The warmth of his chest beckoned. She ran her fingers over the muscles, making a mental picture in the dark. Memorizing the contours. As her hand slid down his abs, he sucked in his breath and nipped at her neck.
Power coursed through her veins as she eased down his zipper and brushed the hardness underneath. He grabbed her hands and pushed them against the door, reclaiming her mouth.
The silk dress rushed down her thighs, but caught as his knee moved between her legs. The door and Luke had her captured, unable to escape. Not that she wanted freedom. If she could, she would spend eternity in this little closet with Luke.
This wasn’t like a one-night stand or even a booty call. Luke wouldn’t fill just her need for an orgasm. She craved relief, but she didn’t want this to end.
She’d made a mistake.
Having Luke one more time wouldn’t fulfill some need for closure. The sound of his pants dropping filled the space between them.
Even knowing this was a mistake, she wanted him. Even though it would only widen the hole he’d left behind. Even as her body hummed from his touch, she wanted to cry.
She’d take what she could from him and he’d leave. That would be the end of it. She’d survived before and she’d survive this time.
“Are you okay?” He kissed her next to her ear as his fingers teased the edge of her underwear.
She sucked in a breath as his hand slipped under the fabric and touched her skin. Wrapping her hands behind his head, she pulled his mouth to hers. She was beyond being okay. She needed to shut down her brain and feel. Brand him the way he branded her.
He slid off her underwear. Her dress remained bunched up around her waist. His bare skin brushed against hers. Rough against soft. She heard him open a condom packet.
After a moment, his hands returned to her hips and his mouth returned to hers. He lifted her against the door and she wrapped her legs around his waist. In the darkness all she could do was feel. The real world was far away. The fact that they were in a closet at a wedding didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was with her now.
“Say my name,” he whispered against her ear. The darkness engulfed them. They could only feel and hear. But she knew it meant more to him. It was his way of claiming her, of making sure she knew it was him and not any number of guys.
She wanted to please him, needed him to know that it was only him. That it had always been only him.
“Luke.” Her world came unhinged as he entered her slowly. His hands held her hips. The tears she’d been holding back pressed forward. She repeated his name and muttered words she couldn’t be held accountable for as he moved within her, the only thing she could allow herself from him.
The tears edged over her eyes and trailed down her cheeks as her body rejoiced. It felt like coming home and like nothing she’d ever felt before. Dangerous and tempting. Something she never should have messed with. He lifted her higher and higher until she fell over the edge into bliss. He joined her with her name on his lips.
She choked back a sob and held him tighter, never wanting to let go.
Luke fought to steady his breathing in the dark room. Penny fit against his body perfectly. He wanted to continue to hold her, but the noise of the party beyond the door told him that they needed to get back. Her breath shuddered in and out. Lowering her gently to the floor, he stepped back. In the dark he couldn’t see her, but it sounded as if she was crying. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.”
Suddenly the dark that had wrapped them in an intimate fog pissed him off. He could tell she was lying but couldn’t prove it.
“Something’s wrong.” Luke felt the wall next to the door for a light switch.
“Nothing’s wrong.” She reached past him and the light blinked on. For a moment he was blind as his eyes adjusted to the brightness.
Penny had bent down and retrieved her underwear. “We need to get back out there.”
“Nothing’s wrong, my ass.” Luke pulled up his boxers and pants.
“What do you want me to say?” She turned her back to him as she fixed her clothing. “It was fantastic, wonderful, the best thing ever.”
“What’s gotten into you?” The lightness in his chest grew heavy. Trying to recapture the mood, he dropped a kiss on the nape of her neck.
Her shoulders tensed but then relaxed. When she turned around, the plastic smile was in place. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Whatever had made her upset, she wasn’t going to tell him.
“I’m fine. Really. We just need to get back.” Her flirtatious smile returned. “I had a really good time.”
She moved to open the door, but he grabbed the knob to hold it closed.
“Fine? You are far from fine. You can act all you want for the revolving door of men you have, but I know you.” The anger raging within was tempered by the orgasm he’d just had. After he’d left all those years ago, he’d heard about her escapades from classmates and folks around town. They had acted as if he should step in and do something. He didn’t tell them that he’d heard the rumors of her with other guys the entire time they’d dated.
She didn’t even bristle. She reached up to fix his collar as if they were discussing the weather. “Is that what you are worried about? That I’m comparing you to other lovers?”
“What I’m worried about is the fact that you don’t seem to feel anything anymore.” Luke brushed her hair away from her face. “Does anything matter to you?”
Her smile didn’t show even a hint of anger, which just made him more determined to break through that wall. To what end? He didn’t know.
“You’re leaving tomorrow?” Her brown eyes lifted to his.
He nodded, not really wanting to be reminded of that at this moment.
“Let’s go out to the party and afterward...” She held on to his shoulders as she slipped her feet into her shoes.
His imagination could do a lot of things with afterward.
She kissed his jaw. “Afterward.”
The background noise changed. It had been so subtle he hadn’t even noticed the music and laughing beyond the door, but the sudden lack of it gained his attention. He thought he heard someone call his name.
“Something’s happening.” Luke opened the door and found his way out from behind the curtain. The overhead lights were on and everyone was hovering near the dance floor.
Luke’s heart pounded against his chest as he saw someone lying on the floor beyond the crowd. His training kicked in as he rushed forward.
Breaking through the crowd, he froze when he saw Sam unconscious on the ground, his face ashen. Luke’s world lurched.
