That time was now.
She was much too practical to ever believe in love at first sight, so he needed to find a way to convince her it was real.
Maybe if he told her it hadn’t really been at first sight?
Sure he’d been instantly attracted to her. She was a beautiful woman with an attitude who had him in an almost constant state of arousal. But it was only after spending that first afternoon with her and four of the kids she mentored, that he’d recognized the tightness in his chest for what it was.
His heart expanding and opening up to a woman that was tough as nails to the world, with a buried heart as soft as kitten fluff. So soft and willing she was to open her home to an addicted teen runaway when the girl refused the shelter of the church basement.
In the last month he’d spent as much time as he could at the church, taking part in the mentorship program, and asking Grace out. She’d refused him every time. She couldn’t, she told him. She worked for his father. She was too old for him. None of her excuses mattered to him.
Then he’d been in the right place at the right time to be there for her. He’d never meant to tell her how he felt right away. He knew her well enough to know that it would only scare her away. So, instead of forcing her to listen, he’d tried to stay away, to give her time to notice his absence, and maybe even miss him. A week had been all he could handle, and now it was time to change tactics.
“I hope you know what you’re getting into, Lukas.” His father’s voice was soft.
They stood side by side watching as Grace said goodbye to the last teenager. “I love her, Dad. It’s not going to be easy getting past the brick wall she has around her heart, but I know that once I do, I’ll find my own private heaven in her arms.”
“You have your mother’s poetic soul, Lukas.” Father John Martin blessed him with a soft smile few people saw. It was a blend of love, pride, and pain. It was the one that told of the loss he suffered since his wife had been killed in a convenience store robbery five years earlier.
Lukas saw that smile and clapped his hand on his dad’s shoulder. His parents had been soul mates and partners. When his mother had been killed, he’d worried his father would do something stupid, like hunt down the kids that had robbed the store and beat the crap out of them. Not something a typical priest would do, but his father wasn’t your typical anything.
Instead, once he’d gotten control of his anger and hurt, he’d looked for ways to get the street kids in their neighborhood the mentoring they needed. He’d made it his goal to give the kids options so that they didn’t get sucked into the shady ways of life that were all too common around there.
His dad met Luke’s gaze. “There’s a good reason she built those walls, son,” he warned.
Lukas let his gaze go to the fiery redhead that had a hold of his heart, before facing his father again. “She thinks you’ll never approve of her. Of us.”
“It’s not for me to approve or disapprove.” His father frowned. “But you need to be aware that what Grace works hard to instill in these kids, is something she often lacks herself.”
Lukas nodded. It was true. Grace exuded confidence, but he’d spotted cracks in it before, and the fact she denied her own place of belonging in their tight community made it apparent she wasn’t aware of her own self-worth. “Thanks, Dad.”
He turned from his father and strode across the cement floor of the church basement.
Grace saw him coming and straightened her spine. He’d been in and out of the church a couple of times in the past week, but she’d managed to always be busy, and he hadn’t been able to get her alone. No such luck this time though.
“Hello, Grace. How are you doing?” he asked politely when he stopped in front of her.
“I’m good.” She caught some movement out of the corner of her eye, and saw the minister watching them from the stairway. His father. “And you?”
“I could be better. In fact, I was hoping to talk to you about it over dinner?”
Grace’s pulse jumped at the request but she met his gaze and shook her head firmly. “Sorry, Lukas. You know what the answer to that is.”
He stepped closer, crowding her in the empty basement. “It’s just dinner, Grace. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is you said you were in love with me.”
He’d been so firm in his declaration. So confident and sure that what they’d shared had been right. It had been good, but deep down she knew he could never really love her. Not a teenage runaway who had turned to stripping naked and dancing for strangers to earn a living.
“I shouldn’t have told you that,” he said softly.
A flash of pain flared in her chest, surprising her.
“Well,” she muttered. “It seems you’ve come to your senses, so why the dinner invitation?”
He stepped closer, blocking her view of the room. “My heart hasn’t changed, Grace. I said I loved you and I meant it. I just realize that telling you so soon might not have been the best move.”
There was a strange flutter in her stomach and warmth spread throughout her body. She clenched her hands at her sides, and bounced her fists against her legs. She’d always felt an attraction to him, but now, after their night together, she was much more aware of him. There was a determination in his dark gaze that she’d never noticed before. The heat of his body reached out to her, giving birth to a yearning deep within to cuddle up to him, to feel that warmth seep through her skin and into her soul.
She shook her head and stepped back, bumping into the wall. “No, Lukas. I told you the other night, I just wanted sex. I just needed to feel alive.”
“And you don’t want to have sex with me again?” He stepped forward, putting his hands on either side of her head, trapping her against the wall.
Of course she did. She wasn’t dead. In fact, every second that went by she felt more alive. Panicked, she looked over his shoulder, but Father John was gone, and they were all alone.
Get a grip, Grace.
She closed her eyes for a brief second and took a deep breath. Big mistake. His scent filled her head, and her body responded with throbbing heat.
Okay. She pressed her hands, palms flat, against the wall behind her, and made a mental deal with herself. If she couldn’t control her body’s reaction to him, the least she could do was control the relationship. She could maximize the pleasure and minimize the damage to them both.
“I’d love to have sex with you again, Lukas.” She met his gaze head-on and spoke in a husky whisper designed to arouse. “But that’s it, no more talk of love. Can you handle a strictly sexual relationship?”
Five
His gut clenched and his cock twitched behind his zipper. Damn it, Lukas thought, this wasn’t the way the conversation was supposed to go.
He gazed into her eyes, searching for anything other than the lust she hid behind. Nothing. Only heat, and the flicker of something deeper within. Fine, if the way to Grace’s heart was through her body, he was willing to do whatever it took.
If he’d had any doubt about Grace being his other half, it had fled when they’d made love. Sex had just been sex before, but with her, he’d felt…free. Free to be himself, to experience every touch, every taste, every ounce of pleasure he could. She’d put her hands on him, and he’d finally understood what the big deal was.
They’d communicated with their bodies on a level that words could never touch. They’d connected. Now he just had to convince her of that.
“I can handle whatever you can dish out, Grace.” He leaned down and let his lips rub against her ear when he spoke. “I’m yours, however you want me.”
He felt the shudder that went through her at his words and stepped back before he could do something really stupid. Like take her up against the wall of the church’s basement.