Rocked by the Billionaire: A Billionaire's Club Story (8 page)

“Luke!” His name echoed on a desperate shout. She cleaved to him, rising up from the ground as he pounded unmercifully into her. Wave after powerful wave of sensation crested over her and her throat became raw, her voice ragged from her cries.

His mouth covered hers and he kissed her as hard as he was fucking her, swallowing every whimper of sound. Her body jolted from the force of his thrusts and his body went rigid above hers, every inch of him sculpted marble. His grip on the back of her neck tightened and his steady rhythm broke.

His mouth left hers and came to rest at her ear. “Oh, god, Kayleigh.” The emotion in his voice shattered her again, this time breaking her heart into myriad shards that pierced her soul. He pulled out with a quick jerk of his hips and jet after jet of delicious warmth striped her stomach as he came. A low moan vibrated in his chest and Kayleigh shuddered as the remnants of her own orgasm rippled through her, waves on a pond that had yet to subside.

Before he left again, Kayleigh knew that Luke would destroy her. And the scary part of that realization was that she was going to let him.

For long moments, Luke lay still, cradling Kayleigh in his arms, his face buried in the crook of her neck. His breath warmed her skin and she shivered when the breeze picked up again, so cool in contrast to Luke’s heat.

“When I left here, I thought I had nothing,” he murmured against her skin. “And now that I have everything, I’ve realized that the only thing I ever needed was right here all along.”

Tears sprang to Kayleigh’s, eyes but she held them at bay. Why couldn’t he have had this epiphany eight years ago? There was no use lamenting their shitty timing, though. All that mattered was this moment. The chance to be with him one more time before he came to his senses and left her behind again.

“We should get back to the house. It looks like a storm might be moving in.” She couldn’t acknowledge his words. Not when the pain of losing him all over again would crush her so completely.

Luke sighed into her hair, laid his lips to her temple in the gentlest of kisses. “All right. I’ll take you back.”

Luke couldn’t remember a time in the past eight years that he’d been so at peace. He was probably rocking a goofy, pussy perma-grin, but he didn’t give a single shit. Nothing else mattered with Kayleigh in his arms. The world could burn around them and he wouldn’t even notice.

They’d tied Tallulah to Lucifer’s saddle and Kayleigh rode in front of Luke, her back molded to his chest. The horse knew his way back to the stable and Luke let the reins out loose. Lucifer didn’t seem any more anxious than Luke to go home. He meandered through the pastures at an easy gait as though sensing Luke’s need for just a few more minutes with her. He didn’t want to face the reality of the situation. No matter how much he wanted to, Luke knew he couldn’t stay there. The life and problems he’d left behind in L.A. hadn’t been put to bed quite yet.

Fucking hell, he was a bastard. And of course, Kayleigh knew it. Why else had she erected an emotional wall between them? But the thought of just turning his back on her and leaving her a second time tied his stomach into an unyielding knot. There was so much more he wanted to do with his career and he couldn’t do it in their sleepy Texas suburb. He wanted a life and successes apart from Ryder and the family’s fortune. He had a hell of a lot more to prove. There were plenty of schools in California. Why couldn’t she come with him? Get a job at some swanky private school or a local public elementary. Hell, she wouldn’t even have to work at all if she didn’t want to. He had more money than he knew what to do with. She could come on tour with the band, see the world. They could be together all the time. As far as he could tell nothing was keeping her in Texas. Her parents weren’t there and she didn’t have any brothers or sisters to worry about. Why the hell couldn’t she leave with him?

Because she doesn’t want the sort of life you’d give her, dipshit
.

Even as kids it had been a bone of contention between them. The only one, in fact. He wanted more than to work on the family’s ranch and she craved familiarity. They were the only thing each other needed and at the same time, not enough. But now that he’d come home to her, Luke didn’t think he could live without her. No, he
refused
to live without her.

“Do you remember the time you tried to get Jase to trade places with you so you wouldn’t have to take the history final?”

Luke smiled at the memory. Their shared history was comforting. Why couldn’t that familiarity be enough to anchor Kayleigh and keep her by his side? “It totally would have worked if Mrs. Baker hadn’t noticed that we’d forgotten to trade shirts.”

Kayleigh laughed, the sweetest music to his ears. “It totally would not have. You sucked at history. She would have been on to your switch after she graded the paper.”

“True.”

“Do you like your job?” Maybe he could use this time to lay the groundwork, convince her that life outside of Texas might be a good thing. “Does hanging out with rug rats all day do it for you?”

She chuckled. “Teaching kindergarten doesn’t make my eyes roll back in my head if that’s what you mean. But I like it. The kids are great and if I can ever get my student loans paid off, I might get to enjoy my summers for once.”

“How much more do you have left to pay?”

“More than I’d like,” she admitted. “But those are the breaks. Tutoring over the summer pays pretty well, though I should get a bonus for dealing with hormonal middle-schoolers.”

“God, I hated middle school.” He’d dealt with his fair share of assholes in his teen years. Smug sons of bitches who had nothing better to do than tease him and Jase for being poor.

“I know.” Kayleigh placed a gentle hand over his. “Kids can be such assholes.”

“The only good thing about it was you. High school, too. I never would’ve gotten through it without you.”

Two peas in pod. That’s what Luke’s mom had called them. The best of friends and later, so much more. “Hey, remember the time we tipped the hay bales off the trailer and Ryder had to pick them all up by himself? He was so mad I thought his head was going to explode.”

On and on it went for the entire ride back to the ranch. One memory relived after another. It was a welcome distraction, one that kept Luke’s mind off the future and what would happen when it was time to return to the real world.

“Luke, what do you want from life?” The question came out of the blue as they made their way to the stables. Her voice was unsure and her body stiffened against his.

“I want to be happy with who I am and what I’ve done. I want to know that I didn’t cut any corners and did my best no matter what. I want my success to be measured by my talent and drive and not by who I know or how much money I have. And I want to share my life with someone I love.”

“Oh,” she said, barely audible over the bluster of wind.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” she said with a rueful laugh. “Pathetic, right? I have no freaking idea what I want out of life. I’m sort of jealous that it’s all so clear for you. But then, it always was. You knew what you wanted, even as a kid, and you weren’t afraid to go after it.”

“You’re talking like you’re old and gray, Kayleigh.” He’d never known her to be so introspective. That was usually his hang-up. “You’re not even thirty. You don’t have to have all of the answers now, you know. You can go after what you want—live the life you want—at any time. You’re in control of your life, baby. No one else.”

“I’m supposed to be the rational voice of reason and you’re supposed to be the dreamer, remember? Not the other way around.”

It was true that she’d always been the calm that balanced him out, but why did it have to be that way? If, in the course of their relationship, he’d made her feel that she had no choice but to be the reason to his chaos, then he’d hurt her far more than he realized. And the thought damned near stopped his heart.

Luke reached up and smoothed her hair behind her ear, letting the silky strands pass through his fingers. “You only get one life, Kayleigh. Live it right so you don’t end up with regrets later. Don’t apologize for it, and don’t feel like you owe anyone anything. Ever. Okay?”

He choked up on the reins, bringing Lucifer to a stop inside of Ryder’s posh stable. They sat still for a moment and Luke wrapped one arm around Kayleigh’s waist, hugging her tight against his chest.

“I’ve missed you, Luke,” she said.

He helped her down from the saddle but held onto her hand. When her eyes came up to meet his he replied, “I’ve missed you, too, honey.”

***

If she could, Kayleigh would’ve lived today over and over again in a continuous loop. Despite the sadness she felt, she wouldn’t trade today with Luke for anything in the world.

Every day could be like this. All you have to do is ask him to stay
.

No matter how badly she wanted to, Kayleigh knew she’d ruin him if she asked him to stay just as surely as she would have suffocated if she’d left with him all those years ago. His words of assurance resonated with her, though. Maybe it wasn’t too late to lead the life she wanted. She simply had to be brave enough to go after it. The question was: What did she want?

Luke?

She couldn’t remember a time that she hadn’t wanted him. For a long time she couldn’t imagine a future without him in it. A long-distance relationship never would have worked and it wouldn’t now. Neither of them would be able to cope with the strain of being apart. There was no halfway for them. It had to be all or nothing.

“How was the ride?”

Kayleigh turned with a start at the sound of Ryder’s voice. His knowing smile did little for her already frazzled nerves but she met him look for look, daring the older Blackwell to lend a voice to his suspicious expression. “It was nice.” She flashed him a pleasant smile as she hauled the tack from Tallulah’s back and stowed it. “The creek is high this year.”

“Uh-huh.” Ryder folded his arms over his wide chest and smiled.

“Luke’s putting Lucifer away.” She wished he’d quit looking at her with that know-it-all grin. “Nice name, by the way.”

“I gave him to Luke as a Christmas present a few years back, hoping it might get him to come home for a week or two. Guess what I should have given him was a kindergarten teacher.”

Heat rose to Kayleigh’s cheeks and she averted her gaze.

“Ryder, about what I said earlier, I—”

“Are you harassing this lovely lady?” Luke emerged from the stall at the far end of the stable, dusting his hands off on his jeans. “Leave her alone and go find your own woman to pester.”

“Lara’s making dinner reservations in the city. She wants to know if she should make it for four.”

“Oh. No.” Any more time with the Blackwell clan and she’d be helpless to make a rational decision. She needed to decompress, weed through what she was feeling. “You all go ahead. I think I’m going to—”

“Kayleigh and I already have plans for tonight,” Luke interrupted. “You two have fun.”

Crap. Once again, he’d steamrolled her, refusing to give her an out.

“Back at ya, brother.” Ryder winked at Kayleigh before turning to leave. “You two have a good time tonight.”

As Luke walked by and shut the door on Tallulah’s stall, he said, “You should know better than to think I’d let you get away that easily. You’re mine tonight. Don’t even think about trying to weasel your way out of it, either.”

Mine
.

The word settled as a deep ache in her chest. Kayleigh rubbed at her sternum and gave him a weak smile. “I wouldn’t think of arguing with
the
Lucifer Blackwell. You always get your way.”

“Damn straight.” He crossed the space between them and chucked her under the chin. “And you’d best get used to it. Because I won’t be happy until I get
everything
I want.”

That’s what she was afraid of.

You’d think he was going to the prom or some shit with the way he’d preened before leaving Ryder’s house. Hell, he hadn’t taken this much care with his appearance when he went to the Grammy’s last year. Luke wanted tonight to be perfect, though.

Kayleigh could put up all the walls she wanted, but he wasn’t stepping a foot out of town until she admitted that they belonged together. Nothing was going to stop him from making her his, once and for all. He wanted her, he was going to keep her, and that’s all there was to it. He’d gone too goddamned long without her and he wasn’t wasting another hour, let alone another day. Nothing she could do would change his mind or scare him away. He knew her better than anyone. Probably better than she knew herself. There would
never
be another woman for him.

When he pulled up to her house, his heart began to race and the damned thing slammed against his rib cage like a bass drum. All he could think about was this afternoon in the pasture and how damned good it felt to be with her again.

Kayleigh stepped out of the house before he could cut the engine and Luke’s breath stalled in his chest. The woman was raw sensuality in a pair of heels. To-die-for gorgeous. She’d talked about herself as though she were already a withered old hag.
So
not the case. As she strolled down the front steps, a smile playing on her full mouth, she put all of L.A.’s beauties to shame.

Her short, billowy skirt showed off her shapely legs and the light cotton fabric of her V-neck top showed off the tantalizing swell of her breasts. He swallowed hard as he thought about teasing the hardened peaks with a flick of his tongue. A long necklace hung between them, something with a flirty silver tassel that swung with every step she took. A wide leather cuff graced her left wrist and she’d pulled her hair up into a ponytail, letting her thick curls trail down the center of her back.

Fuuuuck
.

Focusing on a civilized meal was going to be nearly impossible when all he could think about was hiking up that skirt and burying his face between her thighs. He hopped out of the rental and rounded the front end just as she hit the driveway.

“Gonna open my door for me, Mr. Blackwell?” He could practically taste the sweetness of her tone on his tongue. “Aren’t you a gentleman?”