Again. He wanted to do that again. I wasn’t the most experienced girl in the world—my only sexual experiences had sadly been with Barry—but that couldn’t be normal. Barry had always complained about how long it took me to orgasm, about the taste and the…oh God, the smell. He would only do that if I’d showered first, and even then, he’d never been patient enough to make me come. I’d apparently been missing out. Luke had gotten worked up enough to need to jack off afterward, had enjoyed doing something to me so much that he came all over my stomach. My God was that hot.
Luke was still staring at me, still leaning in close. Still so gloriously naked. I had no idea where to look—those stunning blue eyes, as bright as the sky on a summer day, all the ink decorating his body, his soft, puffy lips, shining in the light with evidence of what he’d just done to me. Every inch of him intrigued me, aroused me. I wanted more. I wanted to run my palms over his body, wanted to stroke his cock and watch it harden in my hands because of what I was doing to him. I wanted so much.
“What’s up, sunshine?” he asked, running a finger down the side of my face. “What are you thinking so hard about?”
Fear of being told no, of being rejected by him even after he’d gone down on me with such passion, turned my blood cold. What we were doing—what was happening between us—was a betrayal to someone he saw as family. I was okay with my part in that—if Barry never forgave me, I’d deal with the fallout. We hadn’t been healthy together in years, and I’d finally come to terms with the fact that all contact needed to end. But Luke? Barry was practically his brother. They were family. And I…
I was going to destroy that.
“What are we—”
“Luke or Hannah.” A staticky voice that sounded like Aaron burst into the room, making me jump and tug my discarded towel around myself. “You two okay?”
Luke rubbed my knee before stretching to grab a walkie-talkie device, smiling as he brought it to his lips. “We’re good. Jet Ski secure, furniture saved, and door closed again. Just waiting out the lightning.”
“I think it’s passed,” Aaron said. “I can see the boathouse again from the porch. Why don’t you two come on back? I’ll have hot coffee and blankets waiting.”
“Will do.” Luke set down the device, still watching me. “Time to go back to reality. But don’t think I’m done with you yet.”
“We can't…” I took a deep breath, reaching for him. “The others can't know. Not yet.”
He sighed but didn’t argue, brushing his fingers over my cheek instead. “Whatever you need.”
“We just need to be subtle.”
“Then we’ll be subtle.” He placed the softest, sweetest kiss on my lips, sending shivers up my spine in the process. “Much as I hate to cover you up, I’ll go grab our clothes.”
I sagged as he walked to the laundry room. Reality meant dealing with Barry and the fallout when he discovered what Luke and I had done. Because he would find out eventually, even though this was probably just something for the weekend. A distraction from real life.
That thought made my stomach drop, but there was no denying it. According to Barry, Luke wasn’t exactly known for his relationship stamina, and I lived two hours off the island.
We had no future together, but we had chemistry. And I was willing to take what I could get of him. For once, I was going to be the selfish one.
* * *
Luke did not understand the meaning of the word subtle. After our private adventure in the boat house, we’d come back to join the rest of the group, an unspoken sort of understanding between us that we couldn’t do anything like that again. Unspoken and not agreed on, apparently. He wouldn’t stop staring at me. And not just any stare, that stare. The same look he’d given me when we’d been alone. And naked. And he’d dropped down between my legs.
God, just thinking about that look had me growing so hot and wet for him. Seeing it? Feeling the intensity of that look on his face? I was about to combust right there in Aaron and Jessica’s kitchen.
“How about pizza for lunch?” Jessica asked from her side of the kitchen island. “I’ve got all the stuff to make homemade ones.”
“So long as Hannah makes her own,” Barry said. “She puts gross stuff on it.”
“Pineapple is not gross,” I said, rolling my eyes when Jessica looked my way.
“We can do individual crusts,” she said, shooting me a wink. “And I’ve got a can of crushed pineapple we can use for toppings.”
“Sounds good, babe,” Aaron said as I mouthed a silent thank you to her. “Want some help?”
“Banana can help,” Barry said right before he threw an arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his side. “She loves doing all that domestic shit.”
Whether the burn in my chest was humiliation or fury, I could no longer tell. I shoved Barry off me. “Quit calling me Banana. But yes, Jessica. I’d love to help.”
She glared at Barry before giving me a sympathetic smile. “I’ve got the dough in the basement freezer. Do you mind grabbing a few while I collect the rest of the ingredients?”
“No problem.”
“See?” Barry said with a laugh. “Let the womenfolk do the cooking. Where’s your biggest TV, Aaron? I think there’s a race on.”
If Jessica’s glare was any indication, Barry should probably watch his back. She was definitely in the Barry-is-an-asshole camp.
I headed down the stairs, happy to be away from Barry’s jackassery. Thrilled, really. He was ruining my post-Luke-between-my-thighs buzz. I needed to deal with his assumptions that we were still somehow together, and I needed to do it soon. I hated every time he said the nickname he’d refused to let me grow out of, and I didn’t want his hands on me. We were going to have to have a conversation, one I’d have to initiate. Dammit.
The room with the freezer was shadowy, the only light coming from a small window at the back. I ran my hand all over the wall by the door, but I couldn’t find the light switch. It wasn’t too dark to see, so I headed right for the upright freezer. There had to be a light inside of it—Aaron didn’t seem the type to skimp on bells and whistles. But before I could open the door, someone grabbed me from behind.
“What—”
Luke’s mouth meeting mine cut off my yelp. He gave me no reason to be scared, no time to think about how wrong this whole thing was. He grabbed me, took my mouth with his, and made me melt. He was such a good kisser—strong and forceful but not demanding. Rough but not painful. All his need was evidenced in his kiss. All his desire. For me.
The man made my knees weak with how much he seemed to want me.
“I hate to see him touch you,” he said as he moved those sexy lips down to trail along my neck.
I gripped his shoulders, holding myself to him. “I hate it, too. I don’t want his hands on me.”
“No?” Luke grabbed my ass and pulled me right off the ground, spreading my legs around his hips as he pressed me against the freezer. “What do you want?”
I couldn’t even fake my answer, couldn’t pause for a second before blurting out, “You.”
His smile was immediate, though his lips settled into a more serious line before I could even enjoy it. “I’m not going to share, sunshine. If you want me, you get me—all of me. But the same goes for you. No more Barry. No more sleeping in his room.” He kissed my collarbone and gripped my ass harder. “If you’re serious, you come to mine.”
There was no way I could resist him. “Okay.”
* * *
One dry hump in the basement that only added to the tension between Luke and me, five bites of the pizza Jessica had made, and two hours of watching cars drive in a circle was enough for me. Luke had disappeared upstairs, claiming he needed a nap. Aaron and Jessica were watching the race in the family room, and Barry…
Barry was getting a clue.
“Hannah, you can’t be serious.”
“I am.” I crossed my arms and leaned back against the kitchen counter. “We’re through. And not the back-and-forth through we were doing last year. We’re done. Permanently.”
“Right,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “And what are you going to do when you crack the next time because your job is so hard?”
God, I hated him. Hated that he threw my weaknesses at me every time I tried to put space between us. “I’ll get a cat.”
He nodded, still looking as if he didn’t believe me. “Okay, fine. You want this over? It’s over. I’m perfectly capable of finding another way to get my dick wet. You can enjoy rubbing your pussy all alone.” He slammed his glass down, the only real sign of how pissed I’d just made him. “Have fun sleeping on the couch in the basement, and don’t you dare take anything from my room that isn’t yours.”
I took a deep breath once he left the room, unsure if I was more afraid or excited. While Barry and I hadn’t been together as a couple in a long time, I still felt guilty because of Luke. The conversation of us being done for good had needed to happen. Hell, if I was being honest with myself, it had needed to happen years ago.
But he was right about the work thing—I tended to call him when I was worn out. When my emotions were raw and I just needed someone to hold me. To help me put myself back together. That was how we’d always ended up in bed together again—my job skinned me alive, and the only cure for me was physical contact with someone. Affection. Intimacy. Something to make me forget the death and the pain. I needed to be stronger, to learn to cope on my own. I couldn’t fall into that trap again.
Without thinking about it, without intentionally making the decision to go to Luke, I headed up the stairs. Barry’s door sat open, but Luke’s was closed. It didn’t matter. I knew he was in there, that he was waiting for me.
I was tired of waiting.
My knuckles hit the panel of wood once before it swung inward, and Luke was on me. He yanked me inside, wrapping me in his strong arms and holding me to his chest. And for the first time in a long time, I felt safe and cared for.
“What took you so long?” he asked, breathing into my neck as if he needed my scent to survive. “I thought you might’ve changed your mind.”
I pressed myself into his arms and shook my head, not wanting words. Not wanting anything but him and me and bare skin. I could tell he wanted the same simply by the way he pressed his hardening cock into my hip. There was no hiding that growing desire. No ignoring it either.
I pushed away from him, loving how he let me go, how he let me make the decision of what was next without a fight. I hated the confusion on his face, though. I wasn’t rejecting him. Not even close. He needed to know that.
I took another step back, gave him a smile, and then I stripped. Not slow like a tease and not fast like we were in a hurry. No, I stripped like I would on any night. I pulled my shirt over my head and unhooked my bra, letting both fall to the floor. My skirt and underwear came next, pooling at my feet as Luke watched, his eyes sliding over every inch of skin as I exposed myself to him. As he stood stock-still, pure energy harnessed into his big body. Ready to explode. Waiting for the ignition switch to click.
So I clicked it.
“I’m here,” I said, my voice soft but firm. “I’m here, and I want you. Just you.”
His groan made my knees shake, but his strong arms wrapping around me again held me up. Kept me safe and warm. “Jesus, Hannah. Can’t believe this is real. Can’t believe you’re giving me this beautiful body.”
“I still can’t believe you want me.”
He captured my mouth without another word, spinning me and laying me back on his bed. I climbed up the length of it as he watched, as he stripped for me.
“Can’t believe I’d want you?” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe my words. “I’ve ached for this for twelve fucking years. Twelve years. And it’s been worth every second of denial if this is my reward.” He crawled over me, his heavy cock hanging down all hard and ready. His hands finding every bit of flesh he could as he moved between my thighs. “But now you’re here, and you’re mine. And I’m not letting you go.”
I wanted to believe him, wanted to think that we’d get our happily ever after and everything would be okay. But the reality was that this was probably a weekend fling. Something to look back on when I was alone in the city, something to cherish. And I was going to have to be okay with that.
“Want you,” I said just before I bit down on his neck. His body jerked, his hips rubbing against my thigh. “Want to feel you inside me.”
He ground his cock against my hip, groaning softly before rolling off to the side. “Soon, sunshine. Let me make you come first. Make you so wet you’ll be able to take my cock.”
His fingers were soft and seeking as they slid to where I was swollen for him. He teased me with gentle strokes and easy flicks before ramping up the motions. Harder, faster, working his thumb over my clit as he plunged two fingers inside. I arched and bit my lip, writhing under him. Pinned in place by his weight on one side. That only added heat to the moment.
Something about knowing it was Luke on top of me, about watching those eyes flick between mine and where his hand disappeared between us, made everything burn that much brighter. He wasn’t the man I should have been with, but I couldn’t resist him. And to be honest, I didn’t want to try.
Luke was thorough in his attention, such a giver. He lapped at my nipples, tugging the hardened flesh between his teeth as he added a third finger inside of me. The pull, the tiny bit of pain, the tight stretch of him filling me—it was all too much. I came with a quiet yelp, Luke covering my mouth with his to silence the worst of it as my body locked down. I was fine with that—I kissed him deeply, shaking underneath him, stroking his tongue with mine to keep us connected. And when he finally broke away, when he trailed his lips along my jaw, I whispered his name like a chant, unable not to claw at his shoulders, to try to pull him closer.
He moved back up and kissed me again, sliding his tongue against mine in a desperate sort of pace. He was so turned on, so ready for me. That desire in him was another turn-on, and I longed to make him mine. To feel him move inside of me. To make him come with my body alone.
So I pushed him over and rolled with him, wrapping my legs around his hips as I bit down on his bottom lip. Sitting on his hips as I dragged my lips to his ear and whispered, “It’s your turn to scream my name.”