Pretend You're Mine: A Small Town Love Story (21 page)

She felt him in the depths of her belly as he hit bottom.

With blunt force he began to hammer into her. His hands came around her, gripping her breasts. They worked to milk her, stretching and tugging her nipples, offering intense pleasure with that bit of pain.

Trapped between his driving thrusts and the desk, she could do nothing but take it. Take it all. His heavy balls slapped against her. He was too big, the pace was too furious.

He grunted softly with every thrust and Harper knew he was lost in her. There was no stopping him. She could only submit.

Her tight little muscles squeezed him on every thrust. A yearning so intense it reached her heart, clutched at her. She wanted to take it all from him. All the shadows, the dark, the pain.

Releasing her breasts, Luke braced his legs. A hand slipped down between Harper’s thighs parting her slick folds to stroke where she needed it. His other hand ran down her back and lower still, just above where his cock ravaged her. He probed and pressed and with a swift thrust entered her tight channel.

Full in every way. Harper cried out as she clenched around him, wrenching free the first spurt of hot semen deep in her core. His fingers stroked over her slick bud and she came apart around him.

She heard him shout her name over the pounding in her ears. He said it again, softer now, as his body went rigid and his cock jerked inside her. She could feel the fluid heat of his orgasm as she continued to climax.

His sweat-slicked body collapsed against hers on the desk. Both of them were gasping for breath. Wrecked, Harper felt wetness on her cheeks. What demons did he have under the surface that hurt so much? She could feel the shadow over his heart and it broke hers.

***

“H
arp, I’m sorry, I’m trying to get up, but my legs don’t seem to want to hold me,” he murmured against the warm skin of her back.

For once, he was empty. No shadows lurking, no thoughts to push away. Just quiet. And warmth.

He finally pressed himself back up to standing and, stroking Harper’s back, pulled out slowly. He watched as a sticky wetness coursed down the inside of her thighs, evidence of how hard he came. Never in his life had it been like this. She chased away the dark and brought him to the light. He felt something loosen in his chest.

She was still silent. He had never known Harper to be this quiet this long. Not even in her sleep.

“Harper.” Luke pulled her to standing and slowly turned her around to face him. Her knees buckled and he caught her. Then he spotted the tears. “Oh, baby. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. Did I hurt you?” He gathered her in and stroked her. She shook her head against him.

“I didn’t hurt you?”

She shook her head again, and curled closer to him. He lifted her and carried her to the worn leather couch in the corner. “Did I scare you?”

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him.

He sat down, cradling her in his lap. “Tell me, baby. What’s wrong?”

Harper lifted her head and cupped his face in her hands. “I think I love you,” she sighed pitifully. “And don’t you dare tell me this is why you didn’t want to have sex.”

His hands stilled on her skin for the briefest of moments before resuming their slow strokes. It was his turn for silence.

“Did I scare you?” she whispered against his neck.

Luke pinched her lightly. “Maybe a little.”

Harper sat up in his lap. “This is new for me. I don’t know if I like it.” She sounded so forlorn, Luke couldn’t help but smile.

“I suppose there are worse things.”

“Really? Because I can’t think of any right at this exact moment. This is really inconvenient.” She took a deep breath and sat up again. “Oh my God! What if I spend the rest of my life pining over the guy I met in Benevolence?”

Luke pinched her again. “Look, Harper —” he began.

“I didn’t tell you to hear you say it back. I know it’s not something that you feel for me and I don’t need to hear the reasons why. I just wanted you to know.”

“Harper, we should probably talk. But first, let’s find some clothes for you since I destroyed yours.”

They ate subs cross-legged on the floor of Luke’s office. Luke had scrounged up a Garrison Construction t-shirt and a pair of way-too-big gym shorts for Harper.

She waited until he had taken the last bite of his turkey and cheese. “So let’s talk.”

Luke took his time crumpling his napkin and tucking the trash back in his paper bag.

He took a deep breath. “A few years ago, I went through a rough patch. I lost some people close to me and it took me a long time to recover.”

“People in your unit?”

He nodded. “And someone at home shortly after.”

“Someone you were close to?”

“Yes.”

“I’m so sorry, Luke.” She put her hand on his knee. “It’s never easy to lose someone you care about, and it’s even worse when it’s more than one.”

He thought of a scared little seven-year-old without her parents and squeezed her hand.

“It was a dark time.”

“And that’s why your family —”

“Tortures me with their well-meaning, but overbearing attention?”

“How do you feel about deploying again?”

“I’ve deployed since. It’s never easy. But it’s necessary and that gets you through the hard times.”

“Did you feel responsible?”

He answered without hesitation. “Yes. And I still do.”

“Even though you know it’s not your fault?”

“Fault and responsibility don’t have to be related.”

“What about the person you lost here?”

“Losing her changed things for me. I won’t do it again.”

Harper nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“It doesn’t make me not probably love you.”

“Harper —”

She slapped a hand over his mouth. “I don’t need you to drive the point home. You can’t love me back. You don’t want to be in a relationship. I get it.”

“I’m sorry, Harper.”

“Don’t be. My feelings for you aren’t dependent on yours for me. I like you. I probably love you. I think you’re an amazing guy. End of story.”

“So where does that leave us?”

“Enjoying the rest of the week.”

“Why would you want to if there’s nothing long term to be won here?”

“Have you met me? What in my life has ever been long term? Life is too short not to grab on to the good times while they last.”

“You’re a pretty amazing woman, Harper Wilde.”

H
arper was running late. Max had slipped his collar after spotting the beagle from three houses down running loose. She spent half an hour chasing them down, returning the beagle to a very grateful Mr. and Mrs. Scotts, and then carrying Max in a vice-like grip back to the house.

Luke had called a morning staff meeting and Harper wanted to get the latest numbers in front of him beforehand. Her hair was still damp from a very hasty shower and she was pretty sure she had missed a button on her blouse.

It wasn’t until she was dashing out the front door digging for her keys that she realized they — and her car — weren’t there.

Luke pulled the door closed, wrangling a travel mug and a stack of papers. “You’re riding with me today.”

“Where’s my car?”

Luke started down the front porch steps. “It’s at the garage.”

“Why the hell is my car at the garage?” She followed on his heels.

He sighed and turned to face her so they were eye to eye. “I asked Shorty to give it a tune up.”

“It runs fine,” Harper said, with a measured glare.

“Bullshit.”

He said it so calmly it didn’t register for a full second.

“I’m not leaving you with a car that barely runs.”

“Luke, that’s not your concern.”

He sighed. “You’re my concern and that extends to any metal container that you strap yourself into and hit highway speeds in.”

She was equally touched and annoyed by his gesture. Was it worth fighting over with seventy-two hours left together? She sighed. “When will it be done?”

“Should be done tomorrow end of day.”

“Two days? What are they doing to it?”

“Anything it needs.” He cut off her outraged reply with a hard kiss on her mouth. “Now get in the truck.”

“Fine, but don’t even think for a second that you’re paying for this,” she yelled at his retreating back.

“Truck, Harper,” he called over his shoulder.

She climbed in in a huff.

“Listen,” Luke said, sliding the key in the ignition. “I want you safe when I’m not here to keep an eye on you. I’ve gotten kind of attached to you being alive and in one beautiful piece.”

“Don’t you think you’re being just a little overprotective? Especially for someone who is basically breaking up with me in a matter of hours.” They backed down the driveway into the street.

“Can we talk about something else for a minute and then you can go back to complaining?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “By all means.”

“I saw you started packing last night.”

She had. It was just some clothes tucked into a bag and a few boxes of odds and ends. “I didn’t want to leave it all until Friday. Too depressing.”

“I know you’re planning on leaving and I was thinking maybe you could stay a few more days. After I’m gone.”

Harper shot him a look, but his gaze was fixed on the road. “Why?”

“It might be a little hard on my family if we both leave the same day.”

“You haven’t told them yet?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t think of the right way to do it. Dad’s always wanting to tell me about something great you’re doing in the office. Mom’s always shoving baked goods at me for you.”

“That’s kind of sweet.”

“Yeah, you try crushing their dreams with the truth.”

“So what are we going to do? I’m not just supposed to disappear one day, am I?” She watched the tidy neighborhood slide past her window and forced the lump in her throat to release.

“I did something I never do and asked Sophie’s advice.”

“I’m suddenly intrigued.”

“I told her I didn’t want either one of us coming across like a jerk.”

“Good call.”

“So her solution is for us to announce that you’ve just landed your dream job somewhere else and we’re parting as friends.”

Harper mulled it over.

“When do we tell them?”

“I was thinking about doing it at the dinner?”

“Before you leave?”

“It’s either that or you tell them after I get on the bus.”

“That is so not going to happen.”

“Dinner it is then.”

With her future decided, Harper leaned against the headrest and tried not to think about it.

***

H
arper smoothed the golden waves away from her face and secured them in a clip, leaving the rest hanging loose around her shoulders. She took a deep breath to steady herself before tackling the makeup. She wanted to look perfect.

She even bought a new dress. The white sundress had a fitted bodice with a scoop neckline and a full skirt that floated away from her body. It was too fancy for dinner, but she wanted to be memorable.

“Harper.” Luke’s voice carried up the stairs. “We gotta go, baby.”

“I’m ready,” she called back. One last look in the mirror and another deep breath and she told herself she was ready. One last night.

She sailed down the stairs and smacked soundly into Luke as he came around the corner from the living room. He caught her, hands at her waist. “Hey there, beautiful.”

His voice was a caress. One she would miss for a very long time.

He was dressed in charcoal slacks and a thin black sweater that fit like it had been poured over him. Perfection. Harper ran her hands across his chest provoking a growl.

“Baby, if we get started, we’re going to be late.” He ran a hand up under her dress to gently stroke the barrier of her silky underwear. “Very late.”

“I can’t believe this is the end,” she whispered, tracing her fingers lightly up his chest to his shoulders.

Luke stared into her for a long moment, bringing his thumbs up to trail a gentle path along her jaw and down her neck. “You look beautiful,” he said, finally.

“I wanted to be memorable.”

“Baby, it would take more than all the time in the world for me to forget you.”

“I love you, Luke.” So much so that she thought it would burst out of her. Love and pride flowed through her veins, feeding her heart. He was the man she had always dreamed of.

He pulled her in tight, resting his chin on top of her head. “I’m going to miss you.” There was a fierceness in his voice that had Harper closing her eyes to fight back tears. She took a deep shuddery breath

“Okay, Captain. Let’s get you to your party,” she said brightly, taking a step back.

“We’ll take your car.” He held up her keys and dangled them in front of her.

“It’s back? Yay!” She snatched at the keys, which Luke held just out of her reach.

“It’s back,” he affirmed. “But you can only have it on one condition.”

“I’m not getting naked. We’re already late.”

He smirked. “Not that condition. You have to promise that you’ll take care of her. Change the oil regularly. Don’t ignore the check engine light. Check the fluids and the tire pressure.”

“Yes, sir.” Harper saluted sharply. “Now gimmie!”

He handed over the keys and followed her outside. Her squeal of delight had Max charging the front window to bark ferociously.

“It’s so clean! And look! They fixed the tear in the roof.” The paint job, brought back to life by a professional wax, glowed a glossy blue in the late afternoon sun.

Harper slid in behind the wheel and lovingly stroked the dash. “Are these gauges new?”

Luke leaned in the open passenger window. “Why don’t you start her up?”

Harper obliged and clapped her hands when the engine caught on the first try. “Oh my God! There’s no squealing at all. Shorty is a genius!”

Luke opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

“Thank you so much for getting her all fixed up, Luke! This is going to take a giant chunk out of my apartment and comfy couch fund, but I don’t even care. It’s the best she’s ever looked!”