The elevator stopped on the lobby level even though only Carol and Luke were on board and neither of them had pressed the lobby button. When the door opened, Luke stepped forward to press the Close Door button then stopped, staring out the window. “You’re not going to believe this—it’s a blizzard out there.”
She smiled and nodded, not even bothering to look. “Uh-huh.”
He stared at her. “But…it never snows in Atlanta.”
“So they say,” she agreed, then pushed the close door button.
She could hear the noise of the party even before the elevator stopped. When the doors opened, the full force of music, laughter and voices blasted her. Her stomach churned, both at the known and the unknown.
A few heads turned in her direction, but after a quick downturn of their mouths, they turned away.
“Ignore them,” Luke said. “Hey, why don’t we take your coat and briefcase to the storage room? I have something for you.”
The candy. Which was connected to the kiss bone. Which was connected to the bone…bone. Carol followed him slowly down the hallway, fighting a groan that somehow turned into a moan.
He looked back at her. “Did you say something?”
“No.”
He unlocked the door of the storage room, held it open for her, then allowed it to close behind them while he turned on lights.
“It’s not much,” he said, reaching high on a shelf to remove a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
“Did you say you feel a cold coming on?” she asked in a desperate attempt to ward off the impending kiss of spiraling lust.
Luke shook his head. “No. Just a little tired for no reason I can put my finger on.”
When he handed her the box of candy, his cheeks were tinged pink. “It’s silly, I guess.”
She opened her mouth to say that, in fact, she was feeling under the weather and wouldn’t want to spread anything to him through a kiss, but stopped when she saw instead a red silk box that read “Be Mine.” Surprise sparkled in her chest at the romantic nature of the gift.
Luke scratched his head. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure why I bought that one. It just seemed…right.” He thumped his chest as if trying to self-administer CPR. “Lately I’ve been having these…fantasies…um, feelings…”
Apparently deciding actions spoke louder than words, he lowered his mouth toward hers. In the wake of his incredibly romantic gesture, Carol’s bogus contagion defense went out the window. She lifted her mouth to accept his kiss, knowing what his warm lips would feel like before they even made contact with hers. She sighed through the overlapping of sensations that were both new and familiar. Far removed from their first kiss, her mind and body still reeled from the raw power in Luke’s probing tongue.
He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “Do you believe in déjà vu?”
“Yes,” she whispered, then curled her hand around his neck and pulled his lips down on hers, hard.
Luke moaned into her mouth and the vibration echoed through her body. He pulled her against him and their hands became frenzied, roaming over each other’s bodies. He smoothed his palms down her back, over her buttocks, and pulled her sex against the hardened ridge of his erection. The physical proof of what they were about to do…yet again…made Carol dizzy with lust.
He stopped, his gaze bouncing around the room, looking for a suitable surface.
Carol pointed to the nearby table. “Take me there.”
He picked her up by the waist and set her on the table, then slid up her skirt so she could spread her knees.
“Wait,” she said, then nodded to the door. “Can you wedge a chair under the doorknob?”
“Good thinking,” he said. After the chair was in place, he came back to stand between her thighs.
Carol’s pumps fell off with succeeding thuds. She leaned back on her hands to brace herself, then squeezed his hips with her knees. Her breasts, her sex, her entire body throbbed with anticipation, especially since now she knew what to expect.
“Oh, no,” he murmured suddenly, then put a hand to his head. “I don’t have a condom. I’m sorry.”
“There’s one in my briefcase,” she said, pointing. “Top compartment.”
She was learning.
There were, after all, lots of things from the pages of the erotic novels she’d read for the Red Tote Book Club she wanted to try that required full contact.
Luke was back with the condom in record time, grinning. “I’m impressed, Snow. And grateful.” He kissed his way down her neck, then plucked at the buttons on her white blouse until it lay open, exposing her naked breasts.
This morning she’d skipped the bra entirely.
He cupped one breast in his hand, and suckled the other one, pulling her nipple into his mouth until she shuddered with pleasure. But they were both too frantic to linger. Luke pushed her skirt to her waist, then rolled down her panty hose and underwear to expose her sex.
She loosened his belt and unzipped his pants to free his imposing erection. When she clasped the rigid length of him, he gasped, his eyes hooded with desire. She helped him roll on the condom and position his sheathed cock at her slick entrance.
“Now,” she whispered in his ear.
He thrust forward, filling her completely. Carol wrapped her legs around his waist. She couldn’t think…couldn’t speak…could only feel the amazing wonderfulness of having his body melded with hers. It felt like the first time all over again. The sensations pummeling her were almost overwhelming, leaving her languid and elastic.
He massaged the tiny sensitive nub that housed her orgasms, looking into her eyes. “Snow, you’re so sexy,” he murmured, not bothering to hide his surprise. “I’m not going to last long.”
His sex talk left her quivering and on the verge of a massive orgasm. He used his thumb to send her over the edge. Carol rode him through a deep, powerful climax, contracting around him. Before she had quieted, he shuddered his own release, groaning against her neck. The throbbing bass of the party music all but guaranteed that no one could hear them.
At length their breathing slowed. He pulled away, then kissed her thoroughly. “Wow,” he murmured. “What just happened?”
Carol steeled herself, but felt the dreaded sense of remorse start to nibble away at the pure bliss she’d felt only seconds ago. Part of her felt manipulative, because she’d known what was going to happen, had even prepared for it. Luke, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on, only knew that he was conflicted about her. If he felt the ghost of their intimate encounters, he probably had the sense that his body knew her better than his brain actually did.
It had to be mystifying.
Luke pulled back. “Will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?”
Carol straightened her clothes. “Tomorrow…you mean Valentine’s Day?” “Yes.”
She turned her back to retrieve her underwear and panty hose, stepping into them as quickly and modestly as she could manage in such a confining space. “I thought you already had plans,” she chided. “I heard you tell someone that you were having dinner with a ‘special lady.’”
He grinned. “I will if you say yes. I haven’t made any plans—that’s my generic response.”
Carol wet her lips, wavering. She wanted to say yes, wanted to go on a bona fide date with Luke, but she was already so…attached to him, she was terrified their relationship was already lopsided…and once again she’d be left out in the cold.
The scene of Valentine’s Day Present that Gabrielle had played for her had shown Luke with the gorgeous blonde, meaning if Carol said no, he would meet the other woman and think enough of her to ask her to dinner instead.
So despite the great sex—most of which he was unaware of—and his heartfelt invitation, how much could Luke really care about her? She’d suffered enough humiliation in her relationship with James to last a lifetime.
It just wasn’t worth the risk.
Carol turned back and forced a note of casual nonchalance into her voice. “I don’t think so. Look, this was just a hookup to satisfy curiosity. And I’m not curious anymore.” She adopted a blasé expression.
Luke’s head went back, as if he’d been slapped. “Uh…okay.”
She slipped her feet into her pumps. “Why don’t you leave first so it’ll seem less suspicious if anyone is watching.”
“Okay.” He hesitated, then rechecked his clothing and made his way to the door.
She turned away and closed her eyes. That was too close. Having sex with Luke Chancellor three times might not have been the smartest move, but thinking it meant something emotional this time around would be the biggest mistake ever.
“Luke,” she said.
He turned back. “Yes?”
“Thank you for the candy.”
He looked as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, he slipped out the door and it closed behind him.
Carol held her breath against the sudden pain squeezing her chest. She had the distinct feeling that her chance to be with Luke had just expired…in every alternate universe.
Wondering how she would get through the rest of the party, Carol checked her clothing and smoothed her hair, realizing with some small measure of relief that at least her headache was gone. She lifted her hand to her forehead to find the goose egg she’d been nursing was also gone. It was something to be grateful for in what seemed like an unending day.
From the floor, a glint of metal caught her eye—her silver-and-emerald earring. She bit her lip. Was it worth one more try to retrieve the stray bauble that James had said was supposed to symbolize “a successful love”?
Carol looked around the room and smiled when she spied a heavy-duty industrial push broom. No more falling monitors.
She retrieved the broom, then used it to snag the earring and pull it out a safe distance from under the shelf where she could get to it without bumping into anything.
She leaned the broom against the shelving unit, then crouched to pick up the earring. Triumphant, she straightened and pumped her arm.
Which dislodged the broom, sending it sliding along the shelving unit. Above her, she heard a scraping noise, and when she looked up, the end of the broom had nudged something large that was bearing down on her.
Despite the uncannily prophetic sense of déjà vu, Carol didn’t have time to put up her hand. Pain exploded in her head, then everything went…well, you know.