She never asked Luke for more than he was willing to give her. Never pushed. Never complained about him parking out of sight of her neighbors or the late hours or the secrecy.
Luke stepped out of the cruiser and kept close to the shadows, moving automatically down the narrow side street and cutting through the back alley behind her house. His boots made almost no sound on the dirt.
It was… discretion. Professionalism. Common sense.
He tapped once on her back door.
The door opened immediately, as if she’d been waiting for him. Maybe she had been.
He kissedher the second the door shut behind him. Luke backed her into the hallway wall. Her fingers curled in the front of his shirt like she was reeling him in closer. He let himself be caught. They both knew what this was.
Physical. Chemistry. Nothing more.
He kissed her deeply, turning her soft sigh into a low, hungry sound that hit him straight in the gut. They’d gotten good at this—at each other.
They ended up in her bedroom—clothes dropping in careless trails on the floor, her laugh warm against his throat, his breath catching when she dragged her nails up his back.
Her knees hit the edge of the bed, and she sank onto it. Luke followed her down.
He pulled back just enough to reach for the condom. She helped him roll it on, her touch on him felt like a test. Luke exhaled slowly, holding himself in check.
This was the one thing in his life that was just for him. It wasn’t about the town’s expectations, it wasn’t about his future. This—Grace—was the one thing he allowed himself to be selfish about.
At last, he was pressing into her.
The world narrowed to this—to Grace's warmth enveloping him, to the way she gasped his name, to the sensation of finally, finally letting everything else fall away.
His father's voice faded.When are you taking the sergeant's exam, son?
His mother's expectations dissolved.The mayor's office would suit you. You have the Bennett name behind you.
The weight of being perfect, of living up to a legacy he'd never asked for, of carrying the responsibility of generations of public service—all of it went quiet.
Here, the only pressure he felt was the clasp of Grace's body tight and hot and wet around him.
He thrust into her, and her hips answered in a steady, devastating motion. Her thighs locked around him, fingers clutching his shoulders as her body began to move with his. It was bliss. But when her eyes found his, it was the softness there that nearly undid him.
Luke pushed himself up enough to find her mouth, kissing her hard, deepening it until the softness in her eyes turned molten.
Her breath broke on a cry as her body clenched around him, shuddering through a wave of pleasure that ripped straight through both of them. She fell apart in his arms—warm and shaking—and he lost the last of his control. He thrust into her with a rough groan, his own climax tearing through him.
When he was drained, when she was trembling with aftershocks of her pleasure, something sparked in his chest—something warm and dangerous that made him want to pull her closer, fall asleep with her still in his arms.
But that was wrong.
That wasn't what this was.
The Bennett legacy didn't have room for complications. And definitely no room for a Hart.
It was good that they both understand what this was. And what it wasn’t.
CHAPTER 5
Grace
Grace lay curledagainst Luke’s side, his arm heavy and warm around her waist. He smelled like soap and heat and clean sweat. She wanted to stay in this moment forever, tucked into him, safe in the quiet aftershocks of what they’d just shared.
Courage fluttered inside her like a trapped bird.
