Page 98 of See You There
Luke pressed a hard kiss against her mouth, stealing her breath. When she sat stunned, he said calmly, “Dahlia, if you weren’t so upset, this concern might be adorable.”
Her brow furrowed, and she tried again. “No! You aren’t getting it. It doesn’t matter—”
He kissed her again, this time flicking his tongue along the seam of her lips. Dahlia sighed and parted her lips, but Luke pulled back with a smug smile.
“If the only way to shut you up is to kiss you, I’m fine with it. But first, I need to understand exactly what Victor said so we can make plans.”
Pain lanced through her. “We can’t make plans. I have to go back. Victor already thinks we’re sleeping together. If we…”
This time, when Luke’s mouth closed over hers, she parted her lips immediately, and his tongue swept in, stroking against hers. He tugged her tighter against him, one hand sliding into her hair to hold her head still.
Dahlia moaned, thoughts of Victor disappearing beneath the delicious onslaught. Need pulsed hot and insistent between her legs. Twisting her torso to press her breasts against him, her hand came up to stroke the rough stubble on his firm jaw. Heat flowed through her as his mouth slanted over hers, and the scent of him filled her nose. Dahlia rubbed feverishly against him, whimpering when Luke tugged on her hair to angle her head to give him better access.
She dropped her hands to slide them under the hem of his T-shirt, but Luke’s hand caught hers before she could explore. He pulled back so she could feel his warm breath coming in harsh pants against her mouth. His hooded eyes met hers. “As much as I want to keep going, beautiful, we have to solve this problem first.”
Dahlia felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on her. She was rubbing herself against him, and he was stillthinking about the disaster she’d made of his life. Dahlia ripped herself away and attempted to rise from his lap, her face on fire.
“Be still,” Luke groaned, his hands capturing her hips and holding her still. “Give me a second.”
Dahlia opened her mouth. But she took one look at the pained expression on his face and was suddenly aware of the hard length now pressed against her hip. She gave an experimental wiggle, and the fingers flexing on her hip went a long way to salvage her pride.
Charcoal eyes pinned her. “I’m serious, beautiful. Keep that up, and the rest of the week will consist of you naked, while I indulge in all the fantasies that have consumed me from the moment we met—and I won’t care if our lives burn while it happens. It would be worth it.”
His words sent an exquisite longing through her. Her pulse pounded in her ears, and the delicious ache created by their passionate kiss became a fierce inferno.
Luke blew out a breath. “As fabulous as a week of mind-blowing sex would be, you want to go to your premiere… So, we need to handle this first.”
Dahlia was pretty sure she was doing an excellent impression of a goldfish.
“Now, what exactly did that absolute waste of a human say to you?” Luke’s entire demeanor had shifted. He still held her firmly in his lap, and she wasn’t sure if he was even aware that his thumb was stroking the side of her hip. But his tone was all business.
Her body throbbed with thwarted desire, but Dahlia licked her lips and ignored the sensations his gentle touch evoked. Luke was right.
Concentrate Dahlia, she ordered herself, as she tried to remember exactly what Victor had said. “He spoke with Matt Crawford.” She paused when the pressure of Luke’s thumbdug into her hip briefly. “They are upset that the police are questioning Chandler, and he said my leaving Atlanta looks bad.” She sighed. “It does look bad.”
“What else?” Luke’s voice was still calm, but she could feel his tension through his fingers.
“He made some nasty comments about our relationship and—”
“What did he say?”
Dahlia shrugged. “That you were only helping me because we are sleeping together. That’s when he said you were being investigated by the GBI for killing someone because he forged a will and Matt Crawford inherited your father’s money. And, if I didn’t come back, he’d give the story to the press.”
“Is that all?” The silky tone sounded nothing like the Luke she knew.
“Pretty much.”
Luke stared at her.
“He made some comment about your brother being kicked out of a company, and that you were all losers. It was a petty—”
His dark chuckle cut her off, sending shivers down her spine.
“Luke, he means it. He’s going to reveal everything about me and use your connection to me to ruin your career.”
Dahlia’s heart sank. She needed to tell him the whole truth. He would find out eventually, but she’d rather Luke hear it from her. “There are things in my past that I haven’t shared with you yet.”
The thumb stroking resumed. “I told you at the store I’d changed because being wild had consequences.” She took a deep breath. “When I was fifteen, I started acting out. At first it was little things… skipping school, hanging out with the wrong people… It caused a lot of problems at home.
