“Yep,” he answered, giving her a quick kiss on her nose.

“What kind of bet?”

“The kind that I lost and wound up with a shamrock on my ass,” he joked.

He was being uncharacteristically vague. “Did it have to do with a girl?”

Luke remained quiet.

“It did, didn’t it?”

He chuckled. “Several, actually.”

Embry’s jaw dropped open. “Several?”

He nodded. “My fraternity brothers and I had a little game we played when we went out. We bet who could come home with the most numbers.”

Embry pushed herself up on his chest, coming to his eye level. “Seriously?”

He nodded. He grinned sheepishly, and the tips of his ears turned red in embarrassment.

“And you lost?”

“It was a setup!” Luke said, becoming animated. “I lost by one number, and it was a technicality!”

She laughed. “Oh, I have to hear this.”

He sat up against the headboard and tucked her underneath his arm. “I was getting bored with the game—”

“Ohhhh, you were bored?” Embry scoffed. “Getting numbers was too easy for you, sexypants?”

Luke looked at her. “Did you just call me sexypants?”

Embry raised an eyebrow. “I may have. What’s it to you?”

He grabbed her sides and dug his fingers into her hipbones.

“No tickling!” She squealed. She squirmed down the bed, away from him, and he followed, pulling her back against his chest.

“Fine, no tickling. But for the record”—he lightly kissed her hair—”I like ‘southern sexy’ better.”

Embry gasped. “How do you know about your nickname?”

“I have my sources.” He wiggled his eyebrows. Her eyes widened in alarm, and Luke laughed. “I’m kidding, baby. I overheard you and Morgan talking.”

Embry shook her head. “Fine, southern sexy. Finish your story.”

“Demanding little thing aren’t you?” he joked, nuzzling her neck.

She pulled back, giving him an expectant look.

“Fine. I was bored,” he said, poking her in the side, “so I decided to make it more interesting. I’d dated a girl a while earlier, and things hadn’t ended on good terms. I thought it would be a challenge to get her to give me her number again since she wasn’t a very big fan of mine. Or so I thought …”

“What do you mean, ‘or so you thought?’”

“Well, I got her number. But one of my brothers was sleeping with her roommate. It turned out she’d still been lusting after me pretty hard. She kept pictures of me stuck to the wall next to her bed. It was … creepy. Her phone number put me over the top, but when my brothers found out about her little obsession, they disqualified me. Said it was cheating and didn’t count. Hence the tattoo.”

Embry laughed. “Sounds like you had to fight them off with a stick, huh, Casanova?”

Luke rolled her up and onto his chest. “Usually I do,” he said, a cocky grin on his face. “But not you.”

Embry winced, her laughter dying on her lips. It was too fresh, too new, to joke about all of the ways she’d pushed him away.

“Hey.” He ran his fingers along her jaw. “Stop whatever it is that’s putting a frown on your beautiful face.”

He kissed the frown away, and Embry went boneless, rolling off of Luke and back onto the mattress. She caught sight of the clock on the nightstand and let out a frustrated sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

She peeked up at him, lips pouting. “I wish I made up with you on a weekend so we could stay in bed all day. I have to be in Dawson’s class in a few hours.”

Luke brought his lips to hers in a sweet kiss before pushing up and out of bed. “I don’t care what day it is. I’m glad you’re here.”

She made no secret of her appreciation of his gloriously naked body as he walked into his closet. He came out a minute later in a pair of flannel pants. He handed her a pair as well, along with a T-shirt.

“I’ll go get coffee started. Feel free to use the shower, and you can wear these home if you want.” He kissed the tip of her nose, shooting her a cute smile before heading out of the room. “Towels are in the closet in the bathroom,” he called over his shoulder.

A hot shower sounded perfect. Embry wandered down the stairs and into the foyer to collect her clothing from the night before. She arranged everything in a pile on the foot of the bed then took the clothes Luke had given her and headed for the bathroom. She found a fluffy white towel in the linen closet, started the shower, and walked into the large stall. The hot water warmed Embry and massaged her sore muscles. Condensation dripped down the beautiful tiles, pooling on the bench across from her. The shower was big enough to hold a group of people, and as she lathered herself in Luke’s body wash, she wished he had joined her. She shut down the highlight reel in her head before she got herself all worked up again and switched gears.

Jack. She knew she had to talk to Luke about him, but did she really want to start their relationship with a talk about her ex? No. No excuses. As much as she wanted to believe she was free from her past, it still had an impact on her. Not only was it affecting her, it was haunting her. The phone calls had stopped, but she knew it was only a matter of time before Jack started calling again or found where she lived. If she hid him from Luke and tried to handle it herself, she was giving Jack power over her emotions and over her relationship. She wouldn’t do that. She didn’t want him affecting her and Luke. She had to stop running.

She would tell him. She just had to find the right time.

Embry stepped into the pajama pants, tied them tight, and rolled the waist a few times so that she could walk without tripping. She pulled Luke’s shirt over her head, ran her fingers through her damp hair, and made her way downstairs. The smell of coffee drew her in, triggering her caffeine craving.

Padding into the kitchen, she snuck up behind Luke and wound her arms around his bare torso, resting her head against his muscled back. She drew in a deep breath, loving his spicy masculine scent. It was that delicious body wash combined with something inherently Luke. She wanted to be surrounded by it always. He turned in her arms to hand her a steaming mug of coffee.

“Pumpkin spice?” she asked, hopeful that Luke had her favorite fall flavor.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered as he poured a cup for himself.

“My favorite,” she crooned as she took a sip.

“Mine too,” he said, smiling.

Embry took her coffee to the breakfast bar. She pulled out a stool and noticed the Georgia sweatshirt hanging on the back. It was still damp from the previous night.

“I’ll give you another one to go home with if you want,” Luke said, coming up behind her to kiss her cheek.

She shook her head. Putting the coffee on the bar, she turned to face the gorgeous man in front of her. She rose up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I don’t need the sweatshirt,” she said, planting a soft kiss on his lips. “I’ve got the real thing now.”

Luke grabbed her before she could pull away, lifting her onto the counter. His tongue begged entrance into her mouth and Embry opened for him. She was awash with sensation. Luke’s fingers danced through her golden locks, his legs pushing between hers, as he kissed her silly. She was completely wrapped up in him, but if she let it go any further, she’d surely miss her first class.

Pushing gently at his chest, she pulled her mouth from his. “I don’t mind Luke Brody for breakfast,” she said, smoothing her palms over his chest, “but I have to leave soon and I kind of wanted to talk.”

“Talk?” he asked. His hands fell from her waist as his brows pulled together.

Embry reached for his hands to pull him back toward her. She positioned him between her legs and looked into his beautiful face, his features marred with unnecessary concern. She’d figured she’d give him a quick rundown on the Jack situation, but when she saw the uncertainty on Luke’s face, she reconsidered. “Yes, talk. Why are you looking at me like that?”