“I want you to continue staying with me,” he told her. “I want more with you, because I’m falling for you.”
“Wait...what?”
Luke reached for her and slid his strong hands over her shoulders. “I told Zeke you would always be my assistant because I do always want you by my side. I want to see where this takes us. We’re so damn compatible everywhere, did you think I’d honestly want to let you go?”
Kelly pulled in a shaky breath and willed herself not to cry. He wanted her to stay? She was so confused and clearly had almost let miscommunication and eavesdropping ruin her life and her career.
“You’re falling for me?” she asked.
“I didn’t realize how much so until I saw your email,” he admitted. “I knew I wanted you to keep living here and I knew I wanted to try for more... But that ache in my heart and in the pit of my stomach had never been so strong than at the thought of losing you. I’m pretty sure I ran at least one red light to get here.”
Kelly closed her eyes and dropped her head between his arms. “I’m so foolish. I just heard that and assumed you were once again putting work ahead of everything else and I couldn’t live like that. My mother did and it destroyed her marriage to my dad. I don’t want to be miserable like she was.”
Luke gently lifted her head and started leaning in. “You’ll never be miserable as long as I’m around,” he vowed. “And I’m about to mess up that lipstick you reapplied earlier.”
Anticipation quickly replaced sadness and frustration. She tipped her face up to welcome his kiss, and joy flowed through her as his lips hungrily claimed hers. His hands slid down her bare arms and went to her waist as he tugged her closer. Her breasts flattened against his chest and she was so glad he’d come after her. She was so glad he explained what she’d heard. She’d just been so afraid of getting her hopes up that when she overheard him and Zeke talking...
Kelly pushed away those negative thoughts and concentrated on the man who was kissing her, the man who wanted to be with her in his home to see exactly where this relationship could go.
“Did I mention how much I love this dress?” he asked as he eased back.
Kelly nodded. “I believe you mentioned it, but I’m ready to get out of it.”
She turned her back to him and glanced over her shoulder. “Care to help me out of this?”
Luke let out a guttural growl as his hands went to the zipper. The dress parted and his warm breath grazed her back, instantly giving her goose bumps.
The garment fell away from her chest and then he was shoving the full skirt on down until it pooled in a thick puddle of material around her ankles.
Luke cursed beneath his breath, and Kelly turned back around and stepped out of the dress, wearing nothing but her heels and her earrings.
“Have you been like this all night?” he demanded, his voice thick with arousal.
Kelly merely smiled.
“You are trying to kill me.”
“I was hoping we’d come back here and you’d strip that off me,” she told him. “I figured wasting time with anything beneath was just silly.”
He reached for her again, his hands suddenly all over her bare skin.
“I do love how you think,” he murmured. “Just make sure you wear the proper clothes to board meetings or I’m not responsible for my actions.”
Kelly reached for his suit jacket and slid it off his arms, but before she could get to his buttons, Luke was lifting her in his arms and capturing her lips once again.
He shifted a few steps and her back was against the wall. Then he held her in place with her legs locked around his waist as he fiddled with his pants.
Kelly couldn’t help but laugh. “In a hurry?”
His dark eyes locked with hers. “You have no idea.”
In the next breath, he
joined their bodies and Kelly laced her fingers around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. She wanted all of him right now. She wanted to consume him, she wanted him to feel her love, to know that this was real and she wasn’t going anywhere.
He’d come for her. That thought completely overwhelmed her. She’d tried to make an escape and he’d been right after her. The man always went after what he wanted, and now that was her.
Kelly had never been so happy or felt so treasured.