Undone (23 page)

Strong hands landed on her hips, and a warm chest pressed against her back. Her body responded immediately. She knew without looking who was behind her, but she couldn’t help herself. Stealing a glance over her shoulder, she saw a gorgeous man in a black Venetian mask. No one else would know it was him, but those piercing blue eyes gave him away.
Luke.

“Nice mask, professor,” she quipped.

“Thought you’d like it,” he said as his lips grazed her ear. He gripped her tighter and pushed his hips into her backside as they began to move to the music.

Embry thought Jeremy was a good dancer, but he had nothing on Luke. Luke wasn’t simply following her moves. He led her with his hips and hands, guiding her body with his. Suddenly she couldn’t remember why she’d avoided him earlier, why she was trying to stay away at all. The fog of alcohol, combined with her heightened emotions, had erased all logical thought. His hands left a trail of fire on her skin as he skimmed her curves, and she rocked her hips from side to side, keeping with his perfect rhythm. She was suddenly consumed by the thought of his dance-floor abilities and how they’d translate in the bedroom. She was desperate to know how good Luke’s body would feel moving above and inside of hers. Embry reached back and hooked her arm around his neck, pulling him closer. His mouth landed on her nape, licking and kissing up to her ear.

“You look downright edible tonight, Miss Jacobs,” he rasped as he pushed forward with his hips again, letting her feel just how edible he thought she was.

He was leaning so close, she couldn’t resist turning her head and letting her lips graze the corner of his mouth. Just that simple touch sent a bolt of desire straight to Embry’s core. Luke spun her in his arms, and her hands landed on the solid wall of his chest as she caught her balance. The left side of his mouth pulled up in a delicious smirk before he brought his lips to hers igniting the fire in her belly. His arms tightened around her as he licked into her mouth and she tasted whiskey sweet on his tongue.

Pulling back slightly, Luke nodded toward the bar and grabbed her hand. “Follow me.”

She shook her head in agreement and he led her toward a hallway beyond the bar. She’d follow him anywhere. At least in her current hazy, lust-filled state. They pushed through groups of people dancing and mingling and made their way past the bar. The hallway was dimly lit and flashes of the strobe lights from the dance floor exploded before them. The muffled bass beat pumped through the hall as they walked. Embry focused on Luke’s back, the way his muscles flexed and jumped as he moved down the corridor. He gave her arm a tug, and she was pulled into an alcove.

Before she could get her bearings, he had her up against the wall. He caged her in and slanted his mouth over hers. Their masks crashed together as their lips collided, hungry and desperate. Her hands ran over every inch of his body as his tongue stroked hers. She would have climbed inside of him if she could.

Luke tore his lips from hers, panting. His eyes were filled with desire. “Embry.”

She coaxed his mouth back to hers. “Shhh,” she said, between kisses. “No talking. For one night, let’s just pretend—”

He pulled away, a pained look crossing his face. “Pretend what?”

Pushing up onto her toes, she pressed another kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Pretend for one night that you’re not my professor and I’m not your student. That we’re just us.”

Luke’s body stiffened. He dropped his hands from her hips and stepped back. His entire demeanor changed. “I’m done pretending, Embry.”

She was completely thrown. He was giving her whiplash with the speed in which his mood changed. He went from seductive to pissed off in the span of a two-syllable word. “What?”

“You want to pretend. Why? So you can push me away again?”

Embry’s eyes widened. She crossed her arms. “Push you away? You mean like you did to me last night?”

“I heard you lie to Morgan about being with me. You were getting ready to give me another one of your ‘We can’t do this, Luke,’ speeches, so I figured I’d save you the trouble.”

Her jaw dropped. The bitterness in his voice cut her to the core. “Why did you come here tonight? Why did you find me on the dance floor? Why did you
kiss
me?”

He ripped off his mask and ran his hand through his hair. “I came here to get away from you. I had no idea you’d be here. I just wanted one night without having to think about you … about us. But then you walked in, and I couldn’t stay away. I can
never
stay away.”

He had such a look of disgust on his face, Embry felt as though she’d been slapped. “There is no ‘us,’ Luke, so don’t let me stop you from whatever it is you came here to do.” The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. She didn’t mean a word of it, but she wanted to inflict as much pain on him as he had her.

She wanted him. She wanted everything. But she couldn’t tell him that. Pushing past him into the hallway, she tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall. Embry made a beeline for the bar.
Time to drink away the tears and get the night back on track after being derailed by the freight train that is Luke Brody.

Luke followed her out and came up beside her at the bar, his mask back in place. He leaned forward to get the attention of the beautiful bartender. She walked over and leaned in, practically shoving her cleavage in his face. Embry couldn’t hear their muted conversation over the music, but soon the woman put a shot of whiskey in front of Luke. He slammed it back, winked at the bartender, and threw a few bills on the bar before walking off.

Embry’s head spun. She was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the alcohol and everything to do with her run-in with Luke. She scanned the dance floor for him and saw Morgan and Brett. She waved, and they made their way off the dance floor.

“Where’ve you been?” Morgan asked. Brett headed to the bar for more drinks. “We saw you dancing with Jeremy, and then you disappeared.”

“Oh, I found another dance partner,” she said.

Morgan must have picked up on her tone because she rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“What can I say, I’m a masochist.”

“Clearly,” said Morgan, looking around the club. “Where is Mister Tall, Dark, and Academic?”

Embry shrugged. “Not sure. We had a bit of a blow up.”

Morgan eventually turned back to Embry with sympathy pouring from her eyes. Grabbing Embry’s hand, she walked away from the dance floor. “I think we should probably head out.”

Embry pulled against Morgan. “What? I just found you guys. Why would we leave?”

“Trust me, let’s just get out of here.”

Embry wasn’t buying it. She looked over Morgan’s shoulder and into the crowd, trying to find what her friend had seen. She scanned the sweaty, euphoric faces, their bodies swaying to the slow beat of Blackmill’s “Let it Be,”
until she found him.

She wished she hadn’t. Embry couldn’t look away as she watched a girl grind against Luke. Her back was to his chest, her ass rubbing into his groin. His hands gripped her hips as he moved behind her, but his eyes were trained on Embry. His stare was unwavering and intense, a million emotions in his steely gaze. She saw every feeling she was experiencing mirrored in his eyes: desire, frustration, pain. She realized in that moment that no matter what they did, they were helpless—slaves to their feelings for each other.

The girl spun around to face Luke, clueless to the fact that his attention was elsewhere. She ran her hands up and down his chest, causing a pit to form in Embry’s stomach. Seeing someone else’s hands on him was more than she could take. The pain it was causing her was reflected in his eyes, but she saw something else as well … determination. As much as it killed him, he wouldn’t pretend anymore. He wouldn’t play games. It was all or nothing.

Tears streamed down Embry’s face as she realized, with complete certainty, that she was losing him. Even as the tears fell, she felt her anger brewing. How dare someone else put their hands on Luke? How dare he let her? They weren’t over. They weren’t finished. They were just getting started. Those thoughts tried to break through her drunken haze, but at the moment, she couldn’t process anything except another girl’s hands on Luke. All Embry could think of was removing those hands and giving him a piece of her mind.

Ripping off her mask, she started toward Luke and his dance partner, ready to unload all of the emotional turmoil that had been tearing her apart inside. She made it all of two feet before two large hands clamped down on her arms and pulled her back.

“Cool it, sweetheart,” Brett whispered. He wrapped his forearm across her collarbone, trapping her against him.

Morgan came up in front of her, blocking her view of Luke. “Whatever he’s doing, however much it’s hurting you, you
cannot
do this here. I know he has a mask on, but if you make a scene, someone is bound to notice. Neither of you can afford to take that risk.”

“I don’t care,” Embry snapped.

“I know you don’t, but when you’re sober, you will. You both will. You and Luke will figure things out, but this is not the time or the place to do it.”

Morgan was right. Embry couldn’t do anything other than hope that things between her and Luke weren’t beyond repair. A drunken fight at a club wouldn’t help anything. She let Morgan and Brett lead her out, but not before sparing a quick glance over her shoulder to see Luke’s pained eyes following her across the floor.

Embry slept fitfully, constantly waking up to check her phone to see if Luke had called. She wasn’t sure why she thought he would, but she couldn’t help hoping. After waking up with those hopes dashed, she was thankful to have a study date with Jeremy. He showed up at her apartment with a bag of greasy egg sandwiches and her favorite coffee. She was so happy for the distraction she could have kissed him.

When Jeremy left, Embry was finally alone with her thoughts. There was nothing left to keep her mind from wandering to where it really wanted to be … Luke. She’d slipped on his sweatshirt and made her way out to the balcony. Sitting on the mesh chair, she watched the rain fall, one drop chasing the next onto the pavement below. Pulling her knees to her chest, she snuggled into the sweatshirt, fighting the chill in the air as the wind licked at her cheeks and blew her hair in every direction. Overwhelmed by her thoughts, she played and replayed the events of the previous night in her head. She’d reached for her phone numerous times, desperate to connect with him somehow, but she didn’t know what to say. She eventually resorted to staring, unseeing, into the stormy sky, trying to make sense of her muddled feelings.

Somewhere between the raindrops, she realized the truth. Memories crashed into her like waves assaulting the shore—every touch, every interaction, every moment they’d shared—and she realized she’d been kidding herself. Her thoughts from the night before floated through her mind.
They weren’t over. They weren’t finished. They were just getting started.
She realized now how true that was. They’d never been friends. They’d never
not
been together. Every decision she’d made was because she wanted, no
needed
, to be close to him.

She’d fooled herself into thinking that if she fought her feelings, held them back, they’d fade or go away. That if she pulled away before their kisses went too far, didn’t cross too many lines and ran from her feelings, they weren’t doing anything wrong. But everything they’d done had crossed lines, pushed boundaries. She suddenly realized with stunning clarity that Luke had known that all along.

He’d let her do it. He’d humored her. He knew from the start where they stood, how he felt. He’d never denied his feelings. But for whatever reason, he’d stepped back, let her believe what she needed to believe to be okay with spending time with him. He’d done it for her, and all it had brought him was pain. He had been waiting for her to admit her feelings, to realize that it didn’t matter what job he had but that they were supposed to be together. She shot out of her chair, worried that it might be too late.

Embry couldn’t move fast enough. She brushed her teeth, ran a brush through her hair, and stepped into her flats. She was out the door and on her way to Luke’s in a matter of minutes. She couldn’t bear the thought of him not knowing how she felt. She didn’t want to lose him. He’d worked his way into her heart in such a short time, she couldn’t imagine her life without him. But she couldn’t worry about that just yet. All she knew was that she had to tell him how she felt, how she
really
felt. No more running.

Embry pulled into Luke’s driveway. His car was parked out front and lights shone through the windows. He was home. She tore out of her car, running through the rain to reach his front door. She was frantic. The drive over had done nothing to help her anxiety. Her heart pounded in her chest as she pounded on his door. No answer. She rang the doorbell and knocked some more. Nothing. She fought back tears as she continued to slam her fist on the door, calling his name. He was home. He had to answer.

After what felt like an eternity, the porch light turned on, blinding her. When the spots cleared from her vision, she saw Luke in the doorway, shirtless. All thoughts left her brain, and her eyes traveled greedily over his smooth, muscled chest. She took in every inch of his carved torso down to the delicious v that disappeared beneath his jeans.