Page 83 of Tempt Her

“Why not you, then?” I question Ford’s logic. “You have veteran’s benefits, and you’re older.Youshould marry her.”

Something flashes across his eyes. His lips press together, andwhat the fuck?

“What?” I challenge him. “You think you won’t fall in love with her too?”

He jabs. “I don’t do love.”

“Bullshit,” I huff. “You love us. We love you. Our families are close.”

Ford cuts his eyes and makes me wince.

I forget sometimes. With how accepting my family is now, Ford has none left, and Luke’s mom and sister love us… but they have no idea how wereallylove each other.

Not that Luke’s mom has a judgmental bone in her body. And his sister is a sweetheart. But they think Ford is like a father to Luke. His mom will fill us full of lead if she knew how sometimes we call Ford “Daddy.”

“You’re gonna fall for her too,” I tell him. “Hell, the way you two fight, you’re fucking perfect together.Youshould be the one to marry her.”

His jaw tics. “No.”

I jut my chin at Luke. “What if he finds another woman?” I challenge Luke now. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

Luke shrugs. “No, I don’t. I could be killed in a year.”

“You’ll be fine.” I dismiss his fear. “You’ve trained for this your whole life.”

Luke doesn’t answer. Throwing the sheet off his body, he crawls out of bed. “I’m gonna ask her before I go in. And if she says yes, we’ll do it the second she’s free to marry me. I don’t want her ever worrying about medical bills and all the shit she worries about for her dad.”

Ford aims his eyes at me. Like I have to accept it. It’s the logical solution.

But he can read me. Ford knows my mind like the philosophy books I love that line his bookshelves and mine.

Though he says he’ll never love her, he does love me, assuring me, “Even if she marries Luke on paper, it doesn’t mean you can’t marry her too. You can have a wedding with her for your family. Just don’t make it official.”

I look away out the windows to the hazy summer morning outside. Sunlight pierces the tree canopy. The same loon I see every morning floats happily on the marsh.

It’s peaceful.

But is it possible?

“We assume she’ll say yes.” I talk to the view. “What if she doesn’t want to marry again? What if she wants to live on her own and do her own thing?”

All the cruel things Stacey has endured. All the ways her wicked husband has controlled her. Every time I touch her, I do it with care, hoping to make it go away.

It’s still in her eyes sometimes. When I touch her breasts, memories make her flinch, but she breathes with me, trusting me, letting the pleasure I try so hard to give her erase the pain.

And how she makesmefeel when I touch her? When I hold her, or I’m inside her? I feel like more than a man; I feel like a god.

With Luke, they fuck like it’s a sport and their gold-medal athletes at it. I’ve watched them. I’ve joined them. It’s Olympic.

But when she’s with me? When I fuck her, it’s religion. No, it’s a spirituality that rules can’t bind. The way she wraps around me and I take her. Like water, we flow together until we drown in it.

When Ford finally fucks her? It’ll be different. Like a fight, they’ll fuck for control, and they’ll both come, winning.

The view traps my stare while I ask them, “Y’all know the philosophy I taught you?”

“Plato,” Ford answers.

“Soulmates.” Luke’s voice follows.

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