Page 81 of Stable Hand

I narrowed my eyes. “Did Adam send you out here?”

Luke met my gaze. “He told me you were leaving, and I might want to consider coming clean about my feelings for you.”

His feelings for me?

“But how would he know?”

“Fuck, Jensen, he’s my therapist. He knows everything.”

I suddenly realized Luke was using my name and not his nickname for me. And I liked the sound of those familiar syllables in his mouth. I was becoming distracted by his almost naked state and his mysterious love of suffering at the hands of Kamal’s ingenious tortures.

As if reading my mind, he drifted his fingers over his chest to his left nipple. He made a face. “Bastard clamped my nipples. I fucking hate that.” Luke frowned, then smiled. “Except I kind of love it too. Go figure.”

I stared at him, sitting there in his pineapple boxer briefs and leather collar, and I couldn’t help smiling a tiny bit.

Luke saw my smile and gave me a full-on, shit-eating grin in return—so very Luke my heart ached. “Ah, there it is. There’s my happy cowboy.”

“Fuck.” I swore because what the fuck was I going to do now?

“Well, not in here. Maybe in the shower later?” Luke said, waggling his eyebrows. “If I can stop being a wack job for a day?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Do you think that’s possible? And how come all of our assignations involve water?”

Luke winked. “I like my cowboy’s clean and fresh. And as to the other thing, I’ll try if you’ll stay.”

I sighed, sagging in my seat. Everything had been clear when I’d gotten into my car. Now I wasn’t so sure. Part of me was still tempted to close the book on all this, even after Luke’s emotional confession. Abandoning the ranch would be the safe choice, and I could go back to living a boring, regular life. “I don’t know…”

“Noah is crying in Adam’s office right now,” Luke said.

And I pictured poor Noah being devastated and taking the blame for my leaving.

“Fuck.”

Luke played his fingers over the door to the glove compartment. “Do you know the last time I asked for anyone to—” He swallowed hard. “—to stay for me?”

My eyes widened. I shook my head. “No.”

“Never. I’ve never asked anyone to stay because I liked them so much I couldn’t bear to be left behind.”

And all my arguments crumbled in a moment.

Without another word, Luke deftly climbed over the gear shift and straddled me, pressing his lips to mine in a tender, open-mouthed kiss that did crazy things to my heart, not to mention other parts of me.

Luke’s lips felt gentler than I remembered, less forceful, as if I was something delicate and precious. I appreciated his tenderness. I smoothed my hands gently over the soft cotton fabric covering his ass as we kissed gently, exploring the new perspective we’d gained from his confession. I welcomed his exploring tongue, less insistent and more inquisitive now than ever before. I pushed back and chased the tip into his mouth, running mine over his palate softly, telling him silently how I felt about him. Running my hand down his ribs along the slight dip of his waist as I slipped my fingers under the waistband of those ridiculous briefs, cupping the curve of his ass while he let out the softest whimper and a hiss of pain.

“Holy shit. I can feel the heat and there’s some raised lines here. Jesus. Kamal is an animal,” I gasped against Luke’s lips.

Luke hissed, pushing his mouth against me a little harder, his fingers coming up to caress my stubbled jaw. “I’ll let you kiss my wounds better if you want, when they finally release me from my punishment.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he said, pulling back and placing three soft kisses on my smiling lips. “Come on. Noah has to perform today. And I have to suffer more of Kamal’s devious tortures.” He didn’t sound too upset.

We got out of the car. Half a lifetime had passed as I opened the back door and grabbed my duffel bag. I followed Luke to the door, unable to stop my eyes locking on his ass in those snug shorts.

Suddenly, Luke stopped in front of me, causing me to halt. He thrust his hip out and hooked a thumb in the waistband of his boxer briefs, glancing behind him. “Wanna see?”

I licked my lips and nodded.