by Tia Siren
“Sorry.” I had to make light of it. If I didn’t joke about what had happened, I would break down in hysterics, and I didn’t have the energy for another meltdown. The last month—especially the last forty-eight hours—had been a roller coaster, and I couldn’t deal with more of the same.
My mom held my hand and I closed my eyes. We didn’t speak much. After a while, Luke came into the room with a cup of sweet tea for me.
“For the shock,” he said. He helped me sit up and handed me the tea. He went back to the kitchen and brought two cups of coffee for him and my mom.
“Thank you,” my mom said.
“It’s my pleasure,” Luke said, sitting opposite me. He looked at me with a concerned face.
“Not just for the coffee,” my mom said. “For everything. You saved her life, and I will forever be thankful for that. I’ve already lost so much…” Her eyes welled up with tears. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so emotional.”
I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back.
“I’m just sorry I couldn’t do the same for Dalton,” Luke said. He looked at his coffee. “I wish every day that I could have done something.”
My mom shook her head. “Don’t do that to yourself. There was nothing any of us could have done. If we’d known what he was involved with, it might have been different, but he didn’t involve us at all and that’s not your fault.”
Luke nodded. I was so glad my mom told him that. I knew Luke beat himself up some days for Dalton’s death, and I hated that he felt so responsible. For his sake, I was relieved things hadn’t gone wrong with me in that house and that Koby was the man he was.
We sat together in silence for a while, sipping our drinks and thinking. A knock sounded at the door, and I jumped. I was terrified for no reason. Luke got up and walked to the door. A moment later he reappeared with my dad.
“There you are,” my dad said, and he looked relieved. He walked to the couch where I was sitting and kissed me on the forehead, careful not to hurt me.
“I saw it on the news and I had to see that you were okay. I’m so glad you’re alive.”
It was much the same as what my mom had said. I wondered for a moment if it would be awkward with the two of them together here, but it was the same as with Dalton’s death. It was like they put their differences aside when things were hard.
It was the first time since Dalton’s funeral that the four of us were together, and it felt surreal. My parents spoke to each other normally. Luke answered all their questions until they both seemed to be more at ease with what had happened.
“Dalton’s case is going to be reopened,” Luke said, looking at both my parents. “Justice will be served now, but it might drag on for a while.”
My mom nodded. “It will be hard to go through all that again, but we can be there for each other,” she said.
My dad agreed. “If they catch the guy, I’m okay going through it all again. He was a good kid. It’s not fair just to leave it alone.”
I was glad my parents agreed on something. I felt Luke’s eyes on me, and when I looked at him, his expression was soft and warm and difficult to read. There was a lot of love and a lot of sadness, but there were other things, too. But he wouldn’t bother me with it now. I knew that. And I was relieved.
I rested my head on my hand. It was so heavy. I was so tired.
“I think I better get going,” my dad said. “I’ll check on you during the week, okay?”
“That would be great. Thanks for coming, Dad.”
He kissed me on the head and Luke saw him out.
“Was that okay?” I asked my mom when they were out of the room. “With Dad here?”
“Of course, baby,” my mom said. “This isn’t about us.”
I was so happy they could put their differences aside. My mom stayed a while longer. I dozed off on the couch a little, falling asleep to Luke and my mom softly talking. After a while, my mom touched my shoulder and I jerked awake. For a moment I thought I was in the basement again, but I could move my arms and it was my mom, not Sherry, looking down at me.
“I’m leaving, sweetheart,” she said. “I’ll call you later.”
“I love you, Mom,” I said. Luke got up and walked my mom to the door before he came back.
“You need to get to bed,” he said. He picked me up before I could say anything.
“You don’t have to carry me,” I said.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” he said, but his voice was gentle. I laid my head against his chest and he carried me to the bedroom. He had to put me down so I could change. He handed me one of his shirts, and it was like a dress on me. I pulled it on and he tucked me into bed. When he switched off the light, the darkness terrified me.
“Don’t leave me,” I said, panicked.
Luke switched on the lamp on the nightstand as if he knew. “I’m right here, princess,” he said to me and crawled onto the bed next to me. He lay on top of the covers while I was beneath them, but it pulled them around me tightly and made me feel safe. Luke’s body curled around mine like a question mark, and he held me.
I was safe in his arms. He had come to save me and I was here, in his bed, with nothing to fear. I hadn’t died and he was still alive, too. We had made it through without Dalton’s killer taking us down as well.
I wished we could say the same for Dalton. I wished he was here, too. I wished we’d been able to save him.
But between the two of us, Dalton was here in a way. And he would be avenged. His death wouldn’t be forgotten or written off as an accident, and that was all that mattered now.
I closed my eyes. Flashes of the basement, of Koby’s face and Sherry’s laugh, came to me. When I jerked, Luke stroked my arm and made small shushing noises. He managed to chase the nightmares away, and finally the darkness pulled me under.
The last thing I felt was Luke’s lips pressing against my cheek, the line of his body strong and warm behind mine.
Tomorrow was a new day, and we would be okay.
Chapter 29
Luke
Alexa slept the whole of Sunday. I didn’t blame her. She’d had a rough three days, from fucking to kidnapping to police questioning, and she needed to recover.
I was worried about her concussion and kept checking on her, but she seemed to be doing all right. I heated up dinner for the two of us when the sun set and put her plate in the oven in case she wanted it later.
I was so relieved I’d found her. She’d told me what had happened with the location she’d sent me, how she’d managed to do it, and I couldn’t have been prouder that she’d taken initiative. I didn’t know how I would have found her if she hadn’t told me she was there for sure. I might not have called for her when I’d been outside with Mason.
Nothing had surfaced on Mason since Friday. Of course, it was way too soon, but I wanted the fucker in a cell for the rest of his life, and I wanted it now. No, I wanted it a month ago when Dalton had died.
It would take a long time, though, before that happened. But it would happen, and that would have to be enough.
After I ate, I walked to the bedroom to check on Alexa again. She was still curled in a ball on her side, and I got onto the mattress, her body moving slightly as the mattress dipped beneath my weight. When I pressed my body against hers, pulling her against me with my arm around her, she turned and looked at me.
“You’re awake,” I said and smiled.
“I am,” she said, nodding.
“Did you sleep okay? How are you feeling?” I asked.
She thought about it for a moment, assessing herself.
“My head still hurts, but it’s not so bad. I think the sleep helped.”
I nodded. She reached up and put her hand on my cheek. I dipped my head and kissed her.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” I said. “Losing you is not something I ever want to do again.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m glad I’m safe, too.”
Wh
en she opened her eyes again, she turned onto her back so that she didn’t have to keep looking at me over her shoulder.
“Was it okay with my mom?” she asked me. “I think I passed out a little toward the end of the conversation.”
“It was fine. She’s like my mom, too.”
She nodded. “I know. I was so glad I didn’t have to face her alone. I wouldn’t have known what to do. What did you guys talk about when I was asleep?”
I shrugged. “Not too much” I said. It was a lie. We’d talked about a lot. We’d talked about Alexa and what she meant to us, what she meant to me.
“Tell me,” she said. “I can tell when you’re lying, Luke.”
I sighed. I wasn’t exactly lying. I just wasn’t telling the truth. But if she wanted it…
“She told me she approves of us,” I said. “You know…together.”
Alexa frowned at me, and it was one of the many faces she made that was so fucking sexy.
“She knows about us? How?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t think it’s hard to see. I wasn’t exactly holding back when I was taking care of you with her here.”
Alexa smiled. “She could see that we’re together because of how you were with me? That’s romantic.”
I shrugged. Romantic was one word I would never use to describe myself, but that was an ego thing. I did feel something for her. I felt a lot for her, in fact, and I wanted her to know that. So, I guessed romantic was right up there, but I wouldn’t admit it.
Or maybe it was time to tell her how I felt about her. When I’d nearly lost her, I’d hated myself for not telling her that I cared for her. It had been the same with Dalton. I should have told him that he was more real to me than my actual family. And I never had. It wasn’t cool for bros to show each other love, and he had died without me telling him what he deserved to know.
“Alexa,” I said, and she looked at me.
“You don’t often use my real name,” she said.
“I don’t often have something serious to say.”
She blinked at me, waiting.
“I’ve fallen in love with you,” I said. Pussy. I was tiptoeing around the concept of real love. I cleared my throat. “I love you.”
She smiled. “That is important,” she said. “I love you, too.”
It was so easy for her. She pushed her hand into my hair at the back of my head and pulled me closer, kissing me. I was usually the one in control with her, but this was different. This was sweet and romantic and hot all at the same time.
She finally broke the kiss, and we lay together in the almost dark. I glanced at her, but she didn’t seem as peaceful as I hoped she would be at this point.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m scared it’s not over yet,” she said. “They asked me about witness protection for a reason. Koby is behind bars for now, but what if they can’t convict him? And what about the rest of the Samurai that are all out there still?”
I shook my head. “Don’t do this to yourself,” I said. “I’m here and I’ll take care of you. We’re safe. We have the police on our side now and their ring leader is in jail. It’s going to be harder for them to do anything now if they’re not already scared to death about the whole thing. Mason was on the news, remember? It sends a message.”
Alexa nodded and blew out a slow breath. I wasn’t sure if she was relieved or if she was still worried, but I was going to distract her.
I kissed her again, putting my hand on her cheek. I slid my tongue into her mouth, and she tasted like only she could—hot and delicious. My cock was getting hard. I wanted her. I ground myself against her while we made out, sliding my hand to her breast as I kissed her, moving my body against hers. My breathing changed and hers become erratic and shallow, too.
“Are you okay with this?” I asked. “You’re not too sore?”
“I want you to take me, Luke,” she said. Those words turned me on so much that I could barely hold back. Usually I would have dominated the shit out of her, but tonight I had to be careful. I wanted her to recover first before getting rough with her.
That didn’t mean that I couldn’t be in control, though.
I undressed her. It didn’t take long at all. She wore my T-shirt and nothing else. When she was naked, I rolled onto her, pinning her with my body. I moved my hands up her arms, putting them above her head, and she gasped and moved beneath me. I kept my hands on her wrists and moved down her body, kissing a trail of fire down her neck and to her breasts. I took a nipple in my mouth and nibbled on her. She moaned. I sucked on her nipple, flicking my tongue over it.
I was so fucking hard. I wanted her. Badly.
I sat up, letting her go for a moment to pull off my shirt. I didn’t have time to get off her to take off my boxers, too. I pulled them down far enough that my cock was out and that was enough.
I pinned her hands above her head again and pushed her legs open with my knees. She gasped when I did, taking sharp intakes of air. I wanted more foreplay, more games, but she wasn’t up to it and I was too horny to wait much longer.
I pressed my dick to her entrance, and she held her breath while I pushed into her.
I groaned at the same time she moaned. Sliding into her was the best feeling I’d had in a long time. I stroked in and out of her slowly, carefully. She moaned and we breathed hard. I let go of her wrists and leaned on my elbows on either side of her head. My chest was pressed against her breasts, and I fucked her slowly and sensually.
I pressed my lips against hers, kissing her. We were so connected. It was more intense than any sex I’d ever had.
She orgasmed, and I felt her walls clamp down around me, her body gripping mine. It tipped me over the edge, and I released inside her. She cried out and I shuddered on top of her. We rode it out together.
When I finally came down from my orgasm, she was breathing hard.
“Are you okay?” I asked. I was worried about her head.
“Yeah,” she said.
I rolled off her anyway. I didn’t want to push it. We had a lot of time to get kinky later. I lay down next her, and my cock started softening right away. I pulled her against me, her skin sweaty against mine. She buried her face in my shoulder and sighed.
This was heaven, doing whatever it was we would do together and then being together afterward. I wasn’t going to walk away, forget her name, not know who I had fucked the next day. This was so much better than all that.
“I’m really happy to be here with you,” I said.
She smiled against my skin; I could feel her cheeks move.
“I’m really happy to be here, too. I’ve wanted this for a long time. Not the scary bit, obviously, but us being together. And now it’s real.”
I nodded. I stroked her back in slow circles. It had been a fantasy of mine, too. I’d wanted to fuck her, sure. That had been there from the start, almost. But to be with her…that had happened lately, after I’d been spending so much time with her. I’d gotten to know her, and she was one of the most amazing people. I loved spending time with her, and I was serious about being with her, about owning her body when we got down and dirty and having her as my girlfriend when it came to her personality. She was the full package.
That didn’t happen very often. You hardly ever came across someone like Alexa.
“I never thanked you for saving my life,” she said after we were silent for a while.
“I think you did,” I said.
“Well, not enough then,” she said.
I shook my head. “I would do it again and again.”
I had Alexa back and that was all that was important to me. I would risk my life for her every time. I had lost Dalton and I wasn’t losing her, too.
I was thankful for Dalton. Alexa was his sister, and if we hadn’t been so close, if he hadn’t been in trouble, he wouldn’t have asked me to look out for her.
Dalton was gone, but he still tied us together in a way. He had died, but h
e was still here in some way, in the relationships Alexa and I had both had with him and in the relationship we had with each other now.
We would both have him if we could choose, but considering that we couldn’t, it didn’t get better than this.
Chapter 30
Alexa
I had to take time off work again. I was so stressed after everything that had happened that I couldn’t think about going back to the office. I’d been on the news, and I was sure that was the only reason Miranda had given me some time off again. After the two weeks of family leave I’d gotten after Dalton’s funeral, I should not have been able to take paid leave.
But everyone at the office was worried about me, and when I’d spoken to Miranda on the phone about it, she’d told me not to worry about it. I could take as much time as I needed.
“Just get better, and for God’s sake, stay out of trouble,” she’d said.
I was planning on doing just that. I’d had enough trauma for one lifetime.
Luke was there for me all the time. On Monday morning we headed back to my apartment. Luke wanted me to stay with him until my concussion healed, and I was happy with that. When I walked to my door, though, I started panicking. Fear crept up on me and tackled me. I got flashes of the day I’d been kidnapped, and I couldn’t breathe.
“It’s okay,” Luke said. “I’m here. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
Logically, I knew he was right, but I couldn’t convince my body to calm down.
In the end, Luke went in and grabbed the clothes I’d asked for. I waited in the car. I was relieved I hadn’t gone to work. If I was freaking out about this, how would I deal with work? Of course, nothing traumatic had happened there, but with the panic my headache had intensified and I’d felt like I was going to faint.
When Luke returned to the car with my bag, packed with everything I’d asked for, he got in behind the steering wheel.
“There was no one up there, babe,” he said to me. “You don’t need to worry.”
I nodded. “I know,” I said. But that was so much easier said than done. The truth was that I was terrified. I was so scared that I didn’t know what to do with myself, and that made my headache so much worse.
