Luke managed to find a legal parking space on the lot at Noah's production studios. Jumping out of the car, he marveled at how the convertible was performing like a dream, which made staying mad at Noah extremely difficult.
Hell, the entire situation was difficult!
He wasn't sure what he was doing there in the first place. But he figured something would occur to him when they came face-to-face. He had this idea he could pull out his wallet and insist Noah took payment for the car repairs.
But Noah, being so damn Master of The Universe about everything, probably wouldn't take it.
What is this? An episode of Love Boat and I'm the damsel in distress?
He rolled his eyes, when he saw Noah's name in big Broadway marquee -sized lettering above the entrance. Who names their company after themselves anyway? Only men with gigantic egos that's who!
He made his way past the crowd lining up to go in; gave his name at the door; and was immediately ushered inside.
He felt a little overdressed. Everyone around him was wearing jeans and T-shirts, while he'd shown up in an Armani suit, which once belonged to Damian. It had taken him more than 10 outfits before he settled on this one. He swore if ever questioned, he'd never admit the true reason for his indecision.
As Luke made his way through the foyer, he could feel eyes watching him like he was some exotic animal that had made its way inside. He didn't recognize any of the volunteers. This wasn't the usual kind of event for his foundation. He hadn't originally planned to attend. In fact, he'd had to call the foundation offices earlier that morning just to arrange entry for himself.
His work as the foundation figure-head had brought him into contact with the members of Los Angels' most elite. The job mainly consisted schmoozing these movers and shakers enough to part with the big bucks at parties and receptions throughout the year. It was how he had met Bradley Wiles and cemented his reputation as being irresistible to men.
Every year he attended The Luke Snyder Foundation's annual ball with Bradley; and set the tongues waging all over again. But there had never been anything serious with any of the men he fleeced on behalf of the charity. Luke didn't like to mix business and pleasure.
There really was no reason for him to be at this latest event. Yet here he was, making his way through the crowd of underprivileged children and their families; soaking up
the carnival-like atmosphere; honing in on the displays of costumes and props from several films Noah had directed.
It wasn't long before the celebrity host himself emerged through one of the large wooden paneled doors displaying his full height; his movements heavy and purposeful.
There was a flutter of female excitement, and Luke watched as women literally pushed their way up to the rope line to get a better look, blocking Luke's view.
The next time he saw Noah it was in one of the large warehouses, where a stunt track and cars had been set up. Luke found him with a group of kids. He wore a black racer's suit with white and red stripes and lettering and carried a bunch of helmets, which he was handing out. The parents appeared to be as star-struck as their kids.
Meanwhile, members of Noah's production crew were crawling all over the cars in preparation. A faint smell of gasoline fumes filled the air.
Luke found he was quite close to the barrier and a little space had opened up. He slipped in and looked out across the track.
Noah had his back to him, was hunkering down to fit a helmet over the head of a young girl no more than 10 with long, dark hair. She had the same nervous expression Luke recognized from his riding students when they were about to mount up for the first time.
Noah said something to the girl causing her to smile as he settled the helmet over small head. Even from where he stood with the rest of the crowd, Luke could see the care with which he buckled up the strap under her chin.
Something fluttered strangely in Luke's chest, and he found himself unconsciously touching the back of his neck where Noah had stroked it when they kissed.
Noah straightened and put his hand lightly behind the child's shoulders, ushering her toward the crew members who prepared to strap her into the car.
Almost casually, Noah glanced over his shoulder and their eyes met.
The noise and jostling died away and Luke faced the undeniable truth. Absolutely nothing could have kept him from attending this foundation event.
Noah's attention was diverted by a young boy all the while continuing every so often to steal glances at Luke.
Around Luke, cameras were going off as people scrambled to get a photo of the young director - a gorgeous male at the top of his game; spending his time to give underprivileged kids an experience they could cherish. Behind him the stunt car engines roared in readiness, Noah filling the foreground with his presence - bigger, stronger, more impressive than just about any other director on the world stage.
And Noah's eyes were on Luke.
Luke lifted his chin. He was beginning to understand what Maddie was talking about.
Noah was a legend. Luke had simply been distracted by the man.
Noah saw the defiance in Luke's fine-boned chin as it poked the air. Luke wasn't supposed to be there. After the incident with Wiles, Noah had assumed he'd figured Luke out.
Luke was a beautiful, privileged man used to being pursued by wealthy men. But Blake's rushed assessment of the young Grimaldi had been mistaken. Blake had been looking at the bottom of the survival chain when it came to men living by their wits.
But Luke Snyder was most definitely at the top.
Noah would have expected Luke to have vanished from his life. He would have expected Luke to wait for him. Yet here he was, poised like a bright beacon behind the safety barrier amidst a crowd of onlookers, like he'd just stepped out of a magazine cover.
Gone were the jeans. Luke wore Armani, wrapped around a pair of incredibly muscular legs and lithe hips. He was dressed for the catwalk, not a movie set.
And Luke was gazing at Noah as if he expected him to stroll on over, pull him into his arms; and carry him off like a prize catch.
Noah had to admit - he liked that idea.
Luke was so tall - taller than most men yet just the right few inches shorter than Noah to make him a perfect match. He possessed an essence that made Noah want to protect and shelter him.
But Noah had already been down that road with this man. He'd spent weeks moping up the mess of that night. Even if he had to take cold showers to get over the feelings bubbling up inside of him, he would leave Wiles to take care of Luke.
Noah was busy. He had to run kids around the improvised race track; and then pose for each and every one of those just one more photos. Then it was off up the Pacific Coast Highway to his penthouse condo for some well-deserved rest before he flew to Mauritius for meetings.
After that, it was full focus on his project.
Noah was about to turn away from the rope line, when Luke raised his hand. It was just a little gesture actually, an uncertain half wave. His body felt tight and the blood in his veins
heavy; his muscles tensing one by one in anticipation.
Noah was vaguely conscious of the crowds surging forward as he headed over to where Luke stood. This was an insanely public gesture to make. He tried to convince himself into thinking it was a small event.
After all, everyone was here by invitation only.
He convinced himself that chatting up a blonde at the event was unlikely to end up making the Internet, even with a cascading shower of camera flashes.
Luke's expression was frozen. He looked like a baby deer caught in headlights, unsure what to expect.
Something twisted once more in Noah's gut.
He hadn't planned what he was going to say to Luke. He looked him right in the eye and Luke gazed unblinkingly back.
Noah's tone was soft, low and deep. "I'll talk to you later."
Luke's brown eyes widened fractionally and he gave a slight nod.
Noah winked at a pair of gawking teen-age girls standing next to Luke and strode off with the sound of the girls' swoons in his ears.
...
Most of the crowd had now dispersed. Only the volunteers were cleaning up, the crew coming and going. Nobody paid Luke any mind as he wandered onto the stunt track, walking alongside the cars, peering in at the elaborate safety belts and gauges.
It was getting late. Another half hour and it would be dark. Luke glanced back toward the studio office building. Maybe Noah had forgotten about him. Or maybe he was caught up somewhere.
Or maybe he never meant to return in the first place...
Luke realized he had put himself out there - made himself vulnerable, something he didn't ordinarily do. Luke didn't chase after men. They chased him. Watching Damian work the female sex like a one-armed bandit had taught Luke that powerful lesson. To be the object of desire, not the one caught by desire. Therein lay hurt, abandonment and shame.
Luke knew he should leave. Coming to the event had been a bad idea... His idea of waving his wallet at Noah and forcing him to accept payment for the work on the car seemed stupid now.
"Fancy a ride?" Noah's deep voice wrapped around him, every bit as delicious as the first time he'd heard it.
Luke turned around and found Noah, now dressed in dark jeans and a black T-shirt, standing a few feet away. Noah appeared so unlike the first time Luke had seen him. All that thick dark hair was rumpled and a faint five o'clock shadow etched his strong jaw. His intense blue eyes gleamed in the fading light, watchful as a hunting animal of prey. He was holding the straps of two helmets in his right hand.
"Careful, Noah, what if someone sees us together?"
Noah laughed. "Luke, something like 100 cell-phone cameras went off this afternoon when I approached you. I think caution is a waste of time at this point."
That wasn't the answer Luke wanted. He wanted Noah to say he didn't care and put Luke in his car anyhow.
"Come on," Noah abruptly said. He opened the door on the nearest stunt vehicle.
Luke stepped back. "This one?" He looked doubtfully at the low-slung car.
"It won't bite." Noah's eyes were on Luke, his expression reminding Luke of the wolf in
Red Riding Hood.
"Much," Luke added dryly as he reached out a hand for the helmet.
Noah grinned.
Yip - just like the wolf.
Noah laid his helmet on the top of the car and moved in to help Luke with his. Memory of the other time Noah had touched him like this made Luke unbearably subconscious.
"I love your hair," he said, leaning in to inhale. Luke felt Noah's lips brush the warm top of his head. "Silky, soft... it smells like... like you..."
Breathless, Luke barely had time to react before the helmet acted like a curtain coming down, obscuring the blush in his cheeks and his questioning eyes.
Noah buckled the strap under Luke's chin, just as he had done that afternoon for the small girl - with attention to detail, deliberateness and most important to Luke, with care.
Luke felt a little stupid with the helmet on, but it made Noah smile.
"Get in," Noah said, holding the door open for Luke.
...
Looking over at the blonde sitting in the high performance car beside him, Noah couldn't help but think that possession was nine tenths of the law. Having Luke inside the car, that made the man his... right?
He hadn't planned any of this. But when he'd seen Luke standing there with the cars, just waiting for him, everything male and primal in him had fired up - impossible to ignore. And if he was going to do this, despite the part of him screaming for him not to, Noah resolved to do it right.
This wasn't the first time Noah had driven a stunt car. He loved the thrill of the fast ride, the feel of power as the engine rumbled beneath the hood. It also wasn't the first time he'd taken
another man for a spin in the hopes of impressing him.
But somehow, Luke made it all feel so new - a new kind of buzz.
Everything about Luke was bright and loaded with a kind of electric energy. Everything about him got Noah's blood pumping - his heart racing. No other man had ever affected him in such a way. It felt incredibly right sitting beside him.
He adjusted his own helmet and ran through a sound-check. "How do you feel about speed?" He asked through the mike.
"Exactly how fast do you mean by speed?"
"Fast enough."
Luke made an I'm-in-your-hands gesture.
How right he is...
Noah accelerated off down the track, keeping it simple, hugging the edges. Then he ramped it up. He loved this - those first moments when the car leapt from routine into supersonic and then there was just the pure rush of it all.
The velocity shoved Luke back against the seat. He was grabbing the leather under his knees.
Noah smiled. Perhaps if he scared the shit out of the man, he could take advantage of the results later.
As the car flew down the track, he could hear Luke's panting breaths through the amplified mike. He could sense Luke's tiny movements, his shakes and shudders. This was what Noah wanted. Luke's response - a subjection to Noah's whim.
"Doing okay?" He spoke into the mike above the roar of the mega horsepower engine.
"Shit!" Luke panted.
And Noah knew, without taking his eyes off the track, that despite his fear, Luke was enjoying every twisting hairpin turn of it.
Luke yelped as Noah drove the next corner hard and tore down the strait. He released another nonsensical yell, shoulders thrown back by the speed.
Noah knew exactly how Luke was feeling because he'd felt it too. The first time. Every time after that. This was why he loved cars so much.
Still, it didn't explain why, with Luke, it all felt so new.
As Noah pulled back the speed and gradually rolled the car to a stop, he could hear Luke's breathing, his little murmurs of "Oh...my... Jesus... shit!"
Noah knew he had him. Just as he'd attracted other men. But what didn't make sense was why this time, it felt so very important.
They each climbed out of the car in silence.
Noah quickly removed his helmet, but Luke was still unbuckling his. He shook his head like a puppy to release his blonde hair that had become flattened. The strands fell about his head in a tidy mess as he lifted sparkling eyes to meet Noah's. Luke was exactly everything Noah wanted - messy, confident, excited...sexy as all hell.
Luke's lips parted and he was still breathing hard and laughing. Noah knew how the blood would be surging through Luke's body - adrenaline still pumping.
Noah's was also pumping. But it had nothing to do with the speed or the adrenaline rush. Luke was stepping toward him and he found himself making the same move.
Neither of them spoke.
All Noah could think about was that he wanted Luke so badly he would have thrown him across the hood of the car, if half a dozen crew members hadn't been gawking at them as they were now - paused in their work to watch their boss romance his next conquest.
Perhaps also sensing that, this time, something was different.
Luke was looking up at Noah as if he shared every one of the taller man's thoughts.
"Wow," he said softly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Noah said just as softly.
Luke drifted even closer and suddenly Noah was right there, in Luke's space. The atmosphere between them burned and sizzled like the start of a great fire - impossible to
extinguish or control.
"Come on," was all Noah said, and Luke allowed him to take his hand.
They found Noah's Porsche and drove off up the highway. Luke didn't ask where they were going. Noah had barely touched Luke, but his entire body was humming, and the tension in the car was driving him crazy.
His mind was racing a mile a minute. What is Luke thinking? Where is this going? Where do I want it to go? Why does it all seem to matter so much?
He watched the capable pull and push of his long fingers round the gears, his strong arm, the cut of his body running under the high sleeve of his T-shirt, the faint rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out.
Noah was driving fast, but he was driving safely - with an intense kind of set concentration that made him even more interesting to Luke.
Again, he was making Luke feel safe.
"Your place or mine?" It was the first time the director had spoken.
It was a question Luke couldn't pretend to know wasn't about sex.
I came to the event to find you, to let you know I was available to you...
This had never happened to Luke. Never. He was always cautious. He didn't meet a man and climb into his car and go home with him every day. . .
Luke's breath hitched when he realized they'd come to a stop at the turn-off and he still hasn't answered.
"Left or right?" Noah cupped Luke's chin, lowered his mouth to Luke's - kissed him so sweetly Luke wanted to cling to the moment. When he let Luke go, Noah made the decision for him. "My place. It's closer."