He punched a button three floors above hers and she tried to find comfort in that fact. With a destination, a room, and a right to be here, he was likely just another traveller. Still, even with that logic, she counted floors, willing the car to move faster. The doors opened, but not at her stop, and Julie fought the urge to dart forward and just get out of the car.
A young couple rushed forward and joined them. Julie reached for the handle of her bag. She should get off. Get away from the strange man who now held the door for her. But what if he got off, too? There was safety in numbers and she had company now.
The doors started to shut and she let them. One more level up and the couple got out, leaving Julie alone with the stranger, and as uneasy as ever. She stared at the doors, ticking off the seconds until they stopped two levels up. The instant she was able, she rushed forward, eager for escape.
Once Julie was in the hallway, she found her destination a few rooms to her left. Thank you. She was nearly to sanctuary and safety.
Letting her bag settle upright on the ground, she glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the elevator. The doors were just now closing with the stranger still inside, she assumed. Still, had the man held the door open long enough to see which room was hers?
Gnawing her bottom lip, she worried despite assuring herself the rooms were safe, and near impossible to break into. Key in hand, she swiped the plastic through the electronic panel, and frowned when the little light stayed red. “Damn,” she mumbled as she slid it again.
Still red.
No. No. No. Please say this wasn’t happening. She dropped her head to the surface of the door, her hair falling forward, glad it covered her face. Crying wasn’t her style, but tears prickled in her eyes. Seeing Luke had rattled her. Add in her fear of missing the wedding and she was a mess. Then there was Elizabeth Moore’s visit, which clearly had shaken her to the core. Good gosh, she was tired. She was worried. She was not herself. A return trip to the lobby felt overwhelming.
“Problem?”
The deep, sensual baritone danced along her skin and sparked a familiar, warm feeling. Lifting her head, Julie swivelled around and blinked, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“Luke?” He was leaning against the door frame of the room next to hers, his light blue t-shirt hugging rippling muscles she’d had the joy of exploring. And it had been a joy. Her mouth went dry, her fatigue doing nothing to dull the impact of his presence. Heat pooled low in her stomach, and her pulse kicked up a beat. The man was even more sexy than she remembered. For the second time in one night, she found herself questioning the crazy coincidence. “How are you here, right next door to me?”
He gave her a half-smile, his left dimple showing, and his chocolaty eyes just a little sharper. “My luck continues despite a flight cancellation.” He inclined his chin to indicate her bag. “Need help?”
She exhaled a breath that had somehow lodged in her throat. Luke was dangerous, yes. Dangerous to her heart, to her decision-making. But he made her feel safe on a night when she felt far from it. She didn’t know why, just that it was better now that he was here. “My key isn’t working. It’s been a bad night, but I’m sure you guessed that.”
He gave her a thoughtful look as he pushed off the door frame. “Sitting on a runway is no fun. I do believe I got the better end of the deal. I was sitting here, waiting on you to arrive. I reserved your room in advance.” He stopped in front of her. Close again. So close.
“You reserved my room, next to yours?”
His eyes darkened, the air crackled. “That’s right,” he said, closing his hand around her key, his fingers brushing hers and sending heat up her arm. “I thought we might need to plan a way home together and I didn’t want to risk upsetting Royce or Lauren by letting them know we were stranded.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” she said. “I thought about calling you for that charter flight but I didn’t have your number.”
“The dangerous one you warned me not to take?” he asked stepping to her door to swipe her card.
“Yes,” she laughed, surprised she had the energy. “The dangerous one. I hear there’s a brave Navy SEAL who’ll be on it to keep me safe.” Oh God, she was flirting. She needed to stop that. Sex was a resource, a tool to keep things recreational for men. Nothing personal. Only it hadn’t worked that way with Luke. It hadn’t worked that way since Luke. She watched him swipe the key three times. “I tried the door, you know?” She didn’t care that he tried again. She’d just been trying to divert attention from her careless comment.
He shrugged. “It never hurts to try again, though in this case it did no good. The key is a dud. At least it’s not a grenade. Well, unless the grenade lands at your feet.”
“That happened to you?” she asked, delving into the very personal territory she’d sworn not to with this man over andover, but did it anyway.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Fun times, let me tell you. And I checked on a charter. It all depends on how bad the storm is tomorrow. If the weather allows it and the airlines are backed up, it’s an option.” He grabbed the handle of her bag. “Why don’t you call downstairs from my room, and have someone bring you up another key?” He didn’t wait for her reply, rolling her bag, with her purse still on top, towards his room.
Julie stood frozen, her eyes fixed on his powerful shoulders and back. If she followed him she was not coming out of that room without touching him.
Desire flared and pressed her to act, countered only by the worries that fluttered through her mind. His brother was marrying her best friend. There was no fling to this. They were headed to a place she’d never let herself go with a man. A place she’d sworn never to go. This was relationship territory.
He stopped at his door, and eyed her over one of those truly magnificent shoulders, a challenge in his watchful gaze. “You gonna stay in the hall or what?”
She wanted him. Part of her even felt as if she needed him. She shouldn’t do this, but…. She shut her eyes a moment. Who was she kidding? Walking away from Luke wasn’t possible. That meant she had to find a way to deal with him. Maybe she simply hadn’t had time for the sex in their past to get old. Maybe they were only drawn to each other because he’d left before they worked each other out of their systems, and she’d turned this thing with him into more than it had to be. Right. She could take control again. She’d get this back where it belonged. In the bedroom and out of her head and heart. Heart. Damn. Where did that come from? Head. She’d meant head.
Her lashes lifted and she met his gaze. “Or what?” And she followed him into his hotel room.
Chapter Three
Luke was aware of Julie on every possible level, in every inch of his body, all too conscious of just how much willpower this night was going to require. He wanted her. He wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman, and that was exactly why he couldn’t touch her. Not now. Not yet. But soon, and he knew it was going to feel like forever in the meantime.
The door slammed behind him and he settled her bag in a corner by the closet, easing into the doorway to watch her sit on his king-sized bed, her long blond hair caressing her shoulders. Shoulders he knew were creamy white, skin he knew was soft and silky, and addictive. She reached for the phone. He leaned on the wall, his blood boiling just thinking about how easily they could end up under the sheets, or on top of them, or anywhere in this room, gloriously naked. The mattress separated them, yet he could smell the faint scent of jasmine and vanilla, a perfume so uniquely Julie.
Oh yeah, he was staying on this side of the mattress, and on the opposite side of the room from Julie. He’d given this thing between the two of them one heck of a lot of consideration and was certain that sex was her barrier, the only thing she gave of herself, the wall that hid her from truly connecting. Only he’d gotten past that wall, he’d seen it in her eyes in the past. He saw it there now: the fear, and the knowledge that he was the man who’d seen the real her.