Page 43 of Burn With Me

I’ve never had someone look at me like that before, and I can feel the buzzing under my skin. He’s wearing his usual outfit of fitted jeans and a fitted shirt.

Even from here, I can see his tattoo peeking from the bottom of his sleeve, and I want to know what the rest of it looks like more than anything.

“Ohhh looks like lover boy is here,” Pam says, and Abby and Luna just laugh.

“Oh, is Farmer Joe stopping the guys?” Luna says.

“Why do I feel like we’re being told on?” Pam groans. “We didn’t even do anything wrong.”

As the guys talk to Farmer Joe, Luke’s smile disappears and his posture goes rigid.

I groan and say, “Why do I feel like we’re going to have to stop a fight tonight? I’m too old for this.”

The three men turn and look behind us at where I know Brian is sitting, and I hope the fact that Brian and Noah are on the force together will keep this from going where I know Sam wants to take it as his eyes flash with anger.

All three guys say their goodbyes to Joe and Ann and start walking toward us, and before I know it, Luke is standing before me. I have to crane my neck back to look him in the eye.

“Hi,” I whisper. I’m blown away by how good looking this man is every time I see him.

I swear his piercing green eyes can see into my soul, and his strong jaw is tense with annoyance. He takes a step closer to me, and his scent envelops me—cedarwood with a hint of smoke from work that he can never really wash off. I can’t stop myself from leaning forward to be closer to him.

Did I just lean closer to smell him? Why am I this way . . .

“Hey, sweetness,” he says with a smirk, and faster than I can track the movement, his hand is behind my head, and he pulls me so close that I have to half stand on my stool. Without hesitation, I grab onto his arms for balance.

The moment his lips touch mine, the rest of the bar fades away. He moves my head the way he wants, and when I feel pressure on my scalp, I groan, and he takes that opportunity to deepen the kiss.

I lose myself in the kiss as my whole body lights up. I don’t even care that we’re in front of half the town. Every time his tongue brushes mine, I can feel it between my legs, and I bite his lip before soothing it with my tongue.

This kiss feels like a claiming and a promise all in one. I have no idea how much time has passed, but I hear Sam yell, “Get a room! I don’t want to see you kiss my sister like that.”

Pulling away, I blink as my senses come back to me, and I look up at Luke. He’s looking over my head, and when I follow his gaze, Brian is staring at us with a venomous look.

“What’s his issue?” Sam says.

“He doesn’t like being turned down or feeling like he lost something. I honestly don’t think anyone has told him no before Amelia,” Abby says as she shrugs.

“She isn’t an object, and she’s allowed to say no. She’s said no since the first time they met,” Pam says.

“Can we just leave it alone? I don’t want him to ruin our night.” I say, even though I’m just as annoyed because they’re right.

When I moved here, I wasn’t in the right headspace to even think about a boyfriend or, hell, even a hookup situation. Maybe I was too nice at first, and he thought I wasn’t serious, but regardless, I’ve told him no every time he’s asked me.

“We didn’t interrupt guys’ night, did we?” I ask.

“Nah, we were just finishing up someMario Kart. It was perfect timing. Even if we weren’t done, I would have come up here to get you guys,” Luke says.

I fight a shiver as his fingers brush the back of my neck when he slides his arm around my shoulders.

“That’s really nice, guys. We appreciate it,” Luna says.

I have to smirk at how Noah is standing just close enough to her to let everyone know he’s interested, and she has no idea. I just look at Pam, who has a matching smirk.

“Okay, whose cars are here?” Noah asks.

“I have my Jeep, and Abby drove her car. I’m okay to drive. I just know Abby and Luna have to work tomorrow, and I didn’t want them to have to get up earlier than they need to,” I say.

“I’ll drive you home, sweetness, no worries. Pam, do you want to ride with us since you live in the same subdivision as Am?” Luke says.

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