Chapter 27

 

 

 

Afton

 

 

I shouldn’t moan. I shouldn’t moan.

I silently chant that to myself while I tangle my fingers in the back of Luke’s hair becauseholy freaking fire,this man can kiss.

He tightens his grip on me before he runs the tip of his tongue over my bottom lip.

I’m lost to it all then.

I collapse under my need, and the faintest moan trails out of me.

I sense the smile on Luke’s mouth as he ups the ante and deepens the kiss.

My knees are literally weak for the first time in my life.

Somewhere in the distance, I hear my name, but I ignore it. Ihaveto ignore it. I never want this kiss to end.

“Afton.” This time a persistent tap on my shoulder accompanies my name. 

As if that’s not annoying enough, someone clears their throat in a way that is so exaggerated I’d roll my eyes if they weren’t closed tightly as I relish in the best kiss I’ve ever had.

Luke breaks our kiss but not before he nips my bottom lip with his teeth.

Desire pools deep within me because that small jarring bite of pain held the promise of so much more.

I stare into his blue eyes as a sly grin slides over his lips. “I think he’s trying to tell us that our ride is here, Afton.”

I glance toward the street to find a dark SUV idling. A man in a tightI Heart NY  T-shirt and black pants races out of the driver’s door and rounds his vehicle.

“Afton?” he calls out my name with a smile. “You’re her, right?”

“She’s Afton,” Porter answers before I get a chance. “I was trying to get her attention, but you saw what was going on…”

His voice trails when I turn to face him.

Porter’s left brow is perked. The smirk on his mouth says it all. He’s amused and maybe a wee bit impressed by what he just witnessed.

“I’m sorry for doubting that you and Luke were a real couple.” He glances at Luke’s face. “That kiss was something else. I need to find a woman who will kiss me just like that.”

I bow my head to hide the rush of pink blush that’s creeping up my neck before it bolts over my cheeks.

“I hope you do,” Luke says as his hand finds mine.

I don’t glance up even though I feel him raise it before his lips brush over my palm.

“You’ll be in touch with proofs of the photos you took, Afton?”

I take a breath before meeting Porter’s gaze with my own. “Within forty-eight hours.”

“Good.” His left eye twitches just a touch.

I know what that means. The same thing happened earlier when the artichoke dish he was making came out of the oven two minutes too late. He’s disappointed.

I doubt his interest in me reached beyond a one-night stand. Regardless, I’m grateful that Porter thinks I’m taken.

I want to be taken. I want to be Luke’s for real, not just as part of a rouse to keep a celebrity chef at bay.

“I’m running late, so I’m off.” Porter gestures toward the left. 

Luke doesn’t offer a goodbye. I don’t either. Instead, I stand to the side as Luke and the Uber driver load my gear before getting in the backseat.

I wait for Luke to slide in next to me, but he doesn’t.

He shuts the back door behind me before he climbs in the front passenger seat and buckles his seat belt. He does all of that without a word to me or a single glance in my direction.

 

***

 

“Thank you,” I whisper to Luke as he sets the bags containing my photography equipment on the floor of the foyer. “I appreciate all you did tonight.”

His gaze finally trails up until it meets mine. “I’m sorry, Afton.”

Guilt.I see it swimming in his eyes.

He has to be talking about the kiss, but I ask just to be sure. “For what?”

Closing the door behind him, he sighs. “I sensed that you wanted Porter to back the hell off. I should have let you handle it. I had no right to jump in the middle of that and kiss you. I wasn’t thinking. It just happened.”

“You regret it.” It comes out as more of an accusation than a question.

“No,” he blurts out. “Fuck, no. Do you?”

“Fuck, no,” I whisper.

The only indication that he’s amused with my response is the slight curl of the corners of his lips. His gaze catches mine. “That was some kiss, Afton.”

“It was.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

His question catches me off-guard. I thought we’d laugh about it, and then the kiss would be stored away in my memory bank forever.

I assumed that Luke kissed me to get Porter to back off. I didn’t expect him to admit that he liked it.

I think that’s what he meant when he said it was ‘some kiss.’

Realizing that I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion, I take a deep breath as I set off toward the kitchen. “I’m thirsty. Do you want some water? I can make coffee. Is it too late for coffee?”

“Afton.” He steps around me, blocking my path.

He stops before he says another word, so I turn my gaze up to his face, and I see what’s unspoken. I see the desire in his eyes.

“Luke,” I whisper.

“I don’t want water.” He narrows the space between us with a large step. “Or coffee.”

“What do you want?” I ask in a voice that is so soft I have to strain to hear it myself.

Without a moment of hesitation, he cups his large hand around the back of my neck. “You.”

There are countless questions perched on my lips, but I brush them all aside and tilt my chin up. “I want you too.”

This time his kiss isn’t tentative or tender. When his tongue parts my lips, there’s a rush for something – maybe it’s need driving it or pure raw lust.

I don’t care. I reach up to cup his face in my hands as we deepen the kiss. Our tongues search for more. Our moans melt together, and when his hand glides down my back toward my ass, I lean into him.

He spins me around, so he’s in control of our destination.

I know where he wants to go, and I’m all in.

I want him. I want to feel him everywhere. I want to experience him in the most intimate ways.

“Afton,” he breathes my name in a groan. “Your bedroom.”

I nod because the words won’t come. I can’t speak. I can only feel.

He takes a step forward, and I follow with a step backward. I trust him to lead me through my darkened home to my bed, our bed for the night.

Just as he moves again, a noise stops us both in place.

This time it’s not a smoke alarm. Neither of our phones is ringing.

It’s the soft sound of keys rattling before my front door creaks open, and Joel appears wearing a pair of light green pajamas.

“Oh, shit,” escapes him when he sees us clinging to each other. “I fucked this up, didn’t I?”