‘Lucas,’ she moaned, her tone even sexier when she was still half-asleep.
‘Sssshhhh. Sleep for me, angel.’
‘But … sex.’
‘Can wait until morning, go back to sleep for me,’ I ordered.
‘I love you,’ she mumbled, as she nestled her face tighter into my body and my stomach flipped at her declaration. I’d never get tired of hearing it.
‘You too,’ I whispered, as I kissed her hair, smiling when I realised she was already asleep again. I just watched her breathing, in awe that this incredible woman was mine.
January Blues
Summer
I was exhausted, martial arts training had started for my new film and it was a gruelling long and physical eight hour day, five days a week. I was lucky I’d started personal training with Lucas all that time ago, if I hadn’t been so physically fit, I doubted I’d have been able to move, let alone walk, after the first day. Tiring as it was I was really enjoying it, especially as Lucas was making some time to come to the studio to watch. The trouble with seeing me getting all hot and sweaty with another super fit toned man, was that it wound him up in all sorts of ways. Ways that meant he needed to mark his territory by fucking me the minute we made it back to either of our apartments. I’d had to laugh, apparently when I’d taken a toilet break the one day, he’d given my tutor Mark a warning about keeping it professional only, that I was taken. Like I’d look at anyone else when I had him. I mean seriously?! It should be me with the trust issues not Lucas. I didn’t have any history at all, whereas he … I blew out a deep breath. I handled his past by not asking about it. He’d told me some of the nice things he’d done to help clients, but not the sexual side. I didn’t want to know how many women he’d slept with, the positions, or the scenario’s he’d fulfilled. I was better off not knowing, hearing those details I knew would upset me. I accepted that he had a past, that it made him an incredible lover which obviously benefitted me, but that was where it ended. That’s where I needed it to end.
I stretched out in bed, it was Sunday and the Golden Globes were on tonight. The thought that one day I might be there, walking the red carpet, made me bite my lip with excitement. Lucas had stayed over last night, as I’d invited the girls over tonight for a takeaway and wine, so we could watch it and gossip about the clothes. I was a bit nervous about it, we’d been up to Scotland in November, then again for New Year, to stay with his best friends Dan and Ellie. They were lovely, Ellie was a such sweetheart, such a caring mother hen, she was only a few years older than me and we’d got on really well. I’d also met her best friends Brooke and Molly over New Year, Brooke was hilarious, a little more uncouth than I was used to, but I really liked her bluntness. So as Dan and Ellie were down in London this weekend, I’d invited her over with Brooke and Molly, to meet my best friends Mandy and Jayne, while Lucas and Dan went out together for a boys catch up. I just hoped everyone would get on, as we’d be seeing so much more of each other now Lucas and I were serious.
I grinned and stretched again. I was in a serious relationship and couldn’t be happier with the way it was going. He was every woman’s dream. Intelligent, funny, kind, caring, protective and so giving, both in and out of the bedroom, or wherever else we did it, which happened to be whenever and whenever he decided he had the urge. And he had the urge often. We’d already done it twice this morning, in bed, then the shower, before he insisted on me getting back into bed to rest while he made breakfast. He’d left the double doors to the bedroom open, so the sound of him humming in the kitchen was drifting down the corridor. We’d only been officially dating two months, but so far I’d not found one flaw in his perfect armour, unless you counted his irrational jealousy of any man I talked to, with the exception of Albert, the toothless security guard downstairs. I didn’t see Lucas’s jealousy as a flaw, it just showed me how much I meant to him, how precious I was. If he followed it up with violence then yes, that would be crossing a line. Just thinking about him made me miss him. I got out of bed and grabbed his discarded shirt from last night, holding it up to my face first, taking a deep breath of his delicious manly scent, before loosely buttoning it up. I padded down the corridor towards the kitchen and smiled as I heard him singing. He even sang well, I doubted there was anything he couldn’t do if he set his mind to it. I peeked around the corner and covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a giggle. He was at the stove, looking so sexy in a pair of low rise boxers as he cooked, but what I found funny was that he was dancing while he cooked, singing along to Uptown Funk.
Uptown Funk ~ Mark Ronson (Feat. Bruno Mars)
https://youtu.be/E0n4WXHQqBo
‘I think you’ll find that line doesn’t go doh doh doh,’ I called. He spun around as his cheeks coloured up, mine too from looking at his biteable backside gyrating and now his ripped torso and gorgeous face. ‘But in your defence, you are way, way, too hot.’ I slunk over and ran my hands up his chest, delighting in the feel of his hard muscles, unyielding to my soft caress. ‘I’d need to call the whole fire brigade to try and put you out.’
‘You’re the one who’s too hot, you know what the sight of you in one my shirts does to me,’ he winked, before snaking his hands underneath it to grasp my naked bottom.
‘Again?’ I uttered, as I felt him swell against my stomach.
‘I haven’t had you over the kitchen island yet,’ he purred sensuously. I groaned, my skin coming to life as he ran his lips up and down my neck, then laughed as he started singing again, gyrating against me. He held my hand in the air and made me spin and join in. We were laughing and dancing around the kitchen, me sexily shaking my chest at him, but I suddenly stopped messing about and sniffed the air.
‘What’s burning?’
‘Fuck, the pancakes,’ he uttered, as he released me and spun around to quickly remove them from the hob.
‘Damn, I thought it might have been that hot arse on fire from all the dancing,’ I laughed, as I smacked his backside. ‘It’s nice to see that Lucas Steel isn’t as perfect as Logan Steele, it makes you a little more human.’
‘It’s you, bloody distracting me with your pert nipples and sexy legs, go and sit down if you want to eat, otherwise I won’t be held responsible for my actions, or the burning of breakfast because I’m too busy fucking you to care,’ he muttered. I kissed him, letting my lips linger for as long as I could, before leaning on the kitchen island as I watched him failing to try and save what he’d been making. Just being around him made me happy. I was going to miss him tonight. We both looked around as the intercom buzzed. ‘Are you expecting anyone?’ he asked, looking as surprised as I was.
‘No, you?’
‘No,’ he frowned.
‘I’ll go and see who it is.’
‘No you bloody won’t, not dressed like that. Here, flip when this new one turns light brown underneath, I’ll get it,’ he ordered, as he flicked his head for me to go and take over.
‘Like I want you being seen like that?’ I protested, looking at him in just his tight jersey boxers which made my heart flutter. But I did as I was told. I wasn’t afraid of standing up for myself with him, but he was so domineering that I’d learned to pick my battles wisely, and this wasn’t worth getting him worked up over.
‘It’s probably bloody Sam again, I swear I’ll buy the damn penthouse off him to get him out of your hair. He’s not going to stop trying it on with you unless I take serious action.’
I rolled my eyes, which earned me a stinging smack on my bottom and a wicked grin from him before he marched off. I rubbed my cheek and wondered when he next had plans for me that involved doing more of that. We’d only been in his spare room once since the first time he introduced me to the delights of BDSM and I was sure he was going easy on me. I was sort of curious to know what it was really like, how much he’d expect from me in there. I plated up and added the fresh raspberries and blueberries, drizzling them in maple syrup. I added an extra few dashes to my plate than his, he was still a fitness
freak, although he didn’t exactly need to worry about food with the amount of training he did, and the sex. He was in perfect condition. I heard him come back in and looked up and smiled. My smile soon faded as I saw what he was carrying and the plate in my hand slipped out of my fingers onto the floor, shattering with the sticky fruit rolling everywhere.
‘Not again,’ I uttered, as my hands flew to my mouth, stunned that whoever this was hadn’t given up. I staggered back and cursed as I trod on a piece of the broken crockery.
‘Shit, Summer. Don’t move,’ he ordered, as he shoved the dreaded white box neatly tied with black ribbon on the coffee table and rushed around to pick up the broken pieces of the plate surrounding me. He took my hand and led me to a stool, as I left splodges of blood on the oak flooring. ‘You’ve cut yourself. Stay here, don’t move, ok?’
I nodded as I tore my eyes off the box and looked up at him. He clasped my face and kissed my forehead, before running off. I put a hand over my churning stomach as I looked back over at the box, noticing there was an envelope on top of it too. Who was sending these? Why were they targeting us both? What did they hope to achieve by telling me he was an escort? He reappeared with the first aid box from my en-suite, wet a tea towel, before returning and sitting opposite me. He lifted my foot up to examine it, resting it in his lap and opened the box removing a pair of tweezers.
‘It’s nothing, Lucas. It’s just a small cut, I can barely feel it.’
‘You have a slither of porcelain in it, keep still, I’ll clean it up and put a bandage on it.’ His tone was forceful and I could hear anger in it. I knew it wasn’t at me, it was at our deliveries.
‘Have you opened them yet?’ I asked quietly, as my eyes strayed back over.
‘No,’ he sighed. ‘I was hoping to smuggle them past you so you wouldn’t see them, but you have ears like an elephant.’
‘You weren’t going to tell me?’ I looked back at him with a frown.
‘I don’t know. I was going to read the notes then decide. I didn’t want you upset.’
‘If they’re threatening either of us I need to know. You haven’t even told me how Ian or the PI got on with the last lot that they took away to analyse. How can I defend myself if I’m at risk, if you don’t include me?’ I winced as he pulled the shard out of my foot. Just like he’d tried to play down these messages, he’d done the same telling me it was just a splinter.
‘Let me sort your foot before you have a go at me, you’re really bleeding, but if you think for one minute that you need to defend yourself, that I won’t be by your side every fucking second from now on, think again,’ he snapped, as he shot me a glare. The gorgeous grey eyes that had been sparkling, just minutes earlier, were now dark and turbulent. ‘We’ll look at the messages together first, then we can decide what to do.’
‘So what did they find out?’ I asked. He filled me in, telling me that no fingerprints were found again, a different Parkers’ outlet was used, the same MO, the order had been placed by another burner phone in advance. Cash in an envelope with a large tip was waiting when the shop staff opened up on the day in question, along with another private sealed card. Ian had accessed the security feed of my building, but wasn’t able to see the face of the lad who’d dropped Lucas’s message off here that first time. He’d even had Trey checked out, the one he’d passed his client bank to, just in case he had anything to do with it, or even one of the clients, pissed off that they’d been transferred, but had drawn a blank there too. So basically, we had nothing. ‘I don’t understand what they want? It can’t just be about us being together. If it’s about money why haven’t they just asked for it already?’
‘I don’t know, angel.’ He sighed heavily again and I winced as he dabbed on antiseptic, then put some steri-strips in place and wrapped a bandage around my foot. ‘I want you to keep your foot elevated all day. Anything you need you ask me.’
‘Ok,’ I agreed. He wasn’t in the mood to be argued with and I wasn’t in the mood for it either. He scooped me up, carrying me over to the recliner, putting some extra cushions under my foot.
‘Right, let’s see what they have to say first.’
I watched him carefully pick up the envelope addressed to him, holding it by its edges as he shook the white card out onto coffee table. He carefully turned it over and I craned my neck to see what it said.
‘They want you to break up with me?’ I couldn’t comprehend why someone would want such a thing and shuddered, as the thought of him with someone else ran through my mind.
‘I don’t care how fucking much this guy pushes, if anyone thinks I’m walking away from you they obviously don’t know me very well,’ he bit, as he shoved a hand through his hair. I could feel the anger radiating off him and reached over to clasp his hand, squeezing it tightly. He looked up at me and attempted a smile, as he lifted my hand to his lips and gently kissed it. ‘I need to see the message they sent you, so I can decide how we handle this, because it’s getting ridiculous. Can I open it?’
I nodded, it wasn’t really a question, he was just being polite. He undid the ribbon and lifted the lid. Sure enough the box contained more black roses, three of them, with a larger envelope than normal inside. He did the same, holding the edges as he shook and another card fell out, face up this time.
‘Who’s Yasmin Taylor?’ I asked, my voice shaking at the thought that she was one of his clients, or worse still an ex-girlfriend. He shoved a hand through his hair again, as a growl rumbled deep in the back of his throat.
‘She was a client, she actually helped me set up when I first started.’
‘When did you last see her?’ I cast my eyes down, away from his, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know if he’d seen her while he was pursuing me.
‘The last time was after your first booking, I’ve not seen her since, I promise. Since we started dating I’ve not seen any of them, it’s only been you.’
‘I trust you,’ I nodded, ‘but why pick her? Out of all of the women you’ve seen, why mention her?’
‘Fuck,’ he uttered. I looked up to see he’d gone pale as he looked at something else in the envelope.
‘What is it?’ I asked, not really sure if I wanted to know, judging by the sick feeling in my stomach already and the look on his face.
‘Nothing you need to worry about,’ he replied quickly and shot to his feet, the envelope held tightly in his hand.
‘Lucas?’
‘It’s a picture of my last booking with her, a picture that you were supposed to see,’ he said quietly, as he quickly strode away towards the bedroom. I stood up and squealed as I put my foot on the floor. Damn it that hurt. I tiptoed down towards my bedroom, using the wall of the corridor for support and froze when I heard his raised voice. He sounded furious. ‘It was sent to Summer, she could have fucking seen this. I don’t care how you do it, contact Yasmin, if she’s behind this I need to know so I can handle it, and if she’s not then she needs to know that we’ve been compromised. This picture of us was taken at the fucking 710 Club. What’s the point of an extortionate entrance fee to a damn sex club if anyone can get bloody footage? They shouldn’t even have fucking cameras.’ He took a breath and went quiet as I listened from outside, the sound of his feet pacing the carpeted floor was all I could hear. My stomach knotted at the thought of him with someone in a sex club. The thought of him with someone else was bad enough, but a club? Was he doing things to her that he did with me? Like the cuffs and his games? I swallowed hard. I knew I shouldn’t be listening, but I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let me in on this and I needed to know what someone had over him. If someone was trying to break us up, it affected me too. ‘No, not in the private room in the main bar, on her fucking knees giving me a bloody blow job surrounded by other guys. Her fantasy was for filth, to be treated like a whore, and I made sure she was. There were seven of them, they came to the private room to fuck her as well, I can’t see what any of them would have to gain if it was one of them, but it’s pretty
damn explicit Ian. They’re standing around and watching, some were feeling her up through the crotchless knickers while she was giving me head. She may get away unscathed as her face is only seen from the side, but I’m in full fucking focus. Thank God Summer didn’t see it.’
I clamped my hand over my mouth as a sob escaped my lips, Lucas, my Lucas had done something like that with a woman who wanted to be fucked in public, degraded? I know he was only doing his job, a job he was paid for, but I was shocked at the level of pain that hit me, as tears started to stream down my face.
Lucas
I whipped my head around as I heard a noise outside of the bedroom and my stomach sank.
‘Ian, sorry, I need to ring you back.’ I hung up without giving him a chance to reply, as I rushed to the door that was ajar and looked around it. Fuck! This day was turning to shit, she’d heard, she was trying to escape up the corridor, but her foot was slowing her down. ‘Summer,’ I called. She didn’t reply and disappeared around the corner. ‘God damn it,’ I yelled, sheer frustration seeping from my pores. I was trying to protect her from all this crap. ‘Great fucking job, Lucas,’ I muttered. I grabbed my jeans and yanked them on, hiding the envelope, with the offending and quite frankly offensive photo, in my overnight bag and ran out after her, in time to see her disappear to the lobby. Where the fuck was she going, she was only wearing my bloody shirt. ‘Summer,’ I yelled. ‘Get back here now.’
For the Night - Complete Box Set Page 53
