Luke straightened an overturned chair. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Though her head was starting to throb anew.
“Let’s get some air.” He helped her out of her chair and guided her through the crush to the door.
Once outside, she gulped in the fresh, night air and sagged against the building. “Well, that was interesting.”
Luke brushed a lock of hair off her sweaty forehead. “And fun.”
She looked at him dubiously, though her heart warmed with gratitude toward him for making the most of what could have been a disastrous evening. “Thank you.”
“Thank
you
.” He nodded toward the street. “Come on. Let’s go get cleaned up.”
Polly hadn’t even realized the beer had also splashed onto her, despite Luke’s heroic attempt to protect her. They walked back to his car, which miraculously hadn’t been stolen in the somewhat dodgy neighborhood, and headed back to his house.
“Since we both need showers, you should stay here tonight.” He ushered her inside.
“I don’t have any extra clothes.”
“There’s some in the guest bedroom.”
Of course there were. Luke’s bachelor pad was outfitted for . . . a bachelor pad.
Ignoring the reminder that she was not part of his usual strata of high-class women, who would have taken him to the opera instead of a sweaty, overloud club, Polly followed him up the stairs. Her gaze fixated on the row of windows that overlooked the inner courtyard and shimmering pool.
“Do you ever swim?” she asked.
“I do laps sometimes. Why?”
“The pool just doesn’t look like it’s ever been used.”
“My brother Evan comes over to swim every now and then.” He paused to look at her. “You can use it, if you want.”
“Will you swim with me?”
“Now?”
“Sure.” She poked him in the side. “It’ll be fun.”
He shrugged. “Okay. You can probably find a suit in the dresser in the guest bedroom.”
Polly didn’t love the idea of wearing a swimsuit that might have been worn by another woman, but she walked into the guest bedroom to riffle through the drawers. The lowest one contained several brand-new swimsuits in different styles and a stack of ridiculously plush towels.
She stripped off her clothes and glimpsed herself in the mirror. Then, not sure if she was exercising bad judgment or being outrageously flirtatious—there seemed to be a fine line between the two—she wrapped her naked body in a towel and headed out of the room.
She went down to the pool, astonished at how stepping into the courtyard was like entering a private oasis—plants and trees lined the walls, a small waterfall cascaded from a rock garden at one end, and cushy seating areas were arranged near a fireplace. Spotlights glowed on the water, and overhead the sky blazed with stars through the glass roof.
Polly sat on the edge of the pool and dangled her feet in the water. She turned her head when the door opened and Luke approached. He was breathtakingly masculine in navy swimming trunks and nothing else, his muscular chest with all its smooth lines and planes crafted with the precision of a sugar sculpture.
His gaze skimmed appreciatively over her and lingered on the valley of her cleavage where she had knotted the towel.
“Do I get to see?” he asked, his voice a deep caress over her skin.
A touch of nervousness wound through her. “Maybe later.”
He lowered himself alongside her, his thigh brushing hers. She shifted, making sure her towel was still secure.
“Speaking of fun,” Luke put his feet in the water beside hers, “or in this case, a complete lack thereof . . . I wanted to ask if you’d go to the opening of a museum exhibition with me on the twenty-first.”
“Really?” Polly did a quick calculation. That was three weeks away. She guessed that meant he intended for their relationship to continue at least that long. “That sounds fancy.”
“It is.” His breath expelled on a sigh. “It’s a fundraising dinner for my mother’s foundation, and my aunt Julia is the one organizing it. She’s expecting me to bring a date or she’ll unleash her ninja match-making skills on me.”
“I take it that’s a bad thing?”
“With her, it is. Besides, I don’t want to be match-made with anyone except you.”
Polly tried not to let that little remark nestle right in the middle of her heart.
“Will the rest of your family be there?”
“Some of them. If that’s a deal-breaker, I get it.”
“It’s not.” She paused, then confessed, “I don’t think there are any deal-breakers here.”
He glanced at her. “None?”
“Well, if you turn out to be a secret ultra-villain, I might have some reservations,” Polly said, “or if your favorite band is Black Sabbath, then we’re done. But other than that, no.”
“Does that mean you’ll come to the exhibition opening?”
“That depends. Are you asking me as a
date
or just a woman you take to social events?”
“Definitely a date.”
“Then I accept. Thank you for asking me.”
They exchanged smiles. Curious though Polly was about everything—Luke’s family, his mother, the foundation, even his match-making aunt—she suppressed the questions bubbling in her mind. The deeper she delved into Luke’s life, the more difficult it would be to extricate herself when the time came.
Whenever that might be.
She nudged her hip against his. “So you’ve never been in love, huh?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You said love was just about pheromones or whatever. So I assume you’ve never actually been in love, or you decided the feeling was like a post-workout endorphin rush.”
Luke shrugged. “I’ve had that rush for a woman, yeah. But it doesn’t last.”
Because by definition, a
rush
didn’t last. Especially a sugar rush. Sure, she enjoyed the bag of candy while she was wolfing it down, but eventually she ended up with plunging glucose levels and a stomachache.
Polly flicked her toes in the water, creating a series of ripples.
I can’t make you any promises.
You deserve something long-lasting and I can’t give that to you.
His words echoed in her mind, even though she wasn’t supposed to want anything long-lasting. At least, not from him. She’d just wanted a good time, some
fun
, as she jumpstarted her life again. No, she hadn’t thought about what would come
after
the jumpstart, but that was the point, right? Live in the moment. Eat the whole bag of candy.
She pulled her feet out of the water and stood, clutching the towel around her. She walked around to the far end of the pool, her feet making wet footprints on the travertine patio. She stopped at the edge of the deep end and looked into the water, seeing only lingering ripples and the hazy blur of her own reflection.
Her heart kicked against her ribs. She glanced up at Luke, almost feeling the burn of his gaze as he watched her. Gathering her courage, she took hold of the knot in the towel.
In one motion, she yanked it off and tossed the towel behind her. The cooler air brushed against her naked body for an instant before she dove headfirst into the pool. The water enveloped her in a wave, as cool and refreshing as lemonade spilling down her throat on a sweltering day. She swam deeper until her lungs protested, and then she shot upward and broke through the surface with a gasp.
She swiped the water off her face. Luke was still watching her, only his expression was hotter, his body lined with erotic tension. Polly flipped her wet hair away from her forehead.
“You coming in?” she called.
“Actually I might want to watch you swimming like a mermaid,” he replied. “I heartily approve of your choice of bathing suit.”
She swam closer to him, deliberately looking at his swim trunks.
“Have you ever skinny dipped before?” she asked.
“If I have, it wasn’t memorable.”
“Come on in, then.” She paused, treading water. “I’ll make it memorable for you.”
“Peach.” Luke slowly got to his feet, his gaze never leaving her. “You make everything memorable.”
He hitched his fingers into the waistband of his trunks. Polly’s breath caught, her heartbeat ratcheting up as he slid the trunks slowly off. He kicked them to the side and stood there with his hands on his hips, as if he knew quite well that just the sight of his naked body had a devastating effect on her senses.
After walking to the deep end, he dove into the pool, his body splitting through the water like a knife and disappearing beneath the surface. The sight of his long, muscular form coming right toward her sparked a pleasurable rush of apprehension. She turned and started to go in the other direction, wondering if she could outswim him, but then he came up beside her with the speed and grace of a shark.
With a breathless laugh, she swam faster. Luke’s hand clamped around her ankle. Flailing, she tried to yank herself away, but his grip was inexorable, and he grabbed her other leg and pulled her toward him. She surrendered quicker than she would have liked. They both stilled at the same time.
Polly was breathing fast, even though she hadn’t even swam the length of the pool. Luke’s eyes collided with hers. Water drops cascaded down the hard planes of his face and made his eyelashes all spiky. His gaze tracked over her neck to where her breasts bobbed just above the surface of the water.
She splashed him suddenly, letting out a shriek of laughter at the surprised look on his face. She bolted away, but only made it a few feet before his arms clamped around her waist and hauled her back against his solid naked body.
Oh . . .
All the breath escaped her lungs as Luke moved her over to the side of the pool, his hands coming around to caress her breasts. His lips, cold with water, pressed against the side of her neck.
Polly turned, her spine raining with shivers. She looked up into his face, his strong features that had become so familiar and dear to her. A warm, rich feeling flooded her heart.
“Tell me you believe in love,” she whispered.
His eyes flickered with an indefinable emotion. “I believe in you.”
And then he was kissing her before she even realized he’d moved closer. Her whole body zinged with heat. His mouth crushed against hers, hot and demanding. She gasped, her arms going up of their own volition to twine around his shoulders as she sank under the onslaught of his kiss.
He pressed his hands to her lower back and hauled her against him, so fast that their bodies collided with a force that caused the water to surge around them. Her breasts pressed against his hard, wet chest, her fingers curling into the sleek muscles of his shoulders.
Oh heavens . . .
Faint dizziness spun through her head as the kiss deepened. She opened her mouth and slid her tongue across his. He gripped her ass, and she lifted her legs to wrap them around his hips. A flame kindled low in her belly, streaming heat through her veins. Her nipples tightened, the friction against his skin sensitizing them further.
Luke moved them both through the water until her back touched the edge of the pool, then he grasped her waist and lifted her onto the travertine patio.
Water streamed from Polly’s hair down her face and body. She stared at him, struck by the feral glint in his eyes, his damp hair casting his features into sharp relief. Divested of corporate trappings, he exuded a primitive sex appeal, one that made her feel sinuous and free, like a wild strawberry plant flourishing in a sun-drenched field.
She pressed her hands to the sides of his jaw and lowered her lips to his again. Their mouths moved together seamlessly. The kiss lasted for seconds, it lasted for hours. He pulled away from her only to trail his mouth over her bare shoulder and down to her breasts. He breathed out a curse as he captured one of her nipples between his lips.
“Oh.” Polly moaned, wiggling on the stone floor as her sex began pulsing in response to the warm, delicious sensation of his mouth.
He pushed between her legs, trailing his lips over her breasts and up to the hot hollow of her throat. He flicked his tongue against her pulse before covering her mouth with his again.
“Wait,” she whispered, pressing his shoulders.
He lifted himself off her, his breath hot on her lips. “What?”
“Remember when I told you I’ve always dreamed of getting laid on a huge bed with feather pillows?” she asked breathlessly.
Luke gave a choked laugh. “I believe you said a
four-poster
bed with feather pillows.”
“Whatever. And remember that last time, we didn’t go all the way.” She put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him down to her.
“Let’s do it now,” she whispered.
He gave her another long deep kiss before hauling himself out of the water. Still dripping, he bent to slide one arm beneath her legs and the other around her back. He picked her up effortlessly, like she weighed no more than a delicate little cream puff, and strode toward his bedroom.
And though the water quickly cooled on Polly’s skin and left her cold and clammy, the unbearable sexiness of being masterfully carried to Luke’s bedroom heated her from the inside out. He lowered her onto the gorgeous bed and straddled her body, his gaze raking hotly over her bare breasts topped with stiff pink crests. His cock was almost fully erect, and the sight of the thickening shaft elicited a surge of arousal in her blood. She squirmed, rubbing her thighs together.
“Hurry,” she whispered.
He shook his head, his eyes gleaming. He palmed her breasts, his long fingers tweaking her nipples. Delicious heat skimmed over her veins.
Luke moved lower, pressing kisses over her breasts and belly before gently parting her thighs. Before she understood, through her haze of desire, what he intended, he’d already spread her open with his fingers and stroked his tongue over her folds.
“Luke!”
He gave a muffled noise in response, shifting to hitch her legs over his shoulders as he began licking and sucking her with exquisite precision. Polly fisted the bedcovers, shocked arousal flooding her in a wave as he stroked his tongue around her clit and over her labia before pressing inside her.
“Luke, I’m. . . .” she panted, sweat breaking out on her skin. “Oh my god, that’s so . . . so fucking good . . . I’m going to . . .”