attention had to be on Gus and Walt for the time being. Over a pot roast, garlic mashed potatoes and carrots, Luke had learned that Gus was an even bigger fan of Jake’s than Peyton had let on, rattling off Jake’s stats, including his passing completion percentage from the start of the season like it was second nature.
After dinner they had chatted more, mostly about Lainey and Walt’s upcoming wedding and the honeymoon they planned to take to the Caribbean. Luke couldn’t dismiss how shy Lainey suddenly had become. Her cheeks had flamed a fiery red at the mention of spending two weeks in paradise with her soon-to-be husband. From Lainey’s reaction, he wouldn’t have been at all surprised to learn if the young but very much in love couple had yet to have sex.
After thanking Gus for inviting him to dinner, Lainey and Peyton had walked him and Walt to Walt’s pickup. His earlier anxiety over leaving her, of being without her, had returned with a vengeance and he struggled to maintain his composure around Peyton’s family as they said their goodbyes. The entire time she had been in his embrace, Luke couldn’t help but think how stupid it all was. He had been seconds away from grabbing her by the hand and forcing her pretty little ass into the truck with him, but again he had dug down deep and exhibited a level of restraint he didn’t know he possessed, kissed her chastely on the lips and told her to think about what they had discussed earlier. She had given him a nervous but sexy smile and waved as he left.
On the way home, alone with Walt, Luke had learned that his earlier suspicion was pretty much confirmed. Like Lainey, the guy radiated innocence. And the fact that he and Lainey had chosen to not live together until they were married also was an indicator that they were abstaining from sex. Luke had no idea how Walt was coping. This guy deserved a trophy, a medal, or something. He was a good-looking guy, in shape and a firefighter. He had to have had opportunities but yet he had kept his dick in his pants and waited for the one woman he had promised to love and cherish forever. Before Peyton, Luke couldn’t imagine ever falling in love or making promises that hinted at forever. But now…he couldn’t picture his life without her.
Over a handshake, Walt had told Luke that he was glad to see Peyton happy, to see her smile. He had thanked the real-life Boy Scout for both the ride and the fact that he looked out for Peyton, like any brother would, and exited Walt’s vehicle only to enter a house that had never felt so empty.
It had been a little over an hour since Walt had dropped him off. In that time he had showered, changed into a pair of pajama pants, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and planted himself in front of the television with the contract Ashton had sent him to review. He had been putting Ashton off for days, only responding once to her multiple texts with a quick “I’ll call you when I get back into town.” The ten-page contract for the New York property he and Ashton were preparing to buy felt like a lead weight in his lap. Fear gripped him as he stared at the document. For a second he entertained the notion of balling up that filthy packet of papers and all that it represented and throwing it into the fireplace. How he wished he could erase his past, see it all go up in flames until it was nothing more than ash. Then maybe Peyton would never know. She would never find out about Eden and the lengths he had gone to satisfy his needs.
Luke tossed the contract onto the coffee table. Not tonight. He didn’t want to think about Eden or his life before Peyton. All he wanted was to get lost in her. Luke closed his eyes and welcomed the memories of the last two days in Italy. His cock twitched beneath his thin cotton pants. He fought the urge to take his length and stroke himself but the images he had conjured in his mind, of Peyton on her knees, sitting back on her heels and deep throating his cock, were just too fucking vivid. He reached down, slipped his hand beneath the waistband of his pants and gripped his now rock-hard cock. It wasn’t going to take long. A few strokes and he would unleash all over his bare chest. But a knock at the door stilled his hand and he went to go see who would be paying him a visit at this time of night.
He opened the door only to realize that he had been wrong. This morning, just moments after they had made love when he held Peyton, their hearts still racing from their orgasms, he had sworn he’d discovered what true happiness felt like. But staring at Peyton now as she stood on his front porch with a suitcase in each hand and dressed in yoga pants, sneakers, and an oversized sweatshirt, he knew with absolute certainty that this was heaven.
“Is this crazy? Are we crazy, Luke? Moving in together so soon, so…”
He cut her off with a kiss he felt all the way to his toes and pulled her into his home. He kicked the door closed behind him as she dropped her luggage to the floor and continued ravishing her mouth. “What’s crazy is that I thought I could go a night without you in my arms.” He lifted her up and took her to his bedroom. “I need to be inside you. Tell me I can have you.”
“Yes. I’m yours, Luke,” she breathed through shallow gasps.
He put her on her feet and peeled away every layer of clothing from her gorgeous body and stared at her. He watched her body shiver as his fingertips brushed along her heated skin, over that bird she had inked on her hip, the bird that stood for the two things she craved.
Freedom and hope.
Luke’s need to claim her, to give her what she had always wanted was just too powerful.
This is mine. She is mine.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” he said, his voice a gruff whisper.
Her eyes wandered and took him in, starting at the raging bulge in his pants, to his chest and finally locked onto his eyes. She made no attempt to cover her nakedness, which pleased him greatly. “I want something from you,” she said, her voice steady and serious.
“Anything. Ask and it’s yours.”
She closed the one-foot gap between them and placed her hands on his chest. Her touch sent ripples of need to every cell in his body and a half-groan, half-plea escaped his chest. Her fingers traveled southbound and gripped the waistband of his pants. “I want you, Luke.” She yanked his pants down to his ankles and he stepped out of them, leaving him completely naked. Her hands encircled his cock and he hissed through his teeth. “I want you to take me from behind.” She squeezed his aching cock before letting go and dropped to the floor. Positioned on her hands and knees with her ass in the air, she looked over her shoulder.
He knew that her past still haunted her, that there were chinks in her armor, but she had always remained strong and protective of those horrific memories. So for her to ask this of him, he realized just how much she trusted him. “Please,” she begged.
He went to his knees and settled between her legs. His cock nudged her entrance, but he didn’t dare enter. Instead, he reached around and was all set to prepare her, to ensure that she was wet and ready to receive him, but what he found made his cock lurch. She was completely soaked, so much so that her juices were spilling onto her inner thighs. “I need you. Will you give me what I asked for?” she pleaded, her tone desperate.
“Yes, baby,” he said. He grabbed her by the waist and slammed into her, pushing through
her delicate flesh until his balls ground against her ass. He had never been so deep and it took everything not to release right there as her pussy pulsated and clenched him mercilessly.
“Harder, Luke. Ride me hard,” she said through breathless pants. She angled her ass in such a way that made his cock easily glide along her slick channel. He drove into her again and again, getting off not just on the incredible sensations that shot along his cock, but also from her screams of pleasure as she chased her climax.
“Look at me, Peyton. I want you to see who is claiming you, who worships you, who loves you.” She looked over her shoulder. “That’s it, love. See me,” he said. Their gazes locked and in that moment, while he pushed inside her, she spoke to him without words. She only saw him. “Yes, baby. I’ve got you.” He pulled out until just the tip of his cock remained inside. “Come for me, Peyton. Let me feel you.” He drove home and watched her shatter around him. Her orgasm ripped through her, making her buck into him, forcing him deeper. His name was both a plea and a chant on her lips as his release came in never-ending waves into her clutching heat. “I love you,” he said, coming so hard he forgot how to breathe.
When the last tremor subsided, he slipped out of her and rolled her until she was on her back and beneath him. He gazed into her eyes and noticed for the first time that she was crying. His gut twisted at the sight. “What is it? Did I hurt you, baby?” He wiped away the tears that dripped down her cheeks with his thumbs.
Peyton shook her head almost violently and said, “No, you didn’t hurt me.” She gathered him into her arms and clung to him. Her body shook while in their embrace, which only made his panic soar. He felt her burrow her face against his neck, heard her sniffle and swallow. “You freed me, Luke.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Peyton
“So Gus is okay with this? That his baby girl is shacking up with a man she has known for less than a month?” Luke asked as he handed her a plate and a mug of milk. Peyton happily accepted her late-night snack of creamed chipped beef and biscuits. The fact that it had been hours since they had dinner at Gus’s coupled with the strenuous but delicious physical activity they had been engaging in had left her famished and she was eager to dig in to what Luke called a McGinnis household staple.