Tempting the Artist (8 page)

“
Yeah … you were.” She
chuckled, and Luke felt a smile form on his lips. “But, I think you
were entitled. I’m the one who caused this strain between us.” She
might have been the one who started them in the wrong direction,
but he knew shutting the door on their relationship was all
him.

“
It takes two and I know
I’m not the most understanding or the easiest person to talk to,
but …” he shrugged as if she could see him, “I am who I am. You
were right the other night when you said we needed to talk. Can we
hook up tonight or tomorrow?”

“
I’d like that. How about
tonight? Do you want to stop by my place?”

Luke was barely able to rein in his
libido after seeing her the other night. If he went to her place,
he had no doubt where things would end up. Christina had been the
first woman he’d ever met whose sexual appetite was as intense as
his and intimacy had never been a problem between them. He wanted
her. He wanted her so bad his body ached just thinking about the
last time they were together in that way.

“
I’m not sure meeting at
your place is a good idea.”

After a long pause, she said,
“Actually, it’ll be better if we talked in private and there’s
something I need to show you … here, at my place. Maybe we can
start here and then if you want, we can leave and go somewhere
else.” When Luke didn’t respond, she continued. “Luke, nothing will
happen, that you don’t want to happen.”

Yeah, that’s what he was
afraid of. He wanted
it
to happen, and he was sure
it
would happen whether they intended
on
it
happening or
not.

“
How about we go out to eat
or maybe have a drink and then see what happens afterward.” Being
out in public would give them a chance to get reacquainted and
force him to keep his hands and lips off of her.

An hour later, Luke sat
across from Christina trying not to stare at her. Not only did she
look incredibly sexy,
she hadn’t given him
a hard time about changing his mind and suddenly wanting to
talk.
Instead, she readily agreed to meet
him and was sitting across from him as if he hadn’t slighted her
days ago.

His gaze raked over her while she
talked on her cell phone, giving her sister, Peyton, information
regarding a job. Dressier than usual, tonight she wore a low-cut,
white sleeveless blouse showing off well-toned arms and flat abs.
His shaft had leaped to attention when she had walked into the bar
looking sexier than he had ever seen her. She was already the total
package but swathed in a seductive outfit, she was like a Christmas
present begging to be unwrapped. The fitted black skirt that molded
over her shapely hips and stopped just above her knees, with a wide
black belt that emphasized her narrow waist, had him glancing away
to keep from salivating.

Luke wondered if what he felt the
other night upon seeing Christina had been a fluke. The way his
mouth had gone dry and how his body had come alive when his hand
had made contact with the small of her back. The electric charge
that shot up his arm that night was almost his undoing. And then
there was the quiver that had flitted around in his gut, that
hadn’t let up until she was safely behind her closed door. She had
stirred a longing within him that he struggled to contain and
tonight was no different.

He lifted the glass of Scotch to his
lips hoping the smoothness of the liquid would tap down his growing
need to hold her, to see if her body still responded to his touch.
Who knew one woman could shake him up like this? Never one for
dating exclusively, Christina had been his first real relationship.
Luke worked so much that he hadn’t realized his life was missing
anything – not until Christina had come along and shook up his
world. He quickly remembered why he didn’t do relationships. When
they parted ways, it was as if he had lost a part of himself. He
never wanted to experience that type of pain again. He had already
lost his parents, the people who had meant the world to him. No way
would he allow his heart to be ripped out of his chest again. Yet …
here he was thinking about giving this relationship crap another
shot.

“
Sorry about that.”
Christina stuffed her cell phone back inside her large Coach bag.
“PJ had been in meetings all afternoon and I needed to update her
on certain aspects of the job I’ve been on.”

“
No problem. I’m glad you
were able to meet me.” Their gazes collided, and the air was
knocked out of him. Tonight she reminded him of the first time he
had met her at Zack’s birthday party. Like then, he felt helpless
in fighting his attraction to her. “I owe you an apology for the
way I treated you the other night.”

“
You already apologized for
that and actually, you don’t owe me anything.”

“
I wasn’t in the right
frame of mind to hear anything you had to say. First of all, I was
in shock from running into you, but also still a little pissed by
the way we parted.”

“
And that was my fault. I
could have handled that night in New York better than I had.” She
stared down at her hands that were wrapped around her drink. She
had ordered a cosmopolitan, which was interesting since she was
usually a wine drinker. Luke watched as her fingers traced the
condensation on the outside of the glass, remembering her soft
touch against his body.

He shifted in his seat, catching
himself before he allowed his mind to travel back to a time when
they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other.

“
I never meant to hurt
you,” she mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

The attorney in Luke wanted to bombard
her with question after question. He wanted, no he needed to talk
about that night, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to dig deeper,
ready to find out what she was hiding. It had to be her decision to
share why she walked away from what they had. He wouldn’t push.
Instead, he had to figure out whether or not she was worth fighting
for. And if he had to decide at that moment, his answer would be a
hell yeah.

He moved his chair closer to
Christina’s and looped his arm over her shoulders, his hand playing
in her long tresses. Each time she moved, her hair swayed, and the
scent of wildflowers tickled his nose. How many nights had he
pulled her close to get a better whiff of her hair?

“
Where do we go from here?”
he asked.

Christina placed her hand on his
thigh. The scorching heat from her touch sent a lightning bolt of
need charging through his body.

“
I’ve missed you so
much.”

The desire in her eyes matched what he
felt. Instead of responding, he placed a finger under her chin and
pulled her closer. He did what he wanted to do the other night. His
mouth touched hers first tentatively, but soon the softness of her
lips had him begging for more, and he took what he
wanted.

He missed her too. He missed this -
their connection, their ability to know what the other needed, and
a willingness to supply those needs. Heat radiated through his body
and the caress of her lips against his mouth, sent spirals of
ecstasy shooting straight to his shaft. Her passionate moans, God
he loved the sexy sounds she made, urging him on.

Christina put her hands on each side
of his face, and she pulled back slightly, resting her forehead
against his. “Why don’t we get out of here?”

*

Christina was so horny she was about
to lose her damn mind. Three months, three weeks and one day.
That’s how long it had been since she’d been with Luke. Since she’d
been with anyone. It didn’t help that he had just kissed her the
same way he used to, thoroughly and completely. Making the lustful
ache in her core throb that much more. She was wound so tight that
if he put his hands or mouth on her at any point in the next few
minutes, she couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t jump into his arms
and beg him to make love to her.

Even now, standing at the entrance to
her building with him, her body pulsed with awareness. He didn’t
even have to touch her. The heat from his presence did enough to
send desire pumping through her veins.

She unlocked the door. It had only
taken them fifteen minutes to get to her loft, and she played
Luke’s words around in her mind.

Where do we go from
here?

She so wanted to make things right
between them. Not just because the kiss they shared at the bar made
her toes curl, and she never wanted the intense lip-lock to end,
but because she missed him something terrible. She missed what they
once had. Whether they could pick up where they left off remained
to be seen.

Christina led him to the elevator and
punched in her code. Zack had paid a small fortune to have the
elevator set up to only service the sixth floor.

The doors finally slid open, and
Christina stepped in. Luke stood in the hall looking as if he had
no intention of taking the elevator, his arms folded across his
chest.

“
You do know that this
thing is a death trap don’t you? I can’t begin to tell you how many
times Zack and I have been stuck on this piece of shit.”

Christina grinned. “Actually, he did
tell me a few stories.”

“
And you’re still using
it?” He didn’t look too pleased, but it made Christina feel good to
know that he cared about her. Either that or he was just afraid to
get on.

“
Zack had it serviced
before he sold me the loft. Besides, it has a telephone.” She
pointed to the red phone near the up and down button. “He set up a
direct link to 911.”

“
That doesn’t make me feel
any better,” Luke mumbled. Seeing that she wasn’t getting off, he
stepped on. “I still don’t think it’s safe, especially when you’re
by yourself.”

The doors closed, and Luke pressed the
up button. The elevator started its usual slow climb but jerked a
little. Something it did each time Christina rode up to her loft.
Luke glanced down at her and reached for her hand, pulling her
closer to him. It took everything she had not to burst out laughing
at the frown on his face.

She lifted their joined hands, unable
to keep the grin off her face. “Are you scared?”

“
Of course not. I’m holding
your hand to make sure you’re not afraid.” His mouth twitched,
fighting the smile that she knew lingered in the not so far
distance.

Christina leaned against the wall of
the elevator and almost sighed when Luke’s thumb caressed the back
of her hand. Considering how rigid he was standing, she didn’t
think he realized that his touch was driving her nuts, sending a
sweet tingle through her body. Stoking the flame that he had
already started with the kiss he planted on her back at the bar. If
he was holding her hand, maybe that was a good sign the
relationship could be repaired. She knew he didn’t forgive easily,
but maybe he had already forgiven her for the way things ended
months ago. She could only hope.

When the elevator finally came to a
stop, and the doors opened, they stepped off and stood in the quiet
hall. The sixth floor had once had two small units, but Zack had
purchased both of them, combining them into one large space. The
last time her cousin MJ had been there, she had commented that Zack
should have had the elevator doors open right into the unit.
Christina was glad he hadn’t. She liked the idea of having the
hallway and a separate door to her loft. Any other way would have
felt weird.

“
Come on in,” she said to
Luke after unlocking the door and walking in. “Make yourself at
home.”

Luke strolled over to the floor to
ceiling windows, something everyone did when they first walked in.
The sheer curtains framing the windows of the main living space
stayed open most of the time, no one could see directly into the
loft.

Christina set her handbag down and
went into the kitchen. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
They’d ordered an appetizer earlier and had a drink while at the
bar, but she hadn’t had dinner and she assumed he hadn’t
either.

He turned to her. The seriousness
radiating in his eyes, let her know this conversation wasn’t going
to be easy. She diverted her gaze and let it trek down the length
of his body. He had left his suit jacket in the car, and the
sleeves of his white collared striped shirt had been rolled up to
the center of his forearms. Now he was loosening his
tie.

“
Water would be good,
thanks. I like what you’ve done with the place. It looks like you.”
He walked over and studied an abstract piece of art from her
collection hanging on the living room wall. It blended an array of
colors also represented in the furniture as well as the
accessories. “This place suits you. It’s warm,” he moved closer,
his voice seductively deep, “and understated, sexy.”

Christina swallowed hard. If he moved
any closer, she was going to rip off his clothes and take matters
into her own hands. Thankfully, he stopped at the edge of the
breakfast bar. She fidgeted as his penetrating gaze bore into her,
stoking a gently growing fire within her. Clearly he still affected
her like no other man ever had.

She slid his bottle of water closer to
him, making sure not to touch his hand. If she kept her distance,
she could get her thundering heart to settle down and not beat
right out of her chest.