by Ally Adams
“We’ve never known Luke to have an intense relationship,” Jase said. “You’ve had a glimpse of that already I imagine.”
I nodded. “Chloe, Miranda, Cassie...”
“Exactly,” Jase said. “No one that he can get too attached to and risk losing. He can’t trust.”
Sarah defended him. “He trusts you and Cam.”
“Yeah, but that’s taken nearly fifteen years.” Jase rolled his eyes.
“Did you grow up in a stable loving environment, Mia?” Sarah asked me.
“I did. My parents are split now, but I was always wanted. They couldn’t have kids for years and then I came along so I was adored. About six years later my brother arrived, so we’re pretty tight,” I explained.
“Well Luke has grown up with not one single family member he has ever been able to trust. Different relatives every holiday season, a mother who couldn’t handle him and a father who dumped him in a boarding school in a different country.”
The Lamborghini headlights flashed into the driveway. We heard the car door open and close.
“We’re not telling you this because we’re indiscreet,” Jase said. “It’s just that we hoped you might last longer than the others if you had an idea of where he has come from to get here. If you could keep our discussion to yourself, that would be great.”
“Of course,” I said.
Jase rose to greet Lucas and Sarah leaned closer to me.
“There have been many psychological studies on children who were sent to boarding school. These kids learn it is taboo to express their emotions and learn very quickly to stand on their own feet and be socially active. So you have these adults who can fit in anywhere but can’t express themselves emotionally in their intimate relationships,” Sarah said. She lowered her voice. “Jase is just like that. I’m betting Luke is too. They don’t know how to accept intimacy and when it’s offered, they’re scared it will ultimately lead to rejection.”
I nodded. “It explains a lot, it really does,” I said. “Thank you, Sarah.”
“It’s just research and every individual will be different...” she shrugged. “But Mia, one thing I do know about Luke is that if he feels like he is beginning to trust you, he’ll push you away.”
Chapter 12
The life, or should I say the noise of the dinner party arrived. Lucas raced up the internal stairs and bounded through their door. He looked so alive, so different amongst his friends. And he looked as hot as hell in black jeans, black boots and a white fitted T-shirt that showed off his form and a very defined six pack.
“Luke!” Sarah welcomed him, rising and walking towards him.
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” he said and swung Sarah around in a hug. He kissed her on the cheek, planted her solidly on the ground and clapped Jase on the back. “Welcome home, Man Mountain.” He turned to me. “Minder, I mean Mia.” He smirked.
“Kook, I mean Luke.” I smirked back. I saw Sarah and Jase exchange looks and Sarah hid a smile.
“Where’s Cam and Jessica?” Lucas looked around.
“Cam got called in on night shift and Jessica... well I think she might still be cranky at you,” Jase said.
“Hmm, I’ve got to do some work there.” He frowned.
Sarah turned to me. “Cam’s a doctor and Jessica is a teacher. Luke might have cheesed her off last year.”
Got to hand it to Lukey-boy, when he’s not with his team, he’s in impressive company—a lawyer, doctor, teacher and psychologist—some grounded folk.
Lucas rolled his eyes and turned to me to explain. “I said I’d come to her school fundraiser but I wasn’t... I wasn’t in a good place then...”
“You were a dick who let her down in front of the entire school,” Jase said handing him a juice and hitting Lucas on the back.
“It’s not like me,” Lucas said.
I choked on my mineral water, spluttering loudly. I imagined it was so like him. They all turned to me, Jase and Sarah with amused looks and Lucas with his customary frown.
“Anyway, haven’t you got something better to do, Minder?” he asked.
Sarah gasped and hit his arm. “Lucas, Mia is our guest.”
He made a guttural sound that implied if I wasn’t, he would have eaten me for dinner. I gave him one of my smug looks, a really good one. We both glared at each other.
“Well, we should eat,” Jase said looking from Lucas to me. “I’m guessing you’re starving post-training.”
“Sure,” he said, not taking his eyes off me. He didn’t want to be the first to break the cool stare.
Being younger, but more mature, I dropped his gaze and sidestepped Lucas to help Sarah in the kitchen. I decided that no matter what Lucas threw at me during the night, I was going to be civil and polite so that I didn’t embarrass the hosts and ruin the night.
Boy did he push me though. Luckily Jase stepped in a number of times, saying Lucas’s name just once and in a low voice implying Lucas was out of line. And there were plenty of out-of-line moments throughout dinner such as:
“So Minder, do anything useful today?” Lucas asked.
“Luke,” Jase warned.
“Minder’s improving her resume working on my calf muscles. You can sell that story and pay off your VW, Minder.” Lucas smirked at me.
“Luke,” Jase warned again.
“Isn’t it past your bedtime, Minder?” Lucas worked in after dinner and before dessert in an attempt to freeze me out of the room and down to my own lower level bedroom.
“Luke,” Jase growled.
“Seriously, did you make this pie, Minder? You should give up the physio and become a housewife. You’d be great.”
“Luke, enough,” Jase snapped.
Oh there were many more, but his crowning glory came as we carried dishes to the kitchen.
“Mia can make tea and coffee, she’s good with fluids,” he said.
Jase wheeled around on him. “Jesus, Lucas, enough. Apologize to Mia.”
“Not likely,” Lucas said. “Mia loves it. She’s taking my father’s money, so I’m making her earn it.”
Jase grabbed Lucas and pushed him into the hallway before Lucas had time to react.
“Come on, you need a breather,” he snarled at him, keeping his hand on the back of Lucas’s neck.
Sarah and I heard the bedroom door slam. I looked at her and bit my lip in concern.
“Don’t worry,” she assured me and kept packing the dishwasher. “Jase can handle him. It goes back to their school days. Jase was always pulling Luke out of situations and taking him off to read him the riot act or to get him to cool off.”
I passed some dishes to Sarah.
“Thank you for tonight, you went to a lot of trouble and I really appreciate you inviting me, and the vote of confidence,” I said to her.
Sarah gave me a hug. “It was our pleasure.”
We heard yelling from the bedroom.
“It’s okay,” Sarah assured me. “Lucas is just having a moment. Jase will rein him in.”
“I think I should go now, before he comes out,” I said with a glance to the door.
No sooner had I said than the door swung open.
“Fucking think about it,” Jase said, closed the door and locked it. There was a huge thud on the other side as though Lucas had rammed the door.
“Open the fucking door,” Lucas roared from the other side.
“When you chill out and are ready to apologize,” Jase yelled back.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he roared again. I heard something fall and break in the room.
“Break whatever you like, Luke, it’s your furniture.” Jase stood arms crossed outside the door. There was another crash and a loud thump against the door as Lucas charged it again. Lucas then spoke in a very controlled voice.
“Jason, open the door, NOW.”
Jase grimaced. “Are you going to apologize?”
Ther
e was no sound from the room.
“Let me know when you’ve calmed down and are ready to apologize,” Jase said in a quieter voice.
“I don’t fucking believe you,” Lucas yelled again and the door took a number of hard blows.
I stared at Jase. “Thank God you’re huge or he’d kill you. What if he harms himself?”
Jase shook his head. “Don’t worry; we’ve seen this before, worse when he was on drugs.”
“But he’s not on drugs, he’s just angry,” I said. “Maybe you should let him out.”
There was more banging and a loud crash against the door as though a lamp had been thrown at it.
“Act like a child all you like, Luke. It won’t get the door opened any sooner,” Jase said in a firm voice. “Viriliter Agite.”
“Fuck you,” he yelled back, thumping the door.
“Sorry,” Jase said, to Sarah and me. He moved away from the door. “Lucas was unbelievably rude tonight and someone has to check him. I told him he can come out in thirty minutes when he calms down or sooner if he is ready to apologize to you.”
I gave a nervous laugh. “Really? He’s not twelve anymore, will that work?”
“That’s the whole point,” Jase said. “I’ve been his stand-in brother since he was twelve and if he’s going to act that age, then I’m going to treat him like that. I meant what I said earlier, we’re not making excuses for Luke anymore, it’s time he grew up.”
“What did you say to him... the Latin?” I asked.
“Viriliter Agite. It was our house motto at school. It means ‘act manfully’.”
We heard another thump on the door. Sarah shook her head.
“I’m going to go to bed. Thank you both,” I said with a nervous glance to the room.
Sarah held up her hand. “Will you just stay and have a coffee with us? It’s important that he cools down and apologizes to you. You’re his fifth minder!”
“He won’t apologize,” I laughed, “not in a million years.”
Lucas had stopped thumping against the door. I accepted a coffee and they asked about my work and we talked about their jobs. For a while after, we could hear swearing, a bang or thump as he tested the door again.
“How come you aren’t Lucas’s manager since you’re a lawyer?” I asked Jase.
“Nope, never mix business with pleasure, regardless of how many times he’s offered to double my salary. But I do cast an eye over things for him if he asks,” Jase said.
“But you are still happy to put up with him living below?” I nodded down the stairs trying to work out why they were living here.
Sarah explained. “We’ve got our own place but with the problems Lucas was having last year, we thought we’d rent our place out and take up his offer to live on the third floor. We can be close if he needs us; just until we’re sure he’s clean.”
“You guys are good to him,” I said, admiring them.
“Everything has an expiry date,” Sarah said. “It’s like a lot of my clients; we can talk and talk until we’re hoarse but at the end of the day, they have to own it.”
I nodded my understanding.
“And it’s not every day you get to live in a fifteen million dollar beach house.” Jase shrugged and smiled at Sarah.
My jaw dropped open. “Fifteen million! Seriously, is that what he paid for this?”
Sarah nodded. “Drop in the ocean for Lucas.”
We finished our coffees and I rose to leave. It was very quiet in the bedroom, had been for a good fifteen minutes or more.
“Just a sec,” Jase said. “I’m sure he’s ready to apologize.”
I grimaced with discomfort. I didn’t want Lucas’s apology, I just wanted to get downstairs and lock myself in my wing as quickly as possible.
Jase unlocked the door and Sarah and I stood by his side. I flinched, expecting Lucas or something to come flying out at me. Jase opened the door wider. Lucas was sprawled out on the bed, his arm flung above his head, his other over the edge of the bed. He was sound asleep. His beautiful dark lashes fluttered a little but he didn’t wake. His chest rose and fell slowly; he was in a deep sleep, he must have been wiped out. Jase closed the door.
“Kids,” Sarah sighed, “they’re lovely when they’re asleep.”
I grinned and kissed them both on the cheek.
“Goodnight, and thank you,” I whispered and headed down the stairs to my own bed.
Chapter 13
The next morning on my return from my run and noticing Lord Lucas was back on his own level; I took a deep breath and sent him a text. ‘R U free?’ I had to swab him.
He texted back in seconds. ‘Come in.’
I hoped he didn’t mention being sent to his room like a kid, so we could both pretend it didn’t happen.
I grabbed a swab to test him. I wanted to do one before the party and one tomorrow morning. I opened the joint door between our areas and called out his name.
“In the bedroom,” he yelled back.
Great, why couldn’t he be in the lounge, especially when I hadn’t changed from my run and I was still wearing my shorts and fitted singlet. If I’d known I had to swab him in the bedroom I would have worn a large unfitting sack that ensured no body reactions showed. At least I didn’t have a penis. Yep, way off track now... focus.
I took the stairs and walked straight into his room. He was lying in bed with a gorgeous red-head.
“Oh sorry.” I backed out. Then I remembered he asked me to come up. Such a dick! I heard them both laugh. She must have arrived early this morning because when I left him last night, he was passed out in Jase and Sarah’s spare room. Seriously, did he have to have a different girl every day?
“Come back, Mia the Minder,” Lucas said in a sing-song voice. “Come back and meet Anthea.”
So this one was Anthea, not Miranda the actor or Cassie and Chloe the models.
I called out, “Nice to meet you, Anthea,” and I trod loudly down the stairs. I refused to be rude to Lucas’s harem just because he was.
I waited downstairs for him in the kitchen, lowering myself on to one of the white leather and chrome chairs up against the bench. What an asshole. I heard him moving around upstairs and within a few minutes he bounded down the stairs and found me in the kitchen. He was wearing a white towel wrapped around his waist and for all I know, nothing else.
“Why did you tell me to come in if you had company?” I said in a low, angry voice.
“Anthea doesn’t mind.” He shrugged.
“I do!”
“Don’t be such a prude. You need to lighten up,” he said.
“Oh really? The world according to Captain Lucas. Leave it with me; I’ll see if I can loosen up unaided.” That was a low dig at his drug-taking ways, but stuff him, he earned it.
He snarled at me, his lip curling up, and in one quick motion he charged towards me. I jerked back in the chair as far as I could and I read in his face a satisfied look that he could scare me a little.
He straightened and swung past me with only an inch between us and went to the fridge. He opened it, grabbed a bottle of water, unscrewed the lid and gulped it down as though he’d been through a major workout upstairs. He slammed the fridge door shut.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“To talk to you about tonight,” I said, “if you’ll have any energy left for the party.”
“After one screw?” He smirked at me. “Are you a one hit wonder?”
“I happen to be...” I stopped. Why was I selling myself to this guy who couldn’t even keep his shit together? I drew a deep breath and looked at his smug face. “I happen to be here to discuss tonight.”
He put the water down and, leaning over me, he placed an arm on either side of the bench, trapping me in the middle.
He licked his lips and began to list his plan: “two drinks only, no drugs, no uppers, no downers, no partying until the early hours and I’ll be sure all my t
eam don’t get completely written off and that they get taxis home. I might smoke, cigarettes only,” he summed up. “All right with you, Minder?”
I nodded. “Fine, thanks. Don’t forget I’m here if you need anything or think you might be going to... you know, regress.”
He stood to full height towering over me and, I’m guessing, trying to intimidate me again. He made a scoffing sound and placed his hands on his hips.
“Sweetheart, you’re coming to this party because Nik invited you. I don’t want to see you or feel you watching me or even coming near me.”
“I won’t be testing you tonight, but I will tomorrow morning,” I warned him.
“Test away, see if I fucking care,” he said. “Whatever turns you on.”
I pushed myself off the chair and forced him to step back to let me stand. Lucas was in charming form this morning—probably trying to reinstate himself as the man after Jase humiliated him last night. I grabbed the oral swab from the counter to show him.
“I need to do this now. Please sit down.”
With a discernible snarl, he took the seat I had been sitting on and his towel opened across his leg. If he had underwear on it must have been super brief because I could see only skin. I pulled out the swab and moved to the side of him that had the most leg covered. He folded his arms in front of his chest.
“Open,” I said and put the swab in his mouth. I had to soak the small sponge on the swab in his saliva for it to be effective, so I dipped it under his tongue. This time he didn’t take his eyes off me. He watched me in defiance; frown lines on his forehead, his eyes narrowed and burning into me. I placed one hand on the counter to steady myself so I didn’t lean into Lucas and I tried to avoid his stare while I did my job. I can imagine why all the other monitors packed up and left; he was burning with anger beside me. I could feel it radiating off him. He continued to stare at me as I ran the swab around the inside of his cheek and over his tongue. When I knew I had enough I pulled it out of his mouth.
“Thanks, all done,” I said.
