That flutter happened in my belly again. “I’m sure you could,” I answered withmore cool than I felt. “But I’ve never really seen Vegas. Let’s start here.”
Stretching forward, he kissed my forehead then straightened and walked toward the refrigerator. “Maybe Paris for our honeymoon.”
“Luke,” I huffed.
He turned to face me, leaning his butt against the counter next to the fridge. “I’m not going to lie. I told you how I feel yesterday. You know I want you—I want you forever. I won’t force you into anything, but I can promise, when it comes to us together, I won’t be coercing anything.” His chin lowered, his intense, determined eyes pinning me. “But someday, we are getting married. And I will take you on a honeymoon. You might as well start planning on that now.”
“You just decided that and you’re telling me to start planning on it, but you’re not forcing me?” I asked in disbelief. “That sounds an awful lot like I have no choice.”
“I didn’t just decide it. And you know you have choices. I’ll wait as long as you need. But I’m not letting go. I’m not giving up. Don’t try to tell me you don’t feel this thing between us. I know you do.”
This was way too heavy a conversation for this early in the morning.
I took a swallow of my coffee then realized I hadn’t put the creamer in it. Avoiding Luke’s eyes, I poured some in and slowly stirred it. He groaned when I brought the spoon to my lips.
I looked back at him. He’d crossed his ankles and his arms while he leaned there watching me. From this distance, I didn’t really need to scan my eyes downward to see his cock pushing against his fly. And he wasn’t trying to hide it from me either. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I guess it was further evidence he wanted me. But lust didn’t actually add up to a relationship.
Lying wouldn’t get me anywhere though. “You know I feel it, too.”
“Then don’t fight it. Be open and let’s see where this goes. I’m not going to dial back, because that would be the same as misleading you. But you,” he pointed offhand at me, “can’t shut down and pretend we’re not happening. I’ll be honest and you’ll be honest.”
I took another sip of my coffee, watching him over the rim as I thought. I wanted to recapture the girl I’d been. This was my chance. I never got to date; my father’s decision had stunted that. I didn’t want to be a teenager again, but I wanted to have fun and fall in love, just like most other girls in the world. With this man, I was practically halfway there.
“I do feel it,” I told him. “I’m scared to give in, but I’m going to.”
He straightened and was around the counter in a moment, his long legs eating up the distance. He cupped my face, urging me to look up at him. “You never need to be afraid with me. I don’t want to trap you; I want you to fly. And if you start to fall, I will catch you. Because no matter how far you go, what heights you want to reach, I will be there with you. Not to hold you back, not to do things for you or to take your thunder, but to support you however you need me to.”
My vision blurred with my emotions. “What if I need you to let go?”
“You won’t need it. You’re scared—I get that. You’ve had so much taken from you. I don’t want to take anything from you. I want to give you everything I can and be there when you achieve your goals.”
“I don’t want to lose my freedom,” I whispered. “I don’t want to be like my mom.”
“You won’t be. But Laura? Have you really been free? Since you left home, have you really been free, or have you been imprisoned by your fear of being tracked down and dragged back to that life? You can be free with me. No one is touching you.” He smiled suddenly, turning from the thick, oppressive turn our discussion had taken. “Except me. I’ll touch you. But I have a feeling you’ll like that.”
I wrapped my legs around his thighs, pulling him closer to me. My fingers curled in his soft sweater. “I have a feeling you’re right. Will you kiss me, then will you take me to have fun in Vegas?
His hand curled around the back of my head. “Anything you wish,” he promised against my lips. I groaned, opening my mouth for him and the immediate invasion of his tongue. It slipped against mine, and my back arched as I tried to get nearer to him. The kiss deepened, both of us getting lost in it and the feel of each other. Before I realized it, Luke lifted me and set me on the counter of the island, narrowly missing my coffee. I wouldn’t have cared if it spilled, so long as we could get closer.
My legs locked around him, as that erection I’d seen, rubbed against me. His hand palmed my breast.
“Luke, Luke, Luke,” I chanted between kisses.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Being with you is better than I ever imagined all these months. Do you have any idea how much I want you?”
“Yeah,” I panted as he kissed my neck. “If it’s anything like I’ve wanted you, yeah, I do. I’ve been so alone. But any old guy wouldn’t ever do. It was only you.”
“Damn straight.” He growled and nipped my shoulder where my neckline had shifted aside. “You’re not alone anymore, my love. Never again.”
His sigh blew across my shoulder. “But…”
“What?” Fear sliced through me at his gear change.
“We should get going. We’ll eat breakfast at the Veranda at Four Seasons.”
“Uh…” I blinked at him, reeling. We were kissing and…
He cupped my cheek, his gaze tender. “Babe, if we don’t get out of here, this
