LUKE (3 page)

Once again, I almost froze. So he was 28. That wasn’t so bad, was it? It could be worse. “None taken.” He said he didn’t normally do it, that didn’t mean it was a lost cause. And I had to admit, the idea of having to fight for something was kinda appealing. “So, what do you normally go for?” I asked as I shot him a glance.

He mulled it over. “I don’t really know. I … I don’t really date.”

“Why not?”

“I just haven’t had much luck with it … I’ve had a complicated life, and most girls aren’t into the whole complicated thing.”

“Bullshit. There is a reason bad boys are so popular.”

“Yea, the ones that can be saved.”

“Are you saying you can’t be saved?”

“My past is my past, and it’s going to catch up to me eventually.” He shrugged. “Probably sooner than later.”

“It must be some past.”

“Turn left here.” He pointed to the next set of lights. A convenient way for him to change the subject. He was quiet for a few minutes before saying, “The thing about me is that girls want to save me when they see the cuts on my wrists. They think that’s what I need saving from, but the truth is, there is a lot more fucked up shit to me than trying to kill myself. Once they realize that—and if they find out what it is—they don’t want anything to do with it, or me. It’s too much for them to handle.”

“Then they are going about the whole ‘saving bad boys’ thing wrong.”

He laughed softly. “Sounds like you have experience in it.”

“Yes,” I admitted. I believe that almost every girl out there went through a bad boy phase. “It turns out I don’t really like it. I mean, I’m all for being supportive, but when the bad boy in question doesn’t want to stop doing heroin … well, it’s not as romantic as it sounds.”

I had no clue where it came from. There were seven people in my life, who knew what I’d just told a total stranger.

“You can’t save someone who wants to be doomed.”

It sounded like he was speaking from experience. I just couldn’t tell if it was about himself or someone else. “I normally go with you can’t change someone who doesn’t want to be changed, but yea, pretty much the same.”

“Was that your last boyfriend?”

“My last real relationship. There have been a few guys here and there, but I’ve found my bullshit tolerance is pretty low. Mark and I … we got together when I was 12, I was stupid and put up with a lot … after we broke up, it seems like I just don’t have the energy to put up with crap. So my relationships don’t last very long.” Of course, I only had myself to blame for that.

“When did it end?”

“About four and a half years ago … after he got sent to jail.”
 

***
 

I could hear the bitterness in her voice. I wasn’t sure if it was bitterness aimed at him, or bitterness aimed at the fact that he went to jail.

“Take another left up here.” She nodded. We were getting close to my place, and I was dreading it. I knew that if I weren’t careful, this could be the last time I saw her. I knew that the best thing I could do was never see her again and never get her tangled up in this mess, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to see her again. I wanted to talk to her and take her out to dinner and get to know her even more.

I wanted to hear about her childhood, and maybe even tell her about my past. Maybe. But she wouldn’t be interested, would she? Would she have the energy to put up with my crap?
 

***
 

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

“Well.” I put the car into park in front of his house, and he turned to face me. His head tilted to the left. “Here we are.”

“Yea.”

But he didn’t get out of the car; instead, he leaned towards me. My heart skipped a beat as he reached out, cupping my cheek in his hand. He pulled me towards him, and I had a fraction of a second to decide if I was going to let him kiss me. I wanted to. Oh, God, I wanted to but … there was something about him. I wasn’t sure he’d be willing to follow through with an actual relationship, and I wasn’t looking for a booty call.

Still, I didn’t pull away from him as his lips touched mine softly. My fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer to me. I knew it was a bad idea, but I didn’t care.

A soft moan passed through my lips as he nipped my lower lip gently. His eyes homed in on mine as he pulled away, and clearing his throat, he said, “Do you um, want to come in?”

“Yes.” I spoke before even realizing it. I shut the car off and let Luke lead the way to his house.

He didn’t bother turning on the light as we stepped inside, and without waiting for me to take my shoes off, he grabbed my wrist. He turned to face me, pushing me against the door gently as his lips crashed against mine. “Would you like coffee or anything, or can we skip all that crap?”

His bluntness made me laugh. It was refreshing for a guy to understand that I wasn’t coming in for a coffee. My arms wrapped around his neck.

“I’ll skip the coffee,” I whispered against his lips seconds before he pulled away. He led me through the kitchen and down a small hallway before we made our way into the bedroom.

I didn’t look around all that much; I was too busy getting pulled over to the bed. His lips crashed against mine as he pulled me close to him, and I nipped his lower lip gently. Gasping, he pushed his hips against me, and I moaned as we fell against the bed.

My fingers tangled in his hair, and he pulled away from me a little, his lips tracing their way along my jawline and softly towards my neck. He placed kisses over every inch of my skin that he could reach, his fingers brushing my hair to the side before his hands slid over the curves of my body. I moaned, my fingers digging into the fabric beneath me. I watched his every move as he slid lower and lower down my body, pulling away from me just a little as his hands touched the hem of my shirt. His eyes locked on mine.
 

***
 

I searched her face for any sign that she wouldn’t be okay with it before pulling her shirt off her and tossing it onto the ground. She watched me as I reached for my own shirt and unbuttoned it slowly before slipping it off. It landed on the floor behind me.

Her eyes widened as she stared at my body. I grinned. All the hard work, the strict diet that I had, the dedication of going to the gym at 4:00 a.m. This was one of the reasons I did it—to see the look on her face when I took my shirt off. Well, not her, but now that I’d seen that look from her, I was pretty sure I didn’t want anyone else giving it to me.
 

***
 

Those abs. That V that ran down to the waist of his jeans. Oh, I wanted to start drooling right then and there.

I resisted the urge and forced my eyes up. His chest was just as ripped as his abs. I hadn’t noticed before, but his entire left arm was covered in tattoos. I tried to take every single one of them in, actually the more I looked at it, the more I was sure it was just one big tattoo. It looked tribal to me and ran from his shoulder to just above his wrist. How had I missed it before? I must have been too busy staring at his other wrist, the wrist with his scars and the other tattoo.

I swallowed dryly, pushing myself off the bed. My eyes locked on his as my hands traced over every muscled curve of his body. His hands touched my hips, and with the flick of a wrist, he had the skirt I was wearing on the ground. I blushed as I stood there in front of him completely naked.

I felt … vulnerable to be standing in front of him without any clothes on. Not that I didn’t trust him, just that it was something I wasn’t used to. The last time I’d had sex was … ages ago, to say the least, even though I’d been on several dates this year they’d never made it to the bedroom.

“Jade?”

My own name snapped me back to the present. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?” He’d pulled away from me, and he honestly looked worried about me.

“Yea … yea … I’m fine.” I tried to lie. I’d always been bad at lying. He just stared at me until I let out a deep breath. “Fine, it’s been a while.”

A smirk spread over his lips. “You mean, you haven’t had sex in a while?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” I almost snapped. Did he think I was normally this easy?

“No! I’m not surprised. I just …” He looked down. “I figured you had guys calling you every weekend, I mean you’re so beautiful.” He sounded like a little boy who had his first crush. His cheeks were bright pink as he looked up at me.

The smile spread over my lips without me even trying. I stepped closer to him. “That was cute,” I said, pulling him into a kiss.

His arms wrapped around me, his teeth grazing my lower lips. “So just how long has it been?” he asked, grinning widely. “And what makes me so special?”

“You’re not a jerk. At least I don’t think you are.” I nipped his lower lip in return. “And it’s been over two years.” I wasn’t going to give him the actual number. That wasn’t something he needed.

His eyes widened, and I looked away from him before I could see the rest of his expression form. I didn’t want to see his judging look. Instead, I stared at his chest, my hand running over his arm and towards his chest, then down. Lower and lower. He stepped away from me, pushing my hand away from his pants gently.

I opened my mouth to protest, but he put a finger on my lips.

“Hush,” he ordered as his hands traced over the curves of my body. “I get that it isn’t your first time or anything, but it’s still been a while for you, and I’m going to make it special.” His hands enveloped me as he grabbed my uppermost thighs and drew me up into his arms. My legs wrapped around his waist as he lowered me down onto the bed, placing tender kisses on my neck and shoulders until he started making his way back to my neck, then down to my breasts.

“I really don’t need special treatment.” A moan escaped me as his teeth grazed my left breast. I watched him as he pulled away from me and settled down between my legs, spreading them wide and pushing my panties out of the way.

His hand tickled my body as it made its way lower and lower until finally his finger brushed my uppermost thigh so softly I barely felt it. I watched as his hand made its way downwards to my knee, back up, and then away from me. I opened my mouth to protest but watched as his lips lowered to my pussy.

A gasp escaped me as I felt his hot breath against my pussy, his saliva as he licked me up and down, his tongue slipping through my folds and poking into me. I moaned, my hips rising to meet his lips as his hands slipped under my body, his fingers digging into my butt as his tongue poked in and out of me. He pulled away too soon, just as my eyes were rolling back. Before I could even piece together what was going on, his finger slipped into me. I gasped as he fingered me. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I arched as I felt another finger slide into me. Faster. I forced my eyes open and stared at him.

He looked down at me as he lowered his lips to mine, his fingers moving in and out of me. He reached up for my breasts with his free hand, and then his hands pushed the bra out of the way and he grabbed my left one in his hand, his thumb and forefinger pinching my nipple. I moaned louder, grabbing my right breast. His eyes gleamed with lust as he watched me massage my own breasts. His fingers tightened on my nipple, and I moaned louder. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. His fingers slipped in and out of me easily.

“I want more,” I whispered.

He grinned, pulling his fingers out of me before pushing himself off the bed and padding to the dresser. I slipped out of my bra and panties as he rummaged around in the drawer for a couple seconds. I left my heels on and the stockings I was wearing. Brushing my hair to one side, careful to hide the scar, I watched as he pulled away from the dresser and came back over to the bed. He held two things in his hand. A condom and a small mason jar with something white in it. I took them from him the second I could and pulled him towards me. I undid his pants in a fraction of a second. Surprise caught me as I stared down at his bare pelvis and found he didn’t have boxers on. I grinned as I let his pants fall to the ground.

Oh, God.

His abs and that perfect V led to his rock hard cock. I swallowed dryly staring at it. Mike had definitely not been that big. I reached out, my fingers curling around his hard member, and the second I started rubbing, a sigh of pleasure escaped him. His fingers tangled in my hair as he guided me down onto my knees in front of him.

“Fuck,” he breathed as my tongue reached out and flicked the tip of his head. I took his head into my mouth, looked up at him and saw his eyes roll back as he pushed himself further into me. I closed my eyes trying to take as much of him into my mouth as I could. His fingers tightened in my hair as I mouthed him. Back and forth, back and forth. Looking up at him, I saw his muscles were tense, showing me just how big they were, and he nipped his lower lip gently.

He pulled away from me with a grin. “I don’t want to finish before we even get started.” A blush touched his cheeks as he said it.

He held his hand out for me; I took it, and he pulled me to my feet. My lips crashed against his as he guided me back to the bed. His warm hands traced over the curves of my body, sending a shiver down my spine. Our kiss deepened, becoming more and more passionate until it turned almost aggressive. His cock pushed against me, and I reached between us and wrapped my fingers around him, stroking gently. He reached behind me, grabbing the condom and pulling away from me as he tore into it.