He had to give her that. His weakness, ironically, was standing right in front of him.
“Come on,” he coaxed. “Let’s go for a ride.”
Ha! Looked like she wasn’t the only one who’d mastered the art of double entendres. He silently applauded himself for the situation he’d just placed her in. If she said no, it would be as if she was saying no to the other ride, the one that had the two of them naked, in bed, burning up the sheets.
He almost rubbed his hands together in glee, knowing from the nervous expression on her face that she was about to back down.
Or maybe not.
“Okay. One ride.” She licked her lips again then lifted her hand to his face and ran it along the curve of his jaw. “You’ll protect me, won’t you, Luke?”
His entire mouth went dry but he still managed to give her the cool, confident look he’d perfected over the years.
“Of course I’ll protect you.”
Chapter Nine
“Why aren’t we moving?”
Ellie clung to Luke’s arm in terror as their Ferris wheel car hovered fifteen feet off the ground, swaying dangerously from side to side. Though they weren’t too high up yet, her nerves skittered like a timid hare in the presence of a mountain lion. Just seeing the tops of people’s heads made her uneasy, confirming her belief that human beings had legs and feet for a reason, and that’s so they could stand on solid land.
“They’re still letting people on. The ride hasn’t started yet.”
Luke’s patient tone didn’t soothe her. She glanced up at the inky-black sky, trying to focus on the white stars sparkling overhead. Looking up, however, only strengthened the realization that she was up too. Not down, on land, where she belonged.
“Let’s get off,” she burst out, her head growing light as the car swayed in the breeze.
Really smooth, Ellie. Way to keep up the sexy vixen act. It just figured, didn’t it? She’d been doing so well, throwing out provocative little remarks, eliciting a hard-on from Luke, and he’d had to turn the tables by bringing her on this damn Ferris wheel.
Luke shot her a sideways look, not bothering to hide his half-smile. “Relax, Elenore. Nothing’s going to happen. You’re safe.”
She wrung her hands together, cursing herself for her fear. Heights had always bothered her, though she didn’t have an insightful story that revealed why. No past experience, no little anecdotes, no deep-rooted trauma. All she knew was each time she was more than two feet off the ground, her body went numb with panic.
She heard a gate slam, and before she could blink, the car soared upwards. Her stomach churned as they continued to rise, dangling hundreds of feet off the ground.
“I might be sick.”
Luke laughed. “You won’t be sick.”
She grabbed his arm and dug her fingernails in his bare skin and the feathery dark hair over it. “Don’t laugh.”
“Why not?”
“When you laugh, the car shakes. And when the car shakes, my stomach hurts and my—”
“Ellie, calm down.”
The car stopped. It did that every few seconds so the passengers could enjoy the view. Ellie, on the other hand, was enjoying nothing. Not even the sight of the ocean, midnight blue under the dark sky, or the quaint little houses and huts in the distance, could ease her nerves. Sucking in a breath, she squeezed Luke’s arm tighter, riddled with anxiety.
“Okay, you need to distract me, Luke. Seriously.”
He sighed. “How?”
“I don’t know. Talk. Tell me something.”
“What do you want to know?”
For a split second, she forgot all about their location after his easy-going answer. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so willing to talk about himself, and no matter how terrified she was at the moment, she couldn’t pass up the chance to get into his head.
Or his heart.
“Are you seeing anyone back in San Francisco?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.
“I was.” He raked his fingers through his dark hair. “But not anymore.”
“What happened?”
Discomfort flickered in his gray eyes, followed by a flash of bitterness. “I broke things off.”
“Why?” When he didn’t answer, she met his gaze. “Please tell me. Otherwise I’ll start panicking again.”
“Let’s just say Robin wasn’t who I thought she was.” He shifted in his seat, and his shoulder brushed against hers. A rush of heat sizzled through her skin, spreading downward until the juncture between her thighs ached. God, would she ever get used to being this close to Luke?
“Who was she then?”
“A wonderful liar, for one.”
She didn’t answer. Just waited for him to continue. Hoped that he would.
“She wanted to marry me.”
“Did you want to marry her?”
His eyes darkened. “Not at first. Not until she told me she was pregnant.”
She bit back a gasp. Pregnant? Luke had gotten a woman pregnant and broken off the relationship?
“She wasn’t, by the way. Pregnant.” He shot her a knowing glance. “That was her big lie.”