Page 110 of Loyally, Luke
He searched her eyes and then leaned close, snatching her breath as he did. “Ellie, if we were in a serious dating relationship, I’d find a way to remove that cream in a much more enjoyable way thananymovie.”
Her jaw loosed and heat rushed from her shoulders all the way up to her scalp. With a little hitch in her breath, she shakily recovered. “I would dare you to make good on that plan, Luke Edgewood, but I’m not certain I would recover.”
His attention dropped to her lips again, his body shifting a little closer as if he wanted to make the scene in their heads a reality, but then he rocked back and drew in a breath. “Maybe we ought to try some of that fishing.” His gaze moved back to her lips, and then he gave his head a shake and pushed back from the counter. “The cold air might do us both good.”
“You’re probably right.” She took another bite of the scone just to have something else to do besides breach the gap between them.
“I’m gonna go back here and change into something warmer, then we can put together that rod of yours, stoke up the fire, and make the walk down to the lake.”
“Mm-hmm,” she murmured, taking another bite to keep from saying anything about stoking fires and kisses in a cabin. She pushed down a hard swallow. “I’ll... I’ll clean up.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, creating more distance, maybe for the same reasons she kept taking too-large bites of the scone. “Princesses know how to do that kind of stuff?”
She nearly choked. “What?” She reached for the nearby hand cloth to throw at him, but he disappeared down the hall, leaving a wink in his wake.
Almost two hours later, they came to the lake after walking down the hillside from the cabin. Ellie looked back behind them, the porch of the cabin visible above the tree line and promising a leg-aching climb to return, but she didn’t care.
She’d already enjoyed herself more in the past few hours with Luke, doing simple things like eating breakfast, putting a fishing rod together, and having excellent conversations, than she had all week doing other things. She’d take what she could get and hold on to the sweetness as long as possible.
A few times during their walk, the hairs on the back of her neck rose as if someone watched her. In her world, the paranoia of the paparazzi permeated private or secluded experiences, especially with her history, but the surrounding forest gave no hint of anyone except her, Luke, and the pervading wildlife.
She pulled her jacket more tightly around her and tucked her hat more closely around her ears. Luke walked with his jean jacket open to reveal a layered flannel shirt and undershirt, as if the air bounced off his body like bullets. The thought sent her right back into ogling like a fool. He turned to offer his hand as they stepped close to the lake’s edge, his gaze catching hers.
“What?”
“I can’t believe you’re not freezing. Your ball cap isn’t even covering your ears.”
His brows crashed together. “I wore my jacket.”
“But I think the temperature is dropping even since we left the house.” She shook her head. “And here I am covered from toes to head like some snow monster.”
“You’re not a monster. Maybe more like a snow... bunny?”
“Bunny?” She laughed and took his hand, allowing the touch a special place in her mind. So secure. Strong yet gentle, just like the man himself. He paused at the edge of the icy water. “Okay, there are a few larger places where the ice has thawed and we can cast yourline in that direction.” He gestured out to the deeper part of the lake where the water shone in parts surrounded by the ice.
“Let’s practice a few casts first, all right?”
She’d watched a few clips online to get an idea of what to do while fishing, but when he came up behind her and covered her arm with his, she forgot everything she’d viewed. One of his hands rested on her waist and the other guided the arm that held the rod.
She pressed back into him, his beard tickling her ear.
“I don’t think you’re paying attention, Princess.”
“Oh, I’m paying attention, just not to the casting lesson.”
“All right.” He drew out the word so long she got a whiff of the peppermint on his breath from brushing his teeth. “We just need to get this out of the way.” Without hesitation, he spun her around to face him, and giving her only a second to prepare herself, he pulled her forward and caught her gasp with his mouth. He caressed her lips with his own as one of his palms cradled her face and the other pressed against her back. She nearly dropped the fishing rod, but managed to hold it aloft while gripping his jean jacket with her free hand.
All the tension from the morning, and the ache from the past week, burst through her, finding some sort of sweet balm in his touch. His fingers took a little detour over her ears and into her hair, moving to hold the back of her head as they kept enjoying making a belter of a memory.
She pulled back but kept her hold on his jacket.
“Your kiss is dangerous, Mr.Edgewood.” Her breath came shallow, gaze roaming from his lips back to his eyes. “Not at all like one of the good guys.”
“You need more practice then, Princess.” His hand tightened on her back, tugging her back toward him. “All good guys have a little bit of rogue for the right woman.”
He kissed her again, thoroughly taking her breath away and leaving her warm from the forehead down. Heaven and earth, she’dnever been kissed like this... but those kisses had all been from the wrong men.
He drew back this time and put her at arm’s length. “Now let’s focus on fishing.”
