Show Me How to Live: Part 1 (Bacchus House)

by Hélène Soper

  Luc slipped the key into the deadbolt and turned, the expected thunk absent. With his gun at the ready he pushed Avery aside where she would be shielded by the brick wall of the house, then opened the front door.

  “Adam! It’s Luc. We’re here.”

  “We’re clear. You can come in,” Detective Adam Ricci, Gryff’s partner, responded from inside the house.

  Avery burst past both men. She was a woman on a mission. Luc tucked his gun into the back waistband of his jeans and followed his little spitfire into her home. If he wasn’t so unsettled about these messages, he would have had a good chuckle at her attitude.

  “Look, you guys,” she glared at them both, hands on her hips, “I appreciate you taking all these extra precautions, but come on. I don’t want us to feel like prisoners in our own home. Can we dial back the macho shit a bit? Please?”

  A dark, possessive growl initiated in his stomach and invaded his heart. This gutsy, gorgeous woman didn’t deserve to be terrorized like this. Priority number one was Avery’s and Cassie’s safety. She may not like the plan he and Gryff devised, but she would comply. The only question that remained — would it be Luc, the Man, or Luc, the Master, she obeyed?

  Soft, morning light streaming through the blinds illuminated her face. Her eyes were sullen, the determination he saw back in the winery parking lot had faded. The tough chick act was wearing thin, though he gave her top marks for the valiant effort.

  His long legs crossed the floor in two strides to where she stood. A fine tremble had enveloped her entire body even though her obstinate scowl still marred her delicate features. The dread and resignation, now evident in her eyes, knocked the wind out of him.

  “Avery,” he spoke gently, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as if to force away a chill. Sliding his hands over her shoulders, one slipping down to the small of her back, the other up under the thick, golden strands at her nape, he pulled her flush against his body and tucked her head against his chest.

  “I don’t know what to do, Luc. I can’t even walk into my own home without you making sure there’s no one lurking in the shadows. What happens when you go to work?”

  She pulled out of his reach and strode away from him, her arms gesturing emphatically, but not before he saw tears well up in her crystal blue eyes, threatening to spill over onto her creamy cheeks.

  Lap number one.

  Walls framed the central stairs leading both up and down forming a center block, typical of these older homes. Arches opened each room to the next, forming a sort of track circling the main floor. The starting gate/finish line was the foyer. Out of the gate, heading for the back turn her voice was muted. Rounding the home stretch and heading for the finish line her voice returned to full volume.

  “I have to go to work too. We have lives and responsibilities. I refuse to let this asshole, whoever it is, disrupt our lives. Yet I can’t shake this feeling that makes my skin crawl. It’s like I’m being followed or watched. I check over my shoulder in crowds and parking lots but no one’s there.”

  Around she went for another lap. He nodded to Adam, who took the hint and quietly let himself out.

  “I’m back to checking every window and door every time I come home, go out, or even move from room to room. Cassie is supposed to be heading off to her first overnight camp this afternoon. Should I let her go? Will she be safe up there?”

  Avery stopped pacing and collapsed on the sofa in the family room, tears streaming down her face, head slumping to rest on the back like the weight was too much for her to hold up. Luc perched on the coffee table in front of her, knees to knees, and placed his hands on her thighs, giving them a squeeze.

  “Avery.” No response. “Avery.” This time it was Master Luc who spoke.

  Her head popped up, trepidation, alarm, confusion, then anger skating across her gaze. Understandable given what she’d been through. The anger lingered. Good.

  “Gryff is working on a plan right now. He and I mapped it out on the drive over here.”

  Her eyes went wide. “What? You two can’t plan our lives.”

  “Avery, you’re not alone. Gryff and I weren’t there to protect you from Winters when you were married to the prick. But we sure as hell are here now, and no one is going to hurt you or Cassie again. Do you hear me?”

  “But we don’t know if it’s Cal sending these messages or who hurt Merlot. Oh God, poor Merlot. I’m so thankful he’ll be OK. It’s all my fault he was poisoned. You have to go, Luc. Whoever is doing this knows of our connection.” Avery bolted to her feet and marched to the front door. “Leave. Protect your family. Run Sky Hill and forget about me. You don’t need this headache.”

  Gryff had warned him to take a soft approach, that Avery would resent feeling steamrolled. It pissed Luc off his friend knew more about handling his beautiful girl than he did. But, Gryff hadn’t seen how gorgeous she looked with her hands latched onto the lighting sconce the night of the awards when she came all over his tongue. He hadn’t seen how she took control last night when they found Merlot in the ditch. He hadn’t seen how anger fueled her hunger for Master Luc despite the shit that just came out of her mouth. Master Luc understood how to make this exquisite sub embrace their plan, embrace their protection, and embrace her submission. To him.

  Luc pointed to the floor by the sofa in front of where he stood and commanded, “Kneel, sub.”

  Every muscle in Avery’s body jerked to attention. Her eyes flew open wide then shuttered closed just as fast. Deliberation, fast and furious, took place inside her head. Man, what he wouldn’t give to be in the gallery listening to those arguments. He took a breath and waited, his eyes never leaving her. She needed to come to him on her own. Hell, he needed her to accept his protection.

  A full two minutes he watched and waited. He would have stood there into next week if that was what she needed. Soft padding of her feet over the carpet was the only sound she made. With her eyes downcast, Avery made her way to the spot where Luc had pointed and dropped to her knees. Her technique wasn’t smooth nor was her position exactly what he liked, but he’d take it any way she gave it, for now.

  Luc placed his hand on the top of her head. “Thank you, beautiful girl. I know how difficult that was for you. You need to know that I will cherish your gift. You are a remarkably strong woman. I promise to respect that strength and provide the environment for it to thrive. Will you do me the honor of accepting my protection until the threat against you and Cassie has been eliminated?”

  One step at a time.

  He knew how to help protect her, how to solve any legal woes, even knew how to finesse her with wine, gourmet food, and sex. What he didn’t know how to do was help her feel whole again. That was something he couldn’t command. Would his brand of Dominance give her a safe place where she could feel rooted, confident, and worthy of being loved? Could he love her enough to give her that gift of freedom to be herself? Love? Luc was pleasantly surprised that the word didn’t have him running for the hills. There was no doubt what he was feeling for Avery was love blooming in his soul. And it felt right.

  Need alone dropped her to her knees at Luc’s feet. It didn’t require arduous list-making of pros and cons. Well, she’d started on the pros but gave up when she felt moisture gathering in her folds. Maybe it was time to start listening to her instincts again.

  There was an inexplicable dialogue between them that existed beyond the spoken word. Call it pheromones, lust, loneliness, maybe even comfort or familiarity. Luc and Avery. Man and woman. Dominant and submissive.

  Apprehension melted into the nether with Luc’s touch. She felt safe with him. Not only would he never hurt her, he was willing to stand beside her and protect her. And what was even more remarkable was how he had Cassie’s safety in mind too. She fell a little in love with him in that moment.

  Avery looked up into his expressive, molten chocolate eyes and felt a sense of calm wash over her frazzled nerves. With that calm came heat and hunger. The bulge in the fro
nt of Luc’s jeans confirmed the want she saw in his eyes, but there was more. There was tenderness coming from somewhere deep inside. Could it be from his heart?

  She’d be crazy to allow herself to go there. No way would Luc want to become entangled in her crap. Focus on today. Get Cassie off to camp and put a plan in place to take care of Cal once and for all. Then, maybe, she could entertain luscious daydreams about Mr. Christianson. Her body shuddered as she imagined his finely hewn body hovering over her, commanding her, ravishing her and pleasuring her beyond her wildest fantasies. If previous encounters were any indication of what could lie ahead…good thing she was already on her knees, otherwise she’d have been flat on her ass from the full-body swoon that rolled over her.

  Luc kneeled in front of her — thigh to thigh, hip to hip, chest to chest. He peppered gentle kisses on her forehead, down one side of her face, under her jaw and back up the other side. So delicate. Even reverential. Avery felt cherished for the first time in her life. Luc leaned back and captured her gaze.

  “I see the heat in your eyes, beautiful girl. I feel it too. There’s nothing more I would love to do at this moment than turn you over on your hands and knees, ass in the air, and bury my cock so deep inside you, thoughts of any other man in your life will become non-existent. Just you and me.”

  “Please, Luc,” she gasped. The English major and writer was without words.

  “Mmm. Your body is on board with that idea,” Luc said as he traced his fingers along Avery’s pulsating carotid artery. Not that her shallow pants hid her cravings any better.

  Luc’s explicit dirty talk also prompted her now self-determined body to show a dash of bashfulness by making her chest and cheeks a canvas for all the shades of crimson in a warm Niagara sunset. She was going to combust as sure as the sun continued to burn bright.

  Luc chuckled as Avery’s blush climbed to the tips of her ears.

  “My body is completely on board, too. But first, we need to talk about how our plan to keep you and Cassie safe is going to go.”

  Avery’s brain wanted to rebel against leaving her and Cassie’s fate in someone else’s hands. She’d fought hard to become an independent woman and mother again. She didn’t need anyone to protect her or make plans for her future. No way was she going to just give up and go along with Gryff and Luc’s plan. For. Get. It. Unfortunately, she couldn’t muster the indignity required to be pissed off. Master Luc rendered her internal deny-entry-at-all-costs warrior goddess as effective as a licky-face puppy would be as a guard dog.

  Luc leaned back against the couch, pulling her with him and nestling her between his legs on the floor. His nose brushed against the tender spot behind her ear and whispered, “I’ve got you, little one. Trust me and Gryff to keep you and your precious daughter safe. Can you do that?”

  This was Luc, her friend, Gryff’s best friend. She trusted Gryff with her and Cassie’s safety. And apparently, Luc was also part of that security plan. They knew more about how to keep them safe than she did. History had shown that, and it was coming back to bite her in living color. History was a bitch. Avery let out a long sigh, hopeful she’d banished the constant trepidation about losing herself again.

  “I know you and Gryff mean well and are trying to do the right thing. I’m just having a hard time with decisions being made about my life, about my daughter’s life, without my input. I’ve lived that hell, and I refuse to be sucked back in.”

  That’s what Cal had done. Looking back, it was obvious. He’d systematically isolated her from her friends, family, and eventually work for what he had called “her well-being.” He’d decided what she would wear, what they would eat, what television shows and movies were “appropriate” for her to watch. Without a support system, Cal’s insidious maneuvers set up the perfect environment for their marriage to devolve into master and slave. Not the consensual power exchange Marlowe and Gryff described to her. Cal fed off her insecurities in order to mask his own. It was a complete power shift. She was left with none and Cal held it all, wielding it with malice. No safewords allowed.

  “That’s fair. Why don’t you hear what we propose? If something doesn’t sit well with you or doesn’t work with your schedule, we can discuss it and come up with an alternative. OK with you?”

  Avery pulled away from his comforting embrace, so she could see his face. Tiny lines at the corners of his eyes creased with his gentle smile. His gaze was steady, solid, and sure. There was no doubt it was Master Luc speaking with her, but this beautiful, intelligent, intense man didn’t use his power to scare her, rather, he openly shared it with her. She could do this.

  “OK,” Avery sighed, “what have you two come up with?”

  Luc’s phone buzzed with a text. He showed her the screen — it was from Gryff. Luc quickly read the message and nodded as if he was pleased with what Gryff wrote.

  “First, Gryff’s brother Zach is en route to Cassie’s camp ahead of her bus. Gryff contacted the camp and explained the situation to the director. The scheduled martial arts instructor was a friend of Zach’s, so they switched places. Zach will be teaching the classes at the camp, so he can be near Cassie the whole time she’s away. One of Gryff’s buddies on the force will follow the bus up to the camp to make sure Cassie arrives safe and sound. Second, Gryff is coming by to check on a few things here and I’m heading to the office. Then I’m going to grab some of my stuff and I will be back. I’m bringing dinner and I’m staying the night. You are not going to be alone until this sonofabitch is behind bars. In the morning, Gryff will escort you to the office. He’s also going to have a word with the security guys at the paper to let them in on what’s going on. So far so good?”

  Avery was overwhelmed. Grateful. Someone would be with her 24/7 while Cassie was safely ensconced in her camp in Algonquin Park with Zach, oblivious to everything happening at home. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she resigned herself to the plan. Part of her was enormously relieved she wouldn’t be facing this nightmare alone. Another part of her was pissed she had to even contemplate these kinds of security measures. Hadn’t she lived through enough already? And what about her darling angel? She was growing up to be a vibrant little girl. She would do anything to wipe away the past so her daughter could live without any of this crap hanging over her head. She was too young to remember the details of that horrible night when they left Cal for good, and the violence that preceded it. She was old enough now to have this latest episode leave ugly scars. Avery needed to put aside her own misgivings about surrounding her little family with these big men and their guns. All she could do was hope whoever this bastard was would show his face soon so they could catch him and finally close this chapter of her life.

  “I’m with you and thank you. But, honestly, do we need this level of security?” Her voice was small and hopeful this was overkill.

  “Avery, we know what Cal is capable of. We’re not sure this is his work, but I’m not prepared to risk you or Cassie being hurt ever again. Think of it this way…you have cops and self-defense experts in your life now. Let us do this for you. It would make us feel a whole lot better knowing we took the steps necessary to protect you and Cassie. We weren’t able to last time. We also want to make sure that when he strikes again, and make no mistake he will, we will be there to catch the asshole. Are you with us?”

  “Um, yeah. I…I need to finish getting Cassie’s stuff ready,” Avery said as she jumped to her feet, wiping her face with the heels of her hands. “My mom is coming by to pick up her gear then take her to meet the camp bus. Do you want some coffee? I can put some on before I go upstairs.”

  Luc held onto her hand, stopping her escape to the kitchen. He spun her back to face him and pinned their bodies together, foreheads tenderly touching, gazes glued to each other.

  “Hold on. Either you’re afraid of me or you’re hiding something from me. I don’t care for either scenario. I would much prefer the truth, little one. Talk to me.”

  “Oh, of course I’m not afraid
of you, Luc. I just need to get moving so Cassie’s not late for the bus.”

  It was important he believed this to be true. And it was. But, she didn’t want to scare him away by revealing what was deepening in her heart. Omission wasn’t lying, right?

  Luc had made it perfectly clear he wasn’t a celibate monk over the past five years. Sex was just sex. No strings. No feelings. He hadn’t had a serious relationship since his wife and daughter were killed. His encounters with women had been D/s scenes.

  Last night was a revelation into his psyche. He would always love his wife, that was understandable. But, could he fall in love again? More importantly did Avery want to risk her heart only to have it smashed to dust when he figured out he couldn’t or wouldn’t open his heart to her? So why did she feel more than a casual vibe coming from him? It felt more like possession. And she liked it. A lot.

  She needed some distance. She also craved Luc. Her childhood crush had blossomed into full-on, completely adult, raging need and quite possibly head-over-heels love. What was a girl to do? What was a girl who wore her emotions on her sleeve and couldn’t lie to save her life to do? Deflect to protect.

  “Let’s just say, it’s been a little overwhelming being me lately.”

  Luc chuckled. “That’s an understatement. How about I go make the coffee while you get started upstairs?”