Chapter 15

Maddie was a woman on fire.

Lucas knew all about working so hard that he didn"t have the energy to think of the shit he didn"t want to think about, so he knew exactly what Maddie was doing.

They"d been at the store for ten hours, and Maddie hadn"t stopped.

She"d been arranging flowers for a morning pick up, reorganized the display coolers, and gone over receipts.

She didn"t talk to Lucas at all. Even her dog gave up getting attention and went to nap on a cot that Maddie had in the back room, undoubtedly so she could have a place to crash when she worked until she dropped.

He had a feeling today was one of those days.

He"d brought them lunch, and she"d eaten that while working.

No break.

No talking.

A woman trying to outrun her demons.

She"d erected a wall around her that she didn"t plan to let anyone get past.

But he had siblings who did the same things. He was used to it.

He also had a lot of experience getting around it.

He finally walked over to the cot and sat down with Violet. The huge pit bull thumped her tail and licked his hand as he patted her.

He stretched out beside the dog and closed his eyes.

Waiting.

It took only a few minutes. "What are you doing?" Maddie asked.

"Napping."

"What if someone comes to get me?"

"I can hear in my sleep."

"Can you see in your sleep?"

"Violet can."

"Seriously? You"re going to take a nap and let my dog protect me? Why are you here then? What"s the point? Why don"t you just leave?"

He smiled to himself. Those were the first words she"d spoken to him since they"d left her dad"s house. "I didn"t like how I reacted to your dad." The minute he said it, he swore under his breath. He hadn"t meant to say that.

There was silence, and he hoped he"d pissed her off by bringing up her dad.

But he wasn"t so lucky.

"What do you mean?" Maddie asked. "I mean, I did notice that you got very tense when you were talking to him. Why? Did you think he was going to shoot you?"

"No."

"Then?"

Lucas grimaced. How far was he willing to go to connect with Maddie? Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Lucas?"

"Your dad seems very protective of you."

"He is. So?"

"I had a little PTSD moment." He let out his breath. There. He"d said it. Moving on. "How are you doing? Want to talk about Jacob?"

"PTSD?" There was a moment, then she made a noise of understanding. "You mean, the girl and her dad who got you put in prison?"

"Yeah. I don"t like dads." He decided he"d gotten her talking, so time to move on to something he didn"t mind talking about. "You want to get some dinner?"

The cot sank as she sat next to him. "Lucas."

Fuck. He didn"t want this to be about him. His fault for bringing it up, yeah, but he still didn"t want to be in this conversation. He opened his eyes, and then his smart-ass response faded when he saw Maddie looking at him.

There was kindness and understanding in them, and suddenly he felt like a fucking baby. "It"s fine." He sat up. "It"s good. I"m fine."

His move put him sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Maddie, literally pressing against her.

It felt good, so he stayed where he was.

She didn"t move either.

"My dad would believe me if I told him you did something wrong to me," she said quietly. "You"re correct."

He felt his body tense, and he swore and stood up, pacing across the back room. "Look, Maddie, I"m fine?—"

"But I don"t use him to solve my problems."

He braced his hand on the metal table and took a breath. Shit. He hadn"t been in this place for a long time. Maddie made him vulnerable, and he didn"t like that. "He couldn't touch me now," he said. "I have power."

"He has power, too, and you know that. That"s why you"re tense."

He swore again. The old man did have a fire in him. Lucas had felt that. But Huck"s power came from his love for his daughter. That could drive a man to lengths nothing else could. "It"s stupid. It"s fine. I don"t think you"re going to try to get me put in jail."

What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was he spiraling like this? He was a tough, rich, powerful man. No one could touch him. Not even Huck.

He knew that.

He knew it.

So, why was he losing his shit?

"Lucas."

The way she said his name hit a chord. That tone. That kindness. His whole body responded, and he suddenly knew why he was freaking out.

It wasn"t that he was afraid she and her dad would toss him in jail.

It was because the last time he felt this way, he was betrayed.

He was afraid of giving Maddie the power to betray him. He was afraid that he was falling for her. The last time he"d trusted a woman with his heart, he"d been destroyed.

Fuck.

He was falling in love with her.

He barely knew her, but his soul knew who he"d found.

His soul wasn"t giving him space to breathe, to catch up, to make sure it was safe.

Son of a bitch.

He spun to face her, bracing his hands on the table behind him. "Maddie."

She was watching him. "What?"

He couldn't tell her what he was feeling. She"d bolt and run, and there was nothing she could say to help him. If she said she"d never betray him, he could still choose to believe her or not believe her.

He had to find his way himself.

Could he trust his heart with a woman who had clearly stated she didn"t want his heart and she would never give him hers?

That felt like a great fucking plan.

"What"s going on with you?" she asked. "I"m not going to put you in jail."

"I know." He did know that. No one was going to put him in jail. Not ever.

"And my dad doesn"t matter." She laughed softly. "He fell so in love with my ex that I still haven"t told my dad what my ex did. I don"t want to break my dad"s heart. But I guess I should, huh? Getting him fired up to save me seemed to work wonders."

Lucas was glad for the distraction. "What did your ex do?"

Her face shuttered, and she shook her head. "It doesn"t matter."

But it did matter. Lucas could see the way her body tensed, and her jaw hardened. Pain and fear settled in her eyes, and for a split second, she looked vulnerable and fragile, not the tough Maddie she tried to be.

And that"s when Lucas realized that her refusal to trust him or hope for more with him was because she, too, had been eviscerated. She had no trust left to give to a man.

Which meant that if neither of them got brave enough to trust, they would never get anywhere. Never have a chance.

One of them had to take the leap.

Fear. Fuck it.

He"d survived a wrecked heart once.

He could survive it again.

But he wouldn't survive allowing fear to keep him from trying.

He shook out his shoulders, then walked over to Maddie.

Her eyes widened as he neared, but she didn"t move away or tell him to stop.

He dropped to his knees in front of her. The cot was low, so they were almost level. He put his hands on her knees. "Maddie."

She cocked an eyebrow. "It"s about time you learned my name. After all the great times we"ve had together."

He grinned. Sass. He loved it. "I"m a quick study." He moved in between her knees and slid his hands along her thighs. "Your cot is bored."

"It"s bored?" Her eyes met his, and he saw the heat in them.

He didn"t want to complicate anything with talking. He simply wanted to connect in whatever way she"d let him. Words would scare her. But a kiss? Maybe not. As long as he didn"t let her know what the kiss meant to him.

"Yeah." he said. "Your cot is definitely bored. No one is doing anything fun on it. Cots are meant for action." His hands reached her hips, the magnificent curves of her hips. He watched her reaction carefully, ready to back off the instant he got a hint of her discomfort or reluctance.

"Cots are meant for sleeping." But she put her hands on his shoulders.

Hell, yeah. "Not this one." He leaned in, slowly, ever so slowly, to give her all the time in the world to stop him.

She didn"t. She just waited, anticipation dancing in her eyes.

So he kissed her.

The minute his mouth touched hers, Maddie locked her arms around his neck and pulled him in. Her response wasn"t surrender. It was claiming.

Maddie was claiming him.

It was he who surrendered to her, allowing her to take over the kiss. She pulled him close, and he rose, following her back onto the cot. They had only a small place for their feet, with Violet refusing to give up her spot.

Lucas was good with that. He loved animals, and he appreciated how Maddie treated her dog like family.

She kept her hands locked around his neck as he lowered himself onto her. The moment their bodies were touching, he felt something inside him settle. Being with Maddie felt right. He knew he was where he was meant to be.

Lucas rolled onto his side, drawing Maddie into the curve of his body. She came willingly, tucking herself against him. When he draped his leg over her hip, enclosing her into the circle of his protection, it felt amazing.

They kept the kiss going, deepening and expanding. The heat between them was electric, burning through their clothes. "I want to feel your skin against mine," he whispered between kisses.

Maddie immediately put her hand on his forehead. "Good?"

He laughed, the chuckle starting deep in his chest and rolling through. "Yeah, that"s exactly what I meant."

"That"s too bad. I was hoping to get a closer look at your chick-magnet abs." She shrugged. "Oh, well."

"Yeah, I can"t share those with you. I want you to stay sane. It drives women crazy."

"So, you"re holding me to the same lower standard as other women? I can handle them." She pushed back at him. "Shirt off, cowboy."

He grinned, loving that Maddie was taking control. He was a man who was used to running everything. The man who held shit together. So to have Maddie taking control of the situation was unfamiliar, and intoxicating as hell. He knew she needed to feel in control in order to feel safe, and he was all right with that.

So he sat up, ripped his shirt over his head, and tossed it aside.

Maddie raised her brows and placed her palms on his torso. Her touch sent sparks shooting through him. Awareness. Heat. Need. He wanted to lock his arms around her and drag her against him, shower her with kisses until she was on fire for him.

But he didn"t make a move.

He waited for her to decide what was next. His cock was hard, but it could stay that way for all he cared.

This moment wasn"t about having sex. It wasn"t about what they ended up doing.

It was simply about acknowledging their connection and building trust with Maddie. Showing her that he was the guy she could have faith in, no matter what.

Which meant that when she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his stomach, he didn"t react.

All he allowed himself to do was lift one hand and lightly trail his thumb and forefinger along her hair.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. She was still on her side on the cot, and he was sitting up. "What do we do, Lucas?"

"About what?"

She took a breath. "I want to kiss you."

He grinned. "Best news I"ve heard all day."

"You"re…" She paused.

He waited, his fingers still gently playing with her hair. At their feet, Violet was snoring, and the heat from the dog"s body was warming his calf.

Maddie was staring at his stomach, but he knew she wasn"t seeing it. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking.

He wanted to ask what was on her mind. He wanted to slide his hand along her jaw and kiss her, taking her away from her thoughts, and offering her a moment of peace and connection.

But he didn"t.

Finally, she looked up at him. "My ex. His name"s Adam."

Lucas settled down on his elbow so he was level with her. He moved his hand to her hip, lightly drawing circles. "I"m listening."

She pressed her lips together for a moment. "He was my high school boyfriend. We were together for four years before he graduated. He went to college to play football."

Lucas was going to have to have Dylan find this guy.

"I…" She stopped, and Lucas thought for sure she wasn"t going to continue.

She"d shut him out.

Dammit.

He couldn't give up. Not yet. Not yet.