33. Luke #2
“For more than two years, we stayed in touch and made plans every three or four months to meet up. But it was always some vacation spot, never his place or mine. He never even met Ellie until three months ago when I packed up my entire life and drove from North Carolina to Washington. It was the first taste of reality our relationship ever had, and it didn’t pass the test. The bubble burst the minute I showed up and his mother was already there to help plan the wedding. I just didn’t realize it then.”
“She stayed the whole time?”
“Yep. I called off the wedding when I caught her trying on my wedding dress after I strictly forbade her from even peeking at.” She looked up at me then, a half smirk lifting one corner of her mouth. “I have the video evidence to prove it.”
“She did that to your dress?” Anger surged through me at the audacity of this woman.
“Yeah.”
I’d been witness to a lot of cruelty during my time as a police officer.
But this took the literal fucking cake. I was outraged for Maggie, but also relieved she no longer had to deal with someone who clearly harbored a lot of resentment and jealousy toward her.
If the woman could do that to an expensive wedding dress, what else was she capable of?
I stared at the crackling fire, forcing myself to keep that calm, neutral mask I wore so easily when the uniform was on.
The smoke was darker than I liked, and I reluctantly let go of Maggie so I could use a poker stick to tend to it. The chemical odor was strong enough to raise concerns should the breeze pick up. With any luck, the rain would move in before anyone thought much of the smoke.
“I’m still listening,” I said, looking back at Maggie. Her gaze was locked on the blackening fabric.
“This dress was the only part of the wedding I felt I had any say in, and she resented me for keeping it from her. Or maybe she just didn’t think I deserved her son.”
“What did dear ol’ Jason do when you told him Mommy Dearest tried on your dress?”
“He was standing guard outside the door.”
“What the actual fuck?”
“That was the breaking point for me—not the way he treated Ellie like she was an inconvenience, not the way he hadn’t touched me once since the proposal, not even the way he allowed his mother to take control of planning our entire wedding.
No, it took seeing Luanne in the only thing that was truly mine and Jason protecting her from me to finally push me to do what I should’ve done all along and leave.
“I couldn’t fathom a marriage where my partner sided with his mother over his wife, so I called it off, packed up my things, and headed for Bluebell Springs to catch my breath before I face my well-meaning family.
The thought of being smothered, even with love, was too much to handle. So”—she looked at me—“here I am.”
The dress had collapsed in on itself, no longer resembling the gown Maggie once loved. The wood was half-burned through, and soon, those logs would fall too.
“You deserved better than that.”
A sad smile tugged at her lips.
“I was so attached to the idea of this epic love story we’d someday tell our grandkids that I refused to see the truth that was right in front of me.” She stared at the fire, and I watched the flames’ reflection dance in her eyes. “Maybe we don’t all get our fairytale ending.”
I knew what she meant, and yet, despite the bitterness I still harbored, I wished like hell I could give Maggie the love story she yearned for.
But in three weeks’ time, she’d drive away to be with her family and that would be it.
I hoped someday she found it. She deserved a love story of epic proportions.
But God, I hated how jealous I was of the man who got to write it with her.
Fat raindrops bounced off my arms, and I looked up at the overcast sky to the clouds that were noticeably darker than before.
“C’mon,” I said, tugging Maggie by the elbow toward the overhang near the barn. I could watch the fire from here and keep us both dry.
I pulled a couple of hay bales off the stack against the side of the barn to make seats for us as the light rain turned to a steady rhythm against the tin roof.
The fire burned despite it, and we sat there, side by side, my arm around her, and watched in comfortable silence as the flames battled the falling moisture.
Maggie slid a hand onto my thigh, and I sucked in a breath. Her touch was hotter than the flames, and yet, I didn’t care if I got burned. Didn’t I already determine I would?
“Luke?”
I looked down at her, discovering an entirely different kind of fire glistening in her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“It’s just a fire.”
She turned, slipping a hand inside my open flannel jacket as one corner of her mouth lifted. “You know that’s bullshit.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, but my words wouldn’t have mattered because Maggie reached for my cheek and pulled me down until our lips met.
I no more had power to resist her than the sun could resist the pull below the horizon each night.
It was a soft kiss of gratitude. At least, the first one was.
The second was a deeper, longer kiss that left me wanting—needing—more.
And by the third, I was ravenous for her.
“Maggie,” I panted. Breaking apart the last kiss nearly took me under, but I had to know she was sure. “I don’t know if we should—”
“Please?” She whispered her plea, but her eyes did most of the begging.
“Now?” I wanted this woman. God, how I wanted her. But I wasn’t going to be the asshole who took advantage of her on such an emotional day. I wouldn’t ruin the friendship we’d been lucky to stumble into because we let a moment of misplaced lust call the shots.
“I’m done crying, Luke. I’m done sitting back and letting life just happen to me.
” She slid a hand over my thigh, her fingers dipping dangerously close to my hardening length.
“I know it’s selfish of me, but right now I just want to feel something other than sadness or anger.
” Her hand slid up my crotch, pressing against my erection.
“I don’t want to be pitied. I want to be desired. ”
“You’re a lot of things, Maggie Holland,” I said, tangling a hand in her hair.
“But selfish is not one of them.” I lifted her into my lap, knowing as I gave in that I was a fucked man.
When she left, it’d wreck me. And yet, if this was truly what she needed, I’d say yes a hundred times over despite the fate that awaited us.
When Maggie reached for the button on my jeans, I clamped down on her wrist.
“There a problem?” The look in her eyes was hungry and seductive with a flare of challenge.
“I know you’re new to this whole being selfish thing, so allow me to show you how it’s done.” I slid her off my lap as I stood.
“What are you doing?” she asked as I pulled more bales from the stack, extending the surface area of our current seats. I wanted her to be comfortable, and I wanted her on her back when I brought her to a level of pleasure I’d bet my badge she’d never experienced.
“Wait here. I won’t be long.”
I hurried back to the truck in search of the blanket I kept in the back seat. I rinsed off my hands to wash away the soot, never more thankful that I kept emergency supplies in not only my patrol SUV but my personal truck as well. I needed these hands to show Maggie just how desirable I found her.
I was damp from the rain when I returned, but the blanket was mostly dry. I spread it over the bed of hay bales.
“Oh,” Maggie said, flashing me an approving smile. “I like where this is headed.”
Removing my flannel jacket, I rolled it up and placed it at the back of the blanket as a makeshift pillow.
I was fidgeting too much, but fuck I was nervous.
The kiss that night outside the bookstore had been impulsive.
A choice made in a split second. The make-out session after our movie night was born of the same whim.
But what was happening right now was a deliberate, thought-out decision.
“You’re sure this is what you want, Maggie?”
She glanced at the makeshift bed, then back at me as she stepped closer. Her palm flattened against my chest.
“I want a lesson in how to be selfish,” she said. “And while I’m not convinced you’re the most qualified teacher, I’m willing to be your eager, attentive student.”
I gripped the side of her neck, tilting her chin up with my thumb. “You’re about to see just how selfish I am. Because all I’ve wanted to do since you marched across the street that first day to tell me to call off the SWAT team was ruin you for any other man.”
“That’s a pretty bold claim.”
“I’m a bold man.” I pressed my forehead to hers, holding her gaze. “If at any point you want me to stop—”
She shut me up with a fiery kiss. I gripped her hips, shuffling us both back toward the makeshift bed of hay where I began to undress her.
Her hoodie went first, revealing a skintight tank top.
The black color didn’t hide her erect nipples, and it certainly didn’t hide the orange lace bra peeking out from its low cut.
I slid my hands beneath the hem and slowly rolled her shirt up and off.
Her tits were barely contained in their lace prison. I’d free them soon enough.
When Maggie reached for the bottom of my shirt, I grabbed for her hand.
“I’m teaching,” I reminded her.
“So, you get to keep your clothes on?”
I reached for the button at the top of her jeans and popped it open. “So the only thing you need to worry about is how good I’m about to make you feel.” I yanked her zipper down, purposely dragging a finger between her legs as I did.
She inhaled sharply.