Bed of Lies by Paula Roe Page A

right into his eyes and fell over the edge. “Oh, yes.”
    With a low guttural moan, he pulled down her panties, cupped her bottom and slid her onto the countertop. She hissed as the warm top made contact with her sensitive skin, the dishwasher vibrating gently on her calves. Then heat engulfed her as Luke eased her knees apart and slid his finger inside her wet core.
    So tight. So hot. Luke’s breath hissed out, simultaneously echoing her own ecstasy. His groin was rock hard and throbbing, but he ignored it, instead taking delight in her intimate flesh wrapped around his finger, her arousal as he scraped his palm against her swollen nub. He withdrew then plunged back in, again and again and she threw her head back, a groan of pleasure rolling deep within her throat.
    He grabbed the back of her head and dragged her back for a kiss, a deep, soul-searing kiss full of hot passion and desperate longing. She murmured beneath his mouth, her tongue tangling with his as her arms snaked around his neck. Her musky smell, her hot wetness, her murmur of enjoyment surrounded him, infused his skin, burrowed inside until he could feel the pressure build and build. Still he continued to taste, to feel, to tease until she began to tremble and whimper beneath him.
    He dragged his lips down her neck and gritted his teeth, begging for control as he finally felt her go over the edge.
    The orgasm ripped through Beth, stealing her breath and her control in one thundering swoop.
    Joy. Pure unadulterated joy singing in her veins, heating her blood, skyrocketing her heart. It had never, ever been like that before. She felt as if she could take on the world, run a marathon, fly for hours and hours.
    She waited out the trembling, until her breath became slower, until her heart calmed and an inevitable wave of uncertainty slowly flooded in.
    What on earth had she done?
    “Beth.”
    Her name stirred the damp strands of hair on her cheek, sent a shiver across her skin. He slowly eased his finger from her and she couldn’t stop her small disappointed murmur as cool air rushed in. But when he gently closed her legs, reality came crashing back in one disastrous wave.
    “Beth,” he said again. “Look at me.”
    Reluctantly she opened her eyes. His were dark and unreadable.
    “I…ah…” She paused. Dammit, how could she focus when he’d taken her on the dishwasher and he’d seen her fall to pieces beneath his hand? With a heated flush, she slid from the counter and scooped up her abandoned underwear. “Okay, so that was a bad idea. We’ve both been under a lot of pressure and—”
    His hands on her shoulders stopped her midsentence, but she refused to meet his eyes, instead looking down.
    She drew in a breath, hard. Bad mistake. The telltale bulge in his pants was all too obvious.
    With a finger under her chin, he tilted her face up to meet his, but when he went to place a gentle kiss on her cheek Beth pulled away.
    “Look, Luke,” she began and stepped back, trying to regain control. “What happened here…” She felt her face flush but forged on. “I think it’s just… We had a…”
    “A purely physiological response under stress.”
    She blinked, astonished. “Exactly.”
    Except he now knew what she tasted like, felt like. And she still desperately wanted her house more than ever.
    “So let’s just focus on what we need to do,” he added, then turned back to the table and began stacking the place mats.
    She stared at him, her stomach a confusing mixture of uncertainty, relief…disappointment?
    He glanced up with a smile. “Right?”
    “Right.” Nothing had changed. He still wanted to sell her home. And she still couldn’t afford it.
    But how exactly could she focus on talking him around after that?

Nine
    A s she drove to work the next day, Beth made a firm decision. Avoid Luke whenever possible. There was way too much at risk, a risk that could have the potential to end in disaster.
    With new resolve, she got through the