And no way to take it back.
Chapter Fourteen
Lilly
I slept deeply and dreamlessly,like my body knew I needed to recharge.
I wake slowly, letting the quiet of the morning settle in. I’m warm and cozy, alone in my bed.
I almost don’t remember getting to bed.
Almost.
It had been a long night, emotionally and physically draining.
The office.
Luke’s desk.
Heat spreads through me, remembering what we’d done in his office. The way he’d touched me, the way our bodies came together. The dirty words he said to me thathad me burning for him and willing to cross every single line we’d drawn.
And had we ever crossed them.
I squeeze my eyes shut, taking one more moment to relive it and to feel exactly how things had shifted between us in that moment.
Because theyhadshifted.
You were made for me, sweetheart.
The words echo back, not as sharp and heated as they’d been in the moment. Now they’re deeper. Stronger.
At the time, Luke’s words had sent me spiraling, my body reacting before my mind had a chance to catch up. But now, lying here in the light of the morning, those words feel like more than dirty talk.
They feel real.
Because it wasn’t justwhathe’d said. It was the way he’d said it. The way he looked at me after.
The way he’d helped me to bed afterward when exhaustion claimed me. The way he’d held me and tucked me into bed, before kissing me gently and murmuring my name. It was sweet and…loving.
Like I mattered. Like what we had togethermattered.
I hadn’t been imagining it. It was there. The loveisthere.
And God help me, I feel it too.
Ifeelit.
Not only have we crossed a line, but we are in completely new territory, and judging by the party the butterflies in my tummy are throwing, I’m excited for everything that means.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and reach for my clothes. My body is sore in the best way, marked by him in all the best ways.
As I pull my sweater over my head, Tessa’s voice slips into my thoughts.
You could stay.
Last night, I’d dismissed the idea because we had an agreement. A very temporary agreement. But in the light of day, it no longer feels like a reach to think that Icouldstay.
Luke and I work well together. He can’t denythat his business is running much smoother than before I’d arrived. I’ve helped him make positive changes and finally get organized.
