“To what do I owe the pleasure of such a greeting?”
“I’m just happy to see you.”
“Well, I certainly have no complaints. If you want to greet me like that from here on out, I wholly approve and strongly encourage it. In fact, I think I should add it as an addendum to our housemate agreement.”
“You probably should, because I think I’d like to make a habit of it.”
Another full chuckle left him as he captured my mouth in another kiss, this one slower, deeper, laced with possessive warmth. Everything outside the press of our mouths softened into a kind of mental bokeh, my senses sharpening around Luke and Luke alone.
“I will never say no to having more of these lips,” Luke said, tracing my lower lip with his thumb.
“Are you up to going out after work?”
“I think I could be persuaded. What did you have in mind?”
“I want to take you on a date. Like officially.”
“Why, Mr. Reed, are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”
“Well, gosh, if that wasn’t glaringly obvious, I guess I’m worse at this dating business than I thought. Maybe I should have taken Talia’s advice.”
“Do tell, what was Talia’s advice?”
Oops. In my teasing, my tongue had outpaced my better judgment. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
“That’s like telling me not to think about pink elephants. Once you say that, that’s all I’ll be able to think about.”
“Fine. You want to know? She suggested I make the proposal while armed with certain supplies—toys, whipped cream—ending with me climbing you like a tree, and I quote ‘railing you into next week.’”
Rather than the abject mortification I’d anticipated, Luke surprised me with a sinful smile. His hand slid down my arm, fingertips grazing my wrist before curling around it. The bulk of his body eclipsed mine, consuming in a way that made my pulse leap, not with fear as it once would have, but a riot of anticipation and excitement.
“Hm, I’m not opposed to elements of that plan.” He nipped at the shell of my ear, a tiny scrape of teeth that made my breath stutter. “I’m game for whatever you have planned.” He turned his head, his nose brushing my cheek. “But if you play your cards right...” His voice dropped to a low husky murmur. “And you decide to take Talia’s advice later, I am very much at your mercy.”
Holy shit! I gripped his forearm to steady myself. Luke thought he failed at flirting? If this deliberate siege of my body and senses was his definition of bad, then I wouldn’t survive his idea of mastery. He stripped me bare with his nearness, had me weak with nothing more than a brush of breath and a handful of words spoken in that entrancing velvety baritone.
“Let me get the supplies, but can you wait here while I pack up? What I’m bringing is a surprise, and I don’t want you to see.”
“A surprise, huh?” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “I love surprises. Though if I’m being honest, you standing here asking me to be yours is already the best surprise. I’m going to change out of my work clothes while you get everything in order. That way I won’t see anything you don’t want me to.” He winked before walking toward the stairs.
“Okay,” I said, turning to the kitchen where I retrieved the tiramisu from the fridge and placed it in the cooler bag.
A few minutes later, I heard the pad of his footsteps approaching. Turning, I found him leaning casually against the kitchen entryway, now dressed in a T-shirt that hugged the breadth of his shoulders and worn denim that fit snugly along the lines of his legs. The sight made my pulse trip anew.
“Alright, so what illustrious plans do you have for us?”
“I thought a picnic in the park.”
“I’m game. Are we driving or walking?”
“It’s only thirty minutes if we walk, so maybe we can save the gas?”
“Okie dokie, smokie jokie. Walking it is.”
We arrived at the park as the sun dipped beneath the horizon, lamplights flickering to life along the winding path. The air held that crisp quality of the first breath of autumn, the leaves on the trees holding a hint of color.
I guided us to a small grassy hill beneath a big oak, a pocket of privacy in the otherwise open terrain of the park.
Luke laid out the blanket I’d packed then lowered himself to sit cross-legged. It was a date spun from my dreams, plucked from the quiet vaults of my imagination and given life beneath the evening sky. We talked in that easy, meandering way Luke always inspired, touching on an array of topics, trading stories of our day, and laughing without restraint over the silliest of things.
