“What about you?” Paul is asking, oblivious to what just transpired, thank god. “How did you pop the question, Luke?”
“Oh, it wasn’t anywhere near that elaborate.” Luke launches into a story of his own, and I make all the right noises, nodding at the appropriate times, as he talks about taking me on a pretty drive through wine country and then just slipping the ring onto my finger at one point.
But all the while, I can’t help noticing neither guy has mentioned this bet of theirs. You’d think that with all the ragging they’ve done on one another—and all of their digging about how the other one met their significant other—it would have come up by now.
Then I glance at Meghan and wonder if Paul told her about the bet. Maybe not. Maybe he thought it would be rude to mention the fact that Luke gambled on Paul never finding a wife.
Doesn’t matter. It seems like Luke and Paul are enjoying themselves, no matter who won their bet. Paul and Meghan seem genuinely happy. And it’s nice to see Luke interacting with a friend who’s not one of our coworkers or a potential client. His smile is just a little more carefree, his attitude even more open than he normally is. It makes me smile, too, watching him.
I can tell it’s going to be a weekend to remember.
6
Later that evening, just after we finish an amazing three course meal, on a different patio deck restaurant than the one where we enjoyed our cocktails, we stumble across a pool party in full swing. There’s a DJ playing, and more than a few hotel attendees decked out in their cutest, most Instagram-worthy bikinis snapping poolside photos and dancing or posing on themed floaties in the pool.
“We have to go get changed and join this,” Meghan yells in my ear, over the sound of the music. “Look, there’s a jacuzzi free!” She springs forward before any of the rest of us can respond to claim a spot at one of the hot tubs next to the pool. I have to admit, with the night air beginning to cool down, and the jacuzzi bubbling and steaming, lit from below by lights that change colors and pulse in tune to the music, it does look pretty appealing.
“What do you think, should we let loose a little tonight?” Luke leans in to murmur in my ear. The hum of his voice tickles my insides and makes my belly clench with desire. Especially when he brings one warm, strong hand to rest on my bare shoulder. I shiver, and this time, it has nothing to do with the faint chill in the air.
“Definitely,” I manage to breathe, leaning into him.
Nearby, someone chuckles. I startle and glance over to find Paul and Meghan grinning at each other, then at us. “Meet you two lovebirds back down here in a few, then?” Paul asks.
My cheeks flush. But Luke doesn’t seem embarrassed by the fact that his friends caught us snuggling. If anything, to judge by the amusement dancing in his expression, he’s enjoying it. Then I remember what he said, about being competitive. About wanting to show me off. A curl of heat unfurls between my legs. Something about the possessiveness, the showing off of how touchy we are, turns me on.
Even more so when Luke takes me by the hand and practically drags me into the elevator, with Meghan over his shoulder teasing us about not getting too distracted up in our room alone. I barely have time to wave at her and promise we’ll be right back before the elevator doors shut and Luke’s kissing me against them, hungry, his hands all over me.
I grin into his mouth and reach up to twine my arms around his neck. “I think your plan to make them jealous is working,” I whisper, smirking.
“Good,” he replies, his voice low and heated. He kisses me again, and then I forget all about his friends, the hotel, everything. All I can think about is Luke. His hands on me, his mouth on mine. When we break apart to hurry down the hall to our room, his eyes are fixed on me, hot as coals.
Inside our room, we barely make it through the door before he pins me against it. “We’re definitely going to be late, aren’t we?” I ask, laughing.
He grins against my neck before he kisses his way further down my body. “Not at all. We just need to get you changed. That shouldn’t take long.” As he speaks, he winds his hands around the hem of my shirt and yanks it up and over my head, dropping it beside us on the ground. His hands slide around to my bra now. He meets my eyes, his own sparkling with mischief. “Unless, of course, you think you’re likely to get distracted by all of this. Are you, Celia?”
I swallow hard around a sudden lump in my throat. “Not at all,” I force myself to say, keeping my voice even, my hands steady. I reach for his shirt, too. “As long as you won’t.” He doesn’t miss the challenge in my gaze, as I tug his shirt off and let it drop beside us.
He bends back down to run his tongue down the groove in the center of my chest. I gasp and let my head fall back, even as I run my hands along his abs, tracing every inch of them, while his tongue does the same to me. God, it feels good when he does that. It’s like he’s savoring every taste he can get of me. His tongue circles my nipple, lapping at it in slow, hard strokes that make it stiffen.
At the same time, I tug on his jeans, eager.
He pauses to smirk up at me. “What was that you were saying, about not getting distracted?” He arches a single, perfect eyebrow. I resist the urge to run my thumb across it.
Instead I just smile as innocently as I can muster, pinned against a door half naked in front of him. “I’m just helping you along. Making this go faster.” I wink, and then manage to get his belt buckle undone.
In response, his tongue dips lower. Past my breasts. I lose my grip on his jeans when he kneels in front of me, and I gasp a little, as his tongue plunges into my navel, swirling around it, flicking at the edges of it, in a way that makes my belly tighten and my thighs clench. My clit feels thick already, swollen with want. I’m sure I’m dripping wet, though I can’t tell for certain until Luke lifts my skirt with nimble fingers.
“No fair,” I whisper, my breath coming harder and faster now. “You stole my idea.”
“I did warn you.” His gaze flashes to mine, not a hint of regret in it. “I like winning.”
I laugh, which quickly turns to a gasp as he pulls my skirt down and off my hips. My underwear slide after them and land on the floor.
When he glances back up at me, he’s smirking, enjoying himself. “Spread your legs, Celia.” There’s a subtle note of command in his tone, one that makes me shiver with pleasure.
I obey him and spread my legs. He doesn’t waste any time. He plunges between them, and I gasp aloud as his tongue rasps along the edges of my lips, tracing me. He runs his tongue up and over my clit, just a quick barely-there flick that nevertheless sends a shockwave of pleasure through my body, I’m already so eager for him.
“Fuck, Luke.” I hiss through my teeth, reaching down to bury my hands in his hair in order to steady myself.
“You taste so damn good, Celia. Have I told you that yet?” His breath feels even hotter against the parts of my body he just licked, namely the sweet, hot place between my thighs. His tongue delves in again, and this time, he presses it between my lips, running along my slit, in a lapping, come-hither motion like he’s trying to lick every drop of my juices from me.
I moan a little at the waves of pleasure that sends through me. My eyelids flutter closed, unable to stay open, as he starts to lick me faster, in slow, steady strokes that nevertheless stoke the fire building deep in my belly. My toes curl, and I arch up onto them, my hands now fisted in his hair, trying desperately to maintain some semblance of control.
But it’s not long before I’m gasping and moaning his name under my breath, the pleasure in me building quickly toward a peak. He knows exactly what he’s doing, damn him. I’ve never been with a guy who takes this much time on me, making sure my pleasure comes first.
“Right there, Luke, fuck, right there,” I’m gasping, when suddenly, he pulls away, sitting back on his heels to grin up at me. I let out a sudden breath, still shivering. I was so damn close… “Don’t stop,” I cry.
His smile widens. “I thought you we
ren’t going to get distracted.”
My breath is coming so fast it takes me a couple of seconds to even respond. “That… didn’t count,” I try, lamely.
He just chuckles and rises to his feet. “Don’t worry.” He leans in to kiss me, slow and soft. His tongue parts my lips, and I can taste myself on his lips, our scents mingled in a way that tastes heady, going straight to my brain. When we break apart, his eyes are fixed on me. He looks every bit as hungry, as filled with lust, as I am. “There will be plenty of time later tonight to make you scream. For now…” He reaches up to run his thumb across my lower lip. My eyes flutter half shut, and I part my lips to suck his finger into my mouth, twirling my tongue around him. He groans a little, biting his lower lip, gaze heated where it fixes on mine.
Two can play this game, Luke, I think, smiling back at him.
He steps back, though I can see by the huge bulge in his jeans that he’s not as unaffected by all this teasing as he wants me to think. “For now, we have a date to keep,” he tells me, and grabs his swimming trunks from the wardrobe beside our bed. He catches my eye with a smirk before he heads into the bathroom to change. “Later? Well. Later, I’d like to hear how desperate you are to come. Anticipation makes the release all that much sweeter, in my opinion.”
Easy for him to say. Still, I’ve never been one to shrink from a challenge. I lift my chin and keep my gaze on him, a bemused smile curling my lips. “Later it is, then,” I say, even though my pussy is practically throbbing with the need for release. Oh, I am going to get sweet revenge on him for this move…