Duke paused, searching my face before he said, “I think it’s too late for that.” And then, slowly, he bent his head toward mine. Our lips brushed, sending electric currents through my body. Never had a kiss felt like this before. It was devastating.
Before I could think better of it, I closed the distance, sealing our mouths together in a tender kiss. I felt the urgency, the need to claim and be claimed, but neither of us rushed things.
Was this a goodbye? A way to put our curiosity to bed once and for all? If so, it was a shit way to go. Thirty seconds ago, I hadn’t known what I was missing. Now, I was acutely aware of what it was like to kiss Duke Bennett.
Even though I knew it would hurt, knew that I would spend the rest of my life replaying this moment in time, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
Duke pulled back with a sad smile. I waited for the apology I didn’t want to hear to leave his lips, but it never did. “I had to know,” he murmured. “At least once.”
I stared up at him, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. “Know what?”
“What you tasted like.”
I exhaled, letting out a low curse in the process. How could he stand there so calmly and say something like that to me? How could he not realize this connection was turning me upside down until I couldn’t think straight?
I finally understood all those stories I read as a kid where the princess woke up from a kiss from the prince, because thesimple graze of Duke’s lips would have me clawing my way back from the grave.
“That’s not fair,” I said, crossing my arms. “You can’t just kiss a girl like that and walk away.”
Duke shrugged, moving backward toward the hall. “I’m not the one walking away, honey.”
“You’re doing it right now,” I deadpanned. “Literally. As we speak.”
He smirked. “No. I’m just giving you a reason to follow. What’s it gonna be? Are you gonna sit there and mope, or are you going to come have coffee with me?”
“I’m mourning, not moping,” I shot back.
“Christ, woman. Always with the smart ass comebacks. Are you coming or not?”
I should say no. I should tell him to leave. I should go ahead and prepare my heart for the inevitable fucking pain leaving Pinecrest would bring.
But I wasn’t ready for that. Especially not on the heels of John’s death. I didn’t trust myself to be alone with my thoughts because I would inevitably spiral into a pit of despair from the weight of the responsibilities on my shoulders.
With a sigh, I pushed to my feet. What was a little more pain, anyway? “Is your coffee any good?”
“Come find out.”
“Goddammit, this is good,”I hissed, blowing along the top of the mug that read, “World’s Best Uncle” with Lukas’s face in the middle.
Duke raised his own in salute. “I told you it was worth it.”
When he’d gone outside to pull coffee beans from his truck, Ithought he’d lost his mind. I mean, who keeps something like that on hand, anyway?
“This is so good that I don’t even mind being wrong.” I glanced over at Duke, who was looking out into the pasture at a pair of grazing horses. “I didn’t take you for much of a coffee snob. You seem more like a Folgers guy.”
He chuckled. “I used to be. I blame this on your brother. He started carrying the good shit with him to every job site because he was tired of drinking watered-down nonsense his guys drank.”
“Sounds like Luke,” I snorted. “I swear to god, he’s more high maintenance than I am.”
“He really is,” Duke laughed. “Always has been.”
“Y’all talking shit?” my brother asked, strolling through the French doors to the patio. He came over to me, kissing the top of my head, before tossing a large white box onto the table in front of us.
“Complimenting your fancy coffee, actually.” I held up my mug. “Duke let me in on your secret addiction.”
Lukas plopped down in the chair across from us, shrugging. “I like what I like. I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”
“If what you like is this good, then there’s no problem at all.” I took a long sip, closing my eyes to savor the hint of pecans from the freshly ground beans. “You may need to share your supplier, though.”