Back to Luke (9 page)

The game was good. The home team was running away with the score. Then Analise said, “I’m bored.”

Luke suggested, “Come sit with me, then. We’ll play I Spy.”

The little girl climbed over her cousins, but instead of going to him in the next row up, she stood out on the steps and watched him. She made quite a picture in her denim jumper and bright pink sneakers, which matched her shirt. Defiance emanated from her very stance.

“Analise,” he said softly.

“I don’t wanna sit. I’m staying out here.”

He stared at her.

Blue eyes stared back at him.

He cocked his head.

She raised her chin.

Then he gave her a half smile.

Finally, one appeared on her face. She threw herself onto his lap and he hugged her tightly.

After Analise sat, he glimpsed Jayne. Apparently she’d been watching the whole thing.
She
smiled—a big, beautiful smile filled with soft approval.

Damn it if he didn’t bask in her reaction.

A
FEW DAYS LATER
, Jayne was unloading bags of plaster at the site when she saw Luke’s truck pull into the lot. He was late this morning—very late—which was unlike him. As he climbed out of the front seat, she noticed right away what he was wearing. The most threadbare jeans she’d ever seen gloved his legs, and a ratty T-shirt with torn-off sleeves covered his torso. Even his hair was mussed. It hit her that he’d probably just rolled out of bed.

Whose? she wondered. The almost certainty that it was Elise’s made her ill.

He crossed to her. “’Morning.”

“Rough night?” she couldn’t help asking him, but she hated the quiver in her voice.

“Not like you mean.”

She cocked her head.

“Kenny, my sister’s oldest, got in some trouble. He was caught drinking in the park with some other boys. I bunked at their place so Belle and Nick could go to the police station and deal with this.”

Reaching out, Jayne squeezed his arm briefly. “Oh, Luke, I’m sorry. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, he got off with a warning. But he’s in hot water from drinking and being with kids he wasn’t supposed to hang out with. Belle’s furious.”

Luke glanced down at his outfit with disgust. “Nick’s clothes are too small for me and this is all I had left at her house.” He ran a hand over his jaw. “No time to shave, either.”

Which made him look dangerous. And sexy. What
was
it about that scruffy look on men?

“Everything okay here?”

“Uh-huh.”

He eyed the bags. “That too heavy for you?”

Instead of getting angry, she was amused. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

Before he could answer, another truck pulled up, this one battered and rusted; out of it slid Mick O’Malley, carrying two tall disposable cups. When he saw Luke, his gaze hardened. Ignoring Luke, he said, “Good morning, beautiful,” to Jayne and handed her a cup. “Thought you’d like this.”

“Why, thank you.”

“I saw what you drank before.” He gave her a small smile and walked away without acknowledging Luke’s presence.

Jayne watched Luke as he stared after his best friend’s brother, who hated him. Instead of peevishness, which she’d seen in him all week, his face was incredibly sad. “It must be hard dealing with his animosity every day.”

“Nothing I don’t deserve.”

“You don’t, Luke.” When he didn’t answer, she added, “Hey, what did you tell me the other night about making mistakes?”

He shrugged.

She arched an eyebrow. “It only works one way, huh, hotshot?”

His grin, framed by the growth of beard, was a killer. Jayne’s whole body responded.

Trying to ignore her reaction, she held out the cup Mick had just given her. “I think you need this more than I do.”

“Oh, man, do I. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’d better go see what’s happening here.”

When he met with his crew, she could hear the teasing he endured about his lateness and his disheveled appearance. She noted he did nothing to refute the guys’ innuendos about the way he’d probably spent his night.

Boys,
she thought, and went back to her work.

After finishing her task, she was heading for the trailer when she caught sight of Luke bending over to pick up something on the ground. Three female workers around him turned to take in the view. Jayne was shaking her head at the leering—though she didn’t blame them—when Luke’s pants split right down the middle seam of his butt!

“Son of a bitch!” he spat out as he stood up quickly.

Whistles and catcalls erupted from the women.

Jayne herself began to giggle at what the split revealed: white jockey shorts, tight ones, with big red hearts on them. Probably undies his sisters had bought him, but Jayne wasn’t going to tell anybody that. Instead, she joined, heartily, in the laughter aimed at his cute rear.

“W
HAT THE HELL
is
this?” Luke yelled as he bolted up from the ground, where he’d just sat down in a pile of red ants. “The seven plagues of Egypt?”

From the blanket spread out by the tree, Miss Ellie
shook her head. “Luke dear, dust those off quickly. They bite.”

“We told you to sit on the blanket,” Jess offered. He seemed to be in a good mood today, more at ease with himself.

“There wasn’t enough room.” Not if he wanted to stay away from Jayne, at least, who leaned against the tree. She looked cool and comfortable; she’d taken off the overshirt she wore on the site, revealing a skimpy red tank top. Jess sat near her, and that unwanted flare of jealousy sparked again.

Today, right before lunch break, Miss Ellie had brought over a picnic for Jess and Jayne, and invited Luke to join in; he couldn’t very well refuse. But he’d been trying to keep his distance from Jayne because, each day, he found it more difficult to resist her.

She’d given him Mick’s coffee.

She’d been concerned about Kenny.

The look on her face when he’d ripped his pants two days ago had been more than amused. It had been…purely female.

And yesterday, when he’d walked under a ladder and stepped into a puddle from the rain the night before, splashing muddy water onto his clothes and even into his mouth, she’d gotten him a towel and pointed to the heavens. “Boy, who did you piss off up there?”

He was beginning to wonder about that himself. Especially after the ant attack, which Jess was still razzing him about. “You been a bad boy lately, Luciano?”

“No time. Between Belle’s son and my dad’s doctor’s appointments, I’ve been busy.”

“What’s wrong with your father?” Miss Ellie asked solicitously.

“He had some angina a while back. Because of his bypass surgeries, I wanted to drive him myself to the doctor and the stress test.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Jayne put in.

Luke did too. He was lucky to have his parents still living and couldn’t even think about anything happening to them. It was bad enough worrying about his sisters’ kids. Man, what would he do when he had his own?

As he dropped down on the edge of the blanket, he wondered if Jayne wanted kids. When he had brought it up once in New York, she avoided answering. But she’d been great with Kasey at the movies and the ball game. The little guy wouldn’t go to anyone else so she held him the whole time, cooing and petting him.

An image of her with a belly swollen by a baby shocked Luke with its clarity. Son of a bitch! His imagination was way out of control.

“Hey, buddy,” Jess said when he caught Luke staring into space. “You got a premonition of more things happening to you?”

Luke hoped to hell not.

O
N
S
UNDAY MORNING
when Eleanor and Jess were at church, Jayne headed outside to the gardens to water the plants. The rain earlier in the week hadn’t been enough, and the trilliums needed a good soak. Because it was already hot outside, she’d thrown on a well-worn Cornell T-shirt with cutoff shorts. On her head she’d plopped an old baseball cap she’d dragged from the closet when she saw that the birds near the feeder had been
decorating
the yard.

Halfway through her task, a voice startled her from her thoughts. “Hey, there.”

She turned around and found Luke. “You scared me.”

He plopped his hands on hips covered with khaki shorts. A white T-shirt outlined his impressive chest. She studied him as he studied her. The May air got a lot warmer, and when their gazes met, his was sizzling. She adjusted the brim of her hat to break the spell.

“It’s mine, you know,” he said.

“What is?”

“The cap.”

“Oh. You want it back?”

His expression was searing. “That’s not what I want from you.”

Ignoring the innuendo, she asked, “What are you doing up this early?”

“I came to fix a couple of shingles that are loose on the gazebo.”

“Watch out.” She nodded to the feeder, a big cedar thing that resembled a Buddhist temple. “The birds are all over the place today, which is why I put on your hat.”

“You think you’re talkin’ to a sissy?”

“Suit yourself. With your luck this week, you might want to be careful.” She couldn’t help adding, “The girls at the site are still talking about your cute undies.”

At the mention of underwear, Luke’s gaze dropped to her breasts, making her conscious of the skimpy bra she’d put on today.

Turning away abruptly, he crossed to the shed, went inside and came out with a ladder. She gave him her back, but could picture him climbing the steps and eventually heard him hammering.

Lulled by the comforting sounds of building, she finished watering. She was heading to the faucet when she heard, “Shit, shit, shit!” She retraced her steps.

As she got closer to the gazebo, she could see her prediction had come true, and how appropriate Luke’s curse had been. A pigeon had flown overhead and dropped his business right into Luke’s thick, dark hair. He had no choice but to come down the steps.

She looked at the flowing hose in her hand. Well, hell, nobody could resist this. Creeping up to the ladder, she reached him just as he hit the ground. She lifted the hose and doused his head with cold water.

He bellowed…and pivoted fast.

All innocence, she said, “Just trying to help. The bird doo-doo’s gone now, so—” The expression in his eyes made her stop mid-sentence.

Lightning fast, he wrested the hose from her and got off a shot that drenched her before she could get away. Still, she sprinted to the shed, darted in, shut the door and pulled a small wooden bench in front of it.

It was child’s play for him to get inside.

Laughing, she backed up until she hit a worktable against the far wall. Luke just stood in the doorway, hose in hand, staring at her. From the light coming through the window off to the left, she could see his gaze level on her chest. She glanced down. Her breasts were outlined by the wet shirt, the lace of her bra visible; her nipples puckered.

When she looked back up at Luke, she heard him swear softly, toss the hose outside and, without breaking eye contact, close the door.

Then he advanced on her.

A
CTING ON
primal male instinct, Luke covered the distance to Jayne quickly. His heart was pumping and blood rushed in his head. When he reached her, he stood
a few inches away, male to female, man to woman. Electricity sparked in the air. The dim light of the shed couldn’t disguise her beckoning body and the desire emanating from her.

He lifted his hand and outlined the scoop of the T-shirt’s neckline. The gasp that escaped her brought him potent satisfaction. “This is indecent,” he said, his voice gravelly.

“Your fault.”

A smile claimed his lips as his hand slid lower to her sternum. His splayed fingers spanned her chest. “I know, babe.” He closed his hand over one breast. “You still want me.”

Her eyes drifted shut and she sighed as he kneaded her. Though he wanted to rip off her shirt, he forced himself to go slow.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and circled his wrist with her fingers. Her face was flushed with arousal. Nonetheless, she whispered, “This is
so
not a good idea, Luke.”

“Seems damned right to me.” But since she’d protested, he found the will to ask, “Want me to stop?”

She moaned, fervently. “No.”

He settled his other hand on her neck, anchoring her, and bent his head to kiss the bare skin exposed by her shirt.

At the once-familiar touch of his lips on her, he groaned. She tasted salty and earthy and, underneath that, the scent of her bath soap lingered. As if he had all day, and as if his body wasn’t raging with need, his mouth traveled the expanse of skin to her right side. Then he buried his face in the crook between her shoulder and neck. She’d always liked that. He kissed
her there. Bit lightly, making her jump. She grasped his shoulders as he soothed the nip with his tongue.

“Luke, please.” He needed no more encouragement.

His hand slid from her neck to her head, and he gently drew it back by her hair, exposing her whole throat. He took his time there until she moaned again.

“What do you want, Jayne?”

“More” was all she muttered.

Moving in even closer, he plastered his body to hers, briefly basking in the curves and indentations, the soft suppleness of her. Bracing his arms on either side of her, with his hands on the worktable, he continued his exploration. “Hmm, yes, more.”

Finally, he lifted his head and captured her mouth, wanting to keep up the slow assault, but the sheer intensity of the contact battered his control. Needing to hold her, he gathered her up into a full embrace.

Her arms went around his neck, drawing him in, urging him on. He’d always loved it when she accepted him like that. Widening his stance, he pressed the small of her back to bring her lower torso into his. Again, he groaned but didn’t break the kiss. She settled her hips into him and stood on her toes. He parted her lips, darted inside her mouth, explored it. When her tongue met his, his body bucked into her.

It wasn’t enough, though, and in one burst of sanity he realized nothing ever was, or would be, enough with this woman. Drawing back, he heard her whimper “No.” He said, “Shh,” as he grabbed her around the waist—not gently—and hiked her onto the bench. She opened her legs and he stepped between them. His gaze linked with hers, and the unadulterated lust he saw in her eyes matched his own.

Grasping the hem of her T-shirt, he drew it over her head and tossed it aside. Some black lacy thing bound her breasts and the tops swelled over it. “Oh, damn, oh, God, you’re even more gorgeous now. More lush.”

But before he could go further, she pulled at
his
shirt and dragged the thing up. He helped her get it over his head.

“Mmm,” she said, and leaned forward. Her mouth moved over his pecs, kissed, then licked.