Awakening (16 page)

Monday morning I left Eva sleeping in my room, grabbed my overnight bag and headed to the kitchen.

"Morning sis!" Carson said, while leaning against the counter, drinking coffee.

"Shit! You scared me!" I dropped my bag and walked over to give him a hug. "You look really nice for your big first day!" I said, taking in his crisp black pants and bright blue button down. "You smell good too, trying to impress somebody?"

"Nah, you know that's not how I roll. Just trying to look professional." He smiled, taking me into his arms. "You want to carpool?" He asked, returning my hug.

"I can't. I'm going back to Bluffton after work."

I grabbed a travel coffee mug from the cabinet and poured myself a cup.

"Mom still have a lot left to do?"

"Well, she has a couple rooms left. I think another week or so and she should have most of it wrapped up."

"Sounds good," he said as I crossed to the fridge to put some milk in my coffee.

"Listen, Eva's in my room. She's going to be staying here for a few days. Can you give her a lift to pick up her car from Anne Marie's when you get home tonight?"

Carson cocked his head in my direction. He used to have a little crush on Eva, but she could never stay put for long, and that never seemed to matter to Carson before that girl disappeared on him. He kept thinking she would walk back into his life one day. I guess I couldn't blame him, considering my current situation.

"I'll take care of it," he smirked.

"Thanks. Oh! And Wednesday night Eva and I are going out for drinks. You want to tag along?"

"I'll be there. Just text me the details."

"Sounds good. See you at the office!" I snapped the lid on my coffee mug, grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

I called Luke on my way to the office to tell him I'd be heading to Bluffton around 6:30. I wanted to hit the gym beforehand because the 4th of July holiday was coming up this week and I wanted to feel free to eat and drink whatever I wanted.

When I finally pulled up to his house, it was close to eight. I had gotten sidetracked at the office by Louise. Louise, or Lou as we affectionately called her, was a couple years younger than me and had just started working in accounting a few months back. She was really cool, but was new to the area and seemed kind of a homebody, so I had kind of taken her under my wing. I didn't have the heart to tell her I had somewhere to be, so I invited her to come out with Eva and me on Wednesday to finish our conversation. That seemed to satisfy her, but it was still almost six before I left the office.

I knocked on Luke's door, but he didn't answer, so I opened it and went inside. I could hear music coming from the study, so I peeked in the door. He was hunched over his drafting table with a serious look on his face. The light from the overhead lamp made his skin appear golden, and a loose tendril of hair hung in his face, begging me to touch it.

"Hey," I said, walking over to him. "I'm here." As he turned to look at me I reached up and brushed the errant hair back into place.

His face softened
when he looked at me. "Hey you, how was your day?" He snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me into his chest.

"It was good. Don't get too close though, I could use a shower. How was your day?"

He laughed. "Better now that you're here. Let me show you where the bedroom is. Then I'll make us something to eat and tell you about it."

He lead me to the
master bedroom at the end of the upstairs hallway. It looked like he had removed the wall between two rooms in order to create more space. His king size four poster bed stood to the right of the doorway, facing a wall of windows that overlooked the backyard and the river. There was a sitting area near a fireplace, and more built in book shelves, almost identical to the ones in the living room. The decor was very masculine, but again calming, with shades of navy and beige.

"I put a towel on the bathroom sink for you. I'll see you in a little while." I thanked him as he kissed my head
, and closed the door behind himself.

After I was showered and dressed in some cropped yoga pants and an off the shoulder tee with a sports bra, I headed downstairs to the kitchen. Luke was setting plates at the bar and looked up when I came in.

"Feel better?" He asked, and smiled as I melted inside. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen.

"Much! What's for dinner?" I asked, climbing onto one of the bar stools.

"Grilled ham and cheese. I meant to get by the grocery store today, but didn't have time," he smiled sheepishly.

"Grilled cheese is my favorite!" I smiled at him as he placed a sandwich, oozing with cheese on my plate and cut it into squares.

"Shandy?" He asked waving his bottle at me.

"I'd love one."

As he opened the bottle and placed it in front of me, I thought about how comfortable this was. I didn't feel tense or worried about what he thought was going to happen between us later, I just felt at peace. It was overwhelming in a sense, because I hadn't felt this carefree in a long time. Since before Mark died. I knew most of it had to do with Luke allowing me to share my feelings about Mark with him, and him still accepting that as part of who I was. I smiled to myself about how much things had changed over the last couple of weeks.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked me, coming to sit next to me.

"I was just thinking," I said, trying to change the subject. "So, what are your plans for Independence Day?"

"I'm not sure yet," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "Usually Nick and my parents come over and we barbeque. Then we watch the fireworks from the back deck. I haven't heard from my parents, but Ben will probably be here since he's moved back. Do you want to join us?"

"I'm sure that means Anne Marie will be here too. I was planning to spend the night in Savannah on Wednesday since I'm supposed to go out with Eva. I'll probably just drive back up Thursday morning, if that's okay. I can get here early enough to help you get everything set up."

"Actually, I have to go into Savannah to meet that client on Wednesday, so why don't I just drop you at your office, and then I'll meet you at the bar later and we can ride back together?"

"Ooh, yeah, that sounds like a great plan!"

He smiled, before wiping his hands down his face. "I apologize, but I have to get back to my sketches. I'm having a hard time working on this one piece and I need it to be ready for Wednesday. It's a big deal, and if I get this client, it could open a lot of doors for me."

He picked up our plates and placed them in the sink before kissing me on the forehead and heading back into his office. I slid off my bar stool and followed behind him, grabbing my novel out of my purse on the way.

"Do you mind if I sit in here while you work?" I asked, pointing at the
overstuffed chair in the corner.

"Go for it," he said. "What are you reading?"

Oh god. Now he was going to want to read my steamy romance novel.

"You've probably never heard of it," I deflected.

He walked over to me, trying to snatch it out of my hand. I side-stepped him, putting the chair between us.

"Let me see it," he laughed.

"No way!"

"Caroline..." He said
, smiling at me and warning me at the same time.

He moved to his left and I moved to mine, then he moved the opposite direction and I did too. Before I knew it he jumped into the chair, grabbing the book out of my hand.

"Luke, stop it!" I laughed, trying and failing to snatch it back.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me around to the chair, seating me in it. Then he spread my legs and sat between them
, facing away from me, but holding me hostage in the chair.

"Let's see...
Unexpected
, by Amy Marie." He flipped to my bookmark and started reading aloud. "'With that grin you look like the big bad wolf hunting Little Red Riding Hood. What a big mouth you have grandma, I say, giggling at my little joke. The better to eat you with, my dear, he whispers suggestively.'"

Luke looked over his shoulder at me. "Sounds kinky," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"What? It's really good! You can't just open it in the middle and start reading it, you have to read it from the beginning!" I said.

"Okay, then what's it about if not sex?"

"Get off of me!" I laughed.

He stood, grabbing and unfastening his belt. "You want me to show you my big bad wolf?"

"Oh my god!" I covered my face.

"Do you want to huff and puff and blow my house down?"

"That's not even the same story!" I said, laughing and hitting him with the book.

"It's still the big bad wolf though, right?"

"Go finish your work before you get too distracted." I winked at him.

"Fine, but after I'm done, you're mine," he said wickedly, making my body flush
, as he walked back to his drafting table.

As I settled back into the chair, I watched him sketch and erase, move the templates around, try again, sketch and erase some more. He seemed frustrated, so I pulled my knees up underneath me and opened my book, trying not to make any noise. After some time had passed I looked up to see him throw his pencil.

"Dammit!" He shouted, making me jump. "I can't get this damn thing right."

"Should we go to bed and you can look at it again in the morning?"

He rolled his head back trying to relieve some tension, and I immediately made my way over to him, placing my hands on his shoulders and kneading his muscles.

"I'm sorry you're having a tough time," I said sympathetically.

"It's just this one detail. They have this stupid water feature that they brought back from overseas and they want to incorporate it into the design. Every time I sketch it, I feel like it doesn't fit in with the layout of the building."

"Can I see?"

He rolled his stool back as I walked around to stand between his legs with my back to him. I scanned his rendering as he showed me a picture of the water feature.

"What if you do an outdoor pond, maybe a Koi pond? Over here," I said, pointing off to the side of the building. "Then you could put the water feature as the centerpiece, and it would be showcased, but it wouldn't be right in the front, distracting from the look and feel of the building."

He looked at his drawing for a moment, and then squeezed my hip. "You are amazing, Caroline. It's perfect!" He licked my ear, and then ran his hands underneath my shirt and across my stomach, sending shivers down my spine.

"It's nothing more than a fresh set of eyes," I replied, turning in his arms.

"Let's go to bed," he said, turning off the lamp and pulling me out of the room.

My pulse was racing and my mind was
in overdrive thinking about being in his big bed with him. I kept thinking back to our night in the cabin and how incredible he made me feel. How my body reacted to his nearness. I felt the familiar ache building in my belly and I knew if he initiated anything with me tonight, I wasn't going to stop him.

I pulled off my yoga pants and tee shirt, leaving my sports bra and panties on, and crawled between his sheets. I watched from my spot on the bed as he pulled off his shirt, pants, and boxer briefs, revealing his toned and tanned body. I gaped at him, my mouth watering as I watched him walk towards me and my skin tingled under his gaze.

He climbed onto the bed on his knees, looking directly at me like he was a lion and I was his prey. I swallowed audibly, and tried to calm my racing pulse.
Just breathe!

He reached to pull off my sports bra, throwing it on the floor. "Lie back," he commanded, making my heart skip a beat.

He pulled the covers off of me and grabbed the edges of my panties, pulling them down my legs and tossing them on the floor too.

"Which side do you sleep on?" I asked him, trying not to sound nervous.

"Usually I sleep in the middle, but for you, I'll share."

He rolled towards me and pulled my back into him, spooning me. His arm was around my waist and he was rubbing his thumb across my lower stomach. I shivered and he squeezed me closer. I could feel his erection against my backside and I clench
ed my legs together to squelch some of the tension I was feeling.

His hand moved between my legs, stroking through my folds as I whimpered.

"Always so ready," he whispered.

"Only for you," I said, squirming against him.

"Stop moving," he ground out, withdrawing his hand to hold my hip steady.

"You don't
want to have sex?" I asked.

"Of course I do. I always want you, but you made it clear you weren't ready and I'm trying to respect your decision. I'm just glad I get to hold you in my arms all night. Next time I make love to you, it's going to be because you want it and can't go another minute without feeling me inside you."

My breath caught in my throat.
Make love.
"I thought that's why you wanted me here Luke."