by Amie Nichols
He tugs his shirt off his arms and throws it to the side. I move enough for him to get my shirt off and he throws it in the same direction. His face lights up and his lips twitch with a seductive smile that makes me tremble. “You are so beautiful.” His mouth moves over my breasts and down my belly. His hands run down my legs and he grabs the hem of my skirt. He brings it up to my waist. I feel his fingers tuck into my panties and there is low growl in his throat before he rips my panties off of me. “You keep doing that and I’m going to go broke buying new panties.” I smile up at him. The lust in his eyes turns me on.
“Lilly baby, what you do to me,” he moans crushing my lips again as he moves his fingers in me.
“Luke, please,” I groan needing him in me.
My hearts is pounding as I feel the excitement between my legs, my hips buck up, and I can feel his erection through his jeans pressing against my sex. His abs tighten as he stands, leaving me there to watch him unbutton his jeans and pull them down. I see how hard he is, his manhood is straining against his cotton boxers. He pulls them down next and I intake a sharp breath. I want him so much.
His eyes light up. He knows that I want him. I writhe on the bed waiting for him.
“Please,” I breathe and his legs go between mine forcing me more open for him. He thrusts into me and I can’t help the soft scream that escapes my lips.
“You are so wet for me, baby,” he moans as he moves in and out, my hips matching his rhythm.
“Yes, just for you,” I whimper, “only you.” I can’t hold it much longer. The room lights up as lightning strikes outside followed by a loud crash of thunder that camouflages my scream as I explode in a mind blowing orgasm and Luke comes at the same time.
He lays down, his weight supported by the elbow of one arm. With the other, he uses his hand to trace my lips with his thumb.
“I don’t think that I will ever get tired of this.” I smile up at him.
“I hope not, I know that I never will, my little ruffian!” He crinkles his nose and places a soft kiss on mine. Laughing, I reach up and he takes his lips with mine. He rolls off of me pulling me to him as we hear steady rain hit the windows.
We lay in bed holding each other listening to the rain. Luke’s fingers are gently rubbing up and down my back.
“So tell me about your first girlfriend,” I whisper, wanting to know parts of his life that everyone else knows about that I was sheltered from.
“There’s not much to tell. She was a cheerleader and I was the quarterback. The other guys on the team were starting to think I was gay because I never returned her advances. I didn’t care, but I was actually trying to take my mind off of you so I finally went out with her,” he admits, and I feel a stab in the heart as he tells me that he was trying to forget me. He must have read my mind because he follows up with. “I don’t mean that I was trying to forget you, I was trying to get through the days. I spent every day fighting the urge to come over here and take you away from Jane.”
“I know. There was nothing you could do. There was nothing anyone could do,” I reassure him that I know he had no choice, even though I know he has huge guilt for leaving me to endure the abuse of Jane. He hugs me tighter and I know that he will always struggle with the guilt.
“So was she pretty?” I ask him, and he hesitates before he answers.
“She was nothing compared to you,” he answers grinning at me. “But yes, she was attractive. A lot of guys wanted to date her,” he adds. “She wanted more from me than I could give her,” he states looking down. I listen attentively as he talks about her. My stomach turns with jealousy, but I don’t let it show. I want to know everything about him and his past is who he is.
“Jimmy was the only one that knew about the way I felt for you,” he says sheepishly. “She made it no secret that she wanted me, and everyone couldn’t understand why I wasn’t jumping at her.”
“So how far did you go with her?” I ask and don’t know why I’m torturing myself with this, but I want to know.
“She was very aggressive. We made out a couple of times and she was always trying to get me to have sex with her, but I couldn’t. All I wanted was you,” he says shyly and it makes my insides warm. “I finally had to tell her that I was in love with someone else and it wasn’t going to work. She was mad and told everybody that she dumped me because I cheated on her,” Luke says lying on his side facing me. He’s looking down at his hand that is tracing a circle in the sheet. “It didn’t bother me, because after that I was a cheater and girls left me alone,” he says grinning.
“You said you had two girlfriends, who was other one?” I question him.
“That would be Sydney,” he answers and I cringe at the way he says her name. I can tell that he cares for her. “Not what you think,” he explains when he sees the hurt on my face. “We are friends, good friends, and she knew all about you,” he clarifies. “We did make out one night, and did some stuff when we both had way too much to drink. The next day I felt so horribly guilty about it. Sid told me it was okay and she knew my heart belonged to someone else. From then on, we never so much as touched, but she was always there for me,” he says smiling. “I know she had more feelings for me than I did for her. All she wants is for me to be happy.”
“It sounds like you really care for her,” I observe and word it in the present tense to see if he still does now.
“I did, and I do. She’s a very sweet girl, but I love you not her. She is good friends with Sarah, so I guess I think of her more like a sister. She always knew there was never going to be anything between us. I would actually like you to meet her someday,” he says and the thought of meeting an old girlfriend makes me nauseated. “I think you would like her, she is a lot like Sarah. They went to med school together and now they work together,” he adds. I can’t stand the way he talks about her. I don’t want another girl in his heart because he’s mine.
“Maybe someday,” I say not too convincingly. He can tell I’m irritated with the thought.
“You don’t need to be jealous baby, you have my whole heart,” he says as if he was reading my mind. “It’s always been you, Lilly flower.” He leans over and kisses the tip of my nose.
We stay in bed and talk till our stomachs are growling. It’s still raining but it is after 7:00 and we wonder what the rest of the house is up to.
Jacob’s door is open and I find Lucy in the study her fingers flying over the keyboard. She is glowing and her face lights up when she sees me.
“Hey, Lilly, I’m out of MSG’s network so hopefully I can avoid those ‘criminal charges,’” she says with finger quotations.
“You know that I will have every lawyer in Louisiana fighting those bastards, right?”
“No worries. I checked your contract and you had every right to their network. It’s part of the deal,” she says and it makes me feel better that she is not going to have something on her record because of me. “He was trying to scare us. Not sure if he didn’t think we could read or not, but it is clear as day in the papers,” she scoffs at his stupidity.
“So, what now?”
“Now that we are not in a network, and everything is in the house, it is actually a lot easier to keep him out. The only problem is that it’s going to be harder to find him. I was getting closer to figuring out what he was doing. A few more days and I probably could have pinpointed his location,” she says the later with frustration. “Not that this equipment is not good, I just don’t have the server to really track him. He’s been bouncing his signal all over the place.”
“So is there anything I can do?” I ask her. I have no idea what she is talking about so I doubt there is.
“Jacob’s trying to pull some strings down at the police station to see if we can temporarily access their server, but it’s a long shot.”
“Sometimes money talks, so tell Jacob he can do whatever he needs to do to get that access.” I smile at her and she takes out her phone to text Jacob my message.
; “Yes ma’am!” Lucy’s eyes are gleaming at the possibilities.
I check my phone to see that Emma has texted me saying that Jimmy and her are at her house and that they won’t be back till morning. Miss Finnegan is out again at her mother’s, so I go to the kitchen to fix some supper.
I fix the four of us spaghetti and meatballs. After we eat, we sit around and talk for a few hours. Drinking red wine has made me very tired and I am ready to crash early. Luke and I head to our room leaving Jacob and Lucy to whatever they want to do.
Chapter 41
I sleep very well, only waking up once just to fall right back to sleep in Luke’s strong arms. It is almost 8:00 in the morning now, and the sky is grey so it feels earlier. I turn to reach out for Luke but he is gone the sheets are cool so I think he’s been gone awhile.
After showering and dressing in jeans and a t-shirt, I head down the stairs to find Luke. Jacob’s door is open, so I look in the study and no one is there.
The kitchen is empty also and I see movement out the window. I notice it is Jeffrey trimming some bushes and I push through the French doors to go talk to him.
“Hey sweetheart” Jeffrey greets when he see me. He puts down the trimmers and gives me a warm hug.
“Have you seen Luke or Jacob?” I ask looking around the property as I do.
“Yeah, they are walking the perimeter making sure everything is secure,” he says and I start to walk in the direction he was pointing.
“Lilly, wait!” Jeffery shouts after me. “Just wait and I will come with you. Luke will kill me if I let you walk out there alone,” he says catching up with me.
“It’s the middle of the day. He’s never done anything during daylight,” I argue. “I’ll just walk a little ways and see if I can see them. I won’t leave the sight of the house. Please Jeffrey, I can go alone,” I tell him and don’t wait for an argument. I see his disapproving look before I turn my back and walk away from him.
Making my way through the trees, I stop every few minutes thinking I hear something. Surely it’s just my imagination. I can see the fence now, but no Luke or Jacob, so I turn around to head back for the house. I’m a little freaked out for letting my imagination get the best of me.
I stop again when I hear rustling to the side of me. It’s a little windy today so I bet it’s just the leaves. Stepping around a tree I don’t see anything, and I keep walking but slower and quieter. I hear rustling again, but this time I know it is not the trees. It’s someone walking, but it sounds farther off to my right. I can see the perimeter fence from where I’m standing so I stop and try to focus my eyes into the woods. Man my mind must be playing tricks on me.
I’m just about to turn and start walking again when he steps out from a tree beyond the fence. His tanned skin is like leather and he has facial hair, but not a lot. Maybe a week’s worth. His clothes are dark and his eyes shadowy. He doesn’t move, just stands there staring at me. I feel like at any moment he could hop the fence and be at me in a second. I’m frozen. Is this him? Is this the man that has been watching me for months? Is this the man that has made my life hell this past week?
I stand frozen not knowing what to do and he stares at me for what seems like an hour. Then I hear his voice, gruff and mean like a growl. “Mine, soon you will be mine,” is all he says. Then all of a sudden he’s gone. Darting through the woods he disappears. My heart is racing and I can’t feel my legs. I can’t make them move. He looked so mad and his eyes sinister. They felt like they were peering right through me. His voice was gruff and shallow. My body shudders with fear. I feel so stupid for not listening to Jeffrey.
I step backward one step and I can feel my legs start to work again. Not wanting to take my eyes off where he just was, I continue to walk backward. With each step, I think I see something, but then I don’t. When I make it far enough I can’t see the fence anymore, I turn and run toward the house.
I reach the spot where I had left Jeffrey. He’s no longer there and I don’t see him anywhere. I keep going toward the house and don’t see a soul in sight. Normally this place is crawling with men everywhere. Now I can’t find anyone. I think that maybe someone will be in the cottage so I burst through the doors, and again no one. I run in the house yelling as I go, “Luke, Jacob, anyone. Where are you?” I shout now panicked.
I run through the kitchen yelling, “Hello, someone please, where are you,” anxiety rising in my voice.
“What? What?” Lucy runs out of the study, from the sound of terror in my voice. “What is it, Lilly?” She comes up and grabs my arms. “You’re trembling, what happened?” She asks again.
Emma and Jimmy are coming through the garage door. Hearing my screams, Emma rushes for me.
“What’s going on?” Emma says with concern.
“He was out there.” My voice quivers. “Where is everyone?”
“What do you mean he was out there?” She questions me with worry. “Come sit down, you need to calm down.”
“Where is everyone?” I shout this time. “He’s been here,” I repeat.
“You mean the stalker?” Emma questions. “The stalker was out there and you saw him?” She looks toward Jimmy and he is out the door.
“Where’s Luke?” I ask again.
“They were out doing some scouting and checking the perimeter,” Lucy answers. Instantly fear envelopes me. Is he in danger, did something happen?
“No, I’m sure they’re fine,” Emma says reading my mind. “Hear let’s call their cells. Lucy, call Jacob and I’ll try Luke,” Emma says and they both have their phones to their ears in seconds. They both must have answered at the same time because Emma and Lucy talk at the same time. They tell them to get back to the house. “They’re on their way. I think when they both got calls at the same time they were already running this way,” Emma tells me. I instantly feel better knowing that they are coming and Luke is safe. “What happened?” She asks and I can’t talk. I want Luke here.
About five minutes later Luke and Jacob come running in the kitchen door. Panic is on Luke’s face, and Jacob is trying to stay calm, but I can tell he is scared.
“What?” Luke says coming instantly to me and I am off my feet. He has me in his arms and they are wrapped around me tight. He looks me in the eyes and I can tell he is scared.
“She says she saw him outside,” Emma tells Jacob. “That’s all I know, she won’t say anything else,” she tells him.
“Baby, what happened?” Luke looks into my eyes. I bury my face into his neck. That man’s voice and those eyes burned into my brain. I hear Jimmy walk back in the kitchen.
“Lilly, tell me where?” Jacob asks as Jimmy shakes his head that he didn’t see anything.
“He was by the red dogwood trees, where I saw him the first time,” I tell them the spot I was standing when I saw him. “He was in the timber, beyond the fence.” My voice quivers as I speak.
Jacob talks into his walkie informing Sam to meet him at the location with the dogs. Luke puts me down and makes like he is going to go with them.
“No!” I yell and grab his arm. He stops and looks at me, seeing the fear in my eyes so he stays.
“I’ll stay here,” he tells Jacob and Jimmy, and they are gone. Luke picks me up and carries me over to the big overstuffed chair in the family room. He sits and cradles me in his lap. I bury my face into his neck again and he whispers to me, “It’s okay. You’re safe baby.”
“He wants to hurt me, I could tell. He said mine, soon mine,” I tell him softly, not wanting to lift my head from the safety of his neck. I can smell him and just his scent makes me feel safe.
“He’s not getting near you baby, I promise,” he swears to me.
“Where were you? I was looking for you and I couldn’t find you and I was so scared.” Tears start rolling down my face, my heart still racing. I’m so scared. I feel like he can get me at anytime. That he is just toying with us and I am not safe. I’m having trouble catching my breath now as it all starts to sink in. What
will he do to me when he does get me?
“Baby, you need to calm down.” He rocks me gently trying to calm me down since I’m just getting more worked up. The more I think about it the more worked up I feel.
“Here, take this sweetie,” Emma says handing me a little white pill and a glass of water. I don’t even question her to what it is, and swallow the pill in a second. She’s sitting on the couch right next to the chair and I hear Luke whisper to her. “What’d you give her?” I don’t hear her response.
I hear them whisper back and forth and Luke keeps his arms around me tight. I feel very sleepy all of a sudden, and the last thing I remember before I drift off to sleep is Luke telling Emma they found something in the woods.
I’m sitting on a hill by a large tree. I can’t see anything but green grass as far as my eyes can see. I’m leaning up against something cold and hard and turn to see it is a gravestone. Samantha it says, but it’s so blurry. It says something else, too, but my eyes won’t focus, and the harder I try to see what it says, the more it disappears. I try to stand up, but I feel frozen to the ground, like something me is holding me down. I feel dread and sadness and start to cry uncontrollably.
I wake up in my bed. It’s dark now and I don’t know how I got here. I realize that I was dreaming, but I still feel sad, and like I’ve been crying. I feel my cheeks and there are no tears. “It’s okay, Lilly,” I hear Emma’s voice in the darkness and she switches on a lamp. “I’m going to tell Luke you’re awake, he’ll be right in.” She slips out the door. I see on the clock that it is 11:00 pm. The last time I remember looking at a clock it was before noon. Then it all comes back to me, the man and his eyes. I sit up immediately and dart out of bed. As I run from my room I hit Luke square in the chest.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here, you’re safe baby,” he says hugging me to his chest.
“What’s going on? Why did I sleep so long? Did you find him? What did you find in the woods?” I throw questions at him, my mind going a mile a minute.