“Be her friend.” Lucy nudged his shoulder with hers. “Help her make good choices.”
He gave her a solemn nod and shifted his attention to the field just as Lucy mumbled, “Son of a bitch.”
“What?” I asked.
She pointed to her lap where a glob of red ketchup clung to the denim on her thigh.
I chuckled and handed over a napkin from the extras I’d brought for just this reason.
“I spill,” Lucy told Travis as she cleaned her jeans. Then she popped the last bite of her hot dog in her mouth, focusing on the game just as a ref blew his whistle and threw a yellow flag.
The stands erupted in cheers—the penalty was for the visiting team.
“It’s about time.” Lucy clapped. “That kid’s been holding all night. Good of the refs to finally notice. It only took until the third quarter.”
I blinked.
Travis stared at her with an open mouth.
Damn, there was something sexy about a woman who knew football.
“What?” She shrugged. “My dad liked football. He taught me the rules when we watched on Sunday and Monday nights. And I used to go to a lot of Titans games.”
Probably to sing the national anthem.
“I like the Titans,” Travis said. “Except Cal Stark seems like a dickhead.”
“Oh, he’s a massive dickhead.” Lucy laughed. “But he wins football games, so he gets to keep being a dickhead.”
“And make millions of dollars.”
She nodded. “This one time, I saw him freak out because he stepped in his own gum. His. Own. Gum. He spit it on the concrete at the stadium, got stopped by a reporter and forgot that he’d been too lazy to find a trash can, then stepped in it. He blamed the reporter. Douche.”
Travis laughed, then launched into something he’d heard on ESPN, never realizing that the reason Lucy knew so much about Cal Stark was because she likely knew him personally.
I grinned, listening to the two of them rip Cal to shreds as the game played on.
Travis stayed through the beginning of the fourth quarter until he finally loaded up a pile of garbage and stood. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Welcome,” I said.
“See you Wednesday,” he told Lucy, then shuffled down the row and disappeared back into the mass of students.
“He’s going to like me,” she said, leaning into my side. “He’s going to like me.”
“Yeah, baby. He’s going to love you.”
“Yes.” She fist-pumped in her lap.
We watched the rest of the game, cheering as the Cowboys won. There was no rush to leave the stadium and we hung back, moving with the lumbering crowd to the parking lot. In a sea of glow-red taillights, we waited our turn and inched toward the exit.
We met Travis’s car at the end of a row. He waved from behind the wheel. Savannah was in the passenger seat.
“Where’s his father?” Lucy asked.
“I’m not sure. Melanie didn’t know him well. And it wasn’t something we talked about much.”
“He’s lucky to have you. What did you have to give him to get him to agree to meet me on Wednesday?”
I chuckled. It shouldn’t surprise me she’d known there was something at play. “Twenty bucks.”
“And four hot dogs.” She giggled, then her expression turned more serious. “I wish . . . never mind.”
“Wish what?”
She slumped into her seat. “This was the first time I had to hold myself back.”
“From what?”
“From who I am. I wish I could have told him the reason I know Cal Stark is a dickhead is because he dated Everly for a hot minute a few years ago. That I could get him tickets to a Titans game if he ever wanted to go because the owner’s wife is a huge fan of my music. I just . . . tonight, I wished I didn’t have to be Jade.”
“I get it.” I wished she could be Lucy too.
“I created this entirely new person, but she doesn’t have any memories. She doesn’t have a past or a family or friends. It’s strange, stepping into her shoes. When we’re together, I’m Lucy. And the closer I get to other people in Calamity, the more I want to be Lucy with them too. I’ve been back and forth on the Jade Morgan thing. I feel stuck in the middle and I’m not sure which way to go.”
Because she didn’t have options. She wasn’t really free to decide, not with how things were at the moment.
I reached across the console and took her hand off her lap, then threaded my fingers with hers. More than anything, I wanted her to be free. I wanted to stop reminding myself before we went anywhere to call her Jade. I wanted to stop worrying about the lurking, invisible threat.
The only way to do that was to find this stalker.
“The only way you get to be you is if we end this for good. Let’s give Blake some time. When I talked to him last, he said he was wrapping up a job in LA, then he’d get to Nashville.”
She turned and stared out her window, taking in the dimly lit streets of Calamity as we made our way down First. “I hope he finds something.”
“Me too.”
“And I want to call Everly.”
“Lu—”
“Please. I need to know that she’s okay. Maybe I’ll never be Lucy Ross again—at least, the Lucy Ross I was—but I’m not going to give up the people I love. If that brings this entire disappearance thing crashing down on our heads, we’ll deal with it.”
We. It wasn’t her tackling this alone. She knew without needing me to remind her that we were in this together. Not that it made me feel any better about her re-forming that tie to Nashville.
“It’s a risk,” I said.
“If we both have burner phones?”
“Mitigates it some, but I don’t know . . . I feel uneasy about it. Can we wait until after Blake gets there and does some digging?”
“That could be weeks and it’s already been a month.” She sighed and lifted my hand, bringing my knuckles to her lips. “I want to call her.”
And I wanted to keep her safe. But not at the expense of her happiness.
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll get in touch with Everly. Get her your new number.”
Despite the warning light flashing in the back of my mind.
A storm was coming. I just wasn’t sure when or how hard it was going to hit.
Chapter 16
Lucy
“Morning.” Duke slid his arms around me and dropped a kiss to the bare skin on my shoulder.
“Morning.” I leaned back into him, absorbing the heat from his chest as the coffeepot brewed, filling the kitchen with its drip and buzz. Duke’s scent filled my nose and I held it in, savoring that scent of spice and soap.
He’d been in the shower when I’d woken up so I’d snuck in to brush my teeth, then come downstairs to start the coffee. I was still wearing a pair of silk pajama shorts and matching camisole, the color a lavender shade so light it was nearly electric white.
Duke kissed me again, this time his lips lingering longer, and a smile stretched across my face as I closed my eyes. “Wish I didn’t have to work today.”
“What would we do if you had the day off?”
“Fuck in every room of the house.”
My breath hitched and an ache twisted in my lower belly. “Call in sick.”
“I can’t.” One hand traveled lower and his fingers dipped beneath the elastic of my shorts. “But we can cross off the kitchen.”
I nodded, spinning around so quickly it forced his hand out of my shorts, then I stood on my toes, my lips seeking his.
Never would I get enough of this man.
He crushed his lips to mine as he gripped me by the hips, picking me up so the tips of my toes skimmed the wood floor. Duke set me on the island while his tongue dove into my mouth, plundering and claiming.
My hands roamed everywhere. Over his broad shoulders covered by the stiff, starched cotton of his shirt. Down his muscled arms, which strained to be rid of his sleeves. My palms traveled
up his rock-hard chest to his face, where I cupped his cheeks and angled my head so his kisses could go even deeper.
Duke licked and sucked until my core was drenched and I was perched on the edge of the butcher block. My legs were spread and my center throbbed for him as he pulled away and started undoing the buttons on his shirt.
“Off.” He jerked his chin at my cami.
I whipped it off, my breasts bouncing free.
His eyes zeroed in on my pebbled nipples. His tongue darted out and ran across his lower lip as he worked the buttons even faster.
“Hurry.” I yanked at the hem of his shirt, needing to feel his skin on mine.
Over the past week, something had switched with us. We were just as hot for one another as we had been from the start, but ever since the football game, there’d been this want. This insatiable hunger. Neither of us could get enough and we were frantic to be connected all the time.
Maybe because we both feared there was a change coming now that Blake was investigating in Nashville. Or maybe we were using sex as a way to tell one another how we felt when we hadn’t yet shared the words.
I was in love with Duke.
And I wanted to take a chord out of my parents’ symphony and tell him that at just the right, epically cheesy moment. Like maybe I’d write it in a song. Maybe I’d wait until we had a date night. Maybe I’d bake a cake and write the words in frosting.
I wasn’t sure exactly how to say it yet, so for the time being, I was showing his body my affection.
Duke seemed to be doing the same. The minute he got to the farmhouse after work, we were clawing at each other. The two nights that I’d spent at his house this week, we’d been ravenous.
He’d said he wanted to fuck me in every room of the farmhouse, except he already had. This was the beginning of lap number two.
And I was not complaining.
I shoved at the sleeves of his shirt, helping to pull them off those roped and corded arms. The minute it was off and on the floor by his bare feet, his hands were on my breasts, kneading and tugging at my nipples. The pinch was a mixture of pleasure and pain that turned the heat in my veins to a raging fire.
“I need you.” I reached for his jeans, palming his erection through the denim.
He rolled his hips, pressing into my touch. “Shorts.”
I nodded and let him go, planting my hands behind me so he could pull the shorts from my legs.
They sailed to the floor to join his shirt as he worked his jeans open, revealing his long, thick shaft.
I panted as he pulled my ass to the edge of the counter, using a fist to drag the tip of his cock through my soaked folds. Then with one marvelous thrust, he was inside, stealing my breath.
“Duke.” I closed my eyes and gripped his shoulders, digging my fingertips into the taut skin.
“You feel so good, baby.”
“So good.” I hummed and widened my legs, letting him ease out to slam inside again.
He knew exactly how I wanted it. Every time, he took his cues from my gasps and my moans. I’d spent weeks learning his sounds and the expressions on his face so I could give back as good as he gave.
Duke’s hands came to my thighs, his fingers digging into the soft curves as he pumped in and out, the rhythm slow at first, until I’d adjusted to his size. Then he worked in fluid strokes, each one building me higher and higher until I was trembling.
“Touch yourself,” he ordered.
I nodded but kept my eyes closed as I brought one hand to my clit. I rubbed and circled the hard nub, matching the speed of his strokes until I felt an orgasm seconds away.
“Open your eyes.”
I obeyed, finding his blue gaze waiting. It was dark and full of lust. The deep blue pools were mine and mine alone.
Duke’s focus dropped, watching as he disappeared inside my body beneath my fingers. “Baby, that is hot.”
I hummed my agreement, biting my lower lip as heat licked my skin.
“Faster.”
My fingers shook and I followed his gaze, watching us together. It was erotic and dirty and beautiful. The sight pushed me over the edge and on a cry, I shattered. The orgasm took me over in crushing waves, pulse after pulse, as I clenched around Duke. White spots broke over my vision as the explosion continued its relentless assault. My legs shook as they dangled from the counter, my torso jerking with each clench.
My body was completely out of control, putty in Duke’s hands.
“Lucy.” He groaned, then erupted, fucking me even harder until we were both spent and limp.
The aftershocks of my orgasm were still coming as I fell forward, giving him my weight.
He dropped his head into the crook of my neck and breathed as we found our equilibriums.
“Don’t go to work,” I whispered. We could do this all day. Because no matter how many times I had him, it wasn’t enough.
“I have to.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “I know.”
“Tonight.” He pulled away and pushed a stray lock of hair away from my cheek. Then he studied my face, like there were words he wanted to say too.
But it wasn’t time for him either.
“Do you want another shower?”
He shook his head, his hand cupping my cheek. “I want to smell you on me all day.”
I leaned in and gave him a slow, sweet kiss, then he slipped free and helped me off the counter.
A drop of his cum leaked down my leg.
Duke bent to pick up his jeans and saw it. When he stood, there was a sexy, cocky grin on his face.
“Like that, do you?” I smirked.
“More than like.” There was a seriousness in his expression that made my heart skip.
More than like. He wasn’t talking about that drop.
Duke got dressed while I filled a travel mug of coffee for him, not bothering with my own clothes.
I moved around the kitchen naked and followed him to the front door.
There was a benefit to not having neighbors. I could wave goodbye to Duke from the front porch completely naked.
“Lock up.”
“You know I will.” I gave him a mock salute and the motion made my breasts jiggle.
“You’re making it hard for me to leave.” He wrapped his free arm around me, pulling me into his body for another kiss. There was a new hardness in his jeans, something I hoped might convince him to come back to me early. Or for lunch. But he let me go and sighed. “My house tonight?”
“Sure.” I leaned against the doorframe as he jogged down the porch steps to his truck. Then I waved as he got inside. He shook his head and laughed as I stayed right where I was.
When his truck was headed down the gravel road, I went inside and upstairs, my body languid and slow. There was no hurry. I had nothing to do today but wait until Duke was done working. So I took a leisurely shower, dressed in some jeans, then did a load of laundry and washed my sheets.
When my phone rang, I answered before it had a chance to ring twice. “Hello.”
“You seem awfully eager this morning,” Everly teased.
“No, I’m just happy to talk to you.” I plopped down on the living room couch, tucking my feet into the seat.
After weeks of no contact with Everly, lifting the ban on our phone calls had been like the sun shining on a new day.
The day I’d called her, both of us on disposable phones, she’d answered with, “Four-oh-six area code. This better be my best friend.”
I’d laughed. She’d laughed. Then we’d both cried and agreed that no one, not even a deranged stalker, was going to keep us apart again.
We’d talked every day since. She hadn’t received an email or any word from the stalker. Since I’d refused to check my email account again, maybe there was another picture or maybe there wasn’t. If Blake wanted to dig into my accounts, I’d give him access as long as it meant I could stay far, far away.
Everly had contacted Detective Markum as we’d asked. He hadn’t
been too happy when she’d refused to tell him my whereabouts, but he’d stopped pressing and done his best to help. Until Blake had more time in Nashville, we’d wait to contact Detective Markum from Montana.
My hideout was safe, for the time being. And I hoped it would stay that way for just a little while longer.
“What are you doing today?” Everly asked.
“Nothing. I’m bored. Duke’s working. What about you?”
“Nothing.” She sighed. “I’m bored too.”
Days like this we’d normally spend together. We’d find a show to binge watch. We’d bake cookies and order pizza. We’d laze in our pajamas, making the most of our boredom. And almost always, I’d make her listen to the first draft of a song.
“I wrote a song,” I told her. “Would you listen to it for me?”
“Hell yes!” she squealed and clapped. “It’s like old times.”
“Okay.” I got off the couch and picked up the guitar from the corner beside the fireplace. Then I put the phone on speaker and sang the song Duke had heard me singing outside.
She laughed at the comical lyrics, hummed along with the refrain, and when I was done, applauded. “That is priceless. I can hear it on the radio already.”
My heart sank.
This one wouldn’t be on the radio.
With my identity up in the air, who knew what would happen with my career? Maybe I’d killed it for good by leaving Nashville.
Bottom line—music was important to me. I couldn’t stifle that piece of my soul, of Jade or of Lucy, because it was as much a piece of either woman as her beating heart.
Maybe I could beg Travis to let me teach him guitar. So far, he’d been an apt Spanish student, though we’d only had one tutoring session. Duke had bribed him with cash to show up for the first lesson. I was bribing him with cookies to return for a second.
“Um, you got something today,” Everly said. “A courier delivered a package to the building from the label.”
“What?” I sat up straighter.
“The label sent over legal papers.”
“Ugh.” I groaned. I’d known it was coming. I was only nine years into my fourteen-year contract and I’d been working on a new album.
“Should I send the papers to you?”
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