36. Maggie
THIRTY-SIX
MAGGIE
“Is this not the best buffalo stroganoff you’ve ever had?
” Luke asked, bumping his shoulder with mine.
The booth was big enough for six people, and yet, Luke’s thigh pressed against mine as if we were fighting for space.
He had no problem staying close to me, even with his dad in the seat across from us.
I liked how it felt to have him near. I hadn’t realized how starved for physical touch I was in my last relationship until Officer McGrumpy started being affectionate. It was addicting.
“It’s the only buffalo stroganoff I’ve ever had. I don’t know if that counts,” I teased.
“People drive up from Denver to order this,” Luke insisted.
Joe shrugged and poked his fork into the pile of egg noodles on his plate. “He’s right, they do.”
The stroganoff was better than good. It was savory with a flavor palate that threatened to make me moan in public. But I enjoyed riling Luke up. I’d miss this.
I stuck my fork into a chunk of buffalo tenderloin, moving it around in the rich demi cream sauce, willing myself to forget that in a little more than two weeks, this sense of normalcy would all be in the rearview mirror.
“Oh, hey. There’s Hudson.” Luke set his fork on his plate.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to interfere in police business until next week,” Joe said.
“She’s been doing a helluva job,” Luke said. “If the mayor wants to get sore at me for telling her so, that’s an ass chewing I’d welcome.”
He slid out of the booth and headed for the female officer standing at the bar waiting for a takeout order.
I took my time with another bite as Luke interacted with the officer who was in charge in his absence, and smiled.
She was the same one who interrupted our first kiss and gave us a ride home.
She’d been kind enough to ignore the obvious tension that night and yet bold enough to give Luke shit for staying out past curfew. I liked her.
“It seems Luke’s got good officers working with him,” I said to Joe.
“Believe it or not, he’s not always a stick in the mud. He takes good care of his team, and they respect him for it. His problem is he cares too much. Shoulders too much responsibility. I think this break’s been good for him.” Joe looked at me. “Heard he’s even got you watching Star Wars with him.”
“We’re watching Episode VI tonight.”
“Ah, Return of the Jedi. That’s my favorite one.”
“You’re a fan too?”
Joe leaned against the table, lowering his voice. “It was my idea to name him Luke. But his mom didn’t catch on until I tried to name Connor Han.”
Luke was named after Luke Skywalker. “No wonder he gets so bent out of shape when people call him Darth Vader.”
Joe cackled at that.
“I’m guessing you wanted Kira to be Leia?” I asked.
“Brenda vetoed that one the second they told us we were having a girl. I never stood a chance.”
Joe looked over at Luke who was animatedly talking to Officer Hudson, both with smiles on their faces.
“It’s nice seeing him like this,” Joe said.
“Like what?”
“Happy.” He lifted his frosted beer mug and took a sip as Luke turned back toward the booth. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but don’t stop.”
“I’m not—”
Luke slid in next to me, patting my knee as he moved in close once again.
As though it were the most natural thing to do.
As though we were . . . together. But we weren’t, obviously.
Luke wanted to knock down walls and convert his duplex into one home.
He was preparing for a family. One that wouldn’t—and couldn’t—include me.
Was it irrational to be jealous of a woman I didn’t even know? The same woman who’d someday be curled beside him on the couch watching Star Wars, sleeping in his bed every night, and raising kids with him?
Maybe.
Probably.
Okay, so it was completely unreasonable.
If I stayed . . .
I shook the thought away before it could fully take root.
I’d already done the mental gymnastics where staying was concerned.
Planning my future around a man I’d known for a little over two weeks was more impulsive than agreeing to marry a man I’d only ever spent time with on actual vacations.
I’d made enough poor decisions when it came to my love life, thank you very much.
I needed a beat before I leapt into another one.
“If you don’t finish that, I will,” Luke said, bumping my shoulder again. I met those light blue eyes head on, and a quiver stirred low in my belly.
I couldn’t stay.
But we could enjoy the time we had left together.
My gaze locked with Luke’s, I lowered my voice and said, “I’m saving room for dessert.”
After showering and getting Ellie settled for the night, I changed into Luke’s Star Wars T-shirt, deciding to forego any other layers. Would we end up watching any of the movie when he discovered I was missing panties?
A wicked smile curled my lips.
I doubted it.
I slipped out the back door, hurried across the deck, and invited myself into Luke’s kitchen because it was too cold to stand outside and wait for him to let me in.
I followed the sound of running water all the way to the bedroom.
The bathroom door was cracked, steam escaping from the gap.
I nearly gave in to the temptation to strip and step under the stream of hot water with him until I spotted the bookcase in the corner.
I was suddenly overcome by curiosity. What sorts of books did Luke Mason read?
There were thrillers and true crime—which totally tracked—and a few general fiction titles I recognized.
One shelf was unsurprisingly claimed by Star Wars LEGO sets. I recognized the Millennium Falcon and R2-D2. The rest? I smiled, looking forward to Luke explaining them to me.
The water cut off, and my pulse tripped over itself.
I bet that man was a sight to behold right now, naked with water droplets glistening all over his tanned, tattooed body.
Wetness pooled between my legs as I imagined him strutting out of the bathroom sans towel and pressing me up against this bookshelf to have his dirty, delicious way with me.
My gaze snagged on the top shelf, to a row of books all by the same author: Diana Davenport.
“Snooping on me?” Luke’s baritone called from across the room.
I looked over my shoulder. He was not sans towel.
But it was wrapped so low around his hips the sharp V-cut left little to the imagination.
I could make out most of the wolf tattoo at his hip.
I swallowed hard, both intimidated and thrilled at what came next.
There would be no movie tonight. The hungry look in his eyes said as much.
“I didn’t know you were a closet vampire romance enthusiast,” I teased.
“I’m not.” He strutted around the bed, meeting me at the shelf.
“You just keep them on your top shelf for funsies?”
“Those are my sister’s books.”
“Why would your sister need you to store her books?”
“They’re my books. She’s the author.”
“Wait.” I looked back at the dozens of books lining the shelf, double-checking the author name on the spines. “Your sister is the Diana Davenport?”
“You’ve heard of her?”
“Heard of her?” I shook my head in disbelief. “I’ve read her books so many times the covers have fallen off of some.”
I turned around, about to ask him if he had more than one sister or if the author and bookstore owner were the same, but the greedy, devilish look in his eyes made me forget everything, including the fact I was missing panties.
Until he reached between my legs and dragged a finger through my folds, reminding me.
I pressed my back against the bookshelf and gripped his biceps to steady myself.
“You were planning to seduce me?” he asked, his voice a low growl.
My nipples pebbled in response.
I tugged at the towel tied at his hip, and it fell to the floor. He was already hard for me. I let my gaze linger on his impressive length for several seconds before flicking it up to his eyes. “I think it’s working.”
Luke lowered his mouth, his lips lingering a feather’s width from my own. I leaned in to close the gap, but missed when he plunged a finger inside me. I gasped, digging fingernails into his hard muscle. My hips arched into his touch.
“Fuck, Maggie. Have you been this wet all day?”
I reached for him, wrapping my hand around his length. “It’s your fault I’m this way,” I said, slowly stroking him. “You and your ability to give me Jedi-level orgasms.”
He laughed, low and menacing before lowering his mouth at last to mine.
I surrendered to his insistent lips, his unrelenting tongue, and his talented hand tangled in my heat.
He left his cock to my mercy, and I pressed him against my stomach as I stroked him from shaft to tip.
Precum smeared through my fingers and onto my belly, and I let out a soft moan.
I craved him inside me. Fuck, how I wanted him to replace his eager hand with this rod of steel. I yearned to come apart with his cock buried deep inside me. Had I ever been this desperate for a man before?
Not even close, a wicked little voice whispered.
“Luke,” I panted, gripping his cheek to hold our lips apart. “I’m on the pill.”
“Good to know.”
“I’m clean, too. I haven’t . . .” Fuck, now I was self-conscious. “I haven’t been . . .”
He cupped my cheek, tilting my face until I met his gaze. Desire danced like flames in those light blue eyes.
“You never have to feel embarrassed with me, Maggie. Never.” He kissed me hard before adding, “I’m clean, too. I haven’t been with anyone in three years.”
“Oh.”
The man had stayed celibate since he was jilted at the altar?
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around that.
Luke could have any woman he wanted. Even when he was all growly and unapproachable, he was still irresistibly sexy.
When I first met him, I wanted to hate him.
But my traitorous lady bits were already plotting for this moment.
Maybe I wouldn’t be here to build a life with him. But knowing he abstained for three years and wanted me now . . . I’d cherish that always.
“But it’s your call,” he said. “I’ll use a condom if you want me to.”
I’d never not used protection.
Mom’s comment about getting knocked up with some stranger’s baby echoed in my head. Then there was Jason, throwing a tantrum about using condoms. Maybe that was the real reason he hadn’t slept with me since the night he proposed—or any night since.
“Hey,” Luke said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
The gesture was so sweet considering the havoc he was currently wreaking on my pussy. There were two fingers inside me and a palm creating the most delicious friction against my swollen button. The decadent pleasure was almost too much and yet not even close to enough.
“There’s no right or wrong answer here, Maggie. There’s only what you want.”
Tears threatened to prick the corners of my eyes because I’d forgotten how wonderful it was for my feelings to not only be considered, but to matter this much.
I could fall so hard for this man.
At this rate, I probably would.
That fall might hurt like hell when it was time to leave. But that was Future Maggie’s problem.
Tonight, this Maggie wanted to get good and railed without a barrier between us.
“No condom.”
“You’re sure?” he asked.
I lifted on tiptoes and gripped his length harder, directing it to my center. I rubbed his tip against my clit to drive home my point.
“I’m sure.”
Luke swept an arm around my back, moving me so my back was firmly against a wall instead of the bookcase. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to register that my leg was propped on his hip until his hand slid beneath my thigh.
Hand still circled around his cock, I rocked my hips forward and guided him to my entrance. He slid home in one deliberate, delicious stroke.
“Omigod,” I panted.
“You okay?” he asked, stilling inside me as my walls adjusted to his girth.
I reached for his cheek, dragging his face to mine. “Better than okay. And before you ask, I don’t want you to stop. I want you to blast me into next week.” I yanked his mouth to mine and snaked my hands around his neck as an anchor.
With agonizing leisure, Luke pulled out until just the tip remained inside me. His thrust deep inside was anything but slow. It was brutally fast, and I lifted off the floor. Luke groaned, and the sexy sound nearly made me come apart. I loved that I was the reason he was so turned on.
He pulled out again, quicker this time. And when he plunged back into my channel, I lost all sense of pace, direction, and time. There was only Luke, me, and our joined bodies coming together again and again.
I cried out Luke’s name, hoping Walter had his hearing aids out for the night.
Luke held me against the wall as he throttled me. It was the kind of sex I’d imagined that first day I met him. Rough, raw, and hungry.
I saw stars behind my eyes half a second before the build-up of pleasure erupted. My body shook uncontrollably as I came apart. Luke held me tight, still plunging into me mercilessly as my walls convulsed around him.
“Fuck, Maggie.”
He pummeled into me one last time, as though he couldn’t bury himself deep enough inside me, and found his release.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that, me held up against the wall by one very wobbly leg and Luke’s sheer strength. Seconds? Minutes? An hour? Time was an illusion.
He kissed me softly before pulling out, guiding me until both my feet were back on the floor. We didn’t talk, but the primal, sated look in his eyes spoke volumes.
I wasn’t staying in Bluebell Springs; we both knew that. But we could enjoy ourselves during the time we did still have together.
“You better go get Ellie,” Luke said.
“Ellie?” I asked, confused. I didn’t take him for the kicking-a-woman-out-right-after-sex type.
Luke slid his hand up my neck and tangled it in my hair. “I’m not spending another night without you two in my bed.”