Book of Luke (Book 2) (9 page)

“You are
so
cute,” he uttered. “You
have no idea.”

“I wish I could stop blurting stuff,” I
admitted. “It honestly feels like it’s getting worse.”

He wrapped an arm around me and kissed my
cheek. “It’s you. I love it.”

I rested my head on his bare shoulder. “I’m
sorry I ruined the moment.”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” he breathed.
“You can never ruin anything for me.” He nudged my chin and kissed
me. I fell back slowly, and again he moved on top of me. “Think
this bed is big enough?”

I laughed. “Please don’t say that word!”

“What word?” He grinned.

I laughed again. If he only knew!

He inched down my jeans, pulled off my boots
and tossed them across the room. “Do you have
any
idea what
I’m going to do to you?” he hummed in a sexy tone. His eyes
gleamed. He looked freakin’
ecstatic
.

“I have an idea,” I said invitingly, pulling
his mouth toward mine.

He kissed me wildly. I slid his jeans below
his hips, running my hands across his abs. His hands gripped my
thighs and his fingers hooked my underwear. “Holy
shit
you’re perfect,” he whispered as we made out again. The kissing got
fierce, and he began heaving. His mouth moved from my mouth to my
neck, and up to my earlobe. “I’ve been waiting forever,” he
breathed in my ear. “
Nothing
can ruin this moment.”

“Lukasz?”

We froze.

Light tap at the door. “Lukasz. Your mother
wants to speak with you!”

Luke’s face fell. “You have
got
to be
shittin’ me!” he protested, devastated.

“No, she is on the phone! Open the door,
please,” Burke demanded.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his
face. He pulled up his jeans, zipped them and tossed me my clothes.
Then he put on his shirt, rubbed his forehead and —once I was
dressed—opened the door. “I turned my phone off for a reason,
Burke.”

Burke had his arms crossed. His smile was
big. “Ah, well, that is what you get for turning it off, yes?” He
waved at me as I stood up off the bed and straightened my hair.

“Hi, Mom,” Luke said in utter frustration,
pausing to listen. “Yes, I got here safe. Mom, you needed to hear
that from me?” He listened for a while longer, then rolled his
eyes. “Of
course
I’ll put on fresh socks in the
morning.”

I chuckled. Burke looked amused, too.

Silence.

“I have to go now, Mom,” Luke said. “Oh, and
thanks for calling. You have great timing!” He hung up and threw
the phone to Burke. Then he walked back toward me and crashed
backwards onto the bed.

“So,” Burke said, “would you two like to go
down for some hot chocolate?”

Luke put his hands out, staring at the
ceiling. “Well
my
night’s ruined! Sure, why not?”

~ ~ ~

We got hot chocolate in the lounge. By the roaring
fire was a large, stylish sectional that could probably seat about
twenty people. Several love seats shared the room, and a TV played
quietly by the fireplace ceiling.

Luke had an arm around me, and Burke sat
almost across from us. We shared the room with a couple in their
own area, drinking and speaking softly.

“Much more fun than the bedroom, yes,
Lukasz?” Burke said with a grin.

Luke smiled. “I haven’t had this much fun in
ages
. Thanks, Burke.”

Burke laughed his warm laugh. “I’m sorry,
Lukasz. I remember being your age. But she did want to speak with
you, and I had no choice!”

Luke waved it off, but the sheer
disappointment on his face said it all.

I leaned into Luke’s chest and took a sip of
rich, creamy hot chocolate. “This tastes incredible!”

Luke squeezed me tight. “Yeah, it’s not that
powdered crap.”

“Lukasz, didn’t you say Troy is around here
somewhere?” Burke asked after a quiet moment.

Luke glanced at Burke just as his cell phone
beeped. “Yeah, I’m gonna have to go look for him.”

I was going to ask who Troy is, but he
pulled out his phone, and I strained to see the screen without
being obvious.

The screen said, “Message from Nikki” and
the text read,

Where are you?

My eyes widened.
Who’s Nikki?

Luke pulled up a browser and searched his
email as I wondered who Nikki is, and how badly she could ruin my
life.

“Check it out,” he breathed, showing me the
screen.

I wanted to ask if I could check out his
texts instead, but I glanced at the email.

“The Realtor got back to me, he said he can
do a showing. Do you like this one?”

I looked through the pictures, but my mind
wasn’t quite there. “It’s great,” I said weakly.

He looked confused. “I can find something
else…”

“I like it,” I said, still preoccupied with
Nikki. He set the phone down on his lap, and followed my gaze to
it.

“Adonia? Is something wrong?”

My stomach was doing somersaults. “Of course
not.” I thought quickly. “I just realized my phone’s in the
room.”

He seemed to relax a bit. “Oh.”

“I like it, though,” I said of the house,
just to change the subject.

He nodded, silent for a moment. Our eyes
locked, and I knew he could tell something was still bothering
me.

He leaned into my ear. “I love you,
Beautiful.”

I bit my lip and pulled him close. It was
plain as day that he loved me. But I kind of wondered if I’m the
only one he loved.

His lips brushed my forehead and his arms
squeezed me tight. I picked up his phone and looked through the
pictures. The place had a jacuzzi, a bright bedroom, walk-in
closets, and skylights. What was there not to like?

Eventually, the heat of the flames began
making me drowsy, and the hot chocolate didn’t help.

~ ~ ~

I woke up in the suite, not remembering how I even
got there. Luke laid beside me, fast asleep, and I realized he‘d
carried me up.

My hand glided beneath his shirt, across his
abs. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his rhythmic
heartbeat. He stirred and tightened his grip on me, murmuring “I
love you,” but still fast asleep.

I felt kind of bad about falling asleep on
him, right after Burke and his mom ruined his night. All
whoever-Nikki-was asked is where he was—that’s not exactly proof of
anything.

I think
.

I tried to shake the worries out of my
head.

It was five in the morning, and I needed a
best friend. As it was 7:00 p.m. in Alaska, I figured it’d be safe
to call.

I got out of bed, grabbed my phone and snuck
to the bathroom.

“Hello?” Lilly answered.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Oh, thank God!” she exclaimed. “I am
so
screwed!”

“What happened?” I quietly shut the door so
it wouldn’t hit the frame.

“My mom made me an appointment to start
prenatal care. Thankfully their soonest opening is in two weeks,”
she hissed into the phone. “And I suspect the doctor might notice
there’s nothing to care for.”

I smiled to myself. This girl’s
crazy
. “It sounds like you’ve gotta tell the truth, as soon
as possible,” I suggested.

“And say what, I lied about being pregnant?”
she whined. “I don’t want people thinking I’m
nuts
, thank
you.”

“Wait a few days and say you had a
miscarriage. I mean it’s just a heavy period, right? It’ll be done
by the time you have to go for your appointment.”

“Hmmm,” she said thoughtfully. “How’s the
Alps?”

“Amazing,” I said dreamily. “I don’t want to
come home.”

“Please don’t say that,” she grumbled. “And
now that you’re gone, I don’t know how I’ll survive in Hawaii
without you!”

My heart leapt. “Move with us!” I insisted,
maybe too loudly.

“Move? With Lukasz?
Yuck!
”

I giggled. “Listen, we were having hot
chocolate in the lounge last night, and I saw a message on his
phone. I was just wondering if you know who—”

“Oh my God, Gino’s calling! I’ll call you
right back!”

“Wait!” I demanded, desperate for
information. “Do you know—”

“Talk to you in a few!” She hung up.

I fell onto the covered toilet, crossed my
arms and sighed loudly in frustration.

“What’s the matter, Beautiful? Can’t go
tinkle?”

I laughed and headed into the bedroom.
Halfway to him I leaned over, grabbed him a clean pair of socks and
tossed them at his face.

He caught them and grinned. “Thanks,
hotness.”

I grinned and plopped myself on the bed
beside him. “Right.”

He pounced on me, pinning me on my back. “I
do believe I didn’t get what I wanted last night,” he whispered,
his breath tickling my ear.

I beamed. “Because your mom had to remind
you to change your socks?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s not even that
important—we’re in a wide open area.”

I pulled on his chain to bring his face
closer. “Maybe you should stop leaving them scattered around the
foot of your bed.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s
gross
,” I informed him.

“Weird,” he stated. “You never seem to mind
my room. Socks and all.”

I pecked his cheek. “Not when you’re in
it.”

“I like that.” He kissed me. His mouth moved
to my neck, his thumbs hooked my underwear, and his breathing
became heavy. “You know what else I’d like?”

I giggled. “Another piece of my soul?”

His eyes darkened, and he licked his lips.
“That.”

Clearly,
skiing
is not the only
activity at which my boyfriend can be an Olympic champion.

Five feverishly hot hours later, we left our
suite, planning to hit the slopes. But Luke took a detour.

“Where are we going?” I asked as we walked
down one of the peaceful little streets. The town was crowded with
log homes, fountains, restaurants, and cute little gift shops. It
was like walking through a Thomas Kinkade painting.

Luke squeezed my hand. “I want to introduce
you to a really good friend of mine.”

A jolt of adrenaline rushed through me. “A
good friend?” I asked anxiously.

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “His name’s
Troy. He graduated from my old school last year, and he’s here
visiting his grandparents.” Luke unzipped his coat with his free
hand. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” I breathed.

“He
was
my best friend before I met
Gino,” Luke added, growing serious. “Now they’re tied. Don’t tell
Troy that, though. I’ve known him forever, and he thinks he’s my
only
best friend.”

I laughed nervously. “I wouldn’t dream of
it!”

As we walked through the jingling door of a
log gift shop, I tried to compose myself. My heart was racing. I
had to win someone’s approval, and I only got a few minutes
notice—this was, like, worse than his
dad
.

Luke released my hand and set his arms on
the clerk’s counter. “Is Troy working here?” he asked a
grey-haired, brown-eyed lady who sat in a rocking chair behind the
counter.

She looked confused for a moment.

“Monsieur Troy De La Fontaine?”

The old lady smiled and put up a finger.
Then she inched into another room.

“You speak French?” I asked, intrigued and a
bit aroused.

He laughed. “Not really. I know a few words,
that’s about it.”

“You do it well,” I cooed.

He chuckled. “Thanks.”

I hugged myself and nodded.

He looked at me in that adoring way again.
“Cold?”

I took a breath through my teeth, getting
more anxious by the minute. “I’m fine,” I said, fiddling with my
hair.

A muscular, long-haired guy made a sudden
entrance, taking the ten or fifteen steps toward us. His eyes were
bluish-gray and his shoulder-length light brown hair flowed back
behind him. A white tee shirt hugged his incredible build, bulky
arms, and a dragon-tattooed bicep.

“Holy crap!” I blurted. “Do you hang around
anyone who isn’t
mind-bogglingly
HOT?!
”

Luke and Monsieur
De La
Fontaine
—emphasis because it sounds cool—were taken aback.

I recoiled, shrinking just a bit. My cheeks
grew hot and my throat clogged up.

Troy flashed me a perfect white smile. “And
who is this
delightful
young lady?” he asked, leaning across
the counter.

“Troy, meet my girlfriend, Adonia
Morrison.”

Troy took my hand and kissed it.
“Mademoiselle…”

I stared, breathless, at his lips on my
hand. I must’ve stared for a full minute, and I’m sure the color of
my face showed it. When I finally found words, they were sadly
blunt:

“Oh my
freakin’
GOD!
”

“
Yeeees?”
Luke teased.

I laughed and pulled my hand out of Troy’s
grasp. Then I took out my phone and snapped a picture of him like
it’s
socially freakin’ acceptable
.

I sent it to Lilly.

Then I looked up at them grinning at me.

At least they were amused…

Feeling awkward, I wrapped an arm around
Luke. I’ll admit I was relieved that my boyfriend’s obviously not a
jealous guy.

My phone vibrated, and something possessed
me to hit the
talk,
right there.

“Oh thank
God
, you’ve come to your
senses!” Lilly screamed into the phone.

I chuckled. “That’s Luke’s friend.”

“Really?! Lukasz has seriously good taste in
friends,” she uttered, sounding distant, like she was looking at
the screen. “Wow, that guy’s
incredible!
”

“Yeah,” I breathed. “I can’t talk now,
though.” I looked at the guys.

“Oh, yeah!” she said. “If I were in the
presence of
that
, I wouldn’t have time for you, either! Send
more pictures, please.” She hung up.