Undone (6 page)

Embry thought about what Morgan had said. Embry’s relationship with Jack had once been so perfect, and then they completely fell apart. He was charming, popular, handsome, and sweet; everything she had ever wanted. They were high school sweethearts who started dating at sixteen. Everyone thought they were the one couple who would stand the test of time, but no one knew the real Jack.

After a year together, he changed, letting parts of his real personality show through. It started with little fits of jealousy. Jack wasn’t happy about the amount of male friends Embry had, even though they all had girlfriends. Anything that took her attention away from him caused a problem. Jack’s jealousy morphed into possessiveness, and he dealt with his insecurities by putting her down—making her feel worthless and ugly.

People at school adored Jack. Even Embry’s parents loved him. They referred to him as their future son-in-law, and he played the part well. He was the loving boyfriend who worshipped the ground Embry walked on … until she said or did something he didn’t like. Behind closed doors, Jack’s ugliness escalated. The emotional abuse he put Embry through wore her down. He had a way of manipulating her into believing it was all her fault, and if she would just behave the way he expected, he wouldn’t have to get so angry. He lifted her up so high when he wanted to, but when he put her down, she never felt so low. She lived and breathed by his moods.

By the last semester of their senior year, Embry knew that in order to save herself and her sanity, she had to get out of the relationship. She never would’ve escaped him if it hadn’t been for Morgan.

After a particularly bad fight with Jack, Embry broke down and told her best friend everything: how much she loved Jack, how he blamed her for the hurt he caused, how hard she tried to make him happy, all the awful things he said and did to her. She was at her wits’ end. He would never change, never leave her in peace.

Morgan helped Embry apply to a few schools out of state and away from Jack. She made a point of always being around Embry, claiming that they’d soon be at different schools, so Jack didn’t have much time alone with her. Graduation came and went, and Embry had the opportunity to start school early, taking summer session classes at the university. She packed up without warning and moved over a thousand miles away.

Leaving Jack, Morgan, and her family hadn’t been easy. Embry moved to Florida without knowing a single person. She was determined to figure out who she was, and she came out on the other side with amazing friends, memories, and a whole new Embry.

But she never really felt free of Jack. After all those years, she still hadn’t let another man get close. She’d had some hookups and dated a few guys here or there, but as soon as it looked like it might get serious, she walked away. It was hard for her to trust that a man genuinely wanted to get to know her and wouldn’t turn on her, break her down, and control her.

Embry’s thoughts shifted to Luke. What was it about him that had her acting so out of character? She had worked so hard to put herself back together after Jack. But Luke brought down all of her walls with one look. She couldn’t hide her reaction to him. No one had ever affected her that way, and it made her uneasy. Morgan was right; she wanted to get to know Luke. She actually wanted to open up to him. Letting out a long breath, she reached for her phone.

Home safe, had a great time. Thx for the drink. x

Embry turned off her phone and went to sleep. She dreamed of a southern boy with blue eyes.

Embry sat in the law school atrium on Monday afternoon, eating lunch and listening to Morgan ramble about one of the girls in her class. Students bustled in and out of the crowded atrium, their chatter bouncing off the walls and filling the room with a loud hum.

“I mean, I just don’t get it. She’s like a machine. She somehow manages to keep up with all of the work and stay perfectly prepared for each class. Her answers are flawless, and she doesn’t hesitate to throw one of us under the bus if we give a wrong answer. I can’t stand the girl!”

Embry tuned Morgan out when she noticed Luke walking into the atrium. Everything around her melted away, and all she saw was him. He scanned the open space, searching her out. Their eyes met and locked as he crossed the atrium. Embry felt her skin warm from the intensity of his gaze. When he passed her table, he winked, his lips tipping into a slight smile. As much as she wished he’d stop and say hi, she didn’t mind the view as he left.

She’d woken up Saturday morning to a good morning text from Luke, and they texted back and forth all weekend. As much as Embry needed to focus on law school, she wanted to talk to Luke and get to know him better. She had never felt such a pull toward a man.

“Um,
wow!
” Morgan exclaimed. “What was
that
and why do I feel like I need a cold shower after watching the two of you devour each other with your eyes?”

Embry took in Morgan’s surprised face and couldn’t help but laugh.

“On Friday, you weren’t even sure if you were going to text him back. Now he’s looking at you like he wants to eat you alive. What did I miss?”

“Um …” Embry gave a shy smile. “I wound up texting him back.”

“Clearly! And?”

“We’ve kind of been talking all weekend.”

“Why didn’t I hear about this?”

“You left to spend the weekend with Brett before I even woke up. It’s not like anything monumental happened. We just texted back and forth. He’s really sweet.”

“Sweet isn’t the adjective I would choose after seeing him molest you with his eyes, but okay, go on,” Morgan said, her face splitting into a wide grin.

Embry playfully shoved Morgan’s shoulder. “Shut it. He is sweet. He asked to see me tonight.”

“Ooooh, he did?”

“Mmhmm.”

“And?”

“I said yes, but I figured—”

“Oh. Em. Geeeee,” Morgan squealed. “A date! I’m coming over after class to help you get ready, and you better give me minute-to-minute updates throughout the night.”

Embry grabbed Morgan’s shoulders to stop her bouncing. “Morgan, calm. I told him that I wanted to see him, but I was worried about getting all of my studying done. So he offered to come over and cook for me instead of us going out.”

Morgan’s eyes widened in awe. “He’s hot and he cooks? Where can I get one?”

“You already have one. His name is Brett, and you just spent a romantic weekend away with him, remember?”

Morgan laughed. “You know Brett’s idea of cooking is putting a Pop-Tart in the toaster, right? And even those wind up burnt most of the time. But nice try.”

Embry shook her head. Her phone buzzed, and Luke’s name popped up.

Hi beautiful. Looking forward to tonight.

Embry looked up with a huge grin and showed Morgan the text.

“You really think you’re going to get any studying done with that fine piece of man in your apartment? I’m pretty sure everyone in the atrium felt the sex pulsing between you two. Ask Jeremy to send you his notes because the last thing you’ll be doing tonight is homework.” Morgan winked.

Embry raised an eyebrow. “Are you calling me a slut, Morgan Jade?”

“If the slutty shoe fits.”

Embry narrowed her eyes, and both girls broke out into giggles.

Composing herself, Morgan grabbed her things from the table. “All right, girlie, time for class. I’ll text you after. If you’re having a night in, I don’t think I need to come dress you, but I still want updates.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll text you later.”

Embry waved good-bye to Morgan and walked toward her next class. She pulled out her phone to text Luke and walked into what felt like a solid chest.
I need to stop walking into people in hallways.
Embry mumbled an apology without looking up and made her way around the chest in question. She froze when two big hands lightly gripped her shoulders.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Embry’s eyes shot up. Luke stared down at her, smirking. “Hmmm, I have a thing for good-looking men in hallways,” Embry joked. “I was actually just texting you back.”

“Well now you can tell me in person,” he said in that deep, sexy voice.

Embry noticed that his hands were still gripping her arms. He gently rubbed his thumbs back and forth across her skin, and for a second, she forgot how to speak. Nervously shoving her hair behind her ear, she looked up through her long eyelashes. “I, um … I can’t wait for tonight.”

Luke gave her a dazzling smile. “Me neither.” He glanced over her shoulder and dropped his hands. “I have to run; I’ll see you at six?”

“Yep. I’ll text you my address.”

Embry walked into her classroom and plopped down next to Jeremy. “Hey, stranger.”

“Hey, Blondie. How was your weekend?”

“It was good. Yours?”

“Great. How was the social?”

“It was fun! You were missed,” Embry said, nudging his arm.

“Hopefully there’ll be more!”

“Yeah. You can bring Becky along next time,” she suggested.

“Nah, she turned out to be a dud. I wound up hanging out with Angela from section two.”

Embry’s mouth fell open.

The professor walked in, ending their conversation. Embry spent the entire class mindlessly typing notes and daydreaming about Luke. Thank God her professor put an outline up on the projector, because Embry didn’t hear a word he said.

By the time class was over, she was a nervous wreck.
What was I thinking inviting him to my apartment?
Embry hadn’t been alone with a man in quite a while, and she wasn’t sure being alone with Luke was the best idea. At the same time, she couldn’t wait to spend some time with him. She tapped out a quick text giving Luke her address and headed home to get ready.

She walked through her apartment door and immediately regretted inviting him over.
Ugh, when did this place become such a mess?
Embry ran around picking up shoes and purses and shoving them in her closet. All of her law textbooks were strewn around the apartment, so she stacked them neatly on her desk.

Once she’d cleaned the apartment, she had about an hour until Luke came over. She hopped in the shower, and shaved in all the important places, just in case. She blow-dried and curled her hair, threw on some makeup, and stared into her underwear drawer.
Lace or practical? Sexy or cute? He is
so
not seeing my underwear tonight.

Embry was startled out of her thoughts by her phone. She grabbed it and saw that she had a text from Luke. He was on his way.
Crap.
She grabbed a lace set, threw on a silky, mint button-down blouse, dark skinny jeans, nude flats, and a gold chunky necklace. Embry took the wine out of the freezer and was in the bathroom giving herself a spritz of perfume when the doorbell rang.

“Coming!” She smoothed her shirt and headed for the front door. She pulled open the door, and instead of Luke, she was face to face with her creepy upstairs neighbor.

“Hey, Embry,” he said, leaning against the doorjamb. He gave her a thorough once-over, which left her feeling as though she needed another shower. “Looking good.”

“What can I do for you?”

Reggie had seen Embry moving in and taken it upon himself to be her one-man welcoming committee. Since then, he’d stopped by her apartment randomly, trying to convince her to go out with him so he could “show her the sights.”

“All dressed up and no place to go?” Reggie asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Um, no …”

“Actually,” said a familiar raspy voice, “she has dinner plans with me.”

Embry turned to see Luke walking up the stairs, grocery bag in hand. He looked sexy as hell in tan, pressed khakis and a dark blue button-down that made his eyes look even more amazing, if that was possible. Reggie backed up, and Luke slipped in through the door, bending down to give Embry a kiss on the cheek before walking into the kitchen to put down the groceries.

Luke came back to the door and put his arm around Embry’s waist. “Hey, man, I’m Luke. Nice to meet you.” He stuck out his free hand for Reggie to shake.

“Reggie,” he said, shaking Luke’s hand. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Embry. Have a nice dinner.”

“Bye, Reggie,” Embry said, relieved that Luke had saved her from an awkward conversation. She shut the door and turned around right into Luke’s chest. She lifted her gaze up to him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Luke replied, tucking a stray hair behind Embry’s ear.

“Hey,” Embry said again, sounding more breathless than she would’ve liked.

“Hey,” he whispered, his eyes burning into hers.

He hooked his finger beneath her chin, gently tilting her head, and before she had time to think, his mouth was on hers. He ran his tongue lightly along her bottom lip until she opened for him, their tongues tentative, exploring. She thought her knees would give out at the sensation. Luke deepened the kiss, his hands roaming her curves as his hard body covered hers. Embry reached up, digging her hands into his perfect hair. She was a second away from climbing him and wrapping her legs around him.

Luke pulled back slightly, causing Embry’s hands to fall to his chest. He gently nipped and sucked at her bottom lip before dragging his mouth from hers. Staring at her with desire in his eyes, Luke braced his hands on the door on either side of Embry’s head, clearly trying to calm himself. She could only focus on the warmth of his chest beneath her hands and the sweet taste of him lingering on her lips.