Ana Read online

  “Of course he was conned. Lawrence dived,” Ana says. She was watching? She even knows the name of the opposition player. And I was busy thinking about all the ways I could fuck her.

  I see Gavin nod his head in agreement even though his eyes are on the screen.

  “Let’s hope he misses,” Rae says. Mia is also watching. Great. So I’m the only one who wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t even know when the other team scored.

  He doesn’t miss the penalty, and we lose the game. I don’t feel as disappointed as I normally would be. It’s because of her. She’s distracting me from everything.

  “Well, we’re still in contention for three other trophies,” Gavin says as he opens another bottle of beer and watches Mia. He asked her out yesterday but she turned him down. I’m certain it’s a new experience for him. I have no doubt whatsoever that that won’t deter him. Gavin is one of the most persistent and determined people I know.

  “Do you guys want to stay for dinner?” I ask. “There’s a great Italian place we can order from.” Cole and I have ordered from them a lot. Everyone is in, including Ana, which makes me very fucking happy because it means she doesn’t have a date.

  Right after dinner, Rae announces she has to leave and reminds Mia that she said she wanted to leave for some reason I don’t understand. Probably some feminine thing. Gavin, never one to miss an opportunity, offers to take Mia home. She looks like she’s about to come up with a reason to turn him down, but Rae says she thinks it’s a fantastic idea. Everyone leaves . . . except Ana who’s sitting way too comfortably on a chair, watching me.

  “Do you need a ride home,” I ask, hoping to move her along and avoid giving in to temptation.

  She stands up and walks towards me, swaying her hips seductively. “Maybe later,” she says. “I was thinking you and I should bond a little. Get to know each other better.”

  I deliberately, and with great effort, keep my expression neutral, and tell her, “That's not a good idea.”

  “Why not, Luke?” she asks, her hand on my chest. My body wants to get closer. “You want me, and I want you too. We’re both adults, and both single.”

  There’s no need pretending that I don’t want her. One look below my belt would confirm that I’m eager.

  “You don’t know what you’re asking.” I know that despite the words coming out of my mouth, I’m going to fuck her tonight if she lets me. I’ve never wanted a woman more. Is there really any doubt that I’ll give in?

  “I know exactly what I’m asking. It’s what we both want.”

  “I don't do relationships,” I tell her, giving her a chance to back out.

  “That’s fine, Luke. I’m not looking for one.”

  “I’m not going to call you tomorrow,” I tell her. I need to make it clear that this is purely about sex, nothing more.

  “I don’t want you to call,” she says, unbuttoning my shirt.

  “Ana.”

  “Luke, are you going to keep talking or are you going to fuck me?” she asks coolly, her striking brown eyes looking steadily at me.

  Fucking hell!

  THREE

  Ana

  I wait impatiently for his response. I know I sound calm and confident but inside I’m the opposite. My heart is pounding, and my skin is prickling with awareness. There’s nothing I want more than him deep inside me.

  “Ana, I need you to be sure because there’s no going back once I get my hands on you.”

  “I’m sure.” I’ve never been more certain of anything.

  He buries his hand in my hair. “Okay. I’m not going to ask you again.”

  His lips slam down on mine and I immediately melt into him. I feel dazzled. I feel intoxicated. I feel breathless. Oh my god. Luke Charlton can kiss. I cling to him as my body burns with desire. I don’t know how long we stand there kissing but I know I don’t ever want to stop.

  He pulls back, breaking the kiss. “Ana.” I hear him call my name but I don’t answer. I need his lips back on mine. My lips latch on to his again, and I press my body closer. Luke kisses me some more but breaks the kiss again.

  “Ana,” he says. “Open your eyes.” I open them. Fuck! He looks so handsome. My hands move under his shirt and up his washboard stomach, stroking his bare, smooth skin. I know he can see how much I want him.

  “Let’s take this upstairs. I want you in my bed.”

  I nod. His kisses have robbed me of speech. We walk up the stairs with his hands on my waist and his lips on my neck and shoulders, making me shiver with pleasure. His hand inches up and cups my breast, and he murmurs, “I fucking knew you weren’t wearing a bra.”

  When we get to the landing, he turns me around and kisses me deeply while walking us into his bedroom. Pulling away from me, he switches on the lights. I don’t bother glancing around the room. My entire focus is on him.

  “Strip,” he orders.

  He watches me as I take off my clothes including my black lace underwear. His eyes roam hungrily over my body.

  “You’re a very beautiful woman, Ana.” I’m glad he likes what he sees. He takes off his shirt, and I feel a burst of lust shoot straight to my sex. He looks incredible. My eyes devour his sizzling six-pack and his well-defined, muscular chest. “Get on the bed.”

  I do as he says and wait in anticipation as he unbuckles his belt and pulls down his jeans. I stare at the big bulge covered by black Armani boxer briefs, willing them to come off so that I can finally get to see all of him. He doesn’t take them off. Instead, he comes to the bed, and kisses me on my lips and then slowly down my body making every cell in my body ignite with passion.

  “I’ve wanted to taste you since the moment I saw you,” he murmurs sexily.

  He spreads my legs open, and puts his mouth on my throbbing and dripping sex. Instinctively, I moan immediately I feel his lips on me. His mouth . . . Fuck! His mouth is causing a storm of sensations in my body, overwhelming all my senses. My hips buck in reaction, and he holds them down to keep me still. My hand grips his hair, pushing him closer to me. It takes less than a minute for me to shatter in his mouth. That was amazing. I want more. I want to meld with him. It’s like he understands what my body wants because as soon as I come down from my high, he plunges two fingers into me.

  “You taste so good. I could eat you all day and I’m sure I’ll still want more.”

  My entire body is quivering. I can feel another orgasm building inside. God! Already? His fingers thrust inside me, driving me to another glorious orgasm.

  He pulls down his boxer briefs, and his dick springs free. His dick is long and thick, and so damned perfect. I’d love to take it in my mouth but my body is desperate to have him inside.

  “Tell me how hard you want it.” I can’t answer him. I can’t utter a single word. It’s like I’m incapable of speech. I just lie there and stare at him, panting and begging him with my eyes, desire tearing at me. I’ve never felt this much lust. I need him so much, it’s almost unbearable.

  He rips open a condom and rolls it on. With one confident stroke, he thrusts into me until he’s balls deep. I can’t stop the loud moan that leaves my lips at the sheer ecstasy of it.

  “Fuck,” he groans out loud, then pulls out and pushes back in. “I fucking knew you’d be sweet but it feels so much better than I dreamt.”

  I almost don’t register what he said. He’s been dreaming of me? But I can’t think about it now because he is inundating my body with pleasure.

  “Tell me what you want, Ana,” he orders, pumping hard and deep into me.

  “You,” I say incoherently, between moans.

  “Who, baby? Say it.”

  “Luke. I want you, Luke. Just you,” I cry out uncontrollably, losing control and giving in to the pleasure that’s coursing through my body.

  “I’m going to fucking own you tonight, Ana. Every single part of you.”

  And he means it.

  As soon as I come back down to earth from another orgasm, he flips me over. He isn
’t done with me. I’m on my arms and knees, and with a long, hard thrust, he drives into me. Unbidden, I scream his name. I’ve never felt anything close to the things he’s making me feel. My body is like clay in his hands, bending to his will. He wraps my hair around his hand, gripping it tightly.

  “Oh god. Yes . . . Luke . . . Yes . . . Luke!”

  Luke is relentless. He pounds into me so hard from behind. It’s the best feeling in the world. I’ve never felt better than I do tonight.

  After wringing another orgasm from me, he comes with a loud groan. He pulls out of me gently, and goes to the bathroom. I’m sated. I’m panting and trembling at the same time. He comes back to the bed, and I see he’s disposed of the condom. He takes me in his arms.

  “Are you okay?” He can obviously feel my body’s reaction to him.

  “Yeah.” My voice sounds too soft to my ears.

  I’ve had orgasms. Dammit. I’ve had a lot of orgasms but nothing like this.

  I can’t see his face clearly to tell what he’s thinking, but he’s being very gentle with me. It’s unexpected. I thought I’d get a subtle request to leave. I didn’t expect him to enfold me in his arms.

  I’ll get up and leave as soon as I’m sure my legs will work.

  He holds me close to him and strokes my body lightly, and I feel so comfortable and happy.

  I wake up in a dark room and an unfamiliar bed. There’s a man’s arm on my waist. Luke. I slept with Luke Charlton. Memories from last night come flooding back. Best night of my life. But I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep. I was supposed to leave. He made it clear that this is going to be a one-time thing. I have no idea what time it is. But whatever the time, I’m going to call a taxi to take me home. I slowly try to move away from his hold but his arm tightens around me.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Oh, fuck. He’s awake. There’s no hint of sleep in his voice.

  “Home. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  “You were tired,” he says. His fingers start stroking my skin, sending tingles through my body. My body comes alive with his touch. I’m acutely aware of him. He’s completely naked and aroused. Desire ripples through me.

  “What’s the time?” I manage to ask. My voice sounds huskier than I’ve ever heard it.

  “Six-thirty.” His hand cups my breast and my breath catches in my throat. His lips trace my shoulder up to my neck as his hand kneads my aching breast.

  A moan slips out from my mouth. I want him again.

  Before I can blink, he has me on my back. His lips latch on to my hard nipple, and he sucks it hard making my body pulsate with overwhelming need. My hand grips his hair, urging him on. I moan as he slips a finger inside me, then a second one. His fingers are sliding in and out of me.

  His mouth releases my nipple, and he says, “Ana, open your eyes.” His voice is so deep and sensual that I immediately do as he says.

  He watches me moan and writhe with pleasure. I feel my orgasm coming, building from deep within. I clutch his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin, as I start to shatter around him. Waves of uncontrollable pleasure crash through me.

  When I finally get my breathing back to normal, his lips cover mine in a deep, potent kiss that has me clinging to him. He breaks the kiss and scatters light kisses on my face, and then reaches a hand out to the nightstand and grabs a condom.

  This time, he enters me slowly until he’s buried deep inside me.

  “So fucking sweet,” he groans. He fucks me slowly, making me come again and leaving me almost mindless. With a deep grunt, he comes inside me.

  I’m struggling to get my breathing back to normal. I’ve never had sex that felt anything like this. How am I supposed to get up and get dressed? My body feels boneless.

  Luke gets up and goes to the bathroom. He comes back out a minute later having gotten rid of the condom, and to my surprise, joins me on the bed. He pulls me gently to him, and I’m now lying partially on him with my head on his chest. We lie in comfortable silence until he breaks it.

  “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” he asks unexpectedly.

  I stare up at him for a moment. His expression doesn’t reveal anything. He doesn’t even look curious. “Who says I don’t?”

  “Ana?”

  “I haven’t met anyone I’m interested in.” Except you.

  “When was your last relationship?”

  Why is he asking? “It ended in June. We were together for two years.”

  “So just before we met,” he murmurs. We didn’t actually meet until Rae moved in with Cole in September but the first time we saw each other was in July. I’ll never forget that day. One look was all it took. I saw him standing at the bar and that was it. We didn’t say a word to each other but those gorgeous green eyes and handsome face had me hooked. There’s no need for him to know exactly how much time I’ve spent thinking about him, and perusing his social media accounts and company website. “Were you in love with him?”

  “No, I wasn’t. We were friends for a while then we decided to be together,” I say. “What about you? Why don’t you have relationships?”

  “I’m simply not interested in them.”

  “So you’ve never had a girlfriend?”

  “No.” I thought that maybe a bad experience with an ex put him off relationships but it seems I was wrong. “I’ll be right back.” Luke gets up and goes to the bathroom and I hear the shower come on. This discussion is clearly over.

  That’s my cue to leave. I’ve just managed to convince my body to get up from his super comfortable bed when he walks back into the room.

  “Come on. Let’s take a shower.”

  I almost gape at him. “Together?” He looks relaxed but I can’t read anything else from his expression.

  “Yeah,” he says, scooping me up in his arms. He strides into his bathroom, carrying me like I weigh nothing, and setting me down on my feet in front of the glass shower door. His bathroom is gleaming marble and chrome. Very impressive. There’s a tub facing a mid-size television screen on the wall. “Ana?” He has the door open and is waiting for me to go into the walk-in shower. It’s large enough take a good number of people.

  “Is the temperature of the water okay?” he asks as soon as I enter.

  “It’s great.” The water is tepid, just the way I like it. Luke puts some shampoo in his hands and starts washing my hair. It feels surreal. I didn’t expect to sleep over and then to take a shower with him. I thought he’d be eager for me to leave but instead he looks relaxed, carefully washing my hair. His hands feel great. It takes us some time to finish our shower. I’m wearing a toweling robe and using a spare toothbrush to brush my teeth. When I’m done I find him in the bedroom looking damned too attractive in dark gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt.

  “There should be something in the kitchen suitable for breakfast.”

  Breakfast? We’re having breakfast together? He grasps my hand and I follow him to the kitchen. And we’re holding hands? Fuck. I love his hands.

  “Can you cook?” I ask.

  “No. I’m useless in the kitchen but I’m good at ordering takeout and using a microwave,” he answers, smiling charmingly at me. “Can you?”

  “I know how to make food good enough to eat so I don’t starve.” By that, I mean I can fry eggs, boil pasta and pour the contents of a jar into a saucepan to heat up and eat with the pasta. It’s safe to say that I’ve eaten my fair share of frozen meals.

  He pulls open one of the doors of his double-door refrigerator, and starts pulling out various items – yoghurt, strawberries, diced fruits, cheese and milk – and leaves them on the counter. He opens a cabinet. “Would you like some cereal? I have granola.”

  “Yoghurt is fine.”

  He glances at me. “You should have some fruit with it. Sit. I’ll pour you some orange juice.”

  We end up having toast and cheese with some yoghurt and fruit. As soon as I’m finished, I tell him, “I have to go.”

 
; “What’s your number?” he asks, tapping the screen of his phone. Surprised, I give it to him. I already have his. I got it from Rae. But I don’t bother telling him that.

  “I’ll take you home.”

  After changing back into my clothes, we leave his house.

  He opens the passenger door of his black Lexus LS for me, and closes it once I’m settled comfortably on the seat. He slides into the car, and asks, “What’s your address?”

  I tell him and he punches it into the GPS navigation system.

  I watch him drive. He’s very competent behind the wheel. I can’t take my eyes off him. I don’t know why I find everything about him fascinating. Luke is looking straight ahead, focusing on his driving and content with the silence. Meanwhile, my head is buzzing with the memories of last night and a million and one questions.

  When we get to the front of my building, he turns to me and his fingers briefly touch the ends of my hair.

  “Take care, Ana.” There’s a note of finality in his voice, and I know he’s really not going to call me.

  “You too, Luke.” I slide out of his car and make my way to the front door of my building without looking back. I unlock the door and walk into the carpeted hallway. When I turn to close the door and lock it, I don’t see Luke’s car. He’s gone. I lean against the door, pressing my back to it and taking deep breaths.

  What the fuck happened last night and this morning?

  FOUR

  Ana

  “Care to fill us in on what you and lover boy did on Saturday night after we left?” Rae asks me. It’s Monday and Rae, Mia and I are having lunch at a café near our office. The three of us work at Raynier Publishing, publishers of fashion and lifestyle magazine, Zadie. Rae is the style director, Mia is the vice president of digital media, and I’m the advertising manager. I met Mia during my first week at Raynier five years ago, and we met Rae almost a year later on a trip to New York City. She was working at the New York office at that time.

  “Wait. Did I miss something? What happened on Saturday?” Mia asks, looking at me with curiosity.

  “You were busy with Gavin,” I point out, trying to avoid talking about Luke. “What happened to you?”