Built To Last (Saltwater Springs #1) (12 page)

“
D
on’t open
your eyes yet,” Luke said with excitement in his voice. Scarlett giggled. “Lettie, you promised.” He paused a moment then muttered under his breath, still loud enough that she was able to hear him. “I knew I shoulda brought that blindfold.”

Figuring she’d given him enough grief, Scarlett told him what he wanted to hear. “My eyes are closed, and they’re going to stay that way until you say otherwise.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, but I like it. You usually only take instruction well in the bedroom.” Now he was the one laughing.

She reached out blindly and smacked where she assumed he would be, but caught only the back of the truck seat. He must have dodged her—that swine! Scarlett smiled to herself and placed her hands over her eyes, not trusting that she wouldn’t try to take the smallest peek to see where he was driving them.

When he’d shown up at her place that Saturday afternoon and told her he had somewhere he wanted to take her, she’d grilled him…but to no avail. Luke insisted on it being a surprise and he wouldn’t budge, even when she’d offered him some incentives that involved them both being completely naked.

The terrain underneath the tires changed and Scarlett knew they were no longer driving on pavement. The hum of the tires coasting over concrete was gone and the truck rocked back and forth, trudging along much slower than before.

“Can I open my eyes now?” she asked.

“Don’t you dare,” came his reply.

She’d always been terrible with surprises. When she was in eighth grade, she had a hunch that her parents were throwing her a surprise party and she’d pestered Layla mercilessly until her friend had admitted to her what was going on. It worked then, so maybe it would work now.

“Will you at least give me a hint as to where you’re taking me?”

“Scarlett Devereaux…have you no patience?” he asked, sounding exasperated. Apparently, it wasn’t going to work.

She remained quiet until the truck came to a stop a couple of minutes later. “Now can I open them?”

“No. Stay put until I come around and get you.” Luke’s words were stern, but she heard the anticipation beneath them, which only fueled her own. Getting antsier by the second, she shifted in her seat until she heard the passenger-side door open.

"Okay, keep your eyes closed and I'll help you out." She felt his large hand taking hold of her arm, and then he turned her to face him before picking her up by the waist and setting her on the ground. His spicy, woodsy scent was even more pronounced with the loss of her ability to see.

Luke was quiet for a moment, so it startled her a bit when she felt his soft lips on hers. Cool autumn air surrounded them, but the heat of his kiss kept her warm. She sunk into the kiss until he pulled away, leaving her chilled from his absence.

It was then that she recognized the sound of rushing water.
Could it be?

"Open your eyes, Lettie." Slowly, she opened one, then the other, squinting against the sunlight, which hurt her eyes after having been in darkness for so long. When her vision grew accustomed, she took in her surroundings and sucked in a sharp breath.

Luke had brought her to
their
spot by the riverbank. Back when she was in high school, they used to come here all the time—they'd hang out, drink beer, fish, and sometimes even make love in the grass beside the water. Back then, neither of them had had the luxury of having their own place, so some of their best and most intimate moments happened right in this spot.

"I can't believe you remembered how to get here," she said softly.

Luke had stumbled upon the spot when they first started dating and had taken great pride in showing it to her for the first time. The river was pretty shallow but still wide at this point, with tall trees looming over the opposite side of the bank. The side they were on had a small clearing where Luke had pulled his truck up beside the water. It was the perfect vantage point to watch the river bend in the distance and disappear.

"I'd never forget how to find this place." He paused for a moment, his expression growing serious. "I came here a lot after you left."

"Right. What was I thinking?" Scarlett chewed on her bottom lip. Of course. She'd been stupid to assume that he wouldn't have ever brought anyone else here after she left.

Luke must’ve been able to tell what she was thinking. "Not like that. I’ve never brought anyone else here. I would never do that." He gazed down at her intently, the blue in his eyes deepening.

"Why did you come here then?" she asked around the lump in her throat.

Luke brought his hand up to rest on her cheek and brushed his thumb slowly back and forth. "Because it helped me to feel closer to you when you were no longer in my life."

Tears sprang to her eyes because Scarlett knew the feeling well. While she'd been living in Boston, she would often pull out old letters that Luke had written her or listen to songs the two of them used to enjoy for the same reason.

"I don't know what to say," she whispered.

"You don't have to say anything, Lettie. I'm just happy to be back here with
you
again … and not just with the memories of you."

She smiled a genuine, joyful smile, then leaped up without warning to straddle his waist. He caught her with ease and she leaned in slowly to kiss him, taking in every speckle of blue in his eyes and every small wrinkle on his face that hadn’t been there the last time they’d been in this spot.

The kiss began soft and sure, building slowly. Scarlett squeezed her legs tighter around Luke’s middle, feeling like there was no way she could be close enough to him, no matter what she did. His large hands held her in place while he returned the kiss, and Scarlett could feel the emotion pouring out of him.

He backed away from the kiss, and she loosened her legs and stood on her own in front of him. Luke’s hands came up to run through her hair. “This was the first place you ever told me you loved me,” he said with a rough voice.

“I remember,” she said, her voice breaking.

She’d wanted to tell him for weeks, but had been too afraid because he’d never said the ‘L’ word himself. One day while they were making out beside the riverbed, she was so filled with bliss and longing that she blurted it out before she could help herself. Thankfully, Luke had returned the sentiment.

Now he was gazing down at her with everything he felt plain as day on his face, and like the fish they used to seek in the river they stood beside, she’d been caught. Confusion squeezed her chest, and she was unable to look away from the man who had filled her past and become part of her present…but with whom there was no foreseeable future.

A small part of her wanted to tell him all the reasons they could never be, but a larger part—the selfish, greedy part—wanted to enjoy Luke a while longer. She had no desire to hurt him but feared that the damage was already done. It was clear he cared for her deeply.

Scarlett promised herself that she’d come clean with him before the bakery opened.

There. She’d given herself a timeline, and now she was free to enjoy their time together without the constant worry that had plagued her. Scarlett was determined to relish being with him—had to, in fact, because the memories they’d make in the weeks to come would have to last her a lifetime. And when the time came, she’d tell him. No backing out of it.

Luke leaned forward and kissed her forehead, still holding her in his arms.

Peace found a home in Scarlett in that moment, and she wanted nothing more than for it to wrap itself around her and never leave. She wanted to remember this perfect moment forever—the sound of the water rushing over rocks, the feel of her thick ivory sweater against her arms, the spicy scent of the man her arms were wrapped around, and the way that Luke’s blue eyes sparkled and held her in such reverence, as if there had never been any distance between them.

“I missed this,” he whispered, leaning down to nuzzle her neck.

“I did, too.”

“I’d stay here forever if I could.”

“Me, too,” she said with complete honesty…knowing in her heart it was the truth.

S
ome time
later they sat on the tailgate of his pickup truck, each sipping a beer that Luke had packed for them. He’d thought of everything, even a playlist with music from her high school days and a packed dinner in case they got hungry.

“Do you remember the party that Buckie had at his parents’ place? The one where half the football team from the neighboring county showed up?”

Scarlett laughed, remembering that night well. “And they brought their own keg, just in case ours ran out?”

“Oh, and those two guys fought over Madison, and one of them ended up throwing the other one against the wall and put a hole in the sheetrock.”

She covered her mouth with her hand to keep from spitting out her beer. The look on Buckie’s face had been priceless. Too bad for Buckie that when his parents returned home and found out, they’d forced him to warm the bench at every football game for a month straight.

Luke knocked against her with his shoulder. “If I recall, you had too much to drink that night.”

Groaning, Scarlett dropped her head back and stared up at the amber sky. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“You did throw up all over my new truck.”

“Oh, please. That thing wasn’t a day under twenty years old when you got it,” she teased.

Luke gasped with an affronted look on his face. He’d loved that piece of junk.

“Take it back.”

Scarlett pushed her chin into the air. “I will not.”

“Lettie…”

“Luke…” she responded in a sing-song voice.

He pushed up off the tailgate, setting his beer bottle in the long grass before moving to stand in front of her. “I’m warning you…take it back. Chelsea was a great truck. I was lucky to have her.”

She had to hold her stomach while she tried to contain her laughter. “Oh my gosh, I forgot that you used to call it that.”

Luke put his hands on his hips, attempting in vain to look serious. “Last chance.”

A younger, more innocent version of Luke’s face flashed over the one she was looking at presently, and memories from so many years ago came rushing forward. Though Scarlett had tried to push all thoughts of their time together out of her mind, it seemed the passing years hadn’t dulled those memories one bit.

The warm sensation she was so accustomed to having when she was around Luke spread throughout her chest and seeped into her veins until her entire body felt as if it were bathed in a warm glow.

“Or what?” she finally said.

“Or”—he took a step closer to her and Scarlett spread her thighs to accommodate him—“I do this.” He gently placed his hands just above her knees and slowly slid them closer and closer to—

“Ah!” Scarlett cried out as Luke squeezed and tickled her inner thighs. She squirmed, trying to remove herself from his clutches, but it was no use. Jerking and fighting to get free, she laughed until her ribs hurt, and all the while Luke cackled along with her.

“What do you have to say about Chelsea now?” he asked between laughs.

“Oh my God. Stop, stop, I can’t take anymore.” She gasped to catch her breath, but he took no mercy on her. She held out as long as she could before finally saying the words he wanted to hear. “Chelsea was the best truck ever! There will never be another like her!”

Seemingly satisfied, Luke removed his hands and she inhaled the first real breath of air she’d had in the past few minutes.

“Apparently, you remember where I’m most ticklish, too,” she said with a smile.

Luke cupped her face in his hands, a serious set to his jaw. “When are you going to realize that I remember
everything
about us?”

He slipped his hands back into her hair and kissed her. Luke’s tongue was soft and warm as it entered her mouth, teasing and making her yearn for more. The stubble on his face scratched over her skin as he deepened the kiss. What started as slow and deep quickly built into a frenzy of clinging limbs and deep moans.

“I need you,” Luke said in a throaty whisper as he trailed kisses along her neck.

Scarlett squeezed her eyes shut, unable to utter any words of resistance. The air had a chill to it, but her skin felt as if it were on fire from the inside out. She wasn’t concerned about being cold.

She began undoing the buttons on Luke’s shirt, starting at the bottom and working her way up. He moved back a step to shed his shirt, revealing his wide shoulders and muscled arms. She might have to request that he work shirtless next week in her bakery. Luke in low-hung jeans and a bare chest was a sight to behold.

Scarlett pulled the hem of her sweater over her head and tossed it on the ground. They both removed their boots, their eyes never straying from one another. She unbuttoned her jeans, but before she was able to remove them, Luke said, “Hang on a sec.”

He walked around the truck and leaned into the back seat, pulling out a couple of blankets that she hadn’t noticed were there. He hastily set one out on the ground and lay the other one on the grass beside it.

Looking over at her, he asked, “Is this okay? I don’t want you to be cold.”

She pushed her jeans down her legs and stepped out of them. “I’m sure you’ll keep me warm.”

Luke gazed at her with hunger in his eyes. “Damn. I still can’t get over what a woman you’ve become. I used to wonder all the time what you’d look like if I ever saw you again. I gotta say…the reality far exceeds my imagination.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. Stepping forward without a word, Scarlett wrapped her arms around his neck and forced him to bend over so that their lips met. She poured all the words she couldn’t tell him into that kiss—how much she desired him, the pain she’d suffered when she’d left, all the hopes she’d once had for their future…all of it.

Luke responded with fervor, savagely taking what she was offering. Eventually, she peppered kisses along his neck, across his shoulder, and down his arm, then she dropped down to her knees in the long grass and opened the front of his jeans until he sprang free. She pleasured him until his hands on her head forced her to rise.