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LUKE WATCHED CLAIRE pull the seat belt tight across her lap. She’d been pissed at him since he told her he was taking her to Hawaii for a long weekend. Without the baby. That was the sticky bit, but his wife was exhausted and being pulled in too many directions. She couldn’t figure out what came next if she was busy taking care of the baby. He’d thought about bringing Bella along with a sitter to care for her, but he knew Claire well enough to know she’d never leave their little girl alone. Not that he was trying to get his wife to neglect their daughter; he just wanted to help her find her footing again. He hated seeing the purple smudges under her beautiful green eyes.
When the opportunity came up to sneak off for a few days to look at some land he was thinking of developing, he figured he could kill two birds with one stone. Claire could get some rest and perspective and he could get her opinion of the site. He trusted her eye and felt better when she felt good about a project. Of course, none of that would matter if she wouldn’t talk to him and by the looks of her, that was a very real possibility.
The private jet taxied down the runway and he felt the thunk underneath them as the landing gear folded up into the body of the plane. Before they met, Claire hadn’t been out of the state. She loved to travel and had taken to it right away. Taking her to new places and rediscovering them through her eyes had rapidly become one of his favorite things to do, but they hadn’t been anywhere since Bella was born. He’d hoped the lure of a tropical island would appeal to her sense of adventure enough to soften the blow of leaving their daughter behind.
“She’s going to be fine,” he said, but she just looked at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “You know she is, Claire. Becky will take great care of her. We wouldn’t have left her if I wasn’t so sure.”
Becky had been the private duty nurse who’d taken care of Claire’s father until he had to be hospitalized. When he found out about the Hawaii trip, she’d been the first one he’d thought of to keep the baby. Without grandparents or friends with children, there was no one else to ask. He trusted Becky as much as Claire did, and he knew it was the only way she’d even consider going with him. As it was, it had taken some of his best talking to get his wife to agree to four days away from their daughter, and he didn’t need to look at her to know she wasn’t happy about it. He could try to reason it out with her, but he felt pretty sure that her mood had more to do with her emotions than logic. Reasoning wasn’t likely to get him anywhere he wanted to be.
After a few moments, the captain came on the intercom to tell them it was safe to move around the cabin. He unfastened his seat belt and glanced at Claire to see whether she’d done the same. In the time it had taken for them to reach altitude and level out, his wife had fallen asleep, her head tipped uncomfortably to the side. Smiling to himself, he unfastened her seat belt and, careful to get his feet under him, bent to scoop her into his arms.
“Wha...wait,” said Claire, blinking awake. “Put me down.”
“Shh, sweetheart. You’ve been carrying everyone else. Let me carry you for a little while.”
She let her hand snake under his suit coat to rest against his chest and something inside him relaxed. She’d been mad at him for dragging her away from their daughter, but if she could settle in his arms, they’d figure it out. Moving slowly in case the plane jolted, he carried her the few steps to the door of the small bedroom, nudging the latch with the back of his hand. The bed had been made up with a soft white down comforter and when she saw it, Claire let out a groan of pleasure that had him considering much more than sleep.
He set her gently on her feet before pulling back the covers and urging her to sit on the bed. Dropping to his knees in front of her, he reached for her foot and slipped off the nude heels. He’d seen her in work boots and heels and padding barefoot around in the home they shared and he loved every single facet of her. The mother and wife, business woman and sex kitten. He wanted her to be whatever she wanted to be. He hated that she seemed to be struggling at the moment with balancing it all, and he was determined to help her find her way to a new normal.
When they’d met, Claire had been so independent and so used to dealing with things on her own. It took forever for her to trust him and let him help. She still occasionally slipped back into old habits, muscling through or trying to muscle through by herself. She didn’t need to do that anymore. They were a team in all things, including raising their daughter. He pushed aside for a moment any remorse he had for railroading her into taking this trip. Or rather, remorse he didn’t feel but probably should. Compromise was new to him too. He didn’t always do it well.
“I’m sorry,” she said, tangling her fingers in his hair.
“For what?” he said, momentarily caught off guard.
“For trying to freeze you out earlier. I know we need time alone. I want that time.” She slid her hand to cup his cheek and his body tightened at the heat he saw reflected in her hazel eyes gone green. “I just don’t know how to leave Bella, and I feel guilt for every moment I’m away from her. I know Becky will take good care of her—better care of her than her distracted mother.” She pressed a fingertip to his lips before he could protest. “But I still hate being away from her.”
“First of all.” He slid onto the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. “No one takes better care of our daughter than you do. It’s true, Claire.” He held his hand up when he saw her start to get ready to protest. “You can’t let the guilt blind you from the reality of the situation. I know what a bad mother looks like. You’re not one.” She sagged against him in what felt more like defeat than acceptance, but he’d take his victories in small bites if he had to. “And I miss her too, but I also miss you. Bella grew out of our love for each other. I want to keep that part of us alive and thriving. We owe it to ourselves and to our daughter.”
“You’re right,” she said, and he felt her head nod against his chest.
“Damn straight.” He heard her giggle and reached down to tip her chin up to face him. Her eyes shone with unshed tears but she was smiling, which counted as another small victory. “What are the chances of me getting you to say that again while I record it? I could use it as my ringtone.”
“It’s not going to happen, Masters, and if you push me, I’m going to deny I said it.”
“It’s okay.” He brushed a kiss over her lips, loving the way her breath caught when he touched her. “We both know the truth. Now I’m the emotionally mature one in this relationship.” He leaned away from her, narrowly avoiding her playful swat. Considering where their relationship started and how emotionally constipated he had been in the beginning, calling himself mature at anything to do with his feelings and hers was a stretch.
“That’s a bold claim.” Her eyes showed some of the familiar fire he’d missed so much.
“I’m a bold man. And right. You said so.” He caught her hand with his, bringing her knuckles to his lips. “Come on, let’s get you into bed before I decide there’s something you need more than sleep.”
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CLAIRE WOKE UP in complete darkness in an unfamiliar bed. It took a moment for her groggy mind to catch up with the fact that she was in Luke’s private jet on her way to Hawaii. It was another moment before she realized no one needed her and there was no reason for her to wake up. She stretched, waiting for the guilt she was sure would follow, and was surprised when it didn’t. Maybe part of her had started to believe what Luke said: that in order to be a good mother, she had to take care of herself and her relationship with her husband too. She snuggled deeper under the soft down comforter and felt his arm tighten around her waist as the hard length of his body curled around hers.
His hand skimmed over her belly and she tried not to think about how much her body had changed since giving birth to her daughter. Luke loved her pregnant body. As soon as she and the doctor convinced him that sex was safe, he’d made love to her with the same fierce hunger that initially drew them together. But with the wait after Bella was born and the exhaustion that hung around her like a fog, it had been a long time since they enjoyed each other the way they used to.
One more thing to add to the list of things that needed to change, but she didn’t have to wait for this one. She could take matters into her own hands.Literally, she thought, stifling a giggle. Wiggling her butt tighter against his body, she fitted herself to him, feeling the press of his cock against the cleft of her ass. Sucking in a breath, she rocked back and felt him start to swell. Before he came fully awake and took control, she spun around in his arms and pressed a kiss to the warm skin of his bare chest.
He must have stripped out of his clothes before climbing into the bed with her. He’d stayed up working after she’d fallen asleep, and she didn’t remember him coming to bed. But he was definitely with her now—every glorious naked bit of him. She could feel every inch of his beautiful sculpted body and inhaled the heady scent of his aftershave. She never got tired of the smell of him: complicated, expensive, and undeniably Luke. Burrowing under the covers, she laid a trail of kisses down the center of his chest, nuzzling his sleep-warmed skin and relishing in the scent and taste of him.
She could tell the moment he woke because his hands went from gently holding her to tangling in her hair, urging her lower. She happily complied, loving the power in his demanding touch. When she reached the soft thatch of hair ringing his thick base, she breathed him in before sliding her tongue up the length of him in one smooth, long stroke, licking him like he was an ice cream and she was starving. She felt his groan under her hand still resting against the flat plane of his stomach.
Wrapping her lips around the tip of his cock, she slid down, taking as much of him into her mouth as she could. The groan rumbled through his chest and his fingers tightened in her hair, pushing her to take more of him. She squeezed her fingers around his base and bobbed her head, trying to go farther with each stroke until her nose bumped against his stomach. It had taken her awhile to figure out how to take all of him and still be able to breathe, but it was worth it to have her husband lose control at her touch. He was normally so strong and in charge, and she loved being the one to make him lose himself in pleasure.
“Not this time,” he whispered in the dark, tugging her off him and pulling her up his body to face him. “I need to be inside you.”
Any disappointment she’d felt at stopping before he lost control vanished as he kissed her. His tongue stroked and teased her as if he was making love to her mouth. His hands slid over her bare back, holding her like she was something precious and he couldn’t get enough. Breaking the kiss, she sat up and straddled him. The thick, hard length of him rode the slick seam of her body. All she had to do was tip her hips and she could take him inside her, but it had been so long since they’d had any real time together. She didn’t want to rush. She heard some fumbling beside the bed and then the lights came on, dim but enough to see.
“I need to see you,” said Luke. “You’re so fucking gorgeous, Claire.”
Keeping his gaze locked on her face, he ran his hands up her ribcage to cup her breasts. He hadn’t stopped touching her breasts while she was nursing. They both enjoyed it too much for that, but it had been different. It had been a long time since he could touch her there the way she liked—the way they both liked—but there was no reason to stop him now. His thumbs grazed the tight peaks, and her back bowed in response, arching and offering her body to his touch.
She rocked her hips forward, sliding over him, dragging the thick crown of his cock over her swollen clit. With every stroke, she inched closer to her opening, teasing them both until she couldn’t stand it a moment longer. Lifting her hips, she wedged him at the opening to her body and then sank down, taking him deep inside her.
She couldn’t catch her breath. He filled her thick and hard and long and there wasn’t room for anything but his body and the pleasure he drew from hers. Gripping her hip with one hand, he took over, setting the pace and driving her on and his body surged in to her. He reached between them, touching the spot where their bodies joined and dragging her slick arousal over her aching clit. With his fingers and cock, he played her body like an instrument he’d mastered, winding her higher and higher until she couldn’t see or feel anything but him.
Her body tightened around him as the climax rolled over her in waves. His fingers dug into her hips as his punishing strokes became more erratic, drawing out every last bit of her orgasm. And then they were coming together, falling into each other as the pure, complete pleasure of their joined bodies rolled through them.
