Magical Weddings (52 page)

She turned her head, raising a brow. “And just how much hands on experience do you happen to have–with sexy underwear, that is?”

When Luke raised his brow in challenge, Kelly added quickly, “On second thought, I don’t think I really want to know.”

Luke grunted as Kelly’s camisole dropped to the floor on top of her gown.

His eyes roved over her nearly naked body with obvious appreciation.

Kelly reached over with her hands to unbutton Luke’s shirt. Once she drew the shirt down over his arms and let it drop, he cleared his throat and swallowed. It was her turn to look at him with approval. She’d seen Luke a bunch of times without a shirt as a scrawny teenager. But now…
damn
, the man was ripped. And sexy, too–she couldn’t help thinking–for about the millionth time today. Showing a hint of the eagle tatoo that covered his upper back, black and gold ink feathered down like wings over his shoulders. After unlatching his belt, Kelly set to work on the fastenings of Luke’s uniform pants, and finally slipped off both his pants and boxers.

But Luke wasn’t letting her look too hard at him. He backed up to the bedside table, dimming the light of the lamp discreetly. Suddenly lifting her from her feet, he threw her onto the bed. She hit the top of the bed with a whoosh, and she squealed with surprise as Luke began laughing wickedly.

After her initial shock, she grinned at Luke when he dove into the bed beside her. She finally understood–he was attempting to lighten the mood. No way - was he
really
as nervous as she was? Yeah, he must be–he’d probably dimmed the light because he hadn’t wanted her to see his scars.

All of a sudden, his mood turned serious. “This is the last thing I expected to happen, Kel–you know that, don’t you?”

She nodded her understanding. “I still don’t get why we had to wait so
long
, Luke–if you’ve been feeling the same way that I have all along.”

“Baby,” he said, softly. “I’m still not so sure that we should be taking it this far–with me going away. You’re just so young and beautiful.” He hesitated. “And if something should happen to me…”

She lightly covered Luke’s mouth with her hand. “Ssshh–don’t talk like that,” she answered fiercly. “Let’s just take this one day at a time.”

After staring into her eyes for a long hard moment, Luke finally nodded his acceptance. His hand moved through her hair, pulling out the pins that’d held it up. Cupping the back of her head, he tilted her face towards his. When his mouth touched hers, a spark of heat shot straight through her.

She closed her eyes, sinking into the kiss, letting herself do nothing but feel. Her senses were alive with something wonderful. Kelly couldn’t help thinking that fate had always meant for this to happen, so she didn’t feel guilty–she just felt good–remarkably, incredibly good.

Luke suddenly slipped out from the bed, and picked up his pants to pull his wallet out from a pocket. After removing a condom, he laid his wallet on the nightstand, and suited himself up. He stared at Kelly for a moment, until she nodded a slightly discernible ‘yes’.

Luke glowered. “So–you’re on birth control, Kel?”

“Tell me, Luke,” she answered dryly. “What was I supposed to do–wait for you, when you told me it was never gonna happen between the two of us? I haven’t dated a bunch of guys, but I dated someone for nearly a year.”

Luke grinned wryly, becoming sheepish. “Yeah, Babe…I see what you’re saying. But I still can’t help being jealous,” he muttered. With that comment, he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her deeply.

But soon, she discovered, kissing him just wasn’t enough. Kelly fell on her back, as Luke slid down the remaining swatch of lace from her hips. And then his body covered hers. Every point of contact felt hot, from their mouths, to their breasts, to their groins–where she felt his arousal, hot, hard and ready.

Kelly loved everything about him–his weight, his scent, and the power in his hard muscular body. She wanted more of him–
all
of him.

“I’ve been thinking about this for so damned long now, I’m not so sure I’m gonna be able to take my time with you, Kel,” he whispered with urgency.

“Then don’t,” she answered fiercely.

When Luke thrust into her and filled her, it was the most glorious sensation she’d ever experienced. Hesitantly, one of Luke’s hands slid across her hips and carressed her inner thigh. He teased her, straying closer to the center of their joining until she trapped his hand between them. His fingers grazed her most intimately, and the intensity in response to his touch caused her to arch and cry out incoherently. His mouth covered hers, cutting off the sound as if he was tasting her pleasure.

But instinct couldn’t be denied, not for long, as Luke flexed his spine, and withdrew and thrust again. Kelly caught the rhythm of retreat and possession, dragging him down, kissing Luke voraciously, and commandingly urging him on.

Ultimately, she went beyond thought, as their pounding rhythym rocked, razed, and compulsively drove them both. Clutching tightly, their fingers were entwined, as they raced harder, more forcefully to reach the peak.

Completion finally found them. She cried out and convulsed around him, powerfully, and on a groan he surrendered and went along with her. An elemental tide of pure sensation wracked them and wrung them out–shattering them.

Kelly realized, as she dropped into lethargic satisfaction, that the tension that’d been strung so tightly between her and Luke was vibrating now, since the pleasure between them had finally become tangible.

“Kelly,” he said, and then stopped.

She waited for him to finish, but he didn’t. “What?” she asked.

He shook his head hesitantly, and then he kissed her long, strong, and tenderly, like he was never going to let her go. She closed her eyes, sinking into the kiss, letting herself do nothing but feel. Her senses were alive with something wonderful. She ran her hands up and down his back, loving the weight of him in her arms, the way he moved and touched her, the way he made her
know
that she was wanted and loved.

Not that they’d spoken of love. Maybe for Luke it was just desire and physical attraction? But Kelly stretched out under the covers and turned her head, studying Luke hard.
No
–his eyes weren’t just filled with desire, they were filled with
love.
But he’d be leaving again soon, and she was deathly afraid that he’d be gone from here tomorrow, without making a commitment.

Leaving Kelly with a broken heart.

She was so beautiful and sexy, and yet there was also an appealing innocence about her. It was a potent combination and one he should’ve probably tried to resist. He’d hadn’t had the slightest intention of letting their relationship turn physical when he’d decided to visit Crystal Rock and speak with her–especially knowing he’d be shipping out overseas.

Loving the scent of Kelly’s lightly perfumed skin, that reminded him of lilacs–not to mention the rightness of the feel of her in his arms–Luke sighed, burying his head into her shoulder. “I wish I didn’t have to leave.” Luke felt the weight of Kelly’s hand at the base of his neck. Lightly, she ran her fingers over his closely-shaven scalp, stroking gently and soothingly, before dragging her fingers down over the length of his back.

The beginnings of daylight dimly saturated the room, and Luke froze when he realized where Kelly’s hands were exploring.
The scars.

“Tell me something about yourself, Luke?” she asked softly, as her fingers ran gently over the long thin markings of the eagle tatoo feathering down over his shoulder. “Why the tattoo? It’s faded since you were a teenager, hasn’t it?”

Ah, she knew what she was doing then, by intentionally tracing the scars. Taking in a deep staggered breath, Luke came to a decision–he just couldn’t tell her
everything.
“I’m pretty sure you know why the tat’s there, Kel.”

Kelly answered hesitantly, “To cover the scars on your back?”

He sighed, and nodded–although he wouldn’t let her in on the reasoning behind his tattooing of the eagle. “It’s faded a bit since you’ve seen it, I guess. Remember, I was only thirteen when I had it done.”

Kelly gave him a barely discernible nod of understanding. “But, Luke–how were you even
allowed
to have a tatoo when you were so young?”

Luke hesitated. “Josh knew a lot of people,” he answered quietly.

“You’re stepbrother?”

“Yeah.”

“You…got along?” Kelly asked curiously.

“Yeah.” Luke held her gaze, but looked haunted. “I was lucky to have him. He watched over me Kel, and kept me out my stepdad’s way.”

“Do you still keep in touch with him–even though he’s in jail?”

Luke nodded yes but the question seemed to put him on his guard. He began to move away from her. “Does it bother you?” he asked harshly.

Kelly reached over, laying a palm on his cheek reassuringly. But she definitely looked hurt. “How could you even ask me something like that?” She blinked–she appeared to be having some trouble holding back her tears.

Luke went immediately into protective mode, and wrapped her back into his arms. “I’m sorry Kel,” he whispered softly, burying his face into her hair.

Kelly laughed softly. “Is it just my imagination–or did you just
sniff
my hair? I could’ve sworn you did it earlier too.”

Pulling away, he gave her lopsided grin. “You just smell so damned good.” His expression turned serious. “If you’d seen some of the conditions we were forced to . . well–
exist
in over there in Iraq–you’d probably understand. And the smell, babe…that was the worst.” Luke shook his head grimly. The smell of death had become hauntingly familiar.

Her eyes held a world of understanding as she gazed at him sympathetically.

“But enough of that.” Grinning, Luke suddenly became playful. He’d been holding himself back, afraid of being too rough with her, after going at it nearly the entire night. He moved his hips rhythmically up and down along hers.

Most obviously becoming aware of his state of arousal, Kelly stared at him with widened eyes. “
Again?
” she asked, with disbelief.

He gave her a teasing smile.
“Kel…”
Pulling back, he gazed into her eyes. “Seriously, though–is it too much for you?”

“Never,” Kelly whispered. She traced a finger down the bridge of his nose, and began exploring the contours of his mouth, before reaching her hand around his neck and pulling him down to where her lips met his.

After a long, lingering melding of their tongues, gently breaking away, Luke sat up and hunched back in the bed, staring lengthily at Kelly. Her face was stunning. High cheekbones drew attention to her big blue eyes. She had a perfect nose–and a sexy mouth, with a full upper lip. Luke grinned. She was still wearing earrings. The dangling jewels sparkled like fire through the silky curtain of white-blond hair, dancing loosely over her shoulders.

“Is something wrong?” Kelly asked with obvious confusion.

“I just wanted to spend a minute looking at you, Kel.” Dawn’s light was streaming in through the windows, and Luke stared down at Kelly’s naked body with obvious appreciation. “You’re the most beautiful thing that I’ve ever seen,” he said hoarsely. “And you seem to be as comfortable in your own skin, as you are when your’re walking around in those designer clothes of yours,” he added wryly.

Kelly shrugged and grinned. “I’ve been doing this modeling stuff for over ten years, now. I learned, long ago, it wasn’t worth being shy.”

“You mean when you’re wearing those bathing suits in those ads, the ones where you look topless–you actually
are
topless?” Luke frowned. “I think it’d probably be better if you wouldn’t tell me about things like that.”

Kelly blinked. And then she began to laugh. “Alright.”

But Luke’s eyes were still taking in Kelly’s incredible body. She had beautiful full breasts, that probably looked larger than they actually were, since her waist was so tiny. Her flawless skin was lightly tanned. He bent down, touching his lips to a perfect breast.

Kelly shivered.

“Don’t blondes usually have freckles?” he asked softly, as his mouth covered a tight, rosy nipple.

“I…Kate does, but not me or Lucy. I guess that Lucy and I took after my grandmother, except that I got the tall gene.”

Luke began to sip gently on her nipple, and their conversation halted abruptly when Kelly moaned. Luke made sure he left no part of her body untouched. His mouth moved on to the hollow of her throat, before covering the nipple of a breast again, and then gliding over to gently tug and arouse the other. Finally, he reached the soft sensitive skin of her inner thigh, where he used his tongue and teeth to nip, tease and delight. The tension built to an incredible degree, and finally burst free. She was trembling when his mouth quickly made its way back up her body. His mouth covered hers, cutting off the sound, as he tasted her pleasure. She ran her hands down his back, and over his buttocks, urging him closer.

He needed to be inside of her, he decided, as he thrust into her, with as much control as possible.

Kelly arched, thrusting upward, twisting and turning. In response to her need, his rhythm changed, as he drove faster and harder. Just as she cried out, a shudder shook his body first, before taking over hers. Not wanting to disengage, Luke dropped gently down on top of her.

Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke.

****

Kelly awoke to the sunlight streaming brightly through the window into the bedroom. Peeking at Luke, who was still sleeping soundly, she grinned, stretching out luxuriously in the king-sized bed.

She suddenly flinched, and grimaced–although she hated to admit it, she was a little bit sore. A long hot bath would definitely be in order for later. But first, she’d spend the day with Luke.

Kelly heard commotion erupt from outside the bedroom door in the living room, so she sat up in the bed. The fellow bridesmaids were apparently getting ready to head to the restaurant for brunch. Someone began knocking at the bedroom door.