Skin Deep Page 15
About an hour into karaoke, they were calling up the next singer and I heard my name over the speaker. I froze, looking around in confusion and panic. No one had left my table so who the hell had put my name in?
I heard laughter up by the stage and looked up to see my brother standing there, bumping fists with the karaoke guy.
“C’mon up here, Emma! I know you can sing, little one!” Jeremy Boggs was the only one who’d done karaoke at Griff’s for the last five years and he’s good at it. Always brings a crowd, and he’s gotten me up there a time or two. But no way in hell on earth was he gonna get me up there in front of the guys!
I glared at Calland before pushing against Luke, silently asking him to let me out of the booth. He got to his feet quickly, moving out of my way as I shoved past him with fire in my eyes, heading toward my brother.
When I got closer to him, he bolted, running past me so quickly that I couldn’t grab him. He headed back to the table and sat down beside Luke. Before I could turn and head back to the table, Jeremy leaned down and grabbed the back of my sweater.
“Hold up! Get your pretty little ass up here, girly. You aren’t going anywhere until you sing.”
I sighed as people started chanting my name, led by Jeremy on the mic. I closed my eyes for a second before heading up on stage. I yanked the microphone out of Jeremy’s hands and glared at him, which had him backing away with his hands up in mock surrender.
I nodded my head at him as he headed back to his setup and he cued up my song. If I sang karaoke, I always started with this song, because it was one of my favorites to sing. The opening notes of Black Velvet by Alannah Myles began pouring out of the speakers and I lost myself for the moment in the music. I loved to sing, and I always got stage fright so bad, but once I got going, I didn’t want to stop.
I closed my eyes and focused on the song, and when I opened them, I never focused on anyone. I mostly kept my gaze on the clock at the back of the room above the hallway to the bathrooms. I completely ignored the table where Luke, Brandon, Jackson, and Calland were sitting. When I finished the song, my voice fading out as the last notes sounded, the room filled with clapping and whistles, the loudest of which were coming from the table where the guys were.
I smiled shyly and handed the mic back to Jeremy, who was grinning from ear to ear. He asked if I was going to do another one later and I shook my head no. I’d had enough of the spotlight tonight. I headed back to the table and was met halfway across the floor by Luke, who grabbed me up in his arms and kissed me.
“Whoa….” I breathed against his lips when he barely pulled away. He grinned at me and kissed me again.
“What was that for?” I asked him softly, smiling back at him.
“Cause you’re so damn beautiful and talented and every note you sang sent shivers through me,” Luke replied, resting his forehead against mine.
I pulled back a bit and rolled my eyes at him. “I don’t know what you were listening to,
but it wasn’t that good. Let’s go home, okay?”
He grinned at me again. “I know what I heard and you were good. But yeah…let’s go home. I love how you call it that, sugar.”
“Don’t read too much into it, lover boy. Figure of speech.” I shook my head at him and started walking toward the table again.
“Nah…I don’t think so.” Luke was still grinning at me, and I ignored his words.
Stepping up to the table, I pointed my finger at Calland, who was gazing at me innocently.
“Yeah, don’t give me that look, Calland Andrew. You’re an asshole. Why? I don’t know. I keep hoping you’ll grow out of it one of these days, but no! You’re still a spoiled little ass!” I threw my hands up, giving up because there’s nothing else I could say. I’d said it all before. It didn’t matter. It was never gonna change.
We gathered our things and headed out to the parking lot. Calland actually was sweet for once and gave me a slight one-armed hug before punching me in my arm and heading back into the bar. Apparently he was trolling tonight. Brandon rode with Jackson and I got into the car with Luke and we all headed home. Er…to Luke and Brandon’s house. Damnit!
Halfway home, Luke reached over and ran his fingers lightly up my thigh to where my hand was resting. He twined his fingers in mine and gave my hand a sweet little squeeze. I smiled up at him, and turned on the radio. Usher’s Scream came on. Have you ever listened to the words of that song? Its dirty! But so HOT!
I caught Luke mouthing the words, and that sent tendrils of heat curling through my body. I pressed my thighs together as Luke softly sang, Now relax and get on your back, if you wanna scream…I stared straight ahead, unaware that my fingers were steadily tightening on Luke’s. I didn’t realize that I had gasped, either, when he sang, If you want it done right, I hope you’re ready to go all night…
I laid my head back against the seat, letting his warm, soft voice wash over me, the words of the song creating a pulsating beat between my thighs that was begging for relief. I slowly slid my free hand between my thighs, moaning softly at the slight pressure of my fingertips against my aching flesh. Luke’s harsh groan broke through the haze of desire wrapped around me and I sat straight up, jerking my hand away from myself guiltily. I closed my eyes, afraid to look at him.
Luke jerked the car to the side of the road, and I looked at him in bewilderment.
“What’s wrong, Luke? Why are we-” Luke stopped the rest of my words with his lips. He kissed me roughly and deeply, not caring about the traffic passing by as we sat on the side of the road.
“God, Emma…I gotta get you home, baby,” Luke gritted out between clenched teeth as he pulled back from me.
I just nodded, unable to speak. He jerked the car back into gear and pulled back into traffic, flooring it. I said a little prayer that the No-Ticket Gods would be good to us and they must have been in a giving mood because we made it back to Luke’s in record time without getting pulled over.
Luke jerked to a stop in front of his house, barely getting the car in park before he reached over and hauled me into his lap. It was a really tight fit, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was that I was straddled over Luke, pressing into his hardness that fit so perfectly between my thighs. I moaned out a thanks to the Skirt Gods, too, glad that I had decided to wear one today to work as Luke slid his hands up under it and tore (LITERALLY! OHMIGOD!) my panties away from my hips. Making quick work of his zipper, he pushed up into me and pulled my hips down at the same time, slamming every inch of his thick, hard, length inside me as deep as it would go.
I rode him hard, gripping the headrest of the seat tightly to anchor myself as I did, loving the feel of his hands hard on my hips, his heat scalding me deep between my thighs. I thrust myself down on his hardness one last time, screaming as my orgasm shot through me, coming so hard I saw stars. I heard Luke’s shout as he stiffened and poured himself into me, crushing my hips tighter to his as he rocked his hips in short, sharp thrusts, drawing out our pleasure until we were both gasping for breath and limp.
I lay slumped on top of him for a minute before we both realized that there was a constant beeping noise all around us. I pulled up and away from Luke, sitting in the passenger seat again and the noise stopped. Oh, shit! I’d been laying on the horn with my ass!
We looked at each other and busted out laughing before putting our clothes right and getting out of the car to go inside. When we got in the front door, both Brandon and Jackson were sitting on the couch, laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes.
Luke glared at them, though his lips were still twitching with laughter, and I couldn’t help but grin shamelessly.
Of course my shameless grin turned into a heated flush as Brandon started stuttering, “We…we knew you must be finished when the horn stopped…stopped beeping and just held!” He double over with laughter again, but Jackson took over.
“Yeah, and we knew when they were getting close, too! Beep…beep…beep…beep, beep, beep, beep, beep,
beep, beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!”
I collapsed into the chair and buried my face in my hands. I could even feel the tips of my ears burning, and I knew I was red from head to toe in embarrassment. I felt Luke come stand beside me, his hand rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. I looked up at him and my embarrassment faded as he grinned down at me.
I shrugged my shoulders and muttered, “It was so worth it…” before I stood up and we headed up the stairs to go to bed, Brandon and Jackson’s laughter following us the whole way.
The next day, Luke took me to my house after work to grab some more clothes. I threw a few things into my duffel and then gasped in shock when Luke grabbed the bag out of my hand and started going through my drawers, methodically emptying each one into it.
“Luke! What are you doing?” I cried, trying to take the bag from him. He moved it out of my reach and once my drawers were empty, he turned toward my closet. I’m not sure how he was thinking he’d get anything else into my bulging duffel, but I wasn’t about to let him try to shove my good work clothes into it as well. When he opened the closet door, I rushed up behind him and jerked the bag out of his hand. He shrugged and, spying my suitcase on the top shelf of my closet, pulled it down and unzipped it so he could start loading it up.
“Luke! Stop! I don’t need this many clothes!” I steadily tried to close the suitcase, but he wasn’t having it.
“Emma, baby, it doesn’t make any sense to keep coming back here every couple days when we’re gonna just stay at my place. Just get all your clothes.” Luke said this to me in a matter-of-fact tone, and I couldn’t help but gape at him. What the hell was he getting at?
“Luke, if I have no clothes here, I’ll just have to move them all back here when we stay here. You act like I’m moving in with you!” I yelled.
“You are. Now pack!” He smiled at me and started pulling stuff out of my closet and tossing into the suitcase on the bed.
I stood there, my mouth opening and closing like a fish before the red film descended over my eyes. “Lucas Tyler Crimshaw, you are seriously mistaken if you think you are just gonna move me out of my house and into yours without us even discussing it. I’m not moving in with you. You can leave now. Do you hear me?” I shrieked, my voice getting higher and louder with every word. “Leave!”
Luke turned slowly to look at me, his eyebrows raised high in astonishment, eyes wide open and blinking. That didn’t last long, though, and his eyes were suddenly blazing with heat. He dropped my clothes in a heap on the floor (Damnit, now I’m gonna have to iron!) and stalked me as I nervously backed away from him. The backs of my legs hit edge of my bed and I sat down hard on the edge of my suitcase.
My fingers began twisting in my lap as Luke crowded me, not saying a word. He reached out and
wrapped his fingers in my ponytail, jerking my head back as he stood over me. I let out a gasp, unable to hide the spark of fear in my eyes; I was afraid I had pushed him too far.
Luke lowered his head until his lips barely brushed mine as he spoke, each word clear and concise, sending shivers down my spine, and making me gasp for breath. “You. Are. Moving. In. With. Me. I want you in my bed, every night. I want to wake up with you in my arms every morning. And sugar? Next time you order me around, I wont take it so lightly. I’ll have you tied up in no time and you will feel the bite of my hand as I spank that tight little ass of yours until its hot and red and you’re screaming for me to fuck the shit out of you.”
I swallowed, and it sounded loud in the silence following his words. Then he continued. “I saw the fear in your eyes, Emma. I’d never hurt you. Ever.”
I nodded, instinctively needing to tell him that I knew that, that I trusted him implicitly. I opened my mouth to tell him with words too, but he lightly pressed his finger to my lips, effectively stopping me.
“A little fear is good, though, baby. I like when you run. But know this- I’ll always catch you. And if you run for too long, then you’ll face the consequences. You wanted to see my darkness, Emma. You haven’t seen anything yet.” He pulled his finger back from my lips and pressed his mouth to mine again, sinking his teeth into my lower lip before laving it with his tongue.
I moaned, my hands coming up to pull him closer into me. I tried to deepen the kiss but he wouldn’t let me, teasing me with his tongue and sharp nips of his teeth, driving me wild.
He pulled back from me. “I want you to live with me. Will you?”
“Luke, we haven’t known each other that long-”
He cut me off. “No excuses, Emma. Will you?”
I was left with no choice, and deep inside, I really didn’t mind. He was so fuckin’ hot! “Yeah, Luke. I’ll move in. But I’m not giving up my house.”
“Never said you had to, sugar.” He leaned close in and pressed his lips to mine again, whispering, “Thank you, baby. You’ve made me a very happy man.”
I rolled my eyes at him and pushed him away to finish packing up my clothes. Since he had packed most of my wardrobe up already, I finished the closet, and headed into the bathroom to pack up a few more things there. When I walked back into the bedroom, Luke had already lugged my suitcase and duffel out to the car and I stood there by my bed, feeling a little unsettled, but knowing that my life was taking the turn that I had always dreamed of.
“You okay, Emma?” Luke said from behind me.
“Yeah. I’m…good.” I said it softly, but I realized I meant it.
Luke sighed, walking over to wrap his arms around my waist and press himself to my back. “I’m not trying to be an overbearing ass, sugar. I…if you don’t want to move in to my house, that’s fine. I’ll move in here with you. But we’re gonna live together no matter what, because I don’t want to be apart from you.”
I turned in his arms and, raising my eyes to his, I asked, “Why, Luke? Why is it so important that we do this so soon?”
“You haven’t figured it out yet?” he asked.
I shook my head in confusion. He leaned in and kissed me lightly, telling me between kisses, “Then…I’m…Not…Telling.”
Ugh. Men.
Chapter 14
Allie walked into my office at work on Wednesday evening and like a freight train, the idea for my Halloween costume hit me. I jumped out of my chair and ran around the counter to hug her, kissing her loudly on the cheek as she yelled, “Hey! What the hell?”
I released her, grinning and nodding my head at her while she looked at me like I was crazy. Then, like always, she had my back.
“Whatever it is that has put that evil light in your eyes, I’m in! Now what is it?”
I started breaking my idea down to her, and she immediately jumped in with both feet, tweaking my idea and taking it to places I hadn’t thought of. “Allie? You…are a genius!”
I called Luke to let him know not to pick me up tonight because I was going to Allie’s. He asked what we were going to do, but of course, I wouldn’t tell him. I hung up, telling him that Allie would bring me home later, but I didn’t know what time.
Allie and I spent the evening putting our plans into place, and when she took me home at midnight, we were giggling gleefully and praying that Friday came quick.
When Friday came, I was almost giddy with excitement, and asked Floyd if I could leave at noon. He agreed, and I called Luke to let him know that I was leaving work, and that I would meet him at the party that night. He and Brandon and Jackson had refused to tell us what they were going to wear for costumes since Allie and I wouldn’t tell them.
Allie picked me up and we headed first to the hall she had rented for the party to decorate. It was a big open room, with a smaller kitchen/banquet area attached and we went crazy with spider webs, caution tape, fake blood, and everything else we would find. We hung black material over the windows in the big open area to darken it, and placed black lights at intervals on the tables and around the room. We also filled a few cylindrical vases with tonic water and sat them on
the tables. Instant glow lamps! Tonic water glows under black light, fyi. Allie had hired Jeremy to come in and DJ for the party tonight, and he was setting up in the corner with a little lamp over his computer and equipment so he could see to do his job.
We left a large area for dancing and did a little bit of decorating in the smaller room, setting up the snack/drink area so it was ready for the food to be put out when it was time. We had enlisted my mom and Jenna to help with the food, and Allie and I had each made a few things, too. I’d been up late the night before making buffalo chicken dip, which I know isn’t scary or Halloween themed, but it is orange colored and frankly, a party isn’t a party without that shit!
We also set up a bar area and Leah agreed to come in and “bartend” for us for a bit. We had gotten the things to make Black Apples, which is blackberry schnapps, apple pucker, 7up, and sweet & sour mix (Yum!), Axe Murderers, which is (Drunk City) amaretto, gin, rum, Southern Comfort, tequila, Triple Sec, vodka, 7up, grenadine, and pineapple juice, Ghostini’s, which are simple but delicious martinis made with vodka, melon liqueur, and sour mix, and my favorite punch of all time! It was called simply Halloween Brew and was vodka (I went big with the 110 proof), 7up, lime sherbet, and dry ice to make it look like it was smoking.
Once we finally got everything ready to go, we rushed back to Allie’s house to get ourselves dressed. We had found long, billowy, hooded cloaks to wear over our costumes so we could hide them until we were ready to surprise everyone. Well, not really everyone. Our goal was to drive the guys insane, and I think Allie and I were definitely on point.
We headed back to the hall about fifteen minutes before everyone was due to begin arriving. My mom, Jenna, and Leah were all there already, setting up the food and getting drinks ready. They raised their eyebrows at us when we refused to show them our costumes, but didn’t say anything.