THE DRY CLEANER'S MESS

CHAPTER 23

"Arielle."

"For real, leave me alone."

He whined like a spoilt child. "Arielle, I'm sorry."

Arielle slapped his hand away. "After what you did, no, there's no way on Earth I'm forgiving you."

After Luke watched the footage from the flashdrive, she had left for Andrew's house to recount her experience from the previous three months. The gay man let out a loud squeal of delight when she told him about the kisses they'd had. She came back into her apartment to a blaring fire alarm, a smoke filled house and no Luke in sight. A quick scan around the room told her the source of the commotion was from the oven. Luke returned to meet a burnt pan and a fuming Arielle. They ate four tins of cookies in an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry, Arielle. I forgot about the Pasta Fagioli al Forno in the oven. I was confused after the whole ordeal, I had to take a walk to clear my head."

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion even though he definitely couldn't see it since her back was facing him and the room was dark. "You took a walk? Or you went to Emily's house? I left for Andrew's a few minutes pass 7 and you said the dinner was to start by 8. Plus your face when you got back was oddly peaceful for someone who was trying to clear his head."

He laughed heartily at her accusation and pulled her by the waist till her back was lined with his chest. "Why would I go to Emily when I have you here, Arielle?" Her reply got stuck in her throat when he bit the pinna of her left ear teasingly. He swiped his tongue at that sensitive spot behind her ear and her eyes fluttered shut.

"Luke." She felt him harden as the moan left her lips.

"What, Arielle?" He whispered in a teasing manner and she could have sworn her soul left her body for a few seconds on hearing his voice. His fingers ignited her skin as it travelled northward from her waist, stopping at that valley between her breasts. "Can I?" He whispered in her ear and she nodded swiftly in response before his thumb skimmed over her peaked nipple of her left breast. She did a quick intake of breath at the light contact and Luke bit her lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh my." Her own voice sounded so foreign to her and she didn't even have the consciousness to be embarrassed by the breathy sound. Luke didn't seem to mind either as he rolled the nipple over her shirt between his thumb and index finger while assaulting the back of her neck with wet kisses. The overload of sensations from different places made her make quiet sounds that echoed in the room.

"I s-should… I should s-stop." She barely took register of his words as his large hand cupped her breast and kneaded it with a force that sent billions of delicious impulses to her brain. She gasped when his hand creeped beneath her shirt and touched her bare skin.

"Luke…." He grunted and pulled her closer to himself, pressing her butt on his groin. The rock between his legs made her pool between hers and she felt the urgent need to press her legs together.

"We should s-stop, Arielle." He murmured between kisses and she shook her head in a frenzy. He growled and flipped her over so her back was on the soft bed before hovering over her. "We should." His lips found hers in the dark and she welcomed him by wrapping her legs around his lower back. He bit down on her lower lip and she yelped because of the sweet pain. With a loud grunt, he pushed himself off her body and the bed.

She took a couple seconds to calm her frenzied respiration before she spoke in a shaky voice. "Why'd you stop?"

He lowered himself in the couch by the window. "We need a definition of whatever is going on between us. Without that, we'd just be complicating everything."