Luke: Armed and Dangerous (11 page)

In her bedroom, Trinity kicked off her Nikes and yanked off her socks, then ditched
her jeans and T-shirt. After she’d donned a short terry robe over her bra and underwear,
she grabbed a thick towel and headed out to the hot tub in the enclosed backyard.

The French doors squeaked as she opened them, and then again as she closed the doors
behind her. There was a coolness to the air, and the steam rising off the top of the
water in the sunken tub was a welcome sign. Thank goodness Skylar had the outdoor
heaters set up close to the hot tub to take the chill out of the air. The pole heaters
were easily six feet tall with tops that looked like woks turned upside down.

Trinity tossed her towel onto a deck chair and flipped on the heaters. In moments
their elements began to glow rich orange-red, the same color as the sun sinking in
the west. After she turned on the whirlpool jets, Trinity dropped her robe onto a
lounge chair. For a moment she stood on the redwood decking in only her royal- blue
satin bra and panties. With one little adjustment of her hair clip, she piled her
hair up on top of her head so that it would stay out of the water.

The whirlpool bubbled and frothed like a witch’s cauldron— even the lights beneath
the surface appeared green and eerie, as though it truly was a magical potion. She
started forward then hesitated.

What the hell?
She was alone—the backyard was completely enclosed. It was secluded and hidden from
view by countless trees and bushes, so no one could see her. And Skylar and Zack would
be gone till tomorrow.

Trinity stripped out of her bra and bikini underwear, her nipples growing painfully
hard in the cool air. When she walked in front of one heater, its warmth radiated
along one side, the chilly air brushing her other side.

She stepped down into the hot tub and sighed in complete bliss as she sank into the
warmth and settled onto the underwater bench. Jets of water pulsated along her skin
while she breathed deep of the clear and clean country evening air. She’d forgotten
how dry the Arizona desert was—it felt somehow lighter here than in England.

While she relaxed, for the millionth time her thoughts returned to the other night.

To Luke Rider.

Everything about the man screamed sex. Rough, wild, and hard... all that Race couldn’t
begin to give her.

No, Race couldn’t be considered wild about anything. Anything other than Wildgames,
that is. He was a shrewd businessman, but he’d been calm and refined as a boyfriend
and as a lover. There’d never been any fireworks with him, but it had always been
comfortable and enjoyable.

All the guys she’d dated—pretty much the same story.

I’ve never known it wild.

Is that what I want?

Trinity rolled her gaze heavenward and stared into the darkening sky and sighed.

When she thought of that cowboy there was nothing remotely calm or unemotional about
how he’d made her feel. In just that short time she’d been with him, he’d made her
feel sexy and alive.

Infatuation, Trinity, that’s all it is. Not that you’ll ever see him again, anyway.

She closed her eyes and focused on the feel of the heaters warming the back of her
head, the water bubbling at her nipples and jets pulsating along her legs. Spreading
her thighs, she adjusted her hips so that one of the jets aimed right where it mattered.
Mmmm, yeah.
That felt so good. She could almost imagine Luke licking her right where the water
pulsed. Maybe he’d bite her there. Not too hard, but enough that it would drive her
even crazier for want and need of him.

Trinity slipped the fingers of one hand between her thighs. Even through the water
she could feel her own desire.

She brought her other hand to her breast and kneaded and plucked her nipple. Eyes
still closed, she fantasized about sucking her own nipples while Luke devoured her.
She raised her breast and flicked her tongue across the hard nub. A pleasant warm
lick that immediately chilled in the night air until she licked it again.

Her fingers aided the jets, stroking her harder and harder, her tongue flicking again
and again over her nipple, urging her closer and closer to climax. Imagining Luke’s
tongue all over her body. Imagining Luke sliding into her—

The squeak of the French doors jolted Trinity from her fantasy.

Her eyes snapped open. She jerked her head up and her heart started to pound.

The large figure of a man. He stood beside the hot tub, his face shadowed by a dark
cowboy hat.

“Welcome home, Trinity MacKenna,” he murmured.

Luke.

Trinity would recognize that deep, sensual drawl anywhere.

Omigod.

Heated embarrassment prickled her skin. She wanted to die from humiliation at being
caught masturbating—by the very man she’d been fantasizing about. And darn it if her
brain and mouth hadn’t taken another vacation.

Her cheeks burning as hot as the heat lamps, she slid farther beneath the water so
that her breasts were hidden by the bubbles and crossed her arms over her chest for
good measure.

“I—I—” She couldn’t find any words that made sense. She needed to tell him to back
off, to get out and let her get herself covered and decent. She needed to say something,
didn’t she? Anything?

“Who were you fantasizing about, sugar?” His eyes were shadowed by his hat and his
voice was rough. “The man who hasn’t had the sense to claim you by now?”

Trinity didn’t know what to say, then what came out was, “I broke up with him. My
boyfriend.”

Damn.

I have totally lost my ever-lowin’ mind.

The rough, aroused look on Luke’s face seemed to catch fire, burning her deep inside,
and convincing her yes, yes, she was crazy, completely and totally.

Trinity slid farther into the water.

“Uh-uh.” Luke crouched down beside the hot tub and pushed his Stetson up with one
finger. She could clearly see his roguish blue eyes in the waning evening light. “Keep
going, sugar.”

“What—” She swallowed, her throat incredibly dry. “Ah, what are you doing here, Luke?
How did you find me?”

“Later.” He reached out his hand and ran his thumb along her lower lip, causing more
warmth to spread throughout her—but this time it was from arousal. “Right now you’re
gonna touch yourself, just like you were doing when I walked in here.”

Trinity sucked in her breath. “You want me to... in front of you?”

“Oh, yeah.” His sensual smile and the way his finger moved on her skin almost made
her climax on the spot. “I want you to touch yourself while I watch. But first you’re
going to move up a little higher to give me a better view.”

Face burning impossibly hotter, she shook her head, pulling away from him. “I—I can’t,
um, do it in front of you.”

“You can.” Luke caught her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. “And you
will.”

Trinity trembled, yet managed to ask, “And if I don’t?”

His eyes glittered with dark sensuality. “I’ll pull you out of that hot tub, lay you
across my knee, and spank your naked, sexy ass.”

Oh. My. God.

At the visualization of him doing just that, Trinity’s eyes nearly crossed, her whole
body aching with a wild urgency. The need to have Luke inside her, and to have him
now exploded through her like a storm.

But she couldn’t have sex with this man, this cowboy—although for the life of her,
she wasn’t able to remember why not.

Like, she didn’t even know the man?

What was that again?

His fingers slid in a slow and sensuous movement from her chin along her jaw line.
“Now what’ll it be?”

She was almost tempted to let him spank her—the thought was strangely erotic.

Trembling with nervousness and desire, Trinity eased up until she was sitting on the
redwood decking, her feet still in the frothing waters of the hot tub. Her nipples
chilled as hard as gold nuggets, and goose bumps roughened her flesh. She quickly
warmed from the heaters at her back, but it was mostly Luke’s touch that set her on
fire as his fingertips skated from her lips and down her neck to the hollow of her
throat where he lightly caressed the soft skin.

The night smelled of desert air and of Luke’s masculine scent and his spicy aftershave,
and her senses whirled. Her blood thrummed even harder in her veins, the sound loud
enough to nearly drown out the pulsing of the hot tub.

She held her breath as he moved his hand along her collarbone, and over the gentle
rise of her breast. “Spread your legs,” he said in that drawl that made her throb.

Trinity widened her thighs, her feet dangling in the churning waters, while keeping
her gaze focused on Luke. It was as if she had no choice but to do as he commanded.
No will of her own. Or was it that his will was the same as hers? What she really
wanted.

“Sweet.” Luke settled on one knee as he cupped her breast with his large hand, his
powerful T-shirt-clad chest brushing against her arm. “Touch yourself.”

Shivers raced through her as she braced herself with one palm behind her on the decking,
and slipped the fingers of her other hand through the soft curls of her mound and
into the slick heat of her wet folds.

“Yeah, that’s it.” His voice rumbled as he caressed her nipple with his thumb.

She trembled, so close to exploding like a bunch of firecrackers on Independence Day.
Just a little more—

“Stop.” At his command her fingers came to a halt and she wanted to scream. “Not just
yet.” He moved his hand to her other breast. “Slide two fingers into yourself and
hold them there.”

Oh, God, this man was going to kill her.

Trinity’s whole body vibrated as she obeyed and pressed her knuckles against her folds.
The feelings were so intense it was as if Luke’s fingers were inside her.

With his free hand, he took off his Stetson and tossed it onto a deck chair. “Arch
your back so that I can get a real good look at your breasts.”

Two fingers still deep inside herself, Trinity obeyed. Her nipples had hardened to
such sensitive nubs that the lightest brush of his fingers sent lightning bolts of
sensation through her. “Luke, I can’t take any more.”

“We’ve just gotten started.” His hand moved away from her breasts and he stood in
a quick, fluid movement. She lifted her chin to watch him as he jerked his T-shirt
over his head and tossed it onto the deck chair beside his hat.

Dang, but that man had a fine chest. Chiseled muscles that made her want to run her
fingers over every sculpted contour down to his flat, hard, six-pack abs. Thick veins
ran along his bulging biceps to his large hands, hands that she wanted all over her.
She’d never seen a man so up close and personal with such a fine body.

His hands moved to his Western buckle, and in no time he’d unfastened it and set the
belt aside, then toed off his boots and peeled off his socks.

Oh jeez. Oh cripes. He was going to get completely naked.

Hurry, darn it.

As if he’d heard her thoughts, Luke smiled and unfastened his jeans and slid them
down over his hips. His thick, luscious cock sprang out at full attention as he pushed
his jeans past his heavily muscled thighs.

Wow, wow, wow.
His cock was even bigger than she’d thought when she’d felt it pressed against her
at the Christmas party. Dang but that would feel good.

A sense of light-headedness swept over Trinity and she realized she was holding her
breath. She gulped in the fresh evening air, her heart beating faster and faster as
Luke slid out of his jeans and briefs. She watched the ripple and play of his muscles
while he strode toward her and stepped into the hot tub.

When he was waist-deep in the water, he moved between her thighs, pressing her knees
apart, and braced his hands on the decking at either side of her hips. He pushed his
cock against her hand, forcing her own fingers deeper.

She couldn’t. She could. She wanted. She shouldn’t.

“We don’t have protection,” she finally whispered.

“I can satisfy you in more ways than you can imagine.” He leaned forward and nuzzled
her ear, and then ran his hot tongue along the row of earrings. “Now,” he murmured,
“back to where we left off.”

That’s all the man had to do—talk in that deep, sensual drawl, and she’d do just about
anything for him.

Anything at all.

“Stroke yourself.” He lowered his head and nuzzled her breast, his warm breath fanning
across her nipple as he spoke. “Nice ’n slow.”

She slid her fingers out of her core, slick with her juices, and stroked her tight
nub. Luke flicked his tongue over her nipple and Trinity arched her back toward him,
needing him to take her deeper into his mouth.

He moved to her other nipple and scraped his stubble over the sensitive flesh. “While
you’re fingering yourself,” he murmured, “imagine that I’m sliding into you.”

Trinity’s breathing came quick and uneven. As her finger rubbed faster, her eyelids
drifted shut. She was a trigger-pull away from climaxing.

“Look at me,” he demanded and her eyes popped open. He smiled, and with one hand he
caught the back of her head and brought her toward him. With a flick of his wrist,
he pulled out her hair clip, allowing her hair to tumble down around her shoulders
and to slide below her shoulder blades like a sensual caress.

The clip clattered on the decking as Luke cupped the back of her head. Her fingers
continued to stroke her sensitive center as he brought his mouth above hers. She tasted
his warm breath upon her lips, bringing back a rush of memories of that incredible
first kiss from the night at Nevaeh’s.

“When I take you, sugar,” he said, his gaze locked with hers, “you’re gonna watch
me slide into you. You’re gonna watch me possess you. I’ll fuck you so deep you’ll
feel it in your throat.”

His words magnified Trinity’s arousal. She gasped and started to cry out as her orgasm
began to ripple through her. But Luke brought his mouth down hard and kissed her with
such savage intensity that her orgasm multiplied. Her hips rocked against her hand,
his cock rubbing her knuckles as he pressed himself to her. Trinity’s world and thoughts
spun as he devoured her in a kiss she never wanted to end.