“Luke, that’s-”
He pressed his finger to my lips. “I’m overstepping boundaries. I’m butting in where I wasn’t invited. I’m not unaware of societal norms, Maggie. I just don’t care. I want to take care of you so I am. I want to take you on a date, so I am.”
I wanted to push him down for being so confident in asserting himself into my business and then I wanted to climb on top of him for the same reason. I couldn’t believe his nerve but I also found it incredibly sexy. It was a conundrum.
“You’re beautiful when you’re deciding whether or not you want to hit me.” Stepped closer, Luke cupped my face in his hands and stroked his thumbs over my cheeks. “You’re in control here, Maggie. If you don’t want to go on a date with me, say the word and I’ll walk you back to the lodge. I take what I want but only as much as you want to give.”
I might’ve swayed into his chest. I might’ve even gripped his suit jacket in my fists. He had no idea how much I wanted to give.
“I want to take care of you. With your business and with everything else. I want to take you on a real date that ends with you giving me your breakfast order the next day.” His grip on my face tightened slightly when my body grazed the front of his pants. “Maggie…”
I opened my mouth, so eager to say whatever he wanted to hear so he’d keep looking at me like he wanted to devour me. In the back of my mind, my conscience was screaming at me, though. I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t.”
He growled low in his throat. “Why?”
“I just can’t.” I gently pulled away from him and wrapped my arms around myself. It suddenly didn’t feel warm out. It felt chilly and miserable.
Luke blew out a rough breath. “I can accept a no, Maggie. I just want to know why.”
I groaned and turned back to face him. “Because! Both of your brothers have made the same move since getting here. Suddenly all of the good Heath brothers want me and want to kiss me and it’s ridiculous! You three are…youand I’m…me.Yet, you’re all here, making moves and kissing me. It’s like you’ve all lost your minds.”
Luke gripped the back of my neck. “Kissing you?”
My face flared. “Luke…”
“I’ll be damned if I’m the only one who hasn’t tasted you, Maggie.” He walked me backwards until my back hit the rough bark of a tree. “Tell me no.”
I opened my mouth but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to.
Luke groaned as he slanted his mouth over mine. He pulled back and let out a shuddering breath. “Look at me, Maggie.”
His eyes were more gold than green that close up. Our breath mixed between our mouths as he hovered there, on the cusp of devouring me.
“Ask me to kiss you.” He nudged my nose with his and ghosted his lips over mine. “I want to hear you ask for it.”
18
***Luke***
Maggie’s bright green eyes flared as she took in a sharp breath. I wasn’t worried that she’d retreat, though. I could feel her desire almost as strong as mine. She lifted her face, offering more of herself to me. “Please kiss me, Luke.”
I kissed her hard, needing to feel her more than I needed to breathe. I gripped her waist and fully hardened against her stomach as her warm flesh filled my hands. She whimpered into my mouth and I lost the little control I had left. Sliding my tongue over the seam of her lips, I growled when she opened for me.
She tasted sweet like maple syrup and felt like hot silk. Her hands gripped my shoulders hard when I moved my hands around to her ass and squeezed. Maggie grunted suddenly and pushed at my shoulders until I moved back a step. Her mouth was red from my kiss and I had to grip my hair to keep from grabbing her again.
“Too much?” I took a ragged breath and then felt all the blood in my body drain to my dick when she reached under her dress. “Maggie?”
She rolled down something that looked like underwear but before I could study it, she threw it into the forest behind her. “I couldn’t breathe.”
I didn’t know what she meant but I didn’t get the impression that she was done with me so I pinned her against the tree again but when I gripped her ass that time, it was different. She was softer.
When I hesitated, she cleared her throat. “It was holding everything in.”
It took me a moment to understand what she meant but when I did, I took my time running my hands over her body. What I felt was somehow even better. I pressed my hips into her and groaned. “Leave that thing out here.”
She laughed but I swallowed the sound with another scorching kiss. Her hands trailed into my hair and she held on tight. Between kisses, she murmured my name and the sound of it on her lips made me want to give her everything I had.
Trailing my mouth down her jaw, I swore as I tasted her soft skin. Cupping her breasts, I pushed them up and raked my teeth over the tops of them. “You’re fucking perfect. So soft.”