“Come on, let’s go. I’ll run you a nice hot bath when we get to mine and you can soak and relax,” he suggested, helping me up from the seat.
I sighed dreamily at how nice that sounded. “Thanks.” We hobbled out across the practically deserted parking lot and over to his Jeep that was parked in the corner. When we got to it I leant against the side of the car, watching as he dug in his pocket for his keys. “I can’t wait to graduate and leave for college,” I mumbled, shaking my head tiredly. “Think all this will stop when we go away to college?” I asked hopefully.
His eyes searched mine as he nodded. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “Have you… have you decided on college then?” he asked, dropping his eyes to the floor and playing with his keys in his hand.
Decided on college? What is he asking me that for? “I thought we’d decided on that months ago.”
He looked up, confusion clear across his face. “Yeah but, you know, things changed since then. I screwed up. So I assumed you’d be looking at colleges closer to your family instead.”
I shrugged. “Why would I do that?” I questioned. We’d talked and talked about colleges before, we’d decided on one that offered us both great opportunities.
His mouth dropped open in shock. “Are you saying that maybe we could still go to Oregon together?” he asked. The hopeful tone to his voice made my heart stutter.
Standing in the cool night, illuminated by a streetlight a little way away, it hit me just how much I loved him. All of this stuff that had happened recently just proved to me how much I needed him in my life. He was the one for me. He was my first thought when I was scared, the one I wanted to comfort me when I cried, and the one I wanted to share everything with. He had always been that person for me, I’d just been too clouded by hurt to see that us being together was inevitable.
All of this stuff, this being in danger stuff, had all served to show me how precious each day was. I shouldn’t be wasting time being sad and lonely, when the thing I wanted more than anything, wanted me too. I was just doing myself an injustice by denying myself something that made me incredibly happy all the time.
“When we leave school I think everything will be better. Right now every time I look around I get reminded of what you did, the people all know so I feel like they’re laughing at me. I think once school is over and we’re at college then we can start afresh,” I suggested. Starting afresh sounded like bliss to me.
His eyes widened as he stepped closer to me, so close that his body was merely inches away and his toes actually touched mine. “Start afresh. Please tell me you’re saying what I think you’re saying,” he begged. His voice broke as he looked at me so intently that it made my stomach flutter.
“Well, do you think I’m saying that I just can’t be without you anymore?” I asked, reaching out one hand and placing it over his heart. I could feel the steady drumming under my palm, and I smiled at how precious it felt to me.
“That’s what I pray you’re saying, baby,” he whispered, leaning in closer to me and touching my cheek, brushing his fingers there softly. He leant forward, placing his forehead against mine as his breathing became more ragged. His other hand gripped my side tightly. “Please. Please, Maisie,” he begged.
Emotion was threatening to boil over as happiness hit me in waves. I knew then that this was the right thing to do. Screw everything and everyone else. Luke Hannigan made me happy, and I just couldn’t not be with him anymore.
“Tell me you love me.” I slid my hands up to his neck, pushing one into the back of his hair and weaving my fingers into the soft silky strands.
He gulped loudly. His eyes danced with excitement, his whole body seemed to go rigid. “I lov-” I crashed my lips to his before he could finish saying it. I didn’t need him to say it. I already knew.
As soon as his lips were on mine, everything else seemed to evaporate and all that was important was him and me and that his lips belonged on mine. He made a small startled moan in the back of his throat but kissed me back immediately, pushing against me, trapping me between the hardness of his body and the cool metal of his car. The passion that went into the kiss almost knocked me sideways as his tongue met mine. His taste exploded against my taste buds as I fisted my hand into his hair, squeezing myself to him tighter, wanting to melt inside him and never get out again.
Everything about the way he kissed me, the feel of his hands as they gripped my waist, the way he pinned me tightly against the car as he kissed me like I had never been kissed before in my life, all of it was beautiful. It was familiar, incredible, passionate, but most importantly, it was right. My whole body seemed to come alive with a hunger that he always seemed to evoke in me. I pulled my mouth away from his, desperate for air, gasping as my knees went weak with longing. My love for him was overwhelming, almost too much to cope with as everything built inside me like a raging inferno. I needed to release this passion before it made me explode. I fumbled behind me, grabbing the back door handle, pushing him away from me for a second so I could move to the side and force the door open.
When I looked up at him I knew that he felt exactly the same as me in that moment - desperate and needy. My skin seemed to prickle all over as I whimpered. Grabbing his shirt and yanking him towards me, I sat on the back seat, hooking my legs either side of his and trapping him against me. “Luke,” I whined, not having the words to describe what I needed from him.
He flicked his eyes behind him, a little bewildered as he gasped for breath too. “Here? Seriously?” he croaked, his voice all husky and thick with lust.
I didn’t answer, just leant forward and pressed my mouth to his again, capturing his bottom lip between my teeth and biting roughly. He grunted, and that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed as he moved forward, forcing me onto my back as he leant on top of me, wriggling and fumbling behind him, slamming the door closed, trapping us in the back of his car. Almost instantly the temperature in the car seemed to spike as he looked down at me with eyes that were so ecstatic that it made my heart ache.
Reaching out, I snagged his hoodie and T-shirt, yanking them both over his head in one easy movement. His phone slid out of his pocket and thumped to the floor, but neither of us paid any attention as he leant down, brushing his lips against mine softly, just once. My fingers dug into the bare skin of his back, just marvelling over the weight of his body on top of me again.
“Tell me you love me,” he whispered, tracing my nose with his.
My legs moved, wrapping around his waist, pinning him to me. “I love y-” but just like I hadn’t let him finish, he didn’t let me finish. I felt him smile against my lips as I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, happier than I had been in weeks. While I was with Luke like this, everything was right in the world and nothing else mattered.
Chapter 27
As sleep ebbed away, the first thing I noticed was how comfortable I was. The soft sheets were pulled up to my chin, and the hard, warm thing I was cuddled up to felt like luxurious satin against my bare skin. A lazy pattern was being drawn on the small of my back with a fingertip. My first thought was: heaven. Blissful, beautiful heaven I was waking up in. I already knew what I would see when I opened my eyes.
Blinking against the sunlight that was filtering in through the blood red drapes, I looked up into Luke’s warm brown eyes. He was already awake, just lying there silently, watching me sleep as he traced his fingers over my back. His other arm was wrapped loosely around me, holding me against his chest.
Happiness seemed to radiate through every cell in my body at once, warming my skin and making my heart stutter. I raised a hand, tracing the line of his jaw, just wanting to check to make sure he was definitely here, and that this was definitely happening. It almost felt like a dream. It had been so long since I’d woken up with him like this, like part of a couple, that it didn’t feel real. His night’s growth of hair scratched against my fingertip and I let out a little contented sigh.
A smile twitched at the corners
of his mouth, his eyes glittered with elation as his arm tightened around me. “Hi,” he whispered.
I chewed on my lip, fighting with my hormones that were currently raging and would soon burn everything in their wake. “Hi,” I croaked, hating that my voice was thick with sleep and not in the sexy way that some girls had.
His boyish smile grew into an outright grin as I snuggled closer to him, wanting to feel every part of his skin on mine. As I moved, I realised that my body ached in delicious ways that it hadn’t ached for in weeks. My muscles felt tight and overused because of what we’d gotten up to last night in the back of his car, and after in the front hallway downstairs, and then again in his bed. My body was out of practice with all this physical exertion, but I would get used to it again pretty quickly, that much I was sure of.
“How are you this morning?” he asked, his eyes searching my face, almost as if he was trying to ascertain the answer without me even speaking.
I felt the heat flood my face. Silly little girl in love Maisie was back again. “My body aches. I think I have sex muscle syndrome,” I answered, giggling and looping my arm around his neck.
He laughed at my answer and rolled gently so I was half under him. “You do? Want me to give you a massage?” he offered, bending his head and tracing his nose across my cheek before breathing in lungful’s of my hair as his hand instantly started massaging my outer thigh.
I closed my eyes, overcome by sensation as my fingers dug into his shoulders. “No,” I croaked. “How about we just stretch them out again?” I offered, gasping as he kissed the sensitive spot on side of my neck, just below my ear.
He didn’t immediately jump on me like I was expecting. Instead, he pulled back, his eyes tight, seeming slightly worried. “Baby, this isn’t just a sex thing is it? This thing that’s happened, this is us getting back together again, right? Not just us sleeping together.” His eyes searched mine and his hand stilled on my thigh as he seemed to hold his breath in anticipation.
My heart melted because he just looked so hopeful and so pleading. He wanted me back so badly that it made my insides tremble. In that moment, my love for him was overwhelming, and I knew that he felt the same as me, that we belonged together. Even after everything that had happened, I was destined to be with Luke Hannigan forever, I knew it deep down in my heart.
“This is us getting back together again,” I confirmed, fisting my hand into the back of his hair.
His whole body seemed to relax as he closed his eyes and gulped. “Thank you,” he whispered. His eyes opened, glistening in the dim light of his bedroom as he smiled down at me. “Thank you. I promise I won’t ever do that again, not ever. You’re my life, Maisie, and I almost lost you. I won’t ever do anything to jeopardise that again. I’m so sorry.” His voice was earnest and full of emotion as he spoke.
I nodded. “I know you are.” That was the truth, I knew he was sorry, and I knew how important I was to him.
“I’ll spend my life making it up to you, I promise.” He bent and kissed my cheek, and I felt everything fall back into place, just like it was before all of this happened.
“How about you start right now?” I suggested, raising one eyebrow suggestively as I hitched my leg over his hip and pulled his body closer to mine.
He sucked in a breath through his teeth and let it out as a low groan as his mouth headed towards mine. I smiled against his lips and melted into his embrace, giving myself over entirely, body, mind and spirit.
Two hours later and we had only just dragged ourselves out of his bed. For ages I’d just laid there in his arms while we talked about random stuff, with the TV showing nothing in particular in the background. In my eyes, it couldn’t get any more perfect than that. I’d wanted to stay in that moment forever, never moving forward or back, just frozen in time with him. Unfortunately, being an eating machine, his body had something else to say about my staying in bed forever plan.
“There’s nothing much in here,” I muttered, frowning into his half empty fridge. I picked up the remaining two eggs and the packet of suspicious looking ham. “I guess we could make a ham omelette?” I offered, turning my nose up at the prospect. The ham looked like it had been open for a while, the edges curling in a stomach wrenching way.
His arms wrapped around me, his bare chest pressing against my back as he pulled me away from the fridge gently. “I have a great idea,” he said into my ear before kissing the back of my neck softly and playing with the edge of his T-shirt that I was wearing.
I tipped my head to the side, smiling now. “I thought you were hungry,” I teased.
He chuckled, taking the eggs and ham out of my hands and placing them onto the counter top. “I am hungry. Which is why I was going to suggest that we get dressed and take a drive over to that little café that you like, the one that makes those muffins with the cranberries?”
I gasped, my eyes widening with excitement as I turned in his arms and grinned up at him. “Yeah?” I chirped. “I love that idea!” The café he was talking about was a quaint little old fashioned tea room that we had found once when we were camping. It was about an hour drive from here, but the muffins and pastries were to die for. Luke and I had made a point at stopping there whenever we went that way to camp.
He grinned, tracing my lips with his index finger. “I thought you might. Come on then, let’s get dressed and go. It’ll be like a date.”
I grinned ecstatically. If he was going to be making this much of an effort to make it up to me then I was a seriously lucky girl. “Race ya,” I joked, shoving myself out of his arms and dashing for the stairs. He chuckled darkly, and I heard his heavy footsteps behind me. He caught up with me before I even made it half way up the stairs. I gasped as he swept my legs out from under me, pulling me into his arms and crashing his lips down to mine. I giggled against his lips, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him back instantly. Of course I’d known that the running away from him action would bring out his playful side, so no doubt the trip to the café would be put on hold, at least for a while anyway.
The café was just as lovely and romantic as I remembered. We had been the only ones in there, sitting in the corner, feeding each other iced pastries and muffins while the early afternoon sunshine shone in through the window. The lady even recognised us and gave us a free refill on our coffees. It had been perfect; every single second of the day with him had been spectacular, and I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want to have to share him with other people again when we went back to school.
“I can’t wait to go to college,” I mused as he threw money down on the table to cover our meal.
He looked up at me and grinned. “Me either, it’s going to be great. Just me and you, away from everyone and everything that’s happened here. It’ll be like a fresh start for both of us,” he replied, holding out his hand to me.
I placed my hand in his, letting him help me out of the booth. I smiled at his words. That was exactly what I felt too. With us going away to college together and moving to another town hours away, there would be nothing there to remind either of us of the bad things that had occurred recently. “Sounds great.” His arm slipped around my shoulder as he guided me out of the little café, both of us waving to the owner on the way out. I climbed in his Jeep, watching as he walked around to the driver’s side. The little smile on his face made my heart melt.
As he got in and started the engine I suddenly realised I didn’t actually want to go home. I liked being out here with him, with no one to bother us, and no need to worry about some psycho that wanted to hurt me. A sigh of disappointment left my lips as I scooted down into the seat, trying not to let my feelings show on my face. I didn’t want to ruin this happy day, but I couldn’t get my mind off of the fact that everything would be different once we got home.
“What’s up, baby?” Luke asked as he backed the car out and headed in the direction of home.
I shrugged, not really knowing how to explain that I was just fed up with feel
ing frightened all the time; that I was fed up with looking over my shoulder and not knowing what was going to happen next. “I just don’t really want to go home. You know, the police thing and stuff,” I explained. “I just wish it was me and you all the time and that all that other stuff would just disappear.”
“Hmm,” he mused, nodding in agreement. “Why don’t we just go away for a bit? Just pack up and leave together for a while or something?” he suggested casually, as if that was just something that could happen.
I laughed at the hopefulness in his voice. “Luke, we can’t.” I shook my head at how silly he was being. Maybe he’s had too much sugar from all those muffins!
“Why not? I’m being serious. Let’s just pack up and leave, screw everything else, just me and you together.” He glanced over at me, keeping one eye on the road as he continued, “I can protect you. All this stuff will stop, the phone calls, the flowers, all of it will just go away and then it’ll just be us. We’ll travel for a while, see some sights, and do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do. It’ll be perfect.”
It sounded so nice, and I unconsciously started playing that out in my head. Us waking up together every day, falling asleep in his arms, no pressure, no more being frightened. Everything sounded so great, but I knew that was impossible, at least for the next few weeks it was impossible anyway. “We have our finals, we can’t just up and leave,” I protested. A frown lined his forehead as he looked back to the road and sighed deeply. I chewed on my lip and reached out, taking his hand and pulling it onto my lap as I stroked his knuckles with my thumb. “Luke, it sounds great, and if we didn’t have finals then I’d be saying heck yeah let’s go right now, but we have responsibilities, we have to graduate in order to get our places in college. We can’t let something like this ruin everything we’ve worked so hard for,” I persuaded.
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