Buried Passions Page 5

  I nodded and repeated my question. “Why?”

  “I see you looking at me.”

  “I understand. But lots of people must look at you.” From what I’d seen, women and men must follow Luka like he was the Pied Piper. I knew I would.

  He shook his head, and I was coming to understand that Luka got some of what I was saying. “I disappear. People no see me. They think I dumb.” His gaze turned hard, and I thought I understood what he was talking about. “They think I animal. I do not talk pretty.” He huffed, and a stream of speech I couldn’t begin to understand flowed from him. I caught the frustration and anger in his tone, though.

  “I see. Because you don’t speak English well, people don’t pay attention to you.” I sighed, wishing I could help.

  He shook his head again and then, strangely, nodded, which was completely confusing. I thought a few seconds and waited.

  “You see me. You watch me.” He smiled again. “You like me? You stand up for me. At diner… you help me.” He stepped forward once again, and I recalled my lunch at the diner. I hadn’t given it any thought after I’d left the restaurant, though apparently I’d made a real impression on my large, strong, hunky friend here. He had kissed me, so at least I thought we were friends. God, I hoped so, because I wanted him to kiss me again. Heck, I wanted to climb him and perch myself on the limb that jutted from his hips.

  Think with your big head, not the small one. “Is everything okay there? They were good to you?”

  Luka nodded. “Boss was good.”

  I was relieved he hadn’t gotten into any trouble.

  “Now I kiss you again.” He touched the underside of my chin, and I lifted my gaze. Luka met my lips with his. This time the heat built within seconds. When Luka’s arms slid around my waist and his hands went up under my shirt, I quivered just at having him touch me. It was like an electric shock zinging all through me.

  I groaned as Luka ran his hands down my back, and damn, his huge hands slid into my shorts to cup my ass. I pressed to him more forcefully. My head spun, and I clung to him, needing to be touched.

  Thunder shook the shed, and I jumped back, wondering for a second if that was real or my imagination. I heaved for air in the now-stifling space. Luka’s eyes were dilated, pupils huge, and I turned to crack open the door, needing to think. The rain came down in sheets, and I could see just far enough to where a large branch had broken off, lying on the ground in front of me. Lightning flashed, blinding me for a second.

  When I turned back, Luka leaned against the slender worktable, a vision of pure, unadulterated temptation. “It’s okay. I like you. We make earth move.”

  Finally my vision cleared and the rain outside began to lessen enough that I could see more than ten feet ahead. I hoped Emma had made it home. I hoped the shed wasn’t going to wash away. And I was hoping I could figure out what to do now. I had no damn clue. Every basic instinct told me to jump into Luka’s arms and hump the man for all I was worth. But that wasn’t fair to him. How was I supposed to explain that I wasn’t staying in town? Yes, we could have a fling, but it could be nothing more than that.

  Luka’s gaze caught mine, and I saw heat, but more. I’d seen that look before when Greg had staked a claim on me, and I wasn’t ready for anything like that. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions, but I couldn’t take that chance. I didn’t have a clue as to what Luka wanted, and I wasn’t going to risk that he wanted more than just a fuck and then I’d break his heart when I left.

  “The rain is letting up.” I kept the door open, both for air and visibility. If I closed the door again, that was going to be the last straw that broke my resolve.

  Luka stared heatedly at me, waiting. “Jonah.”

  Damn, the way he said my name, with such depth and desire, made me want to have him say it again and again. I closed my eyes to get my thoughts together, but all that came to mind was Luka stretching over me, chest thrust forward, as he kissed me, pressing inside, filling me completely.

  “Close the door.”

  I was so close to doing just that. I wanted to. But entanglements here in Carlisle weren’t what I was looking for. Keep it simple. Don’t get involved with anything you can’t easily walk away from. And if I let whatever was threatening to happen with Luka move forward, things would instantly be complicated. Luka was a complication, a living, breathing, sex-on-a-stick complication that I couldn’t afford.

  “I really need to go.” There, I’d said it. I’d done the right thing.

  Luka’s expression fell. “I see.”

  “No, you don’t. Not at all.”

  “You no like me.” He turned away, but not before I saw the hurt flash into his eyes.

  It was too damn much. I didn’t know all that much about Luka, but hurting him touched me deeply. It wasn’t like I’d made promises to him or even seen him more than a few times in a few days. We hadn’t dated or talked, just flashed and groped each other during a storm. But hurting him was like hurting myself, and that was nearly overwhelming.

  “I like you just fine. Too much. I don’t think you’re dumb, but I don’t know how much you’re going to understand. I’m only here to settle my uncle’s estate, and then I have to go back to New York. I can’t stay.”

  Luka smiled. “You like me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s all you got from what I just said?”

  Luka shrugged. “My English not so good.” Which was clearly his way of saying that he was only going to understand what he wanted to.

  He picked up our wet clothes and rolled them into a bundle. Then he slipped his shoes back on, and I did the same. My shoes sloshed as we left the sweltering shed and stepped into the fresh, rain-cleaned air. I inhaled deeply and waited for Luka to close up. At least the only damage this time seemed to be the branch that had fallen on the obviously well-built shed. Then he led me to Uncle Samuel’s car and waited by the passenger side.

  “Do you want me to take you home?’ I asked as I unlocked the doors.

  “Yes… no…. Take me your house.” He climbed in, daring me to contradict him.

  “You should be on the stage, not me.” I knew he didn’t understand, but every Broadway producer would hire Luka on the spot if he made those puppy-dog eyes on command. I blew out my breath and climbed in.

  THE YARD at the house seemed to have fared very well. Leaves had come down, but little else, thank goodness.

  “I really should take you home.”

  Luka shook his head. “No. I really should make love to you.” He leaned closer, his scent wafting around me. Never in my life had anyone pursued me like this. I’d had guys ask me out, and even a few stalkers creep on me, but none looked at me as though I was the earth and the stars. I was used to being onstage and, to a degree, the center of attention, but when the show was done, I became anonymous again.

  “Luka….” I shifted, the leather seat under me creaking a little. I was about to ask him what he wanted when I realized I had no idea what I wanted. Luka represented temptation in its purest form, and yes, I could give in and….

  He opened his door, got out of the car, and walked around to my side, standing outside the door, arms crossed over his chest. He opened my door and held it. “You think too much.” He leaned into the car. “You let go now.” He took my arm, tugged me out of the car, and closed the door before he led the way up the walk and steps to the front porch. My wallet and keys were in the pockets of the pants Luka had, and I unwound the bundle of clothes to find them, then unlocked the door. Luka took the clothes away from me and dropped them with a thumpy-blurp on the porch before stepping inside.

  As soon as the door closed, Luka pressed me against it, the wood molding scratching my back. Not that I cared. Luka pressed his lips to mine, pulled up my shirt, and tugged it over my head, breaking the kiss just long enough to yank it off.

  I was as excited, hard and throbbing, as I could ever remember being, and each kiss, every dose of his heavenly musk that settled around me, drove me higher.
I moaned softly, my willpower succumbing to Luka’s desire. He ran his hands down my sides, not quite tickling, which sent even more sensation to my brain. I was on overload, and as Luka slid his hands lower, my shorts went along with them. I kicked off my shoes, not caring where they went, and stepped out of the shorts, standing naked in front of him. He turned me away from the door and scooped me up into his arms. Before I realized what was happening, I was being carried down the hall and up the stairs like Scarlett O’Hara. I thought of trying to put a stop to it, but fuck it all. Maybe Scarlett had it right. I’d let this happen with Luka and think of the rest tomorrow.

  I pointed, and Luka carried me to the guest room and laid me on the bed. I bounced once and had barely stopped before Luka tugged off his shirt in a display of graceful muscle worthy of any ballet. His pants came next, his cock—full, thick, and long—jutting to the ceiling. He closed the distance between us, climbing onto the bed, looking at me like I was lunch and he was starving.

  Hell, I knew I was.

  I reached out to draw him to me, but Luka had other ideas. He kissed me hard, then pulled away to latch his lips onto a nipple while his fingers closed around my shaft, tightly. He tugged slowly as he worshipped my chest. To have his undivided attention like this was almost overwhelming. His tongue licked a trail down my belly, fingers sliding away, and then I was engulfed in wet heat and pressure.

  “Jesus!” I gasped as he sucked me to the hilt. I wasn’t small, but he took all of me, and with such pressure, I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be able to control myself. I leaned forward as Luka pulled me deep, holding me inside him, stealing the last bit of air I’d been able to draw into my lungs. He backed away just as quickly and lifted his gaze, tugging me out of the building euphoria.

  “Why did you stop?”

  Luka leaned closer, his breath tickling my skin. “I want you to last long time.” His grin was almost feral, bordering on mischievously evil. Then he sucked at the base of my hip. I knew he was going to raise a mark and yet I didn’t stop him. No one was going to see it except me, and I’d have something to remember him by… for a short while, at least.

  “You need to not think….” He smiled. “I make you stop.”

  There was no way in hell I could argue with that. When I was with Luka, thinking seemed to fly out the window. I understood getting into character and learning how to feel and act like someone else. I did that onstage each night. But I never wasn’t myself. Luka made me feel like I was someone different, like my thoughts weren’t my own and what welled up from inside me was almost coming from someone else.

  “How about I make you stop?” I countered, pressing against him in a vain attempt to wrestle away control, not that I put much effort into it. I liked that Luka was strong and held me, took care of me. No one did that anymore.

  “Try.” He kissed me, pouring his power and strength into it. I couldn’t combat his force and didn’t need to. I never thought for a second that he was anything other than caring.

  Luka used his hands and tongue, but I longed for more, begging for it, and the best part was that he delivered without touching my cock, which throbbed and ached for him. I pressed a condom into Luka’s hand from my kit by the side of the bed and gave myself over to him. I was too far gone to hold off much longer, and thank God Luka seemed to understand. He sheathed himself and pressed to my entrance, stretching and filling me with agonizing slowness. I wanted more, needed it faster, but Luka had his own pace, and it drew me out longer and longer. Sweat broke out on my forehead and still Luka drove me crazy.

  “Just do it!” I growled, and Luka withdrew, then slid deep in a long stroke, wrenching a lung-emptying groan from me that seemed to go on forever. I was complete, at least for a short time, as Luka pushed me to head-spinning heights before taking me to Everest and then plunging me off into a release that glided me back to earth, taking its own sweet, head-floating time.

  I wished it would never end.

  I didn’t dare move. If I did, I’d turn into the pumpkin that I was, Luka would see, and the spell would be broken. As long as I stayed still, everything was perfect and the outside world didn’t exist. I wasn’t going to have to worry about the fact that I was going to leave or what Luka thought was going on. One thing was crystal clear: I was going back to New York in a week or so and resuming my real life. Somehow I had to make sure Luka understood that.

  “You think too much again,” Luka whispered from deep in his throat, sending a ripple of heat through me.

  I groaned as our bodies separated and Luka slowly lay down beside me. I kept my eyes closed while he took care of the aftereffects, discarding the condom into the trash can. Then I watched as he settled beside me once again. I wished to hell I could ask him what he wanted… or even vocalize what the hell I wanted. Yes, I was going back to the city, but….

  “Stop….”

  I cracked my eyes open in time to see him twirl his fingers.

  “Your head doing this.”

  Luka was amazingly perceptive and understood what was happening. “Yes.”

  “Make it stop or I make it stop.”

  I caught his gaze, which filled with heat once again.

  “Maybe you think I not good enough to make it stop.”

  Oh, he saw it as a challenge… and who was I to deny him? The truth was, everything would indeed wait until tomorrow.

  Chapter 4

  I EXPECTED Luka to leave after sex the first time… and then the second… but after the third, I was too exhausted and my head had indeed stopped functioning, so Luka had made good on his promise.

  We were both sweaty as hell and ended up moving to the shower. Unfortunately, I was too worn out to do more than wash. Not that I didn’t want to climb Luka like a jungle gym. The spirit was most definitely willing, and my body made an initial effort, but it soon gave up and I ended up leaning against Luka, his arms around me, hips pressed to my butt, water sluicing over me.

  Once it became clear to both of us that nothing additional was going to happen, we rinsed, grabbed towels, dried off, and ended up falling into bed.

  I have never been able to sleep well with other people, even as a kid or a teenager. I remember going on a school trip to DC—an overnighter, with four teenage boys in a hotel room. That meant I had to sleep with another boy. It didn’t go well. Chet ended up on the floor next to the bed when I pushed him out from under the covers. I remember him climbing back into bed and then me doing it again before he grabbed some blankets to sleep on the floor.

  Then there was my first boyfriend, Hamid. At least, I’d thought he was my boyfriend. We were freshmen in college, and he was pretty, with dark skin, jet-black hair, and eyes as deep as the Well of Souls. We were in his apartment and had just made love. I tossed and turned all night before finally falling asleep. He, like Chet, ended up on the floor when I pushed him out of bed. Unfortunately, he hit the bed frame with his arm, and I woke up to screaming as he bled all over the place. To make a long story short, after a trip to the emergency room, stitches, medication, and even apologies, he decided it was safer if we were just friends.

  Greg swore I fell asleep and turned into some sort of thrashing maniac once I reached REM. And while we had an active sex life, he often left to go sleep on the couch rather than take his chances.

  I was obviously filled with trepidation when Luka pulled me close to hold me as I drifted off to sleep. Dammit, I knew I should have warned him.

  “Jonah.”

  I woke to Luka holding me tighter. Surprisingly, I was in the same position that I’d been when I’d fallen asleep. I turned, wondering if he was black and blue from head to toe.

  “You safe. No run.” Then he gently soothed down my side, and I relaxed once more, drifting off.

  LUKA WAS gone when I woke again. I sat up, looking around the room. His shoes were gone, as were the shorts he’d worn the night before. I climbed out of bed, pulled on a robe, and trudged down the stairs to the front door. The wet things we had pl
opped on the porch yesterday were gone also. I eventually found my clothes hanging on the line outside the back door, but his weren’t.

  Part of me was relieved as hell. That meant he wanted to keep things as casual and easy as I had hoped, or that this was just a night of fun, and I could live with that as well. At least I thought I could, until the doubt wound its way in. Maybe I was just some fun and wasn’t interesting enough or good enough to hold his interest. My thoughts could spiral quickly and probably would have if my phone hadn’t rung. I found it on the kitchen counter and snatched it up.

  “Jonah, it’s Charles. I spoke with the funeral home and wanted to relay that they would be sending a town car to the house at ten to pick you up.”

  Just like that, the fact that today was my uncle’s memorial service ended any dithering about my love life.

  “Thanks. I’ll be ready and downstairs.” I checked my watch and carried the phone up through the house.

  “Also, I’d like to go over everything with you regarding the estate and get you to make some initial decisions regarding how you want to move forward.”

  “That will be fine. Whatever time works for you. I’m basically sitting here with little to do.” I held the phone with my chin, opened my suitcase, and grabbed the underthings I was going to need, before going to the closet.

  “Then be here in the afternoon. I’ll have directions for you. It’s very easy to find.” He said goodbye and ended the call.

  I tossed the phone on the bed and pulled out my suit, grateful most of the wrinkles had hung out of the shirt. Usually I was extremely fussy about how I looked. Auditions and meetings with producers were always about making a detailed and very polished impression. I wasn’t going to have the time to find the ironing things right now, and since the shirt was in okay condition, I put it on and laid out my suit and headed to the bathroom.