Chapter 13

I do.

Lucas swore under his breath when those two words popped out of his mouth. What the hell?

Maddie stiffened instantly and released his wrists. "I love kissing you, Lucas. It"s awakening all sorts of emotions in me, but I truly don"t want anything more. I can"t. I don"t have space for it in my heart. Or my life. I shouldn't have done this?—"

"Maddie." He fought to right himself. The comment had surprised her, and it had stunned him. He"d been thinking of Jacob and Phoebe, and his two other brothers who had found their soulmates. He"d been thinking of their relationships while he"d been kissing Maddie, and he"d been thinking about how he wanted what they"d found, too.

How Maddie was making him burn for the kind of romantic connection he"d believed he didn"t want.

And how that was scary as shit, but it also stoked a fire inside him that lit him up.

He could see from Maddie"s response, that "scary as shit" was the only response his words had evoked. He had to pull back, and fast. He forced a soft chuckle. "I"m not asking for anything from you. Not now. Not ever. I love kissing you. That"s all."

She gave him a skeptical look. "That"s all?"

He nodded. "My job is to protect you. I would never do anything that would interfere with that."

"It felt like…" She paused. "I don"t want to hurt you."

Fuck. He was so into her already that she could rip his soul out of his body and eviscerate it. He could feel himself falling hard for her, and the way Maddie was reacting made him think she sensed it, too. He had to fix this fast. "Maddie. I"m a grown man who has been through hell and back. I can take care of my own emotions. It"s not your job." Truth.

"But—"

He shook his head. "My emotions. My job." He meant it, and he let her see it.

After a moment, she took a breath. "Okay."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, what?"

"I don"t know." She laughed softly. "I guess just, okay?"

He smiled. "One more kiss, then? No emotions involved. Just raw, hot, sexual attraction that will wind up with us having sex in the back of my truck in about two minutes."

She laughed, and heat sparked in her eyes. "Raw, untamed sex that has no emotional baggage?"

"Yeah." He pulled up his tee shirt. "I have a six-pack. Does that tempt you?"

Her gaze shot to his torso. She stared for a second. "Holy crap, Lucas. What is that?"

"It"s my magnet to attract women. I work hard at it. Does it work on you?"

"Um, yeah." She laid her hand on his stomach, and his muscles tensed under her touch. "You"re a gym rat."

"It"s all the ranch work. Hauling hay bales around is a great ab workout."

She cocked her head, studying him with open curiosity. "Don"t you pay someone to haul hay bales around?"

He shrugged. "We don"t like strangers much in our space, so we try to handle everything ourselves. There are nine of us, plus a few friends that are like family."

"That"s what my dad and I do at our store," she said. "Sometimes one of my friends helps out, but we try to just be us. It"s getting more difficult now that business is taking off, so I"m not sure how much longer I can do it alone, though." She smiled. "It"s a good problem to have, right? Being successful?"

"It sure is." He kissed the back of her hand. "You and I are perfect for each other. Antisocial animal lovers who are devoted to family. We should have hot sex to celebrate."

She laughed, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I only kiss cowboys. I never sleep with them."

"Damn. Then I better make these kisses worth it." He pulled her in for a kiss that went from hot to boiling pretty much instantly. He smiled to himself when Maddie leaned into him, fully surrendering to his kiss.

He liked the surrender not just because it felt fantastic to have her body against his, but because it showed she was learning to trust him. He"d learned enough about Maddie to know trust was the foundation of everything for her, and she didn"t give it out easily.

He wasn"t going anywhere.

She could lean on him all she wanted, and he was going to be there.

Even if it was only for kissing, but he sure as hell hoped it became more than kissing.

More than sex.

More than friendship.

Even though the idea of going all-in with Maddie scared the living crap out of him, it didn"t matter. He"d spent his life facing down fear, and it didn"t stop him anymore.

Because everything good was on the other side of fear, at least for him.

And he wanted Maddie.