Page 31 of Legends Luke

“I want to,” she whispered because she didn’t trust herself to say more and risk shattering the moment.

He dropped one hand, but the other buried in her hair, drawing the long strands through his fingers. He trapped the end of one lock and studied how it coiled around his finger.

“Jackson came up to me at the hospital. He had a suggestion to keep me from going through the group home. I don’t know why I agreed. I think deep down I knew if anyone understood what I was dealing with, it was him. He took me to the bar. He and Easton lived with English in the apartment above the bar. If anyone thought it was wrong to have underage teenagers living above a bar, they never said so or did anything to change it. The whole town accepted English as a man who took in wayward boys and showed them what it meant to be men who looked out for each other instead of causing trouble. I guess that’s why I never left, other than to serve my country. I couldn’t completely leave the man who rescued me.”

This time she was the one to reach out and touch his face. His stubble peeked through the skin along his jaw and felt deliciously rough against her palm. She slid her fingers into his soft hair. Pulling his head down, she sealed her lips over his. It only took a second before Luke took over the kiss. He nibbled her lip, and she parted her mouth on a gasp. His tongue slipped inside, tangling with hers as he feasted on her mouth. Fireworks exploded in her head, setting her body on fire and flashing bursts of bright color behind her closed eyes.

She rose on her tiptoes, yearning to be closer to him. Her arms grasped around his neck. His arms slipped around her waist like bands of steel. Lifting her as if she weighed next to nothing, he held her firmly against him, and he deepened the kiss. Desire sparked, awakening her body to every sensation he was making her feel. She needed air, but she didn’t want to break the kiss. It was too much and not enough. It was like nothing she’d felt before.

She didn’t realize he lowered her until her feet touched the ground. He eased the intensity of the kiss and eventually pulled away. She was grateful he still held her because she was certain she couldn’t have supported herself on legs which had turned to jelly. He touched his forehead to her, and the sound of their heavy breathing added to the noises of the night.

“I should take you home.”

“I don’t want the date to end.” Lyric would call her crazy, admitting such a thing on a first date with a man she was getting to know. But it felt right. She could tell Luke anything, and she wantedto. She wanted him to know everything. The intensity should have scared her, but cradled in his arms, she wasn’t afraid.

He grinned. “Neither do I.”

She giggled and pulled back just enough to see his face clearer. “So, what are we going to do?”

“I know what I want to do,” he drawled, and her stomach dipped.

But doubt snaked into her thoughts. She wanted to ignore it, but she never found it easy to shut off her rational thinking. “I want that too. Believe me. But is it too soon? This is our first date. Granted it’s been the longest first date I’ve ever had, but we barely know each other. I don’t want to move too fast.”

He kissed her again, this one soft and brief. “I have no problem taking things slow with you. If you’re not ready to go home, I’m sure as hell not ready to take you. But it’s late. We could stay here, but you’re cold. Other than going back to my place or yours, there are only two other options. My family’s bar or the All Night Diner. So, which do you prefer? Alcohol or ice cream sundaes?”

She laughed. “With those choices, how will I ever decide? I think the sundaes win out this time.”

“Whatever the lady wants then.”

He kissed her cheek this time and guided her back to their table. They grabbed their near-empty glasses, dropped them in a container Annilee left for them outside the back door, and headed to his truck. She felt adventurous, staying out all night with a man she met a few days ago. It went against her character, but she could already pictureLyric reminding her this was the adventure she hoped to find when she moved to Fire Creek.

She never liked admitting when her sister was right, but this time, she didn’t mind it so much.

Chapter Fourteen

Multiple windows overlapped on his computer screen. The images blurred before his tired eyes, the colors twisting in a prism of indistinguishable hues. His mind had forgotten the point of his searches as well as his next step. Instead, it slipped into a time machine which took him back to Saturday night, drawing his concentration from work.

Endless loops of silky sable hair coiled around his finger. Hints of a fresh floral fragrance tantalized his senses even after he left her. It clung to his skin, a temptation he struggled to resist. A body only tall enough to reach his chest but had curves which flared her hips, lifted her luscious ass, and filled out her top with round, firm breasts he wanted to touch. Glistening lips the color of bubble gum with an even sweeter taste. And those eyes. Framed by inky lashes curling to frame those whiskey-colored irises.

He'd replayed different snippets of their date, his thoughts plaguing him at random times — when he slept, when he ate, when he exercised, when he worked, when he breathed. He hadn’t called her or asked her out again, but the texts they swapped throughout the last couple of days were light and flirty. If she wondered why hehadn’t asked for a second date, she never let on. He wasn’t sure what was going on between the two of them, but he could describe it as comfortable and fun. A lot of fun.

“You gonna tell us or not?”

When he realized his brother spoke to him, he bristled at Jackson’s irritated tone. “Tell you what?”

The Legends had started meeting at Jackson’s house instead of at English’s apartment over the bar. Reagan was in the bedroom on the phone with her literary agent, so Jax played in his crib where the brothers could watch over him. Easton and Ben took turns flashing goofy smiles at the infant and tickling his toes to make him grin. Jax had already shared his big person smile with his parents and English, but he hadn’t bestowed it on his uncles yet.

Jackson loomed over Luke where he sat on the couch, his laptop perched on his knee. His neck reddened, a sure sign his temper was mounting, but he wouldn’t lose it, not with his son in the room. Luke wasn’t worried. He was used to his brother’s show of anger, and he could match it with his volatile temper.

“About the case. Geez, get your head out of your ass.”

Luke flipped his middle finger up for Jackson’s benefit. Then he focused on his screen, wracking his brain for what exactly he had been looking up before memories of Melody Douglas diverted his attention.

“You do seem preoccupied.” Ben made his observation as Jax released a whimper followed by a pitiful cry.

Ben reached over to carefully lift his nephew in his arms,cradling him with a gentleness no one would expect of someone with his strength. The baby nestled against his uncle, satisfied he was getting the attention he craved.

Ben smiled before flicking his gaze up at Luke. “Want to talk about it?”

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