Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 41918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
I have to find him and thank him. Maybe even get some answers about how he was able to pull this off. But mostly to thank him. And see him. And maybe see if he'll kiss me again.
Rushing to the bathroom, I brush my teeth and hair but don't bother getting dressed. The two-piece pink pajama set—shorts and a loose shirt—aren't exactly modest, but I don't care about that right now. He already saw what I was wearing all night last night as he rescued me from a freaking burning building after I had frozen up.
Slipping my feet back into my slippers, I pour two cups of coffee into the black coffee mugs I find in the cabinet above the coffee pot, and head out into the daylight. Luke's garage is next door, and it takes no time at all to see where the sound of a classic rock song is coming from. I just follow the noise and the smell of oil, gasoline, and leather.
I'm a little hesitant to walk through the large wooden door into what must be Luke's workspace and try to talk to him. After all, he's probably pretty busy and focused, and the last thing I want is to be an annoyance or a distraction.
Then again, he did give me permission to make myself at home and come here. It's not like I'm a stranger, right? Well, not anymore anyway. So, I steel myself, push back the door, and walk through.
When I step inside, my eyes immediately land on the large figure bent over a motorcycle, tinkering with the engine. Even from across the room, I can feel the heat radiating from him. His sleeves are rolled up to the elbow, exposing his forearms and the strong, corded muscles underneath. A fine layer of sweat coats his skin, making him look like he's just stepped off the cover of a magazine.
I can't help but stare, drinking in the sight of him. He's so strong, so confident, so utterly in control of himself. My breath catches in my throat, and I find myself taking a step closer, as if drawn by an invisible magnet.
"Hey there," Luke calls out without turning around.
My eyes widen. How did he know it was me? "Oh, uh, hi!"
"What are you doing up so early? You need rest, Emma."
I feel my cheeks flush as I try to gather myself. "I, uh, found my duffel bag. Luke, you didn't have to do that. You had to have been up all night."
Luke's strong, broad back ripples as he shrugs. He wipes his hands on a greasy towel, leaving a trail of dark stains on the fabric, but doesn't turn around.
"I'm always up at dawn," he says simply. "It's just what I do. And you needed your things." He finally turns and flashes a grin, and the sight of those straight white teeth sends a wave of want through me. "Plus, I grabbed your keys on the way out of the apartment last night. Figured I might need them in a pinch."
He comes forward and takes one of the cups out of my hand, taking a long drink and sighing contentedly before continuing. "The girl at the front desk still wouldn't let me in, though. So I slipped her a few bucks to go up and pack the bag for me."
I shake my head, amazed that he would go through all that trouble. "You didn't have to do that," I insist, feeling a blush rising on my cheeks. "I'm not a child who can't be trusted to look after herself."
He looks down at me with an intensity in his blue eyes that makes my knees go weak. "I'm aware," he says. "But you're also someone worth looking after."
Before I can stop it, words that I really wanted to keep to myself slip out. “Well, at least one man thinks so.”
He raises his scarred eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Hating that I even brought it up, I sip at my coffee to buy time before reluctantly admitting, “I don’t have a father. Or at least I don’t know who he is. He was a one-night stand of my mom’s when she was younger and when she told him she was pregnant he disappeared."
“What a fucking prick.” Luke’s voice is close to a snarl, which makes me jump. Woah. He really sounds like he’s pissed.
I wave my hand through the air. “It’s a long time ago. I don’t know why I even mentioned it.”
After Luke forces his shoulders to relax, he pauses for a moment, as if debating something in his head. "You might want to go back to the house and get ready for the day if you aren't able to sneak a few more hours of sleep in.”
I shrug. “Sure. I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable, I just figured since you saw me in this last night…”