A bitter laugh rumbled from him as he drew away. So that was her game. Marry her, and he could make love to her all he wanted.
Well, she might be willing to prostitute herself for a little security, but he still wasn’t quite desperate enough to oblige her.
Did he want her?Hell, yeah. But any of the whores he visited on occasion in Denver would suit his needs just as well. Better, because he could remain half-dressed and leave as soon as he was done. No intimacy, no risk of rejection.
“Submit, Sarah? Was that how it was with your first husband? Did you lie there in the dark with your fists clenched at your sides, praying for it to be over?” He shook his head. “Well, you can spare me your martyrdom. I’m not looking for a virgin sacrifice. I want someone wild and willing, someone who wants me just as passionately as I want her.”
She turned in his arms, blinking up at him, her uncertainty clear in those big, green eyes. “I’d do my best to please you, Luke. But you’d have to show me.” She flushed and lowered her eyes. “The intimate relationship with my husband was very much as you described. We were only married for three weeks before he went away to war.”
He stared at her, nonplussed. Once again, she’d managed to surprise him. Perhaps she was as innocent as she implied and merely needed a little guidance to become the fiery lover of his dreams. He wanted to take her right now, hard and fast on the kitchen table, but he was all too aware of the consequences.
Christine’s desertion had scarred him too deeply.
He couldn’t take a wife without opening himself up to either pity or revulsion. Neither was acceptable.
“Oh, I could teach you things.” He fumbled to think of something that might drive her away before he did something incredibly stupid, such as beg her to stay. Sure it would do the trick, he latched upon his favorite fantasy. “If I were to marry you, I’d require more of you than just an occasional fuck.”
The vulgar word shocked Sarah, but she sensed that he’d meant it to. The fiery passion she’d somehow inspired in him a few moments ago was now banked. She’d done or said something very wrong, and now he was doing his best to push her away.
“What else would you require?” she asked.
He glanced down at her from beneath those long, dark lashes. “Perhaps I could show you.” He gave her his most wicked smile.
Holding her startled gaze, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, drawing her index finger deep within his mouth. Her eyelids fluttered closed as he demonstrated what he wanted with devastating thoroughness.
His mouth, his tongue, and his warm, wet heat—the feelings he invoked overwhelming. Her finger seemed directly connected to her womb, which throbbed with painful urgency.
Was this how it felt for a man when he was deep inside a woman? Shuddering at the very thought, she slowly pulled her finger away and opened her eyes.
He laughed unsteadily and let her go. “I didn’t think you’d be willing to carry your charade quite that far.”
It had been a test, she realized. He was still trying to shock her into leaving of her own volition. He’d never meant for her to do such a thing. She had to beat him at his own bluff.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”
He froze, and the sudden heat that flared in his eyes incinerated her. “Then do it now,” he whispered. “If you do, I’ll marry you before nightfall.”
Holding her gaze, he backed away and sprawled in the nearest chair. Then he lifted his hands to the buttons of his shirt and, with slow deliberation, began to undress.
His powerful, lean chest and belly were sculpted with muscle. Her throat parched, she swallowed dryly as her gaze followed the silky pelt of dark hair that began between his nipples and narrowed to a thin line disappearing beneath the waistband of his denim trousers.
He rubbed his hand across the straining bulge between his legs. “Are you sure you want me to go on?”
“Yes.” The sensual, husky sound of her own voice stunned her. “Go on.”
“Come on, Sarah,” he whispered. “Why don’t you get down on your knees and show me how much you want to stay?”
She gasped. If he’d called her a whore flat out, he couldn’t have made her feel any dirtier. And she knew that had been his intent all along.
“You bastard.” Marching forward, she cracked her hand against his smug cheek. “I wouldn’t stay with you now if you begged me.”
Luke rubbed his stinging face, surprised at the strength in her slender arm. “I’ll beg when hell freezes over.”
“Ooh...” Sarah made an inarticulate sound of fury and grabbed the plate of food off the counter. Before Luke could react, she dumped the entire thing on his belly. “There’s your breakfast,” she snapped, spinning on her heels. “I hope you enjoy it.”
He gasped, swiping at the sizzling mess in an attempt to keep it from burning any tender exposed skin. “I’ll have the team ready in ten minutes,” he yelled. “Get your things and meet me outside.”
“Fine,” she called over her shoulder. “I can’t wait to be gone from here. You disgust me.”
Luke sank back down in his chair, battling an intense wave of frustration and dismay. “That’s what I was afraid of, sweetheart,” he murmured. “That’s exactly what I was afraid of.”
