by Jess Bryant
“Thank you.” She felt her bottom lip quiver a little when Lance shook his head.
“You hate him.” He all but growled.
“I don’t.”
“You do. You fight with him nonstop. He treats you like shit. He…”
“Doesn’t.” She cut her brother off, “He’s only ever told me the truth. Truths I didn’t want to hear. Truths I didn’t want to face but the truth nonetheless.”
“He’s a condescending asshole!”
“No. He isn’t. He…” She bit her bottom lip and swallowed hard, “He’s only ever tried to take care of me he just, he didn’t go about it the best way maybe but, I see it now. I see him now and we’re good together, Lance. Please believe me. He’s good for me.”
“I don’t like this and I don’t like him.”
“You don’t know him.”
“I work with him at the station and I have for years, don’t tell me I don’t know him.” Lance shot back.
“Fine. You know that side of him maybe but you don’t know him like I do.” She shot right back, feeling her spine straighten with a new determination to make Lance see the truth the way Connor had made her see it. “I know it sounds crazy. I know it’s hard to believe. But he’s not what you think he is. He’s sweet and he’s kind and he cares about me and I…” The words tried to get stuck in her throat again but she forced them out this time, “I’m falling in love with him.”
“That’s probably just sunstroke.”
“Jesus, you’re such an ass sometimes.” Trent snorted at his boyfriend before she could respond, “Nobody would have ever thought the two of us would work, but we do. We got our happily ever after despite all the people that said it wouldn’t last, that we were too different, that there were too many obstacles to overcome. Why can’t you give your sister the benefit of the doubt that she knows how she feels and that this thing between her and Connor is real?”
Her heart squeezed tight in her chest when Trent defended her. He was the best thing that had ever happened to Lance. He’d stumbled into Fate in the dead of night, a high-profile country music superstar hiding from the fact he’d just been outed as gay. He and Lance had connected instantly despite all of the things and people that had tried to come between them. Lance had come out of the closet to be with Trent and neither of them had looked back since.
She’d gained another brother that day. She’d fallen for the smiling cowboy country singer just as quickly as her brother had, if in a different way. He’d held her when she cried over Derek and threatened to beat him to a pulp for her too. He’d always had her back, from day one of meeting her, but hearing him try to sway Lance to her side now made her love Trent even more.
Lance frowned, shoving a hand through his thick dark hair, “He’s not good enough for her.”
“Aw, baby.” Trent pulled him close, “Is that what this is about? Nobody’s ever going to be good enough for your little sister.”
“No it’s not… Look, Lu, I’ve seen the way he watches you when you come into the station. I just thought you were smart enough not to fall for a cop of all people.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Trent scoffed, “I fell for a cop. You’re a cop, dumbass.”
“Yeah and what we do on a daily basis is dangerous. I love you and we’ve talked about that but I want better for my sister than spending her nights worrying about whether or not her partner will come home from work.”
Her throat tightened and she felt tears well in her eyes as she listened to Lance talk to his boyfriend instead of to her. It was fine. He was telling her things she’d never heard him say before even if he wasn’t saying it directly to her.
He didn’t want her to be with a cop because what he and Connor did was dangerous. He was just worried about her getting her heart broken. He was a good big brother for worrying but that wasn’t up to him. She worried about Lance already. What would it add to her stress worrying about Connor too? Nothing. Her heart would be broken if anything happened to either of them.
“And to think I thought you hated the guy because I said he had a nice ass that one time.” Trent lightened the mood with his trademark playfulness.
“Well that certainly didn’t help.” Lance managed a smirk.
She listened as Trent teased Lance and he slowly loosened up before her very eyes. They were so good together. They balanced each other out. Their differences only made them stronger and the things they had in common were all the things that mattered. They wanted each other and a life together, to be happy and healthy and most of all to just be open to be themselves and to love each other. They’d gone through so much to find that happiness and now that they had, nothing would ever come between them.
Did she and Connor have that kind of easy repertoire? Not exactly. But it didn’t mean they weren’t meant for each other just the same. They had a different kind of relationship. They argued and they picked fights just to rile the other. They were sparks and fire and passion and now that it had erupted into a relationship she couldn’t imagine going a day without it.
Without him.
“Lu?”
“Hmm?” She realized she hadn’t heard whatever it was her brother said to her and she refocused herself on the two men staring at her from the iPad screen.
“This isn’t just some fling you’re having on vacation is it?” Lance sighed heavily, as if he already knew the answer.
“No. It’s not. I told you, I’m falling for him. I think… I think it would be really, really easy for me to admit I love him, but I don’t think you’re the man I should tell that to first so… He makes me happy. I wanted to tell you that, to warn you, because we’re coming home together and I don’t want you to make any scenes or overreact. I want you to be happy for me.”
The truth spilled out of her in a rush and she felt her shoulders sag a little once the words were out. This was why she’d had to call Lance. This was why she’d needed him to know. She’d known that he would have a problem with her and Connor being together because he’d never liked Connor all that much. She’d needed to clear the air before she went home because once she and Connor got back to Fate she had a feeling there would be enough other obstacles trying to pull them apart.
She hadn’t wanted her brother to be one of them.
Lance was one of her best friends. She loved him. He’d looked after her and protected her throughout her life. But she was a big girl now and she got to make her own decisions about whom she loved. She’d needed him to know and she needed him to still have her back.
“Okay.” He nodded slowly, his lips still pursed but understanding beginning to dawn in his eyes, “Okay. As long as he makes you happy, I’ll support you just like I always have. But if he ever stops making you happy, I’ll be the first in line to rip his heart out of his chest.”
“And I’ll be second.” Trent supplied with a wink.
“Thank you.” She murmured softly. “Thank you guys. You have no idea how much of a relief it is to tell someone how I’m feeling and know you’ll stand by me.”
“Always.” Lance grunted, “You’re my sister, Lu. I love you and I’ll always think you deserve the best.”
“Love you too.” She blew him a kiss.
“Just have fun the rest of your vacation. Enjoy yourself and be happy.” Trent added.
“Love y’all. See you in a couple days.” She nodded, waving goodbye before the line clicked off and her iPad screen went dark again.
She breathed out a heavy sigh of relief and dropped her head into her hands. Lance had said she deserved the best. Was it possible that the man she’d been fighting with for over a decade was really the best thing to ever happen to her? She thought that maybe, just maybe, fate worked in mysterious ways and he was.
Chapter Fourteen
Connor might have been eavesdropping. He hadn’t meant to. Not at first anyway. He’d simply come into the bungalow on his side and when he’d heard Lulu’s sweet voice he’d headed her direction, curious about wh
o she was talking to. Then, as he’d reached the doorway, he’d begun to comprehend the words he was hearing and they had stopped him in his tracks.
She was falling for him. She’d come close to admitting that she loved him. At the very least she’d hinted that she knew she could.
God, how long had he waited to hear something like that? A decade at least. Probably more. Hearing her say those words had frozen him in place, curious what else he might hear if he didn’t give himself away.
He’d known that he shouldn’t listen in on her phone call. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself after he’d heard even just that little bit.
She hadn’t said his name even but he’d known she was talking about him. She had to be. It wasn’t as if he’d given her any free time to have a “vacation fling” with anyone else at this resort. She spent every night in his bed. So she was talking about him, and to her brother of all people.
That meant something. Something big. If she was telling Lance about them, that meant she’d finally accepted that this wasn’t going to be a secret vacation rendezvous that ended before they got back home.
He didn’t know if she had called Lance or if Lance had called her and in truth, it didn’t matter. She’d talked to her brother and she’d told him that she was in a relationship with Connor.
She must have known Lance wouldn’t like hearing that. The guy had never seemed to like Connor all that much despite the years they’d worked together at the Fate Sheriff’s Department. He’d never really understood what Lance Nichols had against him, still didn’t, but he had zero doubts that the other man would follow through and tear his heart out if he hurt Lulu in any way.
It was a damn good thing he only intended to spend the rest of his life making her happy.
She pushed the rolling chair she was sitting in back and spun around. Her eyes caught on him where he was leaning one shoulder against the doorframe and he watched her lips form a small “o” of surprise. Her dark eyes narrowed on him as she recovered just as fast and she raised one of those sharp eyebrows.
“How long have you been standing there?”
The real question was how much he should give away. That conversation hadn’t been meant for his ears, which meant she didn’t need to know that he’d heard her confess that she was falling in love with him. She’d tell him herself when she was ready so he pushed up off the doorframe to his full height and moved towards her with a lazy, cocky smile.
“Just long enough to hear that Lance’s boyfriend thinks I have a nice ass.”
Lulu laughed, just like he’d wanted her to, and shook her head at him, “Eavesdropper.”
“Are you saying I don’t?” He reached her and bent over the chair, boxing her in.
“Not at all.” She tipped her face up to him, expectantly licking her lips, “Trent has great taste in men. Clearly.”
“Mmm, he’s not my type.” He brushed his lips over hers softly, just a quick sweep that had her leaning up for more.
“No?”
“No.” He nipped at her bottom lip, lapping at the plump pout as her taste began to seep inside of him and stir his need for her just like it always did.
“What’s your type?” Lulu slid her arms around his waist as she stood, pressing her body to his, moving into him without him having to pull her at all.
“You. Just you.”
He swept his mouth down over hers as soon as he saw his words settle and her eyes widen at his honesty. He sealed their lips together, kissing her gently, sweetly, but with every ounce of emotion he had inside of him. She moaned slightly as he swept his tongue into her mouth and her arms went up and around his neck, gripping his hair and pulling him even closer, as if he might try to get away. He didn’t. He kissed her until their bodies were writhing against each other. Kissed her until he had to pull back or pass out for lack of oxygen.
“I missed you.” He murmured against her lips and she answered with a little whine, tipping her head back for him as he trailed kisses down her jaw.
“God, Connor.” She breathed his name in that way that made him never want to hear anyone else ever use it again. Only her. It was hers. Just like he was. “I thought I was going crazy. I missed you too.”
“You’re not crazy.” He nipped at her pulse point.
“I am though. I am. I’m crazy about you.”
He pulled back enough to look her in the eye. There was heat and fire there but it was dampened by a softness that pulled at his heartstrings. So close to the words he wanted. So close but not there yet. She wasn’t ready and until she was, he wouldn’t push. He would only take this and anything else she wanted to give him.
“It’s about time, baby.” He slid his hands to her ass and lifted her off the ground, “You’ve been driving me crazy for years.”
She clung to him as he carried her to the bed. Her hands flexing in his hair. Her soft breasts pressed to his chest. She nuzzled at his neck and he shuddered from her touch, the feel of her in his arms, the rightness of them. The bed was mere steps away and when he laid her back across it, he pulled back to look at her again.
God, would he ever get used to how beautiful she was? He didn’t think so. Her long, dark hair spread over the white bedding. Her equally dark eyes peering up at him from under those thick lashes, not shyly, not anymore, but coy with the knowledge of how much he wanted her. Her lips were rosy and swollen from his kisses and she looked so gorgeous it physically hurt to look at her.
“Where were you?” She asked softly as he continued to stare at her.
“After we finished cleaning up from the rehearsal, Derek insisted we go for a drink since it’s his last night of bachelorhood.” He admitted as he pulled his shirt over his head, “I reminded him he hasn’t been a bachelor since the day Aubrey showed up in town and he let me sneak away after the first round.”
“Mmm, I thought that might be where you were.” She bit her lip as her dark eyes trailed down his chest. “But I didn’t want to be the girl that came barging in on the boys because she missed her… you.”
He gave her a pointed look when she very carefully avoided the use of the term boyfriend. He was her boyfriend. He was her man. He’d be her everything if she let him. Instead of flat out telling her that he wanted the term and the one that came after it, he only sighed.
“I wish you had. Do you know how fucking hot it would’ve been to have my woman come and drag me out of the bar because she needed me? The guys never would’ve let me hear the end of it and I’d have loved every second of it.”
She rolled her eyes, “Uh huh, because a needy chick is hot.”
“You being needy for me? Yeah. It’s hot as hell.” He caught her gaze, “I left the bar when I did because I needed you. I’d have been back earlier but I went to the ballroom looking for you first. The girls were gone by the time I got there and I all but ran back here.” He unbuttoned his pants with a slow flick of his fingers, “I needed to see you, Lu. Needed to touch you. Feel you. It’s been too long since I got to be inside you and I feel like I’m missing part of myself when you’re not with me.”
“Con…”
“Shh.” He dropped his pants and eased down over her on the bed, pushing her shirt up and kissing across her rib cage, “You don’t have to say anything. I just have to tell you those kinds of things now. I had to keep them to myself for so long. I can’t keep it inside anymore.”
“Con.” She said his nickname again as he pushed her shirt up and she raised her arms to help him take it off. As he dropped it over the side of the bed she wrapped her arms around his neck again, pulling him up and dropping a soft kiss against his chin and then his mouth, “I missed you too. I told you that. It’s only been a few hours and I can’t think straight for wanting you. What are we going to do when we have to go home and back to work and…”
“Don’t worry about that right now.” He cut her off with another kiss, “We’ll figure it out.”
“But…”
“If you need me, you call. You text. You fucking send up a smoke signal, Lu, and I’ll be there. You don’t ever have to feel lonely again. Not when I can be there. I’ll come to the gym and fuck you in the locker-room or in front of one of those big mirror walls you’ve got if you need my touch. You can ride me in my cruiser. Hell, that’s been a fantasy of mine for a long time. It doesn’t matter where you are, if you need me, I’ll be there.”
He met her eyes as the seriousness of his almost crude words filled the space between them. Lulu bit her lip and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head. She was thinking too much again. He flipped the button on her shorts and pulled them down her legs as she simply lay there, watching him from beneath those dark lashes. When she was naked and laid out beneath him, he rose back up over her and watched as she raised her arms over her head, crossing her wrists the way she’d learned he liked. It stretched her beautiful body out and perked her perfect tits up for him. But more than that, it was a sign of her submission, of her willingness to let him be in control, to have her however he wanted her, and when she widened her legs for him, letting him see her slick pink folds as well, he had to swallow a groan.
She hadn’t said the words but she didn’t have to. Her willingness here and now was more than he’d ever expected from her. It made his dick hard and his balls draw up but it also made his throat tight and his chest ache at the wonder of her.
She was giving herself to him. Completely.
“I’m never gonna hurt you, Lu.” He traced his hands over the smooth skin between her hips even as he kept his eyes on hers, “Never. I promise.”
“I know.” A flicker of a smile crossed her lips, “I trust you and I need you. Now. Make love to me. Please.”
“Always.” He ducked his head and licked her nipple, causing her to arch and moan, “Forever.”
He fastened his mouth around the pert nipple and sucked, hard, before she could utter a response. She let out a keening cry instead and her hands went back to his hair, pulling him tighter as she pressed her breasts up for him to take more. He didn’t need her words. Not right now. All he needed was this.
