Chapter Thirteen
Luke pulled Blair’s sweater off her head the moment they were in his bedroom, leaving her in the small tank top she wore under it.
Grinning, he pulled that off, too. The look on his face was like a kid unwrapping a present on his birthday.
Blair had no idea how Luke made everything more fun than anyone else.
‘You mentioned something about taking your shirt off?’ Blair asked, voice husky. She was feeling a little self-conscious about the way he was looking at her wearing nothing but her black bra, black skirt and grey tights.
He shook his head slowly. ‘Nope. You’re going to have to wait. First, I want to look at you the way you looked at me.’
Blair bit her lip. She couldn’t argue with that logic. She reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, sliding it down her sensitive arms and letting it fall to the floor.
Luke’s jaw tightened, still keeping her at arm’s length so his eyes could take her in.
Blair didn’t feel self-conscious anymore.
How could she when he was looking at her like she was a goddess sent from the sky?
Like he was in awe of her. Luke finally wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for another bruising kiss.
All the thoughts left Blair’s mind, leaving nothing but sensitive nerves and the warmth from his hard body on hers. Why had she ever resisted this man?
Blair fumbled with the hem of his T-shirt, trying to get her hands under it. She was going to combust if she didn’t feel that skin against hers. He pulled away long enough to finally take off his shirt, and then his mouth was on hers again.
It was feverish and intense. It was like a continuation of the desperate kiss in the flea market; except this time no one was holding back.
When Luke’s lips trailed down her neck, Blair arched her back, feeling secure in his grip.
When his lips made it to her breasts her knees gave out as she called out his name.
Luke. It was him making her feel this good. Only him – no one else had ever come close.
‘I got you, Blair,’ he whispered into her ear, making goosebumps appear across Blair’s whole body.
Blair fumbled with the button of his jeans, which was difficult considering the sizeable bulge there. And considering her shaking hands. But Blair needed to touch him. Now. She finally got his button open, dismayed to find more buttons under it.
‘Seriously? Button fly? Are you trying to torture me?’ Blair groaned.
Luke laughed, pushing her hand away and unbuttoning his jeans himself. Blair pushed them down, followed by his black boxer briefs, and there he was. All of Luke. Blair swallowed, taking a step back so she could see every inch of his big, beautiful body.
This was real. Her Luke. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. She wanted to touch him. To taste him. She wanted to let him consume her in every way.
‘Are you just going to look at me,’ Luke murmured. ‘Or—’
Blair stepped forward, swallowing his words with another kiss, open-mouthed and messy.
Her hand ran down his chest, relishing the feel of smooth skin over hard muscle.
Luke slid her tights, skirt and underwear down her hips, then gently pushed her onto his bed, peeling her clothes off and tossing them to the floor. He stood over her, smiling softly.
‘What is it?’ Blair asked.
‘Wish I could take a picture. You look so perfect on my pillow.’ He fanned out her hair like he was composing the shot.
Blair laughed. ‘Don’t you dare take a picture!’
‘There’s no need. The sight of you is burned into my mind.
’ He leaned down to kiss her again, pressing his body against hers.
This time the kiss was less urgent, less desperate.
But just as hot. Blair ran her hands over the planes of his chest and dug her nails into the skin of his back.
His hands were everywhere on her, too, lightly grazing the sides of her breasts and teasing her nipples.
But the more they kissed, the more they refamiliarized themselves with each other’s bodies, the more Blair wanted to feel more.
He was clearly reading her mind, because his hand trailed down her stomach before finally ghosting between her legs.
Blair moaned, head lolling back against the pillow. ‘That . . . that feels . . .’ Her words left her when his talented hand played in her wet folds.
‘You like that, Blair?’ he asked, teasing her clit with slow circles.
‘You . . . you know I do. More.’ He pressed with a little more pressure, but still not nearly enough for Blair.
She was throbbing with want, and the playful smirk on Luke’s face told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her.
Leaning down, he bit her nipple lightly, then licked it, all while he continued his too light touch between her legs.
Blair let out a muffled moan. ‘You’re killing me, Luke.
’ Blair closed her eyes as she squirmed beneath him.
He chuckled. ‘Patience, Blair,’ he said darkly before taking her other breast in his mouth. Blair bucked against his hand, and he finally slid two fingers into her. Blair gasped, her teeth dragging against Luke’s shoulder.
It was all so good. He drew his fingers out and thrust them in again, circling his thumb until she was whimpering desperately. Her breath came faster, her body tightening around his magical fingers. She was so close, but this wasn’t how she wanted to come. ‘Condom?’ she breathed against his neck.
He grinned wickedly, then slid off her. Blair immediately missed the press of his body on hers. But when he started to roll the condom on, she propped herself onto her elbows to watch.
He was such a beautiful man. Never in a million years had Blair thought she would have the chance to be with him like this again. She wanted to pinch herself to prove this was real. Luke Caldwell, her first love.
After he rolled on the condom, he returned to Blair, guiding her on top of him. ‘I want to watch you above me.’
Blair straddled his hips. With a dark smile, she pinned his wrists above his head, causing his biceps to bulge. Blair was a small woman, and she absolutely adored the feeling of a burly man under her spell like this.
But this wasn’t a spell. Blair didn’t need magic to make Luke putty in her hands. She leaned down and kissed his lips gently, rolling her hips until he was teasing her entrance.
‘Blair,’ he whispered against her lips. ‘Do it. Fuck me. Now.’
Still holding his hands above his head, Blair lowered herself onto him.
And oh, it felt so amazing. She moaned, eyes rolling back in her head.
He was big, stretching her, filling her completely.
Letting go of his hands, Blair fell forward, her forehead meeting his.
With each thrust of her hips, Blair was sure she would come undone.
When he cupped her breast, she threw her head back in ecstasy, picking up her pace.
She was going to lose herself in this man, and it was going to be glorious.
Had it been this good when they were younger?
True, they were both older and more experienced now, but no one had ever felt as good as Luke Caldwell.
He was muttering praise, telling her she was taking him so well, with one hand squeezing her hip.
When he pinched her nipple, pressure became too much for her.
She reached down to press where they were joined, and she came undone, the waves of pleasure rocking through her while he simultaneously shuddered through his climax, repeating her name like a vow.
Blair collapsed onto his chest, breathing heavily. He was also panting, arms around her back, stroking her skin.
‘Blair?’
‘Yes?’ She was still out of breath.
‘I love Moonbeam Hollow. I knew coming back was a good idea.’
Blair laughed, burrowing her face into his chest. She was glad he was back, too.
* * *
If someone had told Blair that her fact-finding mission to speak to Luke today would end with her naked in his bedroom clutching his chest like he was some sort of architect teddy bear while catching her breath after what was probably the best sex she’d ever had, Blair would have laughed.
Or . . . maybe not. Because the more she thought about it, the more she realized that this was inevitable.
A part of her knew it would happen the moment she tripped over his legs in the bakery that day.
She absently played with the hairs on his chest and then ran her hand through the line of dark hair on his stomach below his navel.
‘Mmm,’ Luke said. ‘That feels good.’
Luke had significantly increased his skills in bed in the last twelve years.
Before he’d been an inexperienced teen, as excited to learn how to make her feel good as he was to feel good himself.
But now, holy hell the things he could do with his mouth, his hands and the rest of his body, too.
And he’d also been clearly impressed with Blair’s upgrades.
When she’d been on top of him, she’d clearly heard him murmur, ‘Where have you been my whole life?’ In fact, Luke was so relaxed and boneless right now she could probably get him to do anything she wanted, even without the use of that agreeableness potion.
Maybe that’s what she should do now. Ask him what he knew about the festival sabotage, and if he had a role in it. Hell, she could even ask him not to open the bakery.
But . . . that seemed wrong. Just like it had been wrong to use a potion to get information from Luke, using sex wasn’t right, either. But she couldn’t forget that the reason she came here today wasn’t for a much-needed orgasm. It was to figure out his part in the mess in Moonbeam Hollow.
‘Luke?’
‘Mmm?’
‘Do you mind if we keep this . . . situation . . . between us only? Moonbeam Hollow’s a tiny town, and I don’t want to be the topic of gossip. My sisters can be a little . . . possessive.’
‘Sure, I’ll be your dirty little secret.’
She chuckled. ‘Another question, this wasn’t like, danger sex because you thought the world was ending last night, was it?’
He didn’t say anything for several seconds, then said, ‘Maybe.’
‘What? Seriously?’ Blair got up from his chest to look at his face. And his face was so, so gorgeous, all soft and satiated with it’s after-sex glow that she wanted to kiss him and go for another round. Maybe it was Luke who’d put a spell on her.
‘I mean, not really, but last night, when we were . . .’ His voice trailed off.
‘Hanging on to each other for dear life?’
‘Yeah, that.’ He hesitated, like he wanted to say a lot more. ‘It made me realize that life is unpredictable.’
‘And we should seize the moment?’
He grinned and squeezed her bottom. ‘Yes, lots of seizing. Seizing, conquering and ravishing. Are you worried that I won’t be into you anymore when all this apocalyptic stuff ends?’
Blair exhaled. She didn’t like thinking about these mishaps as apocalyptic. But maybe mishaps wasn’t the right word anymore, either. She tensed, remembering that Belinda had been under the tree only minutes before it had been hit by lightning.
‘What’s that necklace you’re always wearing,’ Luke asked when she didn’t answer him. ‘You used to wear it in high school, too.’ His eyes were on her gold pendant, a small lotus flower that her father said was the symbol of his family.
‘Family piece. My father gave me and my sisters identical necklaces before . . .’ Her voice trailed off. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get into her father’s death now. ‘Luke, can you be one hundred per cent honest with me about something?’
His brows knitted together with concern. ‘Of course. What is it?’
‘I’ve been trying to figure out what’s happening in town.
That day my lock didn’t work, and then my plant pots were destroyed and my sign was tampered with.
At the farm the pumpkins developed a blight, the roses in the florist shop all turned black one night, the bookstore’s electrics went haywire and the mayor lost her memories.
Last night the chrysanthemums all died, and you saw what happened to the Moonbeam Oak. ’
‘I didn’t do any of that, Blair.’
She nodded quickly. ‘I know, I know. I do trust you. But everything started happening when you came to town.’ Blair knew for a fact he was related somehow, but she couldn’t tell him about her sister’s prophecy. ‘Do you know anything at all that I don’t know about any of these things?’
He shook his head. ‘Honestly, Blair, I don’t.
’ He paused. ‘I don’t blame you for asking, because I get it, everything was all fine and then I show up and everything is in chaos.
But it must be a coincidence. Plus, how could a person have been behind the mayor’s memory loss or the lightning hitting the tree? ’
Blair didn’t say anything, because she couldn’t tell him that a person using magic could easily have caused those things.
Well, not easily. It would have to be a powerful witch.
‘There are ways. Hypnosis and . . . no one actually saw the tree getting hit. Practically the whole town was inside the town hall. All we know is that the damage looked like lightning.’
‘Well, I was in the town hall, too, so I don’t know what to tell you.’ A slight defensive tone had snuck into his voice.
Blair rested her head back on his chest. ‘I know. I don’t think it was you.
I just . . . I don’t know where else to look.
’ She lightly trailed her fingers over his skin, loving the shiver it caused in him.
Luke’s skin had been this sensitive twelve years ago, and she’d been delighted with it then, too.
‘Why are you worrying so much about it?’ Luke asked. ‘Law enforcement and the festival committee can handle it.’
Blair exhaled. She couldn’t tell him why she needed to get to the bottom of this. ‘I don’t know. The festival . . . it’s what makes this town special, right? I hate that it’s being targeted like this. I have this feeling that I should do something.’
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. ‘I get it.’ He paused. ‘I kind of feel like I should do something, too. Can I help you?’
Blair lifted her head again to look at his face.
Letting him help research probably wasn’t a good idea.
Blair was looking for the magical cause behind the incidents, and if they found it, he might learn that Blair was a witch.
But he looked so hopeful – so earnest in wanting to help her.
‘You’d do that? Even after I accused you of sabotage so many times? ’
He tightened his arms around her, bringing her head back to rest on his chest again. ‘Of course. It’s the perfect strategy – you won’t suspect the person you’re working with.’
Blair laughed. ‘I don’t know why I thought it was you, anyway. You’re the furthest thing from a dastardly villain.’ She paused. ‘Thanks, I’d appreciate the help.’
Luke kissed the top of her head. ‘I think you’ll find that there aren’t a lot of things that I wouldn’t do for you, Blair Briarwood.’
Blair smiled, burying her face in Luke’s warm chest.