The time before I was gone for a whole seven days, yet it didn’t feel as devastating as the one day that we were apart.
This time feels so different, I’m back, but we’ve been dancing around one another. He’s been over the top sweet, and I cannot deny that I love it, but I also know that’s not him.
He’s continued picking me up and dropping me off at work, claiming it’s all because of the flowers and note, but I think he missed it as much as I did. We haven’t talked about what he said, the car he tried to give me, or the fact that I left.
He’s also not touched me, sexually, once. We’ve kissed, but he’s steered clear of any touching below the neck. I miss the way he makes me feel. I want him to ease the ache inside of me and the coiling pressure that tightens each hour.
“Brooklyn Myers,” I say as I answer my desk phone.
“You’re a hard woman to get a hold of, Brooklyn,” my mother announces. I suppress my groan and wait for her to continue, because I know her, and I know that she will. “You’ll be joining us for Labor Day still, correct?” she asks, almost challengingly.
“We said we would, Mom. We’ll be there,” I sigh.
She almost harrumphs before she speaks. “It’s just you haven’t called me like you promised. I really want to meet this boy,” she states.
I almost burst out laughing at the fact that she’s called Lucas a boy. “We’ll be there, Mom, but please do me a favor?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t call Lucas a boy again. You know he’s not even close to a boy,” I laugh softly.
I haven’t brought a boyfriend home since I’ve been an adult. The last boy I brought to my parents was just that, a boy. Lucas is anything but and she knows that.
“Well, he’s younger than me, so he’s still a boy in my eyes.”
I frown. “He is, I guess.” I still can’t picture Lucas as boy-like, not in the slightest.
“Honey. I’ve talked to him. He seems like a very capable young man. I’m excited to finally meet him. After everything that’s happened, I feel like I need to give him a hug for taking such good care of you. He is taking care of you, is he not?”
Mother’s intuition, never doubt it, ever. Clearing my throat, I close my eyes for a moment, then plaster on a fake smile as though she can see it, before I answer her.
“He is, Mom. He’s been fantastic.”
We say our goodbyes and I feel a bit better, slightly. Glancing at my clock, my stomach flips with excitement. Lucas is taking me out to lunch today, just the two of us, and I can’t wait.
He had to have Peg clear it, and it took her two days to fit me in, I can’t deny that I want more than just food during this lunch. I only have about five minutes until he’s here.
Clenching my thighs together, I hope that he wants me just as badly as I want him. I can’t wait another day, I’m not sure I can wait even another hour.
Grabbing my purse, I throw the strap over my shoulder. Calling out to Kay, I tell her that I’m heading to lunch. She waves me off, her face buried in her paperwork. She must be on an important case, she hasn’t been her normal chatty self the past couple of days.
I make a mental note to talk to her after lunch, to see if I can help her with anything that she has. She seems absolutely swamped. Turning toward the restroom, I hurry so that I can check my face and hair before Lucas arrives.
Washing my hands, I stare at myself in the mirror, trying to decide if I need lipstick, or not, when it happens. Somebody bumps the back of my shoulder.
I shift my eyes from my face to the reflection of the person behind me. I find Meredith Dunning standing there, a scowl on her face, aimed right at me.
“You better watch your fucking back, you cunt,” she sneers. I spin around to face her, my mouth hanging open in surprise not just from her words but from her presence alone. “You fucked with me, and now it’s my turn to fuck with you.”
Like an idiot, I stand there, watching her. She knows she’s affecting me because a smile slowly forms on her face, and she fake lunges toward me with a laugh, like a teenager. I flinch, unsure of what she’s actually capable of.
“Sleep with one eye open, bitch,” she sings before she turns and walks away, leaving me shaking in the women’s restroom.
My phone buzzes in my purse, jolting me out of my frozen state. I reach for it and notice that it’s a text from Lucas, informing me that he’s outside.
I don’t think.
I force myself to move toward him quickly. He’s standing on the street in front of my building, his Ferrari behind him. When his eyes meet mine, I watch as a frown forms on his face.
“What happened?” he demands.
I continue past him, ignoring him, but he’s Lucas and won’t allow me to do that. He reaches for me, wrapping his hand around my hip and squeezes me from behind.
“Kitten, tell me what’s happened?”
“In the car,” I breathe.
I’m so sick and tired of being scared. It’s become a part of who I am lately, I hate it. Lucas releases me and helps me into the car before he closes the door behind me.
When he’s in the driver’s seat and has eased into traffic, only then does he ask me to tell him what’s happened.
“Meredith Dunning graced me with her presence,” I say. He grunts but otherwise doesn’t say anything. “She called me a cunt, told me to watch my back, and said it was her turn to fuck with me. Whatever the hell that means.”
Lucas doesn’t speak for what feels like an eternity. He finally clears his throat, his grip tightening against the steering wheel.
“Meredith Dunning is crazy,” he states. “She’s pissed off because she tried to use her child for financial gain and it didn’t work. Not only did you see through her bullshit, but I also did, the psychologist and judge did, too.”
“You don’t think that she’s behind the flowers, do you?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think Meredith is the kind of woman to leave flowers and notes. She’s more the pull your hair out by the root, or tarnish your name in the community, kind of woman.” He shrugs as he pulls into a parking spot.
“She scares me, Lucas,” I admit, shivering as I remember the crazed look in her eye.
Lucas shifts his car into park before he reaches over and wraps his hand around the back of my neck, giving it a gentle squeeze. I turn to face him, my eyes finding his green ones.
“Don’t let a sad, pathetic, woman like that scare you, kitten. You’re stronger and smarter than she could ever be. If it makes you feel any better, I already reserved our flight to Arizona.” He grins, placing a kiss on my lips.
“Really?” I exhale.
He winks. “Yeah, kitten. I promised my woman’s parents that I would bring her out there for Labor Day,” he explains.
He doesn’t let me respond, slipping from the car and slamming his door. I watch him walk around the hood until he’s at my side and opens the door for me. Grabbing my purse, I shift then stand and look up at him.
“What about your family, Lucas? They don’t do anything?”
He smiles, resting his hand at the small of my back as he urges me toward the restaurant.
“Benjamin and his tribe go to visit Macie’s parents in Nevada for the long weekend. Dillon doesn’t have Kayleigh; she’s with her mom and he’s probably working. Luna will probably be with Chad’s family on the beach. And my parents, they typically take a vacation of some sort. This year, they’re going to Hawaii,” he explains.
“Seriously?”
Lucas winks before he tells the hostess that there are two of us for lunch.
“Really, it’s just an extended weekend, Brooklyn, and we all see each other in August. Not a big deal.”
I don’t know what I’m so excited about. Maybe that this could be a tradition of ours and isn’t that something amazing? Having traditions as a couple. I shouldn’t be as excited as I am, but God, I am so happy next to this asshole.
Lucas smirks as he looks over
the menu, choosing to ignore my stupidly smiling face. A few minutes later, the waiter appears to take our order.
Lucas wraps his hand around mine and gives it a squeeze after he has left, his green eyes dancing and looking right at me.
“Do you forgive me yet, kitten?” he asks in a hoarse voice that is just above a whisper.
Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I pretend to think about his question. Do I forgive him? I do. I know that I won’t be able to forget, and the cruelty of his drunken tirade is enough to make me wary of him. But he knows it’s a problem, and he said he doesn’t get drunk on a regular basis. So far, I know that to be true.
Then there’s me. Does he forgive me for sprinting?
“Do you forgive me for running?” I ask.
He squeezes my hand again and a smile curves on his lips. “I was hurt, Brooklyn. I got drunk and I lashed out, but it hurt that you wouldn’t accept my gift.” I open my mouth to respond, but he gives his head a shake. “I’m your man. It’s my job to provide for you. If I can, then I will do things for you to make your life easier, and that includes providing a car that you deserve. I won’t hold it against you that you ran, just like you shouldn’t hold it against me that I said something unkind.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “You can’t say shit like that after you’ve called me a gold-digger, Lucas.”
“You’re going to punish me for that shit for a lifetime, aren’t you?” he asks, his eyes dancing.
This time they’re not dancing with humor instead it’s with anger. I open my mouth, then snap it shut when the waiter arrives, setting down our food.
He must sense the tension because he doesn’t even ask us if we need anything else. He just about-face turns and scurries off.
“A lifetime? Will I have that long with you, or are you going to go on a bender and tell me what a whore I am again?” I snap.
Lucas’ jaw clenches and I watch that muscle jump in his cheek, indicating that I’ve good and truly pissed him off. I hold his gaze, trying not to flinch. I watch the tension slowly leave his body as he lets out an exhale.
“Brooklyn, I was a dick. I get it. You’re mine. You live in a house we share. I want to provide for you, and that means I’ll buy you things. Why won’t you just accept that you’re mine? Should I ask you if you’re going to run as soon as I say one little thing you don’t like?”
I think about his questions. Why won’t I just accept it? Maybe it’s because as soon as he called me a gold-digger I felt like maybe, perhaps, he’d hit a tiny vein of truth with his words. I ran because I felt like the woman he accused me of being.
I never imagined that I liked Lucas because of anything monetary. However, if I’m being honest, the fact that he has it together—the fact that he’s got a house and a great job—it’s part of his appeal.
I feel like a princess when I’m with him. I don’t have to worry about anything. Paying my student loans have been infinitely easier.
Maybe that does make me a gold-digger?
Lucas bursts out laughing and my eyes widen when I realize that I’ve actually spoken aloud. I feel my face heat as I wish I could shove the words back in my mouth.
“Kitten, the fact that you are even worried about it means that you aren’t one. I would pay off your student loans tomorrow if you’d let me and not even bat an eyelash. I was an ass, plain and simple. I have never thought of you that way.
“I know gold-diggers. I see them every day and you are nothing of the sort. I don’t do well with rejection and I reacted. You rejected me. I opened up my home and myself to you, and you easily turned down my gift. I want to build a life with you and you ran. I’m only human.”
He lets out a breath before he closes his eyes, then reopens them. His green eyes finding mine and focusing on me, making me feel as if I’m the only woman in the entire universe.
“You’re important to me, Brooklyn. I’ve never felt this way before. I want to take care of you, and that’s all I’m trying to do here. I want to make your life easier in any way that I can. If I can do that financially, then I fucking will.” He reaches out and takes my hand in his.
“It’s only you, kitten. When you rejected the car, it was like you were rejecting me, rejecting my offer of support. Let me take care of you. Can we please put it all behind us? Accept the little Mercedes as my way of apologizing and let’s sell your car and move on.”
I want to protest.
I should protest.
I don’t.
His words make me feel like shit. I did reject him. I never wanted him to feel that way, but thinking back, I did exactly what he says I did. Looking at him, his pleading eyes and soft smile, I know that I’m going to cave.
He knows it, too.
I realize the exact moment when he cracks his cocky as shit smirk.
That fucking smirk.
One day it’s going to be the death of me—I just know it.
“Okay, baby,” I whisper.
LUCAS
My cock strains against my slacks when she calls me baby. Fuck me, it feels like it’s been weeks since she’s said it and it feels like I haven’t been inside of her for a decade.
I need her.
I need to feel her surrounding me, and not just sleeping in my bed.
I need my cock buried inside of her tight cunt.
I need it now.
“What’s your schedule the rest of the day?” I ask, my voice assuredly sounding as strained as I feel inside.
She shrugs. “Not much. I have this new case I’m working on. Aaron has me doing bitch work for it. To be honest, I’m okay with that. The Dunning case kind of did me in for a while.”
I lift my hand and call the waiter over. “Can you box this up please and bring me the bill?”
The waiter lifts his chin and hurries away as I dig into my back pocket and pull out my wallet. The bill and the boxes arrive within seconds, I decide immediately that this guy is getting a huge tip for being efficient and quiet.
“What’s going on?” Brooklyn asks as I hurriedly dump her salad into the box.
She’s sitting across from me with a look of surprise on her face. I wonder if she’ll have that same look when I’m filling her with my cock in a few moments.
“We’re leaving. I need to get back to my office,” I grunt, sounding like a fucking animal.
I can’t even control myself, that’s how on edge this woman makes me.
Once we’re settled in the car, I speed toward my office. I can feel Brooklyn’s gaze on me, I fight the urge to pull over and fuck her on the side of the freeway.
Sliding my car into my parking spot, I grab our food and exit the car, practically yanking her out of the seat.
What I feel like doing is throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her up to my office.
I refrain, barely.
We bypass a bunch of empty desks. Luckily, most of the office is still at lunch. Thankfully, Peg is one of those people. I’m sure if she were sitting at her desk, she would know exactly what was on my mind.
I practically throw Brooklyn into my office and slam the door closed, locking it before I set our food down.
“Lucas, what on earth is going on?” she asks, placing her hands on her hips.
Without speaking, I stalk toward her, my hands finding her ass and giving her a squeeze while my tongue plunges into her mouth without warning.
She gasps, I taste her a little deeper as I fist the fabric of her pencil skirt and bunch it up until it’s around her hips. Grabbing ahold of her panties with both hands, I rip them from her body.
Without delay or hesitation, I pick her up, setting her down against the front of my desk, then I fill her wet pussy with two fingers.
“Oh, God,” she moans as she rolls her hips closer, searching for more of my touch.
I nip her bottom lip. “Spread,” I demand.
With a small shiver, she does exactly as I’ve requested. I sink to my knees in front of her. Inhaling her glistening pussy,
I don’t wait even a second before I place my mouth on her.
“Lucas,” she gasps as one of her hands fists my hair, pulling my face closer.
I flick her clit, tasting her arousal, wondering how I could have lived even a day without her taste on my tongue. Never again.
“I need you, baby,” she cries out, her voice hoarse.
I make a come-hither motion as I continue to flick the two fingers inside her, then suck, then flick her clit. She wiggles her hips, her fingers tightening in my hair, her breathing coming in a mixture of pants and gasps.
All the while, I use my other hand to unbutton and unzip my pants. I free myself, wrapping my hand around my cock, squeezing it for momentary relief, as I continue to devour Brooklyn.
When she comes, she practically pulls the hair out of my head before she releases it, her entire body sagging.
I stand, wrapping my free hand around the back of her knee and spread her wider as I guide my cock into her warm, tight, fucking soaked pussy.
Once I’m completely seated inside of her, I wrap my other hand around the outside of her thigh and press my lips against her mouth.
Pulling almost completely out, I slam back inside. My entire desk shakes as I fuck her. Goddamn, do I fuck her, too.
It’s hard and fast.
Sweat beads on my forehead, but I don’t stop. Keeping my mouth fused with hers, I swallow her gasps and cries. Her pussy is like fucking heaven, sucking me in and trying to keep me in her tight center.
Her hands wrap around my shoulders, I can feel her nails scoring my skin through my shirt, I fucking love it. I don’t stop the way my hips move. I’m too far gone to even try.
I’m sure she’ll have a bruise from the edge of my desk on her ass, and another from my fingers on her thick thigh, but I don’t give a fuck.
I slam against her over and over again, until I rip my mouth from hers and let out a long, loud moan filling her cunt with my release.
She shakes in my arms, her eyes closed and her lips parted slightly. I watch as she licks her lips, causing my cock to twitch inside of her. She gasps when it does, then slowly opens her eyes, a smile forming on her pretty mouth.
APPEAL: Esquire Black Duet #2 Page 13