Flirting with Danger by Bev Hardy (digital e reader TXT) 📖

countered firmly. "Well, at least your hand is clean and bandaged now."

 

He turned it over and studied it both sides, before dropping it. "Yeah, thanks."

 

She began to tidy away the cotton wool and first aid materials while he just stood there watching her. Finally, she looked across at him, after having replaced the first aid box back in the desk drawer.

 

"Are you coming back on the sofa?" she asked.

 

Fear of reoccurring nightmares and making a fool of himself in front of her again made him reluctant.

 

"I ain't tired," he replied, turning to glance out of the window.

 

"Luke, you need sleep. Why don't you just try?" she suggested. "If you can't sleep, then get up again, but leave the whiskey alone," she added.

 

"I ain't tired Charlie," he repeated. "I'll come when I'm tired."

 

Damn it. She'd make him get some sleep if it killed her.

 

Heading for the sofa, she plucked up the blanket, laying it out and slipping underneath it. She raised herself up on one elbow, with the blanket clinging to her front, and her back exposed in Luke's direction. Turning her head to speak over her shoulder, she called out to him,

 

"Luke…" There was something extremely suggestive in the way she voiced his name, making him turn from the window the moment he heard her.

 

"Will you come and share my blanket with me?" she asked.

 

He stared at her in surprise, quickly warming to the idea. For the next few moments, he made a pretence out of thinking about it, chewing on the inside of his bottom lip as if in contemplation.

 

"Seems like I could do with some sleep after all," he finally answered, striding across the room to the sofa. She moved across to make space for him but he just stood, grinning down at her. Then, without warning, he dived onto the sofa, scooping her up and rolling them both around, with the sounds of her shocked protest in his ears, until she was lying on top of him, his arms around her waist and a pair of astonished blue eyes gazing down into pair of amused brown ones.

 

"Now, now Charlie, don't be takin' advantage of me tonight," he teased.

 

She pressed her lips together in a tight lipped smile. "Adams, when I said about sharing the blanket, I meant so that you could get some sleep," she emphasized.

 

"Yeah well, I had another idea. I was kinda picturing the blanket on a bed. Don't get me wrong, this sofa aint bad, but with a bed, there's more room to… roll around, you know, get into different positions. You know what I mean?" he grinned.

 

She shook her head at him. He was completely incorrigible.

 

"Yes, I'm afraid I do. You have an over active imagination Adams, now sleep," she stressed, waiting for him to lighten his hold on her.

 

Luke's grip remained steadfast however for a few moments while he enjoyed searching her face so close to his. He reached up with one hand and swept her hair back softly. The gesture changed the mood suddenly as the air began to crackle between them, and the longer their eyes clung, the more the air crackled. Suddenly the playful atmosphere was gone, replaced with something else. His eyes instinctively fell to her mouth, contemplating her glossy lips… wondering, imagining… She knew what he was doing. She needed to move but she suddenly felt frozen in the moment; nonetheless, acutely aware of how important it was that her next move be appropriate. As his eyes smouldered over her face however, she did the very thing she had told her brain not to do; her gaze lowered to his lips in return. Luke hadn't missed where her attention had moved to and his eyes widened, his heart racing with surprised excitement in response. Maybe he stood more of a chance than he realized.

 

Was she mad? What had she done that for? She shook her head to clear it and finally untangled herself from him, sliding into the space between Luke and the back of the sofa.

 

Luke lay for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, buzzing, with a million thoughts racing through his head, all of them involving Charlie. If she wanted him to kiss her, boy could he oblige! He wasn't going to push it then though. He'd have to find the right time. Maybe she'd reject him, but then again, maybe she'd really wanted him to kiss her all along. With that exciting thought still in his head, he finally turned to see what Charlie was doing. She was lying with her back to him again. To hell with that; he slid and arm underneath her and turned her, pulling her suddenly towards him.

 

"Luke?" she protested.

 

He was ready with a reply. "This sofa's too small to sleep like that; it aint comfortable."

 

She narrowed her eyes at him.

 

"I can't get to sleep like that," he added. After all, that was what she had wanted him to do: get some sleep.

 

She sighed and contemplated her next move. Damn it, she was tired too and it simply seemed petty to protest any more. Slowly she lowered her head onto his chest. He tightened his arm around her waist slightly in return, and pulled the blanket more snuggly around them, before studying her shining hair below his nose. It was hard to believe that he had spent seven years without her. Laying his head back onto the cushion behind his neck, he suddenly felt extremely warm and contented, and surprisingly enough, sleepy.

 

Having her there after the darkest of nightmares seemed to soothe his troubled mind and, for the first time in years, he slipped into a peaceful sleep, comforted by the warmth of her presence.

 

 

Chapter 11

 Then suddenly she flooded with heat and all there was in her entire world were his hands

 

 

Charlie slowly became aware of being entangled in someone else. It wasn't something she was used to waking up to …hold on!

Memories of yesterday came seeping into her head. Had that all really happened? Was it really her egotistical, overly sexed, American ex-partner that was wrapped around her, or had she imagined the whole thing?

She lifted her head and opened one eye cautiously.

Oh no, she truly hadn't. Oh dear Lord, it was Luke!

Just above her, slap bang in her line of vision, was an arrogantly jutting nose, ruffled head of hair, soft, slightly lopsided smile… whatever he was dreaming about this time, he seemed to be enjoying it. She was relieved to realize that there was not a sign of tension in his whole body; he was fast asleep, and contentedly so.

Okay, so now probably her biggest worry at that point in time was the fact that she suddenly realized his hand had somehow found itself extremely far down the back of her dress! That was something new. Now, either it was only because he'd been a gentleman- not likely- that it hadn't slid past the edge of her underwear, or the fact that he'd done it unconsciously in his sleep. If so, then she couldn't very well berate him, considering that her own treacherous hand had ventured underneath his shirt! It lay rested on the hard surface of his chest, rising and falling with each breath he took. They must have both unintentionally just wanted to get warmer; yes, that was it.

The leg entanglement was unfortunate though. She'd never experienced the muscles of his thigh in quite that intimate a place before... what was she thinking, in any place before! But then again, her leg had been just as uninhibited, having flung itself over his, with his hand resting on her knee, keeping it in place there. Typical, just a few hours back from New York and he'd wangled himself into this kind of a position with her. What was it about Luke that he managed this kind of thing when no other man under such circumstances got anywhere close to this? Circumstances had just seemed to fall into his lap.

This was just a little too close for comfort though. She didn't remember them ever being quite so intimate before, certainly not on a sofa, laid out together for hours...hands and legs and bodies pressed against each other all night, and her unconscious of it. But she was more than conscious of it now, that was the problem, more than conscious of that hand of his right at the base of her back, his fingers splayed out, fingertips resting on the tender, sensitive skin just edging the lace of her underwear.

Oh Lord! Luke had nearly got his hands on her underwear! Things were getting out of hand. After seven years they should be more distant from each other, not getting more intimate by the minute! Mind you, Luke had been even more suggestive than he was before, if that was at all possible. Maybe it was watching that little x rated scene earlier that had started him off.

What happened if he moved his hand further down? What was she thinking that for?

There it was again, Luke and his bad influence. He just strolled into her life and all his erotic, inappropriate thoughts had rubbed off on her! Well, they really weren't the kind of thoughts that should be running through a lady's head...least of all an engaged lady's head...well, nearly engaged...perhaps going to be engaged.

What time was it anyway? As much as she wanted him to get that sleep he needed, if the cleaners were anywhere near to entering the office, she had to wake him up now. The last thing she wanted was for them to find her and Luke in that compromising position! Wriggling her arm from underneath her, she glanced down at her watch. It was only seven thirty. Normally the cleaners would be there by then but this was a Monday morning and since Doug was still away, the cleaners never came in till later. She could maybe doze there for a little longer. She shifted to move her arm into a more comfortable position, but, in his sleep, Luke must have sensed her movement and he also shifted in response. She glanced up at him to see if he was waking. His eyes were still closed though and the regular rhythm of his breathing told her that he was still in a dream world, despite the fact that he seemed to be a little more restless now. It didn't seem a nightmarish restlessness though, thank goodness, as that slight smile was till on his face. Maybe he was simply having nice, peaceful dreams.

She, on the other hand, was now wide awake, and the arm that she had moved was beginning to experience pins and needles. She shifted again, trying not to wake him.

"Mmm," he responded, turning his head towards the top of hers and, to her consternation, exactly as she had imagined, slipping that hand further down her dress and over the top of her lacy briefs!

She froze, not having a clue what to do, her heart racing in her chest.

'Move now,' the angel in her head told her.

'You don't want to wake him,' the devil answered. 'Wait to see what happens next.'

'It's totally inappropriate.'

'Quite exciting though. Besides, who will ever know?'

'You will know. You're practically engaged.'

'But you turned Richie down. And anyway, it's not like