Weak for Him (22 page)

And he meant it had to
stop.

I accepted it. I was too tired to
continue.

I had to because Finnley started
dating, and looked past me in a crowd of people as if I were
nothing. I became invisible as the days turned into nights, and
nights into days. I was stuck in a loop until I felt like my old
self again. Then I was released to go back to work.
Work.

I had someone to take my mind from
it all. I would give myself to someone that made me happy and
enjoyed spending every minute with me: Luke.

The dates were short and sweet. We
took walks in the park, shared a few secrets, and joked about
cowboys and beaches. A month had come and gone, and I was over
Finn. Not seeing him helped.

Since I was on the job again,
Jesse made sure to setup a meeting in Mr. Felton's office about my
behavior, and I was given a verbal warning about being
unprofessional at the dress shop.

I had forgotten all about the
masturbation mishap.

Mr. Felton, in his three-piece
suit, acted as a witness to my warning. It was the first time I had
seen him in weeks. I refused to make eye contact and kept my eyes
to the floor. Apologized and agreed it would never happen again. It
couldn't and wouldn't. We stood to leave, and before I left, Mr.
Felton called me back into the office. Once inside and alone, Mr.
Felton burst into laughter.

Embarrassed, I put my hand over my
eyes and waited for it to be over.

Note taken. Being the bitch she
was, Jesse made him sign my warning, and lesson fucking learned.
Not sure why I never expected it to be exposed, considering Jesse
still rode my ass and hated me.

"I didn't know you had it in you.
And the things you said to Sophia, was that her name?
Hilarious."

"It was your fault, you know. You
turned me into a sex-crazed monster," I said dryly.

"No, Ms. Downs, I just unlocked
the door."

I didn't want to be
there.

His smell, his office, everything
about him was smothering.

Making me sick to my stomach and
made my head reel. I couldn't be around him. I needed to
leave.

We never talked about the day in
the dress shop when he pinned me against the wall, or the night at
the party when he made me come twice; those things had slid behind
us in the dark.

His face went serious as I sat in
front of him, and I finally made eye contact. He turned his head
and walked to the window, staring out over the city streets. He
couldn't look at me either.

"I've tried to forget that day
many times. It was stupid of me."

I didn't want him to talk about
it.

"It was inappropriate," he
continued.

My body stiffened, and I couldn't
respond. I didn't want to conjure up the feelings that I had tried
to bury over the past few weeks. The ones that had
almost
vanished with time.

"I'm just glad it's behind us, and
you've moved on," I said.

"I am, too. It was for the best.
Nancy and I are having such a wonderful time. Did you see the
pictures of Colorado?"

I had seen the pictures of their
getaway weekend. Jesse passed them around the dinner table one
night, hoping to get a rise out of me, I suspected, but
didn't.

"Yeah. She's a beautiful woman.
Just your type. Are you happy?" I asked him.

"Very. I haven't felt this way in
a long time. Like I finally could settle down again and start a new
life. It's nice, you know?"

"Yeah. That's great."

Finn continued to look out the
window. "Oh look, Charlie just arrived to pick you up. Wouldn't
want to keep him waiting. He's on a tight schedule
today."

"Right." I grabbed my things and
headed to the door.

"Oh. I almost forgot to tell you.
Tonight's the night, my dear. You have a special date with Luketon.
By his words, Luketon feels that you are both ready to consummate
the deal since Paris was temporarily canceled. Are you ready? Do
you feel it's time?"

His eyes gleamed, but the shine
was no longer for me.

I knew that.

"Yeah. After the last few weeks
we've spent together, I think it would be perfect."

Twenty-three

C
andles covered the small
table and a violinist played in the background of Luke's dining
room. Silver platters awaited us, and we sat.

"Stuffed shrimp and your favorite,
macaroni," Luke said.

I giggled.

"Luke, you are so sophisticated
with your fancy macaroni and cheese."

He laughed with me. "Oh, that
macaroni is for you, m'lady."

"Wine?" The female servant asked.
I nodded my head and thanked her as she poured my favorite
cranberry wine.

"You ordered Texas wine. Yum." I
smiled before taking a sip.

When we finished dinner, Luke
stood and grabbed my hand. The lights lowered, and the violinist
played a soft melody that was perfect for dancing. "Would you give
me the honor?"

His hands found their way down my
body to my waist, and I pulled him close to me. We danced a slow,
sensual dance. Our bodies' scents mingled with one another, and I
felt punch-drunk happy. His lips lingered on the softness of my
neck and the heat of his breath left me wanting more. He spun me
around, dipped me in front of the fireplace, and pulled me back up
to him. My eyes looked up into his blues, and he smiled.

"Paris in two weeks," he
said.

"You're joking, right? I thought
it was cancelled."

"I would never joke about bringing
you. We are going." He spun me around and back to him.

"You're going to love the lights,
the music, the wine, the city. I was offered a project and it may
take me a few weeks, and I want you to accompany me. I know I'll be
dragging
you back to the States before it's
over."

"We'll be staying for
weeks
?"

"Longer, if you want. I received
the approval to take you this morning."

Excitement fluttered. I wanted to
leave tomorrow.

"So you're a dancer?" I
asked.

"I've taken a few lessons, and so
have you."

"How did you know?" My lips traced
the outside of his, and his breathing increased. Another few spins
and a dip and I found myself back in his arms, smiling.

"You've got rhythm," he
said.

My hands found themselves pulling
off his suit jacket and throwing it on the couch. He lifted an
eyebrow, and I couldn't help but think of Finn.

I slipped off my high heels and
realized I needed them to halfway stand a chance next to Luke's
six-foot-two frame. Following my lead, he removed his shoes and
pulled my hair from the tight ponytail. Brown softness fell around
my shoulders, and he ran his hand through it.

The violinist continued to play
"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong as Luke led me up the
stairs.

It was go time.

I smiled at him and took his
hand.

A garden tub full of bubble bath
awaited us, along with two glasses, and another bottle of wine.
Steam filled the bathroom.

"Mr. Brand, if I didn't know
better, I would think you were trying to get me drunk."

He pulled me close to him and
traced the outside of my jaw with his finger.

"Never. I want you to do this
because you want to, Jennifer. Not because you've had the most
delicious Texas cranberry wine ever created, or because I paid for
you to do so."

My breath hitched in my
chest.

"Don't say anything at all. It's
the elephant in the room, might as well make it known. I don't want
to be here if you don't want to. I don't want to force
you."

I walked closer to Luke and
wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I
want
to be here. I
want
to be with you. I
want
you to be the
one."

Luke leaned against the bathroom
counter and crossed his arms, waiting for me. As he took off his
shirt, I caught sight of another tattoo on the other side of his
abdominal: a key.

"The key, it's new?"

"Dance for me, and I'll tell you
about it."

That
, I could
do.

I moved my hips in slow figure
eights while unzipping the front of my dress. Once it fell to the
ground, I stood in cute mesh panties and a bra. This lingerie was
for looks only; this set was for Luke, and Luke alone. His arms
fell to his side as he took in my body, stomach, and panties. He
bit his bottom lip and motioned me to him.

No more dancing. I followed his
command.

With gentle hands, he undid my bra
and exhaled heavily as he touched my bare breasts.

"You're absolutely
amazing."

I closed my eyes as he hooked my
panties with his thumb and slid them down.

"Fucking beautiful."

He moved his finger in a circle,
and I turned around for him. I felt like the most beautiful woman
in the world as Luke took me in. His hands—soft and erotic—rubbed
my ass, found their way up my back, and massaged my shoulders. I
pushed my ass against the hardness in his pants. The thought of him
enjoying me turned me on.

With force, I unbuttoned and
unzipped his pants. With the same vivacity, I scooted them to the
floor and took in the size of him. My eyes went big, and I
swallowed.

Luke laughed, and instantly I felt
comfortable. His fingers lightly brushed the outside of my
shoulders, and he pulled me tight into him. He smelled like winter
and spring mixed together, the middle of the two.

"We'll go slow"—he ran his fingers
across my lips—"I promise I won't hurt you."

The warm tub awaited us, and we
both entered, allowing the bubbles to surround our nakedness. We
crisscrossed our legs and took in one another's naked bodies. I
slowly leaned back and dipped my head in until my hair soaked up
the water.

"Tell me what you want to do to
me," I whispered as I leaned back in the tub. His arms stroked my
legs, my breasts, and my shoulders.

"I want to make you
mine."

"That's it?" I laughed. "Tell me
what
you want to do to me."

I wrapped my arms around the back
of his neck, and he kissed my shoulders.

"I want to make love to you until
the sun comes up. I want you to know that you are the most
beautiful woman alive, and pleasure you until you feel you can't
take it anymore, and then I want to fuck you until I can't take it
anymore."

I turned around abruptly,
splashing water, and he laughed again.

"What? Please tell me you didn't
expect it to be lollipops and rainbows. I've seen the way you've
looked at me, Jen. Undressing me with your eyes, imagining the
dirty things you'd do to me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want
you to do those dirty things. I want to make you come, and then I
want to fuck you senseless. And when you think we're finished, I
want to do it again and again
.
I want to pleasure you in
ways you've never been pleasured and hear the sound of my name
being whispered from your lips
.

"You're looking at me like you had
no idea." He laughed.

"I want to
whisper
your
name as we make love. But I want it slow…" I said, trailing my hand
down his lips. "And then I want to scream it when you're giving it
to me hard." I moved my finger, tracing the Mark Twain quote on his
chest.

"And then I want you to fuck me
into oblivion." My hands found their way down his abs and lightly
brushed against his hard-on.

Luke moved closer to me, and as we
stared into each other's eyes, I tilted my head. In slow motion as
if the moment would last forever, Luke's lips met mine, and we were
kissing. Soft kisses, the ones that make a girl smile days later.
Then rough ones, the kind that make you want to liquefy into each
other. Our tongues wrestled with one another, fighting the pent up
aggression, and sexual tension that neither of us ever would win.
We wanted to be inside of one another, completely
together.

Luke rubbed the bubbles over my
breasts and trailed his hands to my sex. Oh, his hands were so soft
on me, touching and caressing each part of me, and with each touch,
I wanted to give into him, in the water, like in my
fantasy.

He continued to kiss me, placing
his fingers between my legs and adding pressure to places that
throbbed to be touched. Without hesitation, I took a tighter hold
of his hardness and slid my hand up and down, allowing the soap and
water to help guide my movements. He groaned with satisfaction, and
I moaned with pleasure. More heated kisses and our wet bodies were
out of the tub, drying one another off. We wanted each other more
than summer wanted—no, needed—rain.

With each touch, the sexual chains
released, and I found myself begging Luke to take me.