“I’m sorry, yes, of course. Please come in.”
I step back and gesture into my house. As he passes me, I turn to watch him. He moves with such purpose and grace, every step powerful and controlled. It reminds me of the way he moved on stage. As he walks, I can’t help but notice the bottoms of his cool black sneakers are red.
I ask incredulously, “Are those Louboutins?”
He doesn’t answer, just stalks to my kitchen bar and lays the garment bag over it. He studies my open notebook for a moment and then hops up on a stool facing me and leans back on the counter on his elbows, fancy sneakers propped up on the rungs.
“What’s with the flowers,mon petit chou?”
He peers around the room until his intense gaze lands on me. I feel drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. Before I know it, I am crossing the room to him, my feet with a mind of their own.
“Long strange story,” I reply a little breathlessly. Did Luke do this? I try to keep the hint of suspicion out of my voice as I ask, “How did you know where I live?”
He smiles his Cheshire smile at me and says, “You gave me your card, remember? Since your shop was closed, I came around back and took a chance you’d live here.”
Sure, that makes sense. I nod at him, smiling. It is easy to fall under his spell. He is captivating. I vaguely recall being perturbed with him about something, but for the life of me, right now, I can’t recall what he could have done to upset me.
He is here and smiling at me and this feels so right. My feet continue to propel me forward until I am standing just in front of him. He slides his knees apart and gives me a smoldering look.
“Come.”
The dark dominance in his voice is commanding, and I obey without thought, stepping in between his legs. The intensity of his stare is dizzying, causing me to reach out and steady myself with my hands on his hard thighs.
His skin feels hot even through his jeans. I run my hands further up his legs, wanting to explore him.
“Aren’t you going to thank me?”
I nod my head. Yes, that’s exactly what I should be doing. He reaches out and collars my throat with his hand, heavy and calming, pulling me to him until our noses are all but touching. His green-eyed gaze is too intense, forcing me to close my eyes, my breath quickening.
“Lieshe,” he whispers in front of my lips, so close I can feel the hot air escaping his mouth and tickling over mine.
I suck a breath in through my mouth, wanting to swallow the way he says my name. Devour his cinnamon scented dominance.
“Thank you,” I whisper back, hoping when I speak, my lips will brush against his. I slide my hands up his thighs, desperate to feel him. Instead of my hands getting to continue their exploration, he releases my throat and picks them up in his.
“You’re welcome,” he replies with a pleasant smile. He gently pushes me away from him with our combined hands and stands, dropping them.
My mouth falls open. This is not where I thought this ‘thank you’ was going. I feel like I have lady blue balls as I watch him cross my living room and head for my front door.
“Wait,” I cry. I cringe at the desperation in my tone. I need to play it a little cooler, so I clear my throat and try for a sexy voice instead of the desperate one that had escaped.
“I, uh, also wanted to thank you for the other night,” I say bravely to his retreating back, hoping he picks up on my thoughts of just how I can express my gratitude.
Dirty talk has never been something I could do. Really interested in, yes, but never comfortable with. I’d love to sound super sexy and spell out exactly how I want to thank him, but I would probably die of embarrassment first or choke on my words.
“Oh?” he tosses over his shoulder, one hand on the doorknob.
“Um, yeah, I had an amazing night.”
He angles his head, looking at me over his shoulder.
“My pleasure.”
“You could stay for a while,” I blurt. “If you want, I mean, I hate for you to get right back on the road. Can I at least get you a drink?”
Luke turns to face me fully, his beauty punching me in the chest.
“Okay.”
