Courted by Karma (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) by Tracy Ellen Page A

question, I snuggled my face closer into the warmth of his neck and out of the wind.
    The more time I spend with Luke, the more my mind wraps around the scope of his continually expanding repertoire of talents and his expertise in manipulation. It makes sense. His many skills were probably developed and finely-tuned from his years in the Army, and then from living dangerously.
    Not for the first time, recognizing similar traits and tendencies in Luke’s behavior to that of my own made me jittery and excited.
    The jitters c ome from knowing his mysterious talents are being used against me in some way. I know this to be true since I, of course, use my own humble powers against him every chance I get.
    The excite ment comes from knowing smart was my idea of sexy, and Luke Drake was proving very, very intelligent.
    He was so different and challenging from anything I’ve ever experienced with a male. He’s elusive, and yet he didn’t seem to want to hold himself back from me. Another thought tumbled to the forefront of my consciousness. Luke would never offer up deep, dark info on his secret self, any more than I would. It was my lack of obvious curiosity that was the problem here. I rarely asked Luke a question about his past or his life outside of Northfield. At first, this was because he didn’t want to share. Lately, it’s because I don’t want to share. Sharing means caring, and caring means…I’m not sure what caring means to a man like Luke, but to me it means all sorts of trouble.
    Does a sane woman go out looking for trouble?
    I don’t think so, either.
    U neasiness flared in my stomach whenever my mind goes down this path and dims the flutters of excitement. This time, I did not stop myself from examining the emotions I was experiencing.
    Since meeting Luke Drake, I’ve been so busy wallowing and loving every minute of his intense sexuality, I haven’t given too much thought to his motivations. If there is one thing I have come to understand, Luke does nothing casually without intent, not even casual sex. His mind was always at work. It was another jolt to wonder if I have met my match, if maybe Luke Drake could out-clever me.
    Following down this garden path of self-scrutiny, I finally acknowledged the other questions clamoring in the back of my mind. Is what we’re doing here ultimately only a game between two people that live for a challenge? Will one of us get bored when the other one cries “Uncle!”? Or when we run out of sexual fantasies?
    I snorted to myself the minute I thought those questions. ‘Good god! What could possibly be more “Uncle” to Luke, anyway? I’ve already told the guy he’s the biggest stud on two legs AND the hottest man I’ve ever met. I told him that he’s brainy, fun, and totally steamy in all his demonic ways. How much more damn “Uncle” could a girl be expected to cry to an experienced man like Luke before he got bored?’
    Thinking about running out of sex fantasies, I a ctually giggled a little out loud against Luke’s neck. This caused Luke to give me an answering squeeze, but not slow down.
    M y own list of sexual fantasies was very long and very simple. But I’m not a foolish girl. Luke knows I’m hardly some exotic, hard-core sex chick that a jaded man has to search high and low for to assuage his darkest urges. In this crazy world, I’m sure there are special places for men with extremely kinky appetites or fetishes like that, but it wasn’t in my bedroom in Northfield, Minnesota. No, I was a plain Jane, girl-next-door bookseller whose name should have been Clare. I have my feet planted firmly on the ground. It’s Luke’s fancy footwork I’m not sure about.
    W hatever Luke’s intentions, getting me to give up the goodies was obviously not his only objective or our first date would have been the last. My conclusion tonight was the best course of action with Luke was to be skeptical, diligent, and ditch this self-scrutiny. My intentions towards Luke