Temptation (Club Destiny) (24 page)

And yes, Cole was absolutely convinced that Haley’s biological father had no idea he’d given in to urges that resulted in the birth of that beautiful little girl.

“I’ll stop by your place tonight so we can discuss this. Make Haley’s appointment and let me know when it is. I’ll be there, and we’ll take care of the money issue.”

Lucie peered back at him, and he could see her need to argue, to turn down his generosity. Surprisingly she didn’t, and Cole understood how desperate she must be because Lucie Werner had never accepted anything from him or anyone else.

Watching her intently, Cole saw the way her brain churned overtime as she tried to come up with a feasible excuse. When she opened her mouth, closed it again, before nodding her head in defeat, Cole rested a hand on her shoulder.

“It’ll work out, Lucie. I promise.”

With that she turned and walked away, not glancing back. Cole had never made a declaration like that one before, but based on the changes he was seeing, he had never been more certain that things would actually work out.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Sierra sat in the plush home office of Susan Toulmin, Attorney at Law, waiting for the woman to hang up from the call she had been on when she answered the door. Susan called Sierra the night before and told her she had time the next day to meet with her to go over Sierra’s initial design changes for Susan’s eight thousand square foot home. Mansion would be a better name for it, but Susan tried to pretend that the monstrosity of a house was nothing more than the average person had. Yeah, right.

After spending several hours with Susan, getting a feel for the woman’s personality as well as her likes and dislikes, Sierra came up with a design she hoped the lawyer would be happy with. The woman was multifaceted and after their first meeting, Sierra had left feeling a little out of sorts. Eccentric was another adjective Sierra would use to describe Susan, but not out loud. Based on what she knew of the hard working attorney, Susan wouldn’t appreciate it.

As she waited patiently, trying not to eavesdrop on the call, she wondered how Susan would react. This wasn’t a new experience for Sierra, but she couldn’t deny the fact that she was nervous. She was just grateful she hadn’t had much time to dwell on this meeting after what had happened the night before with Luke. Sierra hadn’t been able to think of much other than what had transpired between the two of them during the early morning hours.

Knowing she had gotten in over her head, Sierra had reluctantly called Cole before Luke had woken, asking if he could come and pick her up. That was a decision she had contemplated long and hard before actually dialing, but with no one else to turn to, she had ended up making the call.

Thankfully he hadn’t asked any questions when he came to get her, nor when he dropped her at Logan’s so she could pick up her car. She’d quickly thanked him and hurried out of his truck, feeling out of sorts. After everything that happened between her and Cole in Vegas and the way he had so easily written her off when they returned, the few minutes they had been in his truck had been awkward.

She’d felt incredibly guilty asking Cole to come get her, knowing she couldn’t look him in the eye ever again. Though their time in Vegas had been special to her, and an experience she would never forget, Sierra couldn’t deny the overwhelming satisfaction when she had had Luke all to herself. The way he devoted every touch, every kiss to only her, Sierra found herself wanting him all to herself.

As much as she hoped he felt the same way about her, needing only her, Sierra wasn’t naïve enough to believe that to be the case. Hence her reason for sneaking out of his house at the break of dawn. If she could walk away with the memories of last night, without having to endure Luke’s rejection again, Sierra might be able to remain in one piece. Doubtful, but she was holding on to that thread of hope.

“Thanks for waiting.” Susan said anxiously, placing the cell phone down on her desk and interrupting Sierra’s wayward thoughts.

“No problem.” Sierra smiled, hoping to mask the emotion she knew had been written all over her face.

“What have you got for me?” Susan asked, getting right to the point, her tone a little more harsh than Sierra expected. During their initial conversations, Susan had been almost sweet. Apparently that was her
I just met you, and I want you to like me
persona because Sierra definitely wasn’t getting that vibe from the woman now.

Grateful for the distraction, Sierra spent the next two hours with the successful Dallas lawyer, going over plans and designs and making changes. Lots and lots of changes. So much so, by the end of the meeting, the design no longer resembled anything Sierra would have come up with. Susan hadn’t even agreed to one single compromise. When she finally conceded to what Susan wanted, Sierra was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home and slide into a hot bath.

As she drove the short distance back to her house, Sierra couldn’t help but wonder what Luke was doing at that very moment. Part of her hoped he would call and give her hell for walking out on him. Instead, she figured he’d probably been thankful that he didn’t have to let her down easy.

She had to fight the tears that threatened to fall, realizing she was much too emotional to play these little games and reinforcing the fact that she couldn’t handle casual sex. Which was frustrating as hell because here she was, independent, successful, and she’d even give herself credit for being intelligent, but let her emotions get the best of her and she was just a mess.

When she turned down her street, trying to rein in her emotions, Sierra noticed a familiar truck parked in her driveway. By the time she managed to pull her car alongside it, her heart was pounding in her chest. Hope had her chest expanding, her palms sweating as she shut off the engine and slowly climbed out of the car.

Luke was making his way around the big Chevy when she reached the small walkway that would lead to her front door. She was tongue tied, unable to say a word as she took him in. Wearing a white button down shirt, untucked and unbuttoned at the throat, with the sleeves rolled up past his thick, ropey forearms, Sierra had never seen the man look more mouthwateringly sexy than he did right then.

“Invite me in, Sierra.” Luke growled, and Sierra knew he wasn’t making a request. She could feel the fury radiating from him, and for the life of her, she didn’t know why it turned her on so damn much.

Rather than say anything, her mouth was too dry to speak anyway, she made her way up the short walkway, unlocked the door and then managed to take two steps inside before she found herself pressed up against the wall, and Luke’s imposing body pressed against her.

She inhaled sharply as their eyes met, the hunger she detected in the light hazel depths sending a sharp bolt of heat between her thighs.

“You walked out on me this morning.”

Sierra knew better than to say anything. What could she say? She
had
walked out on him, and by the looks of it Luke was none too happy with her. Part of her wanted to be defiant and taunt him, but the hard lines on his face said he wasn’t in the mood to argue.

She wouldn’t win anyway. Her resolve was nothing when it came to Luke McCoy.

~~  **  ~~  **  ~~  **  ~~

When Luke pressed a hard thigh between her legs, Sierra restrained her immediate need to grind down on him. When he gripped her wrists in one of his big hands and lifted her hands above her head, she somehow managed to hold back a moan.

God he felt good against her; the solid thud of his heart beating in his chest was evident even through the soft white cotton. He was just as affected by their nearness as she was, but Sierra was hanging on by a thread and he knew it.

His mouth hovered just above hers and Sierra was tempted to run her tongue over his lips just to taste him. Instead she squeezed her lips together to keep from giving in.

“I think you need to be punished.” Luke’s voice was a dark, provocative grumble that, along with his warm breath fanning her face, had goose bumps forming on her flesh.

Oh yes, she couldn’t argue with that. She only wondered what he had in mind.

Before she could say anything, Luke lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder, similar to the way he had the night before when he had taken her outside to the pool. The only difference was this time they were both fully clothed. Hopefully not for long.

Since he had never been to her house before, Sierra was surprised when he headed toward her bedroom. He couldn’t have known where it was, although her house wasn’t very big, so it wasn’t that hard to navigate.

Once inside the room, Sierra half expected him to toss her on the bed. Instead he slowly slid her back down until her feet touched the floor. Knowing better than to try to back away from him, Sierra anticipated his next move; only what he did next took her completely by surprise.

He pulled over the hard back chair she kept against the wall, and he sat down easily, his eyes still locked on her. She followed his every move, her body throbbing with need while the shrill sound of warning bells started going off in her brain. He didn’t look all too happy. Strangely, she wasn’t scared of what he
would
do; she was more worried about what he
wouldn’t
do.

“Take off your panties.” He ordered, and Sierra fought to process his words.

The long flowing skirt she wore nearly touched the floor, and for the first time that day, she wished she had worn pants. She loved the black and white gauzy material and the way it brushed against her legs when she moved, but she never thought about how vulnerable she was no matter what she was wearing when she was around Luke.

He wouldn’t get any argument from her. At least not yet anyway. She lifted the soft, lightweight fabric until she could slip her hands underneath and remove the now damp fabric that covered her sex. She eased her panties down her legs and stepped out of them, leaving them on the floor behind her. Her belly fluttered with arousal while her hands began to tremble.

“Lift the skirt and come here.” He instructed.

Luke’s husky, thunderous voice reverberated through her, a shiver starting at the base of her spine and creeping up slowly until the hair on the nape of her neck tingled. Once again she lifted the material that hung to the floor until she exposed her legs up to mid-thigh.

“Higher.” He sounded impatient now, and Sierra saw the intensity in those sexy, bedroom eyes.

She did as he said, lifting the material to her waist, baring herself to him completely.

“Now come here.”

Sierra took a hesitant step forward, then another until she was standing directly in front of him.

“Let me see how wet you are. Show me.” Luke’s eyes darted upward, meeting her gaze and then back down as he waited for her to do as she was told.

Sierra had yet to say a single word to the man, and she found she could hardly focus on her next breath, much less any coherent thought. Using her index and middle finger on her right hand while still holding her skirt with her left, Sierra separated the bare, wet folds of her pussy, watching Luke as he focused intently on her fingers. The heat that spiraled low and fierce matched what she saw in his eyes, and Sierra felt empowered, if only briefly.

When he lifted a hand, one finger coming forward to slide over her clit, Sierra thought she might just crumble to the ground. He quickly flicked her clit, and then pulled his hand back before pulling her down across his lap. Startled, she yelped as she found herself lying across his lap, humiliation coursing through her.

“Damn that’s beautiful.” Luke’s voice boomed through the room as one calloused hand caressed her bare bottom.

Oh, God. What was he going to do? Sierra tried to move, tried to get out of his grip, but his other hand came down to rest on her back, effectively holding her in place. His hard thighs pressed against her stomach while she gripped the side of his leg to hold herself up.

“Luke!” Sierra screamed his name as his hand came down on her bare ass, a burning sensation shooting down her legs.

“Spread your legs.”

Sierra could barely focus on his words, but then his hand came down again, harder this time, stinging her ass.

“Now.”

Now
what
? Sierra didn’t know what he wanted her to do. She tried to think, tried to comprehend what he had said, but the pain and humiliation consumed her. Another hard smack landed and Sierra sobbed.

“Open them.”

Sierra instinctively spread her legs, hoping that was what he wanted her to do. Another slap landed on her ass, but before the pain could register, Luke buried one long, thick finger inside of her and an orgasm unlike anything she had ever known ripped through her, her entire body held together by the magnitude of that single pulse radiating outward from between her legs.

As she came back down from the sensual high, Luke slipped his finger from the depths of her pussy and Sierra fought to hold her upper body up, all of her strength zapped from the intensity of that one orgasm.

Somehow, Luke managed to lift her without Sierra needing to use her legs and then she was placed face down across the bed. Her body was still in shock from the intense pain and the mind numbing orgasm, so she barely registered her skirt slowly sliding down her legs. Her energy was so depleted she couldn’t move a muscle, but Sierra felt the throb between her legs intensify. That one orgasm was only a prelude to what was to come, she knew, and despite the fact that Luke had just spanked her – yes, the man had
spanked
her – Sierra longed for more.