Free Scars (Marked #2.5) by Lynch Marti, Elena M. Reyes Page B

combined to entice the inner bitch in me.  All I could do to hold in the hum of pleasure that threatened to escape me was bite the inside of my cheek.
    He smelled like a man who worked with his hands outside—a man’s man. Musky. Like raw motherfucking sex.
    I did as he asked and turned around, letting Jaime’s arm fall from around me in the process.  Worst fucking thing I could’ve done. In that moment, I was embarrassed by our blatant display of affection.
    “Look at me,” he demanded at my clear avoidance, and yet again, I complied. A tiny whimper escaped my lips this time at the mere sight of this man that I didn’t know.
    “Fuck me.”
    “Wow.”

11

     
     
    Dinner began as an intense affair.
    Jaime had been quiet, almost withdrawn, while Luke was the opposite. Chatting, smiling, and pulling me in with a natural ease that scared me. He was too comfortable within my presence, treated me as if he knew me.
    We were seated in an intimate booth near the back of the quaint restaurant. It was semi-closed off from the rest of the room, and for some reason, this made the friendly dinner tense. At least for me it was.
    Felt as if I were the prey being tricked and brought into the slaughter house under false pretenses.
    “Ladies first.” Luke had waved me forward when the hostess walked us over to our table. It was a huge motherfucking mistake. I walked—rubbed my side against his body as I squeezed by him. Maybe I could have in hindsight asked him to move, but truthfully that was not what I wanted.  His scent, the feel of him made my mouth water and nipples tightened.
    His deep intake of breath let me know he wasn’t unaffected. Once situated, I looked over at the young woman standing next to Jaime. She’d appeared, happy as could be, a few minutes before we were called to be seated.
    Young. Ginger colored hair. Pretty in a very basic way. We were complete opposites, yet I didn’t detest her. Felt no animosity while we were introduced and she kissed Jaime on the cheek. Quite the opposite happened. Instead of the rage or jealousy I usually felt, watching her next to him brought me a small semblance of peace.
    As if all the pieces were falling into place.
    Also didn’t hurt that she’d walked in to our intense bubble when I needed a distraction the most.  And she served her purpose well if the way Jaime was currently looking at her was any indication. He liked her, and I was okay with that. “Come sit, Sam—” I began, but was interrupted before I could finish.
    “No,” The men answered at once, causing both our brows to rise. They were acting weird. Jaime looked away after his outburst, his eyes looking right past me as I tried to get his attention. Was he nervous? Worried over my reaction?
    If he’d look my way, he would see that this was more than okay.
    Instead of explaining himself, he pulled her in to sit across from me and took the seat beside her. Was she his date? If she was, then why bring me? We’d never spent Valentine’s together in the past, and today didn’t have to be the day to start.
    The awkwardness grew.
    “What’s going…” I trailed off mid-sentence. At that moment, Luke had chosen to squeeze in next to me, his knee touched mine, and an electrical pulse ran through me. His strong arm stretched in a cheesy move next and lay behind my head.
    Long fingers took turns between playing with my hair and tapping a simple rhythm against the back of the booth. It pulled me from my previous curious state and into a relaxed one. In those few minutes, I only saw and heard him—became in tune with his every inhale and exhale.
    “Behave,” Luke whispered low, and that one word on any others lips had never sounded so good.
    No one else at our table noticed our exchange, and for that I was thankful. They didn’t see my small nod or his pleased smile. If they did, they remained silent while I tried to wrap my mind around everything that had happened within the last hour or so.
    Since when