Page 34 of Code Word (The Atrous #3)

“Thank you, Alma,” he replied. “You’re too sweet.” He walked her to the door, and she whispered something to him, and they both chuckled before she gave me a wave and left.

Luke came back in, grinning. “She’s so lovely. Even if it does kinda feel like Mom’s right next door.”

“Did she really cook something for us?” I asked, limping over to the kitchen. “That is super sweet.”

“Take it easy on your leg,” he said, brushing my arm as he walked past. “I’ll just tidy up out here.”

He brought the tray in first as I was about to sneak a taste of the queso fundido. Instead, I held the fork out for him, and the smile he gave me...

It made me want to do things for him all the time.

I found some plates and dished up his dinner first, as he brought his guitar and phone inside.

“So I was thinking,” I said as I began plating up mine.

“Dinner first, because this is amazing. Then I’m gonna tackle those stairs, take a shower, and if you’re still interested, we could maybe check out some porn. ”

Luke laughed. “Fuck yes, I’m interested.”

I walked gingerly back into the bedroom, wearing boxers, my knee bandage in hand. Luke was there, lying on the bed with his laptop and his phone, looking a little nervous.

And hot.

I wasn’t sure when that started to happen, him being hot. He’d always been good-looking and sexy, but now he was hot . I was attracted to him.

Maybe realizing that what I felt for him was actually love was when I started seeing him in a different light...

“You okay?”

I hadn’t realized I’d zoned out. “Oh, sure. Just trying to remember exactly when I started thinking of you as hot. Good-looking, yes. Funny, yes. Smart, talented, yes. But hot? Hot is new.”

He laughed and patted the bed. “Park yourself and I’ll wrap your knee.”

I sat on the bed, resting against the headboard, and Luke fetched the ointment.

“Ugh, really? Not sure that smell is conducive for porn-watching.”

He chuckled but proceeded to rub it into my knee. “It helps with healing, though.” Then he carefully wound the bandage around my knee, his touch gentle but firm. “How does it feel after the stairs? Need a pain pill?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

He smiled before he crawled off the bed. “Need to wash my hands.”

He kept the bathroom door open so I knew he could hear me. “What were you watching?” His laptop screen was paused, two men frozen on screen. They were shirtless, jeans far too tight. “Is the tall guy really a plumber or is that a wrench in his pocket?”

Luke stood in the doorway, drying his hands, smirking. “Why do I feel like this is going to end badly?”

I gestured to the screen. “Is this the first thing you found, or is it bookmarked? Do you have favorites? Do you have a plumber fetish?”

He tossed the hand towel into the bathroom and walked over. “Shut up.” He crawled up the bed to sit beside me, resting against the headboard. “I have a few favorites, but I thought I’d start you off on something for beginners.”

I snorted. “Beginners?”

“I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“I’m not scared of plumbers.”

He elbowed me with a laugh, then pulled the laptop onto our laps and pressed play. “If you wanna stop watching, it’s totally fine. If it’s not for you, it’s no big deal. I don’t want to rush you.”

“Shhh.” I put my finger to my lips. “The plumber is telling him which pipe needs fixing. The plot is very important.”

Luke sighed and skipped ahead a few minutes and suddenly the two men onscreen were kissing. Mouths open and probing tongues, hands gripping, bodies pressed together.

“Oh, that escalated quickly,” I said. And then the plumber was pushing the client down on a bed and undoing his jeans so he could pull out his cock and start stroking. They never stopped kissing. They never stopped touching, their breaths fraught, their bodies desperate. It was slow and sensual.

It was intimate.

It was . . . hot.

Was I leaning a bit closer to Luke? Was I getting hard? Was he? I wanted to feel his dick in my hand, but for some reason, I was too nervous to move first.

Fuck .

He put his hand on my thigh, and without thinking, I grabbed his fingers and brought his palm to my dick.

“I’m really glad you’re not scared of plumbers,” he said.

“Shut up,” I murmured, trying to roll my hips, to feel more, needing more.

He understood and slid his hand under my waistband and wrapped his fingers around my cock. His grip was hot and hard and enough to wipe my brain, so it took me a second to realize that I should do the same.

I fumbled to get my hand in his shorts and around his dick, and he arched his back and groaned. “Fuck,” he breathed.

The head of his cock slipped through my fist, his slit leaking precome and slicking us both.

The guys on screen were now fucking, missionary, kissing and clawing, balls deep, and holy fuck, I needed... that.

I shut the laptop and pushed it off our legs, letting go of his cock.

“What are you doing?” he asked, panicked.

“I don’t want to watch them,” I said, getting up on my good knee. I pulled him down the bed, spread his legs, and planted myself between them. “I want to watch you.”

His breath left him in a rush, his mouth open, his eyes wide and wanting.

“You’re so fucking hot,” I whispered before I crashed my mouth to his. I needed to taste his tongue. I needed to feel his body, his touch, his strength, his everything.

His hands raked over my body, rough and strong, his blunt fingernails digging into my skin.

His tongue in my mouth, the roll of his hips, the hardness of his cock.

The way our bodies melded, pressed, and rocked together, the heat between us, the energy, the passion.

Like if someone threw in a match, we’d burst into flames.

It was primal and masculine and so fucking good.

It had never been like this for me, not with anyone. I’d had a lot of sex with a lot of women—like, a lot—but this... this was so different.

It wasn’t because he was a man.

It was because it was Luke.

Because I loved him.

I broke the kiss and trailed my mouth down his jaw, down his neck. The stubble, his scent, his hands now in my hair. The sounds he made, obscene and guttural, lit me up like gunpowder in my bones.

“Oh fuck,” he whined. “Blake, oh god.”

The sound of my name whispered like that...

I leaned on one elbow and slid my other hand between us, finding his cock and sliding it against mine the way he’d done before. The jolt of pleasure was so intense, but it didn’t compare to watching his face—his swollen lips, pink nose, flushed cheeks, dark eyes, and heavy lids.

“So beautiful,” I murmured. “I want to watch your face when you come.”

His whole body trembled, and he pushed his head back, his neck corded as he arched up, his cock pulsing in my fist. The pleasure on his face, the intensity, the bliss... oh, so perfect.

He spilled come between us, his cock throbbing against mine, and he cried out.

Holy fuck.

Flames of pleasure ripped through me, hot and fast, consuming all of me. I came with just a few strokes, my seed mixing with his on his chest. The noise I made didn’t even sound like me.

I collapsed on top of him with a cry. My skin felt sensitive all over, my bones made out of sponge.

And my knee.

I could feel the ache start to kick in.

“You survive?” Luke asked with a laugh.

I still could barely speak. “No. Am dead. ”

“That was so fucking hot.”

“Can’t talk. Am dead.” Jesus, I could barely lift my head enough to prop it up on my hand or keep my eyes open. “What did you do to me?”

He laughed again. “I was gonna ask you the same thing.”

“We definitely need to watch more of that plumber show. We didn’t get far.”

He chuckled and began to roll us over. “We need to get cleaned up.”

“Wait, my knee,” I said, trying to get situated, favoring my stupid leg while he untangled us.

“Oh shit. Is it okay?”

“Mm, it’s okay,” I said, kinda holding my leg up a bit. “Totally worth any subsequent pain. Zero regrets. Will definitely do again.”

Luke laughed, pulled his shorts up, and rolled off the bed. “I’ll get a washcloth.”

He came back a few seconds later with a warm washcloth and cleaned me up while I lay there feeling all blissed out and heavy. When he was done, I pulled him down onto the bed and into my arms.

He fit so perfectly, his head on my shoulder, his arms around me.

“Sleep,” I murmured. “Just like this.”

“M’kay,” he whispered.

I closed my eyes, the happiest I ever remembered being.