Page 41 of Condemned By Secrets

“So . . .” Luther turned his grin on Anna, whose face was still several shades of red. “What’s your favorite kind of pizza?” He took a bite of his and chewed as he watched her eyes flicker in confusion before her face settled into a smile.

“Ham and pineapple.”

Luther cringed. “Seriously?” He shook his head. “Well, thanks for not orderingthat. You know the only people who like pineapple on their pizza are psychopaths and sadists, right?” He raised an eyebrow. “Which are you?”

Anna laughed loudly, and the sound of it made Luther smile. She was as relaxed as he’d ever seen her. “Neither. Just someone who loves sweet and savory combos.”

Luther’s brain shorted at her comment about sweet and savory as the urge to watch Anna eat pineapple off a particular part ofhisanatomy struck. Damn, they needed to have some fun with food.

Anna sat on one of the boxes she’d set by the makeshift table, and Luther mentally shook himself. He had to move carefully if he didn’t want her pulling back from him again. Food was apparently not a safe topic of conversation.

She bit into a slice of sausage pizza, then licked her lip to catch the little bit of sauce that ended up there. Watching her, Luther nearly groaned out loud.Look away!

Clearing his throat, he reached for another slice of pizza while he asked, “So what’s in all these heavy crates? They look like something you’d see delivered to a museum.”

Anna smiled and her eyes lit up. “Want to help me open them and find out?”

Her excitement was infectious, and Luther smiled in response. “Absolutely.”

She pointed. “Let’s start with that one.”

Anna jumped up and headed for the crate Shane had almost dropped on his fingers.

Shewouldwant to start with the heavy one.

Luther swallowed another bite of pizza and joined her at the crate. It had been wrapped in plastic, but Anna was already removing it.

Looking at the wooden box, Luther noticed opening it wouldn’t be that easy. “Um, Anna. Do you have a crowbar?”

She took a step back and frowned at the crate. “Yes, but—”

Biting her lip, she turned to survey the room, and Luther got lost, staring at her mouth again. He was dying to kiss her, to capture that spot with his own teeth.

“—it’s in a box, somewhere.”

Luther tore his eyes from her lips and glanced around her living room. It was practically full of boxes. “I don’t suppose you know which one?”

Anna looked at him. “No clue,” she said, then burst out laughing. When she managed to stop chuckling, she asked, “Do you have one?”

Luther had been smiling like an idiot at the sound of her laughter. She was truly beautiful when she laughed. It made her eyes shine and her whole face light up. He could almost see the weight she always carried slip away. “I love your laugh.”

Anna’s face sobered and her eyes widened. “You do?”

Seeing the surprise on her face, Luther wondered how no one had told her that before. He took a step toward her, and when she didn’t back away, he smiled. She wasn’t running . . . yet. “Yeah.”

Testing the waters, Luther pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and relished how soft it was. He wanted to put his hands in it, to feel the long brown locks drape over him as she knelt between his legs. Wanting that, wanting her, he took another step.

When he was close enough for their bodies to touch, Luther tilted Anna’s chin up to meet his gaze. The hunger he felt was echoed in her eyes. On seeing it, Luther’s pulse raced, but he forced himself to slowly bend his head to meet her in case she changed her mind. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, but he stopped with his lips a whisper away. As their breaths mingled, Anna closed her eyes and leaned into him. It was all the invitation Luther needed.

He covered her lips with his own and savored her taste. It was sweet like strawberries from the wine she’d drunk. The flavor of the rosé melded with her perfume—the same fruit-laden scent that had driven him wild since they’d met, and he got lost in it, in her.

Anna’s lips parted, and Luther growled deep in his throat when her tongue swept over his. He moved his hand from her face to fist it in her hair as he groped for control of the hunger gnawing at him to take his fill. With his other hand, he molded her shape from her hip to her face and craved the contact of her skin on his.Not yet.

Keeping his hand gentle, Luther cupped her cheek, even though he wanted desperately to use it to lift her legs around his waist. As he continued to sample her, she made a whimpering sound in the back of her throat that threatened to snap his control. His pants were too tight as it was, and Anna . . . tiny and pliant Anna, making sexy noises was hard to resist.

Luther broke the kiss on a groan, but he wasn’t ready to let her go. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his cheek on the top of her head.

“Yeah,” Luther huffed out through the appetite for her squeezing his insides.

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