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“No,” she said, quickly. “Sorry again for bumping into you.” She offered him a weak smile, doing her best to diffuse the tense situation, but he just stood there staring at her. She didn’t miss the fact that he didn’t have a shopping cart or basket, nor was he holding any groceries. “Excuse me,” she said again, andturned to walk away, but then a hand grazed her shoulder. She turned back, just as he pulled his arm away.
“I didn’t mean to startle you, but you really do look familiar. You remind me of an old friend.”
Orly swallowed at the intensity of his stare. It wasn’t his words that bothered her so much as the way he said them. Russell had distributed her photo on national news again, but that had been weeks ago. It was why Luke didn’t like the idea of her leaving his house, but she hoped people had forgotten by now. “I get that a lot,” she said, her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest. When he didn’t respond, she turned and hauled ass down the aisle, completely forgetting the fact that she’d wanted to grab a bag of chips for Luke.
She came out of the aisle much the way a bullet shoots out of a gun, in a big hurry, and without really caring where she was going. Her only goal was to get as far away from that man as possible. Her cart bumped into an older woman’s shopping cart. Orly offered her a quick glance of apology before proceeding to the middle aisle where she and Luke had agreed to meet. Much to her relief, he was already there.
“There you are,” he said. “I saw you turn into the chip aisle and thought maybe you got lost amidst the Ruffles and Lays.” His joke fell flat as she hurriedly pulled her cart up beside his and started putting her things into his cart. “Hey,” he said, gently taking her hands in his and pulling her away from the cart. “What’s wrong?”
Orly closed her eyes tight for a second before meeting Luke’s gaze. The last thing she wanted to do was admit that he might’ve been right. “I think a man might’ve recognized me back there.”
Luke’s expression darkened. “Who? Do you know him?” He looked around, scanning their surroundings for any possible threats.
“No. I’ve never seen him before in my life. But, it wasn’t just what he said. It was the way he was looking at me. Like he knew me or something. It was weird.” She wrapped her arms around herself, and Luke stood protectively over her. There was something oddly familiar about the guy, but she didn’t know what, and just the thought was making her shudder. “I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you and just stayed home.”
“Let’s pay and get out of here,” Luke said. She nodded in agreement, and they started grabbing the stuff from her cart and putting it in his. After everything was in his cart and they were standing at the checkout line, Luke said, “maybe we should cancel tonight.”
“No,” Orly said. She’d spent the last five minutes convincing herself she’d overreacted. “We’ve been planning this get-together for weeks and I don’t even know who that guy was. It’s likely I’ll never see him again.”
Luke didn’t seem convinced, but let the subject drop while they paid for the groceries. Once outside in the parking lot, he ushered her into the truck, before loading all the bags into the back.
They drove to his house in silence and Orly couldn’t help wondering if maybe staying in Texas for as long as she had wasn’t such a great idea. Luke said he’d protect her, but now that her past was catching up to her, the last thing she wanted to do was put him, or any of his friends in danger. No matter how willing or capable they were, they didn’t deserve to be put in the line of fire because of her past mistakes.
Her mind raced as they put the groceries away. She needed a new plan. Without money or a car, it was going to be hard to leave Luke, but she couldn’t stay here any longer if it put him in danger.
“Stop,” Luke said. Orly froze in her tracks. She’d been lost in her own thoughts the entire time and had no idea what Luke was talking about. “That.” He explained. “Stop thinking so hard. And just so we’re clear, you’re not going anywhere.”
Orly sighed. She hadn’t meant to broadcast her thoughts, but it was just as well. “I keep telling myself it was probably nothing, but what if it wasn’t? What if that guy was one of Russell’s men and I’ve never met him or worse, I have and I just don’t remember him?”
“Then we’ll deal with it, if and when the time comes.” Luke pulled her into his arms. “I’m going to text the guys and let them know we can’t make it tonight.”
“No,” Orly said, a bit harsher than she’d meant to. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to living a shell of a life. She loved her life here with Luke, and if he insisted on her staying here with him, then she wasn’t going to be the one to keep him from doing all the things he loved, including hanging out with his friends.
Besides, the guys had been amazing to her. They even included her in some of their group text messages, though she was sure they’d dialed back some of their antics for her. Aside from that creep in the grocery store, today had been amazing and she was honestly looking forward to tonight. “Look, that guy obviously put me on edge, but it was probably nothing and it’s definitely not a reason to not hang out with our friends tonight. Besides, I’ll be safer with all of you there with me.”
Luke sighed “I don’t mind canceling.”
“I don’t want you to,” she said, firmly.
Luke closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. It was already her favorite place to be, but with all the tension swirling between them, it was the only place she really wanted to be. “I don’t want to argue about this anymore. Didn’t we have plans for this afternoon?”
Orly smiled, their conversation outside of that cute little shop quickly coming to the forefront of her mind. “I seem to recall something, but maybe you can remind me of the details.”
“You want details?” Luke grinned. “How specific do you want me to get?”
Orly nibbled on her bottom lip, her gaze dancing over the gorgeous man in front of her that was already working his fingers under the hem of her shirt. “Very,” she said.
Luke spun her around until her hands were on the counter, her backside pressed against his already throbbing erection. His mouth lowered to the back of her neck. She welcomed every kiss, nibble, and lick with soft moans that hung in the air between them. His hands traveled under the hem of her shirt and cupped her breasts, gently kneading them until she threw her head back with a sigh. Tingles covered her skin as an intense warmth spread through her core. Luke made quick work of her jeans and pushed them down her legs together with her panties. “Are you ready for me?” He asked.
“Always,” she said. And she was. Dripping. Wet. Ready.
His hand cupped her core before two fingers penetrated her center. She tightened around them, her body greedily wanting more. He groaned and slipped his digits out, bringing them to his lips.
“Delicious,” Luke said, licking the tips of his fingers.
“You’re insatiable,” she accused with no heat, her own body humming from what it knew was coming.
“Me?” He asked with a grin. “You’re the one who wants to keep me up all night.”
