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Luke’s lips quirked in approval. “Good. You should never take no for an answer when youreallywant something.” And he snapped the cap closed on the lotion bottle before tossing it onto the rumpled blankets beside him.
“Wha…?” I licked my suddenly dry lips as he wrapped his slippery, creamed hands around my ankle. “What’re you doing?”
Luke chuckled huskily. “Getting jealous because you were having all the fun applying this shit to your skin. I figured it was my turn.” Lifting his hands to his nose, he inhaled briefly and closed his eyes. “Japanese Cherry Blossom,” he murmured with a wistful sigh before skimming his way up my calf. “Your favorite.”
I swallowed thickly and gaped down at the top of his head.
“So I was wondering…” he said conversationally as he stroked his way to my knee with a long, powerful glide.
“Mmhmm?” I asked, fisting my hands down at my sides to keep from reaching for all that thick, mussed hair he kept tempting me with andnotletting my eyes roll up into my head. “What’s that?”
“After your kidnapping…” he started, only to pause and glance up at my face when I flinched at the mention of the topic.
My gaze shot suspiciously to him, wondering what he was playing at here. “What about it?” I asked, my voice a little hard.
“Did it scare you away from sex?” he came right out and asked bluntly, making my body jump again, under his fingers. His hand tightened in reassurance around my leg, just above the knee as if to support me and remind me that I was safe. But then he persisted. “Like…does the idea of intimacy freak you out now?”
I definitely wasn’t freaked out at the moment.
“I… No. I’m fine,” I said.
Seriously, with his hands on me like this, sex seemed like thelastthing I was scared of.
“Really? Good.” Luke smiled and turned his attention to my other leg, working his way up the calf, from ankle to knee. “So whatareyour thoughts about sex?” he asked conversationally. “In general.”
I blinked, confused by his businesslike questions under this almost-intimate physical treatment. “In general?” I echoed.
“Yeah.” He rolled out a hand before returning it to my leg just as he reached my knee. “Do yougenerallyhave positive or negative feelings about it?”
“You want to know if I like sex?” I asked bluntly.
He paused and glanced up. “Exactly.”
“Uh…” I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess I usually like it…” Then I felt like I should add, “Withthe right partner, of course.”
“Of course,” he agreed readily, only to nod. “That’s good. I’m glad he didn’t take that from you.” When his gaze dropped to my shirt, I realized my nipples were hard and poking out the front of my blouse.
I flushed, wishing I could hide what was happening. I wanted to cover my chest with my hands, but he’d already seen everything. There was no point now, and besides, I didn’t want him to know that I knew what he knew…
If that made any sense.
“I’m glad you like sex,” he added huskily just as his hand slid above my knee and up the outside of my thigh until it just barely disappeared under the hem of my dress.
Gasping, I slapped his hands down and lurched backward away from him. “What are you…? Are you still drunk?”
“Not even a little.” Luke sat back on his hands that he rested on the mattress just behind him. “I’m as sober as a really lame joke, and I have the headache to prove it.”
I shook my head. “Then what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He shrugged loosely. “I was just trying something.” Sending me an engaging smile, he asked, “Do you want to try somethingwithme?”
“No!” I cried, backing up a few more feet to gain more space between us and patting down my skirt, even though it didn’t need to be smoothed out at all. “Don’t be crazy. If you just want sex—”
“Then I have a perfectly easy, uncomplicated hand to use,” he finished. “Yes, I know. What I’m saying here is that I want to have sex withyou. Chloe…” His voice shook a little, which startled me. He took a moment to sit upright and bring his hands to his lap, which he looked down at briefly. When his fingers trembled, he balled them into a fist and lifted his face.
“I’m not taking this lightly, I swear,” he told me, his eyes imploring me to give him a chance. “And I’m as nervous as hell. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you. I’d rather cut my own throat than cause you any pain. I just…” He winced. “Do you even have any idea how important you are to me?”
I shook my head slowly, feeling strangely anxious as if something huge was about to happen.
