Their arrival had been discreet and quiet, but by the time they left over a hundred people had gathered inside of the alley just shooting the breeze, until Luke went to leave when there was a surge of fans wanting autographs and signed albums. Rather than have Luke mobbed, she had pulled in the bodyguards and set up an orderly line. It was another hour before they left yet Luke didn’t seem to mind; in fact Ellie was astounded at how relaxed he was with the crowd.
Luke handed her a beer as they made it to the suite, wanting to relax she disappeared to change into PJ's before grabbing a book that she had just started. Ellie expected Luke to try the flirting or crack some wise comments, he didn’t. Before she returned to the lounge room, she grabbed her tooth brush before heading to the bathroom.
As she opened the door, the scene that greeted her infuriated her as she found Luke swallowing some pills which was so unexpected she struggled to take it in until the anger hit her in the stomach.
"I told you in advance that our protection does not continue if the client engages in illegal activities, so the game is over Luke."
Turning on her heels, she stormed back to the bedroom where she grabbed her bag and started to repack her belongings. Not only was she pissed, but she was hurt and disappointed. How could he do that, drugs of all things?
As the door swung open she prepared to ignore him, this wasn't what Luke had in mind, he too was furious.
"How dare you make an assumption are you always this high and mighty? They are prescription drugs not illicit drugs. I have never taken illegal drugs and have no intention of starting, but no you just put two and two together and get sixty. Well sweetheart you are not always right and I will not let you use this as an excuse to run away from your feelings."
They were at a standoff, both strong and stubborn and now stood in the temporary bedroom as Ellie contemplated her choices, walk away now before this escalated because Luke was potentially a risk to her careful composure, or stay and take the chance of this all going disastrously wrong. She chose neither and instead she went on the attack.
"Why the hell are you popping prescription drugs, what are they? Seriously what is the problem, do you hit a certain level in celebrity status and hey, I know lets pop some pills."
She was shouting at him irately although she was unsure why. It was a waste, drugs of any kind were only a necessity so unless he had some serious illness that necessitated them, it was bullshit.
"What does it matter to you, I am only a client remember meaning that I don’t have to answer to you."
"I don’t get you, you have everything sat on a plate yet you suppress and hide your animal, you present something to the world yet I can see that you are lonely. What is it all for?"
Luke didn’t think Ellie had noticed that she was unpacking her things, albeit with the way she slammed them about she should have damaged them. He was relieved that she was staying and yet he didn’t know how to explain things to her, sometimes he didn’t understand why his life was as it was.
"Ellie this is my life, I choose to live it my way. Unless you are willing to strip naked and get in that bed so I can fuck you, you have no right to judge me or expect me to answer questions."
He watched her face redden as she looked to him and the bed, inside his heart sped a little at the thought that maybe she was considering getting naked. Unfortunately not, instead she grabbed a pillow and flew at him.
"GET OUT, GET THE HELL OUT NOW."
Backing out, she slammed the door in his face and although he wanted to remain angry with her, he found that he couldn’t maintain it, the ferocity of her reaction turned him on, so now he wanted her all the more because he had to fight to get her. He hadn’t faced a challenge like this for years.
Ellie was muttering and cursing as she started her laptop, she was furious at him for his nerve, how dare he proposition her. Yet deep down she knew that part of her anger was aimed at herself, part of her wanted to do just as he wanted, she wanted to jump into bed with him, but that wasn’t her.
Laid on the bed, she went through her emails with music playing in her head phones. The worst part right now was that it was Luke's latest album in her ears, feeling her eyes close she drifted into sleep and into a dream, one filled with a stage and a tall dark gorgeous man, only this one didn’t piss her off. It was Luke yet not Luke; this man had a personality she liked.
Luke paced the room before heading for a swim, hopeful that the cold water would cool down his hot and swollen body. It took a while, but he slowly relaxed under the watchful gaze of the moon. His life had suddenly become complex and emotional with so many changes and new influences, yet it was working for him, he had not been this charged and creative in years. The words poured from Luke's mind as the inspiration entered his soul, he couldn’t sleep with the need to put pen on paper and then paper to music.
With no concept of time, he worked through as the words poured from him like water gushing over a waterfall. With no distractions, he lost sight and sound of everything around him; his cell rang a few times but didn’t penetrate his ears. Sitting at the baby grand piano, armed with his paper and pencil he matched the notes to the lyrics bringing the beauty together in harmony.
Ellie floated in and out of consciousness as the noise drifted in the room penetrating her senses. The melodic tune emanated through the closed door filling her ears with a tranquil beauty. It was lovely, calm and sensual. Waking, she padded to the door as she listened to the notes from the piano as the crescendo lifted higher. How could someone so arrogant, so annoying and so unable to recognise what he truly needs produce something so tranquil and soothing?
She planned to listen from behind the safety of the door, so why she slipped outside she didn’t know until she looked at his face from the doorway. With his eyes closed, he looked tranquil and at peace absorbed in the passion of the music. Ellie slid to the chair, gently easing her form into one of the rounded chairs careful not to disturb him, she watched in awe. To have such passion and to be able to channel that into something so pure was a gift, one she now understood that he couldn’t ignore.
Luke in turn, was so lost in the process that he didn’t know that Ellie was watching him, even when he stopped to make some alterations to the wording he failed to notice her. It was only when his body started to close down in exhaustion that he finally felt her presence. She was watching him intently, and even from across the room he could feel the sensuality coursing through her body, the air had an undercurrent of arousal running through it.
He gulped and closed his eyes momentarily. "When I started in this business the other species were slowly becoming part of society, but there was still immense fear running through humans so I kept it hidden. My Jaguar hated the loss of freedom and slowly became more and more dominant. Without the sleeping pills, I cannot rest because my Jaguar is constantly fighting for supremacy."
Ellie nodded in acknowledgement, anyone with an animal struggled to find the person/animal balance, the battle would continue until the balance is struck. By hiding his animal, the Jaguar would have to fight him until a deal is agreed. By opening up to her, he had allowed Ellie to understand it from the man's perspective.
"You and your Jaguar are in a battle; you keep forcing him down so he wants to get back up. You can control your Jaguar if you find a way to let both the man and the Jaguar live together. You have two entities fighting; only both need to win. I was judgemental and for that I am sorry. My sister May is a scientist slash doctor, she studies other species so if you want I could invite her over, she has so much information in that brain of hers that she may have other ways for you to manage."
Luke was speechless that she wanted to help him; he didn’t have any words left so he nodded. This time Ellie closed her eyes and then opened herself up to him.
"My sister Claire is in rehab recovering from a heroin addiction, none of us knew about it she kept it hidden, none of my family are aware that I know. Actually there is only my mom, Ben and my brother in law w
ho know. Although she is human, my mom is gifted with some damn impressive talents one of which is empathy which means that she can feel what others feel, Claire also has that gift except it is exceptionally strong to the point that it has over whelmed her. Drugs helped quieten the voices in her head and numbed the overwhelming emotions. A while ago she overdosed; I use fake credentials to get into the facility pretending to be a doctor. I visit her twice a week; I hate leaving her there and feel so helpless every time I think about it. Music has become her saviour at the minute, but she will need to find her own way to manage her gifts. The drugs nearly killed her so I have big issues with people taking drugs."
Taking a breath, Ellie was mortified to find her face wet with tears. "I don’t even know why I am telling you this."
Luke moved to sit near her. "Because like me, you also need to talk to someone."
She mimicked a laugh. "If you tell anyone I will kill you."
"Ellie, I know you don’t want me around your family, but I kind of agreed to do something."
"I know I heard you and Ethan. Why didn’t Ethan tell me?"
With a sigh, he leaned against the couch. "Sometimes it is too hard to tell those close to you about the things you fear. If you can't deal with them how would they be able to?"
"Why did you make a promise like that?"
Now it was Luke's turn to laugh. "Well he made me feel like a child. Here I was, sat talking to a child about my animal taking over, I am a man in my thirties and a ten year old child is struggling with the same thing that scares the hell out of me. He is too young to find a way to manage his animal right now, but I am not. He gave me a reason to face this head on, if not for me then for him."
"He must be so scared; I will also kill you if you let him down."
"I don’t doubt that, can I say that since I have met you, I have had multiple threats to kill that all stem from my security company. So tomorrow will you take me back to Silvers so I can release my Jaguar?"
Leaning forward, she rubbed her hands over her face. "I will, it's not that I don’t want you near my family, except that’s not true I don’t want you near them, but not for the reasons you think. Do you know my mom was waiting to get an autograph when we arrived back from the awards, how embarrassing? Anyway, my family are the most important people to me; I have already lost two of them so my keeping you away is about protecting them."
"I understand that, my mom lives in Tennessee yet I never talk about her. Her address is a closely guarded secret, when I visit I take three different private planes just to keep her safe."
Maybe this man could understand her. "Are your fans really that bad?"
Luke stood; there was only so much sharing that he could do in one night, maybe ever. "No, but my father is. I need to get some sleep Ellie, thank you for talking to me."
She didn’t answer, her voice seemed to have deserted her if she could have spoken she might have thanked him for letting her get it off her chest.
Chapter 18
Luke woke to silence, looking at the clock he was shocked at how late he had slept. Rising he looked around the suite unable to find Ellie though he saw that her belongings were still there so she hadn’t run off.
The door slammed as Eric entered wearing another new suit, smiling at his manager Luke noted the Versace cut even though it was slightly too small so it sat wrongly on him, today he had his hair slicked to one side.
"Good morning my elusive star, now today I suggest we hit the shops I have set up appointments with your designers. Then tonight we can hit the bars, it's been a while since we downed some beers and bedded some ladies. Now I have some calls….."
Eric always wanted to party, as usual Luke didn’t feel like it. He needed to wind down, but not in the same way Eric wanted to. Pouring some cold juice, he savoured the sweetness that provided some needed hydration to his throat although without the medication, he wasn’t feeling as disorientated as he usually did.
"Not today Eric, I have already made plans and honestly don’t feel like drinking or shopping. Go without me."
Luke watched as Eric's face frowned a little before he recovered. "Luke what is happening with you? Suddenly you don’t want to do anything; you are hiding away and not even keeping your social appointments. Do you realise that this morning you missed breakfast with Selene, not that missing an appointment with a 'B' lister is a serious problem, but it could have been."
With a sigh, Luke took a breath. "There is nothing going on, I am writing some new material which is great, possibly the best I have ever done meaning that I am in the zone and don’t want to waste it, is all."
Eric had never actually understood the passion Luke had in his work, he was all about the money and the image, but he and Luke had been friends since College. When he was picked up by an agent, Eric took on the role of his manager even altering his course to make sure he had the qualifications. As they had grown up, he had kept Eric on although he had slowly engineered the discreet distance between them, knowing that they were different and prioritised different things, for Eric the money came first whereas for Luke performing was the priority.
"Fine brother but as soon……"
The door slammed cutting off Eric's words, Luke stood in silence, feeling as though the air had left the room when Ellie came sauntering in wearing a pair of tight black shorts and training top. Her hair was mussed and slick with sweat while her eyes were bright with adrenaline.
"Good morning Luke, I thought about waking you to join me; however, you don’t look like someone who works out." Ellie was smiling at him.
Eric was open mouthed, and Luke noted with annoyance that his gaze kept drifting to her breasts.
"I will have you know that I enjoy nothing more than a good workout, it just isn’t the type you are thinking of." Ellie moved across the room receiving a swat on the behind from Luke as she passed him. Turning to glare at him, she was about to rip him a new one when she remembered that she was meant to be dating him, not killing him.
"I think I will take a swim to cool off." Leaving them to it, she regretted her words as she rummaged through her things to find that the only swim wear she had barely constituted dental floss from the back.
Sliding it on she looked in the mirror, black in colour the material was sparse and only covered the necessary places, it was totally transparent on her tummy with high legs and barely any sides at all. Turning to look over her shoulder she cringed, there was absolutely no back, only a bottom. Looking around the room, she could not find a bath robe or even a towel to cover her near nudity.
Poking her head out of the door, she sighed in relief when she found the room empty. Scooting across to the French doors she slipped out only to stop when she looked up, and found Luke and his manager staring open mouthed at her. Moving quickly, she dived into the pool covering herself with the water, determined to stay there until they went inside.
Luke could feel his heart pounding in his ears as the blood rushed to his groin. Lifting his knee to hide his protruding erection he couldn’t take his eyes from her body that was now gracefully lapping the pool.
"Shit, can I have her when you are done?" Eric's words resulted in a fierce growl coming from deep inside of Luke, and for a second his Jaguar nearly reigned and Luke nearly let him.
"No you fucking can't, don’t ever say anything like that about her again Eric."
The anger was rising and barely contained, there was only so far a friendship could carry someone and Luke felt close to breaking point, Eric however, hadn’t noticed.
"Hey Luke calm down, I will ask again when the novelty has worn off although I now understand why you don’t want to party, you have your own party for two going on here. I will head out; I have booked the studio next week. Get tomorrows show over, and then four weeks in the recording studio and then some time out. I take it that you are going off on your mysterious adventures again."
Luke wasn’t genuinely taking a lot of notice of Eric, distracted as he was by Ellie. It h
ad always irked Eric that he didn’t know where Luke went on his breaks; Eric had even gone as far as attempting to bribe his pilot into telling him where he took him. Luke though used his pilot for leg one and three of his trip and paid him handsomely for his discretion, he also arrived two cities away from his destination and drove the rest of the way.
"I will be away for two months Eric, where I go is not something you need to know."
"I get the message, well I am out of here so enjoy her and I expect to receive the sordid details and her phone number when you tire of her."
Luke ignored the last comment as he continued to watch Ellie, her form was just breathtaking, totally mesmerising. Taking his note book, he started writing losing himself in the tranquillity of being so comfortable and inspired in her presence.
Ellie was bored now, she had done fifty laps and still he sat at the table where he had been for the entire time that she had been in the pool, he was either watching her or writing in his notebook. She wanted to get out with her dignity in tact which she didn’t feel she would be able to do while he was still watching. Taking a breath, she turned and swam and swam and swam. This was ridiculous; she had to get out sometime so she headed to the side near Luke.
"Luke, could you grab me a towel please?" As he left, she braced herself for the embarrassment while she cursed Beth for the swimwear.
She waited at the steps while he held it out to her, climbing from the water she let her head drop to look at her toes rather than meeting his gaze.
"Thanks." Said Ellie, before she hurried off to get changed.
Luke loved how she had no idea how stunning she was, he had noticed her embarrassment nearly as much as he had noticed the rivulets of water running down her body, caressing her skin the way he would like to.
He carried on writing until Ellie returned, only this time she was wearing a black skirt with a white blouse, her hair was clipped off of her face, and her court shoes made her appear sexy in a professional manner. She carried a briefcase and had an ID tag attached to her blouse. Very formal and not what he expected to see.
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