Page 59 of Unhinged

She dipped her head, and a self-conscious smile spread over her face. “Me, too.”

Luke leaned forward, capturing her mouth again for another kiss. As he pulled away, her head dipped in embarrassment. “What’s wrong?”

Her eyes met his. “Nothing.”

She sighed when he lifted a brow. “It’s just…” She gestured around the restaurant, presumably at the other patrons. “I’ve never been good at this kind of stuff. It makes me feel like I’m the center of attention.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to get over that. I want you to know that I’m in this for you, to show you every minute how much I care about you.” God knew the people who were supposed to have loved her and supported her had all let her down. He was going to do his best to make up for it. “Plus, I want everyone here to know you’re mine.”

She blinked up at him. “Sounds like you’re staking your claim.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

She regarded him for a moment. “Not as long as you’re being honest. I don’t want to be hurt.”

Luke stroked a finger along the line of her jaw before gliding his lips softly over hers. “I would never hurt you. I meant what I said: I just want you—all of you. No ulterior motives.”

A sweet smile stole across her face. “It’s nice to feel wanted.”

If only she knew. “You have no idea how much I want you, Hannah. Good thing I promised to be a gentleman tonight, otherwise we’d already be back at my place.”

“Then why don’t you?”

He shook his head and pushed down his automatic reaction to her suggestive tone. “I’m trying to do the right thing here. I told you we’d take our time with this, and I’m a man of my word.”

She studied him for a moment before settling a hand on his thigh. “I don’t want your word, Luke.”

He could hear the rush of blood in his ears, and he fought to control his breathing as his muscles tensed under her touch. “What exactly are you saying, Hannah?”

Her eyes flickered with uncertainty, and her teeth raked across her lower lip before she responded, the words leaving her mouth on a whisper. “I want you.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

Luke's heart beat hard in his chest as he gestured for Hannah to precede him into the house. The door closed with a decisive click, and he snapped the lock into place. As soon as the sound reached Hannah’s ears, she whirled toward him, eyes wide.

Adopting the most casual position he could muster, he propped one foot on the door behind him and shoved his hands into his pockets. She watched him warily, as if she were second-guessing her decision, and he forced himself to slow down. She knew why they’d come back here—she’d been the one to suggest it. But saying something and following through with it were two very different things.

He offered her a tight smile. He felt like an awkward teenager on a first date. “I can take you home if you’d like,” he said.

She bit her lip before answering, her gaze darting around the room. “No. I…”

Her words trailed off, uncertainty clouding her features. He pushed off the door and extended a hand to her. “How about we start with the grand tour?”

She glanced around the room. The ranch-style house was older but clean and cozy, and he tried to see it from her point of view. It looked lived-in without being cluttered, and the furniture was large and comfortable. Her perusal of the room brought her gaze back to him, and her eyes lit on his hand. After what he was sure was an intense internal deliberation, she slipped her palm into his.

He guided her farther into the house. “Living room. There’s the kitchen and dining room.”

A short hallway broke off to the left, and he stopped in front of a doorway. “I use the spare bedroom as an office.”

Although to call it an office was kind of an overstatement. Boxes stood two-deep, stacked head-high around the perimeter of the room, and the only workspace was an equally cluttered desk, papers and paraphernalia scattered across the oak surface.

Hannah glanced inside, and her eyes widened as she let out a startled laugh. “Good lord, are you hoarding inventory for a warehouse?”

“Hey, I have a lot of stuff,” he replied.

She tipped her chin up, gray eyes sparkling. “You think? And they say women are high maintenance.”