His weight settled full on me and his hands came to frame my face, forcing me to look at him.

I was too caught up in my drama to notice the look on his face. I just focused on the next second which would take me to the next second and the next, which would eventually take me home, where I could be safe, renew my vows to my vibrators and never leave my house ever again.

“Jules is pregnant, Ava.”

In a flash, thoughts of vibrators and a lifetime of being a hermit flew out the window and my eyes focused on his.

“What?” I asked.

“Vance told me yesterday morning. It’s early, she doesn’t want anyone to know until she’s further along. Vance didn’t agree. He’s f**kin’ beside himself. He told everyone but Shirleen.”

I realized I wasn’t breathing. Then I realized I forgot how.

Luke kept talking. “That’s why I was standin’ close to her, touching her face. She’s got no blood family left and Vance isn’t close to his. They’ve been through a lot and they both want this. I’m happy for them, this is a good thing.”

Ho-ly crap.

Okay. It was official. I was The A-Number-One Dork of All Time.

I told you that you should have talked to him, Good Ava admonished.

Bad Ava was silent.

Good Ava looked around my neck at Bad Ava. Nothing to say?

Bad Ava looked around my neck at Good Ava. Then she put her thumb to her nose and wiggled her fingers at her.

I let out my breath and my eyes slid to the side. “Sorry,” I whispered.

Luke’s thumb slid across my wet cheekbone. “Babe, please look at me.”

It was the “please” that got me and my eyes slid back to his.

“I’m guessin’ that was the drama yesterday, why you needed to get your head together.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. It was obvious.

“What I want to know is, why you came back to me last night, considerin’ you thought I was in love with Jules.”

I forgot how to breathe again.

Oh… my… God.

I’d given it all away. I didn’t even mean to but I did, I didn’t expect him to find out I thought he was in love with Jules.

Fuckity, f**k, f**k, f**k.

I bucked my h*ps a bit, a tester to see if he was off guard (he wasn’t).

While I did this, his face came closer, his lips came to mine and he said, “That’s what I thought.”

“Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there.”

Shit! Did I say that aloud? I did.

Hell and damnation.

I was going to have to go with it.

His head came up an inch.

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” I told him. “Bad guys were after me, remember?” That wasn’t bad, it was even the truth.

“You could have stayed with Zano,” Luke replied.

Shit, shit, shit.

He was right. I could have.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

I started to think of something else, a lie, a fib, anything. Luke’s body started moving like he was laughing and I knew he read my face.

I didn’t think this was funny. Not even a little bit.

“Please get off me. I need to go home.”

The amusement faded from his eyes when he heard my tone but he didn’t move his body from mine. Instead, his finger traced my hairline. His eyes watched this and then they came back to mine.

“Beautiful, I told you that you were going to have to clue in yourself but tonight I’m gonna give you a little help.”

This did not sound good.

I didn’t want any help. I wanted this to be over. It was much better to be over now than over later when he left me because he was bored or done with me or whatever. Or worse, when I had to identify his bullet-ridden body at a morgue.

“First…” he started, interrupting my thoughts.

Oh no! It had multiple parts.

“I’m gonna f**k you until you feel it until I know you feel it. ‘It’ being what we have between us. I thought I was gettin’ through last night, you talkin’ about your Dad and today, you callin’ me when there was trouble or when nothin’ was happening at all. We’ll see if that took but either way, I’m gonna get through to you I don’t care what it takes.”

Okay, maybe lying wasn’t the way to go, maybe begging was. “Luke, please, please, just let me go home,” I said softly.

His hand came back to my jaw, his thumb sliding along my lower lip and he ignored my pleas. “The second part you gotta get, babe, is that I’m not lettin’ you go. I’m not lettin’ you push me away and I’m not giving up. I’m gonna keep working until I piece together what your Dad and those ass**les tore from you. I’m gonna keep at you until you let me in. I’m not gonna stop until you tell me you’re mine, until it comes straight from your mouth, preferably when I’m deep inside you and you’re lookin’ at me like you look at me when I’m close to makin’ you come.”

Against my will, I felt my insides melt as his fingers sifted into the hair at the side of my head. His eyes got ultra warm and his mouth came to mine.

“I love it when I make you come,” he muttered against my lips, his hand sliding all the way through my hair then down my back as his arm closed around me. “Every time, you say my name and you smile this unbelievably sexy little smile.”

Oh crap. I didn’t want to believe I did that but I could believe I did that. I mean, this was Luke we were talking about, which would have been enough, but there was also the fact that I’d never cl**axed as hard as I did when I was with Luke and that would make anyone smile.

Then he said what sounded like a vow to a sacred quest. A sexy, modern-day vow but a scary one for me because Luke was the kind of guy you just knew would find the Holy Grail. I was pretty certain he’d make old Lancelot look like a putz.

“Ava Babe, I’m tellin’ you, you’re gonna admit you belong to me because you belong to me.”

Ee-yikes!

I tried one more time. “Luke, please, let me go home.”

His lips brushed mine then he lifted his head.

I noticed his eyes had gone ink right before he smiled.

“No f**kin’ way.”

Fuckity, f**k, f**k, f**k.

Chapter Nineteen

Cornered

He kissed me.

I tried not to let it penetrate but he was good with his mouth, he was an amazing kisser and my melty insides intensified.

Unfortunately, my outsides turned melty too and my body relaxed under his. He felt it and rolled, taking me with him so I was on top.