Luke’s eyes widen. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
I nod. “I’m healthy.”
“Me too.”
“So… is this alright?”
A smile slowly curls along his lips. “Yeah.Yes.”
I grin. Glancing down, I position him at my entrance, and we both watch as he sinks inside me, nothing separating us.
He groans, pressing himself deeper and throwing his head back on the pillow as he’s overcome with sensation. I move my hips in a slow, gentle rhythm, my hands on his chest, studying his face for every single sign of pleasure. I don’t want to miss any of it. He’s right—we could have sex a million times and it would never be enough.
“Come here, baby.” He reaches for me, pulling me down close. His hands slide over my back, palms spread flat and wide, hot against my skin. It feels like he’s trying to hold every inch of me, to possess me, and heat rockets through me at the thought.
“I love having your hands on me,” I whisper against his lips, and he hums his agreement.
His lips make a trail along my jaw, my collarbone, teeth grazing my ear. “I could fuck you like this forever,” he murmurs into my hair, and my breath sticks in my throat.
Forever?
No, I must have misheard that.
But—
His hands tighten on my ass, holding me in place as he thrusts up into me from underneath, hitting a spot that wipes every scattered thought from my mind. When he lowers his thumb between my legs, I moan and clench around him, moving my hips to match his rhythm. The silky feeling of him inside me, knowing there’s nothing between us, quickly pushes me over the edge, so that I’m heaving against him and panting into his mouth.
Bloody hell. I don’t know how that happened so fast.
Once I’ve caught my breath, he wriggles up the bed, sitting back against the headboard with me still straddling him. I like this so much more, because now I can wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck and breathe him in. God, I feel drunk. But it’s not just the pleasure, it’s him. It’s his salty skin on my tongue, fistfuls of his hair in my hands, all of him filling me deep. I’ve never wanted to consume so much of one person.
His hands skate down to grip my hips, and he dips his head to take my nipple in his mouth. I arch forward, dropping my head back in ecstasy.
I cannot live without this man now.
The thought appears in my mind, lit like a bright neon sign, and it scares me so much that I try to shove it away.
I crush my lips to his, willing my stupid mind to shut up. “Luke,” I breathe, kissing along his rough jaw, sucking on the soft flesh of his earlobe. I force myself to bite my tongue—physically bite my tongue—in case I say something I can’t take back.
He draws away to gaze at me, raising a hand to stroke my hair, my cheek. “Harriet, I…” His movements slow as his eyes trace my face. There’s something about the way he’s looking at me that makes my heart explode behind my ribs, as if it knows something I don’t. I hold my breath, waiting for him to go on.
But he doesn’t. Instead, he takes my mouth in a bruising kiss, digging his fingertips into my hips and holding on for dear life, moaning as he falls apart inside me.
We stay like that for a long time, holding each other close, neither one of us daring to move.
32
Later that afternoon I stand outside the lodge, fighting the urge to cuddle into Luke’s side in the cold autumn air. Alex and Michael arrived at lunch time and we offered to greet people at the lodge so they could have some time out together before the madness of the weekend begins.
Both our families are arriving today and spending the night before the wedding at the lodge, and the other guests are arriving tomorrow. And tonight, I think, Michael will stay at the lodge, while Alex stays at the cabin with me, Luke and… yeah. Dena. She’s not here yet, but every time a car passes, my stomach capsizes and I feel like I’m going to be sick. I don’t know how I’m going to do this.
“Harriet!” Mum calls out as she and Dad crunch up the gravel driveway, suitcases bumping along behind them.
I turn away from Luke to wave at my parents. I know Alex has been stressed about Mum and Dad arriving, because she thinks Mum is going to try and convince her to come home. One of my top priorities is making sure Mum doesn’t spoil this whole thing for Alex.
“What have you done to your hair?” Mum leans in to inspect my head, frowning in disapproval. She reaches a hand towards me, but I duck out the way and give her a bright smile, ignoring the comment. We haven’t seen each other in weeks and now we’re catching up on the other side of the planet for Alex’s wedding. You’d think my hair would be the least of her concerns.
“Hi, Mum. Good to see you got here okay.” I pull her into a hug then turn to Dad. “How was your flight?”
