“When was the last time you ate anything, Claire?”
“Hello to you, too.” Luke riding her about not eating had become something of a game between them.
“I’ll pick something up on my way over.”
“How do you know I haven’t already eaten?” She glanced at her paint-splattered watch dial, cringing when she saw the time. Eight forty-five. It always seemed to move faster when she had work to do.
“Have you?”
“No, but…”
“I’ll be there in forty minutes.”
“Send Eric my love,” she said, putting some extra smart ass in her voice.
She heard him growl before he disconnected.
FORTY MINUTES LATER, she had a coat of primer on the first bedroom and almost as much paint on herself as on the walls. The alarm Jackson hooked to her phone beeped and she looked at the screen to see Luke coming in through the door carrying a bag and a bad attitude.
“Fuck, Claire,” he said, stomping his way up the stairs. “Would it kill you to lock the damn door?”
“It was locked,” she said going up on her toes to brush a kiss over the angry line of his lips. “I unlocked it when you called so you could get in without waiting for me. What’s crawled up your ass anyway?”
His lips curved in the start of a smile, and he handed her the bag. “Eric said to tell you hello.”
She arched her eyebrow at him, and he looked sheepish.
“I’m not going to tell you what he actually said. Hello pretty much covers it. Can we eat? I’m starving.”
At the thought of food her stomach had started to growl in earnest. He was right; she hardly ever thought to eat when she was working. She led Luke to a make shift table set up on saw horses in the other bedroom. She didn’t have chairs but a couple of empty five gallon buckets turned upside down made passable stools.
“Is it just hunger that’s causing the mood?” she asked, unpacking the boxes from Eric’s restaurant. She’d always dreamed of eating at Comme Ci. Since she met Luke, they ate the food a couple of times a week, but she’d only actually eaten in the world famous restaurant once.
“Sorry,” he said, looking like he meant it. “I’m not trying to be an ass.”
She reached across the plywood table to cup his cheek and for a moment he softened, resting his face against her palm. The simple intimacy of the moment highlighted how much of it had been missing.
“I have to go out of town for a couple of days,” he said, straightening. “You’re welcome to go along if you want, but I understand if you can’t spare the time.”
She couldn’t spare the time. She was behind on everything. With Pete gone, if they had any hope of staying on top of the Ashton Court job, she had to be at the jobsite every day, and she had the flip to manage. That didn’t stop her from wanting to go with him, but it would stop her from actually going. Part of her wished he’d sounded more like he wanted her with him. She was glad he had his face buried in the bag Eric sent. It gave her a chance to get her reaction under control before she answered.
“I’d love to go,” she said, watching his shoulders tighten almost imperceptibly. “But I should probably sit this one out. The client on the job I’m working is a demanding bastard. I don’t want to disappoint him.”
BY THE TIME they finished eating it was after ten o’clock. Claire prepared herself for the usual lecture about working too hard and staying out all night finishing drywall. She wasn’t ready for Luke to push her up against the wall and kiss her with a ferocity that stole her breath. He worked his lips down her throat, scraping her skin with his teeth until she was squirming to get closer to him. He bit gently at her nipples, catching the sensitive peaks through the cotton of her T-shirt. Gripping her hips, he spun her to face the wall. He laced his fingers with hers, raising her arms above her head and positioning her palms against the unfinished drywall.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Stay just like that.”
He ran his hands down her body, pausing to cup her breasts and roll her aching nipples between his fingers. When he reached her waist, he popped the button on her jeans, unzipping them and shoving them to her knees. He reached around her, sliding his hand under her thong, but she didn’t need his answering groan to know she was wet and more than ready for him. Using the rough pads of his fingertips he rubbed hard demanding circles over her clit and desire uncurled like an animal low in her belly. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
With his hand on her hips, he pulled her ass toward him. She bent at the waist and spread her legs as wide as the denim allowed, arching her back in anticipation and offering. She heard the slide of his zipper and then he was pressing against her, holding the thin strap of her thong to the side while the thick head of his cock split her slick seam, teasing her pussy lips before plunging inside her.
She gasped for air as he speared her with his hard cock, his punishing thrusts driving her up onto her toes. She couldn’t do more than hold on as he drove her closer to the edge, his cock dragging over the sweet spot inside her, forcing her climax closer with each stroke. Her body tightened around him, and he moved faster. Harder. He reached around her, his fingers sliding over her clit giving her the last bit she needed to bring her climax crashing over her.
“Luke. God. Fuck. Luke,” she chanted as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her.
He gripped her hips with both hands, driving into her hard enough to lift her off of her feet. Her pussy clenched around his invasion and she felt his cock pulse deep inside her with his release.
“Fuck, woman,” he said when they’d both caught their breath.
“Yes, you did,” she said with a satisfied smile.
He pressed a kiss behind her ear before bending to help her tug up her jeans. She turned around in time to see him pull something small from his pocket. He took her hand in his, dropping the small black key fob into her palm.
“You’ll probably be asleep by the time I get home tonight and I’m leaving first thing in the morning. I’ll make sure Jackson knows you’re alone and that he sees you get in safely.” He slid his fingers into her hair, anchoring her in place while he kissed her long and deep. “See you in two days, sweetheart. Don’t forget me.”
She watched him walk through the doorway. Just like that he was gone and she was left standing with his cum running down her leg.
It had never happened to her before, but she was pretty sure a man sharing the key to his place should feel like a step closer together, so why did she feel so alone? She heard the front door close behind him and knew when she went downstairs she’d find the door locked up as tight as his heart.
