Undone (31 page)

Before she could get her bearings, he gripped her roughly and flipped her over. Pulling on her hips, he brought her to her knees, and she felt the heat of his body as he leaned over her, trailing kisses down her spine.

She heard his belt buckle as he undid his jeans, and then he was pushing inside her, stretching and filling her. She wasn’t sure if she could take him in that position. She was overwhelmed by him, consumed. Luke gripped her hips, slamming into her at a feverish pace. Each time they made love, she saw a different side of him, but she liked the rough, demanding side of him the most. His hand left her hip, and his palm came down on her ass, the sound echoing through the room. The sharp sting of his hand combined with his hard thrusts caused her to clench around him and threw her spiraling into another intense release. She let out a soft cry as he buried himself deep inside her and came with a shout.

Luke slowly eased out of her, wrapped the blanket around them and pulled her against his chest.

Embry snuggled closer. “If this is what I can look forward to, I might have to start rooting for a Bulldog win every Saturday,” she joked.

He smiled, brushing her sweat-dampened hair from her forehead. “I’ve never seen a Gator jersey look so good, baby.”

One week rolled into the next as Luke and Embry fell into a comfortable pattern. They rarely spent a night apart. Embry, having no other choice, got over her discomfort in class, and they continued as professor and student while at school. The only difference was that their research meetings took place at Luke’s home office so they could properly take advantage of Embry’s “study breaks.”

Outside of time with Luke, Embry spent all of her time with Jeremy and their new study buddy, Tessa. The three had finalized all of their outlines and were preparing for finals. Embry still felt uneasy around Tessa, but Jeremy seemed to like her. Embry was determined to give her a chance.

Embry sat in the passenger seat of Luke’s Rover as they cruised down the highway on the way to the Hamptons. She was on Thanksgiving break, which gave her a few days to recharge before finals began. She was lost in her thoughts as she stared out the window and watched the Pine Barrens go by in a blur. Butterflies kicked up a storm in her stomach the closer they got to her parents’ house. She hadn’t brought anyone home since Jack.

When she’d called her parents and asked if she could bring her boyfriend to Thanksgiving, they tried to hide the surprise in their voices. She’d been avoiding her parents since her mother had called about Jack. She gave them short conversations here or there, always making the excuse that she had to get back to studying. She hadn’t even told them she’d been seeing someone, and then she sprung him on them. They’d handled it well though, welcoming Luke without asking too many questions. She and Luke only planned on staying a day or two since she had to get back to study for finals, but she was excited to show him her hometown and spend some time with her family.

Luke pulled into her driveway a while later. “Nice place.”

Embry felt warmth envelope her at the sight of her childhood home. It
was
nice. It was a modest log cabin, set back from the road and surrounded by acres of land. She was flooded with memories as she sat staring out the windshield. When she’d run from Jack, she’d run from everything else too, including her loving and supportive parents. She didn’t know why she could never bring herself to tell them about Jack. She wasn’t sure if she was afraid of ruining their image of him or of her. She’d grown up surrounded by love, and she was ashamed that she’d fallen into an abusive relationship. Would her parents think less of her that she’d let someone treat her so poorly? Would they be angry that she kept it from them? She knew she needed to talk to them—and Luke—about Jack, but Thanksgiving was hardly the time or the place.

Luke ran his fingers down her cheek, recapturing her attention. “Ready, baby?”

Embry nodded. “I’m nervous.”

Luke leaned in to place a soft kiss on her lips. “I’ve got you.”

They’d talked multiple times about how they’d handle his profession with her parents. To put it simply, they were going to lie. Luke had been against the idea at first. He was willing to sacrifice their opinion of him and tell them the truth—hoping they’d respect him more for that—but Embry knew her parents wouldn’t overlook the fact that she was dating her professor. She and Luke had enough on their plate; the last thing they needed was to involve her parents. If it was up to him, he would’ve waited to meet her parents until they were no longer in their compromising situation, but he made it clear that if she wanted him at Thanksgiving, he’d be there. Somehow, even though he was the one who would be under scrutiny, he was reassuring her.

Luke walked around the car, helped her out, and tucked her into his side to shield her from the cold. White smoke curled out of the chimney, the smell of wood burning carrying on the breeze, and Embry was anxious to get out of the wintery weather and warm up with her family.

She stepped through the front door, Luke close behind her, and saw her mother coming down the hallway to greet them. Her mother was beautiful, but Embry looked nothing like her. Celia Jacobs was tall and willowy with rich brown hair. Embry had inherited only her height and her thick hair.

Her mother wiped her hands on her apron. “Come in, come in.”

The house smelled delicious, a mix of turkey, stuffing, and mulled spices. “It smells great in here, Mom,” Embry said as her mother pulled her into her arms.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you, sweetie,” her mother cooed.

“You too, Mom.” Embry felt as though she was five years old again. Extracting herself from her mother’s arms, she turned to introduce Luke and found her mother’s eyes already on him.

“You must be Luke,” her mother said with a smile.

“Mrs. Jacobs,” Luke said in his sexy southern rasp, bending to kiss her mother on the cheek. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Her mother swooned. “So nice to meet you, Luke. Please call me Celia.”

Embry chuckled to herself.
That was easy.

“Is that my daughter?” her father’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Yes, Dean, they’re here!” her mother called. “Give me your coats and go say hi to your father.”

Handing off their jackets, Embry grabbed Luke and headed for the kitchen.

Her father spotted them, pulled off his apron, and pulled Embry into an embrace. “How’s my girl?” He held her out to give her the once-over.

“Good, Dad.” She motioned toward Luke. “Dad, this is my boyfriend, Luke.”

Luke approached and stuck his hand out to shake her father’s. “Sir.”

“Hello, Luke.” Her father gave Luke’s hand a solid shake. “Dean Jacobs. Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Mr. Jacobs. Thank you for having me.”

Her father nodded and turned back to Embry. He was a handsome man, tall, and still in good shape for his age. He had salt-and-pepper hair and wore thick-framed glasses. As far as features went, Embry was his spitting image. They had identical coloring, and she shared his nose and eyes, including the bright green color. She also mirrored his humor and personality.

“Why don’t you go help your mother finish setting the table and give me a few minutes to get to know Luke here?” He directed his attention back to Luke. “Do you know your way around a kitchen, son?”

“Yes, sir, I do.”

Embry smiled. She glanced at Luke, making sure he was comfortable. He gave her a wink, and she set off to help her mother.

Luke and Embry settled in at the dining room table as Embry’s mother poured some wine and her father carved the turkey. It would be a quiet Thanksgiving, just the four of them. Embry’s aunt and uncle alternated every other year with their families, and that was the off year. She was glad to have the time with just Luke and her parents. It would’ve been a bit overwhelming introducing him to the extended family as well. They chatted idly while they ate.

“Do I hear a bit of a southern accent, Luke? Where are you from?” Celia asked.

A slight blush stained Luke’s cheeks. “Yes, ma’am. I’m from Savannah, Georgia.”

“Oh! Savannah! Did you hear that, Dean?” her mom asked, pulling her father into the conversation. “We drove down to visit Embry a few times when she was at the University of Florida, and we always stopped in Savannah. We love it there. Beautiful town.”

“Yes, it is,” Luke said. He turned toward Embry with a smile and placed his hand on her thigh. “Have you been?”

His touch warmed her. She loved that he wasn’t afraid to show her affection in front of her family. “Nope. I hear it’s a great town.”

He nodded. “We’ll have to visit.”

She beamed at him, thrilled at the idea of visiting his hometown and meeting his family.

Her parents kept him talking about Savannah for quite some time. After that, they asked Luke all about his family. The conversation was nice and relaxed, until her father decided to go in for the kill.

“So what is it that you do, Lucas? You don’t mind if I call you Lucas, do you?”

“I don’t mind at all, sir. I’m an attorney.”

“Did you two meet through the law school?” her mother chimed in.

The interrogation had officially begun. Embry was glad that Luke seemed so comfortable because she was squirming in her seat.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I stopped in to meet with a colleague, and Embry and I literally ran into each other in the hallway.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” her mother commented. “What kind of law do you practice?”

“A little bit of everything, really. I’m building a general practice in the Gold Coast area. I handle a lot of real estate, along with some bankruptcy and estate planning.”

“That sounds interesting,” said her mother.

Luke nodded. “It keeps me on my toes.”

“How old are you, if you don’t mind my asking?” Embry’s father pried.

“Thirty-one,” Luke answered.

“And do you usually make a habit of hitting on younger law students?”

“Dean!” her mother gasped.

“Dad!” Embry said at the same time.

The only indication that the question bothered Luke was the slight tightening of his hand on her thigh. He looked her father dead in the eye as he answered. “No, sir, I don’t make a habit out of picking up students at the law school. But as I’m sure you’re aware, your daughter is pretty special. After running into her on several occasions, I couldn’t help but want to spend more time around her.”

Embry’s father smiled and winked at Luke. “See?” He gestured toward Embry and her mother. “Good man. Honest answer.”

“Glad you think so, sir,” Luke responded.

“You can cut the ‘sir’ crap now, too, son. Call me Dean.”

“Okay, Dean,” he said with a smile.

Embry rolled her eyes and let out the breath she had been holding. Her mother did the same.

Luke helped Embry clear the table, and her mother began washing the dishes. Luke was heading out of the kitchen to keep her father company, but he spun around and looked at Embry, eyes wide.

“I almost forgot!” he said, reaching into his pocket for his keys.

“Forgot what?”

“I picked up a little something special.” He was grinning like a kid on Christmas.