Celeb Crush (17 page)

I turn my head to the side, staring at the whispery shadows the rain makes against the canvas of the tent.  “Maybe you should have,” I reply.  “Then you wouldn’t be about to make a huge mistake right now.”

There is a taut silence.  Then:  “Andi.  Look at me.”  Luke’s voice is low, commanding.  “Look at me.”

He takes his hand from my stomach and puts it on my chin, firmly turning my face to meet his.  His eyes search mine intently.  “You think this would be a mistake?”

I don’t answer.  I know he knows me well enough to read the indecisiveness on my face.  Our chests are touching, hearts pounding together.  His mouth is so close to mine.  It would be so easy to bring my lips to his, to let my hands explore every muscled inch of him.  To satisfy that question I see in his eyes when he looks at me.

The thing is—I want to.  More than anything I’ve wanted in a long time.  And I’ve always been horrible about denying myself anything…especially when I know how bad it is for me.

He’s definitely bad for me, I can already tell.

I suddenly start to panic.  I can’t breathe!  “Let go, Luke!” I whisper-shout, struggling out of his arms.

He only grips me tighter, reminding me just how much stronger he is than I am.  “Why?” he asks huskily, that line between his eyebrows appearing.  “What are you so afraid of, Andi?”

I say the first thing that comes to mind.  “I’m afraid I’m going to get your blood all over my face after I headbutt you in the nose.”

I meet his eyes defiantly.  The intimate moment is effectively ruined by my threat.  Luke suddenly laughs, pressing his forehead against mine.  “Ah, you’re killing me, baby,” he groans softly.  “You know that, right?”

I jerk my head away.  “Let go of me!  I’m going to sleep in the truck!”

“Come on, Andi.  I swear I’ll be good.  Just don’t fucking leave, okay?”

His tone is surprisingly anxious.  I stop fighting him long enough to eye him warily.  “What do you want?”

“Stay.”  Luke brushes a lock of hair from my cheek.  “Don’t leave me the way you did in Paris.”

I can’t believe he brought up Paris.  I wasn’t sure if he even remembered.  “Move.  I can’t breathe,” I mutter, pushing him away again.  When he finally obliges and shifts to the side, I mutter, “What am I, your new security blanket?”

Luke’s teeth flash white in the darkness.  “Something like that.”

We both fall quiet.  I lie there with my eyes wide open, afraid to move.  With a sigh I feel more than hear, Luke settles me against his chest.  He grabs my hand and places it over his thudding heart. 

“Don’t let go,” he whispers.

“I won’t,” I lie.

Chapter 14

I wake up to find myself still in Luke’s arms, our legs entangled.  I believe I’ve mentioned before that I’m not the cuddling type—but once again I’m proven wrong.  Then again, the only other person I’ve slept with was Bran.  Maybe it was him that made me non-cuddly and sleep-violent.  Hm.

I’m definitely not having violent thoughts right now.  I look at Luke’s peaceful face in the pale light of morning, and just like in Paris, I’m almost overcome with a rush of tenderness.  His is the face of masculine beauty.  But even if you took away his looks—turned those bright gold and green eyes mud brown, thickened his jaw, and hid all those sleek muscles under layers of fat— he would still be sexy.  Sexy and beautiful, and mesmerizing.  I wish I…

Never mind.

Again, I’m in the position of trying to politely extricate myself from his arms.  It’s not as easy given the confines of our shared sleeping bag, and my lack of clothing.  Only when the hand resting on my hip slides around to cup my rear end do I realize that I’ve woken him.

“Fuck me,” Luke groans, tightening his grip.  “Your ass is amazing.”

“And
your
ass is about to get kicked if you don’t move your hand.”

I crawl out of the bag, ignoring the sound of his slightly strained laughter.  I grab Luke’s phone since I’m not sure where mine is to check the time.  Six-fifteen.  I wonder if the boys are awake.  I cock my head to the side to listen for any telltale creature noises, but all I hear is the pattering sounds of a light rain.  I don’t know if that’s good or bad.

I suddenly remember that I don’t have any clean clothes to change into.  Now what?  I carefully rifle through my bag, hoping to find something not covered in greasy creamy lotion.  Ugh, all my underwear is soaked, too.  No cracks about the ones I’m wearing now, thanks.

“What time is it?” Luke asks in a rusty sleep-roughened voice that I reluctantly must admit gives me pleasant shivers along my spine.

I tell him, and he sits up, immediately stretching out his back.  I quickly turn away.  “Can I borrow some clothes?” I ask, running a hand self-consciously over my jungle hair.

“Yeah, sure.  Help yourself.”

I grab his black sports bag, and don’t think twice about rummaging through his stuff.  Hell, I’ve packed for him more times than I can count.  Yes, I’ve handled Lucas Greyson’s boxers on many occasions—and trust me, it’s not that thrilling.

I pick out a plain black t-shirt and gray sweat pants for me to wear.  I also find several packets of condoms, size large.  I don’t take personal offense to this; Luke carries condoms around like he does his phone and keys.  So he has sex a lot—at least he’s responsible about it.  I bury the packets beneath his socks, trying not to think about how they would have been put to good use last night if things had gone differently. 

I put the sweatpants on, rolling them several times at the bottom.  Luke is watching me, but I ignore him.  I grab the shirt and my Ziploc bag of toiletries, and leave the tent without saying anything.  I’m sure he can guess where I’m going.

Fifteen minutes later, I come back to find the boys up and dressed, and running in circles around the tents with their mouths hanging open.  I’m not sure if they’re trying to catch rain drops on their tongues, or…I don’t know.  I don’t want to know.

Luke comes back from the bathrooms showered and changed.  He’s got his Yankees cap on and his sunglasses, ready to go.  We have breakfast at a dog-friendly restaurant with outdoor seating.  It’s a gloomy drippy morning, but I don’t mind rain on my pancakes.  I also eat food that I’ve dropped in my bra.  Disgusting—or practical?

After breakfast, I have Luke drive us to a local Price Pride to replace my ruined clothes.  I buy the underwear that comes in a pack, a couple of outfits, and windbreakers for the four of us.  I also get a meaty dog bone for Devo.  Not because I like the stinky creature, or anything.  It’s on sale.

Luke has the brilliant idea to take the boys to Sandy Peaks to dune buggy it up.  He has to hand over his license for the rental, so of course the guys behind the counter know who he is.  They’re pretty cool about it, though.  They ask for a couple of pictures with him, and Luke good-naturedly acquiesces.  They even want me and the kids to pose with them, but hell, no.  Luke asks if they could keep his presence here a secret, and they cheerfully agree.  I secretly think that threats would be more effective, but what do I know.

Luke pays one of the staff to babysit Devo for us.  We rent two dune buggies; Luke takes Dalton and Talon is with me.  It’s awesome!  Every time we go airborne, Talon and I shriek at the top of our lungs.  I think Talon’s screams have more to do with terror than exhilaration, though when I ask him if he wants to stop, he shakes his head vigorously no.  I take him at his word and only go faster.  I hit every mud puddle I can, and it’s not long before we’re both covered in filth.  Luke and I race each other up and over dunes, and along the waves crashing onto the shore.

Balls.  I get my dune buggy taken away due to reckless driving.  They let us have a four-seater in exchange, so all is not lost.  Luke is definitely a much better driver than I am; he doesn’t skid or almost tip over once.  Dalton is so into it, I’m worried he’s going to shit himself from the excitement.  I have a feeling his mother, whom I’ve heard is super-overprotective, is not going to be thrilled to discover her baby boy has the need for speed.

We spend the whole day there, and I can honestly say it’s the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been back.  By the time we roll back to camp, it’s after five, and we’re all caked in mud.  I have it in my ears, which is weird because I was wearing a helmet the whole time.

After thorough showers, we have dinner at the lodge.  Talon and Dalton eat like starving feral children, but I’m too busy stuffing my own face to care much.  Half the menu sits on our table, I’m not ashamed to say.  Play big; eat big, as my dear old dad used to say.

A light rain continues to fall.  I want to go straight to sleep after dinner, but I am unanimously outvoted.  So here I am, sitting on a log on the cold and windy beach.  The kids are running through the crashing surf with their stubby-legged companion.  No, not Luke, ha ha.  He’s sitting next to me, and I’m furtively trying to use him as a wind block.

Now that’s it’s just the two of us again, I expect it to get awkward.  And I am not disappointed.  Still, we try hard to soldier through it by talking about everything from his upcoming shooting schedule (which I already know better than he does) to how my parents first met.

“She really did, I swear,” I say.  “She tackled him at a Boise State football game.  She saw him from across the crowded parking lot, and she just knew he was the one.  She didn’t know his name, so how else was she supposed to get his attention before he got away?”

Luke is shaking his head and laughing, his eyes sparkling in amusement.  “I think I would have liked your mom.”  He chuckles.

“I used to ask her what would have happened if Uncle Charlie had been there instead, since he and my dad were virtually interchangeable.   She would just give me the stink eye," I reminisce with a smile.

"You're a lot like your mom, aren't you?"

“Not really,” I say, blinking in surprise.  “She was a very aggressive person.  My dad, on the other hand, was so easygoing and chill.  They balanced each other out perfectly.”

“Kind of like us,” Luke says, nudging me with his arm.

“Ha.  Yeah.”   What?

Devo comes waddling over to us.  He goes straight to Luke, who hunkers down in the sand to play with him.  I have to admit those two are pretty cute together.  Luke loves animals, especially dogs—but whenever I ask him why he doesn’t get one he always says he doesn’t have time to properly take care of it.  That’s his lame excuse for not owning anything, or having anything permanent in his life.  I guess that says something important about him.  Or maybe it’s just because he’s a boy.  Yeah, that’s probably it.

Guess what I forgot to buy?  Another sleeping bag.  Even if I had, I suppose it wouldn’t have mattered.  Luke spreads his out on the floor of the tent, and we both lie down on it.  I know it’s a bad idea, but I don’t care right now.  For just one more night, I can have Luke’s arms around me, and I can let myself sink into all that warmth and strength.  What could it hurt, right?

Remember when I wondered what it could hurt to sleep with Luke?  I find out the night he climbs into my bed after a night of hard drinking with Ellen.  Yeah, that’s right; my fake boyfriend went out boozing with my grandmother, while I—being the sensible person that I am—laugh myself to sleep in bed watching videos of people hurting themselves. 

“You smell like you bathed in whiskey,” I grumble to Luke as he settles next to me, taking up more than half the space.

“Almost.” Luke chuckles quietly.  The bed shifts, then I feel him plant a soft kiss on top of my head.  “Go to sleep, Tiger.”

I am having such an X-rated dream right now.  It starts off with me running my hand over Luke’s incredible abs, my fingers moving over every ridge and sinuous curve.  His pants rest low on his hips, and I trace that impressive V-line.  You think Lucas Greyson is insanely hot and sexy in his movies?  You haven’t seen anything until you’re up close and personal.  Holy shit, it’s like touching warm smooth stone.

Luke groans quietly at my touch and mutters my name.  It makes me smile.  His hand is on my hip, and impatiently I move it to where I crave his touch the most.  In my dream, I’m very demanding.  And Luke is very accommodating.  And very skilled.  So very.

I wake up to the most intense orgasm of my life.  Pulsating waves of pleasure are still rocking through my body as my eyes blink open in the darkness.  For several seconds, I just lie there, basking in those euphoric sensations.

Then reality hits me like a bucket of ice cold water to the face.  I’m wide awake now, and I suddenly realize that Luke is kissing my neck and his hand is between my legs.  And he’s…

“Luke,” I whisper, too stunned to move.  “Luke!”

“Huh?”  He sounds groggy at first.  He looks uncomprehendingly down at me.  Then his eyes widen in alarm when he realizes what he’s doing.  “Shit!”

He stumbles out of bed so fast he almost falls.  He stares down at me, clad only in boxers, with a tormented look on his face.  “I am so fucking sorry, Andi,” he says in a voice hoarse with guilt.  “I didn’t—”

“Get out.”  My voice is shaking, probably because my whole body is shaking.  I’m sitting up now, hugging my knees to my chest.  My mind is still reeling from that incredible orgasm.