The reception lasted for hours. The catering team and band was long gone. Stars were out in the dark purple sky when the last few stragglers left.
I spoke with Della’s parents, and they assured me Brielle would be fine with them for the night. Everyone found it highly unlikely for Brady to show up at the Neilands home.
Brielle, oblivious to my worry about the reappearance of her father, gave a jubilant shout when I asked if she wanted to spend the night at Cathy’s again. Alone in our room at Della’s house she rambled on about the cookies the three of them baked the previous day. The mess and the endless laughter. She said it’s what grandma’s do with their grandkids and she loved Mrs. Neiland. No way would I ever rip that feeling away from her now.
Still in my bridesmaid dress, I waved off the Neilands with Brielle and Ethan loaded in the back of their truck. Luke insisted I ride with him to his house, so my car remained behind at Della’s for the night.
The newlyweds glowed with love and rapture as the final guests left their home.
We were driving down a shadowless dirt road, the moon and head lights all that were lucent around us.
Recognition itched at the edges of my memory on this private road as we passed acres upon acres of farmland. Luke mentioned once about his home being built.
“When you said you bought land I didn’t expect it to be near the orange groves.”
“It’s the farthest and most quiet part in Calusa.”
“How long have you been building on it?”
“Since we started our company a year ago, but I’ve owned it for a couple of years now.”
“Does Brady still have your mom’s house?”
“Yeah. I take care of it when he’s gone. But I haven’t stayed there since the night before I left for the Army.”
“Like how I haven’t stayed with my dad even though I could’ve.”
I wanted to move forward with my dad, but if I were to spend the night in my old room I feared old feelings would surface. We couldn’t erase our past, but to have a future we had to create new, altruistic memories to outweigh the bad ones.
“Thought he was coming to the wedding,” Luke says.
“Me too. I called after the ceremony and Janice answered. He was laying down.”
“Having a bad day?”
I turned away from the dark abyss to watch his face as I asked, “Does he get those often?”
Luke tilted his head and shrugged, eyes remaining ahead. “Not sure. If I had to guess, I think it’s a good possibility. He won’t admit it, though.”
Keeping my face diverted, I worried my lip, fighting an onslaught of tears.
“So your house. Didn’t know it took that long to build one.”
“I’m to blame for the finish time being pushed. The contractors do most of the work, but some of it I like doing on my own.”
“It’s not finished, but it’s livable?”
Luke chuckled. “I have a living room, master bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Sorta. You’ll see.”
Scanning the dark fields on both sides of his truck, I say, “This area seems familiar, but it’s hard to tell at night. Where are we?”
The drive over here is what felt familiar, but it was so dark and there were no homes or buildings around to even give a hint as to where Luke lived. It’s only been ten minutes at most since we’ve left Della’s.
“It’s the Henderson property.”
I swung my head back to him. Everyone in town knew old man Henderson. He owned the largest piece of land, and part of that land he left open to the locals. That specific part of land was where I spent my last night in Calusa. It’s where I first kissed Luke.
“You bought the Henderson land?” I asked quietly, containing my awe. Because that was a lot of freaking land.
“Not all of it. Henderson was old when we were kids, and now he’s really getting up there. I heard he was selling a part of his land a couple years after I joined. It was getting to be too much for him. So I bought it. I always wanted property, away from everyone in town, but still here, you know.”
“Yeah. I miss it here, but I get it. A little space is needed from all the nib-noses.”
“I could have bought close to Paul, but it was the farmland I wanted. And kind of poetic justice that it turned out to be the Henderson property.” He winked with a playful smirk.
Yeah, he just kind of stole my heart.
“You have any orange trees?” I grinned.
Henderson property was vast. He had corn, oranges, tomatoes, cattle, and catfish ponds.
I really hope Luke didn’t buy near the ponds. That smell was godawful.
He just grinned in return.
A few minutes later Luke turned left onto a gravel drive. Tall, bushy trees lined the left side, and on the right was open field. From the entrance, the house wasn’t visible, at least at night I couldn’t see it, but I had a hunch it would be the same in the morning light.
It was a long drive up to the house. Enough to not want to walk daily down to the mailbox.
When the house came in to view, I took an immediate liking to it. Solar lights lined the driveway, and porch lights lit up the front. A one story, long, with a wrap-around porch going to the left side. The attached garage was on the right. Windows covered almost the entire front of the house. I could just imagine the sunlight coming through those windows during the day, never needing to use manufactured lighting until sundown.
“You did good, Luke,” I said in amazement.
He watched me with a funny look, but smiling all the same.
The garage door opened and he drove in. His truck was lifted and very high for a standard garage so I knew he had this custom built too.
He reached for my hand when I came around the front of the truck. Inside, the garage door opened into a giant, sparse laundry room. White, bare walls with only a washer and dryer. We walked down a short hallway that opened into a large room full of windows. An outside light shown on a backyard filled with stacks of wood planks.
Luke turned on recessed light fixtures as we went. A little further inside I saw the couch, coffee table, and a large TV mounted on the wall.
“The living room, I take it?”
“One of them.”
“You have more than one?”
“Yep.” He smiled all smug.
We entered another hall where he pointed out the bedrooms and bathrooms that will be going in. Then we entered the front living room, and kitchen. It took up the entire center of the house. An open concept with the kitchen in the back, separated by a large island counter, the dining room sat to the right of the kitchen.
What I loved the most were all the windows I noticed from the outside.
“Is there another dining room too?” I joked.
“No. I don’t understand why people need two dining rooms. If we’re going to sit down and eat, there only needs to be one table. And there’s the island, too.” He nods to the large counter space in the center.
“You need bar stools.” I admire his kitchen and the stainless steel appliances from every angle. “I love your kitchen, by the way. The granite, the dark cabinets, the window above the sink that looks out the back. I really love it.”
There was that funny look again. A mixture of humor and warmth and secrets.
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Curiosity, meet Cat.
“Lot of reasons,” he smirks, holding tight to those secrets.
The front room in here was empty; no furniture, just walls and windows. One side had a fire place, but that was all.
Luke continued the tour to the other end of the house. As soon as we crossed the threshold of the last door it became obvious what room we were in. A king size bed sat in the center, cradled in a beautiful espresso bed frame. Matching night stands and a large dresser filled the space with it. Windows framed each night side on both sides of the bed.
“Luke, you should be proud. Your home is beautiful.”
“It’s not finished.”
“No, but I can picture it. It’ll be amazing.”
He hummed a response as I moved about the room. Checking behind two doors, I found the bathroom and walk-in closest, both large and accommodating.
Neither of us reached for any lights to be turned on. Luke kept his blinds open, no curtains. The full moon perched up in the sky on this side of the house gleamed iridescent colors through the shades. The moonlit glow delivered romance and serenity.
We met at the foot of the bed. Whether I was finished snooping or not, Luke’s intentions were clear to stop me.
A hand took hold of my face, bringing me in to him. Kissing me as if he couldn’t accept the distance any longer.
The kiss started soft, a glad-you-like-my-home-and-I’m-happy-you’re-here, but it escalated quickly. I wanted more of him, and when I stepped closer and arched in to the kiss, he took it.
Luke opened his mouth, deepening the connection with his tongue joining mine. Other than the sounds of our lips and our heavy breathing, silence was all that accompanied us.
Finally alone.
My desire for Luke was crucial. It wasn’t the promise of great sex, though, all of us deserve the best in that department. This is Luke. He did it for me even when we weren’t touching. At home, miles apart, in one thought I could picture his face and his smile and his deep brown eyes, and I was goner. I came up with every excuse why we wouldn’t work, but at the end of the day desire can’t be flicked off like a light switch.
Standing in his room, in his home, back on the Henderson property, this became more than desire.
Abandoning that topic as well as the house tour, I started tugging at the tie knotted at his throat. With a yank it loosened.
He nipped at my bottom lip when I pulled back to lift the blue silk over his head.
“Very smooth. Saving the bedroom for last.” The slip of silk fell from my fingers onto the floor. I started for the top buttons of his shirt, but Luke spun me around before I could reach one.
“My plan all along.” His mouth dropped to my neck, kissing the skin between my shoulder and nape.
I’ve only felt such an intense reaction to a delicate kiss one time in my life. I came up with excuses then as well. Hormones run higher when you’re a teenager. That’s the reason I felt that one touch like a thousand electric shocks. It was the pregnancy at the time making that one kiss more spectacular than any encounter I ever had on a sexual level. After all, I never felt that way again when I hooked up with someone else.
Denial. I’ve been in denial. Both occurrences had one detail in common. Luke.
“This dress,” he murmured. One hand swiped around my stomach, pulling me back into his chest. The other hand found the zipper at my side. “Has tortured me all day. It’s beautiful, I love it, but now I want it gone.”
The zip noise shattered through the tension in the room. The dress loosened.
Luke lifted his hand to the thin sleeve at one shoulder, and dropped it to the side. His mouth followed, singeing my skin. My head fell back and I groaned from the fire trail he left behind and continued to form as his lips caressed and nipped my flesh.
I loved this dress, too. Probably the best and classiest piece in my wardrobe. But if he didn’t quickly get the maddening material off me soon I was going to rip it off myself.
The hand covering my belly traveled up, grazing my breasts to reach my other shoulder. There was a swipe, and then it fluttered to the floor at my feet. I was left standing in my heels and thong.
“God. Damn.” Luke ran his rough hands over all of my naked body. Calloused hands that helped build this house. Never considered it until now, but a handyman was a definite turn on.
I sensed his eyes swallowing me up, but I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to feel like the sexy woman he saw before him.
I faced his molten gaze, heavy with lust as they worshiped my breasts, and slipped lower to the lace covering the part of me that clenched and throbbed for his attention.
When he brought those chocolate eyes to meet mine I saw more than lust. I saw passion for something greater than I’ve ever known. It stole my breath. It stole my heart. This time, my whole heart. And I knew, after tonight, I would never be the same. It could all end happily, or it could just end, but what I have with Luke would be everlasting.
“Liv,” his voice spoke on a promise. “No going back.”
“Not sure how much you’ve noticed, Luke, but I’m not a fan of the past.”
The back of his hand feathered down my breast and over my ribs. My eyes fluttered closed at his gentle, yet exhilarating touch.
“I’d go through all of it again as long as it led to this moment right here,” he declares.
Then his mouth covered my breast. He sucked, and he sucked hard. I moaned his name, gripped at his hair. He had his way then moved to the other side.
Luke cupped my ass and slammed me into him. His erection stabbed my stomach. His hands moved down the backs of my thighs. Digging in with his fingers he lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around him and held on as we moved to the mattress. A few steps, and my back hit the cushy surface.
Luke crawled over me. Kissing my lips once—long and thorough. And then he went down.
Down.
Down.
I whimpered at the erotic sight of his tongue licking and dipping in my belly button. Over a hipbone, then my thigh, the inside of my calf, and to my ankle. It’s like he left check points at every marker he needed to stop at in order to quench his thirst.
He picked off my shoe, tossing it to the beyond. Then he was on that home stretch, going up the other ankle, stopping at those check-ins too, until he finished at my mouth.
Victory tasted sweet.
He kept me in constant torture. Now it was my turn at the race.
“Shirt. Off.” I demanded.
One by one the buttons came undone. It took far too long. Luke kneeled back, looking down from above as he pulled the shirt away from his chest and off. I was in a hurry, but this I slowed down for.
Raising to my elbows, I slowly dusted my fingers over his chest and stomach with one hand. A masterpiece like Luke’s abs could not go without a reaffirming touch.
“Luke,” I sigh, speaking to him, but staying focused on his golden skin. “I wanted to touch you like this on Spring Break. I’m sure every woman at the water park wanted to touch you.”
“Guess it’s a good thing I don’t want any other women.” Luke dipped his thumbs beneath the lace of my panties, and in a swift yank, they were gone. I yelped, surprised by how smooth and quick he did that. But I was a little distracted with all that is his perfect torso. He grinned. “I only want you, Liv. All of it, but right now there is one part of you I want more of.”
Then that smile turned lethal as his gaze dropped between my legs. Luke moved back, bent down and had his way with me again.
“Oh my God,” I moaned.
His mouth down there. Licking, sucking, staying true to his promise from earlier today and making me eat my words. All the words.
He devoured me. He took pleasure in taking as well as giving. Everything Luke did to me was done for both our benefits. And when I had my turn, I planned on showing him how much I could give too.
Dipping inside me with his tongue, his finger joined and circled my nub. I gasped for air. Pressing his tongue on my sensitive and swollen clit, I lifted my hips for more. I was reaching, grabbing, and trying to get a hold of that figurative explosion.
And he got me there. Luke worked me until I screamed his name.
Before I came back down from the climax, he was standing from the bed, taking off his pants as he walked to the nightstand and pulled out a condom.
Introspection was extremely hard to grasp post orgasm. It became impossible when he dropped his pants. Why did I care about self-observation in a time like this anyhow? Observation: satisfied.
Luke took himself in hand while watching me laid out on his bed. He swaggered back to me, ripping open the wrapper and sheathing himself in it.
Luke came on top of me, arms bent beside my head. I could feel him between my legs, immensely engorged enough for me to worry about the state of vagina when we were through.
“I won’t be willing to let you go after this,” he spoke with sincerity and constraint.
I tilted my head as I watched him carefully. “You know I have to go home tomorrow, Luke.”
“I can handle that. For a little while. But that’s not what I meant.” He kissed me hard. And then he entered me. So full, so wonderful. Our pleased sounds mixing together. “This right here. You and me. It’s different. It’s special.”
I couldn’t agree more.
He started to move. Pulling out, thrusting in. Slow and firm. I reached for him, pulling his face to mine and kissing him with everything I had. My leg came up, hooking over his waist. He went deeper. He groaned, and thrust harder. We lost control together.
With his hand gripping my leg around him, Luke’s strokes came faster. Harder. Fierce. I lost myself. I gave myself. And we went over the edge together.