Page 5 of Some Like It Rough

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Julia glanced at Paul,who winked as if daring her to proceed. Did he think she was just going to start screaming at Luke or simply wrestle him to the ground and have her way with him? Luke looked so confused it almost made her want to laugh. Perhaps he’d expected to be screamed at as well.

He also looked amazingly hot, his black hair longer than Paul’s, his long, lean body as familiar as ever, his fingers elegant as he devoured his food. His hazel eyes looked green in the subdued lighting and matched his tight-fitting T-shirt.

She took another swig of her beer and kicked off her shoes, watched as both men stared at her legs and the hint of stocking top her rucked-up skirt showed. “So, you’re going to make this into a coffee bar and ice cream parlor, right?”

Luke looked up at her. “Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“And how do you plan to finance that?” The words came out of her mouth before she’d even realized it. God, was she turning into a typical bank employee with nothing better to talk about than her job?

“I’m good, thanks.” Luke nodded at her and then returned his attention to his food. Julia frowned at Paul who was grinning at her. Why wasn’t he helping out? Did he expect her to bring the whole sordid mess out into the open? Of course, he did, he was a man.

“I know you said it’s complicated, Luke, but that’s not a real answer. Why did you come back?”

Luke sighed and put down his beer. “I always intended to come back. It just took me longer than I’d anticipated.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course not. I had to grow up and realize that running away from things wasn’t the solution to my problems.” He met her gaze, his hazel eyes serious. “I had to understand that facing the people I’d hurt was an essential part of liking and forgiving myself.”

“It’s really all about you, then.”

He smiled. “God, when you put it like that, it sounds totally selfish, but that’s not what I meant.” He took a deep breath. “I hurt you both. I ran away from the two most important people in my world.”

“Yes, you did. And I still don’t understand why.”

For the first time, Luke’s gaze slid away from her and came to rest on Paul. “I figured two’s company, three’s a crowd. I knew Paul was a way better prospect than I would ever be. He had the ranch. He had all the stability you and I were lacking.”

“So, you decided to make things easier for us by running away?”

“Basically, yeah, that’s what I told myself.”

Julia stared at him hard. She knew him far too well to believe him completely. And there was definitely something he wasn’t telling them.

Luke chuckled. “The thing I can’t figure out is why you guys aren’t married with four kids by now.”

Paul glanced at her. “You’ll have to ask Julia about that. I’d marry her in a heartbeat.”

Julia shifted in her seat. “I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of marrying anyone. My mom’s four trips down the aisle kind of cured me of that.” She tried to steer the conversation back to Luke. “So, why haven’t you gotten married? Too busy playing the field?”

He sat back and considered her, his long legs, encased in worn denim, stretched out in front of him. “I’ve certainly had time to work out what I like and what I don’t like.”

Julia sighed. Luke had obviously become as closemouthed as Paul. Were all men this difficult to talk to, or was she just lucky? She had no idea how to get around to what she wanted to say. Even for her, suddenly suggesting Luke jump into bed with her and Paul seemed a bit of a conversational leap.

As if he sensed her dilemma, Paul rose to his feet and came over to crouch beside her, his arm around her shoulders. “We might not be married, but we still have a hell of a sex life, don’t we, honey?”

Julia sat still as Paul slid his fingers lower and cupped her breast, his thumb unerringly searching out her nipple beneath her blouse and bra. Luke swallowed hard, his throat working, his gaze fixed on Paul’s moving fingers. Julia leaned into Paul’s touch and arched her back.

Paul kissed her jaw. “Yeah, Julia always was something special. Do you remember that, Luke? How much she loved to fuck?”

“Hard to forget.”

“Yeah, hard is a good word for what Julia does to a man.” Paul took her hand and placed it over the zipper of his jeans. Julia couldn’t help but look at Luke’s groin, see the thick outline of his cock already pushing at his fly. “She makes me so hard I could hammer nails.”

“I could do with an extra hammer for this place.” Abruptly, Luke stood up. “And perhaps you two should get a room.”

Julia met his gaze. “Why are you leaving? It’s not as if you haven’t seen it all before.”

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