Chapter 22 #2
She felt him in the depths of her belly as he hit bottom .
With blunt force, he began to hammer into her. His hands came around her, gripping her breasts. They worked to milk her, stretching and tugging her nipples, offering intense pleasure with that bit of pain.
Trapped between his driving thrusts and the desk, she could do nothing but take it. Take it all. His heavy balls slapped against her. He was too big, the pace was too furious.
He grunted softly with every thrust, and Harper knew he was lost in her. There was no stopping him. She could only submit.
Her tight little muscles squeezed him on every thrust. A yearning so intense it reached her heart, clutched at her. She wanted to take it all from him. The shadows, the dark, the pain.
Releasing her breasts, Luke braced his legs.
A hand slipped down between Harper’s thighs parting her slick folds to stroke where she needed it.
His other hand ran down her back and lower still, just above where his cock ravaged her.
He probed and pressed and with a swift thrust entered her tight channel.
Full in every way. Harper cried out as she clenched around him, wrenching free the first spurt of hot semen deep in her core. His fingers stroked over her slick bud, and she came apart around him.
She heard him shout her name over the pounding in her ears. He said it again, softer now, as his body went rigid and his cock jerked inside her. She could feel the fluid heat of his orgasm as she continued to climax.
His sweat-slicked body collapsed against hers on the desk. Both of them were gasping for breath. Wrecked, Harper felt wetness on her cheeks. What demons did he have under the surface that hurt so much? She could feel the shadow over his heart, and it broke hers.
“Harp, I’m sorry, I’m trying to get up, but my legs don’t seem to want to hold me,” he murmured against the warm skin of her back.
For once, he was empty. No shadows lurking, no thoughts to push away. Just quiet. And warmth.
He finally pressed himself back up to standing and, stroking Harper’s back, pulled out slowly.
He watched as a sticky wetness coursed down the inside of her thighs, evidence of how hard he came.
Never in his life had it been like this.
She chased away the dark and brought him to the light. He felt something loosen in his chest.
She was still silent. He had never known Harper to be this quiet this long. Not even in her sleep.
“Harper.” Luke pulled her to standing and slowly turned her around to face him. Her knees buckled, and he caught her. Then he spotted the tears. “Oh, baby. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. Did I hurt you?” He gathered her in and stroked her. She shook her head against him.
“I didn’t hurt you?”
She shook her head again and curled closer to him. He lifted her and carried her to the worn leather couch in the corner. “Did I scare you?”
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him.
He sat down, cradling her in his lap. “Tell me, baby. What’s wrong?”
Harper lifted her head and cupped his face in her hands. “I think I love you,” she sighed pitifully. “And don’t you dare tell me this is why you didn’t want to have sex.”
His hands stilled on her skin for the briefest of moments before resuming their slow strokes. It was his turn for silence.
“Did I scare you?” she whispered against his neck.
Luke pinched her lightly. “Maybe a little.”
Harper sat up in his lap. “This is new for me. I don’t know if I like it.” She sounded so forlorn, Luke couldn’t help but smile .
“I suppose there are worse things.”
“Really? Because I can’t think of any right at this exact moment. This is really inconvenient.” She took a deep breath and sat up again. “Oh my God! What if I spend the rest of my life pining over the guy I met in Benevolence?”
Luke pinched her again. “Look, Harper—” he began.
“I didn’t tell you to hear you say it back. I know it’s not something that you feel for me, and I don’t need to hear the reasons why. I just wanted you to know.”
“Harper, we should probably talk. But first, let’s find some clothes for you since I destroyed yours.”
They ate subs cross-legged on the floor of Luke’s office. Luke had scrounged up a Garrison Construction t-shirt and a pair of way-too-big gym shorts for Harper.
She waited until he had taken the last bite of his turkey and cheese. “So let’s talk.”
Luke took his time crumpling his napkin and tucking the trash back in his paper bag.
He took a deep breath. “A few years ago, I went through a rough patch. I lost some people close to me, and it took me a long time to recover.”
“People in your unit?”
He nodded. “And someone at home shortly after.”
“Someone you were close to?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry, Luke.” She put her hand on his knee. “It’s never easy to lose someone you care about, and it’s even worse when it’s more than one.”
He thought of a scared little seven-year-old without her parents and squeezed her hand.
“It was a dark time.”
“And that’s why your family?—”
“Tortures me with their well-meaning but overbearing attention?”
“How do you feel about deploying again?”
“I’ve deployed since. It’s never easy. But it’s necessary, and that gets you through the hard times. ”
“Did you feel responsible?”
He answered without hesitation. “Yes. And I still do.”
“Even though you know it’s not your fault?”
“Fault and responsibility don’t have to be related.”
“What about the person you lost here?”
“Losing her changed things for me. I won’t do it again.”
Harper nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“It doesn’t make me not probably love you.”
“Harper—”
She slapped a hand over his mouth. “I don’t need you to drive the point home. You can’t love me back. You don’t want to be in a relationship. I get it.”
“I’m sorry, Harper.”
“Don’t be. My feelings for you aren’t dependent on yours for me. I like you. I probably love you. I think you’re an amazing guy. End of story.”
“So where does that leave us?”
“Enjoying the rest of the week.”
“Why would you want to if there’s nothing long-term to be won here?”
“Have you met me? What in my life has ever been long-term? Life is too short not to grab on to the good times while they last.”
“You’re a pretty amazing woman, Harper Wilde.”