Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Kylie
For so many years, she’d imagined this moment, wondering how it would feel to be undressed by Luke Luview, his fingers working her shirt buttons, his mouth on hers, his hands seeking her, touching her, exploring her.
Knowing her.
How many nights had her breathless younger self imagined Luke finding her in Rio, Indiana, proclaiming his love, and sweeping her off her feet, the two of them stealing away to an imaginary paradise where they would live together in bliss?
Her fifteen-year-old self had never gotten beyond that part, because back then, it had been enough.
And it had been too silly for words.
Except now, it wasn’t, and the words I love you had been shared. Luke had come all the way from Maine to New York City. Had found her hotel, her room, her soul.
And here he was, claiming her, bare skin getting barer by the minute.
“You’re here,” she murmured as she kissed his collarbone, his hands pushing her shirt off her shoulders, his sigh deep and hushed.
“I am. Forever, this time. Whatever I have of forever is yours, Kylie. I still believe in forever, even if it doesn’t always believe in me.”
The painful reminder of Amber didn’t bother her one bit. It was part of who he was, and she accepted it.
Looking up, she took his face in her hands, eyes locking on his. “I’m here, Luke. I am yours. I want forever with you, too. That’s all we can hope for.”
“That’s more than I ever dreamed.” He looked down at her, one hand caressing her along her ribs until she gasped, body turned electric by his touch.
“Do you have any idea how much I’ve wanted you, Kylie, since the moment you came back?
Maybe even before? I wrote off the idea that I would ever find love again.
I didn’t think it was fair to ask the universe to send me another soulmate.
Who gets to have such extraordinary love twice? ”
“You do, Luke. Because you have an enormous capacity for love. It’s not finite. You have so much love in your life because you give so much love to others. You grow it inside you. You spread it like wildflower seeds. There is more beauty in the world because of how you love people.”
“Then you are the most beautiful woman in the world, Kylie, because I love you so, so very much. Let me make love with you, right here, right now. Please be with me. You’ve given me so much.
Somehow, you dug deep inside me, found all the broken pieces of my heart, and you glued them together with glitter-filled muffin frosting and it started beating again. ”
Kylie laughed softly, her eyes welling with happy tears.
“That’s quite a vision.”
He took her hand and placed it on his bare skin, right over his heart.
“Touch me, Kylie. Be with me. I want to be close to you. Want to make you feel as good as you make me feel.”
His mouth found hers, hungry and wanting, and she stood on tiptoe to match his urgency. All their words had said what their minds needed to hear, but now it was the body, the heart, the soul that needed to know, and that could only come from touch. Kisses. Caresses.
Invitations to enter.
Entering Luke’s life had been an accident, but entering his heart was fate.
Now, she would invite him inside her, too, as his tongue flicked the line of her teeth, his lips lush and warm against hers, his hand on her breast, the sharp inhale of pleasure making her body shift into a warm glow.
As they kissed, he moved his hands to her button and zipper, her clothes falling off her as if by magic, though she knew damn well it was a very human series of motions causing them to stand before each other in underclothes, Luke’s erection hard and alluring as he pulled her closer, the length of him finding her in the right spot as friction made her gasp and tense, her core pulling up with pleasure.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured in her ear as he reached down and freed himself, his boxers flung to one side, her panties off in seconds, bra unclasped and turned into simple strings that Luke tossed onto a chair.
Completely naked, they found each other’s warmth, her body shouting yes, yes, yes!
“Finally,” she whispered as the city lights made a gauzy, unfocused color show behind him, the thin white curtains a screen.
“Yes,” he said before kissing her again. “Finally.”
They moved to the bed, Kylie more comfortable with him than she’d ever been with a man, the familiarity so visceral. Simple. It felt as if they’d been like this a thousand times before, though the novelty of their newness was there, too.
As he stretched out on the bed, his head propped up by one hand, the smile he gave her was so sexy, so perfect. Her skin tingled with anticipation and she needed him, body begging for him inside her.
But first things first.
“Luke,” she said, holding back from his embrace, staring deep into his eyes. “I have something to say.”
He nodded, face suddenly serious.
“Go ahead.”
“I’m in this forever. For real. I will come back to Maine with you. But I can’t come back and depend on you.”
“You can always depend on me!”
“Not–not the way I mean. I can’t be in a relationship with you and be employed by you.”
“Oh.”
“It’s too much. I’ll need to find my own place. A job outside of being Harriet’s nanny. I’ll always help out, of course. But–”
“I understand. You want to keep the roles separate.”
“Yes.” Relief washed over her as he stroked her arm, the smile returning to his face as she continued. “And I have a job offer in front of me.”
“You said. And I told you I’d move here, Kylie. We’ll figure it all out.”
“Luview is your home. Harriet’s home. And it’s my home, too. All these years, I tried to act like it wasn’t, but coming back has been so wonderful. No place else compares.”
“Whatever you want, you’ve got it. As long as we’re together. That’s all that matters to me.” His kiss silenced whatever she was going to say next, their bodies moving against each other with a tenderness that turned to a flame.
He smoothed his hands along her legs, drifting his fingers up her thighs and along her belly, the hard ridge of his erection pressing into her hip from where he lay next to her. A hot and slow tingle made her skin flush, her nipples harden, and the insides of her thighs tremble.
Her eyes captured his, her soul reflected in his gaze. She couldn’t look away. Couldn’t blink. Couldn’t stop.
Wouldn’t stop.
Kylie could lose herself in Luke so easily, precisely because he wouldn’t let her. She’d never be lost with him.
Their love had found a way.
Luke’s sandy blond hair felt like cornsilk between her fingers, his scent a mix of cologne and sweat, his skin salty as she kissed his shoulder, then buried her face in his neck, her hand moving down to boldly stroke the long line of his torso, ridged muscle strong and flat.
No sound invaded their lovemaking save for the city noise, muted and simple, a reminder of society outside.
And of the sanctuary they created between the two of them. Her body was alive and hard and full, and the sensations were overwhelming.
Nothing existed outside the two of them. Not her past, not her future, not a single thought, except the exquisite pleasure of his hands and his mouth and his body.
He kissed her, and she knew she was alive.
He touched her, and she knew she was special.
His hands on her breasts were almost an out-of-body experience.
And when he stroked her between her legs, she forgot her own name.
“It’s–it’s been two years, Kylie,” he said in a rough voice, one that spoke of loneliness. She jolted in surprise, her hand stopping.
“Two years?”
“Since… yes.”
“You dated, right?”
“Damn it. I’m sorry. This is the worst possible time for this conversation.
I’m an idiot. Gorgeous, naked woman I’m in love with in bed with me, and all I can do is interrupt with the least appropriate comment anyone could ever say.
Forgive me.” The vibration of his groan made her laugh, her hand on his ribs feeling his mix of emotions.
“Nothing to forgive, Luke. This is a safe space. Safe in every way. I want the real you. I want to be the real me with you. If you want to talk about parking tickets, go ahead. If I want to talk about how pineapple belongs on pizza, I can.”
“Hold on now,” he said in mock horror. “I think we found our deal breaker.”
“Pineapple, banana peppers, and glitter.”
“I would eat edible glitter on a pizza before I’d eat pineapple.”
“I’m going to take you up on that.”
“You said that to make me stop feeling like a fool, didn’t you?”
“You’re not a fool,” she said softly, kissing one cheek, then the other, admiring his strong face in the shadows from the city lights.
“You’re a very self-contained man who finally has some space to unravel a little.
Unclench. Reveal yourself. I’m honored to be the woman you’ve chosen to give that to. ”
“Give?”
“Yes–give. It’s a gift to be trusted the way you’re trusting me. I’m honored. I get to see aspects of you no one else does. It’s a secret between us. Do you know how special that makes me feel?”
“You are special, Kylie. I’ve never met anyone like you. Probably why I was so drawn to you when we were young. You see the world through a happy lens. You see the good in people. You see the good in the world.”
“So do you.”
“I did. I do, in Harriet. I do, in my family. Not so much in my job,” he said, stroking her hair. “And I certainly see it in you. I can’t–I can’t bear to lose you, Kylie. I’m taking a big chance with my heart here.”
“I know.”
“And here I go again, babbling.”
“Stop. Stop,” she urged him, his eyes conflicted as she pressed her hand against his abs.
“Stop downplaying talking about your feelings. You’re allowed to have them.
Allowed to express them. Allowed to be whole.
” As she leaned in for a kiss, he moved on top of her, broad shoulders so strong under her touch, the weight of him breathtaking, making her pulse quicken.
“I’m whole with you,” he murmured into her ear.