Decode (Luke Series, #7) Read online

  DECODE

  Luke #7

  by Cassia Leo

  http://cassialeo.com

  Copyright © 2013 by Cassia Leo

  All rights reserved.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written permission from the author; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

  All characters and events appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Brina

  Chapter 2: Luke

  Chapter 3: Brina

  Chapter 4: Brina

  Chapter 5: Luke

  Chapter 6: Brina

  Chapter 7: Luke

  Chapter 8: Brina

  Chapter 9: Luke

  Chapter 10: Brina

  Chapter 11: Luke

  Chapter 12: Brina

  Chapter 13: Luke

  Chapter 14: Brina

  Dedication

  Luke Series Playlist

  Acknowledgements

  Other books by Cassia Leo

  About the Author

  For Sam.

  You proved your love for Luke.

  This book proves my love for you.

  Chapter One

  Brina

  “Hand me that bikini.”

  Luke stares at my almost-naked body in the dressing room as if he hasn’t seen it a million times during our five years of marriage. I’m still wearing the lacy white panties that Luke can never resist.

  “Please hand me that bikini,” I repeat, but he doesn’t even flinch.

  He takes a step toward me with a starved look in his aquamarine eyes and the carpeted floor sways beneath my feet.

  “You wore those on purpose,” he murmurs as his fingers glide over my waist and around to my lower back.

  “What if I did?”

  He slowly pulls me against him and the front of his shirt rubs against my bare nipples as his chest heaves against mine. His lips are inches from my mouth, glistening and calling me with the sweet scent of the iced tea he was sipping thirty minutes ago. His hand slides beneath the fabric of my panties and my skin prickles as his fingertips float over my skin.

  Some men have rough fingertips from years of working blue-collar jobs. Luke’s fingertips are always whisper soft and tender, unless he’s been working on his sixteen-year-old boat. I’m not one of those wives who will tell her husband to get rid of something old just because it causes too much trouble. As Luke has told me many times before, that boat was the first thing he bought when he began making insane amounts of money in the tech world. He loves it almost as much as he loves our two children.

  So I don’t mind so much when his rough fingertips scratch the sensitive skin on my ass. It actually gets me hotter, just thinking of Luke on his boat, with his shirt off, his tanned skin glistening with sweat and his aquamarine eyes alight with the passion of doing what he loves.

  I have to have him right now.

  Hastily, I begin unbuttoning his jeans as he slips one hand behind my neck, tangling his fingers in my hair as he pulls me in for a kiss. His lips are much softer than his fingertips, but his kiss is firm, just like my grip on his growing erection.

  I moan as he thrusts his tongue deep inside my mouth and I taste more iced tea. I smell his cologne, a crisp, masculine scent that reminds me of long nights on his boat when we first started dating; when he didn’t know I was sent to betray him. Luke and I have come so far since the day I walked into his office for a job interview six years ago, but the passion we felt then is still very much alive.

  His arm slides down my back until both his hands are on my ass and he lifts me off the carpet as I wrap my legs around his hips. I gasp as he enters me and my back is pressed against the cold mirror behind me. Luke’s size has been an issue for me, at times. We have to compromise when I’m riding him or when he’s behind me because it can be quite painful when he pierces me too deeply. But this position—up against a wall—is perfect.

  I try not to make too much noise. We are in a public dressing room. But it’s difficult not to voice my pleasure when I’m with Luke. He knows exactly what to do, exactly what spot to hit, exactly how fast and slow to move when he’s inside me. He drives me crazy, and he knows it.

  “Quiet,” he whispers as his cock stretches me, torments me, owns me.

  “Easy for you to say,” I whisper, leaning my head back as I clutch his hair.

  “You think this is easy for me,” he whispers against my neck before he bites me, hard.

  I whimper as softly as I can because I know he’s only biting me to contain his own cries of pleasure.

  The shrill sound of my phone ringing inside my purse makes my body tense, but Luke continues thrusting, undaunted by this interruption.

  “Stop. It could be the kids.”

  “They’re with Violet. They’re fine.”

  Just hearing him say her name while he’s inside me makes me bristle. I unwrap my legs from around his hips and quickly lower myself to the floor.

  “Ow!” he cries as I bump his erection while making my way to the other side of the dressing room to retrieve my phone. “Are you serious?”

  I slide my phone out of my purse and answer the call without acknowledging Luke’s question. Just seeing Violet’s name on my phone has made me even more annoyed.

  “What happened?” I bark into the phone.

  “I’m so sorry, Br—Mrs. Maxwell. I totally forgot that I’m supposed to meet Liam’s sister for dinner tonight. I have to leave in an hour.”

  Violet is our new twenty-three-year-old nanny who replaced Myrna four months ago when Myrna decided she needed to spend more time with her grandchildren. I’m sure her decision had nothing to do with the fact that Luke had given her a healthy bonus the week before she quit. Sometimes Luke is too generous for his own good.

  Luke is the one who insists Violet calls me Mrs. Maxwell. The fact that Violet almost calls me Brina at least once a day only makes me trust her even less. As much as I don’t want to play the role of the jealous wife, Violet brings it out in me. She’s eleven years younger than Luke and six years younger than I; the same age I was when Luke and I met. If she weren’t the best damn nanny I interviewed, I’d have fired her months ago.

  “We’ll be there in an hour,” I reply.

  I don’t want Violet’s relationship with her fiancé to be strained because she forgot about a dinner date with his sister. We’ve only met Liam once, but he seems like a nice guy. Though, I must admit, I did not catch Violet ogling Liam once during that meeting, the way I catch her ogling Luke almost every day.

  I stuff the phone back into my purse and turn around. Luke is glaring at me as he buttons his jeans. I don’t want to be the jealous wife, but Luke knows. He always knows.

  “Is it really an emergency?” he asks.

  Reaching for my T-shirt, I pull it on without bothering to put on my bra. “Yes. She has an important thing with Liam’s sister.”

  Luke lets out a derisive chuckle as he reaches for the handle on the dressing room door. “I’ll be outside.”

  It only takes a few seconds before I realize what I need to do to fix this. I finish getting dressed before I open the dressing room door, but I don’t step outside. Luke stares at me, waiting for me to join him.

  “You go ahead,” I say. “I still have a lot of shopping to do for the trip. I know that’s not your thing, so… you’re excused.”

  He smiles at my attempt to display my trust in him. “Are you sure? You’re not going to punish me for this later?”

  “Punish you for what? Just go before I change my mind.”

  He steps toward me a
nd takes my face in his hands as he plants a soft kiss on my lips. “I’ll finish you off later.”

  “Yes, you will… a few times.”

  He laughs as he walks away. The dread builds inside me with every step he takes, twisting my stomach into knots. Why do I feel like I just made a huge mistake?

  I rush through the shops as Perry, my part-time bodyguard, hauls the bulk of my bounty in his bulky arms. By the time Perry pulls the Bentley into the driveway, my mouth is bone dry from the non-stop shopping and the anxiety. Upon entering the house, I head straight for the kitchen to grab a glass of water. It’s eight p.m. Luke is probably upstairs putting the kids to sleep.

  I guzzle a glass of water and quickly make my way upstairs to say goodnight to the kids. My stomach clenches when I see Violet standing just outside Lucas’s bedroom, peeking through the crack in the door with her lips curled into a smile that oozes unadulterated adoration.

  Her blonde hair falls down her back in loose waves, which I taught her how to do when I got tired of her complimenting my hair three times a day. She’s wearing a soft blue dress and I can’t help but remember when Luke told me last week how good I looked in the new dress I’d bought. Violet was standing right next to me when he said it.

  She turns toward me when she hears my footsteps and the frightened look on her face fills me with anger. “I thought you had a dinner tonight.”

  “She called a couple of minutes before Luke got here to cancel. I was going to call you, but he walked in and… and he told me we should just let you do your shopping in peace.”

  She has no qualms with calling Luke by his first name.

  “Mr. Maxwell told you that?” I whisper. She nods nervously and I grit my teeth to stop myself from saying anything that may make it seem as though I don’t trust Luke. “You can go now.”

  “Did you still want me to come tomorrow morning?”

  I look at her incredulously. “Of course.”

  As much as I’d love to take a vacation without the nanny, I know that there’s no way I can have a stress-free vacation with the kids and Luke without Violet there. This trip to London serves three purposes. Luke has a huge meeting with some investors the day after we arrive. The following day will be his family reunion. It will be the first time the children will meet all of Luke’s mother’s family. Luke and I are also using this trip as an opportunity to have a do-over of our honeymoon. Our first honeymoon didn’t go so well. Lucas was only a month old and I had trouble enjoying my time away from him. Luke and I are planning to take a couple of days away from the kids, while Violet takes care of them, to enjoy London.

  Luke exits Lucas’s room shortly after Violet leaves and he swiftly moves in to kiss me. I turn my head and his lips graze my cheek.

  “Why was Violet still here?”

  “Her sister-in-law cancelled—”

  “She’s not her sister-in-law yet. And I know she cancelled the dinner, but why was she still here if you were here? She could have left.”

  “She was putting Rhianne to sleep while I put Lucas down. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, just… nervous about flying with the kids for eleven hours.”

  “You’re sure that’s all that’s bothering you?”

  “No. There is something else that’s bothering me,” I say as I reach out and take a chunk of his T-shirt in my fist. “I believe you left some unfinished business in that dressing room.”

  Chapter Two

  Luke

  Every time I’m on a business trip, I worry about Brina and the kids endlessly until I get back home. Though I’m not exactly looking forward to spending eleven hours in the air with Lucas and his need to jump off anything higher than two feet off the ground, I’m ecstatic that I’ll have my family by my side where I know they’re safe. Of course, I’m beginning to get a strong vibe from Brina that she suspects something is going on between Violet and me. We’ll have to be extra careful about what Brina sees and hears over the next few days if Violet and I are going to keep our secret hidden.

  By the time Brina and I are dressed and make our way down to the kitchen at 6:30 a.m., Violet has already dressed the kids and served them breakfast. Like yesterday, Violet is wearing a dress that shows just enough cleavage. She’s always trying to impress me with her hair and clothing, but Brina knows I’m more turned on by jeans and a tank top than a tight dress and heels. Brina’s skinny jeans and the black Vandals T-shirt she has tied in a knot at her waist is hot as hell.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” Brina says as she bends over to kiss the top of Lucas’s head.

  Lucas ruffles his golden brown hair in an attempt to wipe away her kiss. “I don’t want to go. I want to stay with Violet.”

  Rhianne giggles when her mom plants a loud kiss on her cheek. Brina grabs a lemon muffin from the basket on the table and takes a seat next to Rhianne. I never get tired of the look of utter joy on the kids’ faces when they see their mom.

  “You can’t stay with Violet because she’s going to London, too,” Brina says and Lucas narrows his eyes at her.

  I tap him on the shoulder as I take a seat across from Brina, between Lucas and the empty seat on my left. “Don’t look at your mom like that or I’ll tell Polly to hide your tablet.”

  Brina flashes me a quick smile before she pops a chunk of lemon muffin into her mouth. She pulls three-year-old Rhianne out of her booster seat and into her lap, whispering something in her ear that makes Rhianne giggle.

  “I think we should build a fort on the plane. What do you think?” she asks Lucas and, as much as he tries to hold onto that sourpuss expression, he can’t help but break into a wide smile. “Violet, make sure to bring some fort-building materials onto the plane.”

  Violet rises from her seat on the other side of Lucas and she looks slightly annoyed as she sets off to retrieve some blankets and such to take on the flight. Violet is the niece of my mentor, Jerry Wilshire. She was Jerry’s nanny for three years until Jerry’s son, Harry, turned nine. Now, Jerry’s personal assistant has taken over the management of Harry’s extracurricular activities. When Myrna quit, Jerry offered me Violet, giving her the highest recommendation. I submitted her resume to Brina without Jerry’s contact information on it. I didn’t want Brina to feel pressured to hire Violet just because she’s Jerry’s niece. After four weeks of interviews, she chose Violet based on how well she got along with the children during the interview and how well she understands and works with our schedules.

  Two months after hiring Violet, I’m not certain why, but I still haven’t told Brina that Violet is Jerry’s niece.

  “We arrive in London at four a.m. London time. You’re never going to get them to sleep on the plane if you build a fort,” I say as I grab the mug of black coffee next to my plate of steak and egg-white omelet.

  I had to hire three people to replace Myrna: a housekeeper (Polly), a cook (Oliver), and a nanny (Violet.) I thought Myrna would appreciate the $85,000 bonus, which happened to be a little more than the amount she once mentioned she needed to pay off her youngest son’s student loans. Brina told me I was crazy for giving her such a sizable bonus, but I think it’s important for people to feel appreciated. And I definitely appreciated the fact that Myrna took care of the kids and the house. Plus, I thought she’d be less stressed if her son didn’t have $80,000 in student loan debt hanging over his head.

  Of course, Brina was right. The day after I handed Myrna the bonus check, she handed in her resignation. The most upsetting part of it was that I really thought I was right. I thought I knew Myrna better than Brina did. I guess you never really know a person until you present them with the ultimate incentive—or temptation—to show their true selves.

  “They only need to sleep for a few hours on the plane. I want them to be tired enough to fall asleep eight hours early tomorrow.”

  “You’re always thinking ahead.”

  She smiles as she offers Rhianne a piece of her muffin. Rhianne grins as she shakes her head. I glance at Lucas
’s plate and find he’s left more than half of his pancake and scrambled eggs.

  “You’re not hungry, buddy?” I ask him and he raises his eyebrows as he stares at his plate, as if the plate is enough evidence. “Then go upstairs and brush your teeth. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.”

  He climbs down from the chair and his golden brown waves bounce as he trots off. His stubborn nature boils over into just about every aspect of our lives. He refuses to cut his hair, and he often refuses to wear anything more than underwear. He can often be found standing on chairs and sofas beating his chest like a gorilla. Brina laughs and calls him Mowgli, which only encourages him. Somehow, Violet is able to get him dressed without the fuss he used to put up whenever Myrna tried to dress him.

  After Violet gets the kids into their booster seats, she takes a seat in the back and Brina sits up front with me. I drive us all to the airport while Violet sings songs with the kids. Once we’re on the plane, Brina sits next to Lucas and I sit behind them next to Rhianne. Lucas may have Brina’s personality, but Rhianne looks like a miniature version of Brina. She has the same beautiful brown hair and round brown eyes that melt my soul.

  Once we’re at cruising altitude, we unbuckle the kids and set off for the sitting room to build the fort. Violet is already there with the pillows and piles of blankets. Lucas runs and dives on top of the pillows.

  “My pillows!” he shouts as he wraps his arms around two pillows and attempts, unsuccessfully, to pick them up.

  Violet kneels next to him and tickles him until he lets go. Brina looks uncomfortable as she watches this.

  “Violet, we’re okay for now. You can go back to your room and relax, if you want,” I say as I scoop Lucas off the floor and he laughs as I hold him above my head.

  She stands there watching as I slam Lucas onto the sofa and he giggles uncontrollably. “Actually, I’m not tired at all. I don’t mind hanging out with the kids.”