Picture Perfect Wedding (14 page)

Her tongue met his and she took her time exploring it. She wasn’t quite done when he groaned and a moment later, his tongue was lashing hers in delicious strokes. She yielded to him, taking control of the kiss, surrendering to his wickedly divine ministrations and thankful he was holding her up. While his expert mouth stripped her of everything except her burning desire for him, she explored his shoulders and back with her hands, pressing and rubbing the muscles and bone and committing to memory the moments her touch made him moan in pleasure against her mouth.

His hands moved to her buttocks and with ragged breathing to match her own, he released her mouth. “You thought this was a good idea?”

Her mind was incapable of constructing a thought other than she was exactly where she needed to be—wrapped around Luke. “What do you mean?”

His dark and enticing eyes gazed down at her. “You’re shivering so hard you’re vibrating and in case you didn’t know it, water at this temperature isn’t complimentary to a guy.”

He looked gorgeous to her and she didn’t quite understand. “How isn’t it complimentary?”

He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe she didn’t comprehend. “Let me put it this way. Cold water means shrinkage.”

She blinked, understanding dawning. “In that case we need to go back to shore. Now.”

He laughed, his face creasing in joyous lines. “We finally found something to agree on.”

She traced a finger down his sternum. “Carry me in.”

He stared down at her. “Isn’t that a little too
caveman
or
man knows best
for a modern woman like yourself?”

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I know, right, but...”

One brow quirked up and lust flared bright in his eyes. “But?”

Her embarrassment vanished. He wanted her so why not let him know what turned her on. “When you were striding toward me all powerful and determined, I got excited thinking you were about to throw me over your shoulder and carry me off.”

“Like this?”

The next minute she was upside down with her head resting halfway down his back. She squealed with delight. “Totally like this, only don’t drop me.”

Suddenly she was back upright with disappointment slugging her.

Blue eyes, which held the tiniest hint of being pissed, hooked hers. “If you want me to give you a caveman fantasy, you can’t tell me what to do.”

She tried her best to look contrite. “You’re right. Sorry. Cavemen don’t take orders. They give them.”

He grinned. “Damn straight. Now we’re on the same page.”

A skitter of unease ran through her that with all this outrageous flirting she’d perhaps given him the wrong idea about what she liked. “I won’t need a safe word, will I, because I really—”

He brushed the gentlest kiss across her mouth. “I’ll never intentionally hurt you, Erin, and if you ever feel at all uncomfortable just tell me.”

Her heart, which up until now had been totally separate from her lust-fest, fluttered for a second. She instantly steadied it by kissing him, thankful for the rush of euphoria that numbed her to anything else.

Luke swung Erin over his shoulder for the second time in two minutes and grinned. Erin totally surprised him. Not only was she sensationally sexy, she wanted to role play, which meant he had permission to channel his inner caveman. As he walked toward the shore, his free hand paddled her gently on the butt. “And what’s with the board shorts? Last time I saw you there were two naked buttocks calling out to me.”

“I panicked there might be people on the beach.”

His chest expanded at the thought she’d done all of this just for him. “You do realize there’s going to be a consequence for you teasing me like that. I’m going to have to strip them off you.”

He waited for her compliant,
Yes
,
Master
, response although the thought struck him that he might be mixing up the fantasy with that of stealing a slave girl.

“I see. Well, I think it’s only fair then that I...” Her hands slipped under the waistband of his boxers and her palms curved around his buttocks.

His glutes tensed and every part of his body strained to stay in control. “Erin,” he managed to grind out, “if you don’t want me to drop you, you might want to wait until we get to shore before you do that.”

Her hands shot to his back but her heat lingered, promising things to come.

Her dog started barking, unhappy that her mistress was on his shoulder and he feared for his ankles. “I’ve got bare legs, Erin. Tell your dog to stay.”

“Maggie-May, it’s okay,” she called out. “Sit. Good dog.”

The terrier didn’t look happy but stayed next to Mac who’d joined in the barking.

When he reached the beach he lowered her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her. “Dizzy?”

She rested her head on his chest. “Just a bit.”

The dogs went berserk, wanting both of their attention but he held her close until her eyes cleared. As she picked up her bag, he grabbed his shorts and dug out his keys. Catching her hand, he ran them to the boat shed with the dogs in hot pursuit. “This is the best I can do for a cave at short notice.”

She shivered in the shadow cast by the boat shed and her teeth chattered. “The beach is sunnier.”

“Really? You, who put board shorts on for fear of public indecency, are thinking of having sex on the beach? Not to mention the added dimension of sand and two dogs who’d either try to bite or lick us?”

She groaned through slightly blue lips. “You were supposed to follow me into my bedroom. This is all your fault. You distracted me.”

He grinned as the padlock on the boat shed opened. “I promise to distract you even more.”

Her eyes dilated into dark pools and he tugged her into the boat shed, closing the door firmly against the imploring eyes of two dogs. A moment later she was in his arms, her breasts pressing against his chest, and her nipples hard and erect grazing his skin. He kissed her deep and fast and then pulled away, staring at her breasts. Two tiny triangles of blue Lyrca technically covered them but hid nothing. “You’re beautiful.” He lowered his mouth over the thin material and sucked it into his mouth.

She sank her fingers into his shoulders and cried out.

He pulled back. “Did I hurt you?”

“God no. It’s amazing but let’s get rid of this.” She reached for the knot at the back of her neck that kept the bikini top in place, but her trembling fingers couldn’t seem to untie it. “My fingers are too cold.”

He moved backward, taking her with him, and grabbed a bath sheet out of the cupboard. “Wrap yourself in this while I wrangle the knot and then I’ll warm you up.”

She gave him a grateful smile before she turned around, kicked off the wet board shorts and dried her midriff.

The close-up view of the two perfect orbs of her buttocks touched only by a scrap of blue lace that ran across her hips had his fingers fumbling on the knot. Ironically, the micro-bikini barely covered anything and yet the damn knot was holding fast, making him work harder than he’d ever worked before to free a pair of breasts.

“Just break it, Luke.”

“What with? My teeth?”

She gave a strangled laugh. “I’m sure a caveman would have done that.”

The knot shifted slightly. “I’m not sure a caveman had to contend with much more than pulling an animal skin over his woman’s head.” The knot gave way and he easily untied the one across her back. “Gotcha.” With a deft pull he held the top aloft before letting it fall from his fingers.

Her gaze followed its descent to the ground. “I guess you should be rewarded for all your hard work, then.” She let the towel fall to her feet and stood before him like Aphrodite rising from the water.

If he’d thought he was aroused before it had nothing on this. His blood pounded, every muscle tensed for action and he wanted to lift her up against the wall and take here right now, but he also wanted to explore every inch of her body—every bump, every curve and every imperfection he’d ever noticed, all of which now seemed perfect. “You’re a gift.”

“So are you.” Her eyes drifted to his boxers. “Now can I get to the unwrapping part?”

God, she was amazing and she was going to test every particle of his endurance so that he didn’t come just from the sight of her and the sound of her voice. “Come here, now.”

He virtually dragged her the length of the boat shed, skirting boxes of sails, engine parts, oars and years of accumulated beach toys, until he reached the old sofa bed. He lowered her onto it and gazed down at her. “Ready?”

Her eyes shone brightly and she trailed a finger down his cheek. “I’ve been on a state of high alert from the moment I met you.” She unfolded her hand to reveal a foil square rested there.

“I love a woman who’s all prepared.” He lowered his head toward her breasts. “I think I’ll start here.”

Luke’s tongue lazily licked Erin’s hypersensitive left nipple and a rainbow of colors streamed through her. Then he dawdled across the gap between the breasts and licked the right one. Her left ached in pain, throbbing and desperate for his touch again. When he suckled her, she cried as her head thrashed back and forth against the mattress. It was as if her body had completely separated from her mind. Nothing existed other than the mass of aching desires and wondrous throbbing pain that swung between quivering desperate need, hot demanding fulfillment and moments of utter bliss. The need for even more surged back stronger than ever.

As his mouth trailed down her stomach pausing for due deference to her belly button and ring, her muscles starting twitched so hard, frantic to grip something, that she thought she’d go insane. She tugged at his head and brought his lips back to hers. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the foreplay, seriously I do, it’s just—”

“We’ve been doing foreplay for seventeen hours straight.”

“Yes.”

The light in his eyes danced like a kaleidoscope. “So you want me to speed things up a bit?”

She pushed the condom into his hand as sheer relief tangoed with the empty feeling inside her, promising that soon the feeling would be one of fullness. “Please.”

“Seeing you asked so nicely...”

She heard the foil of the condom being opened and instantly regretted that she hadn’t thought to be the one to roll it on him. Rising on her elbow, wanting to watch, he pushed her gently back onto the bed.
Missionary position?
At this point she didn’t care how it happened as long as it happened. She shimmied out of the thong and raised her knees to wrap her legs around his waist so she could take him deeply.

His hands pressed gently against her inner thighs and she panted, knowing that any second he would be hers. As she reached down her hand to guide him into her, his stubble grazed her thigh.
What?
But the thought was detonated as his mouth touched the lips of her labia.

No.
Her hands pummeled his shoulders and she opened her mouth to protest that she wanted him inside her when his tongue found her clitoris. Two strokes of his tongue was all it took. She fell off the precipice she’d been teetering on for days, exploding into a thousand tiny pieces as wave after wave of release shook her, unfurling ribbons of ecstasy that streamed to every point of her body. Her screams of delight floated back to her and as her breath steadied, she opened her eyes to find Luke’s smiling eyes and dimpled cheeks an inch away.

He kissed her. “I take it that worked for you?”

She pursed her lips in thought. “Sort of.”

His brows shot up in disbelief. “You screamed so loud that if the roof wasn’t hammered down it would have fallen in on us.”

She ran her hands along his ribs and found a spot that made him flinch.
Ticklish.
Excellent.
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings seeing you were trying so hard to please me but what I really want is—” she dug her fingers into the space between his ribs and as he recoiled slightly she moved, pushing his shoulder back and flinging her leg over him until she was straddling him, “—this.”

He shook his head slowly from side to side, his cheeks edged with strain. “Erin, we really need to work on your fantasy definition. I thought you wanted to be dragged into my cave where I took you for my pleasure.”

As he stretched out his hands toward her breasts, she saw the calculating look in his eyes and instantly clamped her thighs hard against his so he couldn’t flip her back under him. “I think I just got a new fantasy.”

She gazed at his erection in awe and then tentatively ran her finger along its impressive length. “It’s a shame you don’t have your hat so I could wear it.”

Every inch of his body tensed and the blue of his eyes almost vanished under huge jet discs. “Sweetheart, you’re getting your fantasies mixed up. I’m a dairyman not a cowboy.”

She leaned forward and whispered, “Never mind. I’m still happy to ride you.”

His guttural moan roared through her, filling her with pride that she’d aroused him to this point, but also with some worry that she’d overdone it and he’d come before she could experience him. “Sorry, I’ll stop talk—”

“Good idea.” His hands gripped her hips and he lifted her over him and then very slowly he lowered her down.

Her body, oh so very ready and desperate for him, opened easily, absorbing him bit by bit until she’d stretched to the limit and he completely filled her. The sensation was indescribable and she experienced the oddest feeling that she was going to cry, which made no sense because her body was on fire for him. Her throbbing muscles, which had ached for him, closed around him and need became fire driving her upward to seize the ultimate prize.

Her panting fell in sync with Luke’s as he drove into her and she impaled herself so willingly on him. Whirling awe built and built until the edges of her mind started to blur. She kissed him quickly before throwing her head back, and with his touch and feel completing her, she let go and soared beyond herself into a realm of wonder.

A moment later he followed.

Chapter Eleven

Luke considered himself fit but as he lay on his back with his lungs cramping, he realized that perhaps his dry spell had lost him some sex fitness. Not that it had impeded things in any way and he now welcomed the post-orgasm languidness that stole into his bones, filling him with a sense of peace.

A thought pierced the post-coital fog that was his brain. Why the hell hadn’t he had sex in months when it was this damn amazing? He was an idiot not to have realized his lack of sex was probably the reason he’d been feeling so out of sorts for so long.
Dr.
Luke to the rescue.
Problem solved.

Erin’s head rested on his chest for a moment before she rolled off him and lay on her side with her back to him.

He reached out his arm, scooping her close, so her butt nestled warmly into his belly, and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Thank you.”

She laughed. “Thank
you.
”

He ran his hand down her arm, across the bumps of her ribs and the dip of her waist before tracing the outline of a small tattoo on her hip in the shape of a Chinese symbol. “What does this mean?”

The only sound was her breathing.

“Erin?”

She sighed. “Security.”

He’d been expecting something like faith, hope or love because it was his experience with women that they sought all of those three in their lives. “Security?”

“Yep.” She abruptly rolled away from him and stood up.

He watched her move across the boat shed and pull a sarong out of her bag before briskly wrapping it around her and tying a knot that rested in her cleavage. All evidence of the flirting temptress was gone.

She threw his shorts at him. “We should really get going.”

He frowned as his thoughts of trying for a second helping of sex pie suddenly ran into a brick wall. He patted the space next to him. “There’s no hurry.”

She started brushing the sand off the sheets where their feet had been. “It’s past four. Don’t you need to start milking soon?”

He had a vision of his father and a speck of chagrin sneaked in under his euphoria. “The cows can wait another half an hour.” He caught her hand in his. “That gives us time to explore another one of your fantasies.”

“Sorry. I’ve got a meeting with Nicole. Apparently there’s a space in the wedding warehouse where I can set up a temporary studio for clients who want more formal-type shots.”

He smiled the smile he knew made her weak at the knees. “You could text her saying you’re running late.”

She closed her eyes and sucked in her lips. When she opened her eyes he recognized stubborn resolve. “This is business, Luke. It’s my livelihood and my future and I don’t ever keep anyone waiting.”

The words sliced into him with an emphatic edge and he couldn’t help but wonder why they were so sharp.

Remorse crossed her face and she kneeled on the bed, resting her hand lightly on his chest. “Are you working half the night tonight?”

“That depends if any cows need help with labor.”

“I’ll be back from town by seven. I could grab some supplies and cook supper for us.” Her eyes danced and a cheeky smile tugged at her lips. “That’s if you promise to eat with your mouth closed.”

He tugged her against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “I’ll bring my exceptional manners and a healthy appetite for you.”

Her eyes popped so wide and her skin flushed so pink that he thought he had her and she was coming back to bed. When she kissed him deeply using that tongue of hers in a way he was certain was illegal in many parts of the world, he was utterly convinced. His blood shot to his groin and he was good to go.

With a gasp, she pulled her mouth away and struggled free of him. “Bye, Luke.”

As she opened the door to the cacophony of manic barking, she raised her hand in a wave before disappearing from view. He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. Sure, he was disappointed she was leaving now, but by her action of leaving first, she’d just told him that this amazing thing between them was all about the sex. Nothing else.

Yes.
Absolutely nothing about her demeanor hinted at a woman with unrealistic expectations. There was no hint of high-maintenance or looking for anything more than just good times. He pulled his hands up behind his head and gazed at the dust motes dancing in the sunlight which streamed in through the cracks in the siding. Life was good. Even milking wasn’t looking too shabby.

* * *

After meeting with Nicole, Erin switched on her phone and it beeped wildly. She glanced down at the screen.

You have 3 new messages
.

Darling
,
I’d love to see you.
It’s been too long.
Call me.
Dad.

Her breath caught in her throat. How did he even have this number? Her father hadn’t made contact with her in over three years and she certainly hadn’t tried to contact him because she didn’t trust herself not to let him back into her life.

She stared at the words, reading them twice. And the chaotic ball of emotions that always rolled through her whenever she thought about her father started turning. She quickly clicked on the next message effectively blocking his out.

The photos look good.
Can picture it all.
Want to ditch church ceremony and use marquee in front of sunflowers.
Also want the dog.
Connie.

She swallowed and decided Connie’s request wasn’t as complicated as her father’s but it still wasn’t instantly solvable so she’d come back to it. The next message said,
Hey
,
sis
,
the band’s playing at the Fine Line next Wednesday at 9.
See you there?
Jesse.

A strand of guilt ran through her that she hadn’t told her brother she was out of town. Not that he always told her when he was away, but still, his level of communication was a bar worth raising. She hit the call button.

“How’s it going, sis?”

“Hey, Jesse, I’m good. I’m working in Whitetail, Wisconsin, and—”

“Where?”

She explained it in terms he’d understand. “Ninety minutes from the nearest Starbucks.”

“Have you been abducted?”

She thought of how Luke had scooped her over his shoulder as if she weighed less than a sack of potatoes and a rush of heat made her laugh sound oddly deep. “I know, right? It’s totally unexpected, but by some serendipitous chance this little town is a wedding mecca without a photographer so I’m stepping in for a bit.”

“Careful, sis, you might get stuck in the Wisconsin marsh mud and I’ll never see you again.”

This time her laugh sounded far more normal. “It’s pretty, but me staying here forever isn’t something that’s going to happen. I’ve got weddings booked into late August and perhaps beyond so I’m here for a bit. Can you water my houseplants, please?”

“Well...”

She recognized his cagey tone of voice. “What?”

“If I move into your apartment I can talk to them too.”

“Why do you need to move in?”

“Rory sublet his couch out from under me.”

She rolled her eyes at her brother’s unstable housing arrangements. “Okay, but under no circumstances sublet my couch to anyone, understood?”

“Understood.” A beat of silence followed. “Ah, Erin, Dad came to the bar the other night. He wants to touch base with you too.”

She thought of the out-of-the-blue text and sighed, not liking where this was going. “So it was you who gave him my number?”

“I’m sorry.” His voice held regret. “I held out for as long as I could, but he offered me Kobe beef.”

Jesse was trying really hard to make it as a musician and money was always tight. She understood how being broke made dangled temptations even harder to resist but she hated that she’d been the fall guy for a thirty-dollar steak.

Jesse ignored her silence and kept talking. “He’s changed, Erin. He apologized for all the crap and he wants to do the same for you. I couldn’t say no to that.”

She closed her eyes but the memories of how her father betrayed her mother, Jesse and herself rushed her, beaming in full color. Not wanting to go back to those bewildering days, she opened her eyes and moved to reassure her baby brother. He’d been too young to remember a lot of the awful stuff that had gone down. “It’s okay, Jesse.”

“Sure?”

“Well, seeing as you’re feeling bad about it you can repay me by keeping my houseplants alive and my apartment clean.”

“Consider it done. You want me to mail you some Blonde Roast coffee beans?”

“No, thanks, I’m good. They have a pretty good breakfast blend here at the market.”

He gave a mock gasp. “They haven’t just kidnapped you, they’ve brainwashed you as well. Be afraid, sis, be very afraid.”

She rang off laughing. As if there was anything to be afraid of in Whitetail. Well, there were cows, only she was getting used to their constant chewing, their big, pink tongues and huge, brown eyes, and as long as they didn’t get near her feet they didn’t scare her too much. There were no bulls to be afraid of either. Wade had told her that due to AI, bulls on the farm were a thing of the past.

Are you scared of Luke?

He frustrated her and he challenged her to think on her feet to stay one step ahead of him. His smile made her weak at the knees and his deep voice was like the woody smoothness of malt whiskey, complete with the same slow-burn fire that heated her from tip to toe. And the sex was beyond her wildest dreams, but no, he didn’t scare her.

Her phone beeped with an incoming text and she ignored it, expecting it to be Connie because she hadn’t instantly replied to the previous one. Exactly how she was going to broach the subject of Connie getting married on the farm with Luke, she had no clue. The phone beeped again and she knew it would keep doing that until she’d read the text.

I’m not sure I pressed the right buttons the first time so trying again
...
I’d love to buy you a meal
,
darling.
It’s been too long.
Call me soon.
Dad xx

The idea of talking to her father? Now
that
scared her.

* * *

Erin lay with her head resting on Luke’s chest, feeling and hearing his heart beating solidly and rhythmically under her ear. Maggie-May was whining on the other side of the door.

Luke’s hand wound through her hair. “That dog of yours needs to go back to obedience school.”

“She’s used to being inside with me, is all, and you being all macho about dogs staying outside isn’t helping.” She traced the delineation of his pectoral muscles, loving their shape and feel. “If she came in she’d sit quietly on the bed and this would be far more relaxing.”

He shook his head. “She’d do her level best to get me out of your bed. You and that dog have codependency issues.”

“Really? And are you ever seen anywhere without Mac?”

He grinned. “That’s different. He’s a farm dog.”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “He’s working really hard out on my deck at the moment. What’s he doing? Rounding up ants?”

“He’s keeping the raccoons at bay.” He kissed her and then wrapped his arm around her. His enthusiasm for cuddling after sex surprised her. Not that she had loads of experience with men but every woman knew that when it was just about the sex—and this thing they had going on between them was purely about the sex—guys tended to avoid the snuggle. In fact she’d been expecting him to up and leave for the past ten minutes.

He gave a contented sigh. “This bed is a hell of a lot more comfortable than the boat shed. I’d forgotten how bad that sofa bed is.”

Without thinking she blurted out, “How many women have you had sex with there?”

His gaze found hers. “You make two.”

She felt her face betray her surprise.

“You expected more?” He grinned as if she’d given him a compliment. “There’ve been plenty more only not in the boat shed. If you hadn’t put on that barely bikini, I would have made sure we were somewhere less utilitarian.”

She’d loved the shed and the way the light streamed in through the cracks in the siding. It had danced across his bladed cheekbones and cast his body in sexy shadows. If she had the chance again, she’d photograph him there. “So Whitetail women expect more than a boat shed?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t had sex with a woman from Whitetail since high school. Life is less complicated that way.”

And there it was. Confirmation of what she understood to be happening, which in a way was a relief given they’d had sex before they’d had
the talk
and set out the ground rules
.
She was from out of town and only here for a short time so this fling suited them both. Even so, she found herself frowning. “But you live here now? Doesn’t your personal code of conduct make you lonely?”

“No.”

His eyes flashed and his vehement tone made her start. “Okay, then.”

He rolled her over so she was under him. “That’s enough about me. What about you?”

She laughed, not particularly wanting to admit her experience probably didn’t come even close to touching his. Nor did she want to tell him that work was more important to her than anything else because unlike her childhood, she was never going to risk having a zero bank balance. That sort of conversation didn’t belong here, especially given his confused tone when she’d told him what her tattoo stood for.

Sinking her hands into his hair she said, “Recently, I’ve flirted a lot with Irishmen, Australians and Brits. There’s something about a man with an accent that makes me go weak at the knees every single time.”

His wicked grin reappeared. “To be sure,” he said in a fair imitation of an Irish accent, “I’ll try and remember that, darlin’.”

Her body leaped again, calling out for him and she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him down to her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Then in an Irish lilt, he whispered in her ear gloriously indecent things he wanted to do to her and things he wanted her to do to him.