Celeb Crush (46 page)

“You don’t know a thing about me if you think I’m going to let you walk out that door.”

“You walked first.”

Regret immediately darkens his features.  He leans back against the door, running a hand over his eyes.  “I’m so fucking sorry, Tiger.  You don’t how much I…”  He trails off, his gaze searching.  “God, I missed you.  You
haunted
me.”

I swear I don’t know how it happens—but I suddenly find myself wrapped in Luke’s strong arms, and inhaling his familiar sexy summery scent.  And all I can think is,
oh thank god
.  I can finally breathe again without it hurting.

Having his touch again after missing it for so long fills me with a savage need.  I clutch the fabric of his shirt in both hands and yank him closer.  Luke’s lips find mine, and shocks of pleasure explode in me like…explosions.  Oh, my head is spinning.

Logic is telling me to push him away—but my body is telling me to suck his tongue down my throat.  My body wins.  Our hands run all over each other—touching, teasing, taking everything.  And still it’s not enough.  

He slides the straps of my dress off my shoulders, baring me to my waist.  The low growl he emits is still the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard, and when he puts his hands on me, I could die happily from the rush of agonizingly beautiful sensations.  We consume each other’s mouths while simultaneously trying to tear our clothes off.  It requires the kind of coordination I just don’t have at the moment.

“Hold on a second, Tiger.”  Luke groans when I try to stick my hand into the front of his open fly.  “Fuck!”

“No.  Now!”  I growl, desperate to feel him inside of me.

We wrestle and fight and twist against each other until we’re both naked and gasping.  He takes me to the floor, cushioning my fall with his body before rolling me onto my back.  My hips arch up to meet his and finally, finally he plunges into me.  I scream his name out and wrap my legs around his waist.  Nothing could ever feel so good as his body rocking against mine, soaring together and connecting on every level.

Ahhh…there is a heaven for sinners like us.  This is it.

“I love you,” he breathes in my ear as we detonate together.  “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I say silently.

Only afterwards do I remember my jellybean baby.  Is it okay?  Did we hurt it?  Surely something as earth shattering as that orgasm—okay, orgasms—must have affected it in some way.  Negatively?  My pulse, only starting to slow down, picks up again with a vengeance.  Shit.

I sit up abruptly, pushing away from Luke.  I fumble for my clothes, deeply ashamed of myself.  What the hell was I thinking?!  Self-control, Andi.  You used to have it.

Okay, ha ha, no I didn’t.

Luke’s hand shoots out, gripping my wrist.  His expression is pleading.  “Don’t.”

I yank away from him and try to dress with clumsy weak limbs.  My insides are still quivering so badly that I wonder if the baby is getting seasick.  I’m hyper aware of Luke pulling his jeans on beside me; I can admit that I sneaked a peek at that amazing ass of his.

Oh, damn.  Sex and chocolate.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I say stiffly, snatching back the panties he dangles in front of me.

His gaze is intense and scorching.  “Do you regret it?” he asks quietly.

I’m not sure I can lie convincingly at this point, so I simply admit the truth.  “I don’t know.”  I wish he would put his shirt on; I can’t be sure that I won’t throw myself at him for another round with all that smooth tanned muscle on display.

“Come here.”

Luke takes my hand and leads me over to a beige leather chair.  He firmly but gently sits me down in it and crouches down right in front of me, still holding my hand.

“I have no excuse for what I said to you that night,” he begins, looking steadily into my eyes.  “I’m an asshole.  I didn’t mean any of it, and I’ll apologize to you every single minute of every day until you forgive me.”

“You believed them instead of me.”  My voice comes out in a whisper.

“No, no—Andi, look at me.  I trust you—I’ve always trusted you.  I never stopped.”  He takes my other hand, squeezes both of them in his.  “It was me I didn’t trust.”

“What?”

Luke exhales slowly, dropping his eyes for a few seconds.  “For a minute there, I was afraid I was turning into my dad—obsessed with someone who was just using me.  He was so in love with my mother, he didn’t notice that she didn’t love him back.”

He raises his head and our eyes meet and hold.  My heart melts at the vulnerable boy haunting his expression.  “She broke him apart, piece by piece—and he let her.  I’ve always…I always swore to myself that I’d never let myself end up like him.  Then, that night—”

“I swear to God, Luke,” I interrupt him, leaning forward.  “I was only trying to help.  I never should have gone to see your mother behind your back—and I really am sorry about that.  I know I was way out of line, but—”

“No worries.  I know you meant well.”  He shakes his head, a hard smile on his handsome face.  “I never should have doubted you.  Deep down, I knew what Jess and Kat were saying was bullshit.  I just…I fucked up.”

I stare down at our joined hands.  I try to tug away from him, but he only tightens his grip on me.  “I waited for you,” I say angrily.  “You never showed.”

Luke’s expression is full of guilt.  “I am so damn sorry, Tiger.  I couldn’t face you until I sorted my shit out.  I was fucking ashamed.”

I nod slowly, studying that amazing face of his.  “Do you think I’m crazy?”

He shifts forward, letting go of my hand to cup my cheek.  “I think you’re incredible.”

“Oh.”  He didn’t answer me!

I give him a suspicious look, but he ignores it and tugs me to my feet.  “I won’t leave you again, I swear.  Whether you want me to, or not.”  He lowers his head and presses a kiss to my forehead.  “Marry me, Andi.  I’ll do whatever you want.  You tell me to quit—I’ll quit.  I don’t give a shit.  The only thing I can’t live without is you.  Everything else is just extra.”

I gape at him stupidly.  Then an incredulous laugh escapes my lips.  “That’s a terrible idea,” I scoff.  “Luke, your career is—”

“Fuck it.”  He looks steadily into my eyes.  “Marry me, Tiger.  You can say no, but I should warn you—I’ll never stop coming after you until you do.”

I wish I didn’t find that roguish sparkle in his eyes so irresistible.  For a second, I let myself imagine this perfect fairy tale world:  me, Luke, and the kid, walking down the tropical beach at sunset.  The slight breeze ruffles our hair as we celebrate successfully foiling an international terrorist plot.

Sounds far-fetched?  So does any kind of happily ever after for the two of us.  Smoke and dreams, Andi.

“It would never work.  There’s too much working against us.”  My shoulders rise and fall in a half-hearted movement.  I look up at him with tears swimming in my eyes. 

“It’s not just your fame.  You think I don’t know I have issues?  I know I do.  But so do you.  We’re reckless and irresponsible together, Luke.  I don’t want to be that way anymore.  I don’t want to fight with you every day because you won’t change.  And I sure as hell don’t want to watch you live your life like you’re trying to die just so you can feel alive—and pray that you’ll come back to me at the end of the day.”

I feel exhausted after my little speech.  I want to go lie down to recuperate, but Luke grabs my hand as I try to walk past him.

“Whoa; hold up.”  He turns me to face him.  His mouth is set in a frown.  “I told you; I’m not trying to kill myself, Andi.  I like my life, and I’m not afraid to live it.  Do you realize how many amazing opportunities and experiences I’ve had because of what I do?  I’d be crazy not to take advantage of every one of them.”

“Yeah, I get it.”  I wave my hand spastically in the air.  “You think you’d be missing out if you took a more cautious approach.  But you know what?  A full life isn’t all about excitement and adrenaline rushes.  It’s about the people who love you and worry about you—the ones you leave behind when you find out one day that you
can’t
fly, and you come crashing back to earth.  You can risk everything and tell yourself that you’re being free—but what you really are is selfish.”

Luke doesn’t say anything for the longest time.  His green-gold eyes bore into mine, his face set in tense lines.  I barely notice that I’m actually crying until he carefully wipes my hot tears away with a brush of his fingers.

“Do you love me?” he asks, his voice surprisingly gentle.

I exhale so deeply, my entire body seems to deflate.  “My heart hurts without you,” I admit grumpily.  “It must be love.”

“I need to hear you say it.”

“Fine.”  I glare at him aggressively.  “I love you—and I hate it!  It’s the best worst feeling in the world.  Happy?!”

A gorgeous grin breaks out on Luke’s face, as dazzling as the sun bursting out from the clouds.  “It’s all I need, baby.  Fuck everything else—
you’re
my adrenaline rush.”

“Really?”  I take a step back and give him a skeptical look.  “You’ll stop jumping out of airplanes and wrestling with alligators—for me?”

“Really,” he replies firmly.  “I’ll get a nine-to-five job and become Mr. Boring if it means I get to come home to you, and have insanely hot sex five or six times a day.”

He smirks when I roll my eyes.  I run my hands through my messy hair.  Then I sigh.  “I’m not going to ask you to give up your career, Luke.  You worked way too hard for it, and it’s what you were meant to do.  And I didn’t mean you should stop doing exciting things.  Just…you know.  Tone it down.  A lot.”

“I can totally do that,” he assures me confidently.  Then he grabs my hips and rocks me closer.  “So, what do you say, Tiger?  Marry me?  I swear I’ll keep asking.” 

“It’s not that simple,” I hedge, trying not to melt in his arms.  “We still have lots of problems.”

Luke bends his knees a little so he can look me in the eye.  “So, we’ll work them out together.  We’ll go into therapy—whatever you want.  Just say yes.  It’s that simple.”

“Actually…it’s not.”

This is it.  I’m going to tell him.  I take another deep breath and look him dead

in the eye.

“Luke…you’re my father.”

He cocks his head to the side, confused.  “Huh?”

Damn it.  “I’m pregnant,” I mutter.

The smile doesn’t so much as fall off his face as freeze, and slowly slip away like a thief in the night.  I watch his face transform into utter blankness.  “What?” he says weakly.

I cross my arms over my chest.  “Don’t act so surprised,” I say sourly.  “We were careless, and you know it.”

Luke shakes his head slightly as if to clear it.  “You’re pregnant?” he says, sounding dazed.

Instead of answering him, I walk over to the purse I had dropped near the door.  I pick it up and do a brief search through it before coming up with the ultrasound picture I had brought.  I march back over to Luke and stick it in his hand.

“I brought proof in case you don’t believe me.  Because of that thing with Kat.  That’s the head and the body; those little stubs are arms and legs,” I point out to him because he’s just staring at the picture with a confused frown.

I give him a while to let it sink in.  It was a shock to me, too, after all.  When he finally looks up, there is a tentative smile on his face.  He laughs disbelievingly.  “Holy shit.  That’s my kid in there?”

My hands automatically go to my stomach.  “My kid,” I say possessively.  “Yours, too.  But mostly mine.”

Now there’s a full-blown grin on Luke’s face.  He drops to his knees and reverently places his large hands over mine.  “Are you okay?  You went to the doctor?”

“I’m fine.”  I remove his hands self-consciously.  I don’t want to have to tell him that he’s touching bloat, not baby when he undoubtedly asks just how far along I am.  “I went to confirm the pregnancy; I didn’t think they’d do an ultrasound.  But the doctor said everything looks good so far.”

To my embarrassment, Luke glides his hands up my legs, lifting my dress up to reveal my belly.  He looks up at me in awe.  “I’m gonna be a dad!”

I frown down at him.  “You’re happy about this?”

“Are you kidding?  Hell, yeah!”  He lithely jumps to his feet, sweeping me up into a deep and lingering kiss.

My head is spinning again.  I put my hands on his strongly muscled forearms to steady myself.  “Wait, I thought you didn’t want a baby right now?  You said—”

“I didn’t want to have a baby with
Kat
,” he clarifies, grinning down at me.  “I don’t love her; I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with her.  It’s only ever been you.  And now…Luke Junior.”  He pats my bloat again.

I squint up at him.  “Why are you smirking like that?”

He chuckles, putting his arms around me.  “Because now you have to marry me.”

“Oh, really?”

“Oh, yeah.  I mean, come on—you’re knocked up.   I’ve gotta make an honest woman out of you.”

I roll my eyes at him but I have to admit that his excitement is infectious.  But one of us has to the adult here.  “It’s going to be really hard,” I warn him.  “You think you hate the media attention now?  Wait until—”