When the doors open, he carries me down the hall to 401. “Keys?”
“Purse,” I manage, reaching into the small crossbody bag I’m still somehow wearing.
I unlock the door with shaking hands, and Luke pushes it open with his shoulder, carrying me across the threshold and inside before gently setting me down. My feet touch the floor, but his hands linger on my waist, steadying me.
We stand there in the dim light of my apartment, close enough that I can see the gold flecks in his green eyes, smell the faint scent of leather and sweat that’s purely him.
“Luke,” I start, but I don’t know how to finish.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his voice rough. “This morning, it was…”
“A mistake?” I whisper, echoing his words from earlier.
His jaw tightens. “No. Saying that kiss was a mistake—thatwas the mistake.”
My breath catches.
“None of it was a mistake, Molly. You were right.” His hands tighten on my waist and he tugs me closer. My hands brace against his chest, keeping a measure of space between us. “I was scared. Iamscared. But…” He shakes his head. “I couldn’t stay away. I don’t want to stay away.”
I reach up, my fingers trembling as they graze the stubble on his jaw. “Then don’t.”
Worth The Risk
Luke
“Thendon’t.”
Two words. That’s all it takes to shatter every defense I’ve built over the past two years.
Her fingers are still on my jaw, soft and trembling, and I can see the vulnerability in her eyes. The hope mixed with fear that I’ll pull away again, that I’ll hurt her again.
Not this time.
Not ever again.
“Molly,” I growl low. “If we do this, if I stay, I need you to know something.”
“Okay.” Her hand slides from my jaw to rest over my heart, and I wonder if she can feel how hard it’s pounding.
“I haven’t been with anyone since—” I pause, the words catching. She nods, knowing and encouraging. I press on. “Itold myself it was because I didn’t need anyone, didn’t want the complication, but the truth is…I’ve been terrified.”
Her eyes soften. “Of what?”
“Of this.” I cover her hand with mine, pressing it harder against my chest. “Feeling something real and having it ripped away again, letting someone in just to watch them leave.” I take a breath. “But when I saw that asshole touching you tonight, and you asked me to get you out of there, I realized something.”
“What?”
“You’re worth the risk.”
Her breath hitches, and then she’s rising on her toes, closing the distance between us. “Luke…”
I don’t let her finish. I cup her face with both hands and kiss her the way I should have this morning—the way I wanted to in that elevator but was too afraid to admit the way this beautiful woman makes me feel.
This isn’t tentative or uncertain.
I don’t hesitate because this kiss…iseverything.
She makes a small sound against my mouth, her hands fisting my shirt as she pulls herself flush against me. I part her lips with mine, tasting the sweetness of whatever she was drinking at the party, and it’s even better than the strawberries from this morning.
