Page 15 of Click of Fate

My own fingers trace over his now bare chest, across his abdomen, exploring all that taut muscle and hot skin. I feel everything, the scrape of stubble against my throat, the slide of my slick, sweat-soaked skin once we are completely naked on his couch, and the way he murmurs my name against my shoulder.

The only time we break away from each other is when he fishes a condom out of his wallet. Then we’re tangled together again, his body weighing deliciously down on my own. After far too long for my liking, he finally pushes inside me. My hands find purchase on his back, scraping lightly as he moves within me, eliciting a growl from him. Seems this rock climber has a little bit of a wild streak.

He stills for just a moment, breathing me in, his forehead pressed to mine.

“You still good?” he asks, his voice low and husky.

I pull him closer, if that’s even possible, and with no hesitation, I say, “Yes.”

Finally, nothing else matters but the way we move together and find our release, his name leaving my lips like prayer.

We lie together, breathing heavy, skin flushed, my fingers trailing lazily against his back. Luke presses up, his forearms sinking into the couch on either side of me as his thumb traces across my lower cheek. The way he’s looking at me right now…it’s like he’s memorizing me.

Blinking up at him, something deep in my gut shifts. That creeping fear of attachment. I shift away from him, pretending to stretch lazily as if it's not a big deal that I just hooked up with a stranger that I'm never going to see again.

“That was fun,” I tell him as he sits up. His expression flickers with something I can’t read, but the look morphs to smugness.

“Yeah, it was.”

I refuse to notice the way he looks as me as I search for my underwear and bra.

“You know, I never had a chance to show you my bedroom. Or my shower,” he says matter-of-factly.

I side-eye him. He flashes me that boyish grin he’s used on me a few times tonight. “I mean, for a one-night stand, we better make it worth it, yeah?” As if he knows I need to feel in control, he stands, completely naked, and walks toward the kitchen, tying off the used condom and tossing it in the trash can.

He turns, and I get my first real look at every glorious inch of this sexy rock climber. My jaw threatens to fall to the floor, and I feel like I need to wipe away drool. He crosses his arms over his chest, covering a few tats I wouldn’t mind getting more up close and personal with. He’s challenging me, and I don’t hate it.

So I stand in all my glory and give him a dose of his own medicine. His eyes flicker down my body. “Want a picture? It’ll last longer.” I laugh as I walk up to him.

He scrubs a hand over his stubbled jaw. “You have no idea how tempting that is.”

“Not happening.” I stand in front of him.

“You’re a wildcard, you know that?” He shakes his head.

“Thought I was trouble?”

He grabs my hand. “Oh, no. You’re trouble all right.”

He grins before dragging me down the hall to his bedroom…where we get lost in each other all over again.

Sun filters in through the loft windows and I close my eyes and make a mental note that I've already broken my own rules. I'm still in Luke's bed. I never stay the night. Ever.

My longest exclusive hookup lasted about six months. Spending the night was never even a thought.

Shifting slightly, I feel the satisfying way my body aches, in a well-used kind of way. I smile to myself when I remember what happened when we made it to the bedroom.

Something should go here aboutwhatthey did in the bedroom. Ex: I barely had a chance to take in his (adjective) bedroom before he snagged a condom from his dresser drawer and had me on all fours practically begging for even more.

Last night was damn good, so good that it was utterly exhausting. Sex with Luke knocked me out cold, so much so that I didn’t wake in time to sneak out unnoticed.

Glancing over at the man himself, I commit the image before me to memory. His hair is a mess, his arm is slung over his chest, and his breathing is slow and steady, telling me he’s still sleeping.

Gah! He’s so hot.

How is it fair that he looks so good even after a night of sex?

Ugh.See, this is why I don’t do sleepovers. Instead of thinking about how I could sneak out right now, I’m sitting here thinking about how sexy this man is and how one more go at it wouldn’t be so bad. Not to mention his bed to so freaking comfortable.

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