Undone (29 page)

“We should’ve done this a long time ago,” Luke said, running his hand down Embry’s arm and clasping her fingers. “I can’t believe I’ve never taken you for a nice dinner.”

Embry smiled sweetly and rubbed her thumb over the back of Luke’s hand. “We were a bit preoccupied. Besides, you did cook me an amazing dinner.”

“I did.”

“That was pretty smooth too, Professor.”

Luke winced and shook his head. “Don’t, Bree.”

“I was just playing.”

“I know.” He dragged her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips lightly across her skin. “But that’s not who I am with you, not tonight. I don’t want to think about it.”

“Okay. Well, let’s revisit our first date then, shall we?” she suggested.

“And how do you suggest we do that?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Rapid-fire question round.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Oh no, here we go.”

“What?”

“Nothing, beautiful. You’re up. Shoot.”

Embry rubbed her chin, thinking about where to start. “Okay. Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“We’re doing favorites. Number, season, band. Go!”

Luke smirked. “Why do I feel like you’re just warming up?”

“Go!”

He held up his hands, chuckling. “Okay, okay. Fourteen. Summer. Kings of Leon. You?”

Embry shook her head. “Nope. We’re not finished with you yet.”

“Oh, I see how this works. You pry all the information you can from me and then leave me in the dark, huh?”

“Something like that.” She leaned in, and lightly swept her lips across his jaw. It was sweet and simple, but it gave her pause. Showing him affection came so easily, but for the most part, she would never be able to do that in public. The thought made her sad.

Luke picked up on the shift in her mood. As if reading her mind, he slipped his fingers under her chin, tilted her head up, and kissed the ever-loving shit out of her. He pulled away, his bold blue eyes fixed on her. “I know what you’re thinking, baby. But tonight, don’t think. You can kiss me wherever and whenever you like. Okay?”

Embry nodded and realized she wasn’t good at hiding her emotions with Luke. She was breathless and didn’t trust herself to speak. The waiter appeared at their table, presenting their meals and pouring more wine. As Luke chatted idly with the man, Embry touched a finger to her lips. She still felt the caress of his tongue, his soft, warm mouth against hers. No matter how many times she kissed him, it always felt like the first time. Always new, exciting … erotic.

“Eat up, baby.”

Embry looked up to find Luke staring at her. Her finger was still pressed to her lips. She dropped her hand into her lap.

“You all right?” Luke asked.

“Yes, fine. I just … That kiss. I …” She was still at a loss for words.

“Sorry I flustered you. I shouldn’t have done that—”

“No!” she said too loudly. She looked around in embarrassment before she realized they had privacy in their booth. “No. I liked it. Loved it. You just caught me off guard.” She smiled. “In a good way.”

“Well then, maybe I’ll try to do it more often.”

“I think you should.”

“Oh, really?”

She pulled him in for another kiss, hoping her actions showed what her words failed to say. “Really.”

It was Luke’s turn to look flustered. He offered her an impish grin as he ran a hand through his hair and then gestured toward the food. “Dig in. And continue with your questions if you’d like.”

Embry took a bite of her duck and groaned. “Mmmm, so good. Okay. More questions?”

“It’s your show, beautiful.”

She loved his easy demeanor. He humored her, playing along with her silly game, and she loved him for it. She rubbed her hands together and wiggled her eyebrows, trying to think of more information to pry out of him. “Food you can’t live without.”

A big, stupid grin formed on Luke’s face. “Mac n’ cheese. Hands down.”

Embry’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling, but she couldn’t help the smile splitting her lips. “What are you, five?”

Luke shrugged. “I love it.”

“Okay, next question. First kiss.”

“Really?”

Embry straightened, giving him a serious look. “Yes, really.”

“Will we play truth or dare next?” His eyes twinkled with humor.

“If you’re lucky, Brody. Answer the question.”

“Savannah Leighton. I was six; she was eight. She ran up to me on the playground, kissed me, and pushed me into the dirt.”

Embry laughed and ran her hand over Luke’s. “Aww, poor kid.”

“I’ve never fully recovered,” he joked.

The game continued through their meal. Embry eventually ran out of clever questions. She let Luke take the reins, and instead of grilling her, he made her answer her own questions. She was forced to relive her awkward first kiss with Connor Gallaway during a game of suck and blow, and she had to admit that she, too, was a five-year-old and would eat macaroni and cheese every day if she could.

They finished their bottle of wine and shared a delicious pastry for dessert. Luke held her hand as they drove down the dark highway toward his house, his thumb grazing back and forth against her skin. Embry stared out the window. She always had fun with Luke, but that date took the cake and proved to her that they had something special. Embry jumped when a loud ringing came through Luke’s speakers.

“Sorry, baby, my phone’s connected to Bluetooth. It’s my mom. I have to take this,” he said.

Embry nodded and leaned her head back against the seat. Luke pressed a button on the console and answered the phone.

“Lucas?” Embry smiled at his mother’s use of his full name.

“Hey, Mom.”

“How are you, sweetheart?”

“I’m good. I’m in the car. I’ve got you on speakerphone, okay?”

His mom said, “Oh that’s fine, honey. Who’ve you got with you?”

“My girlfriend, Embry.”

That
got her attention. Her head whipped around, finding his eyes burning into hers. He gave her hand a squeeze and shrugged, smiling.

“Lucas James! You didn’t tell us you were seeing someone.”

“Haven’t had the chance, Mom.” He rolled his eyes playfully at Embry.

“Hello, Embry!” she called through the phone. “What a pretty name.”

“Hello, Mrs. Brody,” Embry answered. “Thank you.”

“Well, are you bringing her down here with you next weekend, Luke?”

“No, she can’t make it, Mom.”

Embry raised her eyebrows. That was news to her. Luke hadn’t mentioned going to visit his family, and he definitely hadn’t asked her if she wanted to come. She left it alone though, assuming he hadn’t mentioned it because they had just gotten back together.

“Well, that’s just too bad. Next time, then. Will you send us your flight details, son? Your father will send a car.”

Embry tuned out the rest of their conversation and returned to her thoughts, which were spinning wildly in her head. He had referred to her as his girlfriend
and
he’d told his mother. That was big. But she wondered why he’d never mentioned his trip to Georgia.

Embry lifted her hand from the water and dragged it down Luke’s arm. After arriving at his house, they popped open another bottle of wine, made slow, sweet love, and wound up in the Jacuzzi tub. She lay in the warm water, covered in suds, with her back to his chest and his arms wrapped around her.

“You called me your girlfriend,” she said quietly, entwining her fingers with his.

“I did.” He kissed her hair and squeezed her a little tighter.

“And you told your mom.”

She felt him nod. “I did.”

She angled her head so that she could see his eyes. “Why?”

“Why did I call you my girlfriend?”

Embry waited.

“That’s what you are, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I mean, I suppose,” she answered.

“You suppose?” he asked, incredulous.

“Well, yes … I am. We’re dating. We’re together. We’re … I’m your girlfriend.” She smiled as she tested it out on her tongue.

“You’re my girlfriend,” he repeated.

“But you told your mom.”

“Yes,” he said. “I did.”

“That was … a big deal.”

His deep blue stare connected with hers. “I’ve been wanting to call you mine for a while now, Bree. I won’t miss a single chance I get.”

Her heart beat faster as his lips found hers—soft, coaxing. She opened for him, turning in his arms and lying across his chest as his tongue stroked into her mouth.

Will this ever get old?
She hoped not.

Embry sat in the middle of Luke’s floor, surrounded by baking flour. It was everywhere.

He walked in, and she did everything she could to hide her smile when she saw the look on his face. He was sexy as usual with no shirt, pajama pants hanging off his hips, and bedroom eyes. Until he took in the scene in the kitchen. His beautiful bedroom eyes widened into surprised saucers as he stared at Embry.

“Problem?” she deadpanned.

Luke shook his head, seemingly at a loss for words.

“I was going to make you breakfast.” She picked up a handful of flour and let it sift through her hands like a child would sand on the beach.

“That was nice of you,” he said carefully. “What happened instead?”

Embry hung her head. “I had an incident with the flour.”

Luke walked toward her, leaving floury footprints on the dark, tiled floor. Squatting in front of her, he brushed her hair from her face. “I can see that, baby. But what, exactly, happened?”

Good question
. She’d woken up determined to surprise him with a nice breakfast. After searching his well-stocked pantry and refrigerator, she found all the ingredients necessary for blueberry pancakes. She pulled everything out that she would need except for the flour. His pantry had tall pull-out cabinets, and the flour sat at the top of one. She’d poked around until she located a step stool. She used it to reach the flour, but the stool didn’t give her enough height. Stretching as far as she could, her fingers grazed the tip of the package. She hoped she could knock it over into her arms, but the flour toppled into her chest before it fell to the floor and exploded.

“I was going to make you blueberry pancakes, but I knocked the flour down from the top shelf of the pantry, and it kind of exploded.”

His eyes traveled around the kitchen. An inch of flour covered most of the surfaces, including Embry. He brought his eyes back to her and wiped at a smudge of flour on her cheek. “I kind of figured that part out.”

She glared at him, grabbed his arms, and pulled, causing him to fall to the floor in a cloud of white powder.

He narrowed his eyes and tackled her, pinning her arms above her head and hovering over her. “Really, Bree? You sure you want to play this game? You’ll lose.”

Never one to back down from a challenge, Embry wiggled beneath him, trying to pull her arms free. “Bring it on, Brody,” she said, her voice husky.

His mouth found hers, and he released her arms, giving her free rein to explore his body. She ran her hands over his muscled back, up his arms, and into his hair. Just as she was starting to enjoy herself, he pulled away. Before she knew it, he had pulled her back to her feet.

“All right,” he said, clapping and making flour fly. “Pancakes. Let’s do this.”