Loose Ends (Magnolia Series Book 1) (6 page)

“Luke?” Her voice was full of question and he snapped his gaze back to her face.

“Sorry, I was…” His sentence trailed off, leaving him a bit embarrassed that he’d been caught giving her the once over. What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t become embarrassed over things. He was a tough guy, a
man’s man
. A kick ass and take names kind of guy. Not a total pussy who melted when he saw a silky, gorgeous set of legs.

“Checking me out?” Ava gave a half smile and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. 

“You caught me.” He looked past her and into the house. “May I come in?” Luke lifted his chin and motioned behind her. 

“Oh, yeah. Where are my manners?” She stepped aside, giving him a good look at her bare feet. Pink. How did he know that Ava would be a pink nail polish kind of woman? “Brandi and I were just doing some painting,” Ava explained with nervousness in her voice.

Luke stopped and turned to face her. He lifted his fingers to a lock of hair in her messy bun. “I can tell. You have some white paint in your hair.” He rubbed her silky hair between the pads of his thumb and forefinger.

She whispered, “It’s not white, it’s called ‘blissfully serene’.” Her eyes connected with his, pupils dilating
instantly.

Luke couldn’t help but step closer. He leaned his face down to hers. “Then you have ‘blissfully serene’ in your hair.”

“Whoa! Don’t mind me!” Brandi came around the corner and broke the spell that’d woven between him and Ava. “Should I get out of here? Do you guys need some private time?” She chuckled.

Ava’s cheeks filled with pink as she stepped back from Luke. “No, you can stay.”

“Are you sure? Looks like the two of you were putting off some major steam there. I can get the hell out of here and let you burn this place down.”

“Stay,” Luke and Ava blurted out at the same time.

He couldn’t be trusted if he was left alone with her. She was becoming the best kind of temptation and he wasn’t sure he could ignore it for too much longer. It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ something would happen between them, but ‘when.’

“We were just finishing up for the night. You could stay and have a glass of tea with us. Or I have a few beers in the fridge,” Ava offered.

“Sure, that sounds great. I’ll have a beer.”

He watched Ava’s backside as she stepped in front of him and disappeared into the kitchen.

“So, how’re you enjoying life here in Biloxi?” Brandi asked.

“It’s fine.” He wasn’t really into deep conversations. His life was kept private for a reason. This chick didn’t need to know when he took a piss or scratched his balls.

“Here you go.” Ava reappeared and handed him a longneck with the cap already gone.

He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long pull from the frothy brew. “Thanks,” he said as he lowered the brown glass bottle.

“We can go sit out on the deck, there’re a couple chairs out there.” Ava pointed to a set of sliding glass doors through the living room.

“Sounds good.” Luke followed her.

“Ava, I’m going to take off. I’ve got work early in the morning.” Brandi grabbed her purse and went to the front door.

The look of panic on Ava’s beautiful face was almost comical. She didn’t want to be left alone with him any more than he wanted a vasectomy with a rusty pair of hedge trimmers.

“Are you sure?” Ava pinned her friend with a ‘please don’t leave me’
stare.

“Yeah, the boss wants me there early. I’ll come by the salon and check on you around lunch time though.” Brandi quickly made her escape and shut the door loudly behind her.

“I should probably go, too.” Luke placed his beer on the lone end table in the room and turned to leave.

“You don’t have to leave, Luke. Stay. Drink your beer.” She sounded so sweet. But he knew better. Women like her weren’t all sugar and spice. They were dangerous.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll hang out for a bit.” Against his better judgement Luke grabbed his bottle and followed her through the door and onto the deck.

The night view was spectacular. The moon was full and glowing in the sky, casting a luminous shadow on the lapping waves of the gulf just beyond her beach house. The sand right at the shoreline wasn’t too visible except for the darkening the salty waves caused as they lapped up and soaked the sandy grains. Even he could appreciate a view like this. “Nice place,” he commented and then took another drink to cool the thoughts racing through his head. They mainly included bending Ava over the wooden railing, jerking her tiny shorts down her legs, and burying his cock inside her heat. The body part in question twitched with excitement at his lascivious thoughts.
Down boy,
he thought at the appendage.

“I love it here. The sound of the waves lapping on the shore makes me feel like things might be alright for once in my life.” Ava stepped forward, bracing her elbows on the railing and leaning over. The action made her tank ride up just enough that Luke could see a sliver of midriff peeking out, beckoning him to trace a finger across the smooth expanse of her skin. “It’s not that I always
wanted
to live on the beach, but I think it suits me just fine.” She turned toward him and he about lost it. The way the night air was lifting the loose hair around her face, the halo of light coming from the doors that were just behind her and the genuine smile on her face was enough to drive any man to lustful thoughts.

“It’s good you like it.” His mouth and brain weren’t on the same page as the dumb-as-shit comment came out. He didn’t want to do any talking right now; he wanted to do more feeling than anything. Feeling her writhe as he teased her wet center with his mouth, feeling her body start to slip toward completion as he plunged his fingers inside her center and feeling her buck wildly as he let her ride him with abandon. Yeah, that sounded better than this idle chitchat they had going on.

“I guess it is.” She smiled and he felt his resolve slipping.

“I’m gonna get going, thanks for the beer.” He stepped through the glass door and made a b-line for the front door.

“Hey, Luke?”

Damn, why did she have to say anything? Couldn’t she just let him slip out so he could go home and relieve the massive ache residing in his pants? “Yeah?” his voice came out pained.

“Why did you come by?” Her eyes searched his.

He wanted to tell her the truth but he couldn’t. “Just wanted to say hi.” He shrugged while he lied.

“Oh, okay. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you Friday for our date.” She threw him a heart-stopping smile.

“If not before then. Goodnight, Ava.”

“Goodnight, Luke. Sweet dreams.”

He hightailed it out the door and didn’t look back. When was the last time someone told him ‘sweet dreams’? How about never. Not even his piece-of-shit mother whispered saccharine words like that to him at bedtime. Hell, the good-for-nothing bitch wasn’t around half the time to say anything at all.
Sweet dreams
. No, he wouldn’t be having sweet dreams tonight. They would be ones filled with a thousand and one ways he could make Ava scream his name.

When he made it to his truck, Luke hopped inside and grabbed the listening device from his console. He didn’t visit Ava to say ‘hi.’ He was there to plant a bug in her house. If he was supposed to keep an eye on her, he needed to know who she was talking to and when. He set the device on the channel that would pick up the bug he’d placed under the lone end table. He cranked up the volume to make sure everything was placed correctly. What he heard shocked the hell out of him.

“Damn you, Luke Daughtry. If you’d have just stuck around and taken care of this ache.” Ava’s voice came out a little scratchy through the device but Luke knew he didn’t hear her wrong. She sure as hell said that. It took every bit of strength he had not to fling open the door of his truck, bang on her door and demand that she let him take care of her ache. Deciding it was best to just walk away, he started the engine and drove off. His thoughts began to race as he headed home.
I wonder if she’ll slide her slim fingers between her legs tonight and call out my name when she comes?
He knew for damn sure he’d be doing that very same thing in about ten minutes when he arrived home. He couldn’t wait to hear what Ava’s name sounded like as he felt the sensations of orgasm creeping up his spine.

Chapte
r
Fiv
e

The week seemed to creep
by as Ava did her best to control the excitement for her impending date with Luke. She didn’t know what to expect, but the sparks that’d flown during their brief time together on her deck while overlooking the ocean were a pretty good indication of things to come. Did she want that? Did she need someone like him to waltz in and take her body by storm? She didn’t
need
it but she sure as hell
wanted
it. It’d been way too long in the naughty department of her life. Even when she was in a relationship with her now ex, she hadn’t felt the same pull as she did when Luke was in the same room.

Hell, he didn’t even have to be in the same room for her breasts to become tender and her lace panties to be permeated with moisture. One thought about how virile and fit he was had her clenching her jaw trying to stave off the chills that racked her spine. It was inevitable that something explosive would happen between them; she was even looking forward to it. But it couldn’t go any further than purely physical. It was for his own good. Getting emotionally attached wasn’t an option. He would be the one plowed over when it all went south. And she had no doubts that it
would
go south. It was only a matter of time before she was located and had to skip town again. Luke would be left wondering what the hell had happened when it all went down. She couldn’t do that to him. She wouldn’t crush him and break his heart like that. She’d experienced enough broken hearts to fill up the Gulf of Mexico. Adding his to it wasn’t on her short list of fun things to do with her life.

Just as Ava swept up the hair from her last client of the day, Luke strolled through the door looking more than sexy in a solid black t-shirt. His jeans were worn on the front of the thighs but not in a dingy sort of way. They looked soft to the touch and she had to stop herself from
thinking about slipping to her knees, popping the button open and reaching in to see what he’d feel like in her hands.

“Need any help?” He once again caught her eye-fucking him. His smile told her as much.

“You’re early.” She emptied the handled dustpan into the trash can and reached around to untie her stylist apron.

“Here, let me help you. You’ve managed to get a knot in this thing.” He grabbed the ties of the apron and began to work methodically behind her back. She could feel his warm breath moving her hair ever-so-slightly as he tried to undo the mess she’d created.

“Thank you,” her voice came out in a lustful whisper.

“No problem,” his was equally as breathy.

It was torture having his hands so close and not touching what she really wanted them on. Each time he’d try to maneuver the knot from its binding, he’d unintentionally brush a knuckle across the small of her back. She sucked in a sharp breath when it felt like at one point his actions were deliberate.  “Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be.” He did it again just to hear her intake a breath once more.

He leaned closer to her ear. “Am I hurting you?”

“Not at all. It feels…nice.”

“When I do this?” He began to run a finger from the middle of her spine to the indent right above the waist band of her jeans.

“Yes.”

“What about this?” His hands dropped the ties to her apron and slid to her hips, the heat of his palms seeping through her clothing and causing sensations that she’d never dared to feel before.

“That, too.” She tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes.

“Can I ask you something, Ava?” His voice was now rough and gravelly. Clearly he was feeling the same things that were coursing through her bone marrow.

“Uh huh.” She nodded slightly and waited for his question.

“What would you do if I kissed you right now?” His lips—just centimeters from her ear—felt warm and ready.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. Being kissed never really got her engine running. It was just something that led the good part—sex. She could take it or leave it.

“I’m willing to bet if I put my lips on yours, you’ll go soft all over and your panties will be soaked.” His fingers bit into her hips a fraction more.

“And what if that
doesn’t
happen?” She knew better than to challenge him, but she couldn’t help it. Luke wanted to play and she wanted to see how far she could push him.

“I guess we won’t know unless I kiss you, now will we?”

Kissing was the ultimate intimate act. Sure, sex was pretty damn personal, but for someone to bestow a kiss on you meant they were willing to go further than anyone else. Did she want that?

Logic was tossed out the window when she heard herself say, “Then fucking kiss me.”

“Fuck, yeah.” Luke didn’t even bother to turn her around. His hands left her hips and found their way to her neck. He grabbed her jaw with a little more force than she’d expected but it didn’t matter, it felt right.

If she’d thought that kissing was only a precursor to sex, she’d been dead wrong. The moment Luke’s lips touched hers, she was done for. He didn’t go slow either. There was an urgency with which he kissed her that relayed the same feelings she’d been brimming with ever since she’d met him. He’d also been one hundred percent right. Her entire body went soft and melted into his like a candle that’d been left in the scorching July sunlight. Low moans built in her throat as she pushed herself back into him, feeling how he was affected by what was going on. His erection pressed into her bottom and as if it had a mind of its own, it began to grind against him, pulling moans from his throat as well. He broke away suddenly and stepped back leaving her cold and bereft.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to do that.” She crossed her arms over her sensitive breasts as she apologized.

“Yes, you did, Ava.”

“Luke, please,” She didn’t know why she was begging. She needed something and he held the key to giving it to her.

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Don’t play with fire if you don’t want to get burned, Ava.”

“I’m not afraid of a little fire.” She issued another challenge.

“This isn’t your typical
little
fire. This one will torch you and turn you into a pile of ash,” he taunted.

“Maybe I
want
to be burned.”

“Maybe I
want
to burn you. But this isn’t a good idea.” He shook his head. An internal battle raged behind his eyes.

Ava felt deflated. He obviously didn’t want her as much as he’d let on. Sure she’d given him an impressive hard-on, but most men would acquire one of those if a slight breeze blew their junk in the right direction. She stepped away, trying not to be hurt by his rejection. “If you don’t want me, I understand. I’m sorry I wasted your time.” The tell-tale burn of tears formed at the back of her eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep them from spilling out and causing her more shame and humiliation.

***

Luke studied Ava’s back as she turned away from him. Did she really think he didn’t want her? Wasn’t the fact that his dick was hard enough to cut glass show her that he was more than interested in what she was offering up on a silver platter? He wasn’t done with her by a longshot.

Stalking toward her, he pushed her against the wall just a few inches away. The short gasp that left her lips was music to his ears. Grabbing both of her wrists he lifted them above her head and pinned them against the wall in one of his hands. He then pushed his obvious attraction against the lush curve of her ass. “Does that feel like I don’t want you?” She didn’t answer him. “Does it, Ava?” he asked in a more forceful tone.

“No, but…”

“But what? Do you think my cock gets this hard over someone I don’t want?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Well, it doesn’t, sweetheart. I’m trying to go slow here, but you’re testing my ability to even think straight.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Do you know what it’s like to see you then have to go home and stroke my cock to the mere thought of you? Do you, Ava?”

She was silent for a few seconds and then answered, “Yes, I do.”

Luke chuckled. “When I left your house the other night, did you lie in bed and touch yourself?” She nodded. “Did you slide your hands in your pretty little panties and feel how wet you were?”

“Yes,” Ava hissed.

“How wet did the thought of me make you?”

“Luke…”

“Tell me. I want to know if you were so fucking wet that you couldn’t help but fuck yourself with your own fingers.”

“I did, damn you!”

“Did you scream my name when your pussy clenched around them?” Another nod. “You’re not the only one. I went home and stroked my cock to the thought of you. When I came—and believe me, it was the hardest I’ve come in a
very
long time—I fucking roared your name, Ava.”

“Oh, God,” she moaned.

“So see? I want you, and make no mistake, I will have you eventually. But for now, we need to cool it.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

He released her shaking arms and backed away, his jeans fitting more snuggly than they had when he’d dressed earlier.

***

Ava was shell-shocked by the way Luke had reacted to her. His tight grip on her wrists should’ve pissed her off and made her feel weak, but it had the opposite effect. She felt safe and strong when he pressed her against the wall of her salon. Good thing there weren’t any locals strolling by. They’d have gotten one hell of a show through the large plate glass windows at the front of her shop. Now she was wondering if by ‘cool it’ he meant they weren’t headed out on a date for the evening. She’d understand if that was the case. She wouldn’t be happy, but maybe he didn’t want to do this whole thing after all. Possibly he thought it was too damn messy; guys typically didn’t do messy. She was left in limbo trying to read his expressions.

“I’m guessing the date for tonight is off?” She finally decided to jump on the elephant in the room and give its ass a hearty slap.

“We’re still going out tonight.”

“I didn’t know, since…the whole…the thing...happened.” Ava stumbled over her words trying to find the right thing to say, instead sounding like a toddler with a speech impediment. Now the elephant was trotting
around laughing hysterically at her.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to take you out. I just think this whole attraction thing needs to cool off.” He looked like it physically hurt him to say that. A little spark of hope bloomed inside Ava when she saw his regret.

“I agree. I don’t want to complicate things too much.”

“Yeah, that.” He ran a hand across his jaw as if he were thinking hard. “Anyway, do you need help closing up here?”

“Um, no. I need to turn off the lights and lock the back door. We can go out the front.” She walked to the back of the shop, throwing open the breaker box and began flipping the switches that controlled the interior lights. The back door was already locked up and the heavy metal bar placed across it, but she made sure to double check just in case. She didn’t want any surprises while she was working. “All done. Should I leave my car here and ride with you?”

“Wouldn’t be much of a date if I asked you to follow me somewhere,” he snorted.

“I suppose not. Alright then, I’m ready if you are.” Ava motioned to the door and followed Luke out. She stuck the thick metal key in the industrial lock and waited until she heard the grating
click
, signifying it was locked. She yanked on the handle just to be sure.

“Ready? I’m parked across the street.” Luke pointed to a newer model Chevy pickup truck.

Ava nodded and let him lead the way. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d have the money for a $50,000 truck and this vehicle had to cost
at least
that much. It wasn’t as if she was judging him, but as far as she knew most self-employed contractors didn’t make a ton of cash. Maybe she was wrong, though. Luke waited by the passenger door of the extended cab as she walked to him. Like a southern gentleman, he opened the door and offered her his hand for assistance climbing in. This guy was a walking contradiction. One minute he was gruff and a bit forceful and the next he was practically laying his jacket down over a puddle so she didn’t get her glass slippers muddy. Ava wasn’t sure
what
to think of Luke Daughtry at this point.