“I don’t want to be the reason the good girl goes bad,” he growled into my hair.
My eyes lifted to his. “Who said you were the reason?”
His mouth crushed against mine as I inhaled the taste of bourbon off his tongue. His lips were only the beginning. I wanted to feel the rest of him. The broad planes of his chest. The strength in his shoulders. The ripples in his biceps. The roughness of his palms, sliding over my smooth skin. I wanted the entire Luke Canton experience from head to toe.
He wrapped my other leg around him, lifting me from the floor and walked down the hall, holding me close. I clung to his neck, kissing him with reckless thirst. With every step he took, I knew I was leaving America’s Sweetheart in his living room and letting him peel back the layers of who I wanted to be.
I was in Austin for one night. By tomorrow afternoon I’d be on a plane back to Nashville. Tomorrow I could go back to being America’s perfect role model. I could hide my inner hellcat. Suffocate the sexiness I wanted to feel. Pretend nothing mattered more than the purity of heart my brand crammed down everyone’s throat, but for tonight I could let Luke give me what I really wanted.
A night where being bad was a good thing. A night when all that mattered was how sexy I could be. A night when I could let a hot bad boy fuck me like I deserved.
He carried me over the threshold of his bedroom and it was dark inside. I could make out large pieces of furniture, and an enormous bed. The blinds were closed, and I knew what was about to happen wouldn’t be something we’d want to share with the outside world. I could be completely free, feeling the protection of Luke’s world around me. The privacy of the ranch. The gated entrance. For the first time I realized how incredible it felt to have this layer of secrecy around us.
He swung around to a panel on the wall and tapped on the screen. The room glowed with dim orange lights.
“Candle light?” I searched his eyes.
“I want to see you,” he growled.
I felt the pit in my core seize with want at his naughty words. He wasn’t the only one. I wanted to see him too—every ounce of his ripped naked body. I didn’t care if it was electric or computerized light. It didn’t matter as long as I got to feast my eyes on him.
Luke dropped me in the center of the bed and crawled toward me. I felt like prey and the lion was prowling toward his kill. His teeth grazed over my collarbone.
My nails dug into his back, desperate to pull the shirt off of him. I tugged the edges, letting my nails drag over his skin as I freed him from the shirt.
I traced the lines of ink running up the side of his oblique. The symbols were interlaced in an intricate design, crawling across his taunt muscle. The tattoo started at his ribs and wrapped behind his back. I wanted to ask what it meant, but I dug into his skin instead, feeding my need to feel the heat of his body.
My fingertips grazed the rigid lines of his bare chest. His eyes darkened, watching me explore his athletic body. He was built for endurance. Trained for strength and power. Every muscle connected to another one just as toned and beautiful as the last. I tried to wrap my hands around his biceps, failing to complete a circle before he maneuvered me right where he wanted me—pinned under him.
I sucked in the air around me. God, he was massive. He was certain with every move he made.
His fingers quickly picked at my buttons until my shirt was lying open. His mouth fired kisses against the tops of my breasts while I squirmed under him, needing more. Needing it faster. Needing all of him in a fury.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” He growled into my neck, as he nipped behind my ear and across my throat.
I moaned when I felt his hand slide between my stomach and my jeans. He twisted my panties against my skin and I whimpered, feeling his fingers rub between my legs. He knew it was my desire for him that had made them.
I was aching. Every part of my body wanting to feel his touch. Wanting the roughness of him to remind me of how alive I was. I needed Luke to let me be a woman. Not a symbol of morality. I wanted the kind of night a man like him could offer.
His lips hovered over my breasts, blowing gently before his teeth snatched the lace of my bra away and my nipples hardened under his stare. I pushed up, shoving them toward his mouth. He clamped against the hard point, sucking and growling while I pressed the back of his head tighter to my chest.
I didn’t care if he bruised me. I didn’t care if he bit me. I wanted my body to feel this tomorrow. I wanted to be able to remember the way Luke made me feel. I liked how he played rough and with intention.
He unclipped the back of my bra, granting him access to both nipples, and threw it across the room. While he flicked one with his tongue, he pinched the other with his fingers, rolling it with control until I screamed for more. The shivers ran through me as he suckled my tits with the fire of his tongue.