Entangled With My Father's Best Friend

2

We head outside to the sprawling labyrinth of gardens, pools, and winding trails that make up Luke's lavish estate grounds. I make sure to walk ahead of him, letting my hips sway enticingly as I pretend to take in the scenery.

"This place is incredible," I say, glancing back over my shoulder. "How many acres are we talking?"

Luke's eyes linger perhaps a beat too long before clearing his throat. "Just over twenty-five."

"Wow. And you live here all alone?" I turn to face him fully, biting my lip. "Doesn't it...get a little lonely?"

He holds my gaze, unruffled. "I keep myself occupied with work. And other...obligations."

My skin tingles at his cryptic choice of words. "Is that what that was about last night? Work?"

Luke's expression doesn't change, but I notice his jaw tighten imperceptibly. "What are you referring to?"

I take a couple steps closer, drawing on my boldest reserves. "I couldn't sleep. I heard voices coming from your room when I was wandering the halls. You seemed...troubled."

His steel grey eyes bore into me as the distance between us grows uncomfortably taut. "You shouldn't be wandering the halls at night, Bella. It's not...proper."

"So I did hear voices then," I press. "Who were you talking to, Luke? What were you arguing about?"

His nostrils flare almost imperceptibly as he takes a slow, controlled breath. Then one side of his mouth curves into the hint of a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"You've always been a precocious one. Too damned perceptive for your own good." Luke shakes his head once. "What you think you heard is none of your concern. It's..." He pauses, his gaze scanning me up and down in a way that makes me shiver. "Complicated."

I hold his gaze, desperately wishing I could decipher the churning beneath that implacable veneer. His nearness sparks the rampant longing inside me until I can barely breathe.

"Luke, I'm not a kid anymore," I say in a low, intense tone. "If you're in some kind of trou-"

"Enough." He cuts me off with that single, steely baritone word. "You need to stay away from whatever matters don't concern you. Do you understand?"

His eyes flash with an unmistakable glint of dominance and warning. The air thickens with unspoken tension and intimations. Part of me wants to recoil from that imposing glare...while another part finds it utterly, shockingly intoxicating.

I give the smallest of nods, unsure whether I'm overstepping or getting through to him. Luke stares at me a moment longer before abruptly turning on his heel and striding away without another word.

My heart pounds in my chest as I watch his muscular form retreating across the grounds. Cool determination mixes with the simmering want coursing through my veins. I don't know what darkness Luke has gotten himself tangled up in. But one thing is becoming crystalline - whatever it takes, I won't let it consume him.

Over the next several days, I soak in every mundane interaction and moment I can with Luke while looking for any other hints about his troubles. During one of our evenings together, he at least seems more at ease, some of the gruff edges temporarily sanded away.

We're lounging in the home theatre watching a classic old movie. Or rather, I'm watching Luke more than the film, studying the rugged contours of his face in the flickering light. At one point, he glances over and our eyes meet. I hold the heated moment until warmth flushes my cheeks and I quickly look away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the hint of a smirk play at the corner of Luke's mouth before he turns his attention back to the screen. My heart is pounding so loud I can barely make out the dialogue.

When the movie ends, Luke rises from his seat with a little grunt. "I'm going to turn in. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Actually..." I bite my lip, gathering my nerves. "I could use a refill on my wine if you're already headed to the kitchen?"

He raises an eyebrow but gives a little nod, collecting my glass and retreating through the double doors. The moment he's gone, I bolt upright and creep after him through the darkened hallways.

I pause around the corner, peering through the dim light into the kitchen. Luke has his back turned as he pours a fresh glass of merlot from an open bottle on the counter. I can't help but drink in the sight of his broad shoulders and powerful back, imagining running my nails down.

*

I can't help but drink in the sight of his broad shoulders and powerful back, imagining running my nails down the contours as I press myself against him from behind. The thought alone sends a shiver of want through my body.

Luke turns around and his eyes widen ever so slightly at the sight of me lurking in the shadows. "You should have said you were coming," he admonishes, though his tone lacks any real rebuke.

"Sorry," I reply in a low murmur, holding his intense gaze as I slowly saunter into the kitchen. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't startle me." His eyes burn into mine as I draw closer until there's only a few electrifying inches separating us. The air thickens with undeniable tension and smoldering undercurrents.

"Good," I breathe out, reaching up to idly toy with the top button of his crisp dress shirt. "Because I was hoping we could..."

My fingers trail down his chest as I bite my lip, leaving the suggestion dangling hot and heavy between us. Luke's jaw tightens almost imperceptibly but he makes no move to halt my wandering touches.

"Careful, Bella," he rumbles in that deep, grooved timbre that liquefies my insides. "You're playing a very dangerous game here. With fire."

"Maybe I want to get burned," I whisper in a tone barely above a breath.

Luke's eyes search mine, their molten depths churning with warring wants and hesitations. Then in one sudden, fluid motion, his hand whips out to grip my wrist while the other encircles my waist and pulls me flush against his powerful frame.

"Is this truly what you desire?" His words are laced with strain, his warm breath caressing my flushed cheek. "To toy with the flames of a man's passion until you inevitably get consumed?"

My breaths come in ragged pants as heat lances through me from every point of contact with Luke's body. This is everything I've endlessly craved and fantasized about. To be dominated by this man's raw, primal need.

"Yes," I whimper out in desperation. "God, yes Luke. I want you to consume me completely..."

His jaw tightens again as that internal war plays out behind his stormy eyes. For a brain-melting moment, I think he's going to finally unleash his pent-up hunger. To finally make me his in the way I've dreamed.

Then, just as quickly as it happened, Luke releases me and takes a step back, running a hand roughly through his tousled hair. "You need to go back to your room."

The ache of denial and frustration is like a sudden, crushing weight. "Luke, please-"

"Now, Bella!" His tone is sharp, unyielding as he turns away from me. "Before I do something that can never be undone."

Tears of confusion and desperation prick my eyes as I quickly retreat from the kitchen, struggling not to break down until I'm back in my room with the door shut. Only then do I allow the choked sobs to escape as I sink down to the floor, overwhelmed.

I want Luke so badly it feels like a physical ache in my core. To have tasted the barest whisper of his passion only to get shuttered out again is torturous beyond words. What is it going to take to break through and unleash the ravenous desire I know he's repressing? Does part of him still see me as that young, forbidden object instead of the grown woman I've become?

Or is there something deeper and darker holding him back? Some lingering remnant of the shadows I sense lurking in whatever troubled past threatens to consume him? I know there are missing pieces to this puzzle that I'm not seeing yet...but I'm more determined than ever to solve it. To find a way to cut through Luke's barriers and truly, finally make this man mine.

A renewed spark of determination pulses through me as I rise up off the floor and move to the bedroom window. I gaze out onto the pristine grounds bathed in silvery moonlight and take a calming breath. Time to stop aimlessly thrashing with need and desire. Time to embrace the calculated seductress within and focus my cunning on the true objective.

Stripping off my clothes, I step into the shower and let the steaming waters pour over me, washing away the lingering ache of Luke's denial. I close my eyes and picture his sculpted figure joining me, those strong hands caressing every curve as his mouth leaves a blazing trail down my slick skin. That's the weapon I need to break through his defenses - to consistently stoke the flames until he has no choice but to ultimately consume us both in the blistering inferno of his lust.

Tomorrow, I'll probe deeper into the dark shadows looming over his life. Tonight...tonight I'll simply let the visions of Luke ravaging me with abandon fuel my wanton need until I'malmost feverish with scorching want. Then he'll have no choice but to eventually surrender that iron willpower of his.

Because in the end, what man could indefinitely resist the object of his most profane, aberrant desires when she keeps dangling it endlessly before him?