Page 37 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
“I know,” he says simply, as if he had given me something far more innocent than materials used in banned practices.
I watch his every move closely, trying so hard to get a read on him through his casual demeanor. “This could’ve caused you a lot of problems.”
“I’m aware.”
“Then why?” I ask, carefully rising to my feet and dusting my hands off. “Nobody said you had to do this for me.”
Luke’s gaze holds mine, still too schooled to let me in on any of his thoughts. “I did this because it matters to you, and because you shouldn’t have to hide your practice while I’m trying to get everyone used to it.”
“So you did this for you?”
“No,” he says without missing a beat, shaking his head faintly like the thought is ridiculous. “I did it for you. Nobody else.”
Those words send something warm and oddly close to satisfaction through me, catching me off guard immediately. I don’t know why I react that way to such a simple declaration, but it makes me hesitate.
Luke’s brows just barely shift in a flicker of surprise, almost like he felt my reaction too.
The bond. Christ.
He takes a small step closer, just enough for the space between us to feel more charged now.
“You thanked me,” he says quietly, looking me over.
I blink back at him, trying to keep the sudden flush out of my cheeks from how traitorous my body and the connection are being right now. “What?”
“For the gift…you actually thanked me.”
As hard as I try, the heat moves higher, and I avert my gaze with a huffed breath. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
Though Luke smiles with a humored gleam in his eyes. “I might just a little. In my head, at least. I take it you liked it?”
Reluctantly, I fold my arms over my chest and nod. “Yes, I liked it.”
“Good.”
A beat of silence lingers between us, and as much as I want to keep that wedge between us, something about this feels softer. Not completely, but enough to feel less frantic.
I glance at him again as I find my words. “You act like it’s nothing. Like you didn’t take a risk.”
“It’s nothing,” he replies lightly, tilting his head slightly while he looks down at me. “But I’m trying.”
Swallowing harder than intended, I can’t ignore the strange warmth curling in my gut, like the tether is magnetized now, and it won’t let me pull away.
My rage made it so much easier to face him before, but right now, I’m disarmed, and I know it. It’s making me notice the way he looks at me, as if he wants to be closer, and wants to trust this foreign thing between us.
“And I…appreciate it.”
Those blue eyes soften, looking more receptive and open. Rather than pushing, he nods. “Then that’s enough for now.”
Luke stands there, close enough for me to feel the heat of him, but far enough that I can breathe and keep most of my sanity intact. The bond quiets, as if it doesn’t want to disturb this rare peace.
More surprisingly, I don’t feel like I’m bracing for impact, or waiting for the next awful thing to be thrown into my lap.
I still don’t forgive him, and I’m a long way from trusting him, but looking at him now, I can see that he really is trying.
For now, I’d rather that over an argument, or the pain of isolation.
Chapter 12 - Luke
