So why not Luke?
Abby wasn’t a casual sex type of person, especially since her mother’s approach to sex had been not just casual but contractual and chaotic. But how would she ever feel normal if she were still a virgin when she was thirty? Or forty? Ninety, even? But if she slept with Luke the problem would be solved. She could tick the box marked Normal. The more she thought about it, the more she was sold on the idea. It was an ideal solution.
All she had to do was convince Luke.
Luke guided her out of the way of an enthusiastic couple, bringing her even closer to his body. ‘How soon can we leave?’ he asked.
Abby leaned back to look up at him. ‘Aren’t you having a good time?’
He gave her a twisted movement of his lips that might have passed for a smile…well, if you were standing in the next county, maybe. ‘Your time is almost up, Cinderella.’
Abby bit down on her lip and lowered her gaze to his perfectly aligned bow tie. Why did he have to remind her he had a stopwatch going on their evening? What did that say about her?
It said she was resistible, that was what it said.
Some smoking-hot seductress I turned out to be.
‘What’s wrong?’ Luke said.
Abby brought her gaze back up to his and, taking a deep mental breath for courage, asked, ‘Do you think we could kick on and have some supper somewhere after this?’
A small frown creased his forehead. ‘Why?’
‘Because I’m still hungry.’
‘We just had a four-course dinner and you ate my dessert.’
Abby looked at his mouth, her stomach tilting when she thought of his kiss in the car. How could she survive on just one kiss? She was hungry for more of his kisses. She wanted to feast on them. To gorge on them. To go on a massive binge on them and she wouldn’t even feel guilty in the morning. ‘I’m not ready to go home yet. I haven’t been out in ages and ages and…well, neither have you so it kind of makes sense to make the most of it.’
‘Abby.’
She closed her eyes in a slow blink and sighed. ‘Okay. Okay. I get it. Time’s up and you want to go home and work. Forget I mentioned it.’ She began to pull out of his hold to go back to their table but his fingers around her wrist stalled her.
He brought her back to stand in front of him, his hips brushing hers with such heart-stopping intimacy she had trouble remembering to breathe. His eyes were as dark as deep blue ink and framed by a frown that was thoughtful rather than his usual disapproving one. ‘Don’t you want to stick around for the lucky door prize draw?’
‘I can barely win an argument let alone a prize like that.’ As our earlier conversation just confirmed. ‘Anyway, it’s just supper together. That wouldn’t be breaking any of your rules, would it?’
His eyes went to her mouth for a brief moment. Then he seemed to gather himself and he tucked her hand over his arm. ‘Supper it is.’
* * *
Luke took Abby to an exclusive bar/supper club a few blocks from where the ball had been held. He’d been there a couple of times for work things and liked the atmosphere. They served coffee and cake as well as the regular cocktails and beverages.
Abby gave a cursory glance at the menu and sat back in the plush velvet-covered armchair. ‘I’m going to have Sex on the Beach.’
He lifted one eyebrow and allowed his latent sense of dry humour to make a brief appearance. ‘Still a bit cold for that, don’t you think?’
Her cheeks developed tiny twin flags of colour. ‘Have you ever done it on the beach?’
Luke had spent most of the night trying not to think about sex, especially sex with Abby. ‘Couple of times.’
She leaned forward to rest her hands on her knees, her voice coming out as a whisper. ‘Can I tell you a secret?’
He tried not to stare at her mouth, tried not to imagine it kissing its way down his body. Tried not to get hard, but hey, he was only human. ‘Go for it.’
She blinked a couple of times and then ran the tip of her tongue over her lips, and he got a whole lot harder. Her gaze flicked away from his and the colour on her cheeks deepened. ‘Never mind. Forget I said that. I think I’ve had too much champagne.’
Luke’s interest was piqued by the way she seemed to be avoiding his gaze. What secret did she have? Was it something even more cringe-worthy she’d made up about their ‘relationship’? ‘What were you going to tell me?’
She pressed her lips together for a moment and then swallowed. ‘I’ve… I’ve never done it.’ Then she did a shocked wide-eyed thing and slapped both of her hands over her mouth as if she regretted her words. ‘Ohmygofh.’ Her hands pressing against her mouth muffled the words. ‘I can’t believe I just told you that.’