“Goddamn, you’re beautiful,” he said as his hands trailed her naked curves. He covered her body with his, and brought his mouth down on her breast.

Embry let out a small whimper as his tongue teased her nipple.

“This okay?” Luke asked, looking up from hooded eyes.

Embry gave him a slight nod, and he kissed across her chest to her other breast. She writhed beneath him as he flicked his tongue against her nipple and sucked it into his mouth. Tunneling her hands through his hair, she tried to bring his mouth back to hers.

“Tell me what you want, baby,” Luke said, his voice thick with desire.

Embry leaned forward, capturing his bottom lip with her teeth and giving it a tug. “Touch me.”

Luke shifted to his side as his hand traveled down her stomach. Her body clenched with the anticipation of what was to come. When he reached the top of her panties, he hesitated, giving Embry the chance to stop.

She wiggled under his hand, desperate for him to move lower. “Please,” she whispered, bringing her mouth to his.

Luke slid his hand over the lace of her underwear and cupped her core. Embry was so turned on, she was sure Luke could feel her dampness through her panties. He pulled the thin material aside and dragged a finger through her wetness. As he slid his fingers against her sensitive flesh, Embry let out an involuntary moan, bucking against him.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Luke’s eyes lit with desire. “Yes what, beautiful?”

“Yes, I like that.” Feeling his erection against her leg, Embry reached down to stroke Luke through his pants.

He shuddered at her touch, clearly affected, but pulled away. “No, this is about you,” he said, and slid one finger inside her.

Embry moaned her approval as he worked her with his expert fingers, but she wouldn’t give up. She wanted to feel him. She ran her hand over him once more, and when he didn’t protest, Embry grew bolder. Following the dark dusting of hair down his stomach, she slipped her hand inside his waistband. Before he had the chance to pull away again, Embry wrapped her fingers firmly around him and moved her hand in a long, smooth stroke.

“Oh fuck,” Luke choked out. Before long, he was rocking his hips against her while keeping up a delicious rhythm inside of her. He kissed her breathless, his fingers pushing her over the edge as he pumped into her hand. He ran his tongue up Embry’s neck, capturing her earlobe between his teeth. “Let go, Bree,” he whispered.

He ran his thumb over her swollen flesh, and Embry fell apart, continuing to stroke him until he found his own release.

“Oh God,” Embry moaned, writhing beneath him. Luke’s face was still buried in her neck, and she felt his smile against her skin.

“Nope, just me, baby.” He pulled away from her neck and leaned in for another slow, delicious kiss.

“Mmm, that felt good,” Embry said against his lips. She wrapped her arms around him, trailing her hands up and down his muscular back.

Luke looked down on Embry with adoration. “Yes, it did.” He pushed up on his elbows, the muscles in his arms bulging and stealing Embry’s attention. “I’m gonna go clean up. Need anything?”

Embry shook her head. “Just you.”

Luke gave her a shy smile and headed into the bathroom. Embry stretched out in his large bed, feeling spent and satisfied. A few minutes later, Luke climbed back into bed, pulled Embry toward him, and tucked her into his side. She settled her head on his bare chest, laying her arm across him.

“I like you in my bed,” he whispered as he swept his fingers over her skin.

“I like being here.”

Luke lifted his head and brushed a sweet kiss on her forehead. “Sleep, beautiful.”

Embry lay for a while listening to his heart beat out a steady rhythm. Thinking back on the past month or so that they had spent together, it all seemed so surreal. She had moved back to New York to be close to her family and Morgan. She didn’t plan on meeting anyone, hadn’t even considered it, but Luke had brought so much to her life. She was still as motivated as ever to do well in school, but she also had someone who made her feel cherished and safe. Someone she could maybe see a future with.

“Luke?” Embry asked, her voice thick with emotion.

“Yeah, baby?” he said sleepily.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“I was just starting to doze off.” He turned and nuzzled into her. “What’s on your mind?”

“I just wanted to say thank you for today, for everything.”

Luke planted a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. “You’re more than welcome, it was my pleasure.” He stopped to yawn. “Now close those pretty green eyes.”

Embry snuggled into Luke’s chest, tucking her head beneath his chin. “Night, baby.”

Embry was awakened by sunlight shining in her eyes and what felt like a cool breeze across her skin. Groaning, she grabbed a pillow and tugged it over her face, blocking out the light. She heard a low, throaty chuckle. Slowly peeking out from beneath the pillow, she found Luke grinning at her from across the room.

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

Embry threw the pillow aside and pushed up onto her elbows, taking in her southern sexy. The French doors were open, and Luke stood shirtless, pajama pants low on his hips, leaning against the edge of the balcony. His arms were crossed, biceps bulging, and he held a cup of coffee. The sun shone on his tan skin, making it look even more golden than usual. A days worth of stubble shadowed his jaw and his eyes burned bright as he smiled at Embry.

She sat all the way up, taking the sheet with her. “Morning,” she said. Dragging herself out of bed, sheet still wrapped around her, she turned toward Luke. “Be right back.”

Embry shuffled into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she was surprised she didn’t look as terrible as she expected. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her hair messy with big, crazy waves, and since she hadn’t worn much makeup, she didn’t have raccoon eyes. She splashed some cold water on her face and brushed her teeth before heading back out to Luke. Leaving the bathroom, she found the discarded shirt Luke had given her on the floor beside the bed. That didn’t stay on for long.

Dropping the sheet, she pulled on the T-shirt and walked toward the balcony. Luke stood with his back to her, and Embry took a second to appreciate the view. His pants hung so low that the perfect, round globes of his ass peeked out over the top. His waist was lean and his back well-muscled, leading up to big, broad shoulders. She walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his narrow waist, and placed a kiss between his shoulder blades.

Luke angled his head to look over his shoulder. “Hey there.” He lifted his arm so Embry could shift around to his front.

“Hey, handsome.” Embry stood on her tiptoes to give him a good morning kiss. She loved that even with her height, he made her feel small.

Luke’s arms wrapped around her, his hands settling on her lower back. Letting his hands wander lower, he caressed Embry’s curves until he reached the bare skin of her legs. He pulled back just enough to look at her then raised his eyes to the sky and groaned. “Do you have something against pants?”

Embry looked down at her bare legs then back up at Luke. She did her best to appear coy, batting her eyelashes and chewing on her bottom lip. “No, why?”

Luke grabbed her bare ass and pulled her against him as he nibbled on her neck. “Because you refuse to wear the boxers I gave you, and I can’t think straight when you walk around with nothing on but my T-shirt and that tiny scrap of lace you call a thong. Go put something on, please.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Embry teased.

“You have to.”

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t, we won’t leave the bedroom, and I want to make you breakfast.”

“Mmm, breakfast?” Embry’s stomach growled as if on cue. She laughed. “I guess I can do that.”