Chapter 18
CLARA
Luke and I walked out of the ballroom and into the cold night air. It felt good on my flushed cheeks. Tonight had ended up being way more exciting than I ever could have anticipated. I felt like I was floating.
Luke smiled at me in the moonlight and I smiled back, feeling an intense affection for him. It wasn’t love but it was something like it. He had been so good to me through every step of this insane plan of his.
I knew I was helping him out with his career, but he had bought me all kinds of clothes, he introduced me to people who had already provided me with connections to build my future, and he brought me to enchanting galas like this one.
The spectacle of it all had been overwhelming from the moment we got out of the limo. The cameras. The crowds. The other glamorous couples. Being on Luke’s arm had felt so natural, and I kept forgetting it was an act.
The ballroom had been gorgeous, and it had inspired a dozen ideas for tweaks I could make to the office decorations. A few simple little touches that would make things pop more.
Then I had been blindsided by Ganymede Raye. She didn’t just talk to me. She knew who I was. She had seen my work and my designs. And she liked them enough she wanted to work with me. If it was possible to explode from joy, I was definitely at risk of going nuclear.
“Let me just tell the driver we’re ready.” Luke pulled out his phone and rattled off a text. “Done.”
Seeing his phone gave me an idea. “Take a picture of us.”
He smiled and rolled his eyes. “There will be a million pictures of us online.”
“I don’t want those pictures. I want a picture you took, just for the two of us.”
“Okay, come here.” Luke pulled me close with his arm wrapped around me, sending a thrill through me. He extended his other arm, holding the phone so we were centered in the frame. “Show me that beautiful smile.”
His words hit me unexpectedly. My smile in the picture ended up being very real.
“Send it to me.”
He did. “Make it your wallpaper.”
I laughed, pretending I hated the idea. The limo pulled up to the curb and we didn’t wait for the driver to open the door for us.
Luke swung it open and swept his arm out with a flourish. “Your carriage awaits.”
“Such a gentleman.” I slid into the leather seat and Luke dropped in beside me.
My legs and feet sighed with relief and I kicked my shoes off. “That’s better.”
Luke grinned at me and closed the door. “What a night.”
“I know.”
Luke told the driver to take us to his apartment and then raised the privacy partition.
The driver glided away from the curb and up the street.
Lights shined through the tinted windows, painting Luke’s face in shifting patterns.
I couldn’t look away. “That was amazing. Thank you for bringing me into your world. I feel like things are lining up to be almost perfect.”
Luke’s expression darkened. “Almost?”
I couldn’t tell him he was the missing piece of my perfect life. “Oh, I just mean it’s a good start, but who knows what the future will look like.”
He nodded. “It really feels like you’ll be moving out here soon.”
“Yeah, if I literally have a job lined up on Broadway, nothing will stop me from being here, even if I have to live under a bridge or something.”
He laughed and shook his head. “With our deal, you won’t have to. Even without the money, you’ll always have a place to say with me. You’ve already got your own room.”
“Luke, are you already asking me to move in with you?” I asked playfully. “At least put a ring on it first.”
He smiled. “I considered it.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What?”
“I thought about asking you to be my fake fiancée instead of my girlfriend.”
“Oh, right.” I was too embarrassed to tell him what I had thought he meant.
Luke sighed. “But things are already tangled up enough. Sometimes I regret ever suggesting this deal.”
My stomach dropped. “I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong? I thought things were going great.”
“They are,” he said quickly. “That’s the problem. Sometimes when I’m with you, things feel too real. Like I’m not faking anything with you. But you’re my best friend’s little sister. He would kill me if we ever got together.”
“I don’t care about that,” I said. “It’s none of his business who I’m with.”
Luke shrugged. “Well, I care. And more than that, I’m paying you, which makes this way more complicated.”
My heart was pounding behind my ribs. “Why is it complicated?”
“Because I want to kiss you for real.” Luke slid close to me on the seat and looked into my eyes, giving me plenty of time to push him away or say something. I stared back at him and waited.
Luke kissed me, first a soft brush and then harder, hungrier. I met him with desperation of my own, having wanted this since I wanted anyone to kiss me. Luke had been the leading man in my fantasies ever since my sexual awakening.
We had kissed twice before, but both times had been part of the deal, technically. This was the first time we’d connected without any excuses to hide behind. We were a man and a woman who needed each other.
I melted into him, and he wrapped an arm around me. My hands explored his firm chest, feeling the hard ridges of him and the powerful way they flexed when he moved. I’d been wanting to touch him like that for a long time, and it made me ache for him.
His other hand landed on my knee, and I groaned, beautifully overwhelmed by his eagerness. Fire raged through my veins, and it was good to know I wasn’t the only one in the back of the limo feeling that way.
I ran my fingers over his face while his lips explored mine, touching him like I wanted to be sure he was actually there.
Luke stopped kissing me and looked into my eyes. His blue eyes were electric in the dim light of the limo, piercing into the secret heart of me. His wild grin was devilish, daring me to take a risk with him. “If I’m moving too fast, just say so. I can’t control myself around you.”
The words sent a shiver through me. “If you want to lose control with me, do it.”
His fingernails grazed my knee lightly, little spirals that sent heat straight to my core. I didn’t know whether to clench my thighs together or spread them in invitation. Instead, I took his hand and pulled it up to my breast. Luke growled into the kiss and took the initiative from there.
He caressed me, teasing my nipple, and the delicious friction had me squirming beside him, desperate for him. I arched my back into his palm, needing more, needing to feel him on every inch of me all at once. All logic and sense fled, and I began operating on primal urges, instincts as old as time.
He kissed a line down my jaw to my throat. Then he yanked my dress down and swirled his tongue over my nipple, torturing me. His hand slid back to my legs, which opened of their own accord, silently begging for something I could never ask for out loud.
His strong hands skated up my thigh, inch by inch, taking his time to really build up the fires inside me.
I knew Luke’s reputation. He’d been with plenty of women, and there was something to be said for a man who knew what he was doing.
I was aching and wet for him when his fingertip first brushed over my panties. I almost screamed.
His mouth found my other bare breast, giving them equal attention. That, combined with his hand, had me breathing hard. I ran my fingers through his hair and yanked his face up to look at me again. When our eyes met, he kissed me, hot and hard, and his hand slid into my panties.
He dipped a finger into my wetness and I moaned, nearly coming undone on the spot. He stroked me, finding my clit with his thumb while his finger toyed with my entrance.
“Don’t stop, Luke.”
Pleasure filled me with every touch of him, his hands, his kisses, his tongue.
It had been a long time since I’d been with anyone, and no one had ever made me feel the way Luke did.
He made me feel cared about, like I was precious.
And I never felt sexier than when he looked at me like he wanted to devour me.
I ran my hands over his shoulders, his arms, his chest. He was made of solid steel, even though he was no longer a professional athlete. I was greedy for him.
Luke groaned into a kiss, making me tremble at the sound.
I liked hearing him. It was sexy as hell and I wanted to make him groan even more.
As it was, I felt amazing knowing Luke could have any woman he wanted and all of his attention was focused on my pleasure.
He coaxed it out of me in waves, building me up and up until I thought I might break.
Then the floodgates opened and swept me away into bliss. Beautiful fireworks took flight inside me, light pulsing through every nerve ending, joy suffusing every bit of me.
Luke whispered in my ear. “Come for me, Clara. Let go for me.”
He held me in his arms, stroking me gently, kissing me softly, making me feel loved. When I could see again, I kissed him, pushed him down on the seat, and grabbed his belt buckle.
I felt the limo stop and we both looked out the window. We were at Luke’s building. He sat up and moved my hands away with a sigh of regret. “We should get going.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say. I didn’t want to break the spell we were under. I wasn’t finished with him.
Together, we headed inside and took the elevator upstairs.
I wondered if he would attack me again as soon as we were alone.
I kept looking at him, waiting for him to meet my gaze again and let nature take its course.
When we made it up to his penthouse without incident, I knew the bubble had effectively burst.
Luke shut himself in his bedroom before I could find the words to ask if that had been fake or real. I went to bed, too, my only companion a headful of questions.