Chapter 13

Gemma

When I woke up the next morning, I found us lying naked under the thick covers of his bed. Luke’s arm was across my breasts, folding me into him, and his breath fell softly on my face. I blinked, staring at his peaceful sleeping face. He looked handsome, even in the morning. His dark long hair was disheveled and messy all over his face, his stubble had grown darker, and I could detect even more strands of gray in the morning light. I smiled as I stared at him. Who would have thought I would ever wake up next to a man who looked like this? Who was vacationing in a cabin like this one?

I was eager not to wake him, but I wanted to get out of bed as well. I felt restless in my happiness. Gently lifting his arm from my breasts, I slid across the massive bed and swung my legs over. Still naked, I stared at Luke’s splayed nude body as I picked up his plaid shirt from the floor.

This wasn’t my first chance to admire his nakedness, but I couldn’t get enough of it. His rugged muscles, the strength in those calves, the slimness of his waist. Even his butt looked delicious enough to eat. Luke was sleeping peacefully; his eyelids hadn’t even flickered with my movements.

I buttoned his shirt down, realizing how large it was on me. It reached the middle of my thighs. The shirt smelled of him, and I felt goose bumps on my arms again. What was wrong with me? I had spent the whole night with this man, and I wanted him again!

I found his master bathroom and walked in to take a look at myself.

My hair was expectedly a mess. My dark curls were tangled and in a jumble, but it didn’t bother me. I imagined Luke hooking his fingers into the knots and pulling my face to his. I couldn’t wait for him to wake up so I could kiss him again. My face was devoid of any makeup but then I couldn’t remember putting any on yesterday in the first place.

A bright red love bite peeked from the top of my cleavage. I remembered Luke’s teeth on that exact spot the previous night when we were fooling around under the covers. I was smiling again. God! It seemed like I couldn’t stop beaming today. I was blushing and nervous and excited, all at the same time. I couldn’t remember the last time I had woken up feeling this great.

The previous night was like a dream, but I had woken up next to him. I could still feel him inside me. So, it had to be true.

I splashed a handful of warm water on my face and then shook my head. I wanted Luke to wake up, but then again, this was the perfect time to think things through.

“Oh, shit!” I said aloud, my hand flying to my mouth. I remembered my parents. I hadn’t spoken to them at all. They knew nothing about where I was or what I was doing.

I ran back into the bedroom, Luke was still sleeping, and I rummaged around my discarded clothes for my cellphone. Sixteen missed calls and five text messages. All from my parents. They were worried sick about me. They had gotten word about the scene in the diner and that Big Mike had fired me. They were worried that I was depressed and had done something stupid.

“Mom?” I said, cupping my mouth with my hand as I rushed out of the bedroom.

“Gemma! Thank God. Where are you?” She sounded more worried than I had ever heard her. I immediately felt a pang of guilt for having forgotten about them for so long. I should have remembered to at least send them a text.

“I’m fine, Mom. Sorry, my battery died and I couldn’t text you last night,” I whispered into the phone, pacing around the living room. As Luke had said, someone had killed the fire from the previous night, dusted the rooms and the house was sparkling clean again. I wondered if the housekeeper was still around, but I couldn’t hear a sound anywhere in the cabin.

“I asked you where you are!” Mom said in a harsh tone. She was beginning to sound more angry than worried now, and I breathed in deeply.

“I’m with a friend. I just lost track of time and had to stay over for the night,” I said, walking into the kitchen.

“Which friend? Pat told me that he saw you with some strange tourist at the diner yesterday. What is going on?” Mom said, and her voice had gotten louder.

“Nothing is going on, Mom. He’s just a friend,” I said, placing my hand on my hip. I was a little taken aback by her tone. She sounded more upset than I expected her to be. Like I had done something personally to offend her.

“And you lost your job! That friend of yours punched Big Mike! And now you’re spending time with him. Come back home this instant!” she screamed into the phone.

I could feel my heart racing. My good mood had dropped to a sudden low. I couldn’t believe my mother was reacting this way.

“I’m an adult, Mom. I can decide what to do for myself, thank you very much,” I snapped and hung up the phone. Before she had a chance to call me back, I switched the phone off and threw it over on the kitchen counter top.

It had taken my mother all of two minutes to ground me back to reality. I breathed in deeply, eyeing that tin of Luke’s Columbian ground coffee on the counter.