Sultry with a Twist (21 page)

“Wakey-wakey,” said a low masculine voice. “I need your temperature.”

June groaned and opened one eye. The room was still dark, but a sliver of light from the hall sliced through the open door and illuminated the old analog clock on the wall. Four in the morning. She squinted at the nurse’s bulky silhouette. “Didn’t you just get it five minutes ago?”

“Nope. That was your blood pressure at three-fifteen. I forgot your temp, so I had to come back.” He pressed a plastic-covered thermometer to her lips, and June obediently opened her mouth and held it beneath her tongue. Wasn’t she supposed to be resting? Who wakes a patient out of a dead sleep for this? She was beginning to understand why people hated hospitals. To heck with lollipops and Care Bear stickers. She wanted a few consecutive hours of slumber.

A soft beep sounded from the nurse’s pocket. “Ninety-seven point nine. Okay, go back to sleep.”

Sure, until the next time. Over the last three days, a steady rotation of nurses had awakened her for vitals every few hours. By the time she got back to sleep, someone was strapping a Velcro cuff around her arm again. With a sigh, June gathered the blanket beneath her chin and closed her eyes. She focused on the scent of pine disinfectant and the gentle, wet slosh from the hallway as someone mopped the floors. Within minutes, she was out cold.

“Mae-June?” a softer male voice asked. A hand shook her ankle.

“Just June,” she said in a cracked voice. Maybe this was all an elaborate prank—
Candid Camera, Hospital Edition
—to see how patients reacted under extreme sleep deprivation. But to June’s surprise, she blinked open her eyes and found the room flooded with daylight. It was eight o’clock, and she’d slept for four straight hours. Hallelujah! Doctor Benton stood at the foot of her bed in a clean, pressed, white lab coat with his name tag clipped to the lapel.

“How’re we feeling?” He grinned and turned his attention to her chart.

“Fine. My throat’s still a little sore, but not as bad.”

“Any paralysis or trouble moving around? Psychosis? Hearing voices, anything like that?”

“Nope. Everything’s normal.” She pushed the button on the bed’s control panel and rose into a sitting position. “I’ve felt fine for a couple days now.”

“Great.” He sat beside her on the mattress and peeled back the bandage on her arm. “Looks excellent. Still some swelling, but that’s normal. Make sure you finish all your antibiotics, and don’t miss any doses. Call if you notice any redness or swelling at the site, or if you start running a temperature above one hundred.”

“Okay. So I can go home?”
Please
say
yes. Please!
June was prepared to take a flying leap out the window if the doctor proposed keeping her there for one more day.

“Yep. Let’s get some breakfast in you, and then the nurse will be around to take out your IV and go over the discharge paperwork. Any questions?”

“Nope.” Breakfast sounded pretty good, even if it wasn’t Grammy’s famous egg and ham biscuits. June had been drinking her meals and choking down mushy yogurt and cottage cheese the past two days, so the thought of eating real, solid food again made her mouth water. “Oh, and thanks. For saving my life and everything.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “It was my pleasure.” Then he backed toward the door and held up her chart in a good-bye gesture. “Take care, and watch out for those snakes.”

Over the next hour, June inhaled her bagel and orange juice, then showered and brushed her teeth with toiletries provided by the hospital. She changed into the clean sundress Gram had brought her the day before and then went over a checklist of warning signs with the nurse. Each tick of the clock brought her closer to the dreaded talk with Luke, and she struggled to focus on something positive. Something to look forward to. Aside from a good night’s rest, she was coming up empty.

At precisely nine o’clock, Luke knocked on her door and let himself in. Clean-shaven and freshly showered, he seemed refreshed compared to the last time she’d seen him, but his reddened eyes told her he hadn’t slept well either. Even in weathered jeans and an old T-shirt, even running on fumes from no sleep, he still took her breath away. It simply wasn’t fair.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing her plastic bag of personal items in one hand and offering the other to help her out of bed. “Ready?”

Even though she didn’t need to, she curled her hand around his firm bicep and leaned against his shoulder while he walked her to his truck. If she only had minutes to cling to him before he gave her the brush-off, she intended to use that time well. She inhaled his aftershave and savored the closeness and warmth, despite the heavy, humid morning air that brought beads of sweat to the surface of her skin.

Once they settled in, Luke reached across her chest and fastened her seat belt. “I can’t put this off anymore.” June’s heart sank like a lead weight, but she nodded for him to continue. “I’m done with your help, Junebug.”

“But—” she started to object, and he held a finger to her lips.

“You have two choices: either I drive you to Pru’s, or I take you back to my house. But I have to make something clear before you decide. If you come home with me, you won’t lift a single paint roller or scrub brush or garden spade. There’re three proper beds upstairs now, and if you come home with me,” he paused and moved his hand to cup her cheek, “I’m gonna lay you down in one of them.”

“I don’t need any more rest.”

“Good. Because I won’t stop making love to you till we’re both too weak to move.”

A breath caught in the back of June’s throat, while heat flushed her cheek beneath Luke’s touch. Maybe she hadn’t heard him correctly. But when Luke scooted across the bench seat until their thighs touched and pulled her mouth to his, she knew he’d meant every word. His kiss was soft and teasing, a quick taste of things to come, sending the heat from her face downward.

“If that’s not what you want,” he said against her lips, “then tell me now.”

Fighting every instinct, June pushed against his chest until he backed away. “Wait.” She met his gaze, determined not to let him run hot and cold with her again. “You know what that would mean?”

“I remember everything you said.”

“All in?” she asked, half expecting a nurse to wake her for vital signs because this couldn’t be real.

“I want to try.”

“Try?” June shook her head. Tempting as it was, she wanted commitment, not a halfhearted attempt with one foot already out the door. She deserved more. “That’s not enough.”

“I’m no good at this.” Taking her face in his hands, Luke kissed her again and then tipped their foreheads together and pleaded with his eyes. “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I want to try. Please? Let me try.” June’s resolve crumbled beneath the weight of his sincerity. His mouth moved across her jaw to her ear, where his tongue and hot breath mingled and turned her insides to jelly. Then his teeth found the magical spot at the top of her shoulder, and June knew she was helpless. “Just say yes,” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“Really?” He pulled away, blinking in surprise. Had he actually believed she’d say no? For one brief second, a wide smile curved his lips, and then those lips were on her mouth. June’s seat belt released, sliding over her breasts, and then Luke tugged her gently across the leather seat until she was pressed to his side. He pulled the middle lap belt loosely over her thighs and clicked it in place. “Then let’s get the hell outta here,” he said. The engine roared, the truck lurched forward, and in seconds, they were tearing down the highway.

Still convinced this might be a dream, June curled an arm around Luke’s waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She breathed in the scents of soap and aftershave and slid her open mouth over his clean, sweet flesh. When he groaned from the back of his throat, the vibration danced across her lips, and she smiled with pride.
This
man
, she thought, while smoothing her palm across the hard contours of his chest,
is
mine—at least for now—and it’s real
. Needing to feel more, she yanked Luke’s T-shirt from the waistband of his jeans.

“This needs to go,” she said. “I’ll take the wheel.”

Luke muttered a curse under his breath, but he let her steer the truck while he pulled the shirt off in one fluid motion and tossed it to the floor. For weeks, she’d watched him work bare-chested, and now she could finally touch. Her hands moved greedily everywhere she could reach, and she ached to taste each exposed inch. Starting at Luke’s broad shoulders, she kissed her way down his chest, where she flicked her tongue over his nipple. Using her teeth, she grazed the hard bud before drawing it into her mouth with the lightest suction.

“Shit,” he hissed, reaching around to stroke her spine.

His heart thumped beneath her fingers as she moved lower to kiss his flat belly. When she unfastened his jeans and pressed her palm against the length of his erection, he gasped and covered her hand with his own.

“What’re you doing?” he asked.

Shaking off his hand, she replied, “Mind your own business and drive.” She reached inside Luke’s boxers and freed him, long and smooth and hard as river rock. Working her thumb over his velvet tip, she spread the bead of moisture there, then stroked the length of him, savoring his groans of pleasure. Lowering further, she used her tongue to lap up each new bead of his arousal, before abruptly plunging him into her mouth. He swore loudly and thrust his hips to meet her. The sweetness of Luke’s hot, tight skin, the noises coming from his throat, the tension in his muscles, all sent June’s blood rushing between her thighs. She needed to feel him there, thick and full…and soon.

“Stop,” he gasped. “Baby, your throat.”

Maybe it was a little sore, but she knew how to modify her technique, and she showed him how, using one hand to twist up and down his wet shaft.

“
Christ.
” His eager hips contradicted his next words. “Stop, or you’ll kill us both.”

June didn’t want to quit, but he was probably right. Slowly, and with gentle suction, she pulled her lips to the tip of his erection and released him. If she couldn’t make love to him yet, at least she could be ready the moment Luke parked his truck in the driveway. Her panties soon joined Luke’s boxers on the truck’s floor, and she unhooked her bra and slipped each strap over her arms, before pulling it up through the V-neck of her dress.

Taking his eyes away from the road a moment, Luke glanced at the pile of discarded underwear and motioned for her to come closer. “Pull up your dress,” he ordered in a husky voice. “And spread those pretty knees.”

When she obeyed, he licked his thumb and found her aching, sensitive bud, then began stroking her with a light, teasing touch that puckered her nipples and tore a groan from her chest. Using one finger, he circled her pulsing entrance, until she breathed, “More,” and at her command, he slid in and out, pumping her with the same slow, exquisite skill he’d used days ago. He stopped only long enough to tug her knees farther apart, before dipping in again, this time adding a second finger, twisting deep inside to massage erogenous zones she didn’t even know she had.

With a loud moan, June tipped her head to rest against his shoulder, unconsciously spreading wider for his luscious touch. Again and again, he took her to the brink and withdrew his fingers before she climaxed, the whole time whispering wicked promises in her ear.

It was sweet torture, withholding her release, as the miles blurred past far too slowly. Leave it to Luke to drive the speed limit, eyes glued to the road, control as rigid as ever. By the time he turned the truck into the driveway, every muscle in her body vibrated like a harp string.

Pulling his fingers away to lick each one, Luke gave her a lust-filled grin that made her heart stutter. “You always tasted so good.”

When June launched herself at him and crushed their lips in a frantic kiss, her own salty flavor crossed her tongue. It was more erotic than she ever anticipated. In seconds, Luke cut the engine, opened his door, and gathered her into his arms. God only knows how they made it inside, but June heard the front door slam, and then her body was sandwiched between the cool wall and Luke’s firm body.

“Longest drive of my life,” he muttered, while tearing at the buttons on her dress. He only managed half of them before sliding the fabric gently down her shoulders, so her arms were pinned at her sides. If not for her wound, she suspected Luke would’ve been rougher—and the notion of him ripping her clothes off made her head spin.

Glancing from her eyes to her bare breasts, he shook his head in awe. “You’re perfect. Just like I remember.” He massaged each one with his calloused palms and then bent to draw her nipple deep into his mouth. June felt each tug of suction right between her legs, growing into a hot ache. Needing contact, needing friction, she strained her hips against his and moaned Luke’s name. During the entire ride home, he’d tormented her with his fingers, and now, his tongue flicked and circled her nipple to tease again. The dull throb was unbearable.

“Please,” she whispered, wriggling her arms free, careful to avoid snagging her bandage, and then pushing her dress to the floor. “Now.”

“Not here.” Luke backed up and took a second to appreciate her naked body while he shed his boots and jeans. “I’ll have you in a real bed for once.” After peeling off his boxers, he closed the distance between them, scooped her into his arms like a bride, and carried her up the stairs into the master bedroom. Dark wood furnishings and floral décor passed in June’s periphery, but she barely noticed. Her mind shut to all coherent thought outside of Luke’s touch.

June wanted to take her time, to slow everything down and savor each sensation, but the second her back hit the comforter, she tugged Luke onto her body and wrapped her legs around him like a vise. “Please. Now,” she repeated.

“Just one second.” Luke reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a condom, and June released him only long enough for him to roll it on. Then she brought him down against her once again, delighting in his weight, in the feel of his heavy, solid body pressing her deep into the mattress.