AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This again? I thought we covered this when you announced it to the whole pub.”
“Just be happy for me.”
Luke tipped his bottle in her direction. “You’re sure I didn’t just let you win?”
“Now what kind of trainer would you be if you did that?” she asked pointedly, and for a moment it felt like she might be reminding herself and him of what exactly they were doing here. She was saying all the right words and he was nodding along, and maybe they both even meant them. But there was also a part of Luke that wished they didn’t. That wished he could figure out how much of her saw him as a friend and how much of her might be able to see him as something else... Something more.
“How’s work going?” he asked, sipping his drink and changing the subject. At the pub, she’d mostly pestered him with questions about his business plan: What are the updates? Are you still going to host youth programming? Though he hadn’t had answers to everything yet, he loved how enthusiastic she was. He also loved that she let him ramble, that she’d just grinned and sipped her drink as he went on about how his gym would fare in the market if First Union Bank would just give him a chance.
“It’s gotten pretty busy lately,” Lydia admitted.
“New contracts?” he asked.
“No, actually, I’m getting a second shot at the Manhattan Youth Center competition.”
“Wait, what?” He shook his head. “That’s amazing. But how?”
“Jack actually asked me to partner up with him. He hasn’t submitted his proposal yet, so there’s an opportunity for me to try again.”
A flash of heat shot through him. “And you’re happy about that?”
“Of course.” She glanced up. “What is it?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“No, tell me.”
He didn’t know how to explain the growling rage in his chest at the thought of her and Jack spending long afternoons together. Jack in his tailored suits, with his easy laugh, calling Lydia hisrunning buddy. Luke felt like his skin was on fire. “I thought Jack was one of the people who keeps rejecting your work.”
Lydia shrugged. “I probably blew things out of proportion. I was upset and he was an easy target. He actually thinks we have a really good shot at getting selected to represent the firm.”
“Right. Well, that’s really...cool.”Coolwas the last thing he meant, but he wasn’t willing to ruin their evening over a guy he barely knew.
She caught his hand. “Luke? What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to talk about Jack, okay?”
“Okay...” she said, dragging out the word. “You’re the one who brought up work.”
“I know.”
The question was clear in her eyes. Whatdoyou want to talk about then? But that was the problem. He didn’t want to talk, especially now. He wanted to kiss her senseless. He wanted to know that Jack didn’t mean anything, that his feelings for her weren’t one-sided, that despite all the complications, this could be something.
“Luke,” she whispered, the word like a beckoning finger. He put his beer down on the counter, and reached for her. Her lips parted, a soft sound escaping.
“Ask me to leave,” he said, leaning so close he could feel the phantom press of her lips against his.
“I’m not going to ask you to leave.”
“You know what will happen if I stay.”
“I know,” she said, and she leaned into him.
It was like fireworks exploded in his brain, erasing all thoughts of Jack, and he held her tighter, until they fit like mortared bricks against each other. His hands caressed her, trailing down her back to cup her ass. In one smooth motion, Luke lifted her onto the counter, swallowing Lydia’s little yelp of surprise as he leaned into the space between her legs. Situated like this, she was slightly taller, and he reveled at the sensation of pushing up on his feet to catch her lips. Lydia chuckled as they bumped the beer bottles on the counter, Luke chasing them blindly with his hands to stop them from spilling. He moved the bottles out of the way before letting his cold, condensation-slick hands slip beneath her shirt, tracing her spine.
Lydia gasped and arched, pressing against him in the most intoxicating way as he pulled her shirt over her head. Her hands were everywhere then, combing through his hair, cradling his face as she tilted her head, pressing her lips to his jaw. He felt the gentle scrape of her teeth as she moved down his neck, and Luke groaned. He could feel more than hear as she laughed, her hands dropping to his shoulders and squeezing, before raking down his front. Her hands didn’t stop until they were fiddling with the waistband of his pants. When she popped the button, he came haltingly to his senses and caught her wrists.
“Shit,” he bit out. “I don’t have any protection.”
