One hand lifts from the wall, the backs of his fingers slidingdown the side of my face, down my neck, to my collarbone, and then he leans, so his lips are a breath away.
“Are we really gonna make out in the corner of a dark hallway?” I tease, knowing full well I’m one hundred percent on board.
“Seems appropriate for a secret affair.”
His lips meet mine. And far sooner than I’m ready for, he releases the kiss and leans his forehead against me.
“Truth is, I couldn’t sit there watching you wear this dress.” His finger trails my collarbone and down the front of the dress, tracing the swell of my breasts. “I can hardly think straight.” His mouth meets the sensitive skin on my neck, and my body ignites.
“So, you like it?” I ask breathlessly while his mouth continues to explore. With one hand still supporting his weight against the wall, the other explores my body with featherlight touches. Down my arm, over my leg, and back up again in tantalizing strokes.
“Like it? Trip, I fuckingloveit.” Then his mouth is on mine. Unlike the hunger of last night’s kiss, this one is intoxicatingly slow. His tongue moves in a delicious dance with my own.
I lift my hands to his waist—sliding up under his shirt, tracing the muscles of his back and dragging my nails down his overheated skin.
“I don’t know what you’re doing to me,” he murmurs. “You’re so fucking sexy. All night, all I could think about was how I needed…” His voice trails as his lips find my collarbone, then my shoulder. I love the feeling of the stubble on his face as it tickles my skin.
“Needed what?” I’m panting now as I wait for his answer. My hands explore his chiseled chest and trail slowly down his stomach to the waist of his jeans.
“You.” Large hands encase my waist, pulling me closer, drifting up along the front of my dress until they reach my breasts. Luke rubs across my peaked nipples with his thumbs, putting pressure on the sensitive buds.
“Just you.” Hot breath meets my skin, and my head falls back against the wall, a moan escaping me.
The hard edge of Luke’s erection as it presses into me sends a flood of desire coursing through my center. The smell of butterscotch and oak floods my senses. I ache to feel more of him. Shamelessly, I grind my body against his length, relishing his reaction to me.
Luke shudders. He inhales deeply, his eyes trained on mine. “Be careful grinding on me like that, Trip. After last night, I’m… on edge.”
Someone out in the main room of The Tavern hollers and laughs. Luke glances down the hall toward a sound, then brings his attention back to us, eyes scanning my face.
He reaches up and pushes my hair from my face, trailing his fingers along my cheek. A movement so tender, so full of emotion.
“I need you the way I need my next breath of air,” he murmurs against my mouth, while one hand caresses my leg, slipping under the hem of my dress and back down. A flurry of pleasure consumes me. The contrast between his calloused hands and soft touch is intoxicating.
He speaks as if he’s confessing a sin.
“You can have me.” I push my fingers through his hair. I hope he can’t feel how my heart is threatening to burst from my chest. Once upon a time, I would haveneverentertained the idea of anything more than making out in the hallway of a bar. There’s something about Luke that seems safe to let go of the control I’ve tried so hard to maintain. With him, I just want tofeel.
Luke growls, hooking a hand under my leg, gripping my ass and pushing into me. His length presses perfectly between my legs, hard and unforgiving and incredibly erotic. I desperately push against him to rub away the tension and the heat pooling between my legs.
He reaches his hand between us. Strong, thick fingers findtheir way under the fabric of my underwear. With a gasp, my hips involuntarily buck forward, wanting, needing more.
“Goddamn, could you be more ready for me?”
His mouth crashes into mine in a frenzy of clashing teeth and exploring tongues. His fingers tease along the soft, sensitive skin between my legs. My breath hitches, and my body shudders with pleasure when he dips his fingers inside me.
I want to reach for his belt buckle. I want to feel his arousal in my hands, but I can’t bring myself to move. The feeling of his fingers stroking me from the inside out is too good to risk losing.
We’re lost in a moment. I have no clue how long we’ve been here in this dark corner of the hallway, or if anyone has been wondering where we are.
Time and reason have left me. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, where rational thought lives, I know that we’re on the edge of doing something we probably shouldn’t in a very public place. This kind of thing only ever happens in books or movies, not real life, and I can’t bring myself to care. Right now it’s just him and me, and the pounding of my heart as our mouths collide, our bodies grind, and his fingers explore. I’m on the verge of sweet release.
“Hey, uh, Luke?” Josh’s voice calls from the top of the hallway, halting us in our tracks.
Nooo!
Luke groans, clearly as frustrated by another interruption as I am. I hate the way the universe is making us work for this. He clears his throat and slides his hand out from between my legs. I miss the contact immediately.
“Yeah.” His forehead rests against mine, chest rapidly rising and falling in time with mine.
