Love Hurts: The Love Duet

by Leah Sharelle

  Chapter 10

  “I could get used to you cooking me breakfast every morning,” I said to Zoe as I shovelled another fork full of scrambled eggs into my mouth.

  “Not if you are going to talk with your mouth full mister. Now drink your coffee, I need to get to work in twenty minutes and your car is blocking mine.” She winked at me, going to the fridge to put away the margarine and milk. This morning she was wearing purple medical scrubs with marvel characters all over them.

  Goddamn, I wish we had more time together before the reality of the outside world intruded on us. Our first night as an official couple far exceeded my wildest dreams, making love with Zoe so passionately so unbelievably complete, last night I gave her not only my heart but my whole self. I only knew one way to love; I wasn’t like Deck who could keep his heart out of a relationship and base it solely on sex.

  For me, love was all or nothing. Of course, I had done the casual sex thing, obviously I had needs. But I was never in love with any of those women, there hadn’t been that many but none of them captivated me like Zoe.

  “Jason are you okay honey?”

  Zoe’s concerned question brought me back to the moment and moving towards her behind the kitchen counter.

  “I’m fine baby, just wishing we had more time together today,” I said, telling her most of what I had been thinking. I got the feeling she was not happy with me, constantly bringing up Deck. Fuck I hated it, the last thing I wanted to do was compare anything about Zoe and my relationship with hers and Deck’s casual one. I was going to need to get a handle on my jealousy where my twin was concerned.

  My future with Zoe could very well depend on it.

  Putting her head on my shoulder, Zoe let out a sad sigh.

  “I wish we could too honey, but it’s Friday and the weekend is coming, two days of just you and me. We should do something, go away for a night, get away from town and the problems plaguing you at work as well as that man starting with D,” she said with a wink, but the desire to find the prick and beat the crap out of him surfaced again.

  Good handle on your jealously dickhead.

  I liked the idea of getting away for a night just the two of us. Already I was thinking of a bed and breakfast in Castlemaine I saw when I was there conducting an investigation on a case a few months back. The place caught my attention just seeing it from the road, the large log cabin of the main house looked cosy and inviting, the smaller identical accommodation buildings surrounding it perfect for a private romantic night.

  Lifting her chin off my shoulder I looked carefully at her, trying to gauge if she was annoyed with me.

  “Baby, I am trying to curb my envy when it comes to Deck and you. We have so much bad history, much of it I am not proud of, but that can’t be changed no matter how much you or Mum want it to be,” I explained, or tried to. Hearing the words and thinking them were two different things. One sounded plausible and justified, the spoken explanation on the other hand, sounded petty and immature.

  Covering my hand on her chin with hers, Zoe leaned forward and kissed me softly.

  “You have to find a way Jason. I love your over the top personality, love that you care about your next-door neighbour and the fact that she had to walk with bags of groceries in the dark. I love that you didn’t want anyone to see us in the park making out on the blanket because some of my body was exposed. But baby, I don’t love that you think I might be comparing you to your brother.” Her tone worried me, she sounded almost defeated, that she might be considering this was too complicated for her. Two brothers that looked nearly the same, but were worlds apart in every other way.

  “I don’t consider you a substitute for Deck. If I wanted him I would be with him, but I don’t want to feel the need to worry every time I mention his name,” she said firmly. Her pale green eyes fired up with flecks of gold, giving me an insight into her strong side. The more and more I spend time with her I learn something else I love about her, her stubbornness, loyalty and kindness and not letting me get bogged down with stupid issues concerning Deck.

  I feared that this could come between us, but to hear Zoe confirm my fears was a jolt to the system and my heart. Letting go of a lifetime of battling with my brother was never on my to-do list. Hell, I would have been more than happy going on forever pissing him off; it is a habit, a family custom. Jesus, if Deck and I stopped exchanging insults at the dinner table Mum would have us at the doctor for a brain scan.

  Fuck, time to grow up Johnston. It’s either that or risk losing Zoe.

  “That ain’t gonna happen,” I growled, not even realising I said it out loud until Zoe narrowed her eyes at me, that fire I loved so much radiating off her.

  “Well then I guess you should leave—”

  I moved fast, grabbing Zoe by the waist pulling her off the ground and into my arms.

  “Legs around my waist,” I demanded, which thankfully she complied with despite the scowl on her face. I waited until both legs were firmly in place. “Now your arms, wrap me in you.” Again, she acquiesced, her angry expression slipping just a little.

  “First, I am not leaving, so don’t ask me to do that ever again. Don’t hurt my heart like that Zoe, being without you is something not worth contemplating,” I rushed out, laying my feelings on the table.

  “But you said—”

  “I was thinking out loud when I said that baby. I know that you and Deck are friends, have been for years. and I know if I don’t pull my head out of my arse and get over the petty crap he and I have going I could lose you.” Not able to stop the urge to kiss her, I pressed my lips to hers. I didn’t deepen the kiss or give her my tongue, I simply held my lips against her looking into her eyes.

  And in them I saw my future, a happily ever after, something once upon I never imagined would happen to me.

  “Ah, I see. So, you had an epiphany did ya, Lawman?” Zoe said, a smile forming on her lips. A smile that lit up her face, the one that had me falling deeper and faster every time she graced me with it.

  I was falling in love with Zoe, that much I knew.

  “Yeah I did Nymph.” I said nothing else, didn’t tell her any more than that for now. Soon I would tell her, but first there were some conversations to be had, one with my brother and the other with my doctor.

  I want Zoe with nothing between us, past relationships or latex.

  “Johnston, you taking long lunches now?” My senior sergeant called out to me as soon I entered the cubicle of offices where the crime investigation unit worked out of together.

  Mumbling under my breath a few choice curse words, I moved passed him on my way to my desk.

  “How many times over the years have I worked through my lunch break, Sarge?” I asked, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

  “That’s why I am asking you, Johnston. You never take a lunch break, I can depend on seeing you at your desk working, or knowing if I radio your car, you will be in it working.”

  I huffed out a laugh, “Then you depend on me too much, maybe I should take one every day like everyone else in the world does,” I threatened. I nearly always worked through my breaks, opting to eat on the go, the drive-thru being my restaurant of choice most days.

  Today was different. I rang the doctor Mum took us to when we were kids and may or may not have used my position on the force to get a last-minute appointment. Thankfully Doc Burton had a steel trap when it came to his patients, and regardless of the fact the man knew my parents personally as well as in his capacity as the family doctor, I knew he wouldn’t tell anyone that I had an STD test.

  My first and last.

  He had been very impressed with my decision to get tested before Zoe and I threw away the condoms and even gave me a lollipop on my way out.

  The next week was going to be a waiting game. I wasn’t expecting bad news, I practiced safe sex and wasn’t worried. I was just chomping at the bit to go skin to skin with no constrictions. Zoe texted me an hour after she got to work to inform me she had her
blood test done at the clinic where she worked.

  Now all I had to do was buy a box of condoms on the way home tonight, an extra-large box because there was no way I was going to wait to make love to Zoe again until the test results came back. Now that I have had her, I was not going to deprive myself one more day.

  Fuck, I could still feel her hands on me, still remember what it felt like to be buried inside her heat. Even her moans still rang in my ears.

  The only thing that was marring my good mood was what I had to do after I got off work. Zoe insisted we go the whole hog since we took the steps to get tested, now we had to face another test.

  Deck.

  Tonight, we were attending a party at the compound together, as a couple, in front of my brother.

  Fucking brilliant.

  The night I reconnected with Zoe at my brother’s club he gave me the impression he didn’t give a shit who Zoe went out with or that I had shown interest in her. If he saw our kiss he made no move to knock my teeth in, so I was pretty confident everything would go well.

  But this was Decker Johnston I was talking about, the muscled idiot loved nothing more than pissing me off. He could very well take exception and make things difficult for Zoe and me. Family dinners, and Zoe hanging out at the Wounded Souls compound with her girlfriends. The rest of my life, just that sort of thing, nothing much.

  He could pick a fight with me, I could care less. My boxing was on point as was my fitness, I wasn’t scared of him physically.

  Him hurting Zoe was my main reason for worry. She had good friends at the club, most of the guys there considered her like a sister, and she in turn loved them like brothers.

  Yep, Deck could definitely screw you mate.

  I was asking a lot from her getting mixed up with me, but I was too fucking selfish and gone for her not to, she was the one, and I was taking her.

  “Johnston get your hand off your dick and get in my office. These home invasions are giving me an ulcer and I want the individuals involved off the streets yesterday,” my sergeant yelled at me again. It didn’t matter to him that fifteen pairs of eyes suddenly honed in on my crotch, each person smirking and snickering at me.

  “Fucking wanker,” I muttered under my breath, picking up the overflowing file of witness and victim statements I’d meticulously gathered after each offence.

  There was one thing I did agree with, these criminals needed to be caught. Their bravado and growing violence only proved how dangerous they were to the town.

  The thirst to catch them burned inside me, hopefully before they seriously hurt someone or worse.

  Chapter 11

  I dropped my head and held my face in my hands, begging silently for patience.

  Ten minutes ago, I drove to Zoe’s where she was waiting for me on the curb out the front of her house, putting an end to the idea I had of making love to her before we went out. The drive to the compound was spent arguing with Zoe over her outfit choice.

  My problem wasn’t that she didn’t look great, god damn she looked sexy as fuck in her tight dress. She looked like a man’s wet dream, and that was where the problem was. Every man at the party was going to think the same thing as me.

  And that wasn’t on.

  Zoe, on the other hand didn’t see a problem and told me to ‘suck it up Lawman’ then proceeded to cross her sexy legs showing me exactly why she was my sexy Nymph.

  She argued having a job where wearing ugly scrubs all day meant she needed to dress pretty to make up for the time she spent in shapeless uniforms.

  No matter how I debated my point, how much sense I tried to make, Zoe only laughed at me and gave me adoring eyes… and a few eye rolls if I am being honest.

  And that brought us to now. Sitting in the private car park of the compound, me putting off getting out of the car and her, fixing her lipstick. Yes, I may have kissed it off when I first got a look at her sexy curves in that dress, but that was all.

  Fuck it.

  “Jason, the sooner we get in there and talk to Deck, the sooner I can wrap myself around you,” Zoe said shaking my arm.

  Sighing defeatedly, I scrubbed my hands over my face.

  “We talk to Deck, tell him about us then we leave so I can rip that dress off you so you can’t wear it again,” I told her sternly, meaning every word. My cock was busting behind the zipper of my jeans, and I wished I had the foresight of wearing slacks instead. Being around Zoe, I was in a constant state of arousal; sometimes it was fucking great — now not so much.

  Having a hard-on in front of my brother and his club brothers was only going to make me the brunt of more jokes from him and the five wise-arse men.

  “Whatever gets me naked and under you, or on top of you, the fastest honey. Now move your sexy arse,” she demanded opening her door and slid gracefully out of my Ford.

  Fuck, now I was visualising her riding me, her tits swaying seductively over my face.

  “My cock is never going to go down,” I mumbled as I swung open my door, getting out and hurrying around the front of the car to where my beautiful girlfriend stood waiting for me with that smile on her face, her hand out for me to take.

  “Come on Nymph, I want you close to me,” I said closing my hand around hers and pulling her close against me. My inner caveman on high alert as usual when it came to my woman, but it just multiplied with her in that dress.

  Before us stood a biker compound and inside, bikers. Deck might not be my only problem tonight.

  “Evening Detective,” Booth said, giving me a smirk, then turning to Zoe he full out smiled. “Hey, sweetheart good to see you.” Leaning down, he presses a quick kiss to her cheek.

  “Booth how you doin’ mate?” I asked him picking up the bottle of beer with one hand while resting my other one on Zoe’s hip keeping her close to me.

  Logically, I knew she was mine and the men of the Souls weren’t the type to poach, but my caveman was in control tonight. I had yet to see Deck in the main room, his bike in the carpark was here so somewhere—

  “I take it you are here to see your brother, tell him the good news,” Booth said interrupting my thoughts.

  Fuck is there nothing this guy doesn’t miss?

  There was no use in beating around the bush, not with Booth. My agenda was to let Deck know, do the right thing and all, then get the hell out of here. Zoe was the only person I wanted to spend time with tonight or any other night.

  “He here?” I asked, without confirming or denying, Booth was a smart man.

  “He disappeared a while ago with a leggy brunette, hang around for ten and he should make an appearance.” With a wink to Zoe, Booth turned around, avoiding the crowd of people in front of him as he made his way to the other side of the main room and through to a corridor, then disappeared.

  “He is so intense now, he smiles but not like he used to,” I observed, looking at where Booth disappeared.

  “Hmmm, I know. The guys don’t talk about what went on over in Afghanistan but whatever it was it seems to have affected all of them, Deck too,” Zoe said laying her head on my chest.

  I had much the same suspicion, especially about Deck. He didn’t come home with any obvious injuries, not like Mannix, Steel or Creed, but he did come back different. More quiet and pensive, he stood back now instead of being in the centre of everything.

  Mum was worried about him, even asked me to talk to him a few months back when he decided he was leaving the army and staying put here in town. At the time, I wasn’t interested in sitting down getting all deep with him. A pointless exercise because— well because it was Deck and me. Now though, I was thinking it was time to put all our childhood bullshit aside and get on with being adults.

  It was an idea good in theory, practice — I wasn’t so sure, but for Zoe, I would give it a go.

  Wrapping Zoe in my arms, we stood there by the bar for long minutes listening to the music and watching the couples on the dance floor. The mood of the place was comfortable, not too many people so ther
e was very little shouting or noise, comfortable.

  Falling in love was definitely the best experience of my life, falling in love with Zoe made it perfect.

  “Mia darlin, give me a beer.” The sound of my brother’s voice caught my attention, rebooted my brain out of all things nice.

  Looking over Zoe’s head, I noticed Deck standing with a pretty brown-haired woman. She was pretty enough, medium height decent body. There was just one thing wrong that I could tell, her starry-eyed expression for my brother was not being reciprocated. Deck’s back was to her, already involved in some banter with Darth and Vegas, his date forgotten.

  Poor woman, another one bites the dust, hey brother.

  Tapping Zoe on her butt, I motioned for her to move to my side.

  “You ready baby?” I asked her, nodding towards Deck.

  “We aren’t going to the gallows, Jason,” Zoe laughed, smacking me lightly on my chest, then turned to face Deck.

  “Hi Deck, how was your night?” Zoe asked wriggling her eyebrows at the brunette who was still drooling, and looking at Deck like he hung the moon and the stars.

  Oh, for fuck’s sake! Get a clue woman, when a man ignores you after being in his room he ain’t the one for you. I advised her silently. Jesus Christ Mum would have a field day if she was here now. That thought made me snicker; there was nothing better than hearing one of my Mum’s safe sex lectures mixed in with her ‘I want to be a grandmother’ tirades, doubly fun when she was directing it at him and not me.

  Deck slanted his head over our way, his elbows were on the bar a bottle swinging from his fingers.

  “Hello Zoe baby, good to see ya. Officer Prick, or should I call you Detective Dick,” Deck said then burst out laughing as if he said the funniest thing ever.

  Wanker.

  “You know Deck; you should try maturity, it might be a good look for you,” I retorted easing into our insult banter.