“Flip those lights on.”
She clapped her hands with glee and ran to flip the switch. It was like she’d ignited a mini sun in my living room, but I had to admit it made my penthouse feel like a sweet dream.
“So what do you think?” she asked. “Has it grown on you?”
I shrugged. “I might need to put on sunblock, but yeah, it’s grown on me.”
I stripped off my coat and loosened my tie. Clara froze, watching me, so I slowed down and gave her a show as I took off my shirt. I had an undershirt on beneath it, but she damn near licked her lips anyway.
I smiled and kicked off my shoes. “It feels good to relax, just us.”
“It does.” She shook her head like she was waking up from a trance. “I guess we should call it a night.”
Clara headed toward the hallway where the bedrooms were. I followed her and stopped her in the door to her room. “You never answered my question earlier.”
She stopped and turned to face me. “Which one?”
I took a step toward her. “Back at the bar, you never told me if you’re moving to New York or not.”
She smiled coyly. “I’m thinking about it. I’m sure I could be seduced into staying.”
“Seduced, huh?”
She backed up into her room and opened the door wide in invitation. “Yeah. Do you know anyone who could do that?”
I took her in my arms and kissed her. She rose to meet me eagerly. Maybe she had taken my advice from the bar earlier. Either way, her fire matched mine, and when we fell into bed together, she was the one who pushedmedown onto the mattress.
CHAPTER 26
CLARA
Luke had been tempting me all night, dressed in his impeccably tailored suit, looking like a movie star. He had swept me off my feet, first by taking off from work specifically to spend time with me. That alone had been a surprise.
Then a world-class dinner, a terrifying subway ride, and a jaw-dropping show put on by my personal hero Ganymede Raye. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening, and I couldn’t have asked for a better man to accompany me.
Luke had planned things he knew I would enjoy, and the fact that he cared that much made me feel blessed. And now that he was kissing me in my bed, he was taking me right to heaven.
His hands found my breasts while he kissed me, teasing my nipples into sensitive points. Then he yanked the bodice of my dress down with a growl. I wasn’t wearing a bra, and I gasped at being exposed like that.
Luke licked at my bare flesh, and I grabbed a fistful of his hair, needing something to grab onto so I didn’t float off into outer space. His roving tongue lit my veins on fire. Heat pooled in my core like molten lava, and I ached with an emptiness only Luke could fill.
Luke feasted on my breasts while his hand skated down to my knee. His fingernails traced light circles there, and my thighs opened for him with no conscious thought from me. His fingers spiraled up and up, inching closer to my center and making my hips squirm uncontrollably.
He ran a thick finger over my seam through my lacy underwear. I inhaled sharply, almost coming apart right then. The whole night had been foreplay and I was worked up like a thoroughbred before a race.
He kissed me again and his blue eyes burned into mine. “You look so fucking gorgeous tonight. I could barely control myself.”
“Oh, yeah?” I smiled. “Let me be the judge of that.”
I reached down between us and found his hard cock in his pants. It was thick and throbbing, and my body begged me to free it from its prison. I attacked his belt, fumbling with it in my excitement. I growled with frustration and he chuckled, deep and low in a way that made me gush without him even touching me.
“Need some help?”
“No, it’s my present and I’m going to unwrap it myself,” I told him, not knowing where the words came from and not caring, either. I was a woman on a mission.
He chuckled even more at that and rolled onto his back. “Here. Maybe that’ll make it easier.”
It did. In seconds, I had his pants and boxers around his thighs and his cock sprang free. I took a moment to admire it, thick and alive, then wrapped my lips around him. I groaned at the taste, which was all man.
