Come Away with Me (With Me in Seattle, #1)(11)

Chapter Four


I retrieve my phone from my pocket and pull it out of the blanket.

“Oh my, look at that, I have a text!

Whoever could it be?” I bat my eyelashes at him and smile sweetly.

Luke laughs. “Maybe you should check it.”

“Oh! Good idea.” I chuckle and slide the arrow at the bottom of the screen, waking the phone up and open the text from a phone number I don’t recognize.

I want to squeal like a school girl, but simply smile and open the message.

Hey Natalie, save this number.

You’re going to be seeing it a lot. –Luke Williams I grin at him, and save the number and his name to my phone.

“So,” the smile leaves his face and he’s serious again. I pull back, out of his grasp, and turn my body toward him, my leg tucked under the opposite knee, mentally preparing myself for a serious conversation.

“So?”

“So,” he gazes at me almost warily and I feel a moment of alarm. “Who’s Grant?”

“Just a friend.” I shrug.

He raises an eyebrow. “That wasn’t just a friendly text, Natalie. I am a man, I know the difference.”

I cringe and look back out over the darkening water.

“Look at me.” His voice is sharp and I whip my eyes back to his.

“He is just a friend, Luke. Yes, there has been a physical relationship there in the past, but it’s been a while.”

“How long is a while?”

“Months.”

“How many months?”

“Since last fall.”

“Is there anyone else?”

“Why is this any of your business?”

“Because you’re the first woman I’ve brought into my home and all I can think about is getting your beautiful body naked and f*cking you senseless. I need to know if there is any competition. I don’t share, Natalie.” His eyes are on fire, his beautiful lips parted as he breathes heavily, and his hands are in fists.

I open my mouth to speak, and close it again. Holy Jesus, he wants to f*ck me.

Well, back at you, bossy man.

“Saying that you don’t share implies that I’m already yours, Luke.”

“Aren’t you?” he whispers.

This is too much. I’ve known the man less than twenty four hours and he wants to stake a claim! Part of me is yelling Yes! but that damn reasonable side rears her ugly head and shakes her head adamantly No!

I stand abruptly, untangling myself from the blanket.

“Look, Luke…” He’s suddenly at my side, his strong hand on my chin trapping my gaze in his.

“Answer my question, please.” His touch is gentle, but his gaze is raw, and it pulls at me in a way I’ve never known.

“There is no one.” I whisper.

“Thank Christ.” And his lips are on mine, but instead of the passionate fervor I’m craving, his lips are gentle and tender, as though he’s memorizing my mouth with his lips. He lets go of my chin and wraps my hair in his hand while the other curls around my low back and he pulls me to him, my front against his, and I moan low in my throat.

His chest and stomach are hard muscle.

I wrap my arms around him and hold him to me, my hands clasping onto his back.

Bravely, I close my teeth over his lower lip and suck him gently into my mouth. His eyes fly open, meeting mine, and he plunges his tongue in my mouth, sliding it along mine in a beautiful rhythm. Our breathing is ragged, and my hands just can’t stop moving up and down his back, feeling the hard muscles flex as he moves against me.

Both of his hands slide down to my backside and he clenches it tightly while nibbling from the side of my mouth down my neck.

“Oh my,” I lean my forehead against him and I feel him smile against my neck.

“You have a great ass, Nat.” He pulls me more tightly against him and I feel his erection against my stomach. I run my own hands down to his derriere.

“Back at you, Luke.” My voice is breathy, and he pulls back, his eyes a bit glassy with want and desire and I know they mirror my own.

Fuck, I want this man.

Our arms are still wrapped around each other, clasping each other’s bottoms. I give him another squeeze and run my fingers lightly up under his shirt to his bare skin and smile as he gasps.

His beautiful blue eyes are watching mine and I push my finger between the elastic of his boxers and his skin and run it along to the front of his jeans.

Suddenly his hands are on mine and his stills me, not taking his eyes from me. He brings both my hands up to his lips and kisses each finger, then steps back and lets go. The cold air around us is a slap to the face, and I frown in confusion and frustration and feel the sting of rejection.

What the hell?

“Why did you stop?” I hear the hurt in my voice, and I clear my throat.

“Nat, I definitely don’t want to stop…” I step toward him, but he backs up and raises his hands in surrender.

“Luke…”

“Natalie, let’s slow down a bit.”

Isn’t this what men want?

“If you’ve changed your mind about me…” He’s back in front of me before I finish the sentence, his hands are cupping my face and he’s making me look him in the eye, and the raw emotion is still there.