Perfect Stranger (Novella) (7 page)

“Alexa? Lex?” Luke asked. “What’s wrong?” He laid her down on the bed and eased next to her.

She blinked and deliberately cleared her mind. “Not a single thing,” she assured him.

Fanciful thoughts and feelings about a man she’d known a few days were ridiculous. What he was giving her in this precious time, the chance to experience
life
and to live all she’d been missing, was priceless. When he was gone, she knew she’d have choices to make about how she wanted to go forward from here.

But right now, she had him.

And just like he taught her, she intended to live in the here and now. So she unzipped her jacket, shrugged it off, and tossed it to the floor, then reached for his zipper and did the same to his.

He wore a fitted long sleeve thermal in a chocolate brown that brought out the gold in his eyes and accentuated the muscles in his chest and arms. With her mouth watering, she tugged at the bottom of the shirt, pulling it out of his jeans and working it up and over his head. With a targeted toss, the shirt hit his jacket on the floor.

“Hey, I thought I was going to take care of you?”

If that’s what the man wanted, that’s what he’d get, Alexa thought. “Go for it,” she told him. “I’m all yours.”

With a low growl from deep in his throat, he raised himself up on one knee and began divesting her of her clothes, piece by piece. Her jeans, damp from her many falls on the ice, took some effort, but finally he’d bared her to him, except for her lacy underwear and matching bra.

“You take my breath away, darlin’.”

Her breath caught and her throat swelled. “You do the
same to me. But more than that, you make me feel good. Special. I’ll never forget that.” She glanced away, embarrassed that she was revealing so much, yet unable to hold back the words.

“You
are
special.”

Not according to her father.
Surgeons like you are a dime a dozen, Alexa. Try harder. Do better. Give more of yourself or you’ll never stand out.
God, she was so sick of his words tormenting her. She’d taken the full day off, covered her patients with a reliable doctor, and deliberately not checked in with her service or looked at her phone. Yet the pressure remained, a subtle heaviness in her chest and that damned voice in her head.

“Lex,” Luke said in a concerned tone.

“I’m here.” She smiled into his warm eyes, liking how he shortened her name. It was special.

“You weren’t.”

“I am now,” she said, with what she hoped was a seductive smile. She had no desire to get into where her mind had wandered. Not when she had such a sexy specimen in front of her.

But she was coming to know Luke, and if she didn’t distract him, he’d push her for answers and kill the mood. She refused to let that happen. She reached for the front hook of her bra and released the clasp, then slowly lowered the straps over her shoulders and down her arms. The cups eased down, one catching on her nipple, and Luke grinned at the sight.

“Let me help you with that.” He bent his head and, using his teeth, he gently pried the material away from her breast.

The material fell away and Luke’s mouth quickly replaced it. One lap of his tongue and Alexa’s head fell back against the pillows, the sensations so strong and startling, she let out a moan. He licked again, nipped harder, and she began to tremble.

*   *   *

L
uke had never had a woman be so open and genuinely responsive. There was no pretense, no artifice, everything she felt, she showed, and knowing he could take her so high so fast gave him no small amount of satisfaction. She’d been starved, not just for sex but for affection, and he wanted to give her everything he could in the time he had.

While he kept up the friction on her breast with one hand, he used the other to slide her panties off her body. He cupped her mound, feeling the heat emanating from her, and stifled a groan as his cock let him know exactly how much he liked what he was feeling.

“Luke.” She sighed his name, parting her legs. He took advantage, slipping his finger into her slick opening.

Her hips jerked, sucking his digit in deeper. He grit his teeth and slid his thumb over the tiny knot of nerves, rewarded when she arched her back, her head thrashing from side to side.

“Beautiful,” he muttered, watching the flush on her cheeks as she lost every inhibition she possessed.

Her body shook, her lashes fluttered up and her eyes locked on his. “I need—”

“I know what you need.” But she wasn’t coming alone or without him inside her. He rose and quickly shed the rest of his clothes, pausing only to grab a condom from his pocket before returning.

Taking him by surprise, she plucked the packet out of his hand, ripped it open, and managed to roll the latex over his straining erection.

She grinned at the results. “Now hurry.”

He swung a leg over her and positioned himself at her entrance. She whimpered, the sound inflaming his need, and he braced a hand above her shoulder, looking into her beautiful eyes as he thrust deep. Thrust home.

Her eyes widened, then rolled back slightly before she managed to focus on him once more. “Oh, God.”

“That’s not God, darlin’. That’s you. And me.” And damn they were hot and wet.

He pulled out, slid back, the slick sounds of sex surrounding them along with Alexa’s whispered pleas of
harder
,
faster
, and
oh, God
, nearly making him come too soon. He held on, gritting his teeth as she bent her knees, taking him deeper. Then, without warning, her body gripped his, clamping on tight as she came.

Her orgasm released his tenuous hold and restraint. He pumped into her, feeling more than he ever had, knowing in his gut this was so much more than sex, and he accepted it and reveled in it as he came.

It took a while for them to catch their breath, and finally Luke rolled off her. “You okay?” he asked.

She met his gaze, her eyes glazed and dreamy. “Never better.”

“Glad to hear it.” He kissed her nose, then pulled himself up and headed for the bathroom.

He returned to find her staring at the ceiling, a satisfied smile on her face and a healthy, happy glow on her cheeks. One he’d put there, Luke thought, grinning, too.

“Roll,” he said to her.

“Hmm?”

“Roll over.” He lightly patted her hip.

She groaned but turned over as he asked. He glanced at her bare bottom, white smooth skin with hints of pink and more than a few scrapes. He frowned at the sight. “Hurt?” he asked, rubbing his hand over first one cheek then the other.

“A little sore,” she admitted, her words muffled in the pillow.

“Sorry, sugar. I never meant to cause you pain.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek and she giggled.

“I’ll live,” she assured him.

“I hope so.” He massaged her skin and she sighed in contentment.

“When do you leave?” she asked, the question muffled. She didn’t peek out from where she’d buried her head in her arms.

The question was long overdue. “I have to be home for my niece’s birthday party on Saturday.” He pulled in a deep breath. “So my flight’s tomorrow.”

Silence surrounded them, the mood broken as reality intruded.

“You’d really like my nieces,” he heard himself say. “Cute little things. Girly girls, with bows in their hair and cowboy boots on their feet.” He continued to speak, unsure of how to bring them back to before, when it was just Luke and Alexa in the cabin. Not Luke from Texas and Alexa from New York.

He heard what sounded like a hiccup. Or her choking back tears.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Take the weekend and come with me to Texas,” he said.

She popped up in bed and flipped over. Her eyes were red as they zeroed in on him. “Say that again?” she asked.

The suggestion came out unexpectedly but the sentiment was heartfelt, he realized. “Come to Texas. Meet my family. You’ll have fun and they’ll love you.”

Her eyes opened wide. “But…work. The hospital. My patients.” Her father. That last one went unsaid.

“Will all be here when you get back.” He didn’t know what he hoped for out of the request. He only knew he wasn’t ready to be apart from her.

The rest he’d figure out.

If she said yes.

A
lexa sat up in bed, the sheets pulled up over her breasts as she stared at Luke.
Come to Texas
, he’d said, and boy was she tempted. She’d never wanted to chuck the responsibilities in her life and take off for the weekend, but she did now.

Unfortunately, the reliable, dependable side of her spoke louder in her head and took over. “I can’t just pick up and go when the whim strikes me.” She winced, knowing she sounded more like her father than herself.

And the hurt on Luke’s face confirmed it.

“Luke—”

“I get it. You have to work.” He’d been sitting on the edge of the mattress and now he reached down and grabbed his pants off the floor.

She wasn’t ready for their time together to end, especially not like this. “No, you don’t get it. I want to go with you. I really do.”

He paused in the middle of pulling on his jeans and glanced over his shoulder. “It’s not as hard as it sounds. I’m guessing
you have plenty of vacation time built up, and since you managed today, I figure you also have people to cover for you. Hell, knowing you, half the hospital probably owes you a favor.”

Her cheeks burned because he was right and he’d figured her out in a very short time. “I want to go,” she repeated, needing him to hear her and believe. “But I can’t leave without giving any notice.”

He secured the button on his jeans before answering. “Lex, I’m not gonna lie to you. These past few days weren’t just unexpected, they were fucking amazing,” he said, letting loose with his language for the first time.

She grinned but said nothing, mainly because, a) it didn’t bother her, and, b) she agreed. Their time together had been exactly that.

He hooked his fingers in the loop of his jeans, his chest bare, his gaze level on hers. “Nobody respects discipline and routine more than me. I wouldn’t be where I am in my career if I didn’t dedicate myself one hundred and ten percent during the season and stick to some kind of schedule on the off-season. And if I thought you were saying you couldn’t come because you wanted to work or it would affect your career, I’d never push. But that isn’t it, is it?”

With every word he spoke, her defenses rose higher. She stiffened her shoulders until her neck hurt, and she glared at him, but he clearly wasn’t finished. “Tell me what you think it is,” she said, folding her arms across her chest, protecting herself from whatever he would say next.

Which was ironic since, five minutes ago, she wouldn’t have thought she’d have to protect herself from this man—ever.

“You don’t want to tell your father you’re taking more time off. You don’t want to disappoint the old man or lose the legacy he’s so carefully prepared for you. But, darlin’, I’m asking you straight out to be sure that’s the future
you
yourself want.”

Her mouth ran dry. As quickly as her anger had grown
at his words, it deflated with his further insight. She wasn’t sure about her life and he knew it. And he didn’t want to hurt her; he wanted her to be happy.

His gaze softened. “If I could stay longer and be with you, I’d do it. Give up a meeting or two, miss a practice if I thought I could work it out. But the one thing I won’t miss in life is a family event because those happen only once. I can’t get back a missed birthday or the look in my niece’s eyes when she sees that power-charged Barbie car I bought for her that’ll be waiting in the driveway.”

Oh my God. He was killing her. Alexa didn’t even know the little girl he spoke of, but she suddenly had a whole new vision of Luke Thompson, and it took her breath away. His words sliced deep because how many of her birthdays had her own father missed because of work, while Luke wouldn’t skip his sister’s daughter’s special day?

She’d thought this man was something special. Something real. Now she knew for sure.

Her cell phone suddenly rang inside her purse, the ringtone the one she’d programmed for her father. She cringed at the interruption.

Luke glared at her bag. “That him?” he asked.

Alexa nodded. Unable to help herself, she reached for the purse and pulled out the ringing phone. At least half a dozen missed calls, all from her father. “I didn’t tell him I was taking off today.” She glanced at Luke but found no understanding in his gaze.

“How long are you gonna let him run your life?” he asked.

“He doesn’t—”

Luke pinned her with a knowing gaze. “Give me more credit than that. He does.”

The cell stopped it’s incessant, annoying ring, and another missed call and voice mail notification popped up on the screen. Disgusted, she threw the phone onto the bed.

“Get dressed,” he said, more gently than she’d have
expected. “I’ll toss the sheets into the washer. Sawyer said there’s someone who comes in and does laundry, so she’ll finish up what I start.”

Nodding, she rose, feeling self-conscious that she was naked and he wasn’t. In silence, she looked for the clothes she’d shed and realized her jeans were still damp. She pulled on her underwear and shirt, her back to him.

“Do I have time to dry these for a little while before I put them back on?” She turned to find him right there, in her personal space, and she sucked in a shallow breath.

He braced his hands on her forearms, his thumbs rubbing lazy circles over her shirt. “I don’t want to end this with an argument.” He met her gaze, those warm eyes communicating real regret.

Her stomach twisted nervously. “Me neither.” She didn’t want to end it at all, but he’d made the gesture and she’d turned him down.

Alexa knew she had a lot to process, but she couldn’t upend her life in a heartbeat. She’d always been a thinker, someone who processed first and acted later. During this time with Luke, she’d enjoyed spontaneity, but a lifetime’s worth of habit wouldn’t be broken quickly.

“Give me your jeans. I’ll toss ’em in for a bit,” he said.