“I doubt you’ll have to steal her. She’ll probably stow away in your luggage,” Luke said.
He was joking, but his words made her mood plummet. She didn’t want just any dog when she returned home—she wanted Bella. And more than that, she wanted Luke. But once their time in Tahoe was over, would she ever see them again?
* * *
Kat’s expression fell at his lame attempt at humor, and Luke’s heart squeezed. His mind was filled with images of Bella stowing away in Kat’s luggage and easily adjusting to a lush Hollywood lifestyle complete with a fur-lined pet bed and Grade-A fillet for meals. For the first time ever, Luke tried to picture himself trying to fit into that part of Kat’s life next to men who had private jets and assistants at their disposal, who could grant her every wish with just a snap of their fingers. He’d be just another hunk of brawn standing two steps behind her and hoping he could hang onto her for just a little while longer.
Luke had worked for enough celebrities to know that most had given up school for their dreams. Just last year he’d guarded a very famous pop diva who was so insipid she’d had to stop giving face-to-face interviews. Her beauty and her smile only went so far, and while she was charming and polite—on camera anyway—she was also hopelessly out-of-touch with the real world.
Kat was nothing like that. She was savvy, and intelligent, and she lived a life he knew nothing about. A lavish life he didn’t think he’d want any part of. So where did that leave them?
No place he wanted to dwell on. Not yet.
After lunch they took another turn around town. They paused in a gift store and Kat found an enormous hat with a feather curling up from one side and a slouchy brim.
She took off her baseball hat and slipped the new hat on. “What do you think?”
Luke took one look at the ridiculous thing and burst into laughter. He grabbed another one just like it off the rack and stuck it on his head. “I don’t know. What do
you
think?”
Kat bent double laughing. “You look like a bedraggled pirate!”
Deciding to commit, he grabbed a large and horrifically garish scarf with little gold coins dangling off it, tied it around his waist and struck a pose. “Argh, me mateys! I’m as bedraggled a pirate as I can be,” he cried out.
“You do know that is a belly dancing scarf, don’t you?”
“Belly dancing, you say? Hmm. Then maybe this should be for you.”
He untied it and held it out, growling, “Dance wench.”
Kat took the scarf, her eyes glinting with both laughter and desire. “I will, as soon as we get back to the cabins.”
He swallowed hard. The idea of Kat belly dancing was so thrilling his cock stiffened. He took his hat off and placed it back on the rack and she replaced hers as well. The easiness had returned, and he was glad for it. “Maybe we should see if they have some of those sexy little see-through pants too.”
She cocked her brow. “You mean harem pants?”
The thought made his cock throb painfully. “Uh, yeah. Those.”
She shook her head. “I think you’re out of luck with those.”
He threw an arm around her shoulder. “Okay, fine. But we are definitely buying that scarf, and I’m going to hold you to that promise to dance for me.”
“Good.” She turned away, the scarf draped over one shoulder, to look at some tacky souvenir mugs and he took the time to check out her bottom. The jeans she wore cupped her cheeks perfectly, and he found himself fighting back the urge to give her bottom a good hard swat.
Just then, his cell phone dinged with a text notification. With a smile at Kat, he pulled his phone out and checked the screen. It was from Cole.
The man who broke into Bailey’s house is in police custody after trespassing again. He’s confessed to leaving her those threats. Looks like your girl is safe.
Your girl.
Cole had referred to Kat that way once before.
It’s how Luke thought of her now.
His to cherish. His to protect.
His to….love?
Luke stared at the text with mixed emotions. Of course he was glad the man had been caught. That Kat was safe from him. But it didn’t mean another threat wasn’t going to rear its head. If Kat returned to the spotlight, chances were it would. Had she given any more consideration to hiring another bodyguard?
He glanced over at her, smiling when he saw her trying on another hat, this time a jaunty fedora. Catching him watching her, she tipped the brim of the hat and blew him a flirtatious kiss. He winked at her as he slid his phone back into his pocket.
Striding back toward her, he told himself to enjoy the rest of the day with her, here in this little hamlet of a town so far removed from the hustle and bustle of LA. Kat was facing a mirror trying on another hat, and Luke wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, growling dramatically as he buried his face in her neck. She giggled and spun around to gaze up at him.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Everything’s great.”
“How does an ice cream cone sound before we head back?”
“Sounds sweet, but not as sweet as you.” He knew it was a corny thing to say, but he meant every single word. Kat had added something to his life, filling empty places inside him he’d never known existed. How could he help but notice them once she no longer did?
They ended up foregoing the ice cream when they spotted a crepe place a few doors down. Sitting outside by a fountain, they fed each other bites of chocolate and strawberry crepe, and talked about everything from the songs they listened to while running to some of Kat’s favorite on-screen moments.
The afternoon had begun to fade toward evening when they finally headed back. Luke drove, stealing glances at Kat’s profile as he did. She wore a pensive look and he wondered what she was thinking. About her life back in Hollywood and whether it’s what she wanted? Or about their time together here coming to an end?
* * *
A short time later, Luke and Kat sat together on the porch of Luke’s cabin. Kat had her bare feet up on the railing, and every once in a while their hands would meet and join then break apart.
Kat tried to ignore the panic that was growing inside her. Tried to push away the awful sensation that she was about to lose all of this. The privacy. The peace and quiet.
And him.
She swallowed hard.
Her practical side knew there was no way this thing they’d started could survive her lifestyle. Luke was a cop, and he wasn’t interested in flashy things, or flashy people. He’d be a fish out of water in her world.
But what if she left her world?
If there was ever a man worth tossing it all away for, it was Luke.
His face wore an inscrutable expression. What was he thinking? Was he tired of her already? The sex they’d been having was spectacular, and she’d never met a man so ready to please her and himself no matter how often they’d already felt the fiery brush of that pleasure. But sex aside, these gentle and romantic moments just sitting in comfortable silence or dancing on the deck might be boring him silly.
He was a man of action. She was an actress. He saved lives. She pretended to be living someone else’s. The gulf was so great, and she couldn’t see any way to bridge it.
The things they had in common—their love of books and nature and peace and quiet—were enough here and now, but they might not be once they returned to their real lives.
The sun went down in a big fiery ball, a beautiful end to the day. If she and Luke were coming to an end, she wanted to enjoy every moment of it. She wanted it to end just as beautifully as it had begun.
She cleared her throat and pasted a smile on her face before turning to him. “I do believe I owe you a dance.”
Luke’s eyebrow lifted. “You really know how to belly dance?”
She
could
belly dance thanks to a fitness class she’d taken last year, but she merely said, “You’ll have to be the judge of that, don’t you think?’
“I’ll give it my most careful and enthusiastic consideration,” he said.
“Good. Just give me three minutes then come in, okay?”
He nodded and the look of anticipation on his face just heightened her own.
She slipped inside, found a song on the stereo she could dance too, and quickly stripped down to her cute little pink-and-black bra and panty set.
She set the lights to dim then wrapped the scarf around her hips, making sure the little coins attached had plenty of room to move and clang together, then she lifted her arms above her head, set her feet and waited.
Luke entered, closing the door behind him. His lids grew heavy and his nostrils flared as he took her in. She began to sway, using the hip isolations she’d learned to wriggle and writhe in a sensual, pulsing movement. Luke stood rooted to the floor, his eyes locked onto her body as she thrust her breasts up and down then allowed her hips and the scarf to create a low musical jangle that resonated through the room.
She drew closer. Her hair whipped around her face and she shook her hips faster, arching her pelvis out toward him then spinning around so he could see her ass cheeks moving in slow undulations beneath the diaphanous material that covered them.
The song was about to end and inspiration struck. Luke brought out the kinky side in her—why not embrace it? She danced to where he stood, and, just as the song ended, she sank to her knees, head bent.
“I’m yours to do with as you please,” she said in a low, throaty voice.
He picked her up.
She dangled from his arms, reveling in their strength.
His mouth settled over hers in a hungry kiss. When he pulled back, his eyes gleamed with passion and possession. “Damn right,” he said, and headed for the bedroom.
Beside the bed, Luke set her down and caressed her face. “Kat, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and the dance you just did is a memory I’ll cherish.”
She’d been called beautiful by a lot of people in her life, but it was amazing how this felt like it was the very first time. “Thank you,” she said. “Have I told you that you’re so sexy, I can’t stop thinking about kissing and touching you?”
“How about instead of thinking it, we do it. And follow that up with a whole lot of fucking.”
His words sent little shocks running through her body. How could she want him so much, and so often?
She did though. All Luke had to do was look at her, whisper in her ear, or say something as bald and commanding as the words that had just come out of his mouth, and her body instantly responded.
Her nipples protruded through the bra she wore. Her nerves felt too close to the surface of her skin, and her legs had parted of their own accord, willing him to follow through with that breathtakingly sexy sentence.
He leaned forward and pressed his warm, full lips on hers. Her breathy sigh echoed in the room. She grabbed at Luke, her nails scratching him lightly. He grunted and together they fell to the bed, their hands tangling as each undressed the other. When they were both naked and Luke had seen to protection, he climbed on top of her.
His heated strength and lean muscles filled her senses as he kissed her again, his hands running along her belly and breasts then lower. He cupped the flesh between her thighs and squeezed. Her labia pressed into each other and caught her clit between, providing a tingling decadent pleasure that had her writhing.
His mouth stayed on hers. Her tongue explored the hard ridges of his teeth just as his fingers circled the hardened nub of flesh slowly, then pressed hard enough to make her cry out in a mixture of pleasure and pain.
He pulled away, and his mouth moved to her shoulders. To her breasts. Then lower. His teeth grazed the delicate flesh right below her navel and then his warm breath stirred her pubic curls.
His tongue slid between her puffy labia. Her breath held then released as his tongue found her clit, pressed it then massaged it back and forth in a slow, maddening way that had her ass clenching and lifting off the mattress.
Fingers parting her entry, he went deep inside her while his tongue continued to lavish attention on her clit. Kat whimpered and thrust her hips forward and upward, her fingers tangling into his hair as she sought to press him closer.
His head lifted, and his lips and chin gleamed with the evidence of her arousal. He rose above her, driving into her with an immediate and unapologetic thrust.
His hips moved as she bent one leg out, opening herself for him and his thick shaft. His chin dug into her shoulder and his fingers curled around her hips tightly, lifting them so that he could go deeper still.
Kat met every thrust and withdrawal. Her legs shook as she strained up and toward him. When she came, she felt Luke falling with her, his body going rigid then relaxing slowly. His breath washed over her cheek as he turned his head. His tongue found hers and she kissed him, allowing herself to savor her own juices and his lips at the same time.
* * *
After they made love, Luke’s fingers traced up and down her arm, just skimming her satiny flesh. He’d been almost stunned silent watching her dance. She was naturally graceful, fluid and limber, and the way she’d moved, the way her body had flowed and snapped, had been one of the sexiest things he had ever seen.
She was quiet. He peeked down to see if she was asleep but her eyes were open, her expression pensive.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
She smiled. “I don’t know if they’re worth it.”
“Why do you do that?”
She gave him a puzzled look. “Do what?”
“You have a habit of being self-deprecating. But sometimes it borders on more.”
She looked away.
He used his finger to tilt her face toward his. “Talk to me.”
She sighed. “Luke, I’m so confused. I don’t know where to go from here. It used to be simple. I wanted to act. Now it’s all so complicated and confusing.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a huge success as an actress. At one time, that’s all I thought I wanted. But now that I’ve gotten it, I’m not sure I do anymore. How’s that for being ungrateful? I don’t know what’s truly good about my life, and what’s just tinsel and smoke.”