The Wells Brothers: Luke (22 page)

Reaching the bottom, she swung
around the edge of the staircase, glad she had thought to bring a torch as it
lit her way to the stairwell door which was partially open.  Sliding through,
she closed it behind her and went up the stairs, wondering when Luke would come
up.  The manhole was open, the stars showing through the opening, and she went
up onto the roof.  Looking around, she breathed in the crisp, cool air, the
stars endlessly filling the sky.  Walking across to the stone wall, she looked
out over the countryside, her gaze searching the area, going to where the
chapel and graveyards lay.  Nothing disturbed the darkness.

“Nice view,” said Luke
appreciatively from behind her.

Expecting him to be coming up through
the manhole, she turned to see that instead he was lying back on what looked to
be an open sleeping bag, his hands comfortably behind his head, ankles crossed. 
Not far from him a lamp burned, and he reached over to turn the flame up,
casting the surroundings in a warm, golden glow.

“Well, don’t you look
comfortable,” she said dryly.

Flashing her a grin, he patted the
sleeping bag beside him.

“I know, a sleeping bag.  Aren’t
you a clever boy.”  She was already feeling a little hot.

How could he get her hot so fast?

Luke crooked a finger at her.

Switching off the torch, she
walked across to drop to her knees beside him, placing the torch and EDI Meter
to one side.

He caught sight of the articles. 
“What’s that?”

“I was hunting cold spots on the
staircase.”

“Of course.”  He wasn’t even
vaguely surprised.  “Find any?”

“Sadly, no.”

“What if you had?” He was
genuinely curious.

“I’m afraid our lusty sex session would
have been shoved back for the more important task of getting Aunt Elspeth and
making sure we recorded everything we could see, find and feel.”

His eyes widened in astonishment. 
“Really?”

She laughed.  “Does that surprise
you?”

“I’m shocked as shit.  You’d
seriously dump
me
for a
ghost
?”

Mikki was vastly amused.  “Hey,
you’re always gagging for a shagging, but a ghost only appears now and again. 
What do you think?”

After staring at her for several
seconds, Luke slowly pushed upright, bracing his hands on the ground behind him
as he rested on his arms to regard her closely.  His gaze slid from her eyes to
her lips, lingered, moved back up.

Wondering if she’d insulted him, she
bit her lip.  “Um...are you okay?”

His jaw firmed, his eyelids
lowering, the gleam in his eyes a little unnerving when combined with his
suddenly stern expression.  “Want to know what I think, Red?”

“That you’ve lost any inclination
for a little toss in the sack?  I mean sleeping bag?”

“Far from it.”

“Oh, good.”  She smiled brightly. 
“For a minute there I thought I’d deflated your ego and your…er…”

When he just looked silently at
her, she rested her hands on her thighs and eyed him back.  Just what the hell
was he thinking?  Should she apologise?  But geez, her teasing hadn’t been as
far reaching as sometimes her previous verbal sparring had, he should know her
enough by now.

Though, mind you…ghost…Luke…
She
did a mental weighing up in her mind.  No, Luke would come first, but if she’d
found a ghost her excitement would have made her run for her aunt to share the
thrill of discovery. 
Oops
.

Obviously guessing her thoughts, he
shook his head.  “Really?”

She grinned weakly.  “You know,
heat of the moment kind of thing.  Sorry.”

“I can see,” he said thoughtfully,
“that I’m going to have to teach you who comes first.”

Oh, this should be good.  Folding
her arms, Mikki arched one eyebrow.

His face was dead serious, the lamplight
casting shadows here and there, his tousled hair falling across his brow.  In
that moment he looked a little larger than life, definitely sexy with that bad-boy
handsomeness and those direct eyes, the muscles in his arms bunching as they
took his weight.

Her mouth went a little dry.

“Take my shirt off, Red.”

The unexpected command in his
voice made her blink.  “Pardon?”

“My shirt.  Take it off.”  He
looked her right in the eyes.  “Now.”

A thrill shot through her.  “Oh
my, are we playing dominant games?”

“Red.”  The command was stronger,
his voice deeper, a little darker.

Looking into his face, she saw
something in his eyes that had appeared last time they’d made love.  Oh geez,
he was naturally dominant in some aspects, and apparently when the mood struck
him, such as now, that dominance took over from his usual easy-going nature.

Oh boy.  Right now, that just made
her run hotter.

When he just continued to watch
her, not one expression on his face, she licked her lips a little nervously
before rising up on her knees to grip the hem of his t-shirt and pull it slowly
up his body.  His abdomen was revealed, the swell of his pecs, and he lifted an
arm to allow her to pull his sleeve up and off, resting back on his elbow and
raising the other arm before she leaned right over him to pull it off over his
head and toss it to the side.  Lounging back on his elbows, he watched her.

God, the man was ripped.  Mikki
ran her gaze appreciatively over his torso.  Who knew landscaping could mould
muscles like that?  She reached out to touch all that warm skin, only to have
him say, “No.”

Startled, she looked at him.

Calm, a hint of darkness in his
expression.  “Now the jeans.”

Oh yeah.  If he thought that was
going to worry her, he had another think coming.  Flashing him a grin, she
happily unsnapped the button, pulled down the zipper.  “Kind of like unwrapping
a Christmas present.  I might,” she added brightly, “find nuts in the sock as
well.”

A sparkle of laughter appeared in
his eyes, his lips quirking, but just as quickly that impenetrable mask slid
back into place.  “You’re a little mouthy tonight, Red.”

“Yes sir,” she agreed, gripping
the waistband of his jeans.  “Lift up, there’s a good boy.”

The silence was almost intense,
but he did as bidden, lifting his hips so she could slide his jeans and jocks
off, freeing that heavy shaft, revealing his muscular thighs and lower legs as
she slipped the clothing off over his bare feet.  She tossed both articles over
to where his sneakers lay.  Different direction to where his shirt had ended,
but oh well…

Sitting back on her heels, she
prepared to visually drink in the delectable sight before her, but a hand
fisted in her shirt and yanked her down.  Toppling over, she braced her hands
quickly on the sleeping bag either side of his head, holding herself up to gape
down into his face.

“Red,” Luke breathed softly,
dangerously, “you’re not in charge tonight.”

“Oookay.”

Those bright blue eyes studied
her, the hot gleam in the depths so tantalising.  The heat from his body was
seeping into her, and automatically she lowered her breasts enough to almost
touch his chest when he suddenly yanked her fully down on top of him, his mouth
closing over hers, kissing her so hot and deep and ruthlessly that by the time
he opened his fist in her shirt to a palm between her breasts to push her
upright, her head was swimming deliciously.

Tipping her head back, she sucked
in some much-needed air.  Hooley-dooley, the man knew how to keep her on her
toes.  Already her nipples were pebbling, her feminine folds moist.

“Get undressed.”

“Huh?” she asked dreamily.

“Take your clothes off, Red.”

Sounded good to her.  She shucked
her socks and sneakers before rising up onto her knees, crossing her arms to
grip the hem of her t-shirt, her gaze drifting over him - and then she froze.

Shit.  Oh no.
  With Luke
lounging back on the sleeping bag again, hands behind his head, those hooded
eyes fastened on her, she was suddenly so very aware that while he was a
perfect specimen, all muscle and strength and handsomeness, she was…

Swallowing, Mikki let the shirt
go, her hands trembling a little.  Cripes, she’d never felt like this before,
not this self-conscious, so why now?  Well, it was perfectly obvious why, but…

“Mikki?”  The voice this time was
Luke’s usual tone, concerned and tender all at once.

“I’m sorry.”  She took another
breath, grabbed her shirt again.

Coming up, one muscular leg bent,
the other straight out, Luke grabbed her chin, turned her head so she was
forced to meet his eyes.

“Why?” he asked quietly.

There was no pretending she didn’t
know what he meant.  “It’s just…”

“Tell me, Red.”  His eyes were
kind, but direct, demanding a truthful reply.  “Talk to me.”

She moistened her lips, and
surprise, he didn’t look down to watch but kept his eyes locked on hers.  “I
guess… I’ve been with a man before, but it didn’t matter.”  Hells bells, this
was hard to say.  “But you…”

When she faltered, he demanded softly,
“What?”

“You’re different.”  There, it was
said.  She held her breath.

The intensity of his gaze was both
unnerving and welcome, letting her know he was so focussed on her answer, her
feelings and emotions.  “And that means…?”

“That means that it didn’t matter
before, but now…I’m not…”  She didn’t know how to say it.

“Mikki, I care about you,” Luke
stated quietly, honestly.  “When I look at you, I see a beautiful woman with
curves and confidence, with humour, with a curious mind.  An intelligent woman
who can both infuriate and make me laugh.  I want to be with you, I want all
your curves against me, under me, on me.  I want every bit of you.  You’re more
than a body shape, Mikki.  Do you understand me?”

She looked at him almost shyly. 
“Yes.”

“Do you believe me?”

There was no doubting the
sincerity in his eyes, in his expression, in the way his body reacted to her
with undeniable arousal.  It made her feel better, regain the confidence she had
normally.  But she still sought to make him understand. “I want to be perfect for
you, and I’m not.”

“You are perfect to me already,”
he replied warmly.  “I want you just the way you are.”  Leaning forward, he
brushed a light kiss across her lips.  “And I’m not perfect, no one is.  We’re
all more than our body.”

“I know.”

Resting his forehead against hers,
he looked deeply into her eyes.  “Then let’s get down to business, Red.”  With
that, he released her chin and lay back down, recrossing his legs as he lounged
back, placing his hands behind his head.  Easy-going Luke was replaced with
dominant Luke.  “Take off your shirt.”

Feeling a little better, though admittedly
still a  little self-conscious - she was only human, after all - Mikki steeled
her resolve to enjoy herself and stop worrying, and whipped off her shirt.

Luke ran his gaze down over her
breasts clad in the lilac and black lace bra to her hips.  “Now the slacks.”

Oh boy
.  She pushed to her
feet, hooked her thumbs in the waistband, started to pull them down, thought
about him seeing her rounded legs and curvy hips and almost stopped, except his
quiet, “Red” was a little like a lash cracking in the night - dark, ominous,
and expecting obedience.

She was half tempted to tell him
where to stick it, and with the other Luke she might have done just for the
hell of it to enjoy a lusty tussle, but this side of him was unnervingly
unpredictable.  Intense, watchful, darkly carnal.  It was there in his
half-lidded eyes, the set of his jaw, the definite hardening of his shaft as it
started to rise up.

Even as she watched, he reached
down to smooth his palm over his shaft, gripping it and simply holding as he
growled, “I won’t ask again.”

Holy heck.  She went almost dizzy
at that statement.  Heat spiralled through her, thrills chasing a dangerous
path along her spine to coil at the base.

“Not the panties,” he ordered,
right before she started to slide both down.

“Make up your mind,” she said a
trifle shakily.

His grin was slight, a touch
wolfish.  “Slacks only.”

One deep breath, then she ripped
them down and stepped out of them, kicking them aside to stand brazenly before
him, hands on her hips, legs slightly apart, chin up. 
Might as well just
dive right into the deep end..

God, she was going to have a heart
attack any second.  Her heart pounded through her chest as he studied her, his
gaze drifting over her face, her shoulders, skimming her breasts to linger on
her belly button, then lower to her mound covered in a pair of purple cotton
panties with yellow daisies all over them, to her rounded thighs and down to
her feet before travelling slowly back up to rest on her breasts.

“Bra.”

That was all he said, but it held
a dark lust that gave her courage.

Off came the bra to join her shirt
and slacks.

His gaze dipped lower, his hand
slowly stroking his staff now, his other hand still cupped behind his head. 
“Panties.”  When she started to draw them down, he said huskily, “Slowly.”

Oh booooy
.  She slid the
panties down, stepped out of them, tossed them aside and then slowly
straightened until she stood straight before him, naked as the day she was
born.

His gaze drifted over her again,
his hand starting to pump his shaft, but she saw the tightening of his abdominal
muscles, felt a shift in his reclining figure, subtle but easy to spot.  He’d
tensed a little.

Luke looked right at her, the lust
in his eyes, the slight flare of his nostrils revealing his arousal, his need
of her in the burgeoning shaft he released, leaving it straining up against his
abdomen.

He’d seen her in all her curvy
glory and he still lusted after her.