“Oh, yeah. Did you get her any pajamas? I have the cutest striped ones I could loan her. Remember the green and red stripes with the big jelly beans?”
I did remember. They were the most unfortunate combination of fabric and print I’d ever seen. “I already gave her some, but thanks.” Maybe I should get to know Madison a little better. There had to be something wrong in her past for her to dress the way she did. I’d been wondering about the socks for a while. I mean, I could never find my socks, but I basically had black and white. She didn’t own a pair that wasn’t patterned or striped and at least two different colors. And somehow she always had the matched set.
“I’m going to turn in now,” she said.
“Yeah. Thanks!”
“Goodnight, Madison.” Luke waited until she left the room, and then he closed the door.
“How long does she take in the shower?” I asked. “We need to talk.”
Luke crossed the room to the bed, climbed in and leaned back against the headboard as if he owned the place. He patted the bed beside him.
I crawled onto the bed and curled up at his side. “Spill it. We don’t have long.”
He sighed, and ran thumb over my bottom lip. “We probably don’t have long enough. So I should tell you that things are not good with my mother. She’s been off her meds, spending money we don’t have. I confronted her before we came over tonight.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “It’s not good, Savannah. When she gets like this, it can go one of two ways. She could call and get her meds tomorrow, straighten up, and be fine. Or she could keep spiraling and end up disoriented, psychotic, and headed for inpatient treatment. Either way, I’m sure she’s not going to have a job. Which means I’ll have to call around for some weekend work, and if Bill decides to work on the reno straight through the weekend, then I’ll have trouble covering all the bills. I’ve already taken the pay for that project into account.”
I knew poor, and I knew selfish mother. I didn’t know anything about crazy, and I hadn’t realized just how lucky that made me. If I was the one who needed money fast, I’d do one of the things I’d done before. Write a check at one of those borderline-criminal check-cashing places. Sell back my textbooks even though I needed them to get through the semester. Or even get a crap fast food job for me to work on my days off. There were always options. Not good ones, but options.
“I can’t help you with any money,” I said.
“God, Savannah, I wasn’t asking.”
“I know. I know you wouldn’t ask me. You’re not like that.” My current emergency fund consisted of the electric blanket my mother had given me for Christmas last year. I hadn’t decided whether I needed the money or the heat in this drafty old house. I’d probably end up returning it to the superstore for food, toothpaste, or tampons. I didn’t have much left over after I used my student loans to pay my tuition. I had friends who lived large on credit cards, but I hadn’t figured out how to make that work. I couldn’t scrape together the minimum payment to keep all that debt floating.
He reached out and took my hand. “The money is the easy part. The part I can handle. The breakdown, the hospitalization, the mania and the psychosis, not so much.”
“What will you do tomorrow? Won’t Nat have to go home from school before you get there? Will she be safe?”
“She’ll have to stay at school or catch a bus to the public library. She’s done it before. She won’t want to go to a friend’s house yet. She may have to when things get worse, and she knows her friends will ask questions she doesn’t want to answer. These days are the hardest on Nat. The ‘not knowing what will happen next’ days.”
“They’re hardest on you too,” I said, realizing he was sharing his darkest secrets with me right now.
“Savannah, I hate to get all heavy and serious on you. I’ve never told anybody these things before, but I’m here and Nat’s here, and I need you to understand why I’m asking to crash here tonight. I have a couple of friends that I could crash with, but with Nat starting to look like she looks…”
“It’s fine,” I said. For some reason, it was okay. It truly was okay with me that he was laying this on me. Why on earth was it okay with me?
“I’ve locked Nat in the garage with me before. I’ve even taken her to hotels. We can usually go stay at my boss’s house, but he’s got his grandchildren this weekend. It didn’t seem fair. I wasn’t focusing on anything except our dinner date.”
“You were hungry?” I teased.
He rolled over so that his face was inches from mine. “I wanted to see you.”
“I wanted to see you too.”
Luke reached over with his finger and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Thanks for letting us stay. Thanks for understanding.”
“You’re going home in the morning? Will you check on your mother?”
“No. I’ll get ready for work and make sure Nat gets to school without any drama. My mother will sink or swim on her own.”
“She won’t listen to you if you try to talk to her?”
Luke closed his eyes tightly and then opened them. “I gave her an ultimatum, but she’s not bad enough to commit against her will yet. Until then, there’s nothing I can do.”
The need to make him feel better overwhelmed me. I could make him forget about everything for a few minutes. They said sex was a weapon but it could also soothe. Making him feel better would be so easy.
The knobs on the shower faucet squeaked and the sound of the shower stopped. Well, there was something I could do if his sister weren’t about to join us.
“Do you think your sister would be comfortable sleeping in here by herself?”
“I don’t know. What are you thinking?”
“We could sleep on the couches and give her the privacy of this room.”
“Hmmm. Could we maybe share a couch?” He trailed his fingers down my arm.
“I think that could be arranged,” I said, as his fingers wandered further south to the outside of my leg, and then to the sensitive inner thigh. “Stop that,” I said without much force.
“Stop what?” His fingers continued to glide toward the vee. The roar of my blow dryer brought a wicked grin to his face. “We may have a few more minutes.”
I grabbed his hand and stopped his meandering. “No. It’s bad enough we lost control at the restaurant. I don’t want to be half naked and moaning when your sister comes out.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What about completely naked?”
I socked him in the chest and hit hard muscle. “You hang out with your sister until she falls asleep, and we’ll both get naked on the couch after that.”
“Deal.”
I rolled of the bed and landed on my feet. “Aubrey and her prey will roll in at about three. Madison will be out like a, well, a kindergarten teacher on a Friday night. Or any night of the week.”
With a shake of his head, Luke said, “I’m sure there are a few wild ones out there.”
“The point is that we’ll have some privacy.”
His eyes roamed over my body, scorching me with their heat. “Good to know.”
Chapter Seven
Savannah
The blow dryer stopped, and I rushed to sit on the side of the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“Sit up. I’m trying to make it less awkward for your sister.”
He grinned. “A little late for that.” He sat up and moved over by me anyway.
Nat opened the door and walked into the bedroom, hair damp, face flushed, and enveloped in a cloud of fresh smelling soap and shampoo.
“These are comfy, Savannah,” she said, gesturing to the pjs. “Thanks.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep okay here?” I asked, gesturing to my bed.
She bit her lip as she eyed the bed. “Who’s sleeping with me? I mean it would be kind of creepy to sleep with Luke.”
“Hey!”
She shrugged. “I just don’t want you grabbing my boob in
your sleep thinking I’m her.”
Luke’s face turned bright red. “I wouldn’t do that.”
I cracked up because his discomfort struck me as ridiculously funny.
He groaned. “Nat. I really wish you hadn’t gone there.”
When I looked over at her, she was looking uncomfortable as well.
“You get to sleep here alone. We’ll sleep on the couches.”
“What if those weirdoes come back?”
“They won’t, but we’ll push a couch in front of the door anyway.”
“Okay,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m exhausted. Can I go ahead and climb in?”
“Do you want me to stay here for a few minutes?” Luke asked.
“No. I’m okay.”
We stood and moved off the bed, but Nat just stood there, chewing on her lower lip.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.
Nat glanced nervously at me. “Um, can you… Can you be kind of quieter tonight? I have a lot to do tomorrow.”
“Oh my God,” I said.
“Yeah,” Nat said. “That.”
Luke laughed. “You aren’t showing anybody mercy tonight, are you Nat?
“We’ll be quiet,” I said, pretending I wasn’t horrified at the mention of my not-so-discreet stay the other night. I grabbed Madison’s blankets and left the two of them in my room.
Two days ago, I didn’t know Luke or Nat, and now they were crashing at my place. Somehow their presence here was just as intimate as what Luke and I had done in the back seat of his SUV. Since when does a one-night stand start to feel like family?
“You’re pretty freaked out, aren’t you?” Luke said as he closed the bedroom door behind him.
“Yeah,” I admitted, wondering if the man could read my mind.
“She shouldn’t have brought up the quiet thing,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer.
Oh. He thought I was freaked about that. I’d already moved on to other uncomfortable thoughts. “It’s okay. Really.”
He put his mouth to my ear. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Tell you what. We can make sure you don’t make any noise at all. We’ll just ignore your satisfaction tonight. And, you know I’m only saying this to help you out, you can just focus on pleasuring me.”
I could feel his wicked grin against my neck.
“Oh, hay-ell no,” I said, backing away to slug him in the biceps.
“I’m just thinking of you, Darlin’,” he said, catching my fist before I could pummel him again.
“You are just the sweetest thing. I think you are exactly right.”
“Oh, I am, am I?” His eyes lit with mischief as he played along.
“In fact, I think you should just make yourself comfortable on the couch and then you can tell me exactly what you want me to do.”
“Consider it done,” he said, lunging for the couch.
“No,” I said, jumping out of character. “The Ugly Couch. It’s more comfortable.”
He laughed and swooped in for a kiss before walking to the Ugly Couch and stretching out. “It’s so kind of you to think of my comfort.”
A laugh slipped out as I sauntered over to him.
“Do I tell you what I want now?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.” I climbed onto him so that I straddled his legs. “I think I know what you want.”
He nodded, his expression turning serious. His voice husky, he said, “I think you do.”
Every nerve in my body went on alert at the contact between us, and I was becoming a little breathless. I almost abandoned my plan to avoid delaying the hot sex I could already be having. Should already be having. Something about Luke and his ridiculously high testosterone level had me wanting to keep him inside of me all day and all night. It was more than lust. The connection was chemical, or pheromones, or sorcery, but it was impossible to fight.
“You could start with my belt,” Luke said, clearly taunting me to make a move.
“Or I could… tickle you into submission,” I said, diving for the sides of his tummy.
“I’m not ticklish,” he said.
“Of course, you are. I just have to find the right spot.”
I tickled under his armpits and then his abdomen until I found a spot just below his ribs that had him writhing under me. “Say uncle,” I demanded through my giggles.
“Never,” he gasped.
“Submit,” I yelled.
He shook with laughter. “Uncle,” he said. “Uncle.”
I stopped and collapsed against his chest.
“I’m not ticklish,” he said.
“Whatever.”
“I’m serious. I just thought we could find some other ways for you to touch me.”
“First your punishment for losing.”
He narrowed his eyes. “And that would be?”
“Instead of pleasuring you, you are pleasuring me.”
“Babe,” he said, putting his arms around me and rolling me under him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He nipped at my lips, and then kissed me. Fire raced through me as his tongue plundered my mouth, sliding against mine.
“Savannah, we have got to get you out of these clothes.”
I wanted to see all of him too, but that wasn’t a good idea. “I’ll get a blanket and throw it over us, but even so, we can’t get completely nude.” I rolled off the couch and grabbed a blanket. Then I climbed back on top of him.
He groaned. “I’m getting you out of this top,” he said. Then he pulled it over my head and tossed it on the floor. “And this bra.” He sent the flimsy scrap of blue lace flying after the top.
Luke was still completely dressed, and my breasts were flapping in the breeze. I flinched at the exposure until I saw the desire in his eyes as he took in my breasts. He reached for them, slowly, gently, taking them in his hands as if they were a precious work of art and he couldn’t believe he was getting to touch them. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered, his gaze rising to my face. “So perfect.” He reached around me for the blanket. “Come down here where I can taste them.”
I moved lower and he pulled the blanket over both our heads. His lips touched my breast, and I squirmed against the evidence that he appreciated my breasts as much as I appreciated his mouth. He sucked and nipped and I was about to pull away so I could literally get in his pants and get this thing moving along.
At the sound of the key scraping in the door, I nearly screamed in frustration.
Luke stiffened.
“My stupid roommate,” I hissed. “Where’s my shirt?”
We both struggled to find it.
As Aubrey came through the door, drunk, practically wearing a tall guy with a mohawk as a jacket, I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders.
“Oh,” she said, ceasing her staggering as she realized Luke and I were there. “Why are you out here?”
“I need to talk to you for a minute. Can you take him to your room and come back in here?”
Mohawk was sucking on her neck as I spoke.
“I don’t think so,” she said, reaching back to cup his penis through his jeans.
“It’s important,” I snapped.
“Then talk,” she said, turning around to stick her tongue down Mohawk’s throat.
I wanted to grab her by her hair and pull her away to listen to me. “You left people here. In your room. All day, unattended, strangers in our house!”
She extracted herself from his mouth. “It was just Phil. He’s harmless.”
It wasn’t like her to know the name of her overnight guests. Phil? “Did he work with you at that other bar?”
“Right.”
“He had other people here.”
“It won’t happen again, okay?”
“Okay.”
She grabbed Mohawk by his studded belt buckle and led him to her bedroom.
Luke had sat quietly on the sofa the whole time.
“She dri
ves me freakin’ crazy,” I said.
“Like a bucket of ice water on a frigid winter day,” he said.
“Pretty much.”
I sat down next to him. “I’m sorry, Luke. I just need a minute to clear my head.”
Aubrey pushed through the bedroom door, and stumbled to the kitchen. After rummaging around in the fridge, she came back holding an armful of beer bottles.
“I thought she stayed in there once she lured her prey into there.”
“She does. I thought.” I hadn’t actually slept out here to notice any different. “We should be safe now.”
He stood and shucked off his jeans and boxers.
I laughed.
“Hey, I don’t want any more roadblocks.”
I shimmied out of my panties.
“Take off the skirt,” he urged. “I want to touch your skin.”
I did as he asked.
He took off his t-shirt and motioned for me to share the blanket.
One look at those abs, and I was ready to forget Aubrey and get back to business.
He reached down to his jeans and pulled a handful of something out of his pocket. Condoms. At least a half dozen.
“Big plans?” I teased.
He stuffed them in between the arm of the couch and the cushion. “Easy access.”
“I like a man with a plan,” I said as he moved to cover me with his body and then pulled the blanket over both of us.
He kissed me until I was once again desperate to fill the empty ache between my thighs.
He reached for the condom, and we both jumped as the door to Aubrey’s room slammed into the wall and Mohawk came out and turned toward the kitchen. I lay still, panting onto Luke’s chest, as the bathroom door squeaked open and closed. Luke’s heart raced against my ear.
When the guy finished his business and went back to Aubrey’s room, I sighed.
“Surely to God that is all the interruptions.”
“I can’t think of anything else they’d think to do.” I wanted to strangle my roommate.
“Cross your fingers that Nat stays asleep,” he said. Then his hands resumed their travels and I started to think we were actually going to manage this time.
I was so into it, so overwhelmed with the pleasure of his touch that I didn’t notice Aubrey until she was standing a few feet from the couch, leaning toward us.
Too Fast Page 7
