“It’s a cop out. I always admired your strength and the way you kept your cool when you visited Durga. I never took you for a quitter.”
A spark of ire heated his eyes and she thought her barb had gotten through to him until he smiled. “I see what you’re trying to do,
but it won’t work.”
“Luke—”
“I appreciate it. I really do. But if leaving to make sure my brothers and sister stay safe makes me a quitter, then I guess I’m okay with that.”
“I don’t think you leaving the Enforcers is a good idea for anyone.”
Cocking his head, he regarded her closely. “Is it really that big of a deal for you that I might quit?”
Her eyes stayed locked with his as she shook her head slightly. “No, but I think it will be for you.”
He smiled and her breath caught as he slowly lifted his hand, cupping her cheek in a soft caress that had a tidal wave of emotions crashing over her, forcing her to close her eyes against the onslaught.
“You’re sweet,” he whispered softly.
She opened her eyes, immediately becoming trapped in the intensity of his. His gaze dipped to her lips and she wet them reflexively, feminine satisfaction filling her as he groaned, the sound suppressed. But the satisfaction didn’t last long as the sound triggered a response in her as something in her middle clenched.
It was a delicious feeling. Heady, intoxicating, but borderline painful.
She wasn’t sure she understood what was happening to her, but she knew she liked it. And it was made all the better by the fact that she was pretty sure Luke was feeling the same kind of pull to her that she felt toward him.
“Your eyes are so beautiful,” he whispered, his thumb brushing the sensitive skin underneath her left eye.
Swallowing hard, she opened her mouth to say a version of the same to him, but what came out instead was wholly unexpected. “Kiss me, Luke.”
Surprise filled his eyes as his thumb stilled against her cheek. “What?”
She wasn’t going to take the request back. She wanted it too damn much. “You heard me. Kiss me.”
His eyes filled with heat and he leaned in slowly, clearly giving her time to change her mind. She wasn’t going to, though. Suddenly, kissing him seemed like the most important thing in the world, and she didn’t think she’d ever want anything quite as much as she wanted to feel his mouth pressed to hers.
When their lips were a hairsbreadth apart, he hesitated. Maybe he was giving her another chance to stop it. Maybe he was drawing out the anticipation. Maybe he just wanted to bask in the fact that they were sharing the same breath, like she was. She didn’t know, but finally, he finished closing the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.
Her body froze, her very essence stilling at the feel of their mouths touching. She wanted to savor it longer, but desire was shooting through her system, filling her body with heat that completely stole every thought from her mind.
One of her hands tunneled through his hair to wrap around the back of his neck and she clung as she kissed him back. She felt a little unsure, not quite certain what she was supposed to do. She’d only been kissed once before, and it’d been nothing like what she was sharing with Luke.
And they’d barely gotten started.
He angled his head, pressing his lips more firmly against hers. She copied suit, following his lead, and when he opened his mouth slightly, she did the same, thinking he’d use his tongue next. But he didn’t—he just gave her long, open mouth kisses she could feel clear to her toes.
Her tiger came out of the daze she’d been in, letting out a loud purr that seemed to echo around them. But then Tarun realized it wasn’t an echo—it was Luke’s lion responding to her cat.
And the sound seemed to amp both of them up as they moved closer on the rock until their legs were pressed together, straining to get closer to each other without breaking the magical kiss consuming them both.
Just when she thought the kiss couldn’t possibly get any better, he ran his tongue along her bottom lip. The heat in her veins instantly turned to liquid fire and she gasped. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her as she scrambled to make her body work. She’d just managed it, rubbing her tongue against his, when he pulled back.
Nipping her bottom lip, he eased away, both of them breathing heavily as he pressed his forehead to hers. It felt like it took her body ages to cool down, and by the time it had, they were both more or less breathing normally again.
“We should probably head back to the clubhouse,” he said, his voice husky as he trailed his fingers across her cheek before dropping his hand.
She nodded, watching as he stood, inhaling deeply as she took the hand he held out. He pulled her up and they walked back to his motorcycle in silence.
In fact, they didn’t speak again at all. In no time, they were back on the road, but that time, she wasn’t enjoying the ride like she had earlier. She barely noticed anything at all, really, all of her thoughts consumed by the memory of the fiery kiss they shared.