by Lee Wardlow
Luka lowered his gaze. “You don’t understand Sky.”
“I do understand,” she said.
She slipped off the side of her bed. His hands fell to his side. “You really didn’t love me enough.”
Skylar went to the door of her bedroom. “From now on this is about Ava and how we make it up to you both that I didn’t tell you about her.” She walked out of the bedroom and shut the door leaving him sitting on her bed alone.
In the hallway, she leaned against the solid door. Her knees trembled. She looked up at the ceiling to keep from crying. She was done crying over Luka Shaw. She heard him though. In her bedroom, she heard him shout. “Like hell Skylar.”
She pulled herself away from the door and headed down the stairs. Skylar went to the kitchen to make lunch. She peeked through the window over the sink to see Brett and Ramona playing with Ava in the goats’ pen. She heard the slamming of the screen door. She didn’t have to ask to know who that was.
Then she heard his truck start and she wondered where he was going. Skylar walked back through the house. Luka’s truck was heading down the lane to the main road. She stepped out onto the porch and walked to the end towards the barn.
“Where’s he going?” She asked them.
“He said he had things to do,” Brett answered. “He’ll back in time for dinner.”
She nodded. Skylar turned and started back inside. “Are you hungry?” She asked.
“Sure,” they replied.
She went inside and made lunch for everyone.
She wanted him to understand now hard this was on her. He just walked back into her life a few days ago and it was supposed to be okay? He had left her. Coming back ten years later and expecting her to fall back into his arms…in his bed…he wasn’t thinking clearly.
She was sixteen years old and head over heels in love with him. Pregnant with Ava. Suddenly she had to come to terms with the fact that Luka had left and she was going to be a teenage, single mother. She was alone and pregnant.
She waited until she had to tell her mother and father that she was pregnant and Luka was gone. They were harsh in their response. Skylar needed to understand a baby couldn’t affect their lives. If it didn’t she could keep it. She could keep it. As if she would ever give it away. She would have left home before giving up her baby. It was all she had of Luka. Even through the haze of pain he had caused her she had wanted their child because it was his. She loved Ava from the first time she heard her heart beating.
Skylar stood at the stove watching the taco meat brown. She could still see her mother’s disdain at her news. Her father’s disappointment. They pretty much ignored her completely after that. They wanted her to go to college. Become a vet or a nurse. Something of importance. Not an unwed mother of Luka Shaw’s, bastard child. That phrase had crushed her. It was unnecessary and painful but her mother always had gone for the jugular.
She had been crushed when her mother had referred to Ava that way. Her baby was the love of her life after Luka left. Not a bastard. Luna had reassured her of that. He didn’t know all that because no one had told him.
Sometimes, Skylar wanted to turn back the hands of time and make things different. If she could know then what she knew now she would have told Luka. What would have changed though? Would he have come back here? Would he have come back and taken her with him? Would he have still accomplished what he set out to do? So many questions that would never be answered.
Those numbers he spouted in Jason’s office still boggled her mind. Those videos online of him fighting were strange to her. They were of a man she didn’t know. He was mean and vicious in those fights like Jacob Shaw had been. This was a side of him that Skylar had never seen. He had always kept his temper tightly in check. In the cage he let it go.
Brett walked up behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”
She shook her head. Skylar didn’t want to talk, not even to Brett. “Come on. Ramona sent me in here to find out if you’re okay. She is keeping Ava occupied so we can talk.”
“I don’t even know him anymore,” Skylar told him.
“Sure you do,” Brett argued. “He’s not really any different.”
“Do you know what he has made fighting?”
“Somewhat,” Brett replied. “I know he’s loaded if that is what you are asking. Why? Does it bother you?”
“This is going to sound crazy but I told him I almost resent him now. I wasn’t enough for him. He never loved me enough to stay or take me with him. Now he waltzes back in here and wants to pick up where we left off like ten years never passed and I’m pissed.” She slapped her hands down on the counter.
“You have a right to be angry,” Brett told her.
She sighed. “But then if I had told him about Ava, Brett. How would things have been different for me and Ava or for him?”
He chuckled. “I don’t know babe. We’ll never know. You have to stop this Sky. You have to move forward.”
She whirled around and looked at Brett. “I told him I wasn’t doing this again that moving forward this was about Ava only and how we could make it up to her that she missed the first ten years with him.”
He was surprised. She could see it in his face. “He said what to that Skylar?”
She laughed. Not a happy laugh but one filled with sarcasm. “Like hell.”
Skylar turned back to the taco meat. She drained the grease into the sink then dumped the seasoning in and stirred and continued to do so until Brett stopped her.
“I think you’re done stirring.”
“What?” She looked at the meat. “Oh yeah. I’m done.”
She sat the pan on another burner and walked away. Brett turned off the burner. She gathered lettuce, sour cream, soft taco shells and diced tomatoes in a Ziploc bag from the fridge then she sat them on the counter. Brett retrieved the cheese for her that she forgot.
“I’ll call Ramona and Ava,” he told her.
Skylar nodded. Her mind was elsewhere.
Chapter 12
Luka had to get away for a while or he was just going to make things worse. He went to his mother’s ranch where he found her working in the yard. He parked in the gravel drive and climbed out of the truck.
“What are you doing here? I thought you and Skylar had an appointment this morning?”
“We did. We’re done.”
She wiped her brow with the sleeve of her shirt. “What happened?”
He took the hoe in her hand and started doing what she had been doing. His muscles rippled across his back. She watched him for a few minutes. Then she laid her hand on his arm. He glanced at her. “Just the top layer son. I don’t want to dig all the way to Hell.”
He shook his head at his mother’s sarcasm and sent her a little glance before making his touch lighter on the soil in her small garden at the side of the house.
“What’s wrong?”
He talked and hoed while she watched him work out his frustration. With Luka that is what Luna had always had to do. She had to listen to him expel his frustrations.
“Luka, sweetheart. You weren’t here. You have to understand everything that Skylar went through when you left her.”
Sweat glistened on his arms. His shirt was beginning to show his effort too in wet stains across his chest. “So tell me,” he said leaning on the hoe.
“You know the Bradford’s,” Luna told him. “Imagine for just a moment how hard it was for Skylar to tell them she was pregnant after you had left her.” He glanced down at the ground, knowing that she had taken the brunt of their mistake although he couldn’t imagine Ava ever being a mistake.
“They were rough on her to say the least. The word bastard was thrown around a few times by Nancy in regards to Ava. That broke Skylar’s heart. She loved that child from the first moment she knew about her. You know how harsh Nancy was with the girls.”
Luna could see the flare of disgust in her son’s eyes. “That baby was the light of her life after
you left her. That insult about tore Sky’s heart out. Then they died leaving the brunt of responsibility on Skylar for getting her siblings through school.” Luna shook her head. “That light that always followed her Luka was gone. She was different. Don’t you see it even now that you’re back? How different Skylar is? She’s softer and quieter.
“Skylar had to quit being a kid and become an adult overnight. She did a damn good job too.”
He was staring into the distance thinking about what his mother was telling him. “You’ve been back a few days. You can’t make up for ten years in a few days Luka. You need to be patient with Skylar.”
“She told me never,” he replied.
Luna sighed. “Maybe it never will be Luka.” His head shot up to look at his mother. He was letting her know without saying anything that he could not accept that. Her son was stubborn. “I hope not son but you have to give Skylar time.”
“I’ll work on my patience.”
He helped his mother finish her flower beds and gardens. He worked out his frustrations on the soil. Something he had always liked to do.
Then he headed home. Back to Skylar and Ava. As he drove down the lane he saw Ava leading one of the horses around the pasture by a lead. She wouldn’t ride one but she seemed to like them. He needed to help her overcome her fears like he needed to with her mother about him.
He parked in the drive and got out. His muscles were tight from working so hard in the yard with his mother. That type of exercise was different than what he did in a gym. He held onto the railing and pulled himself up the steps. Skylar was sitting on the porch swing.
“Are you all right?” She asked.
“Stiff,” he replied.
“What did you do all afternoon?” She asked.
“Helped my mother,” he told her.
She laughed. “You were,” she said. She knew that he was working on his frustrations to keep from arguing with Skylar more.
“Scoot over,” he told her. She was sitting in the middle. Skylar scowled at his bossiness but she moved out the middle to give him room.
He leaned elbows on knees and cracked his neck. “That bad?” She asked.
He glanced over his shoulder. “That bad,” he replied.
“Can I do anything?”
“You not feeling so resentful?” He asked.
She sighed. “I don’t want to see you in pain Luka,” she told him. Her tone of voice was soft. Her words without malice.
He nodded and leaned back against the swing. He rocked them with one foot. She turned a little on the seat. “Was it worth it Luka? To do this to your body?”
He looked at her then he patted her thigh. “The only thing not worth it Sky was that I lost you and never tried to make it right,” Luka admitted to her.
“Why don’t you take a shower. Dinner will be ready in an hour. Maybe the heat from a warm shower will loosen you up.”
“Maybe,” he agreed.
Luka rose from his seat on the swing and walked towards the front door. At the last minute he turned catching Skylar watching him. His eyebrow rose in question. What was she looking at?
“See something you like Skylar?” He had to tease her. He had to ease the tension growing between them and get them back on even ground.
“Anyone or anything can ease my frustrations Luka,” she scoffed rolling her eyes at him.
“You think so,” he replied.
She met his gaze full of heat without wavering. “I do.”
“So Tag made you feel like I do,” he challenged her.
Skylar licked her lips with a nervous flick of her tongue. Her gaze that had been locked on his wavered for a moment. He noticed the slight tremble of her hand. “I thought not.” Then he went inside.
“Asshole,” he heard as the screen door shut behind him. He chuckled as he went up the stairs full of confidence once more. He had the upper hand at the moment.
**
Luka came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist just as Skylar came out of her room. He had another towel drying his hair with it. His room was to his left but for some reason he turned right towards her.
His skin was warm and moist from the shower. “You left bruises on my ass,” he informed her.
“Poor baby.” He blocked her from getting down the steps.
“If you want to eat tonight, move yourself.”
His arm with the towel dropped to his side. “I want to eat all right,” he told her. He ran his finger down her cheek. She looked away. “You look pretty damn good tonight Skylar.”
“Luka,” she said just his name. A warning or a plea, he didn’t know which.
She was being aloof, keeping him at arm’s length. That wasn’t going to work. He stepped closer. He slipped his arm around her. She pressed her hand to his bare chest to prevent him from pulling her any tighter to him. Big mistake. Her fingers slightly trembled across his skin. She was testing the feel of him. “Stop Luka,” she whispered.
His breathe was warm against her face. “What if I don’t want to?”
She turned her head as he was about to slide his lips across hers. The pressure of her hand against his chest increased. He dropped the towel to the floor. The one wrapped around him was barely hanging on. He nuzzled Skylar’s face with his nose soaking up her scent, soft like the Lavender that she grew by the house.
Now both Skylar’s hands were pressing against Luka’s chest. Her head tipped back as if she were trying to get away from him. He touched his lips to her throat and she gasped. Those hands of hers…her fingertips danced across his skin and her arms encircled his neck drawing him closer.
His breath was hard coming out of his lungs. Each one painful and labored as he struggled to take in air. He had worn her down. He found her lips. Luka cupped the back of Skylar’s head holding her head in place. His tongue found hers and danced with it in her mouth. She moaned. He knew then that she was his.
Her body arched against his. That towel was all that separated them. His cock was getting so hard, the only thing holding it up was their bodies pressed together. He moved them until she was flush against the wall with his body straining against hers.
Luka lifted her off her feet and the towel dropped to the floor. Skylar wrapped her legs around him. His hardness pressed harshly against her center. There was no mistaking his need for her. She dug her heels into his firm ass. He growled in her ear.
“Say you want me Sky. Tell me how much you need me.”
“I don’t,” she disagreed.
He squeezed her butt in his big, broad hands until she squealed. Her arms wrapped tighter around Luka’s neck. His lips pressed soft kisses along her collarbone as their breathing grew with the lust for each other.
“Lie to me some more,” he demanded.
His body held her captive against the wall so his one hand could capture her breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra, he noticed. He twirled her nipple between his fingers while his tongue traced a trail of fire across her jaw. She was gasping for air. Her eyes were pools of lust when he stared into them.
“Tell me you want me Skylar,” he demanded.
She cupped his jaw covered in whiskers in her hands. Her eyes kept looking between his mouth and his eyes. Her head tipped forward. She touched her lips to his. Then she sucked his lower lip between her teeth.
He slammed her arms against the wall.
“I have to have you Skylar. I have to have you now goddammit stop denying us. I love you so fucking much.” His lips crashed into hers. He was devouring her.
She pulled her head away from him. She was lost. She wanted him now as much as he wanted her. “Take me to my room.” He held her against him cupping her butt in his hands. She had her arms loosely about his neck. Skylar pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. His hand was on the doorknob ready to open her door.
“Momma, when’s dinner ready?” Ava called. The screen door slammed shut. They had forgotten about their child. “Ramona and Brett went home. I’m starving. Where�
�s Daddy?”
Luka banged his head against the door gently. “Talk to her,” he said.
“Ava, I’ll be right down. Daddy just got out of the shower. We’ll finish dinner together. The three of us.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be in the living room.”
“Put me down.”
His body trembled with need. He just wanted to bury his hard dick inside her right now because he knew if he gave her time she would put the damn walls back up protecting herself from him. He kissed her one more time. Then he sat her on her feet in front of him but he didn’t move away.
“I’m coming to your room tonight and you better let me in.”
Skylar glanced up into Luka’s face. She gently nibbled on her lower lip. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll lock my door.”
She slipped under his arm and jogged down the stairs. He watched her go. He would pick the fucking lock if he had to. Skylar wasn’t going to keep shutting him out.
Chapter 13
The opportunity to break down any doors or pick any locks never came that night. Ava didn’t eat much at dinner. She wasn’t feeling well by the time they finished dinner. Skylar perched on the edge of the bed. Ava’s temperature was only one hundred but her stomach ached and she felt nauseated. Sky looked up when Luka entered their daughter’s room at midnight.
“You should steer clear,” she told him.
“Why?”
“Because once the bug gets her I usually get it. You don’t want it. Kids are germ farms waiting to infest anyone who gets within ten feet.”
Skylar moved to the side and leaned back against the headboard. Ava scooted closer. She ran her hands along her forehead and through her hair.
“Nothing serious?” He asked.
Skylar glanced up. “Just a bug Luka,” she reassured him.
He sat on a chair in the corner of Ava’s room and leaned on his knees. “She looks so small and helpless.”
“She is small Luka.”
She watched him watching their daughter. Skylar could see his concern. She smiled at him. “This is your first experience with this Luka. She’ll be fine. I promise.”
