He smiles and covers my hand with his. But when I try to move my hand a little higher up his leg, he resists.
“I have to drive, Milly,” he says with a chuckle.
I guess I can wait, but it feels like an eternity passes before we pull into my driveway. A second eternity passes before we make it to my door.
“I had a really nice time.” Luke leans in, and before I know what’s happening, he’s brushed my lips with a kiss. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Melissa.”
“You’re not coming in?” I must look like a little kid who’s been promised a treat and then told it was all a trick.
“It’s late,” he says with a shrug. “So I think I’ll head out.”
“You can’t,” I say simply.
“I . . . can’t?” he repeats.
“No. You can’t.” He can’t take me to a place likeBuona Notte, looking the way he looks, and then just leave. The whole evening was basically a giant exercise in foreplay.
“Why not, Milly?”
“I bought new underwear!” I blurt out.
The ghost of a smile tugs at Luke’s lips, and the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Yeah?”
“Yes. Because I thought you’d . . . want to stay over.”
There’s a devilish gleam in his hazel eyes, but he’s not ready to let me off the hook. “Stay over to do what, Milly?”
“Sleep with me.”
“Sleep with you?” he teases. “Are you tired?”
“Fuck me, Luke!”
“I thought you’d never ask, Milly.” He’s full-on smiling as he bundles me through the front door and into theentrance hall. “Give me ten seconds to grab my bag from my car.”
He returns carrying a small duffel, and by then, I’ve put it together. “You were always planning to stay the night.”
“Hoping, Melissa,” he corrects. “But you said you wanted to take it slow, so I didn’t want to presume . . .”
With the signals I was sending, it wouldn’t have been a presumption. “You wanted me to beg!” I say accusingly.
He leans in to whisper in my ear. “Maybe I just wanted you to tell me about your new underwear. Did you buy it for me?”
“Of course I bought it for you.”
“Mmmm. Where are we going?”
Right. There’s no reason to stay in the entrance hall.
We slip off our shoes, and I lead him up to my bedroom. Flick on the overhead light and make sure the curtains are closed. Drop my purse on the floor. Then, after a deep breath, I pull my dress over my head and let it fall. Peel off my tights. And stand before Luke in nothing but the black lace bra and panties.
It’s as though all the air has been sucked from the room. Luke’s gaze is all over me, burning my skin.
“Fuck, Melissa,” Luke says hoarsely. He tears at his shirt buttons, then his belt buckle. Strips to his boxers. Bends over to rummage in his bag, giving me an excellent view of his ass. Finds a small foil square and sets it on my bedside table.
We tumble onto the bed, where Luke inspects my new bra with his eyes, his hands, and finally his lips and tongue. Eventually, he unclasps the bra and repeats the procedure—eyes, hands, lips, tongue—on my naked breasts.
When he’s finished there, he moves to my panties and slips a finger under the waistband. The touch feelsexquisite on my lower belly, but it would feel even better lower down, where I’m throbbing for him. I instinctively hitch my hips.
