Breaking Through (Atlanta #3) (17 page)

"Baby, look at you move," he moaned as he groped her hips. "Holy fuck…"

Passionately she moved over him as he groaned the entire time about how hot she was for waking him up just to fuck him. She moaned along with him, happy to have him under her, allowing her to control the moment. She never expected to have so much need and connection in a relationship. No wonder she loved him like she did.
 

That morning and every day after, Jenna's confidence grew. Even when Luke wasn't around, Jenna found herself being more assertive. She stood up to an insurance agent over the phone, and calmly put an angry parent in their place at the clinic. Cassie noticed and couldn't believe the change in her.

"Ok, Jennalyn. I'm going to need some specifics. Check you out! I love what I'm seeing here," Cassie said happily. "I wish I knew more about your mystery man."

Jenna smiled and shrugged like always, but Cassie wouldn't let it go this time.

"Alright, I'm calling Erin for lunch today. We're having a Jenn-tervention. Be ready at noon to spill your guts, chickie."

Jenna laughed. "Lunch sounds great, but there will be no gut-spilling."

Three short hours later Erin and Cassie had Jenna cornered at a café. Erin and Jenna were both laughing as Cassie played the role of interrogator, faking a spotlight on Jenna and taking the position as bad-cop.

"Jennalyn E. Roche, you have been charged with failure to gossip. This is a very serious allegation. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Absolutely nothing," she grinned. Erin smiled along with her.

Cassie rolled her eyes at both of them. "Erin, you're supposed to be helping here!"

"Sorry, Cass. I'll try to help…oh! I think I can get one snippet from this little felon. Jenna, we need a name for this guy. It doesn't have to be his real name, but maybe a nickname that tells us something about him?"

"Oooh! Good idea," Cassie beamed. "We can give him a spy-name. That way we can call him something besides
him
. So what do you think, Jenna? What little hint can you give us by way of a revealing code-name?"

Jenna laughed again at the excited expressions on their faces. "Ok, ok. I can't resist. Let me think…"

The answer hit her almost immediately: his motorcycle. She loved riding with him, and the bike represented his badass side completely. His sweet side came through on his motorcycle, too, with his concern for her safety.
 

"Got it," she smiled. "Harley."

"Harley?" Cassie asked.

"As in Davidson? Does he have a motorcycle?" Erin asked.

Jenna nodded and filled them in about his bike and their times out riding all over Atlanta and beyond. She confessed to owning her own biker boots and jacket, and that "Harley" even bought her a helmet for their second date.
 

Cassie laughed and clapped her hands. "Jenna's a biker-babe! Unbelievable."

"Who'd have ever thought?" Jenna smiled. "But enough about me. Erin, how are the wedding plans coming?"

Erin's smile outshone them all. "My parents are awesome," she beamed. "I'm picking everything from a distance and they're doing all the paperwork. We already got the church and the hall reserved. Now we have to pick out things like invitations, wedding favors…bridesmaids dresses…and speaking of bridesmaids…"

Cassie squealed and said yes before Erin even had a chance to ask, and then said another yes right
after
Cassie asked. They all laughed together and tossed around ideas about color schemes, reception hall decorations, photographer criteria, etc.
 

"So is Marcus helping you with decoration ideas?" Cassie asked with innocence. The only response all three of them had was raucous laughter.
 

"No, Marcus is keen on just showing up. That's about it. I'm still making him help register for gifts. I don't care if he has a towel preference or not. He's shopping," Erin said with a determined grin. "Your turn Cassie. How are things with Scott?"

Cassie beamed again with a genuinely happy smile. "He's great," she smiled almost peacefully. "Things are going so well with us. He's so much fun to mess with."

Jenna was so thrilled to see her two best friends so happy. All three talked more about their men and Jenna tried very hard to share in the conversation as much as she could without giving away the fact both of her best friends already knew her boyfriend. By the time she was done with lunch, she actually felt pretty good about the relationship secrecy. She was walking the line well, and now that Luke had a spy-name, talking about him was even easier.
 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Jenna spent the next entire week thinking about that time in front of the mirror with Luke. Every time she lived through the moment in her head, she smiled a little more. He got her in an entirely new place of thinking. For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of confidence without validation from someone else. Jenna alone was beautiful and could handle more than she thought.
 

Luke was amazing, and she wanted to spend the weekend showing him exactly how important he was. She got her Friday shift adjusted so she had all afternoon to prepare for her night at the barn with Luke. She hoped he would like her escape spot as much as she liked his. He shared a private part of himself with her. She couldn't wait to do the same.

In honor of the occasion, she splurged on a shopping trip for herself and got a new bath oil scented with cypress, oak moss, and lotus blossoms. The effect was earthy and fresh. She knew as soon as she smelled the fragrance that Luke would love such a simple, natural scent. He loved to breath in the warm skin where her hair met the side of her neck. Truthfully, she loved how he wanted to take her in. She experienced such intimacy when he breathed her very essence.

After she packed a cooler of picnic fare and bottled water, Jenna pampered herself with another decadent home-spa treatment. She soaked in her tub so long she needed to add hot water a few times. Thoughts of Luke swirled through her head the entire time, both the good and the bad. The very thought of every hot moment and sweet conversation brought unintentional smiles to her face, but those smiles faded at the thought of his self-confessed darkness, his nightmares, and the need to keep their relationship private. Jenna wanted so desperately to go out as a group with her two best friends and all their men. She already knew they'd get along because they were already in the same circle.
 

Even more difficult was keeping herself from Sophie. His little girl touched her heart, even more so with her connection to Luke. Sophie was a part of him and he was a part of her, and Jenna wanted to be a part of both. Luke told Jenna how much he wished "his two favorite women" could get to know each other. Both Jenna and Luke experienced heartbreak over the issue, even this early in the relationship.
 

Luckily for Jenna, those smile-erasing thoughts were outnumbered by the happiness of her others. She absolutely loved how Luke hit everything in life at full force, including his time with Jenna. She swooned every time he passionately claimed her and growled hot words telling her what her body did to him. Every internal replay of those moments heated up her smile into something altogether different from the grins over their sweeter moments, like his drowsy voice after sex.
 

The memories of every intimate motorcycle ride caused her smile to soften into one of blissful peace. Combined with his sweet care of her by means of protective riding gear, every bit of their time offered her such a sense of togetherness. The two of them as a pair was something singular.
 

After rolling through their entire relationship, Jenna finally drained the bath water and moved on to her hair, makeup, and nails. Finally satisfied with her appearance, she checked the weather to know what to pack for the barn. The night would be a warm one, thank goodness, because they could wear very little if anything at all. She loved being naked in his arms, snuggled in his insanely strong embrace.
 

Even better than the warm air was the forecast for rain. Not only did she love the sound of rain on the barn's corrugated roof, but Luke would have to bring his car which had room for the cooler. She wanted to surprise him with the provisions because she hoped to keep him at her grandparents' barn all night.
 

The hay-loft in the barn was a favorite spot for her and Cassie to go relax, talk, and even study when they were both still in school. They actually built a fort up there out of straw bales. That had been Cassie's fun idea, of course, but Jenna loved the cozy spot even more after they had the space how they wanted it.

She couldn't wait to get Luke up to the loft, because this new, more confident Jenna was hoping for a sweet night with hot sex. Now that she had been on the pill long enough for the birth control to be effective, she was looking forward to them being together even more. They connected that way the week before without really intending to, and Jenna had never felt such a sense of intimacy with a man. To feel every detail of him as he shot powerfully inside of her nearly shattered her into a million pieces.
 

Her thoughts were broken by a knock at her door.
Always right on time
, she thought with genuine appreciation. She let him in and noticed right away he wasn't wearing his riding boots. Instead, he was in a pair of old jeans, an equally old t-shirt from a KISS concert, and a pair of well-worn athletic slides. Even so scruffy, Luke was downright hot…maybe even more so. His t-shirt could barely contain the thick muscles around his chest, arms, and shoulders. Thinking about the drool-worthy six-pack abs under his shirt nearly made her shiver. Even his well-defined thighs and calves turned her on…not to mention his rock-hard ass.

"Hi," she said once she remembered how to talk.

"Hey," he returned with a smile as he pulled her in for a classic Luke-Baylor-deep kiss. Even though his fingers weren't gripped up in her hair, he cupped his hand at the nape of her neck to keep her in the kiss for as long as he wanted her. He could kiss her forever, as far as she was concerned. Unfortunately, he brushed her lips with one final sweet touch. He breathed her in as he liked to do.

"You always smell so good… So where's this private place you're taking me?" he asked with a sweet smile. "Because I can't wait to get you alone."

"You'll see," she grinned at her secret. "But I have a question first. Are you staying tonight?"

"I was hoping to," he said matter-of-factly.
 

"Good, because I'm keeping you all night at my favorite spot. I packed us food. Can you carry the cooler down?"

He grinned and noticed the soft-sided cooler near the door. "Sure. It's a good thing I brought my car."

"I figured you would with the rain we're supposed to get, but we could have taken the blueberry if you didn't."

"You call your car
the blueberry
?" he laughed.

"Cassie named it. Have you seen it?" she asked with a smile. "What else could we call it?"

He laughed an easy, comfortable laugh. What a beautiful sound. "Good point. You ready?"

She was ready. Absolutely. She felt a little scandalous, though, at the thought of her fancy underthings. She splurged this week on those, too, astounded by her decadent budget-blowing choice of lacy lingerie and high-end bath oil. Her excitement kicked in even more as his biceps flexed when he picked up the cooler and turned toward the door.
 

The drive to the barn was spent in comfortable conversation, and also with Luke's hand rubbing along the denim high on Jenna's thigh. He always had to be touching her, thank goodness. His need for connection made her smile every time.
 

When he walked through Jenna's door, Luke was baffled. How could someone be so sexy in jeans and rain shoes? His angel was beautiful, and he needed to kiss her accordingly. He spent a good amount of time appreciating her in that kiss. He couldn't wait to see where she would take him tonight. All he knew was she was going to show him a private place that meant a lot to her. Luke already knew he was important to her, but this trip with her demonstrated how much. She wanted to share another piece of herself with him, and keep him there all night. He couldn't wait to get her there.

He carried the cooler down to his car, popped it in the back next to Sophie's car seat, and got himself settled in the driver's seat. Jenna was already buckled in, smiling at him and happy to be with him. She had a soft brown color on her nails today that highlighted her beautiful eyes. Her hair had more waves than usual and he smiled at the thought of her spending extra time on herself for him. She didn't need to, but he appreciated her wanting to look pretty for him.
 

"So where am I driving?" he asked.

"Head out of town going west. I'll give you directions on the way," she smiled. He reached over to rest his hand on her leg and couldn't stop himself from massaging her thigh while he did. Too easily he worked his hand up her leg until his fingers were oh-so-close to her beautiful pussy. He had to stop himself or he'd never be able to concentrate on driving. One pleasure-noise from her throat and he'd lose control of the car, he was sure, so he kept his hand from reaching any farther.
 

She directed him to a spot far out of town in the rural area northwest of Atlanta, all the way through back roads to a gravel driveway leading to an old barn.
 

"This is it," she said with nervous excitement. "This place belongs to my grandparents, but they don't use it anymore. I hope you don't think it's weird."

He laughed. "Not any weirder than a campsite I don't even own. At least you've got
some
right to be here."