AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nodded and my throat tightened. Luke knew me better than anyone else. Better than Omar, perhaps even better than my mother. I hid a lot from her and while I tried to do the same with Luke, he saw it anyway.
We both stared up at the cerulean blue sky for a little while, when Luke broke the silence. “I was thinking about what you said about helping Mario.”
“Are you thinking of working in the kitchen with him?”
“No. I was thinking about helping him take his restaurant to the next level. You were right. I enjoy fixing things and restoring them to what they’re meant to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“After my parents died, we lived in our home with my uncle until Colton could earn enough money to move us out.”
I nodded, recalling Luke telling me this the summer before we started high school.
“Even when Colton inherited our family’s money and kicked our uncle out of the house, he didn’t want to return to our home. Colton wanted nothing to do with it anymore. Something had happened… but that’s his story to tell.”
“Yes, of course,” I said, appreciating his discretion.
“I couldn’t let the house my mother and father had built fall apart. So, a few years ago, I restored it. I put in new windows, ripped out the old carpet, and installed hardwood floors. My father’s study remained the same. I didn’t want to touch that one. I was afraid it would lose the cedar scent from the wood paneling on the wall. That smell still reminds me of him. But everything else, I changed. I wouldn’t let the last memories of our home be about my uncle, so I fixed the house and started brand new. And that’s what I want to do for Mario’s restaurant. He’s an incredible chef but the place needs some renovations and he doesn’t have the budget for it. But I do. I think I’ll put a proposal together on Monday.”
“That sounds fantastic, Luke. You’d be really great at that. Look at how you fixed my painting in one night. When you put your mind to something, you get it done.”
He smiled, still staring up at the sky, but he pulled me to his side. “I already have some great ideas for the reopening.” His voice lowered. “You’ll come, won’t you?”
I laughed at the hesitation in his voice. “Of course, I’ll come. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
He turned to stare at me this time, joy shining in his eyes, and perhaps a bit of the ocean mist. He leaned forward and kissed me slowly, his tongue sweeping my bottom lip. “Grace,” he whispered. “Grace, I—”
I cupped his face and pushed my lips against his. I wasn’t sure if he was about to say those three little words that would change everything. I wasn’t ready to hear them yet. So much in my life was still undetermined and I wanted to enjoy the here and now without thinking of the future. For once in my life, I would live in the moment.
I straddled his hips and untied the top of my bikini. Luke leaned forward and flicked my nipple with his tongue, then circled it in a slow, lapping motion. My skin tightened and I planted my hands on his hard chest to hold me up. He pulled down my bottoms and I nearly lost my balance, teetering to the side.
“I’ve got you,” he said and pulled himself up, his back leaning against the white cushion of the daybed. Sitting on his lap, Luke brushed my hair off of my face and held it in between his hands. “I know you’re not ready to hear it, but you’re the most important person in my life right now, Grace. And I want you to know it. Never doubt it.” He did it again. He saw through me, despite my attempts to distract him.
I nodded, and he kissed me. This time, he wasn’t gentle. He nipped at my lips, then placed his mouth at the pulse on my neck and sucked hard. I felt the pull of his lips down to my core. I dropped my head and bit his shoulder, the salty water tingling on my tongue. He growled at my response and ground his hips against me. He was hard and ready for me and I mewed in reply.
The next thing I knew, Luke was inside me and I moved my body in rhythm with the rocking of the boat. I pushed forward and felt the world move. When I lifted my body, I grabbed onto the steel at the back of the bed and then pushed down harder against him. The movement hit a sensitive spot and I gasped.
“Fuck,” Luke cursed, and that spurred me on. Holding onto the iron bar, I used the leverage to ride Luke harder and faster than I’d ever done before. He squeezed my hips, his fingers trying to control me, but I was stronger than him in this position. He dropped his head as though defeated and relented to my control.
I rode harder and quicker. Panting, I asked, “Are you sure you want this?” I knew I wasn’t just talking about sex.
“Yes, I can fucking take it,” he shouted.
His confident words turned me on, and I wanted to praise him. I knew I was close, but Luke still held out. I felt my power surge and knew I would not last. “Luke,” I shouted, and he sucked my nipple. My orgasm slammed into me and while I opened my mouth, I could hardly breathe.
Flipping me onto my back, Luke pounded his hips into mine and I shuddered at the pleasure of being filled while still riding the wave of my orgasm. The boat rocked and the waves crashed onto the side, but all I could see was Luke’s face. His eyebrows were in a straight line, his forehead creased and his mouth slightly open. I knew when he quickened his pace that he was almost there and so I ran my hands up his chest and flicked his nipple with the nail of my thumb. He jerked and shouted, his voice hoarse.
“Shit,” he panted. “I couldn’t hold back after you did that.”
I smiled. “I don’t want you to hold back, Luke. Ever.”
He curled his body over mine, and we watched the seagulls fly past us.
After returning to shore, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the streets of Saint-Tropez. The homes were not very large, but they were beautiful, with their terracotta roofs and yellow stucco walls. A woman watered the flower pots on her stone porch as we strolled through the neighborhood.
By evening, I was so exhausted that I convinced Luke to stay in. He ordered groceries and made Chicken Cordon Bleu. The white wine sauce hit my tastebuds without being salty and the asparagus crunched in my mouth just the way I liked it.
“We have to get some rest before our flight in a few hours,” said Luke. “We can sleep on the plane, too, and when we land, it will be early Monday morning New York time.”
