Steal My Breath (Elixir #1) (19 page)

My heart squeezes with love. Avery’s support means so much. “Okay. I promise I’ll scream with excitement tomorrow night.”

She chuckles. “Right, well, now I’ll let you go so you can scream with excitement over there. Sorry for cutting in on your sexy time.”

“It was totally worth it. I love you.”

“Love you, too. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

I pad into Luke’s bedroom after ending the call. The shower is still running and I decide to join him. After I’ve stripped out of my clothes, I enter his en suite. He has some space in here, which I love. It’s a stark contrast to his bland bedroom—mostly grey marble with a touch of white. A long vanity with two sinks stretches along one wall, meeting the shower at one end and a spa bath at the other end.

Steam fills the bathroom, but Luke’s eyes find mine easily. He turns the tap off just as I enter, and steps out of the shower. His heated gaze travels the length of my body as I move closer.

“Everything okay with Avery?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell you later because I’m busy right now.” I take hold of his cock and gently squeeze it.

His intake of breath is music to my ears and I slowly move my hand from one end of his shaft to the other. At the same time, I take his lips in mine and kiss him slow and deep. When I’m done, I say, “I know you’re all about the delayed gratification, baby, so we’re not going to rush this. And when you finally fuck me, you’re going to come harder than you ever have.”

His eyes flare with heat and he tries to grab me around the waist, but I stop him.

I shake my head. “No touching until I say you can.”

“Fuck,” he growls. I love taking his control away from him, even if just for a little while. We both know that if he wanted to, he could have me on my back in a flash, but he’s giving the power to me for now.

I continue to massage his cock. He’s hard as hell, which matches how wet I am for him. After a couple of minutes, my mouth begins the journey down his body. I leisurely kiss every inch of his skin until my lips finally find their way to his cock.

Dropping to my knees, I lick a trail along his length. His breathing grows ragged as I kiss his cock all over. He places his hand on my head and I look up for a moment to meet his gaze.

My core clenches at what I see there.

His need.

Luke’s looking at me as if he’s only just controlling himself. It’s intoxicating. And it only intensifies
my
need.

Holding his gaze, I take his cock in my mouth.

He hisses.

Our eyes never leave the other.

I take him all the way in.

Slow.

Deep.

I swirl my tongue over him.

He grips my hair. Even though I said no touching, I let him. I love it when Luke takes hold of my hair.

I slide him out and run my tongue over his tip, making sure to flick the underside of the tip.

He groans.

I lick the entire length of the underside of his cock and make my way to his balls. While I massage his dick with my hand, I suck his balls into my mouth.

His grip on my hair tightens.

I suck and swirl my tongue, taking his balls in and out of my mouth while increasing my pressure on his cock.

“Fuck.” He hisses again and it goes straight to my veins. His pleasure is my ecstasy.

Letting his balls go, I lick along his length and then blow on it before taking him all the way into my throat. I repeat this over and over—lick, blow, suck—until I’ve worked him up to such a state that he lets go of my hair, reaches his hands under my arms and lifts me over his shoulder. He stalks to his bed and dumps me in the middle of it.

Before I can even blink, he kneels on the bed, grips my hips and roughly pulls me to him so my legs are upright, resting on his shoulders.

He takes hold of his cock and runs it through my wetness. His eyes lock onto mine. “This will be fast,” he growls.

I spread my arms across the bed and take hold of the sheet as he thrusts inside.

My back arches up off the bed.

He grabs my thighs and pumps in and out of me.

I close my eyes, but Luke tightens his hold on my legs and orders, “I need your eyes.” I’m slow to open them, and he thrusts harder and deeper as he rasps, “Eyes, Callie.”

I blink them open and his gaze penetrates mine. There’s a ferocious energy to Luke. He’s thrusting and grunting like a man possessed. It’s hot as hell and I lift my ass to take him deeper.

“Fuck!” he roars as he comes.

His fingers dig into my thighs and his eyes close as his muscles tense through his orgasm.

I squeeze my eyes shut while my release rushes through me, too. My toes curl and my pussy pulses around him.

It takes us a little while to recover. I’m spent and my eyes are still closed when he pulls out of me and moves off the bed after lowering my legs to the mattress. I try to pull myself from my fog, but I’m well and truly fucked and too exhausted to move. It’s not until Luke comes back to the bed that I manage to squint an eye open.

He repositions me on the bed so my head is on the pillow. Lying next to me, he says, “Let the record show that I fucking love your A-game.”

I open both eyes and roll onto my side to face him. He’s on his back and lifts his arm so I can snuggle against his shoulder. “That was some good sex, dude. I’m not sure my legs will be able to walk again today.”

“You don’t have to go home.”

The sound of the front door closing interrupts us, and a second later, a text message hits both our phones.

P
aris
:
I’m home. Just letting you know in case you’re banging. I’ve got Sean now so as you were.

I
laugh
as I drop my phone onto the bed. “I love that chick.”

He rolls me so he’s on top of me. “I love her timing.” He dips his face to kiss me. “We can fit another few rounds in before I have to go to work.”

I squeeze my legs together.

“Are you trying to exhaust me completely?”

His eyes flash heat again. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

Well, I do have a sex drought to make up for.

T
wo hours later
, I wander out to the kitchen, freshly showered and thoroughly worn out. Paris grins when she sees me. “Looking good, Callie. I’m jealous.”

I groan as I slide onto the stool at the breakfast bar. “I think I need about a week to recover.”

Luke joins us as I say this. He goes to the fridge to grab the juice out and eyes me. “We clearly need to have sex more often.”

“Or maybe you need to tell that dick of yours to settle the hell down,” I mutter.

He smirks. “I heard no complaining earlier.”

“Ugh. That’s because my vagina doesn’t know her limits.”

“Guys, I’m standing right here,” Paris interjects.

Luke drinks some juice and places his glass down. “I’m fairly sure your vagina has no limits, sweetheart.”

“I’m outta here,” Paris mutters and I reach out to stop her.

“No, we’ll stop talking about my vagina. Sorry.”

Her phone sounds with a text, but she ignores it. “Sean’s watching TV if you wanna spend some time with him before you go to work,” she says to Luke.

He nods as another text comes in. She ignores that one, too. When it sounds again, Luke says, “You gonna check that?”

Paris shakes her head. “No.”

He frowns. “Why?”

“Because.”

He cocks his head. “Because why, Paris?”

She sighs. “Because they want me to go to a party with them tonight.”

He’s silent for a beat. “You want me to see if I can get—”

I jump in. “I can stay with Sean tonight if you want to go out.”

They both turn to me. “No, it’s all good,” Paris says.

“Honestly, I don’t mind.”

“You’ve been here all day already,” Paris says. “I’d hate to ask you to stay longer.”

“I’ll make you a deal. If Luke promises to cook pizza for me tomorrow, I’ll look after Sean tonight.”

“Deal,” he says without waiting for Paris.

I narrow my eyes at him. “You just want me to be in your bed when you get home from work.”

He smirks again. “You read my mind so well, baby.” He moves around to where I’m sitting and tilts my chin so he can kiss me. “That and I just like having you here,” he says before leaving us.

“God, he has it bad for you, Callie,” Paris says.

“Good, because I have it worse for him.”

I’m pretty sure I do.

I’m more than sure Luke Hardy is fast becoming the centre of my universe.

“
W
hat time is it
?” Callie’s groggy voice filters through the darkness of my bedroom as I settle into the bed next to her.

“Just after four.” I move behind her and pull her into my arms.

She tries to turn and face me, but I hold her in place. Burying my face in her hair, I inhale her scent.

She wiggles. “Luke…”

“Give me a minute, baby.” I’ve been so damn hard for the last hour, unable to stop thinking about the fact she was here waiting for me. I grind my dick against her ass. The fact she was already naked is making it hard not to just sink into her and take what I want.

Her moan fills the room and she pushes back against me. I find her breast and massage it as I kiss a trail along the side of her neck.

“I like coming home to you.”

“I like you coming home.”

I grind against her again. “We should do more of this.”

“That can be arranged.”

“Tonight.”

“I can’t tonight.”

“Why?” I know I’m pushing her, but fuck, I need her in my bed as often as I can have her.

She wiggles to turn and I loosen my hold so she can. “Avery wants to take me out to celebrate. She met a writer from a TV show and he wants me to email him after she showed him my book.”

“I’m so fucking proud of you.” I run my fingers through her hair as I press my dick against her wet pussy.

“Well, I haven’t done anything yet.” She rests one of her legs over mine, opening herself up to me.

“You’ve been following your dream for years, Callie.” I push inside of her. Not all the way, just enough to tease her.

“For the love of God, will you just fuck me?” she begs, tilting herself forward to take me further.

“Am I going to hear complaints in the morning that I pushed your pussy past her limits?”

She pushes against my chest so I end up on my back, right before she straddles me. She then bends to kiss me. I groan into her mouth. I’m not far off and her display of power is only serving to move me faster towards an orgasm.

When she ends the kiss, I growl, “For the love of God, will you just fuck me?” I throw her words back at her.

“Oh, you want
me
to do all the work?”

I grip her hips. “Well, you did just take charge.”

“That was because you were dawdling.”

Fuck it.

I force myself up and take her with me, rolling her onto her back. Spreading her legs, I thrust inside, not failing to take in the pleasure that crosses her face as I do it. She wraps her legs and arms around me, and I fuck her hard.

Usually, I control myself enough to make sure I’m not too rough with her, but I’ve lost the ability to do that this time. I’m focused on one thing, and one thing only.

My head drops and my eyes close as I pump into her.

Her nails claw into me.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Rough.

Hard.

She takes it all.

I demand more.

She claws my skin.

Her legs clench around me tighter.

In.

Out.

I consume her.

But that’s nothing because she’s already consumed me.

She fucking owns me.

Her scream shatters through the room as she comes and I grunt my pleasure when my release hits.

And as we fall asleep in each other’s arms a little while later, I know that Callie holds my heart in her hands.

I
wake
, not sure what day or time it is. My brain can’t move fast enough to put it all together. I reach for Callie, but she’s not here. I blink my eyes open fully and find the bed empty.

Pushing off the bed, I reach for a pair of jeans in my drawers and dress after using the bathroom. I then go in search of my family.

I find them in the kitchen. All of them. Including my mother and Tyler.

Frowning, I ask, “What time is it?”

Callie moves to my side and places her arms around my waist. After she presses a kiss to my bare chest, she says, “It’s just after twelve.”

I rake my fingers through my hair. “You should have woken me.” I can’t recall the last time I slept this long. I usually average no more than five hours a night.

“You were exhausted, Luke,” she says.

“Daddy!” Sean’s arms loop around my legs and Callie lets me go so I can scoop him up.

“Hey, little man. Thanks for letting me sleep in.”

“Callie said you were really tired.”

Paris walks past me to take plates to the table. “Callie said you were thoroughly screwed,” she murmurs softly enough so Sean doesn’t hear.

Callie grins when I look at her. I smirk as I shake my head at her.

Tyler grabs cutlery and follows Paris to the table. “Morning, stud,” he says as he passes me.

Sean wriggles in my hold and I let him down to run to Mum, who has her arms out for him. Turning to Callie, I raise my brows. “What have you been telling everyone?”

“Nothing. They’re guessing, so just ignore them. I have been.” She sways as her eyes drop to my chest. “You should go and finish getting dressed. Brunch is almost ready.”

I grin. “Who cooked?”

She smacks me playfully on the chest. “Smartass. It was Paris and Tyler. I promise I had nothing to do with it.”

I kiss her before saying, “I’ll be back.”

As I turn, her hand grabs mine and she pulls me back to her. “I thought we didn’t do quick kisses. Ever.”

My gut tightens with need and I give her what she wants.

“Jesus, you two want us to look after Sean while you go take care of business?” Tyler mutters.

Callie shakes her head. “Nope, Luke just took care of business, so we’re all good.”

I head back into the bedroom, throw a shirt on and then brush my teeth. Laughter and conversation fills my house when I return to the table. It’s a sound I haven’t heard much over the last two years, except since Callie has come into my life. Even then, it hasn’t been as often as I’d like.

A realisation hits me square in the gut.

I want my family close.

Although they’ve always been a constant in my life, I’ve closed my heart to them since all the shit went down. I stopped opening up to them. I held a part of myself back.

I didn’t want to allow hope in because what was the point when it only ever ended up being crushed?

“Luke.” Callie beckons me to the seat next to her.

Brunch consists of bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, pancakes, mushrooms and toast. And a conversation I never saw coming.

“I’m getting married,” Mum announces halfway through the meal.

“To that guy you were telling us about the other day?” Tyler asks.

“Yes, George.”

I’m not even surprised at her announcement. I
would
be surprised if it goes ahead. She’s had three engagements over the last ten years that haven’t eventuated. “When?” I ask.

“Oh, I haven’t asked him yet,” she says with a wave of her hand.

Tyler stares at her. “How do you know he’ll say yes?”

She looks at him as if he’s just asked the stupidest question. “Pfft, George will say yes. I think a Christmas wedding would be fun.” She turns to Callie. “Don’t you think, Callie?”

Callie hits Mum with a smile. “It would be amazing. Where are you thinking?”

Mum’s eyes light up. She’s found an ally. “The Whitsunday’s.”

Callie nods excitedly. “Perfect.”

I watch in amusement as they continue to plan the details of a wedding that probably won’t even happen. After a good ten minutes of discussion, in which Tyler gives his opinion and Paris does her best to avoid being dragged into, Mum narrows her eyes at me. “What are your thoughts, Luke? You’re being awfully quiet over there.”

“Why bother with marriage? If you love each other, you don’t need a piece of paper to declare that love.”

Mum frowns. “You used to be all for marriage.”

I lean back in my chair and rake my fingers through my hair. This is the last thing I want to be discussing. “That was before I was screwed over.”

“What does screwed over mean?” Sean asks.

I give him my full attention. “It means that someone does something to you that is very bad.”

“So you probably wouldn’t be their friend anymore?” he asks.

“Absolutely not. And you would do everything you could to stop anyone else ever doing that thing to you,” I say.

“Luke.” Mum’s voice holds a warning.

“What?” I ask her. “He needs to know this stuff for when he gets older. No way am I ever letting anyone mess with him.”

Sadness flickers in her eyes. “Sometimes we can’t stop our kids being hurt. But the last thing we should do is teach them to close themselves off to life.”

“I don’t buy that bullshit. There’s a lot I can do to stop my child being hurt by other people. Number one is to teach him how to avoid being played by scheming bitches.” I shove my chair back and stand. “Sean will never be screwed over by a woman if I have anything to do with it.”

I stalk out of the room, needing some space to breathe. Thinking about my son going through any of the shit I’ve been through causes intense anger in me. I head out to the back deck to get some fresh air.

“Luke,” Callie calls after me as she follows.

I don’t wait for her, but rather, keep moving down the stairs. This isn’t something she can help me with.

“Luke!” Her tone grows more insistent, so I finally stop and face her when I reach the bottom of the stairs. She catches up and says, “Are you okay?”

I blow out a long breath. “You know I don’t like talking about my marriage, but Mum’s always pushing me to fucking talk about it.”

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I think you need to. You’re so full of anger and resentment. You need to find a way to get that out so you can move on.”

Every muscle in my body swarms with anger and tension. It punches through me and all I want to do is find a way to smash it out of me. “Talking doesn’t fix anything, Callie. This anger sits in my gut every minute of every day. It’s not going anywhere, no matter how much I talk about it.”

“And it won’t. Not until you decide to let it go. You’re stuck and you’re holding onto it.”

My chest pumps hard with fury. “You think I
want
this?”

“I think you have every reason to be angry. I don’t think you want it, but I do think you want to cling to that anger with Jolene because it’s all you have. Anger, resentment and hurt. You’ve walked away from her physically, but you’re still with her emotionally. Until you can find a way to surrender those emotions, you’ll stay in this ugly place.” She moves closer and places her hand on my cheek. “I hate seeing you in this pain, Luke. I want you to be happy again.”

Her words sit between us. I listen to everything she says, but I fight against letting it in. She’s right. I don’t want to let my anger go. If I do that, Jolene wins, and no fucking way will that woman win. She’s fucked me over enough. I refuse to give her another inch.

I enclose her hand in mine and kiss it while I try to get myself under control. “Don’t misunderstand my emotions, Callie. I might be angry with Jolene, but that doesn’t mean I’m stuck. I’m the happiest I’ve been in years and I’m moving forward. With you.”

She contemplates that. When she speaks, there’s sadness in her words. “You
are
stuck, Luke. I can see that.” She lets my hand go and makes her way back inside.

My heart beats a little faster in my chest. She’s never walked away from a conversation before. As much as I wanted some space and a minute to myself, I didn’t want her to leave.

Fuck.