LUKE: Complete Series (2 page)

“You don’t sound like a groupie,” he replied, though he was still staring out the window instead of looking at me. “You sound like me, only for me it was Microsoft. They rejected my application for an internship when I was seventeen, so I decided to build something of my own. Is that what you’re trying to do here?”

“I’m not a software engineer.”

“Are you trying to
build
something for yourself? Do you think you can get in good with me by coming in here looking like that?”

“What? I’m sorry, I’m not sure I’m following you.”

He turned his head and glared at me from across the desk. I stared back at him, making sure to blink a few times so he didn’t feel challenged. Finally, he smiled.

“You’re hired.”

My mouth fell open. “Just like that?”

“Come here. I want you to see something.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come around the desk. I want to show you something.”

I suddenly had a flashback of the time I caught a homeless man jerking off behind a Wal-Mart. I stood from the chair, leaving my purse behind, and circled the desk toward him. When I got behind his desk, I was pleased
and
disappointed to find him fully clothed. He pointed at the window and I followed the direction of his finger.

The view from his office was stunning. The city skyline rose up like monoliths against the serene blue of the Puget Sound.

“Do you see that boat out there?”

I squinted through the bright morning light and searching the ocean until I saw what looked like a modest sail boat floating on the water.

“The sailboat?”

“If you want this job you’re going to have to promise me one thing.”

Great.
This was where the most private bachelor in America made me his next conquest. He gazed up at me from where he sat with one eyebrow cocked awaiting my response.

“What do I have to do?”

“You have to promise you won’t get sick on my boat.”

“I love boats.”

The corners of his lips turned up in a cunning smile that made my breath stutter. “I hope you brought your sea legs because we’re heading out to the marina now.”

2

The drive to the marina was strange. We went in separate cars. I couldn’t figure out if this was Luke’s notoriously private streak shining through or if he planned on making another stop on the way. Once the driver pulled into the parking lot of the marina, I realized that Luke was already there, standing next to a sports car that he evidently had driven himself.

He also had apparently changed his clothes while driving. With the t-shirt that showed off his beautiful pectoral muscles and the worn out jeans he looked even sexier—if that were possible.
Oh, God.
Why did I have to dump that annoying lawyer I went on four dates with last month? Five weeks since I’d had sex and I was aching to be filled, but this was not the man who was supposed to do the filling.

He nodded at me as I approached, as if he were greeting one of his buddies. “You’re wondering why the fuck I’m taking you on a boat.”

I shrugged. “Hey, who am I to question the logic of the smartest man in America.”

He eyed me skeptically. “Flattery doesn’t work on me. You should remember that from here on out. But I didn’t bring you here for work. I saw you in the elevator.”

“What do you mean?”

“You panicked in the elevator. I saw it on the security cameras.”

I felt the wind knocked out of me as I remembered how I’d felt in the elevator. “You were watching me?”

“It’s okay. I know about your brother. I should have been prepared to have someone escort you up the stairwell before you arrived this morning. Anyway, this is where I come to unwind, so I guess this is my way of apologizing.”

He knew about my brother? I knew he would investigate me, which is why all my ties to NeoSys for the last year and a half, everything after the internship, were erased. But I didn’t expect him to delve into my deepest, most personal pain.

I shut my eyes tight and the marina disappeared. The bright red light behind my eyelids dissolved into Ryan’s smiling face. Ryan was my protector even though he was a year younger than I. That’s what blinded me. I never thought he would be the one who needed protecting. I wished I could have seen through his smile to the deep blackness that had burrowed into him and devoured his soul. Not a day went by that I didn’t question what I could have done and said differently in the days leading up to his suicide seven months ago.

“Oh, God, this is so embarrassing,” I whispered, as I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I just have an intense fear of heights.”

Luke reached across the distance between us and grasped my hand. “Come with me.”

He led me toward the docks and we passed dozens of boats that looked like the boat my father used to take us on for company shindigs. My father’s position as lead structural engineer at a huge architectural firm had been cut after government contracts dried up during the recession. My father was too old and over-qualified to get another job making anything decent. All the best architectural and engineering firms wanted young engineers who had studied all the new “green” construction methods. My father had been unemployed for nearly four years and I was sending him and my mother a third of my income. I needed this promotion at NeoSys badly. So why was I walking along a dock, holding hands with the very man I was being paid to deceive?

“The water is pretty calm in May,” he said, as he turned right onto the boat slip.

I eyed the gleaming black paint on the boat and the name painted on the side:
Charlotte
.

I wanted to ask him who
Charlotte
was, but I was afraid that would be an inappropriate question. Then I reasoned that we had already gone past appropriate when he drove me to the marina and grabbed my hand. Maybe this was how I would get close to him. Maybe this was my ticket to unlock the secrets behind Blaze.

“Who’s Charlotte?” I asked, as we waited for a man to step down from the boat onto the dock.

“Brina, this is Captain Craig. Craig, this is my new assistant, Brina.” Luke introduced us very casually, giving me no indication that he was going to answer my question.

Captain Craig tipped his hat to me then quickly went on his way down the dock and away from us.

“Don’t we kind of need him?” I remarked, as Luke led me up the gangway and onto the boat.

The wood railing was polished to a mirror shine, just like all the doors and glass in the corporate headquarters; just like the two cars that brought us to the marina. Good with names, drinks in the morning, and loves shiny things. Mental note taken.

“We’re not taking her out right now. This is Craig’s lunch hour, which is more like a lunch three-hour, and I don’t want to scare the fuck out of you on your first day.”

The way he said
fuck
made me want to rip off his flimsy t-shirt and grubby jeans and straddle him right there on the deck.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He smiled as he led me toward the ship’s wheel. “Go ahead, touch it,” he said, pointing at the glossy wooden wheel and still refusing to answer my question.

“Okay, fine. I get it. It’s none of my business. You can bring up my brother, but I can’t ask about your boat.”

I stood behind the wheel and wrapped my fingers around the wooden spokes. He came up behind me and grabbed my waist before he leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Charlotte was my grandmother.”

The sensation of his breath on my ear raised goose bumps all over my body. “Oh.”

He grasped my waist tightly and spun me around fast. His face was inches from mine. “I have something else I want to show you.”

Oh, crap!
This was it. There would be no turning back after this. I had to decide now if this was how I was going to approach this job. As I gazed into his gorgeous blue eyes, I realized I had no choice. This was what my mother would call a “frozen margarita” moment. The kind of moment that tastes delicious going down but gives you a major brain freeze. I didn’t know what to say or do—I was frozen—but I knew that if I followed Luke and his sexy ass below deck everything would get delicious.

His hand slid over my waist and stopped just below my breast. I bit my lip as I grabbed his hand and nodded toward the hatch. I descended the steps behind him and as soon as my foot hit the floor his mouth was on mine, hot and hungry. His hand slid around my waist and pulled me close as I hooked my fingers into his hair. His other hand grasped my face softly as his tongue danced around mine, his lips crushing mine as the growing erection beneath his jeans was crushed against my belly.

I reached down and undid the button and zipper and his cock flung itself at me, hard and huge.

He kissed my neck ravenously and I took the broken lip-lock as an opportunity to sink to my knees. I
had
to taste him. I covered my teeth with my lips and took him into my mouth slowly. My eyes widened as his cock slid over my tongue and kissed my throat. His girth made my eyes water. I was on the brink of gagging when I slid him out. He groaned as I massaged the head with the tip of my tongue, licking and sucking the sensitive ridge. He tasted clean and juicy with just a hint of saltwater. A true seaman.

I curled my fingers around the base of his cock and stretched the skin taut before I sucked him in again and bobbed quickly then slowly. I grabbed onto his tight ass with my other hand to steady myself as my knees ached against the wooden floor. His fingers clutched my hair, pushing himself deeper inside my mouth, tugging my hair back and forth a few times before he pulled out. He was still hard and slick and I immediately began to pump my fist up and down his shaft. He pulled away again.

“Get up,” he said, and I brushed my lips over his rock-hard chest as I rose.

He ripped open my button up shirt, sending a deep thrill coursing through me, and kissed me tenderly as he pulled me deeper into the compartment. I opened my eyes for a moment and saw the ceiling covered in mirrors above a queen-size bed. I should have known. This must be the lair where Luke, king of the technology jungle, brought all his conquests.

He guided me onto the bed and laid me back so I could see myself in the mirrored ceiling, buttons ripped away, breasts exposed, chest heaving. He gazed at me for a moment before he lifted my pencil skirt, pushed his way between my thighs, and kissed my throat. I could feel him hard against my panties, but he didn’t attempt to remove them. One hand rested on the pillow next to my head as his other hand trailed lightly over my ribs, sending chills over my skin and hardening my nipples. I couldn’t help but wonder if he did this with all his assistants?

His hand roamed farther down until he reached the wet crotch of my panties. I gasped as he slipped his hand beneath the flimsy fabric and found my clit. I gripped his neck tightly and he gently caressed me. He stopped just as I began to arch my back and he began to move down.

Oh, my God. This cannot be happening. Luke “Fucking” Maxwell is about to go down on me.

He slid my panties off and pushed my knees down before he buried his face in me. He kissed and licked me as if I were his last meal on earth, savoring every bit of me. He spread my lips and lapped softly at my most sensitive spot and I came within seconds. He knew exactly what he was doing.

He kissed around my clit and all the way up my inner thigh for a while until he assumed I was ready for more. His tongue was soft and firm, all at once, it was everything I needed, but I reached down and pulled him up by the shirt. I wanted him inside me.

He tore off his clothes in record time and proceeded to lie down next to me. I climbed on top and gasped with real pain when his huge cock entered me. I pushed up a bit then down again. A whimper escaped my lips at the pleasurable pain.

“Oh, my god!” I cried.

His hands roamed over my breast and ribs as he thrust deep inside me. I arched my back and saw my reflection inches away in the ceiling mirror. I looked at Luke’s reflection and he was staring back at me as we grinded against each other. He slid his hand between my folds and stroked me as he watched the pleasure register on my face.

“I’m going to come. Are you going to come?”

“Yes!” I whispered, my legs quivering as I rocked up and down on top of him. “Don’t stop.”

We came at the same time, a bone-shaking, skin-tingling, muscle-twitching orgasm that made us both cry out with pleasure before I collapsed next to him.

“Fuck,” he whispered, his chest heaving as he reached down and grabbed my hand. “That was fucking fantastic.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it before he turned on his side to face me. “Want to do it again?”

3

I spent the entire walk back to Luke’s car silently agonizing over what Ryan would think if he knew what I had just done. He would want to kill Luke. I would never forget the time he punched a journalist who had been hounding the mother of one of his friends who had been killed in action. He didn’t care about prestigious titles or money. I didn’t used to care about that shit either, until I had to start supporting my parents. It seemed my principles had fainted at the sight of my bank account balance.

We approached the sleek silver sports car and he unlocked my door with his fingerprint. He held the door open for me and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Are those fingers insured?” I remarked, silently wondering what kind of secrets I could dig up inside his car if I could make a duplicate of his fingerprint. Probably nothing, but I couldn’t rule it out. I needed the password to his mirror network; the network his engineers used to test beta projects. I might have to try the fingerprint trick at some point.

His eyes roamed over my legs as I slid into the passenger seat. “Planning on cutting off my fingers so you can take this baby for a joy ride? ‘Cause all you have to do is ask and she’s yours. In fact, I have an extra set of keys at the office for you, for when you need to run errands.”

He shut the door, leaving me with the bitter taste of the word “errands” on my tongue. I was supposed to be his executive assistant, not his personal assistant. I graduated from fucking Cornell.