Solid Steel (Unseen Enemy Book 6) (16 page)

Chapter Fourteen

When Luke arrived home the next morning, a delightful sight met his eyes. Delightful and so fucking
hot
.

Selena was in his bed, naked. Her golden skin had a sheen of sweat and she was glowing in the sunlight. She was on her back, her luscious thighs spread wide, her head thrown back, stroking herself with her vibrator.

He stood in the bedroom doorway, watching her. She heard him and met his hot gaze.

"Hey," she said, her voice casual, her hands still busy. "How was work?"

"Good," he responded, hoarse and hopelessly turned on. "How you doing, babe?"

"Oh, OK."

"Yeah. Looks it."

"Hmmmmm." Her sultry purr was almost too much and he shut his eyes, begged hard for strength. "You like what you see, handsome?"

"Yeah." Not a clever or playful response, but it was, literally, the
only
word that he could manage to get out of his mouth. And it came out as less of a word and more of a grunt.

She smiled at him, slid the vibrator inside her slick channel, slowly pulled it out again. "You asked me to be ready... is
this
what you had in mind?"

"Fuck, Selena." His cock was painful now, pushing against his jeans hard enough that he thought it was going to burst out. "You're gonna kill me."

"Oh, yeah." Her stomach muscles pulled tight as she thrust her hips up, offering herself to him. "I sure as hell am. Now get naked, Luke."

Without a word, Luke tore off his t-shirt, undid his belt buckle. Fumbling, swearing, his eyes locked on her soaked lower lips as she ran the tip of the dildo between them over and over, he somehow managed to undo his jeans. He yanked them off his legs, kicked them away. His cock stood at attention, so hard that it curved up and touched his muscled stomach.

Selena fixed her eyes on his delicious hardness, felt the answering flutter in her pussy. Her back arched as her pleasure went up another notch, then another. Oh, God, she was close... so damn close.

"Luke," she whispered. "Come here."

“No way, beautiful,” he ground out, moving his hand up and down his aching length. “I'm gonna stand over here and watch you get yourself off the first time, get yourself all juicy and dripping wet for me. I want to just open your thighs and
take
you… no more waiting.” His eyes were blazing in his hard face, his hand squeezed his cock tighter. “So come for me, babe. Come so I can fuck you at long last.”

"Oh," she gasped, his words stroking her as strong and sure as his tongue and fingers. "Oh,
God
."

"Feels good?"

"
So
good." She pushed the tip on to her clit, held it there. "I'm... I'm close. Luke, I'm gonna..."

He moved his hand faster, stroking himself as he watched Selena start to go over. Fuck, her toes were actually
curling
in to the mattress and it was one of the most erotic things he'd ever seen. He didn't even think she was aware of him watching her anymore: she looked like a woman who saw nothing beyond the mind-blowing orgasm that was dancing just beyond her grasp. She reached for it, her whole body tight and straining and writhing.

Selena moved the vibrator down a tiny bit, just below her swollen little bundle, and that was the sweet spot. The short, sharp burts of pleasure grew and lengthened until they were one long, unending feeling. It was an undeniable, unbroken wave of pure, sinful
sensation
– so damn good, so damn intense, so damn earthshattering.

She cried out, her body twisting on his bed, her pussy wide open to his heated gaze. It was so pink, so wet and he saw her clit glistening between her slick, swollen folds. The sight almost made him come right there and then, and Luke stopped stroking himself. He groaned, needing to be inside her
now
.

Selena was still panting, still shaking with her amazing orgasm, when Luke strode over to the bed. She stared up at him, wild and beautiful with her disheveled hair and flushed cheeks. He
had
to touch her, so he reached out, cupped her cheek in his rough hand.

Right away, she turned her face and kissed his palm, her tongue snaking out to give him a teasing little lick. Those lips were hot and soft, and his cock jumped and jerked at the thought that her pussy lips were going to be the same. Starting to lose his mind now, he ripped open the condom, rolled it on, praying that he didn't detonate the second he got inside her.

Luke sat down on the bed, his legs straight out in front of him. He held out his arms to her. “C’mere, babe.”

Selena crawled up his body and roughly, he pulled her up on to his lap. When she started to wrap her long legs around his waist, he stopped her.

“Not like that,” he growled. He lifted her on to her knees and then in one swift movement, he lowered her on to his cock. She cried out with sheer pleasure as he entered her, then cried out again in frustration when he only pressed in an inch or two and then stopped. She fought to push down more, to take more of him, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her in place.

"Not yet, babe," he said. "Slide your knees forward."

Startled but game, she did as he said. She moved a few inches, but he pulled her closer until her knees were behind him on the bed. Luke gently pushed her down now, forced her to lie down so her back was against his thighs, her head resting on his shins. Then, and only then, did he grasp her right hip and with one heavy thrust, sheath his length completely.

Selena arched up, a cry ripped out of her heated, stretched body. He was massive inside her tight center, filling every pulsating, grasping inch of her. She gazed up at Luke, saw those incredible eyes focused on her face. Seeing her pleasure, seeing her need.

"Luke," she whispered.

"Beautiful," he responded in a guttural tone. "So goddamn
beautiful
."

He began to move in and out of her now, a steady, smooth rhythm that he totally controlled. Selena lay open and gasping under him, clutching the sheets around her, his hand holding her hip so tightly, she knew he'd leave a mark.

He's going to mark me again.

The thought caused a shudder of feminine pleasure to ripple through her body. Nothing felt as good as being claimed by Luke.
Nothing
.

"Luke," she breathed. "I'm gonna come again."

"Oh, yeah." He flicked on the vibrator with his thumb, lowered it to her pussy. "Yeah, babe, you are."

Selena actually screamed when he pressed down on her little bundle of nerves, even as he sped up his thrusts. He fucked her harder and deeper, held the buzzing tip of the vibrator right on her clit. No reprieve, no mercy, not even when she started to beg, to sob, to shake.

Selena wasn't sure if she was in heaven or in hell. Luke held the vibrator against her and with his every thrust, it slid back and forth on her clit, slid up and down her slit. The buzzing and pulsing were neverending, inexhaustible, unrelenting. It was too much, it wasn't quite enough, and she writhed on him, trying to get him to rub the exact spot.

Luke knew that she was seconds away from coming, and his balls tightened up, ready for his own release. He held on, though, held on until Selena was right there... that was when he pushed the dildo down hard on her sweet little button.

Her reaction was something else: her whole body curved up like a bowstring and she stopped breathing, stopped straining. The climax was so intense, she didn't even shake or shudder. No, she couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, couldn't do anything except stretch across Luke's body and
come
.

Her pussy muscles gripped him in dizzying waves of clenching and releasing, and Luke gave one final shove in to her sweet body. He drove his hips forward roughly –
maybe too roughly
– and held himself deep, the spasms ripping through his massive frame as he followed Selena over that blissful edge. It had never been better, never been so goddamn perfect. With Selena, making love was everything that it was ever meant to be – everything that it ever
could
be.

For a few seconds, neither one of them moved. Selena was gasping now, trying to catch her breath. Luke was shuddering, his cock still twitching inside her. It felt like his climax hadn't even fucking
stopped
yet, and with a groan, he carefully pulled out of her.

She opened her eyes and he smiled at the dazed, sated look that she gave him. He held out his arms to her again.

"Come here, beautiful. Let me hold you."

He helped her to struggle to a vertical position, then he wrapped his arms around her, loving the way her body just melted in to his. She was boneless and limp, her head lolled on his broad shoulder. He ran his fingers through her hair, soothing and calming her. He tipped her head back, forced her to meet his gaze.

"You good?" he asked, his voice husky and hoarse.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Luke..."

"Yeah, babe?"

"That was..." She paused, searching for the words, gave up. "...incredible."

He laughed. "For me, too."

"I didn't even –" She stopped.

"What?" He stroked her back. "Tell me."

"Didn't even think about the fact that my chest was facing you the whole time... that you saw my scars so close, right in front of you." She studied his face, gauging the honesty of his reaction. "Did it bother you?"

"Selena." He shook his head. "Babe, I've looked at every inch of you. I've touched every inch of you. I've kissed every inch of you. Now, I've
been
inside
every inch of you. Don't you know that I love your body, scars and all?"

She averted her eyes, but he wasn't letting this happen. Not now, not right after what they'd just had, what they'd just shared. He forced her chin up.

"I look at you, and I don't see what's not there. All I see is
you
." His eyes were steady and serious, holding her whole. "And you're beautiful."

Selena stared up at Luke, she knew that he was telling her the truth. And that was when she fell in love with him, totally and completely and helplessly. In this second, she just couldn't understand how anybody else could
ever
stir her body and soul the way that he did.

Nobody can, because it's you, Luke.
You're
the one that I've been waiting for. You're finally here.

Her smile was pure sunshine and Luke smiled back, loving her happiness.

Nothing’s going to ruin this for us, babe. Nothing and nobody. I'm not gonna let it – that's a promise. It's me and it's you. We got this.

It was a mixed blessing that at this moment, Luke had no idea just how wrong he was, just how badly and completely it was all going to be ruined. Reality was going to kick him in the head and the nuts soon enough, though. Kick him hard, kick him until he was down, then it was going to kick him some more. Kick him until there was almost nothing left to try to save and salvage.

Chapter Fifteen
One week later

Luke walked in to the diner, already pissed off about this whole damn thing. He looked around, saw a hand waving at him from the booth in the back. He scowled and stalked over to the booth, stared down at the person sitting there. The last person on earth that he wanted to see, really.

“Hi, Luke,” Natalie said with a tight smile. “Sit down. We need to talk.”

He slid in across from her, still scowling. “Yeah, we sure as hell do. Who the actual
fuck
do you think you are, threatening to follow me around until you see me with my girlfriend, then you’d storm on up to her and tell her a fucking pack of lies about me cheating on her with you?”

Natalie shrugged, trying to look cool. “I
do
have all those calls I made and the texts I sent you, Luke.”

“I never answered your calls, not once,” he hissed, incensed. “I never even
looked
at those fucking attached photos after the first one.”

“But
she
doesn’t know that.”

“Jesus Christ.” He ran his hand through his dark hair. “You just don’t fucking
quit
, do you? What do I have to to to make you go away and stay there?”

“I just – I wanted to talk to you.”A pleading note crept in to her voice now. “I
needed
to talk to you, and this was the only way that I could get you to meet me. I’m sorry for the blackmail, OK, but I didn’t see that I had any other choice.”

Luke shook his head, disgusted. “Whatever you’ve got to say, it better be good.”

“It is.” She hesitated. “Well, actually, it’s bad.”

“Nat –”

“Please just let me talk.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him in what she clearly thought was a sexy and winsome way. “
Pretty
please?”

“Fine,” he said, seconds away from stabbing her with a fork. “Go.”

“OK, so… here it is, no sugar-coating it or playing games. I want you back.”

Stunned, Luke gazed across the table at her, totally dumbfounded. He didn’t say a word and she took advantage of his silence to carry on.

“I made a mistake three years ago,” Natalie said in a teeny-tiny voice, going for little-girl-is-sorry. “But I know it now, and I want to try again.”

He still said nothing and she reached for his hand. He yanked it away, not wanting her to even make the smallest contact – even
that
would feel like a betrayal of Selena.

A bigger betrayal than you being here at all? Bigger than lying to her about where you are right this goddamned second?

“Luke?” Natalie was pretty confident that he’d agree; after all, every single guy in the place was undressing her with their eyes. She knew that she was a gorgeous woman and she’d traded on her looks more than once in her life to get what she wanted. Tonight, her skirt was barely-there, her sweater was tight, her face was perfectly made-up. She was hot and she’d pulled out all the stops, and she damn well knew it. But she needed him to take her back; she needed his protection. “What do you think?”

“What do I think?” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “What do I
think
?”

“Uh-huh.” She flicked her long blonde hair, stuck her impressive chest out a bit, moving in for the kill. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re out of your fucking mind.”

Her face fell. “Luke…”

“No. Just no.” He shook his head, disgusted. “You fucked my friend, Natalie. You told me that I wasn’t even a man anymore, that I was the ugliest thing you’d ever laid eyes on. You said that if my stump came anywhere near you, you’d puke.”

“I was upset!” she protested. “You came back looking like
this
…” She gestured at the end of his left arm. “…and it was a shock! I mean, you weren’t the same man I’d sent off to war, were you?”

“I was missing a hand,” Luke said, his voice and face hard. “But I was still me.”

“But…”

“And I
needed
you then,” he continued. “I needed my fiancée to be by my side, loving me and supporting me. Instead, you were off sleeping with the same man that I was turning to for help. I trusted you and I trusted Brad, and you were both screwing me over. Over and over, from what I found out later.”

She was pale. “Luke…”

“Why
now
, Nat?” he asked suddenly.”Why this big push to get me back, after all this time? Why all the phone calls and the visit to Curves? What’s going on?”

She fidgeted. “Well… well, me and Brad have been having problems…”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Oh, I see. So you’re covering your bases, huh? Getting the next guy all lined up, just like last time?”

“No! No, you don’t see at all!” she rushed to say. “I mean, almost as soon as I got together with him, I realized that I missed you. So much.”

“Bullshit.”

“No, it’s true!” she insisted. “It was never right with him, you know. It was never like it was with you. You were – good to me.
Really
good.”

“Because I loved you,” he said. “But I don’t anymore.”

“But you
could
,” Natalie said, pleading now. “If you just gave me a chance, I’d show you how different I am from how you remember me. I’ll do anything to prove myself to you… anything. Please, Luke.”

“No.”

She faltered. “Just – just ‘no’?”

“Just no.”

“Luke, please.”

Something in her voice caught his attention now; something not flirty or cute. It was something dark and desperate, with a sharp edge. It came to him suddenly that this wasn’t a seduction as much as a mission.

“What, Nat?”

“I – I… I need your help.”

“You have
got
to be fucking kidding me.” He was incredulous. “Why would I lift my baby finger to help you, after what you did?”

“Because,” she said quietly. “Brad’s going to hurt me.”

Luke made an impatient sound in his throat, stood up. “For God’s sake, Nat. Stop it, OK?”

“Luke!” Her hand shot out so fast, it startled him. Her painted nails dug in to his forearm and her eyes were raw need. “Luke, I’m begging you. Please. Please keep me safe from him.”

He shook her off, saw the marks left in his skin by her nails.

“Safe from him?” he repeated. “What’s he going to do to you?”

“I don’t know.” She bit her lip. “But he – he hurt me, Luke. For years.”

He sat down again. “How?”

Natalie looked away from that intense blue gaze. “He hit me.”

Luke was silent again, watching her. He waited.

“He… he said that if I left him, he’d kill me, and I believed it. I
still
believe it.”

“
Have
you left him?”

“Yes.” She was shaking, he saw now, and despite his anger and dislike, he felt himself softening a bit, starting to buy in to her story. “I did. He’s in New York this week for some training conference, and I’ve been waiting for this for months. The second he sent word that he’d landed, I grabbed my chance and ran. He doesn’t even know that I’ve moved out.”

“When does he get back?”

“In two days.”

“And where are you staying?”

“In an awful, cheap motel off the highway.” Tears were welling in her big, blue eyes and she was sure her eyeliner was running, but she didn’t care. “I was hoping that I could – that you’d take me home? With you?”

He leaned back, amazed at her presumption, pissed off that he’d nearly been taken in so easily. “So… what? You thought that you’d tell me some sob story – which I’m not totally sure that I believe, by the way – and you’d just come on home with me?”

“Well…” She peered up at him. “I hoped that you’d want to help me.”

“Again, Nat,” he said coldly. “I’m not buying it. I mean, it’s all a bit convenient, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“You telling me that Brad abuses you, after weeks of sexting me and ambushing me at work half-naked and throwing yourself at me. And tonight you say you want me back and I shut you down… and suddenly I
have
to take you back ‘cause if I don’t, you’ll get hurt?” The sarcasm was thick enough to almost touch and see. “Talk about putting me on the goddamn spot. Talk about twisting my arm, huh?”

“I’m not,” she said. “Luke, I’m
not
. I swear.”

“Oh, right. Because you’re so trustworthy.”

“OK, look.” She tried to stay calm. “I get why you don’t believe me, alright? I wouldn’t believe me either, if I were you. I lied to you and I cheated on you and I fucked off on you… I’m not your favorite person, and I don’t blame you for being angry and suspicious. My timing is suspect, my story seems designed to appeal to your sympathy and back you in to a corner. I
get
it, Luke.”

“Yeah. And?”

“And I’m still asking for your help.”

“You’re asking to come home with me.”

“Yes.”

“And my answer’s still no.” He stood up.

“Oh, God.” She got to her feet now, started to move towards him, her arms extended. “Luke, I am begging you…
begging
you.”

He took a step backwards, then another, avoiding her embrace.

“No, Nat. If what you say is true – and I fucking doubt it, to be honest – then go to the police. Hide out in the motel for a bit longer. Go to your parents, go to a friend or a colleague. You don’t need to drag me in to any of this. I’m just a guy that you dumped three years ago.”

“You’re the most trustworthy person that I know,” she said, her voice breaking. “I know you’d keep me safe. Keep me safe, Luke.”

For just a few seconds – seconds that were going to haunt him for the rest of his life – Luke wavered. He wondered if she was actually telling him the truth for once, if this wasn’t some huge manipulation. But then he remembered her hitting on him at Curves, and her blackmailing him in to this meeting, and his resolve returned.

No fucking way I’m getting sucked in to her drama and games, not again. She can’t be trusted.

“It’s not my job to keep you safe,” he said. “Not anymore. Now that falls on your family and the cops. Count me out.”

“Luke…” Her voice rose and a few diners looked over at them now.

“No. This conversation is over.” He turned away from her. “One last thing, Nat.”

She stared up at him, still pathetically hopeful. “Yes?”

“No more calls, no fuck-me texts, no more surprise visits at Curves. No more strong-arming me in to secret meetings, no more bullshit sob stories. And? You so much as get within one hundred feet of my girlfriend, I’ll report you to the police for stalking her
and
me.” He was so cold and distant, it hurt the way that the winter wind blowing down the Rockies hurts: so damn cold, it cuts your chest like a knife and steals your breath. “I never want to see or hear from you, not ever again. You get me?”

“Yes.” She knew she was beaten and she just gave in, gave up. “Yes, I get you. You’ll never see or hear from me ever again. I’m gone, I promise you.”

Luke had no idea at the time just how true that all was; he didn’t know just how gone Natalie was going to be.