“I don’t appreciate your meddling.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sent a glare in his direction. “Or the way you went behind my back.”
“Oh really?” he shot back. “Well, look who’s turned into a hypocrite.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, Elenore, the next time you want to make me jealous by pretending to have a date, make sure the eligible bachelor isn’t gay.”
Her jaw dropped. What…how…how had he known? The little smirk on his face told her he’d figured out all about Miguel, though for the life of her she didn’t know how he’d done it. Miguel had been more than convincing. Hadn’t he?
She stared at Luke, suddenly reminded of the way he’d held her in the alley, how she’d felt cradled in his strong arms. And he’d called her Baby, she remembered that too. But what did it mean? What did she want it to mean?
She searched his smoky gray eyes, wondering what he was feeling. Had he called her that just to comfort her? Or was there more to it?
Overwhelmed by the possibilities, she stepped toward him. Swept her gaze over his face, the dark stubble on his powerful jaw, the tiny lines around his mouth. A shiver danced through her body as she watched him. He met her eyes, dropped his gaze to her lips, then back up. Neither of them spoke. They didn’t have to. Since the second she’d admitted her attraction to him back in her dressing room she’d known how this night would end.
With a burst of confidence, she reached for his hand and gently pulled him to his feet. She held her breath, waiting, then released it when he ran his thumb along her jaw line. “I thought you said all deals are off the table,” he murmured.
“This isn’t a deal or a game to me anymore,” she whispered. “And I need to know it’s not that way for you either.”
Chapter Eleven
“God help me, but it isn’t.” Luke’s rough voice made her tingle. So did the way he continued stroking her face. “I’m sick of games.”
“Me too.”
He cupped her chin with his warm hands and she almost melted into a puddle on the floor. “I want you.” He dipped his head and ran his lips over the curve of her neck, planting wet kisses along her fevered skin. “Since the second I saw you that first night at the club. I’ve tried to fight it.”
She shivered as he moved his mouth to her ear and kissed it. “Are you still fighting?”
He slid his hands to her waist and pulled her to him. Made sure she could feel the hard ridge of his erection against her belly.
“Does it feel like I am?” he murmured before closing his mouth over hers.
He kissed her, a long thrilling kiss that sent waves of rapture cascading down her body. His mouth was slow and gentle. So unlike the hungry, urgent kisses he’d given her last night. She lost herself in the taste of him, in his spicy, intoxicating scent. They could have been standing there for hours. Or days. Or months. Time ceased to exist as Luke’s tongue explored her mouth and his hands her body. When he lifted her in his arms, she wrapped her legs around him in response, and allowed him to carry her into her bedroom.
He dropped her on the bed then stood at the foot of it. A sliver of moonlight floated through the open slit of the window curtains, lighting up Luke’s face and making the hunger in his eyes glimmer.
“Last time we were in this position I never took the time to find out what makes you feel good. To drive you wild.”
“Trust me, you drove me wild.”
“Maybe so, but tonight I’m taking my time.” He unzipped his jeans. “If you don’t mind, that is.”
“I don’t mind.”
The sight of him in his snug boxer-briefs unleashed ripples of anticipation in her stomach. His erection made an impressive tent in the cotton but he seemed completely unabashed by it. Moving closer, he took off his shirt, and then settled on the edge of the bed. The mattress sagged under his weight, eliciting more anticipation. She wanted to feel that big powerful body pressing down on her, not the mattress.
Luke didn’t say a word as he leaned forward and pulled her T-shirt over her head. He threw it aside, and started working on the front clasp of her bra. The second her breasts popped out of their restraints they were covered again by Luke’s hands. He cupped them, his touch more firm than gentle, and started rubbing her nipples with his thumbs.
Shooting her a sexy grin, he asked, “How am I doing? Driving you wild yet?”
“No.”
“No?” He lifted his brows. “Not into fondling?”
“Fondling is nice. Your mouth would be better.”
He shifted again, this time sliding down so that he lay next to her. There was a spark of challenge in his eyes as he murmured, “You asked for it.”
Before she could take a breath he latched his mouth onto one breast, sucking her nipple hard. She gasped, not out of pain but out of the sheer pleasure his skilled pressure provided. She heard him chuckle, the sound thudding against her breast and making her skin burn.
“Better?” He lifted his head and shot her a look of amusement.