Chapter 14
WE BELONG TOGETHER
Outside my townhouse window, New Yorkers walked by wearing heavier jackets and scarves.
The weatherman was wrong again. It was crisp.
Beautiful, though, he got that part right.
I watched amber- and rust-colored leaves fall from the trees that lined my street, smiling at how photogenic it all looked, while I wrapped my hand around the cup.
Dorothy made the coffee at home, so it wasn't the best I'd ever had.
However, there was no embarrassment attached to it, which made up for the lack in taste.
As I took another sip, Luke tipped the deliveryman, and I walked over and got comfortable on my new furniture.
Yesterday, Luke and I agreed that once we got married, we could stay at the townhouse.
He had no attachment to his penthouse, so my, I mean our, townhouse it would be.
"But I want a new mattress, couches, any surface where a man has enjoyed you, gone."
At the time, I’d chuckled at his simple demand and easily found a local luxury furniture store with a stocked warehouse nearby.
Luke's job was to order new mattresses for all the bedrooms. As the delivery trucks pulled away, I smiled at how easy things were when you had money.
Every mattress was changed. My couch was gone, and now I had a better one, and Luke was happy.
Money wasn't everything, but damn it made things happen quickly.
"You like it?" Luke asked. He positioned himself on the couch beside me and put his head on my lap.
He closed his eyes and exhaled contentedly. I marveled at how handsome he was. I watched him breathe slow and steady, lifting a hand to trace patterns on his forehead, through his hair. I could do it forever.
The heat of his body on my thighs spread in a way that made me feel both claimed and held. Luke settled there like he’d done it a hundred times before, like my lap was where he belonged. His breath evened out, and his head tilted a little toward my hand, encouraging the movement.
We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. Everything that mattered had already been said.
We loved each other.
We wanted a life together.
And maybe even more than that, we knew each other a bit better.
There was no awkwardness or wondering how it would work. We had already figured that part out without meaning to.
Luke's arm wrapped around my waist, his fingers resting on my hip, and I was aware of every point where we touched. My thighs under him. My palm in his hair. His cheek brushing against my stomach. It wasn’t sexual, not really.
But it was intimate in a way that stirred something deeper.
As if my whole body remembered every late-night talk, every time we leaned on each other, every time I wished this was real and didn’t know it already was.
We fit. We had always fit. Just like this.
Then Luke repeated himself. "You still haven’t answered. Are you sure you’re not mad at me for making you toss the couch?"
"Why do you have to ask? Isn't it clear I like it?" I asked, looking down at him.
"No," Luke said, "you have that skill of hiding your feelings."
Proudly, I said, "That's why you never beat me in a game of poker."
Luke sat up. "Whoa, do I need to point out the obvious?"
Eagerly, I waited for him to do so.
"My poker face is just as good as yours. Maybe even better."
That wasn't true, and he knew it. "You wish."
Luke stood and squinted.
"The food is ready," Dorothy announced, but neither of us reacted.
"Let's test who has the best poker face once and for all."
Why he bothered asking, I'd never know. We both knew it was me.
"Luke, don't make me whip your butt and then later say I emasculated you."
"I'm not that fragile, and don't forget, you claimed to have no idea I loved you," Luke said as he got up and walked toward the kitchen.
"Let's not forget you didn't know the feeling was mutual," I yelled after him. "Forget eating, let's play a game of poker right now."
He froze. "Now?"
"Why not? I wanted this thing settled," I said. Then, a daring idea came to me. "Why don't we make it interesting? Let's play strip poker."
At my words, Luke wore a devilish smile. "You're on."
After dismissing Dorothy, we sat on opposite sides of the table.
This was war.
"I hope you’re not bluffing again," I said, tossing a pair of sevens on the table with a smug grin.
Luke leaned back in his chair, shirt sleeves pushed to his elbows. He rolled his eyes at me then lifted one brow. "Bluffing would imply you’re good enough to make me nervous."
"I’m half-naked and still winning." I wiggled my toes against the hardwood, my bra strap slipping off my shoulder.
He laughed under his breath and drew another card. "You’re cocky for someone who just lost her pants."
"Those pants were too tight. I'm glad to be rid of them."
He leaned over, glanced at my bare legs, and bit his lip.
"Comfort is important. Plus, if you asked me, those pants didn't do anything for your ass."
Cocky Luke wasn't my favorite. I loved him just the same, but still. "Stop talking and play."
"You're in a rush to lose?"
"I’d say dream on, but I’m not sure you need encouragement."
He slid two chips forward. "Call."
I stared at his pile of winnings, my socks, jeans, and even some of my pride, was there. Luke had lost less, and it wasn't fair, but maybe that had been his plan all along. I narrowed my eyes. "You’re too confident."
"Admit it, you've always liked my confidence. Plus, don't blame me for the fact that you’re easily distracted," Luke said.
I couldn’t look away as he pushed his pants down, his body lean and defined in that infuriatingly effortless way. I bit the inside of my cheek, lifting my cards like I wasn’t already thinking of his hands on my skin.
"You sure you’re not cheating?" I asked.
"In cards, or our future marriage, I'd never cheat. Plus, I don’t need to cheat. You’re unraveling all on your own."
I'd known Luke my whole life; he was the faithful kind. So, I focused on the last part of what he said. "You wish."
"Oh, I do." He gave me a slow grin that made my thighs press together under the table. "But not just for the win. I’m enjoying this version of you. Finally, you're an open book, still competitive, but I wouldn't want you any other way."
I threw down my cards. "Straight."
He looked down, then winked. "Damn."
"Take off your boxers. Maybe I'll shove them in your mouth; instead of crow, you can eat them."
He stood slowly, hooking his thumbs under the waistband, pausing just long enough to make my heart stutter. "Sure, you’re ready for this?"
"Sure, you don’t mind losing?"
The boxers hit the floor, and my mouth went dry.
"You’re staring," he said, voice low.
"I’m ... appreciating the victory."
Luke walked around the table, not bothering to hide the way his eyes devoured me. "Maybe," he said, voice darkening, "you should get some sort of reward for winning."
I swallowed but smiled. "What did you have in mind?"
Luke closed the space between us in two steady and deliberate steps.
The cards were forgotten. The tension wasn’t.
His mouth crashed into mine, firm and hungry.
His hands gripped my waist and lifted me off the chair like I weighed nothing.
I barely had time to gasp before I felt the cool table against my thighs.
Between my legs, he stood, his body hot and firm.
"This is years in the making," he murmured, his hands already sliding up past my navel. "Do you have any idea what that’s done to me?"
I could barely breathe as his thumbs brushed the underside of my breasts. "You forget I've been waiting just as long."
Luke let out a low laugh, but there was no humor in it.
He pulled my bra down, exposing a breast, then lowered his mouth and latched onto one nipple, tongue and teeth working in a rhythm that made me whimper.
My back arched involuntarily. He devoured me, no pretense, no patience.
I tried to reach down and explore my winnings, eager to finally get my hands on his cock, but before I got the chance, Luke caught my wrist and pinned it flat to the table.
"Uh-uh," Luke growled, his voice darker than I’d ever heard it. "Why don't you relax? Take the day off. Let a real man show you a good time."
The air left my lungs. I stared at him, stunned, and more turned on than I'd ever been in my life.
He left kisses across my body, each one burning like fire. He bent down, dragging my panties off in one fluid movement. Luke spread me open with confident hands and didn’t waste a second.
His tongue found my pussy and licked deep. My head rolled back, a strangled sound escaping my throat. Luke devoured me, precise and merciless, like he'd been studying for this exam all these years.
One hand braced my thigh, the other gripped my hip as he held me in place. I rocked against him, already close. It was like the years of secretly wanting this had heightened all his touches.
When I reached for his hair, desperate for an anchor, Luke groaned, a sound that sent a tremor racing through my entire body.
My climax built too fast. I was dangerously close. "Luke ..."
He pulled back, lips glistening, eyes dark. "You taste like everything I’ve ever wanted."
Before I could reply, he stood and pressed his hard dick between my thighs. He was so close, his skin burning against mine.
Then he drove into me in one fierce, fluid thrust.
I cried out, head thrown back. He filled me perfectly, completely. My legs locked around him. He gripped my hips tighter, pulling me against him with each deep, demanding stroke.
Not soft. Not slow.
Just years of restraint breaking at once.
"Shit," he gritted out as I clenched around him. Every thrust came harder, faster. The table creaked beneath us under the strain of his movements. His mouth dragged along my throat, biting just hard enough to leave heat in its place. He was lost in it, in me, and I was already unraveling.
I dug my nails into his back. "Fuck, Luke ..."
He bit my shoulder and groaned into my skin. "Mine," he said. "Made for me."
Luke pounded into me. I felt on the edge of shattering. My vision blurred. My body trembled.
He kept pounding, chasing his orgasm with ruthless precision. When he came, he crushed his face into my neck and gripped me until I couldn’t breathe. I felt his whole body shaking.
Silence followed. Our heavy breathing filled the townhouse. My back was arched against the table, skin flushed, legs still wrapped around his waist. Luke didn’t move right away. He stayed buried inside me. I felt his heart racing against my chest.
When he eased out of me, I sat upright. Luke cupped my face with both hands, brushing his thumb across my lower lip.
"So." He smirked, voice still rough. "Still think you won?"
I leaned in and kissed him deeply.
"Luke, you poor thing," I whispered against his mouth, "you haven’t seen how good I really am yet."
We were lying together in bliss in the new bed when Luke's phone dinged. After reaching for it, he scrolled and then jolted upright. "Shit, I forgot."
I ran my hand over his taut abs. "What? Your fake fiancée is missing you?"
Luke didn't laugh at my joke, so I kept an eye on him.
"Well."
Immediately, I sat up, "Well, what? Was that Soleto?"
"Yes."
I shot out of bed. "Why the fuck is your lesbian fake fiancée texting you?"
"Liv, calm down. I just forgot we had plans."
I was calm, though each passing second that Luke failed to say he wasn't leaving, my temper grew. "What plans?"
Luke climbed out of bed, resting both hands on my shoulders. "It’s just a dinner with Solenne’s staff. If I bailed, she’d be embarrassed. She’s done too much for me, I can’t do that to her.”
“You're her date, then? Her plus one?” I asked, calm on the surface but storming inside.
He pulled me close. “No. By now, everyone’s seen our social media post. I’m showing up for a friend, nothing more. She’s waiting, and backing out wouldn’t be fair.”
As I processed his words, an idea came to me. "Fine. Let's go together."
Luke smiled. "Okay. I'll tell Solenne we’re on the way."
"Yeah, you go ahead and tell her."
Although I knew that Soleto wasn’t my competition anymore, it didn’t stop me from disliking her.
Hell, it was my aversion to her that triggered Luke’s initial plan.
I went to hunt down the sexiest, most jaw-dropping item in my closet.
The baby pink dress clung to every curve, soft and tight in all the right places.
It was the perfect outfit for my debut as Luke Forrester's real fiancée.
My blonde hair framed my face just right, and I raked a hand through a few waves as I leaned closer to check my lipstick.
The heeled boots added just enough height and made my legs pop.
When we exited the townhouse an hour later, Hopeton smiled, and I couldn't help but do the same as I'd done every day since he’d driven me to Luke’s office and given me an ultimatum. I kissed him on the cheek.
Luke usually smiled at the sweet gesture, but tonight he only teased. "A man could start to get jealous."
I turned and kissed him quickly, without thinking, and slid into the seat. He shut the door gently behind me.
The car rolled forward. Streetlights and brake lights slipped by the windows. I couldn’t tell where we were heading. Didn’t care.
I leaned against Luke. He didn’t miss a beat, just raised his arm and pulled me in. I needed to be close, and he let me. No awkward shifting, no nervous laugh.
I fit right against him, like we’d done this before—even though we hadn’t. Not like this.
After the chaos of the last few days, it felt almost unreal to sit here in silence, like puzzle pieces finally pressed into place, snug and certain, no room to shift or slip.
Luke’s hand came to rest on my arm, his thumb brushing back and forth in slow, absent strokes. Each pass sent a shiver through me.
I rested my head on his shoulder and, without speaking, he pressed his cheek lightly to my hair. Just for a second. Just enough to make my chest ache.
I reached for his hand, found it easily, and laced my fingers with his.
Gone were the days I pretended not to feel this.
I had been hiding for so long, trying to stay cool, stay casual.
But now my fingers tightened around his and didn’t let go.
My thumb moved over his knuckles, and I felt Luke breathe deeper, slower.
We sat like that, melting into each other, for the rest of the car ride. Our breath rising and falling together, soft and steady.
Hopeton drove ahead, silent as ever. But I knew he knew. He had always known.
So had everyone else. Every friend. Every family member. Every teacher. Every stranger who saw the way we looked at each other when we thought no one was watching. We had never fooled anyone. Except maybe ourselves.
Luke turned toward me and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes.
This was it. This was always it.