Undone (30 page)

Embry stepped toward him, softening her eyes and sticking out her bottom lip in a perfect pout. “I’m not interested in pancakes anymore.”

He cupped the back of her neck, dragged her in for a searing kiss, and let her go abruptly, a smirk on his kissable lips. “Well I am, beautiful.” He walked toward the stove but not before landing a solid smack on her ass. “Hop to it!”

Her hands flew to her hips, her eyes wide. “And how do you suggest we make pancakes without flour?”

Luke pulled out the pantry cabinet and dug around. She watched the sculpted muscles of his back move beneath his skin. The flour had become a road map on his body, every place her hands had roamed evidenced by a dusty handprint on his golden skin. He rummaged around a bit more until he pulled out another package of flour.

“Backup,” he said, smiling.

Embry let out a huff and crossed her arms. She had no interest in making breakfast anymore. All she wanted was to be back on the floor underneath Luke. But he was hungry, so she’d give him his pancakes. They swept up the majority of the flour and set to work.

“So why didn’t you tell me you were going to Georgia next weekend?” Embry asked between bites of pancake.

Luke was quiet for a moment. He lifted his shoulder indifferently. “Slipped my mind, I guess.”

She didn’t believe that for a second, especially because of how easily he’d lied to his mother about Embry being too busy to go with him. The truth was, she
was
too busy to go with him. The semester had kicked into high gear. But he’d let his mother think that he’d invited her, and he hadn’t mentioned the trip at all. Maybe Embry was reading too much into it. They’d only gotten back together the previous weekend, and his plans had probably been made well before that.

“Any special occasion or just going for a visit?” she asked, hoping to garner some more information.

“Early Thanksgiving, actually.”

“Oh?” Embry hadn’t even thought about it. Her calendar went by finals, not holidays. Everything got serious after Thanksgiving break. Study days began in the beginning of December, then finals would be there before she knew it. Her stomach dropped thinking about how soon she’d be taking her first law school finals.

“My parents take a cruise every year during Thanksgiving week, and Camden, Lori, and Mackayla go to Lori’s parents, so we celebrate early.”

“But what about you? What do you do on Thanksgiving?”

Luke’s eyes crinkled, and his lips tipped up into a sweet smile. “Worried about me?” he teased. “I used to go to Cam’s in-laws, too. But since I’m living up here now, I’m not going to take two trips down. I’ll just have a nice, quiet night here.”

Embry’s eyebrows drew together, and she worried away at her bottom lip. She didn’t like the idea of Luke spending Thanksgiving alone. Should she invite him to go with her to visit her family?

“Don’t give me that look.”

“What look? I’m not giving you a look.”

“You are. And you’re doing that thing with your lip,” he said.

“I do a thing with my lip?”

“You pull it between your teeth when you’re nervous or overthinking.” He ran his finger across her bottom lip. “What’s on your mind, Bree?”

“Come with me.” Her eyes widened as the words escaped before she was ready for them.

“Where?” His look of confusion was almost comical.

“To Thanksgiving,” she said quietly, almost not believing she was asking him to commit to something so big.

“With your family?” he asked.

“Sure.” She shrugged, trying not to let on how much she wanted him to come. “I’m going to have to tell my parents I’m seeing someone eventually.”

He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. “That’s your sales pitch? Are you sure you don’t want to rethink that one? Maybe try again?”

Embry blanched. If she wanted him to spend the holiday with her family, she had to tell him that, not just give some lame excuse for why he should tag along. She pressed her lips together, her eyes serious as she put on a show of making a decision. “I love you, and my family will love you. It’s really important to me that they get to meet you. Please have Thanksgiving with us?” A bright smile appeared on her face.

“Sure, I guess,” he said indifferently.

Embry smacked his chest. “You guess? That’s it?”

Luke stood and scooped her up in his arms. “Yes, baby. I love you too, and I would love to come for Thanksgiving and meet your family.”

She beamed at him as he walked toward the stairs. “Where are you taking me?”

He shook his hair, sprinkling her with more flour. “Shower time,” he said with a naughty grin.

Embry snuck up the stairs and into Luke’s bedroom while he reviewed a case in the living room. They’d had an amazing day, shower included. She smiled as the memory gave her a shiver of pleasure.
Best. Shower. Ever.
She was quite thankful for what she referred to as the Great Flour Debacle. She couldn’t wait to get dirty again.

Making her way into Luke’s walk-in closet, she found her duffel bag and began to dig through. Luke had pulled on his favorite Georgia T-shirt and hat the minute he was out of the shower, but Embry had a different plan for her jersey. They were trying their best not to behave like five-year-olds, but as the game drew nearer, she felt the tension building. It was a big game, and whoever’s team won would have bragging rights. Her Gators better pull through. Stripping off her jeans and T-shirt, she dug her Gator jersey from her bag and pulled it over her head.

Embry checked herself in the floor-length bathroom mirror. The jersey was small but still a little loose. It hit right below her butt and allowed just enough of her lacy boy shorts to peek out. She was about to touch up her makeup when she heard Luke calling her from downstairs.

“Babe! Baby! Game time! Get your fine ass down here right this instant!” His voice was filled with excitement.

Embry let him know she’d be down in a minute and took one last look in the mirror. She ran a hand through her messy waves, straightened her jersey, and pranced out the doorway. She had no idea what had gotten into her. Luke made her feel as if she was the only person in the world. She felt beautiful, intelligent—the best version of herself. With Luke, she felt safe, comfortable, and confident. She sure as hell wouldn’t flounce around in a tiny jersey and boy shorts if she felt any different.

She descended the stairs and walked into the living room. Luke was on the couch, legs up on the ottoman, with a football in his lap and a beer in his hand.
Typical.
He’d thrown together a few snacks, which were on the coffee table along with a glass of wine for her, and a big thick blanket was strewn in front of the fireplace.

He began to talk, eyes still trained on the television. “I poured you some wine, and I threw down the blanket for you. I know how you like to spread out when you—” He looked at her, looked back at the TV, and as if realizing what he’d just seen, his head whipped back around. His eyes widened and his lips parted, desire written all over his face.

She felt his eyes like a caress as they traveled the length of her body.

“Fucking Christ, Embry.” He shook his head.

Being bold was easy when he looked at her like that. She stalked toward him, the jersey shifting across her hips as she moved. She watched his eyes lock onto her legs as she straddled him. The jersey slid up her thighs, and his hands automatically slipped under the shirt to grip her hips.

“Back to no pants, huh?” His hands roamed her hips before reaching around to grip her ass.

She nodded.

“I like you better this way.”

“Well”—her hands traveled aimlessly over his chest— “I thought maybe we could have our own version of Florida/Georgia,” she whispered suggestively.

His fingers flexed on her ass, and she knew she had him.

“You’re mine at halftime,” she said, nipping his bottom lip before hopping off his lap and spreading out in front of the fireplace to study.

The game turned into a complete slaughter, and by the time they reached the half, all Embry wanted to do was run and hide. She attempted to study, but couldn’t concentrate with her team getting killed. Luke handled it with his typical southern charm and didn’t say a word to rub it in, which might have been worse. He just let her sit and stew. When halftime came and went and he didn’t say anything, she figured he was giving her a break. Her mood had taken a nose dive.

She was able to tune out the second half of the game and get some reading done. When the game ended, she was in the middle of writing her briefs for contracts. She lay on her side in front of the fireplace, jersey riding up her stomach and panties in full view.

“Whatcha working on, beautiful?” Luke asked from behind her.

“Huh?” She was vaguely aware of him saying something, but she was concentrating on her case. She nodded and chewed her bottom lip as she read the same sentence for the third time.

Luke kneeled beside her and ran his hand over the curve of her hip.

She darted up, surprised. “What are you doing?”

“I asked if you needed help. You nodded. So here I am.” He smiled a devilish smile. “What are you working on?” He reached for Embry’s notebook.

“Baby, no,” Embry said, snatching the notebook from his grasp. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention when I nodded. You know I don’t want you helping with anything law school related.” She moved away from him. His nearness was distracting.

“Can you at least tell me what you’re working on?” he asked.

“Nope.” She pushed off the blanket with her notebook, but Luke was quick.

He followed, wrapped his arms around her, and tugged her into his chest. His lips grazed the length of her neck, and she couldn’t think straight. She let her head fall to the side, giving him more access, until she realized that his lips had disappeared. He was leaning over her shoulder, trying to peek at her notebook.

She turned and pushed at his chest. “Stop trying to read my briefs! You’ll see it when I hand it in on Monday, Professor.”

“You’re working on contracts? Oh, now I really want to see,” he teased.

Luke made a grab for the notebook, but Embry darted away. He chased her and caught her around the waist. He dug his fingers into her hips, tickling her. She shrieked, twisted out of his grasp, and ran toward the dining room. Standing behind the table, elbows on the back of a chair, she caught her breath and waited for him to make his move. A predatory look took over his features as he came at her. She ran back into the living room, skidded over the carpet, and flew onto the couch. She hopped up and down, wagging her hips and holding the notebook above her head.

Luke laughed and jogged into the living room. He bent over, his hands on his knees, making a ridiculous show of being out of breath. She knew better. He didn’t get that body going for light jogs. She continued to hop up and down, shaking her hips and taunting him until she realized that he’d stopped smiling. His bright eyes were dark with desire. She forgot what she was doing as she watched Luke stalk toward her. Before she knew it, she was thrown over his shoulder.

“Luke! Put me down!” She kicked the air and smacked at his ass.
At least it’s not a bad view
.

Without warning, he tossed her onto the blankets in front of the fireplace, peeled off his shirt, and hovered above her. “You don’t know what you do to me,” he said, his mouth coming down on hers possessively.

“Turn you into a caveman, apparently,” she murmured against his lips. “You forgot to club me over the head, though.”

“I missed my halftime show.” His hands snaked under her jersey and traveled up her rib cage.

A smart answer was on the tip of her tongue, but all thoughts left her mind as Luke’s hands brushed the bottoms of her breasts. She sucked in a breath as he slid his hands behind her and unclasped her bra. Then the jersey was pulled up and over her head. His lust-filled eyes took her in before he hooked his thumbs into her panties and dragged them off of her. Before she could set her legs back down, he spread them wide and kissed a path up her inner thighs. His fingers slid inside of her, and Embry whimpered, pushing against his palm, needing so much more. He curved his fingers inside of her as his mouth came down, licking and sucking. Her back bowed as the unexpected release barreled through her.
Holy shit
.