Luke sat silent, almost as if he knew Embry needed time to reflect and figure out her feelings. She wasn’t freaking out because she missed her study date; that was just a symptom of the problem. She was freaking out because she could no longer ignore her growing feelings for Luke. She really was falling for him, and it scared her. Luke settled his hand on Embry’s knee, gently brushing his thumb across her bare skin.
“What’s going on in that pretty little mind of yours?” he asked.
Embry looked at Luke, and he gave her knee a squeeze. She shook her head and stared out the window, watching the scenery fly by. She didn’t want to open up, didn’t want to risk being hurt again. But she was sick of being scared, of keeping her walls up all the time. It was exhausting. If anyone was worth it, it was Luke. She took a deep breath and looked back at Luke.
“I’m scared,” she admitted, and started rambling. “I was mad at myself that I completely forgot about my study group. And I have a writing assignment due on Tuesday. I got so wrapped up in you, in us, that I wasn’t thinking straight. All my walls come down when I’m with you, and it’s amazing, but scary and—”
Luke squeezed Embry’s knee again. “Breathe, Bree. I don’t want to distract you from your goals. I’ve been through it; I know how much focus you have to give to law school, especially your first year. I have no intention of getting in the way of that.” He pulled into Embry’s apartment complex and parked in front of her building.
Embry looked down, embarrassed by how quickly she had shut down on him earlier. “I’m sorry. I just—I haven’t done this in a while.”
“Haven’t done what, sweetheart?” Luke asked, turning toward her. She hesitated, and he placed his fingers under her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “Talk to me.”
She let out a long sigh. “This. You and me.” Embry gestured between them. “Us.”
“A relationship?” Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.
Butterflies began to flit around in her stomach. A relationship was the one thing she hadn’t wanted, hadn’t been interested in since Jack. “Is that what we’re doing?” she asked quietly. She needed the reassurance, needed to hear him say the words.
He gently took her face in his hands, his blue eyes filled with sincerity “Yes, baby. I hope that’s what we’re doing.”
Embry nodded, not sure what to say.
“I know you’ve been hurt,” he said. “I don’t know why or how, but I’d kill the fucker who did it if I met him. I know you’re not ready to talk about it yet or you would have told me by now, and that’s fine. There’s a lot we don’t know about each other yet. But the way things are going … I want to know you. I want to learn everything about you.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “I want you, Embry, all of you. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t have you.”
Embry was speechless. She had hoped he had feelings for her, but she hadn’t actually considered that he’d be up front about it. As happy as she was that he felt the same way for her, it scared her even more. She couldn’t pretend this wasn’t real anymore. Even though some small part of her told her to fight it, she wanted him enough not to run. “You have me.”
Luke wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and brought his mouth down on hers. He had never kissed her like that. Pure liquid heat flooded her veins. He didn’t wait for her to open but instead claimed her mouth, completely possessing her. He pulled back, leaving Embry breathless and blushing.
“If you didn’t have to study, I would take you upstairs and make sure that I have you in every sense of the word,” he said.
Embry’s mouth fell open. Seeing him so affected did things to her better judgment—like send it right out the window. She had rescheduled her study date and had to meet Jeremy in thirty minutes, but she couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth. “You can come up.”
Luke shook his head and closed his eyes. “No, go study.”
“Okay.” Embry leaned in to steal another kiss. “I’ll call you later then.” She turned to get out of the car, but Luke grabbed her hand.
“I know things are happening fast between us, and it’s intense. Let’s have dinner, when you have time this week, and just talk. I’ll come over. I can cook for you again if you want. I want to know more about you …” Luke hesitated, gripping the back of his neck. “There are some things I want to tell you, too.”
Embry hesitated. Why does he seem so nervous? “Sure, I’d like that. I hand in my assignment on Tuesday, and I have some work to do for Wednesday’s classes. Can you do Wednesday night?”
“Wednesday night is perfect.”
“Okay. But I’m cooking this time, mister!” Embry poked Luke’s chest.
“Deal,” he said, leaning in for one last kiss.
9
Embry sat in the library on Tuesday afternoon, waiting for Jeremy to meet her in one of the private study rooms. She’d spent the rest of the weekend buried in her books and working on her writing assignment. She’d felt the weight lift from her shoulders as soon as she handed in her assignment, but first-year law students got no rest. She and Jeremy were meeting to work on outlines for their final exams. Embry wanted to get as much of a head start as possible organizing their notes and preparing their study materials.
Other than a few text messages, she’d barely spoken to Luke. She couldn’t wait to see him on Wednesday night. Her classes started late on Thursdays, and she was hoping he would stay over. She shivered as too-cold air blew from the vents, and she wished that she still had Luke’s warm sweatshirt to snuggle into.
Jeremy rapped on the window, startling Embry.
She opened the door. “Hey, Jer.”
“Hey, thanks for grabbing a room.”
“No worries, I was just getting started.” Or dreaming about my southern sexy. Same thing.
Jeremy sat down with an audible huff.
“What’s wrong?” Embry asked.
“Nothing, I got held up talking to Becky.”
“Oooh, drama in the world of the man-whore. What happened?”
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Very funny.”
“Wait. Is this Becky Becky? As in Becky from four that you ditched for Angela from two?” Embry couldn’t help giving him a hard time. Jeremy’s love life was better than soaps.
“One and the same,” he answered dryly.
“What did she want? I thought she was a no-go.”
“She was … until she wasn’t. Becky’s not a one-and-done kind of girl, and I knew it. But I just couldn’t help myself.”
“Oh, Jer.” Embry shot him a disapproving look.
“I know, I know. I was up front with her, but apparently she thought she’d be the one to tame the beast.”
Embry’s green eyes bulged as she stared at her friend. Jeremy smirked.
“Did you just …”
“I did,” he said proudly.
“I’m going to pretend that didn’t just come out of your mouth.”
“Fine, fine. But you’re in denial. I’m telling you, Blondie, one of these days, you’re going to realize how amazing I am, and it’s gonna be too late!” A large grin spread across his handsome face, and he winked.