When he tries to kiss me again, I resist, pushing against him. “Gimme a minute… I’m studying your muscles.”
“Study time’s over,” he says as he removes my hands from his chest faster than my brain keeps up. Not giving me a chance to protest, he takes possession of my mouth again.
I give in, and we’re soon consumed by the kiss.
Hands everywhere.
Breathless.
Crazed by lust.
And then Sean cries out.
I scramble off Luke, and he stands. Staring at me through wild eyes, he orders, “I want you in my bedroom, naked. Now.”
God, yes.
He leaves to take care of Sean, and I do exactly what I’ve been told. After I strip, I lay down on his king-size bed and wait for him. Glancing around the room, I decide it needs a makeover. The cream paint is bland, as are the beige curtains. His walls could do with some artwork, and I’d love to see some colour splashes throughout. Maybe red pillows on a black and white doona cover.
It hits me that his wife probably decorated the room. And that this was their marital bed.
God, how have I not thought of this before?
I scramble off the bed fast, unsure of exactly what I’m feeling, but needing a minute to think.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asks as he enters the room. He must be concerned, because I’m naked, but his gaze is focused solely on mine rather than on my body.
“Ahhh, I was just thinking… Well, the thought hit me that… Fuck…” I can’t get my words out, and as each second ticks by, I’m growing more flustered.
He walks closer. “What were you just thinking?”
I take a deep breath.
I just wanted easy sex, God.
Was that too much to ask?
No baggage would have been awesome.
“Callie.” Luke’s voice sounds again. Deep. Commanding.
I find his eyes. “I was just thinking about Jolene. And the fact she probably decorated this room. And that this was her bed.” My cheeks heat as I try to explain myself. Nothing is coming out right, because although those were my exact thoughts, the deeper meaning of my thoughts is something else.
How will we ever get past his wife?
How long will it take?
Will I be enough for him to heal?
He stares at me for a long time, taking all that in. I want to say more, but I can’t bring myself to. This feels like a pivotal moment for us, and my heart beats so hard in my chest I can hear the rush of it in my ears.
“Fuck,” he mutters as he shoves his fingers through his hair. “I never wanted this for you, Callie. I wanted to be clear of this…” His voice drifts off, and I’m pretty sure Luke’s struggling with his words just as much as I am.
I’m feeling exposed standing in front of him naked while we discuss this, so I bend to retrieve my clothes from the floor.
He frowns as I straighten. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to have this conversation naked.”
“You’re not getting dressed, Callie,” he mutters as he stalks to his closet. When he returns, he has one of his T-shirts in his hands that he passes me. “You can wear this, but no fucking way are you putting your clothes back on. We’ll talk this out before I’m letting you leave.”
“I’m not leaving, Luke. That wasn’t why I was getting dressed.” I shrug his shirt over my head.
We stand in silence for another couple of minutes. The time feels endless to me, though. There’s no clock in this room, but I hear the ticking loud and clear while I wait for Luke to speak. Just when I’m beginning to think he’s not going to say anything, he begins.
“I never gave much thought to what marriage actually was before I got married. The ups, the downs, the never-ending daily grind it can turn into. The woman I married was not the woman I ended up spending most of my marriage with. It only took her six months to change. We fought all the time—about money, my mother, Sean, my work and the fact I had to work two jobs to support us, about this house that my mother gave us and the car she also gave us so we had something safe to drive Sean in. Fuck, Callie, my marriage almost killed me; it sure as fuck killed my soul. Jolene was never happy with anything, but she particularly held a grudge against my mother. After years of me studying and then taking on a job that didn’t pay much, we never had spare cash, and I refused to allow Mum to pay our bills. So Mum gave us things instead of money and Jolene felt like she was always interfering. I ended up taking on a night job in a bar to supplement our income, and Jolene never let me forget that she was raising Sean all by herself.”