Hot Alphas and Bad Boys

LUKE

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are all a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © Luke (Forbidden Lust series) 2014 Diana Bocco

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form.

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Chapter 1

Luke Blackwell always knew he’d married the wrong sister. If only he’d pay attention to all the red flags instead of just listening to his dick. Because let’s face it, the older of the Walker sisters knew too well how to rein men in. Hell, she’d had done a fine job of capturing one of Boston’s most eligible bachelors.

Of course, by the time he’d realized the kind of woman Erika was, it was already too late. He’d already signed on the dotted line, and half his fortune was now hers. How the hell had he been so stupid not to have a prenup? Ah, yes, his dick. It seemed he’d done a lot of listening to the wrong part of his anatomy back then.

He got up to look out the window of his twenty-eighth-floor office. The Financial District was buzzing with activity down below, and he felt the same buzz rushing inside him. He needed things to change, and soon. The last two years he’d felt like a prisoner more times than he cared to count.

It had taken him what, six months, to see what his wife was really like? Maybe a year. But when his eyes finally opened, he’d felt like the biggest fool on the planet.

Then the younger Walker sister had come around to spend Christmas with the family one year. Cailin, whom he’d long ago decided was too shy and too innocent for his taste. Definitively not the kind of woman who would be up for the kind of things he liked to do in the bedroom. Or the kitchen. Or the balcony.

But then that Christmas had turned out to be stranger than he expected and he’d ended up drunker than he’d ever been in his life.

That’s when he’d stumbled on Cailin in the garage and somehow wound up kissing her. A kiss that had rattled his entire body.

And maybe even his soul.

Yeah, he’d been a bastard for kissing his sister-in-law. So he’d apologized to her profusely and swore her to secrecy.

Somehow he’d expected her to spill the secret, but she never had. A year later, she was still holding on to his promise, and he was still married.

At least on paper.

It’s not like he was ready to give it all up in a divorce. Not just yet, anyway.

So he and Erika remained married, sharing a house and putting up a united front for friends and family. And for the press, of course. The tabloids had a thing for Erika, so she often appeared on their best-dressed lists. She loved the attention that came with being Mrs. Blackwell and was certainly making the most of it.

Inside the walls, however, it was a mix of indifference and all-out war, depending on how tired of her bullshit he was on a particular day. Lately, he’d been spending a lot of nights at their apartment on the other side of town, just so he could breathe.

Although they were now living separate lives (which meant the freedom to —discreetly —take lovers anytime they wanted), Luke was pretty sure she’d been doing that from the beginning. Back when he was still faithful and hell-over-heels crazy for her. But then again, he’d chosen to look the other way and pretend it wasn’t happening. Because it was easier to do that than to face the truth: he really had made one of the biggest mistakes of his life by marrying Erika.

After that stolen kiss with Cailin, he’d told himself it had all been a huge drunken mistake, but deep down, something nagged at him. A bothersome what if he couldn’t shake. He hadn’t even intended to kiss Cailin that night, but he’d gotten close and suddenly noticed just how good she smelled and how her tight jeans hugged her ass and things had gotten out of control. He’d like to think it was all because of the alcohol, but maybe that wasn’t true. All of a sudden, Cailin had stirred something inside him, and he just needed to touch her, taste her. The drinks had just made it easier to forget why she was supposed to be off-limits.  

On top of that, he was getting tired of the charade, and he knew Erika could tell. It should be obvious, since he had refused to sleep with her for months now. Which made his wife’s sudden interest in inviting her sister over for Christmas again particularly confusing.

Why? he’d asked, and she shrugged, almost as if it was too much effort to even address his question.

What do you mean, why? She’s my sister. I can’t have her over for the holidays?

You could, but I don’t think you particularly like her.

She smiled. She’s a little too proper for my taste.

You mean, not such a whore?  he thought, but kept his mouth shut. He was too tired to start another fight.

Besides, he wasn’t exactly upset that Cailin was visiting. He was... conflicted. Over the past year, he had spent a lot of time thinking about that kiss. It had been so wrong and inappropriate, but it felt so damn right. And suddenly he’d been able to look at Cailin in a whole new light.

Yeah, he’d definitively married the wrong sister.

Not that he was about to screw things up even more by making another move. But damn, the idea was tempting. And maybe an indiscretion like that would push Erika out of the house and convince her to sign the divorce papers for a reasonable settlement.

Even though at the moment, all he could picture was Cailin, her tight curves under his.

He went back to his desk and turned on the laptop so he could pretend to work and get his mind out of the gutter.

Yeah, he was definitely an asshole.

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Chapter 2

Cailin put down the phone again. For the third time in the last hour, she had dialed her sister’s cell, just to hang up before it even started to ring.

She wasn’t sure why she had accepted Erika’s invitation in the first place. It wasn’t only that they didn’t get along. Her sister also had the ability to make her feel like a loser.

Erika was prettier. Erika was richer. Erika walked into a room and every man there turned to look at her.

Including Luke.

The truth is that she had never forgiven Erika for taking Luke. Especially not after Cailin had told her she was secretly in love with him.

It’s not like Erika had fallen in love with Luke and couldn’t help it. In fact, Cailin was pretty sure her confession was one of the reasons Erika had gone after him. Just to prove she could get him. Just like that, so easily.

Of course, the fact that he was rich and absolutely gorgeous probably didn’t hurt either. Erika loved being the center of attention, and being with Luke Blackwell meant being photographed by the press all the time and even making the cover of People magazine once. The gorgeous guy on her arm was a bonus.

When they first met Luke at a charity event, Cailin’s heart had flipped. Maybe it hadn’t been love at first sight, but she had definitively felt something. A tug inside her that told her there was something there. Then they started spending more time working with his charity and around him, and that tug grew deeper, stronger. Six months later, she just couldn’t deny it anymore: she was in love with him.

Of course, Luke only had eyes for Erika. She’d played hard to get for a while, and then Cailin made the mistake of telling her how she felt.

Less than a week later, her sister had walked into an event on Luke’s arm.

And that was it. Cailin had lost him forever. She never had him, really, because Luke had never even looked her way. But it was that night she really lost him. Even his wedding to Erika soon after hadn’t felt as painful as that night had, seeing them walk into the room together.

Cailin spent the next two years hiding in books, working on a master’s degree she didn’t really need. Just because it kept her busy and gave her something to think about besides Luke. And it had worked. Sort of, anyway. At least she wasn’t pining all the time for the guy she’d never had.

Then Christmas came around.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity to prove to herself she was over him and ready to move forward with her life. Maybe even time to make amends with Erika and work on building some kind of relationship. The one they’ve never had in the first place.

So she accepted the invitation and put on a brave face in front of the guests. She’d even flirted with the cute guy in the green sweater. Ryan? Dylan. Or something like that, anyway.

And then Luke had ruined it all by kissing her.

She’d headed to the garage to search for an old Christmas ornament she wanted to take home with her. Or maybe she was just hiding from Ryan/Dylan and his soon-to-come approach for a kiss. Whatever she was really doing, she definitively hadn’t heard Luke walk in.

Hey, he said, and it startled her so bad she actually jumped.

She turned around to face him. He looked just as gorgeous as she remembered, the broad shoulders and chest pushing against the fabric of his shirt, revealing the cut muscles underneath. Even though he was completely clothed, she could always tell there wasn’t a soft spot in his body. If anybody she knew had hit the genetic lottery, it was certainly Luke. He’d always strike her as the kind of guy who was made to wear... well, as little as possible. Not that he didn’t look good in a suit, but the way the jeans hugged his slim hips and revealed the bulk behind the zipper was as close to perfection as you could get.

His green eyes were darker than she remembered them in the shimmering light of the garage. His black hair looked unruly, and his face was sporting just the right amount of rugged stubble, and she found herself wondering how that would feel against her skin.

She turned around to face the boxes again, trying to ignore the heat pooling between her legs. Away from the delicious temptation standing in front of her.

Do you always sneak up on people like that? she asked him.

I got years of practice, yeah.

I bet, she said and then wondered who could possibly object to Luke sneaking up on them.

She shook the thought away. Have you seen an old box of Christmas ornaments? Erika said they’d be here, but I can’t —

The second she felt his hand on her lower back, her entire body went up in flames, a bolt of heat shooting up her spine and then coiling lower in her stomach.

She froze in place, despite her mind screaming for her to get away.

Get out, get out, get out.

But her feet refused to move.

Even through the fabric of her sweater, his fingers were branding her skin. When he leaned forward and buried his face in her hair, her legs almost gave up.

You smell good tonight, Cailin.

The word traitor flashed in her mind for half a second but immediately got buried by everything else she was feeling.

His hands reached for her waist, and the world slowed down to a ticking pace as he turned her around, trapping her against the wall. Then he lowered his face closer to hers, and her heart was off and running.

You feel good too, he said, and it was almost a warning. Except there was no way she could resist him or walk away at that point, so she just nodded. And then her lips parted instinctively, and before she knew what was happening, he’d kissed her.

As soon as his lips touched hers, she was done. Her breath caught in her throat, followed by a soft sound of pleasure she barely recognized as hers. Then he pushed harder against her, and she felt his hardened cock against her belly. She moaned and opened her lips, letting his tongue tangle with hers. His teeth nibbled on her lower lip before his tongue pushed inside her mouth again. Hard. As if he were showing her the many ways he could possess her body, get inside her. Invade her.

If her heart had been bumping fast before, it was definitively doing cartwheels now. She had been dreaming about the feel of his lips for years, and it was nothing like she expected. It was a million times better. It was unsettling, the way he could get inside her and under her skin with just one kiss. Break down every barrier she had spent years building and turn her body into liquid fire.

She had never been so turned on, so wet, by a simple kiss, and the word danger flashed in her mind. Suddenly, she was thinking about what his tongue would feel like sliding over her, inside her. She moaned again and threw her arms around his neck.

And then he broke the kiss. His eyes were dark and heavy with need, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

I’m sorry. He ran a hand through his hair. I shouldn’t have done that.

She didn’t even think about the fact she’d betrayed her sister until he’d left her alone in the garage, after a lot of talking and pleas for secrecy.

Going back for another Christmas party was a huge mistake. Because she had spent the last twelve months trying to deal with what happened that night. Trying to get over Luke. Again.

Either going back was the Universe’s way of punishing her for what she’d done, or it was her opportunity to finally show herself she was free of Luke’s spell.

Either way, it sounded like the Christmas from hell.

Chapter 3

Deep breaths, Cailin, deep breaths.

She had spent more time than necessary picking her outfit for the day, which was a bad sign. She normally wore just jeans and fitted t-shirts, so trying to find something that made her look