Chapter Seven
Dominique’s heart fluttered and a sweet desire filled her as Luke’s mouth took hers. The kiss filled her with a warmth that sought out and banished all the cold places the attack had created inside her.
She opened her mouth to his and their tongues swirled together in a hot dance of desire. He smelled so good and his arms around her felt so familiar and so…safe.
However, it wasn’t safety she was looking for from him at the moment. She tasted his passion for her and it made her feel wonderfully alive as it stirred a wealth of desire for him inside her.
She’d never loved kissing a man as much as she loved kissing Luke. His lips didn’t pressure, rather they cajoled a response. And respond she did.
Her heart beat fast and furiously and she quickly became half breathless. She realized at that moment she wanted far more than a kiss from him. She wanted to explore completely the physical attraction that burned bright inside her.
She felt as if she’d desired him from the first moment he had shown up on her doorstep to act as her bodyguard. Now that desire was completely out of control and all she could think about was Luke and how much she wanted him.
The kiss finally ended. He was as breathless as she. She took his hand in hers and stood. “Luke, come to my bedroom and make love with me.”
“That’s probably not a good idea,” he said, his voice deeper than usual.
“Why? Don’t you want me?” She gazed into his beautiful eyes and was assured by the desire she saw lighting the green depths. He looked so handsome in his jeans and a mint-green button-up shirt, but she was eager to see him naked and she desperately wanted to have him in bed with her.
“That’s not the point,” he replied. “You’ve had a bad scare and—”
“And nothing,” she said, interrupting him. “Luke, I wanted you last night and the night before that. This has nothing to do with the attack. This is just me wanting you. Come into my bedroom with me, Luke. Come and make love with me.” She gave his hand a soft tug, thrilled when he finally stood.
She led him into her bedroom where she turned on the lantern next to the bed.
As she turned to face him, he immediately drew her back into his arms for another kiss.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him as his arms tightened around her.
She leaned close enough to him that she felt his arousal against her.
Raw, hot desire roared through her as his hands drew sensual circles on her back. All she could think about was Luke and how much she wanted him.
They kissed for only a moment and then she pulled her hands from around his neck and instead began to unbutton his shirt. He stood perfectly still, his eyes smoldering as she slowly worked the buttons.
As she unfastened each one, she kissed the warm, bare skin that was exposed. As she worked down his chest, his breathing quickened and he released a low moan.
“Dominique, you’re driving me absolutely crazy,” he half growled.
She smiled up at him. “That’s the whole point.” She shoved his shirt off his shoulders and it fell to the floor behind them. Oh, he had a glorious chest, broad and firmly muscled.
He kicked off his loafers as she unbuttoned the fly on his jeans. “Take them off, Luke,” she whispered urgently.
She didn’t have to ask twice. As he unzipped them then pulled them and his socks off, she turned down the spread, exposing pale pink sheets.
When she gazed at him again, he was clad only in a pair of navy-blue boxers. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of his beautiful body. Rather than being an overly muscular, bulked-up man, Luke had the kind of wiry build she’d always found attractive on a man.
As he stared at her, his eyes lit with green flames of want, she began to unsnap the housedress she’d thrown on earlier. With each snap she opened, the flames in his eyes grew more intense.
She wore no bra beneath, so once the housedress was open, she was clad only in a pair of wispy pink panties. She shrugged the dress off her shoulders and it joined his shirt and jeans on the floor.
“You are so beautiful,” he half whispered.
“So are you,” she replied. She slid beneath the sheet on the bed and beckoned him to join her there. He got in next to her and immediately sought her mouth again with his. As they kissed, their legs tangled together. She loved the feel of his strong, naked legs against hers.
For a few minutes their bodies remained close and the tactile pleasure of his bare skin against hers felt wonderful. His chest was so broad against her own and she could feel their hearts beating together in unison.
He shifted positions so he had a free hand to stroke down her body. He caressed first one breast and then the other, toying with each of her hardened nipples. He then lowered his head and captured one of the nipples in his mouth.
“Oh yes,” she said on a moan as the pleasure shot an electrical fire from her nipples to the very center of her. He teased and licked first one and then the other until she was half mad with want.
His hand began to move lower, slowly trailing fingers down her abdomen and to the waistband of her panties. He slid his fingers back and forth across the panties’ band, tormenting her as her desire for him raged completely out of control.
She reached down and removed the only barrier other than his boxers keeping them apart. She threw the panties to the floor and then she was back in his arms. This time as he slid his hand back down, there was nothing to stop him from touching her moist center.
She moaned and raised her hips to meet his intimate touch. His fingers danced against her. Her muscles tightened as she began to climb up and up to a place of pleasure she’d never been before.
She clung to his shoulders as she moved her hips more frantically, rising to heights that had her gasping with need. And then she was there, spiraling down with the force of the orgasm that shuddered through her.
As soon as she was able, she reached out to him and caressed down his chest. But he stopped her. “I don’t need any more foreplay,” he said, his eyes glowing with his desire.
He reached down and took off his boxers, then rolled her onto her back and positioned himself between her thighs. He bent down and took her mouth in a gentle kiss as he slowly eased into her.
Powerful and intense, the sensations that rushed through her were beyond wonderful. He began to pump in and out of her and thought was impossible. There was only her and Luke and these breathtaking moments.
He moaned and she grabbed hold of his buttocks. “Faster, Luke. Faster,” she said. He quickened his pace and before long they became frantic, panting as they moved together.
Once again, she felt the tension building inside her, taking her to an unsustainable high.
She cried out his name as her climax crashed over her and a moment later, he stiffened against her and moaned with his own release.
When it was over, he collapsed on his back next to her, both of them wordless as they fought to find a more normal breathing.
Finally, he raised himself up on one elbow and gazed at her with a soft smile. He moved a strand of her hair away from her face. “That was amazing,” he said.
“It was beyond amazing,” she replied. It had been intense and passionate and more incredible than she had ever imagined. “Can you stay the rest of the evening with me?”
“Of course,” he replied. “I would have been here anyway, but I think for tonight we shouldn’t go out to follow Pierre.”
She released a tremulous sigh. “I agree. I just need some time to process and get over the attack.”
He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. “I’m just so sorry that happened to you. Let’s hope Daniel can get us some answers very soon.”
“Enough about that.”
He stared at her, this time his gaze obviously curious. “Dominique, what exactly are we doing?”
“Nothing serious, so don’t get weird on me, Luke,” she replied. “Now, you can use the bathroom first.”
“Okay.” He slid out of the bed and grabbed his clothes from the floor, then left the bedroom.
She looked over to the window where twilight displayed itself in shades of dark purples and grays. The day was nearly done. She had no desire to go out into the swamp tonight. She just wanted to spend more time with Luke.
“The bathroom is all yours,” he said from the doorway. “I’ll just meet you in the living room.”
She got out of bed, grabbed her housedress and a clean pair of panties, and then headed into the bathroom. Once there she looked at herself in the mirror. She’d wanted to make love with Luke and now she had. She’d wondered what kind of a lover he’d be and now she knew.
At times he’d been gentle but he’d also been masterful and giving and the whole thing had been utterly magical.
She’d assumed once her curiosity about him as a lover had been sated then that would be the end of it.
But to her surprise, she wanted him again…
and again. It had nothing to do with love, but everything to do with the crazy, wild desire she felt for him.
She turned away from the mirror, cleaned herself up and then redressed and left the bathroom. He was seated on the sofa and he smiled at her as she entered the room.
“I just thought of something,” she said.
“What’s that?” he asked curiously.
“You missed your six o’clock dinner. How about I fry up some bacon and make some eggs and toast?”
He grinned. “Even though I’m off my schedule, that sounds really good.”
“Why don’t you come into the kitchen and talk to me while I cook?”
“With pleasure.” He got up from the sofa and followed her into the kitchen. She gestured for him to sit at the table. “I’ll be right back,” she said and then went out the back door to start her generator.
For just a moment she stood at the railing and stared into the dark water beneath her. The last gasp of twilight played in the water, reflecting the colors of a dying day.