Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4) (26 page)

He was silent.  She opened a bottle of red and then looked up to see him with his hands on his hips, a casual stance. 

“So, you’ve changed your mind, have you?” he asked in his deceptively low voice.  

She didn’t care for his tone.  It was smug.  She took down a glass and poured a full glass of wine into it.  “Yup,” she said dramatically, then took a gulp of the alcohol which she absolutely didn’t need more of, her eyes never leaving his.  When she finished inhaling another swig of wine, she said, “It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.”  She gave him a sarcastically sweet smile with an eyebrow raise.

He nodded then shrugged.  “Well, then.”  He walked slowly toward her and around the counter.  When he was standing directly in front of her he took the glass from her hand, taking his own sip from it then calmly placed it back on the counter.  His eyes, however, were anything but calm.  “It’s a man’s prerogative to change it back.”

Before she had time to react to his words, he plowed his hands into her hair roughly, and brought his lips down to hover over hers. 

“No,” she murmured, still trying to stay strong, but feeling herself weaken.  Even though her mouth said
no
, her body was screaming
yes
.

“Yes, Janie,” he whispered on her lips then moved her head to angle it differently, fisting his hands firmly into her hair.  “Yes,” he whispered again.

She tried to shake her head no but was losing the battle of wills.  She so wanted him to kiss her.

“Say yes,” he said, resting his lips on hers.  “Say it.”

“Luke,” she whispered.  She was still pissed at him.

“Good enough.”  Softly and controlled, he sipped the wine that lingered on her bottom lip then licked into her mouth.  A sound came from the back of her throat as he pressed himself into her, pushing her back against the counter.

He opened his mouth over hers, savoring her lips.  Tasting them.  Enjoying them.  It was sensual, purposeful, angry, determined.  His hands pulled at her hair turning her face this way and that to his liking while taking bites of her lips, then teasing his tongue into her mouth again.  He was entirely too detail oriented to miss anything.  His kiss was like everything else he did:  thorough.

He smelled so good.  That was the first coherent thought Janie had.  He tasted and smelled so good.  He
felt
so good with his day old stubble hitting her skin around her mouth.  Then his firm yet pliant lips moved to her jawline, kissing all around her face, only to make their way back to her mouth again.  She couldn’t breathe as he began gaining steam, making the kiss more aggressive, his erection now pressing into her stomach. 

He had an erection.  Luke had an erection.  For her.

Since the moment his lips had first touched hers, she couldn’t think.  She could only feel.  His hands in her hair, his mouth on hers, his hard body rubbing into her soft one. 

Her own hands moved to his waist as he continued consuming her mouth and she reached around to rub them up his back, feeling his hard muscles underneath his coat.  She leaned forward to press her breasts into his lower chest.  More sounds escaped as the kiss turned even more demanding, his mouth now claiming hers, animalistic and hard, while one of his hands now stroked her chin and neck.  She couldn’t tell where her breath began or his took over.

And just like that, it was done.  He pulled back and gripped her hair harder so she was paying attention.  The sexual fog cleared slightly from her gaze as her eyes met his. 

“You’ll remember this when you go out with Weston or Gastaldi.”  A smug smile tugged at his lips.  “Who do you think you’ll be thinking of if they kiss you?  Who will you be thinking of, Janie?”   

She tried to calm her breath and regain control to get the upper hand, so she reached up and patted his cheek.  “Them, of course.”  She gave him a cute smile. 

His grip didn’t let up.  “I t
hink we both know who will be on your mind.”

“You’re a conceited ass.”

His smile grew.  “Yes, I am.  And if they kiss you, there won’t be any comparison, trust me.  After all, there is a reason why I’m such a chick magnet.”

She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go.  She put on an innocent look and said in a patronizing tone, “I promise that when I make out with Eric or Miguel, or anyone else over the next two weeks, I’ll think of you at some point, Lukey.”

He gripped her hair tighter and she almost yelped.  “It seems to me that I’m getting the short end of the stick on this deal we have going.”  He dropped his voice to a whisper and his eyes to her lips.  “Considering all these men you get to make out with, not to mention how much satisfaction you got last night.”

She was so completely aroused.  Her heart was racing, her breathing heavy.  She wanted him to the point of pain.  “You agreed to the rules, Luke,” she said, her voice sounding husky as he still had his hands in her hair tilting her head back.  “You poor baby.  Did you not get any satisfaction after you left?  I thought you had a pretty good imagination.”

His eyes appeared to strip her where she stood.  “I was plenty satisfied with my imagination.  It was fucking hot.  It just would’ve been a lot more enjoyable if I’d had company.”

“Gee.  I’m so sorry you couldn’t fuck Vanessa.”

He smiled and licked his lips, then murmured, “Vanessa’s not the only redhead I can think about, sweetheart.”

Silence passed between them and Janie finally looked at his mouth.  He was killing her with all of his innuendo.  In a moment of bravery, she whispered casually, “Well, then.  I won’t keep you from your imagination any longer this evening.  But before you go, you might as well do something useful and unzip this thing for me.  It’s too hard to do by myself and I need a shower, then bed.”

He processed what she’d said for just a moment, his eyes turning a deep navy blue before he released his hands from her hair and shifted even closer to her.  She stood her ground watching his wolf like eyes.  He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around slowly, allowing his hands to skim over her arms.  He placed her hands on the counter and leaned his hips and very hard erection into her ass.

He ran his hand up her back and gripped her hair firmly at the base of her skull where he fisted it once.  Then he released it and pushed it over one shoulder.  She nearly collapsed in a puddle, with her skin prickly all over, her chest rising and falling with each deep breath.  He muttered something in Spanish.

“What was that?” Janie asked quietly with a smile.

He gripped her hair gently then leaned down and said slowly into her ear, with emphasis so she caught every syllable, “I’m not telling.  You should’ve paid more attention when I tutored you.”

She smiled and in a husky voice said, “Rest assured, Luke, that if you ever tutor me again, I’ll definitely pay more attention.”

“Hm.  I’ll make sure of it,” he murmured confidently, unzipping her dress one inch at a time until he reached the bottom.

In a moment of courage, she pushed her ass back into him.  She heard his intake of breath and felt him move away from her.  She took two steps to the side and let the front of her dress fall forward, down her arms and to the waist revealing her naked back to him.  Without turning to him, she walked toward her bedroom showing him her bare back and probably the top of her thong.  A smile played on her lips.  “You better get outta here,
Lukey
.  I wouldn’t want to give you an eyeful.”  She gave him one last look over her shoulder before entering the bedroom area, hiding herself from him.  His look had been priceless.  “Thanks for the ride,” she yelled.

She heard hi
m swear and then chuckle before her front door slid shut.

“Shh, no screaming, Janie,” Luke murmured.  “You need to fight it.  Don’t give in,” he teased with a whisper.  He sat on the edge of her bed in lounge pants and no shirt, holding her foot in his hands.  While he kneaded at the pressure points that would most assuredly guarantee her a phenomenally big O, he leaned down to let his lips skim over the arch of her foot.

“Luke,” she said, letting out a low breathy whimper.

He took his lips and gave her an open mouthed kiss right where his fingers had been and then bit down softly only to then suck the flesh on her foot gently into his mouth.  Her sex was drenched, her body a mass of quivers, and sweat clung to her skin.

Naked on the bed, a sheet loosely covering her, he stroked his hand up her body until he pulled, and slowly moved the linens down her torso revealing her breasts to him.  The sheet skated lightly over her nipples igniting little explosions under the skin.  She whimpered at the sensation just as the cool air hit her hot flesh. 

He was no longer looking in her eyes, but was focused on her breasts.  They tightened and tingled, her nipples burning for him to touch her.

“
Quiero sus pezones en mi boca. Entonces los voy a chupar hasta que esté pidiendo.
”

She arched up off the bed when he put his mouth on her foot again.

“What are you saying to me?” she moaned.  “I never know what you’re saying to me.”  His finger found that spot below her big toe and she began gulping for air, squirming.  “Luke, I need,” she gasped.

“I know what you need, Janie.  You need me to put my hands on you.  Put my tongue on you.  Suck your gorgeous nipples into my mouth.  Make you beg.”

She shot up out of bed, breathing as if she’d just run a marathon, her call box blaring in the background.  She tried to shake off the remnants of the dream, but her body was primed and ready to go.  She needed to climax or she’d go crazy.

The call box went off again.  She looked at the time.  10am.  She fell onto her pillow and moaned.  Who the hell was bugging her on a Sunday morning after the biggest event of her career?  She stumbled out of bed and jogged to the call box.

“Yeah, hello?  Who is it?”

“Excuse me.  The button says this is
The Local Yokel
?  I’m looking for Janie Callahan.”

Shit, did she have a food delivery that she’d forgotten about?  “Yes?”

“I have a delivery for you.”

“Who from?”  She couldn’t think what vendor it could be.

“Um, it’s flowers, ma’am.  I’m not sure who they’re from, actually.”

“Flowers?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She buzzed him in and ran to get a robe since she was only in a nightie.  She tried not to get too excited, but wondering who they were from made her more so.  When she got back to the door, she slid it open and accepted the bouquet of calla lilies the color of an autumnal sunset. 
They took her breath away and she quickly gave the delivery boy a tip then closed the door.  Her hand went to her chest then to her lips and she sat on her sofa, tearing open the card.

A business card from an expensive well known spa in the City fell out of the envelope as she looked at the hand written card in which it had been encased.  It was written in Spanish which immediately made her heart flutter.  At the bottom in English it said,
Time for another tutoring lesson.  I’m glad Google translate wasn’t around twelve years ago…you never would have needed me.  Now that it’s available to you, figure it out. 

She was beaming, her cheeks sore from smiling so hard.  He used to say the phrase ‘figure it out’ to her all of the time when he was tutoring her in high school Spanish. 
You know how to conjugate the verb, baby girl.  Just figure it out.

She ran to her phone and her Google translate app, then typed in word for word from
Luke’s note.  She could understand some of the words and thought she caught the gist of it before the sentences were translated before her eyes, but just in case, she looked at the English on her screen:

To a fiery redhead who deserves a good massage after last night.  Since you have a hard time accepting gifts, consider the spa treatment hazard pay for your job.  The flowers, on the other hand, are a personal gift from me.  They’re elegant, soft, and reminded me of you…and you will accept them or my feelings will be hurt.

-Luke

P.S.  Kenneth will be there at 11 to take you to the spa.  Another gift awaits you in the limo.

She put her hands to her flushed cheeks, still smiling and giggling now like an idiot.  A spa day.  She clasped the note to her chest and let out an eek of pleasure.  She never treated herself to that kind of thing and couldn’t wait to have her entire body rubbed down.  Clapping her hands with delight, she ran to the bathroom to get ready.

Just before 11, her callbox went off again.  She ran to it and pressed the button.  “I’ll be right there, Kenneth,” she chirped happily.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Janie Callahan?  The owner of
The Local Yokel
?” a disembodied male voice asked.

Geez, what is this?

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I have a flower delivery for her?”

“Um…okay.  Come on up.”  She buzzed him in and slid open the door, wondering who else could be sending her flowers in addition to Luke.  The delivery boy came up the stairs holding a bouquet of wild flowers, looking at her a little strangely since she was now laughing at the events of the morning.