Loose Ends (Magnolia Series Book 1) (8 page)

“Fucking gorgeous,” Luke said in an almost pained tone.

“Touch me,” Ava breathed as she reached around her back and undid the clasp to her lingerie. She let the straps slide down her arms and then removed the garment
completely.

Luke could only hold his breath and stare at the beauty before him. He’d seen breasts before but Ava’s were impeccable in every way. Firm and rounded with dusty pink nipples that seemed to be reaching for him. He had to act. Lifting a hand he softly touched one — Ava sucking in a breath as he issued light touches to one and then the other.

“You don’t have to be gentle.” She looked him in the eyes.

Those were the words that unleashed his inner beast. Fingers that had so gently explored now took to pinching and flicking the buds causing Ava to fill the night air with her breathy moans.

“I bet you could come just from this.” Luke pinched and twisted, loving how her back arched to offer him more. “Maybe if I added this.” His other hand went down to stroke her mound through her jeans.

“Yes,” she hissed, pushing her lower half into his hand.

Luke watched as her eyes rolled back and then closed. She was already on the brink and that made his cock stand up and take notice. He’d give her this release but then it would be time to feel her come apart on him. He tilted his head down and asked in her ear, “Are your panties soaked?” Ava again nodded her answer. “I know they are; I can feel how hot and wet you are through your jeans.”

“Please…” Ava begged.

He pressed harder on her center and twisted one nipple to the sounds of her gasps. “Come for me, sweetheart. Flood those panties with wetness for me,” Luke grunted.

“I’m so close.” Her breathing accelerated, showing Luke
just
how close she was.

“Can’t wait to have my cock inside you when you come. I bet it feels like heaven. All hot and wet. I’m going to bury myself so deep in you, you’ll feel it tomorrow.”

“I’m coming!” Ava shouted and he pressed more firmly on her pussy. Her cries permeated the air around them; Luke feeling his own need ratcheting up a thousand notches.

“That’s it, rub yourself on my hand,” Luke felt her hips move quickly as she worked herself through the orgasm. “Fuck, you’re soaking my hand through your jeans.” He was desperate. He needed to be inside her worse than he needed his next gulp of air. Nothing was sexier than a woman in the throes of release. He’d seen plenty of it—but Ava outshined all of them. It was like watching pure magic unfold right before his eyes.

Her eyes snapped open and a blush crept over the apples of her cheeks when she was fully sated. Was she
embarrassed
? “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Why was she apologizing? “What in the hell are you sorry for?” Luke was confused.

“I just…I think…I don’t know,” she huffed.

“Sweetheart, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” Luke was still in awe of the way she looked when she came apart for him.

“Really?” Ava was still unsure of herself.

He stepped closer—if that was even humanly possible. “I don’t know what sort of man you’ve had in the past, but if he didn’t think that was amazing, he’s a fucking douche bag.”

Even though it was dark outside he could tell Ava was smiling at his comment. What sort of man wouldn’t think that was spectacular? He sure as shit did. But Ava still didn’t look convinced. He’d show her.

“Turn around,” Luke ordered. She obliged. When she was faced away, he reached around her and unsnapped the button on the denim that covered way too much for his liking. The zipper was next, rasping down causing an echo of the grating metal around them. Ava began to shiver. He stopped for a moment. “Are you cold?”

“No, your hand…it feels so good.”

Luke didn’t reply. He answered her by hooking his fingers in the waistband of her jeans and dragging them down her muscular legs. On the way back up to her sweet spot he caressed her smooth stems, hearing her moan her approval. “Can’t wait to touch you,” he sounded desperate even to himself.

“I
want
you to touch me.”

So he did. He cupped her soaked flesh from behind and felt her need coating his hand. “Fuck,” Luke bit out.

She was so damn ready for him. But he wanted to take this slow. Getting inside her and blowing his load in less than thirty seconds wasn’t how he wanted to do this. So he decided to toy with her for his own sanity. One finger traced the wet seam of her lips as he moved it back and forth, avoiding her swollen clit. He knew if he grazed it too much, she’d go off like a spangled rocket. She was already squirming like she was on the brink.

“Hurry,” she groaned like she was in pain. If she was in the same limbo he was, there was no doubt she ached. But Luke needed to taste the sweet nectar coating his fingers. He pulled them from her lips and raised the soaked one to his mouth.

Her flavor burst on his tongue, telling his cock it was time to finish this. “So fucking sweet.” He sucked the remainder of her flavor off his finger and unzipped his own jeans. Ava wiggled her ass in front of him in invitation. Not yet. Reaching for his wallet, he pulled out a foil packet and ripped it open with his teeth. In less than ten seconds his cock was sheathed and ready to explore her depths. His muscles bunched as he took hold of his erection and guided it to her entrance. He hoped this wouldn’t be over too quickly.

“Need you inside me, Luke,” Ava pleaded.

“Just a sec, I don’t want to embarrass myself,” he chuckled.

Ava reached back to find his hand which was still wrapped around his erection. She pulled him forward and forced him to insert the tip of himself in her wet heat. Fuck it was already
too
good.

“More,” she demanded.

That was all it took for him to lose control. “Grab the railing, and hold on.”

She did as he said and when she was steady, he jutted forward, burying himself inside her. “Fuck you’re tight.” She didn’t say a word. Only stood there bent over with his cock, balls deep. “Am I hurting you?” Sweat beaded his forehead while he waited for her reply.

“A little. But don’t stop.”

Luke needed to move. He wanted to feel the scraping of his shaft along her inner walls. Taking his time he languidly pulled out until only the head was submerged. “How’s that feel?”

“Good, so fucking good.” Ava trembled. Damn he needed it fast and rough. He shot forward and a scream left her throat. “Again!” she shouted. So he did. Each time he pulled out of her and shoved himself back in it was torture. This wasn’t going to last long at all. He wanted to feel her come all over him before he reached his peak.

Reaching around, Luke found her clit and began to tease it with his fingers. Her pussy fluttered in response. “Are you going to come for me, sweetheart? Is your tight little pussy going to milk the cum out of my cock?” He loved dirty talk. Clearly she did as well. Each time he bit out crass words, her body livened even more.

“Yes, make me come!” She met him stroke for stroke as his cock moved in and out of her. Her fingers digging into the wood of the railing in front of her told him she was feeling pretty damn good. “I feel it. Oh, God!” She groaned as he reached a new spot deep inside her.

“Come on me. Make that pussy throb on me.” He worked her clit faster, feeling it swell beneath his fingers. “That’s it. I can feel you. Fuck, your pussy is gonna come isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

“You want me to come with you, baby?”

“Oh, God yes! Come with me!” Her voice took on a high-pitched wail as her orgasm slammed into her.

Luke felt her squeezing him, and damn it was sublime. “I’m gonna come, too!” His own orgasm began to crawl up his spine as he worked in and out of her pulsing core. When the release hit, he roared into the night air like an animal set free from its caged confines. Nothing in his life was equal to that moment. It was pure unadulterated bliss being inside her and feeling her come alive for him.

He didn’t want to leave her body; he wanted to stay there forever, buried in her moist center. But he couldn’t stay. That reality hit him harder than a riptide carrying you out to sea. “Gotta take care of this.” He pulled free from her still-clenching core. The heat leaving him didn’t make things any happier in his mind.

As he walked through the house to dispose of the condom, his head was spinning. What did he just do?

He fucked a job. What if his employers found out? Would they be elated to know while he was on the job he decided to play around a bit? Chances were they’d be livid. He thought being inside her would rid him of the tension and ache he’d developed since laying eyes on her. If he thought that now, after being with her, he was a moron. Nothing would get rid of the ache now that he’d had just a small taste of the forbidden fruit still standing out on his porch.

Chapte
r
Si
x

Once Ava righted
her clothing, she stood in the night air waiting for Luke to return. Even though the breeze was starting to cool her off, she still felt like an inferno burned in her core. The blood coursing through her veins remembered Luke’s touch even though he’d been gone for well over ten minutes. Had he regretted what they’d done? Was he in there hoping she’d make herself scarce so he wasn’t left with the awkward scenario of having to deal with her? Those thoughts should’ve taken the afterglow down a few notches, but alas, they didn’t. The craziest thing to come from all of it was that she’d thought by some insane chance the attraction would lessen. Not so much. If anything, it had heightened once she connected with him on the most primal of levels.

Ava stood there hearing only the rasping chirp of crickets around her. Her hands drifted over the railing—the same railing she’d held in her firm grip when Luke had taken her someplace she’d never been before. A smile lifted both corners of her mouth as she relived those moments over and over in her mind. Her hands began to clutch the weathered wood tighter as each breath and crass word he’d said replayed like a Technicolor film. Where was the pause button for your brain when you needed it?
Luke might be inside trying to figure out how to make me leave right this second,
Ava thought. But she hoped that wasn’t the case. From experience she knew men could be distant creatures after the carnal act of pleasure was consummated. They could forget you existed and begin to push you away like you weren’t even a blip on their radar.
What if I wasn’t good enough?
She continued to beat herself up in her own mind.

“I can almost hear you thinking from here,” Luke broke through her thoughts with his low gruff voice. Ava
spun around to see him leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his bare chest.
When did he take his shirt off?

She folded her own arms and rubbed her palms against her still heated skin. “Just thinking how beautiful it is here. So serene.” She drudged up a lie to cover her insecurities.

“Liar,” Luke called her out which surprised the hell out of her.

She’d learned quickly how to stretch the truth to stay hidden. How was it that he could read her so well? “Luke, I’m sorry about what happened.” She wasn’t sorry. In fact she was the furthest thing from sorry. If sorry was the South Pole, she would’ve been standing beside Santa and his tiny Elves making toys at the North Pole.

Luke stalked forward until he stood toe-to-toe with her. In the dark he placed one finger under her chin and gently lifted her gaze to his. Even in black of night only lit by the moon, she could see the shimmering blue of his eyes gazing at her like she actually mattered. “I’m
not
sorry. And if you are, I’ve clearly done something wrong,” he stated with authority.

Ava shook her head, “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s me; I don’t know how to act after this.”

“You don’t know how to act? What does that even mean?” He let her chin drop, walking back to the doorway with tension bunching his muscled shoulders.

“I don’t want to get into it. Maybe you should take me back to my car.” She walked forward and tried to push past him to no avail. He was built rock solid. The complete opposite of her. Where he was tight and firm on every plane of his body, she was soft and curvy. She didn’t dare try to shove him out of the way; she’d more than likely hurt herself in the process. So she stepped back once more, hoping the distance would sway him from pushing the issue.

“I don’t care if you want to get into it or not, Ava. Forgive my way of putting this but I just had my cock buried deep inside your body. I think you owe me an explanation why you feel awkward about it now.” Okay so he wasn’t going to drop it.

“I’m not trying to be a brat here, Luke.”

“You’re sure as hell acting like one.” He laughed, making her anger rise to the surface.

“Yeah, well, maybe I am. So what?” She didn’t have much of an argument. She
was
being a brat and she knew it. But that didn’t stop her from trying to explain just a bit more. “I haven’t had the best experiences with men. I’m sure you don’t want to hear my issues though since, as you so eloquently put it, I just had your cock inside me.” Her laugh bubbled up before she could stop it. What a silly thing to say. But Luke was right.

“Maybe I
do
want to hear it.”

“Then you’ve lost your mind.” Another laugh came out. “Fine. You want to know why I’m insecure about this? Here’s the reason. I was in a relationship before I moved here. We dated for three years and in the beginning things seemed great. Wonderful, in fact. But as time went on, he became a control freak. He had me followed where ever I went, he monitored my phone and online use and he did things…” She trailed off and turned away, not wanting him to see her relive the horror her ex had put her through. She’d shoved all of that to the back of her mind when she’d bought that bus ticket two years ago.

However, Luke surprised her by coming up behind her, wrapping his warm arms around her. “Tell me, please?” His voice held genuine concern.

Ava stayed silent for a few moments, willing the tears to go away. “Every time we had sex, he would roll over and light a cigarette. And with that cigarette, he would burn me,” she admitted.

Feeling Luke tense up behind her and squeeze her just a fraction tighter, Ava tried to break free of his hold.

“Don’t,” he held her. “Don’t try to run away, Ava.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” She shook her head while tears streamed down her face.

It felt like Luke held his breath while he contemplated what she was telling him. “How long did this go on?”

“Only the last two months we were together. I always made excuses why I couldn’t sleep with him. I tried to keep it from happening.”

“How many times did he do it?” It sounded like Luke was interrogating her.

“Eight times. I made sure we weren’t together more than once a week.”

Luke spun her around. “Thank you.” He looked into her eyes. “Thank you for telling me.” She nodded. “Are you working tomorrow?” he asked, throwing her for a
loop.

“No. I closed the shop this weekend because of the Founders’ Day Parade, why?” She cocked her head to the side in curiosity—feeling like an inquisitive puppy as she did so.

“I’m not taking you back to your car tonight,” Luke stated matter-of-factly. “You’re staying the night with me.” He intertwined his fingers in hers. “I’m taking you upstairs. I want to touch every inch of you while you’re laid out on my bed.”

Ava sucked in a breath, her faded arousal sparking to life abruptly. Every response and argument died on her tongue as Luke all but pulled her through the house. When they reached the grand staircase he shocked her once more by sweeping her into his arms. Her head immediately rested on his shoulder as she let out a sigh of contentment. Feeling safe wasn’t something normally assimilated into her daily life. She always had an eye on everything and one foot out the door. It was pure survival—an instinct she’d developed over the past two years. But right now, feeling Luke’s arms under her, feeling his heart beating a thick staccato in his chest; she felt safer then she had in a very long time.

Luke held her secure as he carried her up the staircase and down the hall to the left. It was dimly lit but she could see urgency shading his handsome face; coincidently, she felt the same way. His bare feet patted the hardwood floor and soon they were in front of a door. Luke toed it open to reveal a room that stunned her.
This is his bedroom?
Ava thought. Luke softly put her on her feet as she looked around.

“This room is amazing.” She spun around, taking in the splendor before her. Against one wall rested a massive antique bed, its intricately carved four posts reaching high, almost touching the even higher ceiling. The furniture was all original, dating back to the same era as the home itself.

“Doesn’t look like much of a guy’s room does it?” Luke looked unsure of himself for the first time since they’d met.

“No. But I love it.” Ava smiled. It was cute how he was leaning against the wall looking like he was waiting for her approval. Maybe it was time she surprised
him
for a change. She slid off her shoes and walked barefoot to where he was standing. His gaze raked over her body, making her feel the weight of his stare.

He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Just coming over here to see you.”

“What if I don’t want you right here? What if I want you over there,” he pointed to the bed, “in my bed?”

Ava felt sure and playful. “What will you do to me over there?”

“What do you want me to do?”

Ava didn’t feel like she was winning this little game of cat and mouse. Seduction wasn’t her strong suit. But she did have an answer for him. “Everything,” she whispered as she made eye contact in the barely-lit room.

Luke’s only response was to grab her face and begin to explore her mouth with his. Again Ava felt each stroke of his tongue to the depths of her soul. He swept in and out, causing a fucking motion with his tongue as he walked her backwards to the bed. He broke the kiss before the back of her knees hit the mattress.

Luke began to lift the bottom of her shirt. “I need to see every inch of you.” He pulled the fabric over her head and tossed it to the floor. Once her upper body was on display, Ava became self-conscious about the burn scars littering her otherwise pristine skin. She reached down to cover them with her palms but Luke stopped her midway. “Don’t.” He warned.

“I don’t want you to see them. Can we turn the lights off?” Damn she hated how insecure she sounded.

“The lights are staying on. I want to see
everything
. The good and the bad.” His voice softened on the last word.

“Okay,” she whispered.

Dropping her arms she waited while Luke raked his gaze over the ugly marks marring her skin. She was ready for him to become revolted at them but he didn’t. Instead his fingers moved between the cluster of raised skin as if he were mapping out the pattern. “Do they hurt?” his eyes connected with hers.

Ava shook her head. “No. Not anymore.” She smiled just a little bit.

“Good to know.” He then dropped to his knees and began lightly pressing his lips to the affected area. Ava’s eyes rolled back as he whispered kisses down on the area that made her feel less of a human being. She’d let the scars consume her for far too long. Not anymore.

When he was finished with his treatment, he stood to give her a soft kiss on her lips. “Now these.” He quickly unfastened her jeans and pushed them down her legs, letting her step out of the rough denim. “You’re every man’s wet dream,” he complimented as she stood there in nothing but her bra and panties.

“I need to see you, too.” Ava pressed her palms against the firm skin of his chest and worked her way down to the button on his pants. She flicked it open and rasped the zipper down. Luke shuddered as she shimmied the jeans down his legs along with his boxer briefs. He stepped out of them and left her with a prime view of his assets. “You’re a work of art,” she mused.

“Touch me, Ava.”

“Where?”

He grabbed her hand and wrapped it around his shaft. “Here.” He laid his rough palm on top of hers and began to stroke himself with her help. “Feel that? That’s what you do to me.” Ava licked her lips in response. “I want you to taste me.” He wasn’t ordering her, he was almost begging, hoping she’d say yes.

“Lie down for me.” She stepped out of the way to let him past her. She watched as he laid down on his back, his cock lying on his stomach waiting for her to do as she pleased. Crawling on the bed with him she straddled his legs and bent forward.

“You have no idea how sexy you look right now.” He fisted the duvet as she once again took him in her hand.

“I could say the same about you,” Ava didn’t want to waste time. She kept her eyes locked with his as her tongue darted out and teased his slit.

“Goddamn. More,” he grunted.

“Like this?” She felt daring. She became brazen as she opened her lips and took him inside her mouth.

“Yeah, just like that.” His hips began to lift off the bed as she sucked and licked him closer to completion. “Your mouth is heaven.” He spurred her to continue. “Do you want me to come?” he asked, the question coming out pained. Ava nodded while her lips were fastened around him. “Want me to come inside that sweet little mouth of yours, Ava?” Another nod. She wasn’t stopping. She wanted to him to explode. She needed to feel what she’d done to him. “No.” He reached forward and pulled himself free of her. She wasn’t sure what was happening but soon found he’d turned the tables and she was on her back with him looming over her. “The only place I’m coming is inside you.” Luke reached across the bed and grabbed a condom from the bedside table. Ava’s eyes were focused on his cock as he rolled the latex over himself. He stroked himself a couple times before pushing her legs apart with one of his knees. He didn’t tease her this time instead he thrust forward in one stroke causing her to scream out. “Yeah? You like screaming for me don’t you?” He pulled out and shoved back in. “Scream again for me, sweetheart.” He deepened his strokes.