Royal Maid's Awakening - Chapter 8
Lukas was serving up the brunch he’d made when a sound made him turn around. He almost dropped the plate.
Hannah’s hair was loose and over her shoulders. She wore jeans that showcased long shapely legs and a tiny waist. The v-necked T-shirt looked indecently tight, the material lovingly outlining full breasts. As if he hadn’t almost lost his life when he’d seen her in that dress last night. She almost looked more provocative now.
She made a face. ‘I think the size is one too small, but thanks for getting me some clothes.’
Lukas thought the size was perfect, but he said nothing but a gruff-sounding, ‘I made some brunch. Eat. You’ll feel better.’
Great, now he sounded like some kind of Neanderthal. Hannah perched on a stool on the other side of the island. Her scent drifted close—fresh soap and something like roses. Sweet, unpretentious. He thought of that dress again last night and snorted at himself. Sweet? Unpretentious? The woman was a liability.
But then he recalled how she’d collapsed into his arms and the sheer panic came back. He handed her a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. ‘Sorry it’s not more adventurous, but I think that’s about all your stomach will manage.’
‘It looks delicious. My mother’s forced cooking lessons worked then?’
Lukas’s mouth quirked. Hannah’s mother had insisted on him and Danielo learning to cook so they could pull their weight in the house. He waited for the inevitable sharp pain to accompany that memory, but to his surprise it didn’t come. Only a sense of gratitude for what her parents had done for him.
‘Let’s just say I’ll never go hungry for lack of cooking skills.’
Hannah ate a mouthful and Lukas poured her a cup of coffee. She took a sip. ‘This is great, thank you.’ She looked at him and he had to steel himself against those huge eyes. ‘Thank you again for what you did. At least they didn’t get to do it to anyone else.’
She’d finished the plate of food. Lukas wasn’t used to women eating in front of him so unselfconsciously. She got up then and took her cup of coffee, cradling it in her hands. She walked over to the sliding doors and looked out. Lukas tried desperately not to let his gaze move down over her curves, but it would have taken the strength of a better man than him.
Her hair fell almost to the middle of her back, like brown silk. Her bottom—Lukas had to grit his jaw—her bottom was pert and lush. Her feet were bare and that tiny detail felt incredibly intimate.
She turned around then and Lukas looked back up. She said, ‘Look, Lukas, last night I went to that club because I knew you were going to be there.’
His chest felt tight. He shook his head. ‘Hannah, you shouldn’t have—’
She cut in. ‘I saw how you looked at me, just before you recognised me. I remember that. It was before I’d drunk anything. You can’t deny that you felt something.’
Lukas clamped his mouth shut even though he desperately wanted to refute what she was saying. He couldn’t. She was right. Even now, with just feet separating them, his blood thundered for her.
He said, ‘I might want you, Hannah, you’re a very desirable woman, but it’s not happening. I won’t ruin our relationship.’
‘We don’t have a relationship,’ she pointed out. ‘You lived with us for a few years before I was a teenager, Lukas. I’ve seen you once in the last twelve years. If you think that constitutes a relationship, then it’s no wonder you’re single.’
Lukas had no response for that. Damn her.