by Jayne Rylon
The doors slid open, releasing her from hell.
Hot damn.
Brielle practically tumbled out of the elevator and down the hall toward Luke’s office. Her heart dropped when she peered through glass, the waiting room, and more glass to find the space behind his desk empty. Oh no, what if he’d gone out? How dumb that she hadn’t thought to call ahead. Her shoulders slumped.
Just then his administrative assistant looked up. She smiled warmly at Brielle and pointed down the hallway.
Craning her neck, Brielle peeked around the corner. And drank in the sight of Luke’s long, powerful frame, leaning against the wall. His ankles crossed as he checked his watch. Oh, Mrs. Allerton! She’d given Brielle away.
Sneaking up behind Luke, her heart was in her throat. She expected him to bust her at any second, but she made it within arm’s reach. Damn, he must be preoccupied. His height made it difficult, but she rose to her tiptoes and put her palms over his eyes from behind.
A startled jerk later, he spun around and captured her in his arms. “Brielle.”
A response became impossible when his mouth crushed down on hers. So she told him through her kiss just how much she’d missed him. When both of them struggled to breathe, they broke apart. Flushed. Eyes wide. It seemed the attraction between them grew stronger by the second.
That’s when she noticed. “You shaved!”
“You took the elevator!” he said at the exact same time.
They both nodded. Then laughed.
Luke bundled her into an enormous hug. “I’m so proud of you. Damn, Brielle. It hasn’t even been a week.”
“I had good motivation. I have to go soon. Becca’s waiting outside. I just wanted to give you something…” Okay, and she’d wanted to taste the brown sugar on his lips.
“Did the police drop off the additional documents? They called me about them earlier. I hate administrative crap.” He dragged his hands through his hair.
It might have been polite to stop staring at him, but she couldn’t manage it. With his smooth jaw exposed, he was so damn handsome she could hardly form a coherent thought.
“Brielle?” He stroked her cheek softly.
“Sorry.” A wry grin tugged at her lips. “No. Not paperwork. I didn’t know there was anything else we had to do for that.”
“I guess I missed initialing a page or something.” He shook his head.
“Actually, I sort of made you something.” She winced, suddenly wondering if her gift was lame. Totally high school. No choice now but to go forward. Reaching in her tote, she withdrew a box wrapped in crinkled foil, the best she could do to dress it up.
“What’s this?” His eyes lit up as he shook the package slightly. “Do I smell…? Are these cookies?”
Grinning, she nodded.
“Wait just a second. I haven’t taken a break all day and it was a triple-cup-of-coffee sort of morning. I also need to wash my hands before I dig in. You can make yourself comfy in my office.” Brielle laughed when he practically bounced from foot to foot. “Take care of my cookies a second longer. Actually, here, would you take my phone too? In case the cops call while my hands are full?”
A peal of laughter escaped her.
He kissed her again then whispered, “Be right back.”
She stayed rooted to the industrial carpet until he was out of sight, pushing through the men’s room door with a wink in her direction. Still beaming, she headed for his office, a little nervous about barging in with the admin right there.
“Good afternoon. You must be the ‘lovely, amazing, exquisite, funny and sweet’ Ms. Norris. I’ve been hearing all about you. I’m Heidi. Go ahead and make yourself at home. I take it you saw Dr. Malone in the hallway?”
Brielle blushed as she nodded.
“Thank goodness. He’s been grumpy all day. Impatient. Very unlike him.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She giggled at the other woman’s knowing smirk. “I brought him some of these. Try one?”
Heidi plucked a cookie from the overflowing box. She moaned as she tasted the creation. “Oh yeah, that should do the trick. Have mercy.”
The fancy-ass phone in Brielle’s hand began to buzz. She nearly dropped the gadget as she juggled both it and the foiled container. “Excuse me.”
She stepped into Luke’s office, set the cookies down and tried to figure out how to answer the damn thing quaking in her hold. Her basic-feature phone had a simple green TALK button. This contraption’s screen showed a gorgeous woman in a box, which jiggled in time to the pattern of vibrations.
Brielle tried poking her in the eye. A glowing circle surrounded the picture with a flashing arrow pointed in a clockwise direction. She traced it with her index finger.
“Hello?” A faint voice surprised Brielle. She held the phone up to her ear, but the exasperated lady was going off. “Jesus. Are you there, Lukey-poo? I listened to your heavy breathing last night. Wasn’t that session enough?”
Just before Brielle began speaking, her voice was stolen.
Maybe Lukey-poo hadn’t been so delayed yesterday after all.
“Luke!” the woman bellowed before continuing, “Come on, baby, tell me where you want to meet up tonight and we’ll get the weekend started off right, as usual. I knew you’d get tired of your new toy soon enough. Please tell me you weren’t slumming it with the crazycakes from the student paper. She’s not even that pretty.”
Tears prickled Brielle’s eyes. Oh. Hell. No. She wasn’t about to do this again.
“Hey, asshole, I’m in your pants,” the witch on the other end of the line cackled. She must have thought Luke had butt-answered. “I can’t give you another of my spectacular BJs through the damn phone, you know.”
Disgusted, Brielle punched the END icon. She never would have talked to Luke like that. What was it with guys? Maybe they got off on that shit.
Just like Brad, Luke had opted for some slut who was easy, disrespectful and crude.
You didn’t exactly resist very hard.
A lightning bolt of agony struck her point-blank in the chest. She tossed his phone onto his desk and spun on her heel. As she passed the coffee table, she plucked her pathetic box from the glass furniture’s gleaming surface.
Fuck that.
Brielle stormed from the office, desperately trying to convert misery into rage.
“Ms. Norris?” Heidi stared at her flushed face and balled fists.
“Tell Dr. Malone he can forget about eating any more of my damn cookies.”
The woman sputtered and may have attempted to diffuse the drama, but Brielle didn’t care. She burst from the pretty etched glass waiting room and marched to the elevator.
The sight of the doors had her stomach lurching. Luke’s voice and the memory of his false comfort were the last things she could use to bring her peace now.
Furious at them both, she abandoned the wait. Besides, some action might help alleviate the bitterness pumping through her veins. She bolted for the stairwell, not a moment too soon.
As she yanked the heavy door open, a flash of blond hair appeared through the bathroom door. Luke whistled as he turned the corner into the hallway. Grinning, he probably gloated to himself about having his cookies and eating them too.
The exasperated groan that emerged from her half-closed throat gave her away as she ducked into the stairs and began running.
“Brielle?” Luke’s fading question leaked into the stark space. By the time he peeked inside, she’d descended two or three flights. She convinced herself that the ragged gasps busting her lungs were due to being out of shape rather than being short on hope.
Flying through the lobby, she ignored Mrs. Allerton’s attempt to hail her. “Dr. Malone would like you to stay.”
Brielle shot her an incredulous look.
Mrs. Allerton’s feeble involvement trailed off when she caught sight of the silvery trails running down Brielle’s cheeks. She shooed Brielle away. “Men. Such assholes.”
Briell
e sniffled as she passed without slowing. The door spinning around made her dizzy. Unsure if she could handle it at the moment, she drew up short.
“Go. He’s coming for you. Hurry.”
“I can’t.” Stuck, she looked over her shoulder at the elevator. The neon numbers counted down. Just a few floors left until it reached the ground floor.
Mrs. Allerton pointed. “There’s a side exit to High Street. It’s a loading dock. Wide open.”
“Th-thanks.” Scrubbing her face, she dashed for the area behind the lobby. The pretty finishes of the high-traffic area gave way to cinder-block walls and the guts of a major building. She saw cracks and chips where before there’d only been pristine marble. Inside the grand architecture was just a structure.
She ignored funny looks from the guys unloading supplies and hopped off the concrete landing into the parking lot, her tote banging against her hip. Stupid cookies.
Sweat began to glisten on her skin as she jogged in the direction Becca had indicated, looking for a grocery store. Right there, by the edge of the sidewalk, Kurt’s sleek sports car waited. Through the windshield, she noticed Becca on the phone.
“Shit,” she mumbled as she folded herself into the moderate front seat. She pushed the chair back all the way and rolled down the window, despite the heat beading drops of perspiration on her brow.
Air. Open. Fresh.
“She’s here,” Becca ratted her out.
Brielle shot her a nasty glare she only half regretted.
Until Becca said, “No, Luke. I won’t pass the phone to her. This is between the two of you. As her counselor, I can’t get involved. You know I’m already crossing lines left and right. I promise, she’s safe. The rest is out of my control. Though if I had to offer you some advice, I’d tell you pursuing too hard right now is risky. Damage has already been done.”
Closing her eyes, Brielle let her head crash against the headrest.
“I’m hanging up now, Luke. I love you. Goodbye.” Becca’s phone gave a terminal beep. “Ack. Um. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Nope.” She barely managed to sputter the single word. How could she explain all that had happened in the past fifteen minutes?
Incredible wins and losses rattled her.
“That’s fine.” Becca backed out of her spot. “Use this time to collect yourself, if you’re going back to work. Just remember that every fight isn’t the end of the world. You can disagree and resolve your conflicts later, when you’re free of the initial emotion. Better decisions are made then too.”
“Not going to change my mind on this one.” Brielle scoffed. “Playing second string is not my game anymore. I deserve to be with someone honest. Someone faithful.”
“What?” The car lurched a little as Becca reacted. “You think Luke was playing around on you? I can’t believe he’d do that. He’s completely fascinated with you. In fact, probably to a concerning degree.”
“He slept with some skank last night.” She groaned. “Someone even skankier than me.”
“Brielle, you’re not—”
“I am. I let Luke fuck me Wednesday night. A bunch.” She knocked her forehead on the frame of the car.
“Even after the incident with Wexford?” Becca sounded surprised.
“Yep. Looks like it doesn’t take much…”
“I’m guessing that’s far from the truth.” A warm hand landed on her thigh. “We can talk about it more tomorrow, but I don’t agree with Luke’s decision there. He should know that you’d need space.”
“For the record, I didn’t want any.” Brielle sighed.
“He still should have known better.” She hesitated. “Because, otherwise, you might associate him with your healing or your terror. I can’t say I’m surprised, or that I would have done anything different in your shoes, but the speed at which everything is happening poses some risk. Not to mention starting a new relationship during a period of major change in your life. I personally believe what you two have is worth it, but it could definitely make things trickier.”
“Why couldn’t you have mentioned that about a half hour ago?” She clutched her chest.
“You wouldn’t have believed me anyway.” The young doctor sighed. “Will you promise to come see me for tomorrow’s session?”
“I think I’ll need to more than ever after today.”
“I’m glad you’re not shying away from therapy. Don’t worry about Luke. When it comes to that, I’ll tell him he’s not welcome to join. And if you need to talk any other time, you know where to find me.” Becca mumbled, “This is going to be tough. I feel like Kurt and Luke will end up in at least one brawl. I’ll make sure to have the frozen peas ready for black eyes.”
“Speaking of… Would Kurt mind if I ate in his car?” Brielle cracked open her eyes.
“Probably. But this is an emergency.” Becca sounded so serious.
Maniacal laughter wafted up from Brielle’s core. “I have enough cookies for us both. I took Luke’s back.”
“Damn, you must have been pissed.”
“Still am, Becca.” Three servings of brown sugar did little to help. But at least her stomach quit rumbling. “This might take another round of baking to fix.”
“Whatever works for you, Brielle.”
“Right now, I just need quiet. And space. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” Becca left her alone, as she’d asked. But, if anything, the silence only widened the hole in her heart. “Tomorrow, though, you’re on the hook.”
Brielle glanced away from traffic to test a tentative smile.
No dice. “Great. Sounds like fun.”
Yeah, just like root canals.
And later, when a single black rose was delivered to her office, placed directly on her desk this time, she assumed it was Luke’s way of telling her things were over.
Brielle went into mourning.
Chapter Twelve
Luke couldn’t stand another second of the Brielle-mandated solitude. He swung one leg over his bike and unclipped his helmet. He’d given her time to calm down. To think. To sort through what had happened on her own.
Eleven o’clock at night—yet she still hadn’t relented and called him as he’d hoped.
Damn it, he had a sweet craving.
For the millionth time this hour, he pressed Redial. Two short bursts before Brielle’s voice mail kicked on assured him that she hadn’t bothered to listen to the messages he’d left her periodically this afternoon.
Whether intentionally or not, he must really have hurt her for her to hold out so long. He’d assumed full responsibility. He should never have given her his phone. Not with all the old data in there. In fact, after she left, he’d scoured his address book, deleting every single one of his just-for-fun lovers. Talk about a statement. His attitudes had changed overnight. Or over lunch, last weekend.
He paused by the wildflower beds and plucked a daisy from the bunch. A cheery flower for a bright young woman. For an unsteady heartbeat or twelve, he considered playing She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not until he realized it would destroy the whole thing.
Maybe it was better not to know, and to simply enjoy what he could, while he could.
Yes, he had to follow his gut. The damn thing screamed for him to go to her. Stubborn, she’d rather prove she was terrified by preparing for a siege than admit—to herself or to him—she might have made a mistake, as if he cared either way. After her cheating ex, he didn’t blame her for jumping to conclusions.
Even incorrect ones.
Luke gathered every bit of his legendary patience and the talents he’d honed over a decade of practicing active-listening techniques. He couldn’t stand to fuck this up the time it mattered most. The problem was that staying impartial would be impossible when he really wanted to toss her over his lap and spank her for assuming the worst.
Somehow he figured that might be the wrong approach.
He glanced up at her window, the only one that had been br
ight a few nights ago. The lights were on, and just then a figure passed in front of the pane. The hazy silhouette wasn’t much to go on but he could tell. It was her.
Brielle.
Stairs passed beneath him in a blur as he charged up to her place. In his haste, Luke nearly knocked over a scruffy dude hanging out on the second-floor landing.
“Watch it, fucker.”
“Sorry, man.” Luke held his hands out. Preoccupied with Brielle so close and yet so far away, he didn’t bother to question why the guy was loitering. He skirted the ill-tempered man and headed up the next flight of stairs.
With Brielle’s door looming in front of him, he restrained himself, managing to impart a very timid knock. Well, it came out sort of normal. At least it wasn’t the pounding he might otherwise have launched.
It didn’t surprise him when she refused to answer.
Artificial stillness from the other side of the cheap, dinged-up hollow-core was too absolute to be real. “Brielle. It’s me, Luke.”
As if she couldn’t guess.
Hell, maybe she couldn’t. Though he hadn’t seen any evidence she’d made friends here yet, he hadn’t specifically asked and she hadn’t mentioned anyone significant. The thought began to make him sweat. What if she didn’t need him?
“Please, will you open the door? I’d like to talk to you. To explain what happened earlier today. I know Sandy hurt you—”
Brielle whipped open the thin wood separating them. “Stop. I don’t care for my neighbors to know every detail of my business.”
“Then you should probably let me in so we can speak in confidence.” He edged toward her apartment.
“I don’t think so. I’m not interested in hearing excuses.” Frown lines disfigured her forehead and tugged her full lips into a pout.
Not now, he warned his cock, which twitched in his ripped jeans.
The warmth and light streaming from her home began to fade as she closed him out again. He jammed his foot in the gap.
“So now you’re going to force your way inside?” Her chocolate eyes hardened. “I knew you were just like the rest.”