‘Okay, what the hell has got that look on your face?’ he asks, scooting toward me.
I slip my gloves off and unzip my jacket as what happened barrels out of me. I explain to him how I ran into Jonah and what he told me about Preston. I also tell him how I called Detective Stephner and how he told me to stay in our apartment tonight and how he seemed to be acting strange.
‘I’m sure he just wants to make sure you’re safe.’ Luke reaches for my hand when I’m done telling him and traces the folds in my fingers. ‘It’s what we all want.’
I’m not sure who he means by we, but I don’t ask. ‘Yeah, maybe. But I talked to him earlier today when we were headed to the game and he seemed fine.’
‘He called you today?’ he asks, turning my hand upward and stroking the inside of my wrist. God that feels so good. ‘About what?’
Through all of this, I’d spaced off the conversation the Detective and I had earlier and how I never did come to a conclusion on whether Luke would agree to help Mira. Although being here with him now, his touch bringing me so much calm, I’m starting to wonder why I doubted him to begin with. ‘About the case … and you?’
His fingers pause on my palm. ‘Me?’
I nod. ‘He said he thinks you got a call from the person defending your mother in court.’
He suddenly looks like he’s in pain, his grip on my hands tightening. ‘Yeah, the other day I did.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ I ask. ‘When it happened?’
‘Because I was confused … and pissed off.’ He sighs, defeated, as he laces our fingers together. ‘Sorry, that’s no excuse. I should have told you right when it happened.’
I press my lips together, attempting to hold back the words, knowing I shouldn’t ask, but I can’t help it and they force their way up. ‘What did you say?’
A pucker forms at his brows. ‘About what?’
‘When they asked you to testify,’ I say. ‘What did you say?’
He looks like I’ve wounded him, his expression mixed with hurt and disappointment. ‘I told them they could go fuck themselves and that she deserves to be behind bars.’ He lets go of my hand and slides away, looking a bit angry. ‘What the hell else would I say, Violet.’
I stare down at my hands because the hurt look in his eyes is too great to endure. ‘I’m sorry I asked, but I needed to hear you say it … I don’t know why. I was pretty sure I knew you’re answer.’
He shakes his head, huffing a breath of frustration as he stares ahead at the window. ‘I would never, ever do that. Not only because it’d be wrong – she deserves to go to prison – but I could never, ever hurt you like that.’ It like he’s fighting to breathe, his solid chest rising and falling heavily with each breath he takes. ‘You have to start trusting me.’
‘I do trust you. Too much,’ I whisper, shutting my eyes. ‘You could crush my heart if you wanted to.’ The silence that follows is maddening. Did I just say that aloud?
One …
Two …
Three …
Time feels endless as I wait for what comes next. I hear him shift on the seat, feeling him scoot closer
‘Violet, open your eyes.’ His breath dusts my cheeks.
I swiftly shake my head, smashing my slips together. ‘I can’t.’ But I find myself opening my eyes anyway and he’s so close, only inches away from me.
‘I would never, ever hurt you,’ he promises, his hand gently cupping the back of my neck, fingers spreading across my skin. His touch sends a shot of tingles across my flesh and causes me to shiver as he guides me toward his lips. But I’m already leaning in, an invisible current pulling me toward him, like two magnets about to collide. When we do crash into one another, it’s dangerously intoxicating, stealing the air from my lungs, sending my heart slamming into my chest. I’m already falling again to that place where I feel helpless, yet safe. Emotions press their way to the surface, this time too strong to ignore. It hits me like lightning, an electric current surging through my body, overwhelming heat that both brings me alive and kills me at the same time.
I think it’s then that I know what I’m feeling. The thing I’ve been trying to avoid for days now, and I’m both terrified out of my mind and alarmingly at peace.
Our kiss is slower than normal, but equally if not more intense. Every sensual sweep of his tongue, soft nibble of his teeth, it’s like he’s memorizing my lips. His hands are exploring my body, leaving blazing trails of heat wherever they brush, my body so warm I swear I’m on fire. And I’m moaning, God am I moaning, as the stuff I’ve felt so confused about burns under my skin and pours out through my lips as I devour him with my kisses. I just want to keep doing this forever, never move again, but eventually Luke breaks the connection, putting a sliver of space between our lips.