Staying For Good
Page 28

“You’re right.”
He winked and let a cocky smile crack his lips. “I’m always right.”
“Humble . . .”
“Bite your tongue.”
She bit her lip instead. The touch of his hand on her jaw distracted her, his understanding made her want to fold into his arms and stay perfectly still for hours.
“I should probably go,” he whispered.
No! She scrambled to find the words to make him stay. “What if you don’t?”
He stepped closer so the heat from his body radiated to hers. “Then I’m taking you to bed.”
Yes! A much better idea.
“And in the morning I’ll leave early enough to escape the questions until we’re ready to answer them.”
Zoe wasn’t sure she knew the answers herself. “I’m leaving on Monday.”
“I know.”
“Do we act like nothing happened?” The thought cut through her.
Luke’s finger traced her bottom lip, his eyes kept shifting from her eyes to his hand. “No. I’m going to call you, and you’re going to take my calls.”
“I am?”
“You are. Then we’ll see each other.”
The image of her crashing into his arms in the rain like some black-and-white movie came from nowhere.
“We’ll take it one day at a time.”
He released her other hand and placed both on her face.
“What if it doesn’t work, Luke?”
He pressed his body against hers, the kitchen counter keeping her from moving away. “We’ll deal with that if it happens. Right now, I think we should try.”
Zoe rested a hand on his hip, the other gripping the side of the counter. “We never had to try very hard.”
“No.” He lowered his lips until she felt his breath mix with hers. “We didn’t.”
His featherlight kiss reminded her of their very first. She’d been so scared, worried that Luke Miller might actually be playing her. How could someone so good-looking want anything to do with a girl from the wrong side of town? But he’d kissed her with such gentle lips, she was the one who pushed in for more. Like now, when he moved away with barely a taste and she reached for him.
She felt him smile under her lips, and she nibbled until he gave her more.
Her heart kicked in her chest, jolting every nerve ending awake. She felt his fingers push into her hair, tilting her head to take a long drink.
Luke’s tongue danced alongside hers, the tune familiar but different. They’d both grown up, taken lessons from others in the decade they’d spent apart. This was somehow better. Maybe because they’d denied any desire for so long. Maybe because there was a risk in touching now that hadn’t been there when they were kids.
As kids they didn’t think about tomorrow.
They’d been careful, always. Condoms, birth control pills . . . Zoe never took chances. Her heart had taken time to become involved, probably because of her trust issues. She knew now, without any real thought, that her heart was at greater risk than when she was a teen.
She pushed thoughts of broken hearts from her head and let herself feel.
Luke was holding her, keeping her from melting into a pool of lava on the kitchen floor. Kissing him was a full body experience. His knee pressed between her legs, his hands stroked the length of her back only to rest in her hair to change the position of her lips.
He was firm, everywhere. And larger than he was in his teenage years. His shoulders, which stretched against his shirt, were full in her hands.
Luke pulled his lips from hers. “You feel amazing.”
She nodded her agreement, couldn’t find the words needed.
His lips found hers again until she forgot to breathe.
“We should . . .” He pulled away. “Go upstairs . . .”
Zoe smiled and allowed him to lead her out of the room.
They took the back stairs to the second floor, and she rounded the hall to the third. Luke knew his way around the inn but didn’t know which room she was in, so she led the way.
She thought of this as the blue room, even though the only blue in the room was the duvet cover on the bed. Much like all the rooms in the inn, this one had a spray of fresh flowers that adorned one of the side tables, fragrant sachets that scented the air with lavender, and a private bathroom so the only time the guest needed to leave the room was to eat. Most of all, it was away from the other guests, which Zoe liked when she was staying at Miss Gina’s.
“Ah, the white room,” Luke said when they walked through the door.
“It’s blue.”
Luke closed the door behind him, turned on the light. “Everything in here is white.”
Zoe pointed to the bed. “Blue.”
Luke offered half a smile. “The tiny blue flowers on the bed make it the blue room?”
“The soap in the bathroom is blue, too.”
“You’re adorable.”
Zoe did a full circle. “The candle is blue.”
“It is . . . and a single blue candle in a white room makes the whole room blue.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Why are we talking about the room?”
Luke reached out, grabbed her around the waist, and backed her against the slightly blue bed in the middle of the room. “We’re not.” He kissed her and started to laugh. “It’s white.”
Zoe turned him around and pushed him onto the bed.
He fell with a grin, caught himself on his elbows. “Forceful . . . I like it.”