Love Me (2 page)

Five years after Lily had married Luke's twin brother, Travis, Janica was stil a little bit shocked by it al . She loved Lily more than anyone else on the planet and, yet, who would have thought that her shy, insecure older sister would have found true love first? Janica had always been the popular one, with al the friends, al the style, and al the confidence. But now Lily had a gorgeous husband who adored her while Janica was so cynical about men and ever fal ing in love that she'd actual y invited two of them into her bed. Beyond pissed at herself, she walked out from the kitchen with the beers. “Here.”

Instead of taking the bottles, the guys shot each other a look and started pul ing their shirts out from their pants. Okay, so having a threesome probably wasn't going to suck, but no matter how she tried to spin it in her head,

“not sucking” just wasn't a good enough reason for doing it.

Maybe if she were the heroine in a romance novel it would be okay. But this wasn't fantasy. This was real life.

Her life.

“You know what boys,” she began, “I don't think—”

She was cut off by the doorbel .

What the hel ? Who could possibly be coming to see her at 1:30 in the morning?

Oh God,
she immediately thought,
something has
happened to Lily or the kids.

Panicked, she flew to the door and yanked it open. It took her brain longer than it should have to register the fact that Luke Carson was standing in front of her, long enough for him to take her completely unaware with his hands on her shoulders.

And his mouth hard and hot on hers.

In an instant, everything fel away but his kiss. It was hungry, like a trapped lion who'd broken through his chains and could final y unleash the urge to devour his prey whole.

He wasn't asking, he was taking.

Demanding.

A hundred times—no, at least a thousand times

—she'd dreamed of kissing Luke, had stared at his mouth, at his lips, and wondered how they'd feel pressed up against her skin. And yet, even her best fantasies, even the ones that had her crying out his name in bed with one of her battery-operated toys, didn't begin to come close to this beautiful reality. My God, he was delicious. A spicy, darkly sensual aphrodisiac. Powerful and satisfying.

He forced his tongue into her mouth, ruthless as he sucked her breath into his body. She moaned with pleasure that came from way deep down in her core and wrapped her hands around his rock-hard butt to pul him closer.

His hands were rough, unyielding as they curved hard into the smal of her back, then tightly gripped the curve of her ass. Al space, al air between them was completely obliterated in his ful -on assault on her mouth, her body.

“What the hel ?”

“Who the fuck is he?”

Two male voices spoke almost in unison.

Oh crap. She'd completely forgotten about her wouldbe fuck buddies. Luke yanked his mouth away from hers to look up and over her shoulder. It was, Janica thought, like watching a real y messy accident happen in slow motion. You almost felt like you could step in and stop it from happening if you were quick enough. Even though the truth was she didn't have a chance in hel of halting the crash.

Luke growled a succinct, “Get out,” at the two men.

“Wait a minute,” Nick said, stepping forward. “We were here first.”

Luke al but puffed out his chest and bared his teeth. “I said get the fuck out.”

When he acted like this she was almost scared of him. She'd never seen Luke look so menacing. Or so possessive. A delicious little shiver ran through her. Al this time she'd thought she had him completely figured out. She'd been absolutely certain he was a type A, arrogant surgeon, destined for a blond trophy wife to decorate his suburban home and carpool his J. Crew clad kids to soccer games. She'd pegged him as Mr. Perfect, someone who had never uttered a curse word in his life. Amazingly, the word “fuck”

sounded just right on his tongue.

If she was wrong about that, then what else was she wrong about?

Janica opened her mouth to tel the boys she was going to send them home anyway and Luke's hands tightened on her shoulders.

“Don't you say a damn word.”

Again, desire rode through her at his command. She'd tried the whole master-submissive thing once—with her as the dominatrix, of course, in a leather corset and

“fuck me” boots—but hurting someone to get them off hadn't been her cup of tea.

Luke's tough-guy act, on the other hand, was exactly her brand of Earl Grey.

Unfortunately, the boys she'd met at the bar weren't too quick on the uptake.

“Fuck you, man,” Jarod said. “We were here first. We're staying.”

Again, Janica tried to say something, but Luke pul ed her so hard against him she actual y lost her breath.

“She just uninvited you, asshole. Both of you.”

The two guys advanced on Luke and that was when she decided enough was enough. No way was she going to waste precious lip-lock time with Luke on what was sure to be a bloody fight with these bozos. Another time she'd let three guys fight over her. Right now there was only one thing she wanted: to be alone, preferably naked, with the man of her dreams.

“I'm real y sorry, guys, but I completely forgot about this appointment I had with Luke.”

Their mouths fel open in a particularly unattractive way. How had she ever found their beefy-arms and crewcuts attractive?

“Appointment? In the middle of the night?”

“Do you think we're stupid enough to believe that?”

Yes, actual y she did.

During the short exchange she could feel Luke simmering beside her, but even though his coming in and taking over was a total turn-on, it had also started to piss her off a little bit.

She could take care of herself, thank you, had been doing just that for twenty-nine years. Wel , apart from the fact that Lily had pretty much raised her after their parents died, she'd been going it alone her whole life. Deciding to show al of them that it was her apartment, damn it, and she'd decide who stayed and who left, using every bit of strength in her smal body, she wrenched herself out of Luke's vise hold, picked up the guys’ jackets and carried them over to the open door.

“Sorry this didn't work out.”

Clearly furious, they stomped across the room and yanked their jackets from her.

“Cock tease.”

Before she even realized he'd moved, Luke had Nick's shirt in his fists.

“Don't you ever talk to a woman like that again.” Each word held a world of menace. “Apologize to her, asshole.” He waited a beat and when nothing came, he said, “Right fucking now.”

Nick's face was beet red and Janica wasn't at al sure that he could breathe.

“Sorry,” he squeaked out.

She nodded her acceptance of his apology. The truth was she'd been cal ed worse. Frankly, she'd barely even registered the insult.

“It's okay, Luke,” she said softly. “You can let him go.” It was long past time for this train wreck to end. Al she wanted was for Nick and Jarod to leave so that she could be alone with Luke again. Her lips were stil tingling from his kiss.

She wanted more.

So much more.

With what was obviously great reluctance, Luke dropped Nick's shirt and let him stumble backward into the hal .

“Come on, man,” Jarod said. “There's stil time to pick someone else up if we hurry.”

Luke slammed her front door shut so hard she half expected the neighbors to come knocking to make sure she was okay.

“What the fuck were you doing with them?”

He looked so angry, almost disgusted, that it kicked al of her defensive urges into gear.

It was her life, thank you very much. And until tonight, he hadn't seemed to care one way or another what she did with it.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared back at him. “Exactly what you think.”

“Jesus.” The word was more of a curse than any of his earlier “fucks” or “assholes” were. “You were going to take two of them.”

Before she could tel him that while that was her initial intention, she wasn't actual y going to fol ow through on it, he had her shoulders gripped hard in his hands again.

He didn't press her up against his body this time. Instead, she was total y immobilized by his strength. She'd known he was in great shape, that his muscles were cut and ripped, but now that she was getting to know the feel of his hands on her, the truth was he was so much stronger than she'd thought.

“How many times have you done it?”

Looking up at his beautiful face, she got snared in his green eyes, and any chance she had of speaking was lost.

“Tel me, damn you. How many three-ways have you had?”

Forcing her brain to process his gritty request, she final y got out, “None.”

His eyes flashed with relief a split second before wariness—and disbelief—took over. His hands tightened on her shoulders again. “Don't lie to me.”

Okay, now that just made her mad. How dare he accuse her of lying!

Going on her tippy toes so that her face was barely an inch from his, she spoke each word distinctly. “I. Don't. Lie.”

She always told the truth. Even when it hurt. Even when it would be so much better to spin out an easy lie. There was a heavy pause where his eyes held hers and she thought he was going to kiss her again. She held her breath waiting for it.

Instead he said, “You were going to do it. Tonight.”

She was surprised to see more than anger in his gaze. There was jealousy there, too. And concern. Had he actual y been afraid for her safety?

A part of her wanted to push out of his arms and defend herself and tel him that she'd gotten out of far stickier situations with no problems. But another part

—the part that had needed Luke for too damn long

—had her moving closer to him and saying, “I was just about to send them home, Luke. I thought I could do it. I thought I wanted to do it. But I didn't. I couldn't.”

How could I enjoy having a three-way with a couple
of strangers when the only person I really want is
you?

Janica El is was one of the most vibrant, self-confident, overtly sexual women he’d ever met. Even though she was only five years younger than he was, she'd always struck him as too young. Too raw. Way too out in the open. He didn't date girls like her, didn't see the point when it was clear that there was no future in it. As he held her body close to his, Luke had to wonder how Janica and Lily could possibly be related. Because even though they looked nothing like each other—Lily was tal and curvy and soft with flowing red curls while Janica was smal , al angles and lines with jet black hair—their differences stretched far beyond the physical.

Lily, Luke’s best friend from elementary school, was the most giving, caring, loyal person he’d ever known. Whereas everything about Janica screamed TAKE. And yet, she was the only person he could face tonight. Was it because she was the only person he knew who wouldn't judge him—or feel a speck of pity—over the fact that his world was imploding?

Or, he had to ask himself, stil tasting her sweetness on his lips, was it simply about sex?

Hot, sweaty, slippery sex.

From the moment his lips had touched hers, his dick had been rock hard. It was sick for his sister-in-law, someone he'd known since she was in pigtails – and had told himself he didn't much liked - to give him a woody. Lord knew that was what he’d been tel ing himself for the past five years. But none of that mattered right now.

He was sick of being the good guy al the time. He was exhausted from fighting his desire for Janica. And he was done not taking what she gave so freely to anyone else with a heartbeat.

Sick. And getting sicker by the second. He knew it. And on any other night he would have fought against his baser urges, the way he usual y did. He would have put nobility first and lust second. But he was too tired, too burnt out, too skeptical about the whole damn world and his part in it to bring himself to care, to stop the train he was on before it slammed into a brick wal . A beautiful, erotic brick wal .

His cock shot up another inch beneath the zipper of his jeans as he drank her in, forcing everything that had happened in the ER out of his head.

Watching him watch her, Janica's eyes flashed a mixture of confusion and desire. And then, in a flash, the uncertainty disappeared, replaced with her usual feisty attitude.

He held her chal enging gaze, silently acknowledging that they hadn’t had an easy relationship since their siblings got married. They’d been forced together for countless lunches, dinners, and holidays, and the truth was he'd never gone out of his way to be particularly nice to her. Not when he'd made up his mind about Janica years ago in defense of his best friend, Lily, deciding that Janica was a selfish little girl who took everything she could from her older sister and rarely gave anything back.

A voice in the back of his head said,
Are you sure
that's why you stayed away from her? Or were you
afraid that if you ever let yourself have a taste of
heaven, you wouldn't be able to pull yourself away
from her? Because you just might find out that you
like her more than you want to.

What the hel was wrong with him tonight? Why was his brain playing tricks on him?

He needed to shut off the voice of reason that said to get the fuck out while he stil had his pants on and stick with the plan. What had happened in the trauma center tonight had made him a different man. One he wasn’t sure he’d like in the morning, but one who knew exactly what he wanted.

Janica.

He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone, or anything, his whole life.

For the first time in thirty-five years he was completely lacking in moral fiber. But what did it real y matter in the end? His twin, Travis, had been the biggest dog Luke knew. And even though he'd simply used women for their bodies, disrespecting their feelings al the while, he’d found true love with Lily anyway. Now he had a wife. Kids. A family.

Travis had real happiness.