Chapter 14

One second later – Ellie

Iwasn't about to let Luke off the hook so easily. I'd been dying to ask him this question for the better part of eight years. I'd finally summoned the nerve. Or consumed the requisite amount of tequila at least. I wanted an answer.

"Do you know how it made me feel to be practically the only girl ever rejected by you?"

"Wait?" His eyes widened and he stared at me aghast. "What are you saying, Ellie? You can't think—" He scrubbed a hand over his face. "No. It wasn't like that at all. Believe me."

I kept up my narrowed-eyed glare. "Then what was it like, Luke? Tell me."

With his right hand, he gently reached out and pulled one of my arms away from my chest and held my fingers underwater. Okay. That was a nice touch.

"You were drunk," he said. "And so was I. And…" He swallowed. "And this is going to be painful to admit, but I can tell by the hurt look on your face that I need to say it."

"Say what?" Still narrowed.

"The truth." He swallowed again.

"What's the truth?" My voice shook slightly. I couldn't help it.

"If there's one woman I always respected enough not to fool around with, it was you, Ellie."

"Respect?" The word hit me like a physical blow to the chest. "Was that what it was?"

His blue eyes searched my face. "That's right. Look, I told you. I'm a mess with women. There was no way I was going to kiss you, quite probably enjoy every second of it, and then end things in two months like I always do."

I furrowed my brows. "That's giving yourself a lot of credit. Who says I wanted a fling with you?" I was trying to keep my chin from shaking, but I could feel I was losing the battle. Of course I'd wanted a fling with him. After he'd stepped away from me, I realized it had been a mistake and that it was a good thing that he'd moved away, but it hadn't made it felt like less of a blow in the moment.

He dipped his head to meet my gaze again. "I couldn't take that chance, Ellie. Not with you." His voice was nearly a whisper, reverent.

And in that moment, I knew he was telling the truth. Not just trying to soften the blow. Frick. It was suddenly hard to breathe.

And then I started to laugh.

Nearly couldn't stop.

"All these years, I'd assumed that I was so undesirable that the biggest player in town didn't want to touch me." I stopped for a minute to inhale a lungful of humid air while Luke continued to watch me carefully. "And the truth was he had too much respect for me?"

I laughed more, but Luke merely nodded. Because he was serious. Entirely serious. And I needed to stop laughing.

"Think about it from my perspective, Ellie," he replied, still holding my hand underwater. His thumb stroking across my knuckles. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't just kiss my sister's best friend. It had to be something to think twice about."

I took another deep breath and thought about it all for a few moments. "I suppose it stands to reason. I'd never considered it from your perspective before," I admitted. Then I sighed. "In my head, I figured if you'd wanted me badly enough, you would have gone for it." Which begged the question, had he truly been trying to kiss me last night before I'd flown off the couch?

Only one way to find out.

My gaze locked with his. I let my free hand brush his leg. Once. Twice. "So what was that about you saying you were an idiot?"

Luke's gaze immediately dropped to my lips and his right arm moved around my back to pull me closer. "No more talking," he whispered against my mouth.

This time there was no mention of spreadsheets. And no running up the stairs. We were in water. There would be splashing and possibly sliding around if I tried to leave. But more importantly, I didn't want to. Luke was about to kiss me, and I wanted it so bad. I wouldn't have said what I'd said if I didn't. I hadn't meant to touch his leg. Or had I? I honestly couldn't be certain anymore, but once I'd brushed against him and seen his pupils flare, I had no regrets. Of course it was probably a bad idea that seemed like a good one based solely on two hearty tequila shots, and the need to blot out the memory of him refusing my kiss all those years ago. But at the moment, I didn't care. I leaned toward him and fully participated in our lips meeting.

The truth was I'd decided earlier that if Luke tried to kiss me again—assuming he'd tried to kiss me the first time—I would kiss him back. The dude was hot, and I'd clearly been wanting to kiss him for years. I'd also been telling the truth about reminiscing about my past with Vance today. I'd been clinging to all that crap for way too long. I needed to have sex. Of course, I wasn't going to sleep with Luke. No chance. But one kiss in a hot tub wasn't gonna kill me. Besides, I hadn't been kissed in so long, I probably forgot how. It was just a matter of keeping my skills sharp. Practice. Nothing more. No big deal.

Only the second Luke's lips touched mine, I felt like my whole body went up in smoke. His mouth slanted across mine and I opened to him immediately. Our tongues tangled. I tasted salt and tequila and heat. His right arm locked forcefully behind my back and pulled me tight against his bare chest. Correction. His bare, muscled, wet chest. Oh, goddess. I moaned into his mouth.

It wasn't over quickly either. My arms wrapped around his neck and my fingers slid into the hair at his nape and we kissed like our lives depended on it. A minute later, I found myself straddling him as his right hand moved through my hair and down to cup my cheek and when his hand moved around the back of my neck to hold me in place for more of his kiss, I about went up in flames.

It wasn't until minutes later when his kisses slowed and turned into little bites at my lips that my senses finally returned, and I managed to move off his lap. I backed into my previous seat, breathing heavily, and staring at him as if we'd both just committed a crime. My lips were tingling. My nipples were tingling, and don't even ask what was going on between my legs. Okay. Throbbing. A whole lot of throbbing.

I stared at him, eyes wide and chest heaving with the effort it took to breathe after being kissed like that. And I was sure of only two things. Tequila shots had a bad reputation for a reason, and Luke Knightley knew exactly how to kiss.