Sunset Seduction - By Charlene Sands Page 0,44

of loneliness and missing your sweetheart filtered through the speakers. “Then take pity on me. I want to dance with you.”

Luke didn’t wait for a rejection. He took her small waist in his hands and tugged her closer, then looped her arms around his neck. She gazed at him, her body a little less rigid, her eyes softening. “Luke.”

His brain told him this was dangerous and stupid, but he didn’t heed the warning. He’d been itching to touch her all night, despite his mental claims otherwise.

They were alone, but for a starry sky and the sound of music and muted laughter coming from inside the château. The air was crisp. The leaves of sugar pines whispered in the breeze. And Luke whispered above them into Audrey’s ear, “One dance and I’ll take you home.”

She trembled as he brought her closer, brushing his lips over her earlobes, breathing in the scent of her hair. She was delicate now in his arms, and he took care with that. She wasn’t a wallflower but a woman who had bloomed right before his eyes.

They moved then, back and forth, the soft harmony filling their senses. Audrey laid her head on his shoulder and they danced on. There was something sweet and poignant in the moment, something that Luke didn’t want to end. So when the music stopped, they kept dancing, tight in an embrace, clinging to each other until sometime later their feet stopped moving and their eyes locked. Luke lifted her chin with his thumb and used it to outline the shape of her lips. Then he dipped his head and kissed her long and deep and passionately. When the kiss ended, Audrey whimpered in protest. The sound seared into his soul. He felt the same gut-wrenching sense of loss and wanted to go on kissing her. But not here, where curious onlookers might see, where any second now, his brother or Sophia might wander outside to find them together, lip-locked.

“Let’s go home,” he whispered with quiet urgency.

Reflecting the soft moonlight, Audrey’s eyes shined with desire. “I’m ready.”

Luke took her hand. He was heading for trouble, but at the moment, he didn’t give a damn.

Seven

On the drive home, Audrey sat beside Luke in his car in wild anticipation of what the night would bring. They were halfway home when Audrey got a text message. “It’s from Casey,” she said, reading the lit-up screen.

“Oh, yeah? What’s he got to say?” Luke asked quietly, giving her a smile.

Mercy. She melted into a puddle, and later she would blame his smile for her stupidity in reading the text aloud. “‘I’ll be coming by for a visit soon. Gotta make sure Luke’s taking good care of my…uh, little sis.’” She spoke the last two words with dire dread. She was well aware of the impact that statement could make.

Luke dropped his easy smile.

“He’s teasing,” Audrey said softly.

But it was too late. Luke completely shut down. It was like she’d splashed ice-cold water on his face. He turned three shades of red before guilt and recrimination set in. He refused to hear her out. He refused to listen to any arguments contrary to his own thoughts on the matter. His mind was made up.

When they arrived at Sunset Ranch, he deposited her at her bedroom door. His face tight, his stance rigid, his words were strained as if he forced them out. “If you think it’s easy for me to walk away from you tonight, you’re sorely mistaken.”

And then he did exactly that.

He closed the door and walked away.

Audrey cursed at the closed door in three different languages. The English words were the most obscene, but she managed to sputter a few choice words in Spanish and French, too.

Luke hadn’t been her date tonight. Except for the last ten minutes when they’d danced and kissed out on the veranda under the stars. She’d seen a bright new world opening up to her, and hope had sprung into her heart again until Luke had decided what was best for both of them.

Now she peered at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was pale, drained of any expectation or hope. Her body sagged and her stomach ached. She wouldn’t allow Luke and his stubborn ways to dictate her life anymore. If he wanted it this way, he would have it.

She glanced at the unopened pregnancy test sitting on her counter. “Not tonight,” she said. She didn’t want to know the outcome. She didn’t want to have to face the