Something about this cut through the Luke Lip Fog, reminding me I was still in escape mode. I lifted my knees like I was going to straddle him. Instead, I broke my lips from his, pushed up swiftly and started to exit the bed.

I got one foot on the floor before he tagged me. Twisting me, I fell into his lap and one of his arms closed around me tight. I struggled, of course, and since he wasn’t paying attention I thought I had a chance. Still, he managed to hold me to him (which was way annoying). He wasn’t paying attention because he had the drawer of the nightstand open and he was rummaging in it. I was too busy trying to get away to notice what he was doing until I heard the clink of handcuffs.

I stilled, my head jerked around and I shouted, “No!”

That’s when I really started to struggle. I didn’t want to be cuffed to the bed, not ever again.

I pulled away, gained my feet and ran to the elevator, slapping the button, stopping and realizing too late that it sucked Luke had an elevator. It was cool until you had to make a quick exit. If you had to make a quick exit, you were screwed.

Foiled, f**king, again.

I whirled to face him while I waited for the elevator and watched as he approached me, shoving the cuffs into his back pocket. “I’m leaving,” I told him.

“No you’re not,” he replied, calm as could be.

“I am. You can’t keep me here,” I went on, not calm at all.

“Yes, I can.”

I didn’t want to admit it but I was pretty sure he could.

Shit!

He got up close just as the elevator doors opened. I had started edging back when he moved, faster than I’d seen anyone move before. One second, I was heading backward toward the elevator, the next second I was pinned against the wall by the side of the elevator.

Once again. I had to ask.

Why me?

“Luke, don’t!” I shouted, sounding desperate and not caring anymore. “Please don’t cuff me to the bed again.”

He moved away an inch and, with a quick tug at my shirt, the buttons down the front unsnapped all the way up.

Shit again!

I moved out the inch he moved away but he pressed me back to the wall with his body while his hand went inside my shirt at my midriff and then slid up my side sending happy tingles in its wake.

His lips came to mine, his eyes open and not leaving my own. “Relax, beautiful, I’m not cuffing you to the bed,” he said before his hand came around and he slid the shirt off my shoulder and down my arm.

“I’m not going to relax. I’m going to go home,” I told him while I wriggled my arm to get away from his hand. Unfortunately, this also had the effect of assisting my shirt to fall off one side.

“You aren’t goin’ home,” Luke said and I had to admit (to the secret, private place buried deep down where I buried everything else) that I loved it when he talked against my mouth.

“I have to go home,” I went on, still sounding desperate, still not caring and searching for an excuse, any excuse. “I have to check my mail and water my plants.” The last part was a lie. I didn’t have any plants. The first part was a lie too. I never got any good mail.

His head came up and he grinned at me and let me tell you, the grin was good. It was unlike any grin he’d given me. It was sexy and warm and there was something about his face, something I’d never noticed before but I was too freaked out to put my finger on it.

“You can water them tomorrow,” he told me.

“Tomorrow will be too late, they’re really thirsty,” I said and lifted both my hands and pushed against his shoulders (this, per usual, had no effect but I still kept at it).

“They die, I’ll buy you new plants,” he replied.

“I don’t want new plants. I like the plants I have,” I lied again.

“Then we’ll go tonight, after I make love to you.”

I stopped pushing, my heart stopped beating, my lungs stopped working, my knees wobbled and I stared at him.

“What did you say?” I whispered.

His mouth came to mine again, he brushed his lips there and then they trailed down my cheek to my ear. I tried not to do it but this made me shiver.

“I’ll take you home tonight after I’m done with you. You can water your plants and we’ll sleep at your place.”

My heart kicked in as did my lungs, but I didn’t resume the struggle.

He didn’t repeat what I wanted him to repeat, the “make love to you” part. He’d always called it “fucking”. He’d never called it “making love”.

Still, I was pretty certain he said it.

For my safety and for my sanity I had to try one last time.

I took my hands from his shoulders and moved my head back so it was fully pressed against the wall. His head came up when I did this and I placed my hands on either side of his neck and looked into his eyes.

“Luke,” I said softly. “Please, let me go home.”

He dropped his forehead to mine just like Ren had done.

With Luke, it was different, it was better, so much better it wasn’t funny. In fact it was so not funny it was world-tiltingly not funny. He came in so close, his nose rested along the side of mine and he took that opportunity to run his tongue along my bottom lip.

There were only two words to describe the feeling this whole maneuver gave me and those words were: Oh my.

I felt my eyelids get heavy as my knees got weak, I saw his inky eyes smile and I knew that he knew that he had me.

Damn.

“Babe, I told you I’ll take you home,” his face shifted and his mouth came to mine. “Later,” he said there, right before he kissed me.

* * * * *

Luke and I had wall sex.

I’d never had sex pressed against the wall and let me tell you wall sex was very, very good. In fact, wall sex was so good, it was my new favorite position. In fact, it was so good, I couldn’t believe that Eddie and Jet had only done it four times. They’d been together months!

After wall sex, as promised, we got dressed and Luke took me to my place.

This freaked me out since we were going to my place so I could water plants that I didn’t own. The whole way there I tried to figure out how to get out of the new mess I made for myself and decided that I was just going to have to wing it.

First, I tried to get him to leave me at the door by barring his way but, as was becoming his custom, he just leaned down and, hands at my ass, he picked me up. I should have known I wouldn’t succeed at barring him from my house, but I told myself at least I wasn’t a quitter.