In Love by Design (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) (34 page)

“The deal was you’d come back
this afternoon and do as I instructed.” Luke’s voice was calm, but I knew him well enough to understand that the less emotion he displayed the more he’s feeling underneath. I was getting the message that he’s very, very disappointed in me.

“
Mmm, no, actually the deal was that I promised to do what you said for the rest of the afternoon when I returned.” I smiled provokingly up at Torquemada from under my lashes. “Well, I didn’t return in the afternoon, now did I?”

According to my
research on the internet, it’s the general consensus that evening officially begins at 5 p.m., and we all know the internet was always right about these things. I found out quite a few more interesting things on the internet, but now was not the time to bring them up with my boyfriend.

Mr. Tricky’s
roving hand had wandered up to my breasts and this required my immediate and full attention. His fingers fondled a pink nipple and he pulled gently before releasing the hard point to travel to my other breast, proving he’s not into favoritism. This was in Luke’s favor, considering he’s low on brownie points with that despicable double-talk response on lying to me.

“Huh, I guess you’re right.” Luke squatted down to eye level on the side of the bed, both hands now fondling and caressing my breasts.
Rolling my head to gaze his way, I hold in my moans of pleasure. His eyes were lowered under dark lashes, but the expression on his face was regretful. “But it’s too bad you didn’t return in the afternoon.”

“Oh, why is that?”
Turning onto my side to face Luke where he kneels, I propped myself up on an elbow. Running a hand up his arm to cup and massage his neck, I managed to keep my voice light. This wasn’t easy because lying on my side in this position intensified the incredible pleasure of having my breasts touched.

“I wanted to spend time doing this,” Luke answered, sliding his arms around me to grip my ass and pull me to
wards him. His face nuzzled my breasts, the days’ worth of unshaven beard abrading my sensitive nipples, as he kissed first one and then the other. He looked straight at me with eyes darkened by desire. “And a lot of time doing this.”

He drew a tip into his mouth and sucked hard, his tongue
curling around the peak. I wrapped my arms around his head to hold him closer. I said his name on a long sigh, rubbing my breasts against his lips while images of lying back, spreading my legs, and begging to be fucked flashed through my mind.

Luke
was right; I don’t know the meaning of the word slow.

His licking and biting of my nipples before sucking them into his mouth
was driving me crazy and I tried to coax him onto the bed, but Luke resisted my pulling hands and soft entreaties.

True to his word, he spen
t hours, days, years, kissing and fondling me while his hands stayed still cupping my butt. He wasn’t touching anywhere else, no matter how I writhed, begged and then threatened in urgent whispers, trying to stay quiet.

Lifting his head, h
is smile was pure Genghis when he said, “And especially this.”

Not that Pam will ever
know, but I now get what she meant when she said, “HE SMELLED ME!” because Luke had pulled my legs over his shoulders, raised me up with hands under my ass, and buried his face between my thighs. Kissing and licking my cha-cha through the sheer lace, I was being feasted on. I had to bite down on the pillow to muffle my screams of ecstatic frustration when Luke pointed his tongue and penetrated me through the tights. The tight barrier only had so much give and was keeping me from climbing the stairway to Heaven. I was on the landing and wanted so badly to race up that last flight.

So
I pulled his hair and yelled, “Rip the tights!”

Luke
laughed against me and slowed down his gobbling me up until he was only taking a gentle sip here and a light lick there, but never quite where I needed it most. I was a quivering, throbbing puddle of need and shouting directions like a traffic cop during rush hour, complete with hand motions, all of which Luke ignored. He rubbed his arrogant nose against me and then kissed me right there. I was about to go up in flames and could feel the burn building. I tightened every muscle in my body in anticipation of the wonderful explosion and an alarm did go off, but it was not from inside me.

Dazed, I fe
lt myself being lowered onto the bed. Luke’s hands slipped out from under my ass, and more importantly, his lovely mouth that was just getting the hang of things, lifted from doing its sacred duty as a boyfriend.

“Is it seven already? Empress,”
I said, still in bewilderment, as I focused on Luke standing up by the bed. I saw him give my body one last, lingering look before turning away.

Luke’s smile
was more of a small smirk, as he pulled on his jeans. “That wasn’t your phone alarm, but mine. I only had fifteen minutes to spare, but I did want to come and say hello.”

Past the unfulfilled throbbing in my cha-cha
and the sight of my personal penis being zipped up carefully into his pants, I finally understood that Luke was leaving me not so high and definitely not dry.

Whipping the pillow from behind me across the room
, it harmlessly bounced off his crossed arms while I retorted, “Oh well, hello to you, too, Mr. Tricky, but I think you forgot the “come” part!”

Luke shout
ed his laughter.

I glare
d. “You’re ditching me tonight for my brother’s poker party. Thanks for choosing not to share that, too!”

He
was smiling while shrugging back into his shirt, slowly buttoning the front. His drawl was lightly mocking. “Actually, I was supplying the beer for your brother’s poker party with no intentions of playing.” He raised a black brow in my direction and added pointedly, “Until you ditched me this afternoon and didn’t come home.”

Sitting up on my knees on the bed and
snatching another pillow, I hugged it to my chest and replied sweetly, “No, I didn’t. It’s not ditching, if I chose to not explain why I wouldn’t be home in the afternoon to follow your instructions.”

Green eyes glinting,
Luke saluted me with a jaunty wave and a dry, “Touché!” He opened the door, but paused. “Text me, and have a fun evening with Jazy and Tre.”

I stare
d blankly at the closed door for one second wondering what just happened before I growled, “Grr…Anna told him!”

J
umping up and flinging the door open, I saw Luke rounding the corner and I called out, “Thanks for stopping by to say hello, but I can take it from here! Good luck conning everyone out of their money tonight!” I heard his deep laughter and yelled, “Yes, I’ll be with Jazy and Tre J, so don’t expect me to text you all night!”

I slam
med the door shut with all my puny upper body strength and swan dived onto the bed to bury my face in the pillows, cursing up a storm.

‘My, that went well,’
commented the mean mommy voice snidely. ‘
The last part was especially edifying.’

‘
Did you see the size of that erection when he left? Isn’t a man with such iron control absolutely to die for?’
purred the sex kitten voice.

“No, but I wouldn’t mind killing him!” I muttered,
flipping onto my back.

It took me a minute to get m
y raging lust under control and another two for my rueful disgust to simmer down that I needed to do so. It wasn’t fun being left alone on the altar of sacrifice, but knowing he walked away unhinged, too, went a long way to bringing back my sunny good nature. I got off the bed, pinned up my hair, and took a quick, cold shower.

Strategically reapplying coconut oil, I didn’t think
much more about Luke because with the perspective of ten minutes, I now considered this last skirmish a draw. He didn’t tell me the truth about what was on his mind and I didn’t come back this afternoon. He wasn’t going to ditch me and play cards, but I had made plans for tonight anyway. He showed me what I missed, and I didn’t miss seeing his impressive wood.

D
ressing in jeans, a black shirt, and running shoes, I firmly directed my mind towards my plan for the Night of the Ninjas. I was having a good hair day—it was hanging perfectly straight to almost my waist and shiny, but it’s too distinctive. I decided to do a long braid and wrapped it around my head shield-maiden style. Opening Luke’s double closet doors, I found a purple Minnesota Vikings ball cap sitting on a shelf with several other team hats. I borrowed it for part of my disguise. I also borrowed a small duffle bag to pack a few items for tonight.

His closet
was neatly organized by category and I rubbed the wool silk fabric of a black sports coat. Luke in black leather will always be a sight to behold, but dressed up in a suit? With wire rimmed glasses maybe?

‘Holy Fireballs!’

I hung up my dress for Saturday night in Luke’s closet, and then I got out of that bedroom den of iniquity before I started doing bad things that could make a girl go blind.

I’
d been curious what Luke said to keep Anna quiet for this long. I’d expected her to be knocking on the bedroom door the minute she heard Luke leave the house. I went in search of her.

Carrying my purse
, the small duffle bag, and a lightweight Nano Puff jacket from Patagonia, my latest find in the quest to find a winter coat that keeps me warm without making me feel swaddled, I entered the kitchen through the dining room. There was no Anna in the kitchen, so I set my stuff down. I looked back through the dining room and into the dark living room. This was basically one big area separated into two rooms by a wide archway. I called out her name and got no response.

I may have missed that
Anna was in the bathroom. Walking back into the main hall, I glanced towards the back entry and noticed the basement security door was standing ajar.

Intrigued, I peek
ed around the opened door to see the light was on at the bottom of the steep stairway. Going cautiously down the stairs, I heard muffled laughter and the tension left my shoulders. Luke had brought Anna down into the Bat Cave.

“
Hello, hello wherever you are! Who’s having fun down here without me?” I called out, entering the large room.

I immediately s
aw Anna sitting alone at the desk under the bank of security screens and watching the gigantic computer monitor. I heard a dog howling faintly, and Anna was hysterically laughing her ass off with tears streaming down her face. She looked back over her shoulder at me and then urgently motioned me forward, as she touched the screen in some command. Anna’s cheeks were apple red from laughing and her eyes were shining with happy tears.

She
shot me an arch look. “Luke said he needed some time to straighten you out and set me up down here. How cool is this room?” She scoffed, but was smiling when she said, “I told you that Luke does some sort of secret agent stuff, but as usual, would you listen to your bestie?” She pulled a Kleenex from a box at her elbow and dabbed at her streaming eyes. She was distracted from her complaints by the screen. “Oh Jesus, will you look at that? You guys could make a mint if these were out on YouTube. I have been watching this video over and over again. I can’t decide which one is funnier; this one of you howling like a wild animal in heat, or the one where you guys are talking on the front porch and Svettie slaps you.” She added staunchly, “That bitch!” Then she rather ruined the effect of her loyalty by laughing uproariously again. “My God, the look on your face is priceless!” Her hand paddled the desk and she gasped out over her mirth, “And that crazy get up you’re wearing! What was that all about?”

“I
’m so glad Super Agent Luke was kind enough to keep you entertained with our home video collection,” I murmured dryly, but then snorted in spite of myself when I saw the action on the monitor. This stumpy little brown thing in a long coat and huge boots was attacking snowdrifts like an angry, evil munchkin. I watched in appalled fascination to see this character then throw their arms up to the sky, throw their head back, and howl plaintively loud again on the video.

The
frightening howl lasts for a good thirty seconds and I shuddered while remarking, “Wow, and to think Luke believes he can set that shit straight!”

Anna
dissolved into laughing, hiccupping tears again while nodding enthusiastically. She can’t talk yet but managed to utter, “Right!”

I sh
ook my head and laughed, too. “I hate to tear you away from your cartoons, but we’ve got more important things to do.”

“Wait! We have to watch this
other one before we go,” Anna insisted, sitting up and touching the screen again.

The monitor
was now showing the empty front porch of the house. Then that stumpy little brown thing appeared in the frame and was reaching up to ring the doorbell. The huge boots were planted far apart and the body was swaying back and forth, but there seemed to be a helmet pulled low over the evil munchkin’s face and only the moving lips could be seen. Laughing almost as loudly as Anna now, I had to agree when she screamed out that I looked like a bumbling tard. I defended myself and explained that I was singing while waiting for the door to be answered.