Sweet Obsession (Nights Series #4)(7)

Ash froze when he finally registered Luke’s presence. Much to Luke’s chagrin, he gasped and held his clothes protectively in front of his groin.

“You’re late!” Ash snapped.

Here we go.

Luke suppressed a grimace of pain at his rock-hard erection, dreading the difficult conversation ahead.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I got sidetracked by a thing at work.”

That the thing was standing in front of him right now wasn’t something Luke was about to admit to Ash.

Ash crossed the deck and entered the lounge, his expression still hostile.

“You eaten yet?”

Luke blinked at the unexpected question. “No.”

Ash mumbled something rude under his breath.

“Why don’t you shower and change?” he said stiffly. “I’ll warm up dinner.”





Chapter 6





Ash’s heart thudded rapidly against his ribs. He masked his growing arousal behind the bundle of clothes in his hands and headed swiftly past Luke, dripping water all over the floor.

The feel of Luke’s hot stare on his naked body had raised goose bumps on Ash’s skin. A feverish feeling filled Ash’s chest, making it hard to breathe as he nearly ran for the safety of his bedroom. He dropped his clothes on the bathroom floor and showered rapidly before changing into his pajamas. Luckily, he’d brought a pair.

Ash headed to the kitchen and had just finished rewarming a plateful of food in the microwave when quiet footsteps sounded behind him. He stiffened and turned in time to see Luke pad barefoot into the kitchen. The Rutherford heir had changed into gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt that hugged his muscular chest and broad shoulders. His dark hair still glistened with water, the smell wafting off him so intoxicating Ash nearly groaned out loud.

Ash set the plate of steaming food on the marble island.

“Thanks,” Luke murmured, climbing onto a barstool.

Ash narrowed his eyes. “And you’d better finish all those vegetables.”

Luke blinked. His lips curved in an amused smile, causing heat to flood Ash’s cheeks. It was the same threat Luke had used when Ash was being fussy with his food as a child.

Ash turned and opened the fridge, his pulse racing at their strangely domestic situation. He eyed the drinks rack inside critically before glancing at the well-stocked wine cooler across the room.

“What do you want to drink?” he tossed at Luke over his shoulder, his tone coming out sharper than he’d intended.

“Water’s fine,” Luke said.

Ash grabbed a cold bottle for each of them and ate an apple while Luke dug into his meal, an oddly companionable silence settling over them.

It wasn’t until Luke pushed his plate away and drank the last of his water that tension started winding through Ash once more.

“So, you finally gonna tell me what the hell this is all about?” Ash said, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

Luke propped his elbows on the marble top and rubbed his hands down his face, his expression suddenly weary.

“What if I said I just wanted you here, by my side?”

Ash’s heart stuttered. He leaned against the island on the opposite side of where Luke sat, his legs suddenly shaky and his ears ringing with Luke’s shocking admission.

The wild hope blooming inside Ash’s chest faltered and died when he registered the calculating look in Luke’s eyes. Fury and sorrow filled him in equal measure in the next instant.

“I’d say, stop being a fucking asshole and tell me the goddamn truth!” Ash growled.

Luke stifled a sigh. He was quiet for a long time, his gaze hooded as he studied Ash.

“They’re back,” Luke said finally.

Ash’s train of thought stumbled to an abrupt halt.

“Who’s back?” he asked, puzzled.

A muscle jumped in Luke’s jawline.

“Your aunt and uncle.”

Ash felt the air rush out of him. This time, he gripped the edge of the island with white-knuckled fingers while a wave of painful memories washed over him.

Fuck.

Shortly after Luke had turned thirty and a month after Ash’s sixteenth birthday, both their parents had lost their lives in a tragic car accident close to their homes. The woman who had smashed into the Rutherfords car and pushed it over the edge of the cliff spanning the Pacific coastline, instantly killing the two couples inside, was three times over the blood alcohol level limit when the police arrested her.

As if losing his parents hadn’t been bad enough, what had happened at their funeral drove Ash deeper into the spiral of darkness that his life had become overnight. Catherine Bernardino, Charles Colby’s estranged sister, had emerged from the woodwork with her husband Peter at her side and declared she would take custody of Ash. Ash hadn’t known much about his aunt apart from the fact that his father hadn’t trusted her and she’d been disowned by the senior Colbys when she was twenty-five. He couldn’t even remember what she looked like, having met her only once when he was three years old.

As they’d had no close relatives they would have willingly entrusted their only child to, Charles and Susan Colby had named Luke’s parents in their will as Ash’s legal guardians if something were to happen to them. With both his parents and his guardians deceased, the court had refused to award custody to Luke despite the hard battle the heir and newly appointed head of Rutherford Industries fought in court. The fact that Luke was single, had no blood relation to Ash, and had a high-powered career with enormous responsibilities that took him all over the world meant he was regarded as an unsuitable candidate to look after Ash’s needs.