“Wait.”
She turned back, lifting an eyebrow. “For what?”
Luke stilled his laughter but was giving her a secretive smile. “I have an idea. Can you … meet me in the hallway?”
All that heat she’d been feeling earlier rushed back and then some. She didn’t answer, just pushed through her balcony door.
“Mar!” she heard Luke call. “Is that a yes or a no?”
Mar slammed the door, rushed through her room, and almost went out into the hallway, but then she remembered she should play hard to get. Standing next to the bedroom door, she waited.
She was rewarded with the sound of Luke’s door opening and shutting, followed by a tap on her door. “Mar?”
“Yes,” she answered in a saccharin sweet voice.
“Please come out so I can show you what else our dating will entail.”
Mar’s pulse sped up and she could hardly stand to just wait here, but he’d teased her enough on the deck. He was past due for some grief back. She leaned against the door and said through it, “I think I’d better get some rest for our hike in the morning.”
Luke must’ve also been close to the door, because she heard him groan and then say in a low voice, “Please, Mar.”
Mar couldn’t resist anymore. She flung the door open.
Luke looked so incredible, standing there with a beseeching look in his blue eyes. He extended a hand. “You have to come out here. My mom would beat me if I kissed you in your bedroom.”
She smiled, but that heat was just getting stronger. Yes, there could definitely be no kissing in bedrooms, considering how incredible their last kiss had been. Would this one match it or surpass it?
She placed her hand in his. He tugged her out into the hall and against his chest. Then he didn’t waste any more time on words. He lifted her off her feet, pressed her against the wall, bowed his head, and captured her mouth.
His warm, firm lips took command of her world. She’d thought their first kiss had blown her away, but this one exceeded it. Maybe it was because she knew him better. Maybe it was because they were “dating.” This commitment made her feel cherished and even more loved than his last kiss had made her feel. She tried to push the love feelings away. They were only dating. Yet as his hands cradled her close and his mouth shared passion and happiness with her, she knew that she was going to fall hard for this guy. If only she could be assured that this relationship wouldn’t crash like her others had, that her lifelong dreams would come true and Luke would stick with her no matter what.