Luke and Lauren finished their usual morning routine, then settled in to handle what little work they could still do from home.

The restoration hero had repaired the café, but reopening immediately was out of the question. Lauren still needed to inspect the kitchen supplies, update the employees, and make sure everything was ready after yesterday’s attack. They also had mandatory follow-up appointments, which made opening the café for only a few hours more trouble than it was worth.

For now, Lauren had given Luke the easiest task. He sat on the living room sofa with her laptop open on the coffee table, staring at the café’s social media page while the blank post waited for him. The cursor had been blinking for several minutes, but he still could not decide how to begin.

Her instructions had sounded simple enough. He only had to tell their customers that the café would remain closed for the day while they handled the aftermath of the incident. He should also reassure everyone that nobody had been seriously hurt, thank them for their concern, and promise another update once they confirmed when they would reopen.

Luke typed out a sentence, read it twice, and deleted it. His second attempt sounded like an official police statement, while the third made it seem as though the café had burned to the ground and everyone inside had died.

Several messages were already waiting beneath yesterday’s final post. Regulars had asked whether Lauren was safe, whether anyone had been injured, and whether the café needed help with anything.

The café mattered to more people than Luke had realized. For him, it had once been a warm place where Lauren allowed him to sit without forcing him to buy anything. For the regulars, it was part of their routine, and Lauren remembered their names and how they took their coffee.

Leaning back, Luke rubbed both hands over his face.

"How hard can this be?"

Lauren continued humming in the kitchen, drawing his attention away from the screen.

Concentrating was difficult enough without her distracting him. She moved around the kitchen with a lightness he had rarely seen from her, her long hair tied loosely behind her head while several escaped strands framed her face. Instead of her usual work clothes, she wore a comfortable top and a long skirt, and every so often, her hips swayed slightly with the tune she was humming.

A mild headache still lingered behind her eyes after using Oracle’s Glimpse the previous night. Luke had noticed her rubbing one temple while preparing breakfast, but whenever he asked about it, she insisted it was barely worth mentioning.

He did not entirely believe her. Lauren had always been good at hiding discomfort, and Luke had already decided that she would tell the doctors about the headache during their follow-up, whether she wanted to or not.

Aside from that faint discomfort, Lauren seemed genuinely happy.

Luke knew exactly why.

His gaze dropped to her lips, bringing back the memory of their kiss so clearly that he could almost feel it again. Her mouth had been soft and warm, but there had been nothing uncertain about the way she kissed him. Lauren had taken control immediately, pulling him close while his thoughts scattered in every direction.

Remembering it made him want another kiss.

That desire quickly became something less innocent.

Luke’s eyes followed the shape of her body as she moved between the counter and stove. The soft top clung to her full breasts whenever she reached forward, while the long skirt shifted around her hips and ass with each step.

He remembered how those curves had felt pressed against him. Lauren was soft where he had expected softness and warm enough to make him painfully aware of every place their bodies touched.

His imagination moved beyond kissing before he could stop it.

Luke pictured pulling her against him again, only without either of them stopping after a few kisses. He wondered what she wore beneath the comfortable clothes and how much more beautiful she would look without them. The thought of Lauren guiding his inexperienced hands over her body sent a rush of heat through him.

His gaze remained on her ass for several seconds too long.

Luke shifted on the sofa when the front of his pants began tightening.

Damn it.

They had only become a couple yesterday, yet he was already imagining her naked. Worse, the images came with enough detail that trying to force them away only made them clearer.

He wanted to touch her breasts, kiss the beauty mark near her lips, and feel her thick thighs around him. He wondered whether she would take control during sex as naturally as she had during their first kiss, or whether she would make him show her what he wanted.

Luke swallowed.

His fingers had stopped moving over the keyboard entirely.

Lauren had told him not to feel ashamed of wanting her. She knew he was an adult, and she had made it clear that his attraction did not disgust her. Remembering those words only made his body react more strongly.

Part of him wanted to cross the room, wrap his arms around her waist, and test exactly how much desire she was willing to tolerate before telling him to calm down.

Luke dragged his attention back to the laptop.

She agreed to date me, not spend the entire day fighting me off.

He did not want Lauren to think that sex was the only reason he had wanted their relationship to change. She had saved him, trusted him, given him a home, and allowed him to become part of her life. Reducing everything between them to the chance of finally touching her body would make him feel like the kind of man she deserved to avoid.

His desire for her body was real, but it was not the only thing driving him.

Powerforge had finally given Luke enough strength to stand between Lauren and danger. He had protected her once, but that single victory did not mean he was strong enough. The next criminal might be faster, more experienced, or powerful enough to tear through Arcane Thrust without slowing down.

Luke wanted to keep growing until nobody could hurt Lauren while he stood beside her.

The problem was that knowing he cared about more than sex did little to weaken his desire.

Luke was still a virgin. He had never had sex, never seriously dated anyone, and had barely known what to do during their first kiss. Now his first girlfriend was a gorgeous older woman who already knew exactly how strongly he reacted to her.

She had even seemed pleased by it.

The memory of Lauren telling him that she would be hurt if he did not desire her sent another pulse through his cock.

Luke leaned forward and placed both hands over the laptop keyboard as though physical force might keep his thoughts under control.

"Announcement," he whispered. "Just write the damn announcement."

People his age dated, kissed, partied, and had sex without treating every moment as life-changing. Most of them had school romances, casual relationships, or at least a few embarrassing experiences they could laugh about later.

Luke had missed all of that. Now every touch from Lauren felt significant, and every suggestive thought seemed capable of taking over his entire brain.

The blinking cursor eventually dragged his attention back to the screen. Luke took a long breath, looked up a few examples of temporary business closure announcements, and borrowed the simplest structure he could find.

After adjusting the wording until it sounded sincere instead of cold and corporate, he finally had something decent.

Following yesterday’s incident, the café will remain closed today while we handle several official matters and prepare to reopen. Thankfully, everyone involved is doing well. We sincerely appreciate your concern, patience, and continued support. We will provide another update as soon as we confirm our reopening time.

Luke read it once more. It was not perfect, but at least it no longer sounded like an obituary.

He moved the cursor toward the button but stopped before clicking it. Lauren should probably read the post first, especially since the café belonged to her and the message would appear under its name.

Luke lifted his head to call for her.

Only then did he realize the humming had stopped.

A faint chill crept up the back of his neck as he became uncomfortably aware that someone was staring at him.