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“Jen, read your book for a minute, okay?” He barely waited to hear her grunt before he closed the door. Taking a step away from the Jeep, he set Sally on her feet and held her at arm’s length.
“Was it something I said?” Her voice was low, sensuous and went straight to his heart.
“No, sunshine.” He smiled and smoothed the hair behind her ears. “I just realized how lucky I am to have you in my life—how close I came to never being able to do this again.” He leaned closer and found her mouth with his.
A buzz of electricity vibrated between them wherever his lips or tongue touched her, and he couldn’t get enough. Sally fisted her hands in his T-shirt, her forearms braced against his chest, and gave back as good as she got. It was a couple of minutes before Luke remembered Jen. He broke the kiss, glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see her nose plastered against the glass, and breathed a sigh of relief when she was nowhere to be seen.
When he turned back to Sally, she was already laughing, and he chuckled with her. “You’ll have to educate me on the nuances of living with a daughter.”
Her mouth curved in the sexiest smile. “I’m pretty sure you already know as much as I do.”
“Then we’ll learn together.”
Her smile faded. “Luke, let’s not make promises—”
“This is the perfect time for promises, sunshine. I can’t lose you again. I love you.Marry me. Let me spend the rest of my life cherishing you. That’s my promise to you, Sally.”
The regret in her eyes told him he’d screwed up big-time. He’d known better than to allow his emotions free rein, but he’d gotten caught up in his epiphany and the force of his feelings for her. He hadn’t meant to push her. Now, his declaration was out there, and the I’d-rather-be-somewhere-else look on her face gave him her answer.
Time for damage control. He pulled her against him, sliding his arms around her waist. “Shh. Don’t answer that.”
Gently, he kissed first one corner of her mouth and then the other. Sadness stole over him, but he deliberately shook it off. Sally wasn’t ready. She had a shitload of crap going on in her life and more important things to worry about than him. He could be patient.
He forced a grin as he ran his thumb over her lower lip. “Maybe I’ll ask you again someday.”
She held his gaze for a long moment before she blinked, and her sliver of a smile resembled a smirk. “Jen and I are homeless. An angry man is trying to kill me. I might be on the run for the rest of my life. This isn’t the right time to make commitments. Hanging around me could get you killed. Even if Clive doesn’t find me this time, what about the next time he gets close? What if you’re sorry you got trapped in a relationship you never really wanted? I’m not going to let you do that.” Satisfaction flashed in her eyes.
Luke frowned.Shit!He’d heard those words before. Hell, he’d spoken them…to her. Just as he’d made the decision that a disabled man wasn’t good enough for her, she was throwing his logic back in his face. Deciding it was too dangerous for him to be around her—suggesting he’d be sorry someday and want out. It was the exact thing he’d done to her…and, damn it, she’d made her point.
She flashed him an impish grin.
Luke rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly. “Okay. I deserved that, but if you think you’re getting rid of me, it’s not happening. You’re stuck with me, at least until this situation is resolved. I told you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you or Jen, and I’m a man of my word. Can we agree on that much?” Even if she couldn’t, there was no way in hell he’d walk away.
Sally’s playful laugh put him at ease again, loosening the knot in his belly. “I’m really glad you’re here, Luke.” She studied him, a flirtatious curve in her smile. Raising on her toes, she leaned into him until her breath warmed his ear. “After all, you’ve got all those condoms…” Her soft lips fluttered against his neck.
All the blood left his head for parts south, and a groan rumbled from deep in his chest. “Holy hell, woman, that’ssonot fair.” He snagged her hand and tugged her toward the Jeep. “Let’s go. Maybe Daniel has a two-bedroom cabin…with locks on the doors.”
The look she flashed him was all innocence as he held the door for her.
The next few miles, silence reined in the Jeep’s interior, interspersed with full-body perusals and sexy smiles from the brunette in the seat beside him. He’d always thought her fairly reserved sexually, but what she was doing to him now with only her eyes had to be intentional. The normal blue of her irises had darkened to sapphire, partially hooded by long lashes that softly brushed her skin with each flutter of her eyelids. Her sultry glances were driving him crazy. He shifted slightly, easing the denim fabric over his groin.
Luke welcomed the intrusion of Jen into his heated thoughts when she dropped her book, reached forward and tapped his elbow. “Are we almost there?”
“Just a couple more miles. Are you getting hungry?” Luke studied her in the mirror.
“No. Just tired of this bumpy road.” She sighed.
“I hear that. When we get there, we’ll have a look around, get settled in our cabin and meet our hosts. Then we can do whatever you’d like. How’s that sound?” Luke felt Sally’s curious gaze, but he only smiled.
“We’ll be close to a river, sweetie. Maybe we can go fishing.” Sally glanced over her shoulder.
Jen brightened. “From a boat?”
“Just so happens Daniel rents boats. We’ll see what we can arrange,” Luke said.
They crested a rise, and he braked. Below them, the road flattened out and became a well-groomed, two-lane gravel road. A green valley filled with wildflowers spread on both sides of a meandering river, and snow-capped mountains stood sentinel on three sides. A small cluster of brown cabins hugged the foot of the mountain about twelve hundred yards north of their current position. Considering they were the only cabins he could see and the gravel road ended in their midst, that had to be their destination.
Two minutes later, Luke parked beside an old white Suburban in front of the largest cabin and cut the engine. An equally old Ford pickup and a seventies’ model Chevy Super Sport waited there as well. Daniel appeared, banging through the screen door, and jumped off the top step, followed more sedately by a blond-haired woman and a towheaded little girl. Luke turned to Sally and nodded his head toward his friend, including Jen in his gaze. “Come on, ladies. I want Daniel to meet you.”
