SEVENTEEN
Mia
Luke slips into my shower the next morning as easily as he has fitted into that hole I didn’t even realise I had in my heart. Like he’s the missing piece of a puzzle I thought I’d already solved.
His rough hands rub from my waist down over my hips and I smile to myself when they turn from lightly tanned to bright aqua with tiny pink webbing between his fingers as the water transforms him. He tucks us together until I can feel his erection pulsing against my back.
“Morning. ”
“Mmm, morning.” My nipples tighten into little buds, and a shiver of sensation buzzes down my spine as he kisses my shoulder. Warm water pounds against my front. With Luke’s firm strong presence behind me, it’s almost too much. At the same time, it’s not enough. My pussy throbs with the need to be touched.
As he caresses my body, I note the subtle differences in his shifted form. His skin is incredibly soft, all except for the grip of the suckers which run along the length of his tentacles. Tentacles which seem to be everywhere right now, winding around my calves and teasing up my thighs.
He walks me forward until I can place both palms on the cool tiles. Then with one tentacle, he nudges my legs apart so I’m leaning forward with my ass and pussy presented for him. Another limb glides over my back and arse possessively. I’ve already lost touch of where all his limbs are and whether this is a hand or tentacle. It doesn’t matter. He could have a hundred tentacles right now and I think there would still be places on me left aching for his touch. I want him everywhere at once.
I arch my back, longing for more.
“Haven’t made you cum yet today.” His voice is husky and low. I can only just hear him over the shower.
I grin. “Is that your new daily mission?”
“Too right.” One large hand slides over my pussy, cupping me. “This pussy is going to be mine. And I’m going to teach her exactly how I like her to behave.”
The words should sound ridiculous, but I’m not laughing. No. I’m groaning, stretching to spread wider for him and give him access, wishing he would rub my clit already .
All he does is increase the pressure a little. My body reacts. Heat pools at my entrance and awareness of him tingles all through me.
When he finally slides his fingers into my folds to find the hard nub of my clit, I moan again. “Oh, please!”
He growls against the back of my neck, hardness pressed to the places I’m soft. Wet droplets of water and spray from the shower cool my heated skin. Suckers tease and play at sensitive areas I never knew I had at the backs of my knees, the crease of my thighs.
My god!
Luke flicks his fingers backward and forward across my clit, applying just the right pressure. It’s like he knows exactly how I want to be touched, how much to give, and when to ease off. I sink into it, pleasure blooming in my lower belly. Then he stops.
I cry out. My head drops between my arms.
My breath is coming hard and fast and my pussy throbs with the need to cum.
Luke turns me, lifting my left leg to wrap around his hips. He braces a hand against the wall behind me, then takes his cock in his other hand to rub slowly through my sex.
In this form, his cock is brightly colored too. The shaft is the same greenish blue as the rest of his body. Beneath the foreskin, where it peels back it’s a shocking pink, leaking with slick moisture that wells at the tip.
Oh, this is a hundred times worse than him stopping. The slow, firm pressure he creates as he circles my clit with the tip of his erection is exquisite torture.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I cling on. It’s all I can do to stay upright. Lucky he has so many limbs to hold me up.
He’s so close to pushing inside, but he never actually does it.
“This pussy is mine, isn’t she?”
I can’t answer him. All I can do is focus on the throb, throb of my clit, which needs far more than this slow glide.
“Are you ready for me to fill up your pretty pussy, Mia? Ready for me to give you what you want?”
“Yes.” That one word feels like it cost me a momentous effort.
He leans close and presses his forehead to mine. “I want it so much, but you know what I need.”
“What?” I know we talked about this, but right now my brain is scrambled. All I know is if I spend another minute without him buried deep inside me I’m going to cry.
“Need to hear you say you’re over him.”
“I am.” It feels so freeing. The truth is, I’ve been over Oliver for a while. I just couldn’t see it until Luke came back into my life.
He groans. It’s the first sign he’s feeling the same way I’m feeling—like I’ll die if we don’t fuck right now!
“Need you to tell me you’re mine.”
“I—” That’s not so easy. It’s not that I don’t want him. God, I do! But so many things stand in our way. We live in different cities. Our families would never get along, and I’ve been engaged to someone else until a few days ago. “I can't.”
He sighs. I think he’s going to pull away, but he doesn’t. He shifts so his cock is no longer nudging at my entrance and I mourn the loss even as I worry I’ve hurt his feelings. “Luke, I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK, Mia. ”
“No, really—”
“Shhh.” In a moment he gathers me close again, hushing me. “Didn’t I say I’d wait as long as you needed?”
“Sorry,” I whisper again.
“You don’t need to apologise. That’s OK. I’m going to be right here when you are ready. Don’t you worry about that.”
I’m about to pull away when a slippery tentacle slides up my thigh to find the place I’m still wet and needy. I gasp.
“Didn’t I say I would take care of this for you as often as you need me to?” Luke whispers.
I bite my lip as another two tentacles twist around my legs, slipping between us to part my folds and give the other better access. If I thought he was good with his mouth and hand in human form, that’s absolutely nothing compared with what he does to my body like this.
As he rubs my clit with just the right pressure, I’m liquid in his arms, melting back against the cool tiles as he works my body. When I would have shut my eyes, a gentle hand at my chin keeps my gaze on his as I tip over the edge into a rush of sweetness he draws out for such a long time my knees are shaking.
Luke makes me cum three times standing against the shower wall. The spray from the water is cool on my overheated face. The last time I cum, I’m so strung out I gasp his name and he has to carry me out of the shower.
When I can finally speak, it’s around the thick mass that feels lodged in my throat. “Luke, I didn’t mean I don’t want you.”
He nods seriously, sinking to towel me dry gently. “ I know.”
“I just have questions that I have to resolve before I can tell you anything more and I don’t want to say it if it’s not real.” I wish I could find the words to tell him everything I’m feeling. To explain.
“I know that. And I love that you’d never lie to me just to get what you want. I trust you. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. So trust me to be here when you are.”
He’s quiet for a moment. I wonder if I really have hurt his feelings. Then he sets the towel aside and his warm hands slide up my calves. “Mia, there’s something I should tell you about me.”
“OK.”
Luke straightens, standing on six of his eight tentacles and lifting the other two to lay them in my hands. The ends glow softly, illuminating my skin, and I stare at their translucent beauty. “I don’t always glow like this.”
“You don’t? But I thought—”
He shakes his head. “Only when I’m near you.”
My mouth falls open and my heart races. This feels important, but I’m worried I might be reading too much into it.
“Only when I’m near my mate.”
There’s a heartbeat while I process what he’s said. He squeezes my hands. “So when I say I’ll wait for you, you can believe me.”
“Oh, Luke.” I don’t know what to say. I think back to every time I’ve seen him in this form. And he’s right. He’s always glowed. “How long have you known?”
He looks away with a sheepish smile.
“Luke! How long? ”
“Since the very first time.”
I stare. “Ten years ago?”
He nods. “Now do you believe me? I’ve been waiting years. What’s a little longer when I’ve got you in my arms and I can tell you everything it means to me? It’s nothing. I’ll wait as long as it takes because the prize is worth it. You’re worth it, Mia. And when you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
Despite the fact that he’s wet and I’m now dry, I throw myself into his arms to hold him close. “You’re so amazing. Did I tell you that enough times?”
––––––––
That’s the way things go more or less for the next couple of weeks. Even though it’s beyond tempting every time we’re together, somehow Luke manages to keep to his resolve. I don’t know how. If it was up to me, I’d have given in days ago. But somehow I can’t bring myself to say the words he needs to hear. I just don’t feel ready to commit. Not after how badly I stuffed it up last time I did. Not when I know how much it means to Luke.
Luke gives the upstairs of the house a fresh coat of paint and installs new carpets. We replace the curtains with roller blinds and by the time we’re done, the upstairs looks amazing. There’s still a lot of work to be done downstairs, but that’s major work. It doesn’t seem like the time to begin that sort of thing when I still don’t know what I’m doing .
Then Luke gets a message from his brother reminding him about helping at The Snapper. I’m at a loose end, since Dad hasn’t sent me any new cases. I don’t have anything else to do. So I offer to help out.
When we arrive, Jack and Noah are already there. Mr and Mrs Wilson have already gone to Sydney since they’re staying a couple of nights after Luke insisted they take a holiday. As we walk in, Noah shoots a scowl my way and says to Luke under his breath, “What’s she doing here? Don’t you know she’s just going to fuck you off the second something better comes along?”
I can’t hear Luke’s reply, but I see the way colour rises up his neck and stains his cheeks. And no one could miss the way he shoves past Noah and starts picking up the rest of the furniture to toss outside with unnecessary force.
I hate how much this clearly gets to him. While Noah’s wrong to think I’d ever deliberately hurt Luke, the reality is I’m a mess right now. Even before I found out about Oliver cheating, I couldn’t get it together enough to do a simple task like choosing wedding stationery. And now, I have no idea what I’m doing.
Things with Luke feel amazing. I’m feeling better than I’ve felt in years. But what if I’m only thinking that because anyone feels better than Oliver right now?
No. I know that’s not true. Luke is amazing. He’s kind and caring and protective, and so, so sexy. I stop myself from making a mental list of every single good quality. I came here to help, after all, not stand around all day.
There’s a huge skip in the carpark and I help carry the chairs outside so Luke, Noah and Jack can toss them in. Then the guys go back inside and get out the sledgehammers and start demolishing the kitschy bar. This isn’t something I feel qualified to help with, so while they’re at it, I walk through the space, trying to picture the layout once Luke is done. He’s described the finished restaurant to me. He’ll open up a cutout to the kitchen so people can see his brother cooking. Then pull out the old booths along the wall and open the space up for more tables. He’s going to put in more windows, so more tables can go around that side of the restaurant, allowing for the feeling of floating on the water, just like I noticed the other night when we approached along the pier.
He’s even chosen a colour scheme: A rich black-blue for the feature wall, with grey, black, and white finishes. There’s one thing he hasn’t considered, though. Art. An idea germinates and soon I’m restless. I wave to the boys and head down the street to the Coral Breeze Cafe to grab everyone a bacon and egg roll and a coffee and me a smoothie. When I return, they’re just finishing the demolition. Luke scrubs a hand across his forehead and gives me a grin. Even Noah and Jack are pleased to see me when they see I’m carrying the tray of coffee and the bag of food.
We sit outside on the deck, backs against the glass of the windows to eat. “You know, I was thinking,” I say as I pass Luke his roll, “you’re going to need something on the walls. To make the place come to life.”
Jack laughs around a big bite of egg and bacon. “Oh, look out. Don’t get him started on interior decorating. It’s his not so secret passion.”
I grin. “Oh, Luke has quite the eye. I know. But I was just thinking maybe I could make something. I mean if you’d like me to. I could pull in some of the colours you use on the walls or the furnishings, and really make the place feel finished.”
Noah is leaning against the balustrade looking out at the inlet. He looks around as I finish speaking and my heart flutters against my collarbone. I’m sure he’s about to dismiss my offer. I didn’t even really think before I blurted it out. I was just trying to be helpful as much as I can.
Shockingly, his harsh expression softens a little. “What sort of art?”
I shrug. “I usually do portraits or landscapes with trees, but I’d like to try something a little abstract here. To go with the modern look you’re planning.”
His brows lift and a hint of a smile creeps across his lips. “You know what? I might just take you up on that offer.”
Luke chuckles. “You’d be an idiot not to, Noah. Do you know how much a piece that’d fit on that wall would cost you?”
“You’re not charging, right?” He narrows his eyes at me.
“Of course not! I’ve never sold any of my art. I’d just be doing it to help. You don’t have to hang it if it’s no good.”
After that, Noah comes and sits beside Luke against the glass and we all talk for a while. Noah talks about his menu plan and a couple of locals he wants to hire. Eventually, the boys get up and head inside and I head out to get the supplies I’ll need.
The two canvases I end up with are two by three metres. There’s nowhere inside my place suitable to paint anything this large. Instead, I set myself up in the garage, pulling an old pair of socks halfway up my legs and shivering a little inside Luke’s jumper in the cold .
The afternoon passes in a blur. When Luke’s truck pulls up on the driveway, I’m surprised. I pick up my phone and glance at the time. It’s five. No wonder I’m squinting at the canvas. The sun is setting and I’ve been so focused I didn’t notice.
Luke jumps down from the truck and walks over, whistling low when he comes around to look at what I’ve done.
“It’s not finished,” I tell him quickly. Over my rough sketchy lines, I do have a few layers of paint that don’t look like much yet, but eventually will look something like boats on dark water or stars in the night sky. It’s sort of both and neither. Designed to match the impression the water of the inlet gives off at night when you’re sitting in The Snapper looking out past the fairy lights.
He pulls me close and presses a kiss to the top of my hair. “Thank you for this. It doesn’t seem like it, but Noah’s super excited.”
“Really?” I turn in his arms, keeping my hands away from him since they have paint on them.
“Really.” He swoops down for a longer kiss, lingering against my mouth and almost breathing me in. I breathe him in, too, and it hits me how comfortable this feels. Like I want to do this every evening. I want him coming home to me. I love how he came over here without calling or messaging. Love that he didn’t need to. We both just knew.
I’m staring. Luke gives me a quizzical look. “What?”
I can’t help smiling. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of something.”
“Thinking of what?”
“I’ll tell you later, OK? But don’t worry. It’s good. ”
Luke relaxes and lets me go. “Alright then, mystery lady. I’m going to go take a shower. Want to join me?”
I shake my head. I need time to consider how I’m going to tell him. Suddenly, I’m as nervous and excited as I was all those years ago when I saw him through the window of the golf club. Seeing him there, knowing I wanted to be part of his world, and not knowing how to ask.
Well, now I’m older, I’ve got a better idea of what I want, but I’m still just as hopeless at asking for it. Luke will know, though. He reads me so well. It won’t matter if I stuff up the words. I just want to try my best to make this special. To let him know he’s special, the way he makes me feel every time he looks at me.