Learning to Trust: Sweet Temptation

by B. B. Roman

  At least he could say that there weren’t any issues currently between him and his beautiful daughter, Haley. He’d taken baby steps with her, reaching out to a counselor from the very beginning to help them through the transition. Lucie had refused to go with them, but Kane couldn’t necessarily blame her. But, he was happy to say Haley was warming up to him much faster than he ever imagined, even if her mother was keeping her distance.

  He was hoping he could change that because, despite her deceit, Kane knew Lucie, and he knew she was only trying to do what was best for everyone involved. Well, except for herself. She never had been one to put herself first. But she had tried to make the best out of a bad situation, and he truly believed she thought keeping Haley’s paternity from him was the best thing for both Haley and Kane.

  He obviously didn’t agree, but that was in the past now and they had so much to work out. It was just going to take some time.

  ~~*~~

  Lucie hurried to her car, feeling the heat of Kane’s gaze burning a hole in her back as he tracked her through the parking garage. A single woman made sure she knew her surroundings and Lucie had felt his presence since the very first time he watched her leave.

  Hell, she knew every single time the man so much as glanced her way because she could feel the warmth of his gaze like a physical caress. No matter how much distance she tried to put between herself and Kane, Lucie had a damn hard time getting him off of her mind. It wasn’t like anything had changed in that regard though, even after recent events. She’d felt that way ever since that fateful night five years ago when she’d easily fallen for the man in the span of just a few hours, only to find out he didn’t remember a single minute of it.

  Before she’d done the unthinkable.

  Looking back on it now, Lucie knew that keeping Haley’s paternity a secret from her father wasn’t the brightest move she’d ever made, and she didn’t need a damn psychologist to confirm that either.

  It also didn’t change the fact that she still stood by her belief that it was the right thing to do.

  At the time.

  She also knew that no one else agreed with her. Not her mother, not Cole, the one friend who had stood by her the entire time, and especially not Kane.

  Had she not gone into complete and total panic over her daughter’s chronic health issues, Lucie probably would have never dropped the bomb on Kane either. Had she ever decided to tell him on her own, she knew she wouldn’t have chosen those circumstances as her reason.

  He’d been understandably furious, and Lucie couldn’t blame him at all. She’d somehow managed to hold herself together after he ranted and raved and called her every vile name he could think of all while telling herself that she deserved every bit of his hatred.

  When he insisted on a paternity test, Lucie offered to pay for it. He had refused her that though, and she realized that Kane knew full well Haley was his, but he had to go through the motions. It had hurt to see how he looked at her with such disdain, but Lucie saw the same expression every time she looked in the mirror. She was more disappointed in herself than anyone else ever could be.

  Seeing Haley’s recent changes, both after the surgeries to help her to get over the chronic strep throat and ear infections, as well as her recent interaction with her father, Lucie was in a different place.

  Admitting you were wrong was hard enough. Admitting you were wrong about something that altered the course of so many people’s life was even worse. Knowing she was the only reason Haley and Kane had missed out on so many wonderful milestones together had Lucie riddled with guilt.

  Not that Lucie could have been convinced otherwise; even when she’d resorted to stealing from Club Destiny just to try and come up with the money to pay for Haley’s medical bills. Thankfully, Luke wasn’t the complete and total hard ass everyone said he was. Or maybe he’d just been easy on her because he was in love with Cole, a man who had stood by Lucie through some extremely dark times, one of the only people she could call a friend.

  But right now, just like back then, there was no room in her thoughts for Kane Steele and the what might’ve been’s that plagued her on a daily basis. She had a job that she needed to focus on, and a daughter to care for – and not a second extra to spend on anything more than that.

  Ten minutes later, Lucie was turning into her apartment complex, surveying the dark corners of the parking lot and the hidden nook’s and cranny’s of the dilapidated building she lived in. Unfortunately, she had learned the hard way just what lurked in the dark of the night in the less than stellar neighborhood she lived in. She’d been lucky that night, she knew. Armed with only her car keys, Lucie had managed to fend off her attacker at three o’clock in the morning, when not a single soul had answered her cries for help.

  Now she was paranoid, and rightfully so. She hadn’t told anyone. Not the police, not her mother, and certainly not Kane. She had too many people trying to look after her as it was. She also feared that Kane would try to take her baby girl away from her if he knew, which meant she only had one option. Be prepared in order to ensure it didn’t happen again and continue saving money until she could move to a better neighborhood. She was so close, but that didn’t make getting out of her car any easier.

  There was one bright side to the whole situation, and that was that Lucie had found Erica, Haley’s full time babysitter. The woman was Heaven-sent in Lucie’s opinion.

  Each night, Erica graciously brought Haley back to the apartment – before dark – just to make sure the little girl got to go to sleep in her own bed. And when Lucie arrived at three or four o’clock in the morning, Erica would sometimes remain on the couch, or she would drag herself home if she had an early class. On those nights, Lucie would lock Haley inside the apartment, and then dutifully walk Erica to her car just to ensure her safety.

  Of course, there were days like yesterday when Lucie would take Haley to Erica’s and the little girl asked if Kane would be coming over to see her. Never did Lucie know for sure whether he was, but his track record over the last few months pretty much allowed Lucie to ensure Haley that he would. Kane did little else other than visit his daughter each and every day.

  Since they both worked until two in the morning, or later, he didn’t get to see Haley in the evenings, but he made sure he was over each day, either bringing lunch to them, or taking them somewhere – usually McDonald’s if Haley had her say.

  Although their interactions were awkward at best, Lucie and Kane managed to be civil to one another when Haley was within ear shot. Not that he had talked to Lucie much any other time, but she knew the day would come. He had some big questions he wanted answers to, and she was trying to avoid that conversation like the plague. Even after her high level account of what happened, she knew Kane wasn’t satisfied with her answers.

  Hurrying up the stairs to the second floor landing, Lucie approached with her keys ready. As was her routine, she had both of the locks unlocked, herself inside, and the reverse completed within seconds. With her phone at the ready, she hit the call button, dialing Kane’s number and then waiting for him to answer.

  “Everything ok?” Without fail, he asked the same question he asked every time she called.

  “Yes. I’m here and Haley’s sleeping.”

  “Ok. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  Lucie hung up and wondered if that would be the extent of their conversations from here on out. Each day she hoped for minimal interaction with the man because, despite the relationship he was building with Haley and his ability to at least look her in the eye these days, Lucie had a difficult time getting over the attraction she still felt for him. It seemed to burn hotter and brighter every time she was close to him.

  It wouldn’t be so terrible if she thought there might be a chance in hell of them ever replaying that one spectacular night all over again. Or better yet, if she thought there was even a remote chance he might feel a fraction of what she felt for him. Despite the repeated lectures she gave herself,
it all boiled down to the fact that Lucie was still in love with Kane.

  There was no doubt in her mind that Kane would never be able to forgive her completely for what she did. Nor would he ever be able to truly trust her. And that meant these feelings that she had for him were better left tucked away, deep down, and hopefully, if she was lucky, eventually forgotten.

  Chapter Two

  *** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***

  Three months later...

  Three o’clock could not have come fast enough for Kane. He’d been anticipating this morning for the last week, and now that it was here, he was admittedly feeling a little nervous.

  With Haley at Lucie’s mother’s house for the next few days, Kane knew it was time for him to seize the opportunity. Because Lucie wouldn’t have any excuses, he was looking forward to getting some things hashed out between them. The tip toeing around, avoiding eye contact, and otherwise ignoring one another was seriously beginning to piss him off.

  Although he went to see Haley every single day because he was so enthralled by the miracle that was his daughter, Kane and Lucie didn’t seem to be making any headway. In fact, she seemed to be pulling away more and more each time he tried to get closer. That was mostly his fault, he knew. Ever since that creep Justin Jones came into the picture about a month ago, Kane hadn’t been able to be around Lucie without getting pissed off.

  Maybe he didn’t have the right to tell her whom she could and could not date, but Kane didn’t like the little shit who had been stalking her at least three or four nights a week at the club one bit. He had to hand it to Lucie, she handled him fairly well. Kane wasn’t entirely convinced they were actually dating, but he still felt the need to interfere any time the opportunity presented itself.

  Kane knew Lucie was extremely careful with Haley – probably a tad on the paranoid side, in fact. And as far as he knew, Justin had never even been introduced to his little girl. If he had anything to say about it, he never would either.

  Admittedly, it had taken a little while for him to get past the initial anger and resentment of Lucie’s deceit, but now that he was, Kane was beginning to think about things he knew he shouldn’t. Like getting Lucie in his bed – or hers – he didn’t care either way. The fact that she hadn’t dated another man as far as he knew for the last few years probably hadn’t helped him either. The problem was, he’d been stupid enough to hold back because he hadn’t had any real motivation to pursue her. Until now.

  Since he couldn’t clearly remember anything about that one night so long ago when he’d obviously taken what he had wanted for so long, Kane was anxious to go back there. Only this time without the alcohol impairing him.

  Even without the memories, each time he was close to Lucie, he got the sense of what her skin felt like beneath his fingertips. It was quite possible that his subconscious remembered her, the feel of her soft, smooth skin, the taste of her sweet mouth, but he wasn’t satisfied with almost knowing. He was ready to experience all of those things again, and those were the G rated visions he had about her. His cock wasn’t able to decipher between real and make believe, so those fleeting images that came out of nowhere to fuck with his mind had a damn near painful effect on him.

  Unable to remember anything they did that night, he couldn’t help imagining what it would feel like to have his cock buried in her sassy mouth, or sliding between her better than perfect tits, or deep in her pussy while he made her scream his name as she came. Or better yet, buried to the hilt in her ass while he gripped her hair in his fist, taking her in ways he’d only ever dreamed about.

  Kane wasn’t a gentle lover, never had been, nor did he feel the need to pretend he was. His desire was ferocious, his urges brutal, and all of his desire had been aimed at Lucie for as long as he could remember. Now he just had to find a way to satisfy his craving for this woman once and for all.

  And Kane was sure as shit not about to let some young punk come in and intrude on what he wanted more than his next breath.

  “You going home?” Kane asked when Lucie tried to walk past him without as much as a goodbye.

  He hadn’t seen Justin in the club all night, and he only could hope she didn’t have any plans with the man now that Haley would be at her mother’s for a few days. If she didn’t plan to go home, her plans were about to change.

  “Yes and I know the drill now, Kane. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.” Her tone was guarded, her eyes filled with irritation.

  “I’m coming by,” he informed her, and he hoped she heard the lack of request in his tone. He wasn’t asking permission.

  “Haley’s not there. She’s at my mother’s.”

  “I know,” Kane replied. “That’s why I’m coming by. We need to talk.”

  Lucie eyed him suspiciously for a minute, maybe two before she shook her head, telling him no. “I’m too tired right now. Can we do this tomorrow?”

  “No.” That was his final answer. Kane wasn’t putting this off any longer. They didn’t have to talk if she didn’t want to, but he was still going to her house. Whatever this was that he felt for her, he was almost certain she felt it too. Since this was the perfect opportunity to test the waters, he wasn’t going to back down on this one.

  “I’ll be there in half an hour,” Kane said, “I’ve got to finish up here.”

  “Kane, I don’t –”

  Before Lucie could come up with any more excuses, Kane pressed up against her, eliminating all of the space that had been separating them. He placed his finger on her lips to shut her up, although he’d have much preferred to use his mouth, but he was cognizant of where they were. “I’m coming over. You better be there when I get there.”

  Rolling her eyes and sighing deeply, Lucie nodded her head briefly then spun on her heel and walked away.

  He knew she recognized the frustration in his tone, but he was willing to bet she didn’t realize every ounce of it was sexual in nature and he was past the point of waiting for her to come around.

  It was time they got some things cleared up – including those damn memories that still eluded him.

  ~~*~~

  Driving home in the dark hours of the early morning, Lucie wondered whether the pounding of her heart was actually the first signs of a heart attack. Ever since Kane mentioned that he was coming by, she’d been feeling strange. Between the constant thump of her heart against her ribs, and the roar of blood in her ears, she was beginning to get a little worried.

  Kane’s words reverberated back and forth in her head, leaving her wondering whether she had actually heard him correctly. Not the words necessarily, but the way he said them. He’d thrown her off balance with his domineering attitude, but even more so when he pressed his finger to her lips.

  For a second there, Lucie hadn’t known whether her knees were actually going to hold her upright. She wanted to believe that the hunger she detected in his words was real, but she was worried her overactive imagination might just be getting the better of her. After all, she hadn’t been sleeping well for a few months now, so it was quite possible.

  Until recently, when Kane began shooting daggers from his eyes whenever Justin Jones would come visit her at the club, he had been totally indifferent to her. Or at least she thought he had been.

  His interference hadn’t been needed because Lucie had positively no interest in Justin. He continued to ask her out, she continued to turn him down. Since Haley was her first and foremost priority, Lucie didn’t give a second thought to dating a man that she knew wouldn’t be long term material. Not that she was necessarily looking for long term, but if anything were to happen, she needed to know that it was at least a possibility.

  No matter how many times she thought about those overprotective glances that Kane delivered her direction, she couldn’t wrap her mind around any reason why. Well, other than him wanting to ensure that his daughter always came first. He didn’t have anything to worry about there, but she hadn’t necessarily explained that to him.

  It bogg
led her mind that she still had the audacity to think Kane might have a slight interest in her. After what she’d done, Lucie was surprised he even chose to speak to her. Even though she secretly wished that there was something between the two of them, she knew better than to get her hopes up.

  Even that one night when she’d given herself over to Kane, the night Haley was conceived, she hadn’t been convinced that he actually wanted anything more than sex from her. Considering she didn’t have it in her to do casual relationships, it didn’t make sense how much she still craved his touch. Especially on those lonely nights when she couldn’t get her mind to shut down because it constantly returned to images of the two of them together. Not even touching herself could alleviate the ache that had only intensified over the years.

  Thinking back on the night at Club Destiny when she and Kane and a couple of the other bartenders had been sitting around talking had become a frequent occurrence for her lately. She could still remember the feeling that something was wrong with Kane that night. Sticking around to see if he wanted to talk about it had set everything in motion.

  He hadn’t wanted to talk. Well, not about what was bothering him anyway.

  Instead, he’d indulged repeatedly in shots of bourbon as they chit chatted about nothing important until Lucie finally decided it was time to call it a night. Kane had agreed, but when she’d seen his intention to drive himself home, Lucie had interjected.

  That was her first mistake of many that night.

  Calling a cab hadn’t even been a consideration for her, yet she didn’t know why. It was the first thing she thought about when they encountered someone who had overindulged at the club. She remembered thinking that she would never forgive herself if she let him walk out of there and he was hurt or killed, or someone else was, because of his overindulgence. It had taken remarkably little persuading to convince Kane to let her take him home. After forcing him into her car, she managed to pry the directions to his house from him before he closed his eyes.