by Lily Graison
“Why?”
“Because, he…” A tear slipped down her cheek before she could stop it and she sat down hard on the bed, burying her face in her hands. “I can’t love him, Holly. I won’t.”
She cried, leaning into Holly’s side when she sat down beside her and held her. She couldn’t love Luke. She was leaving, headed thousands of miles away. How could she admit to something that would break her heart when he wasn’t there?
Leaning back, she wiped her face. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said. “What I feel for him doesn’t mean anything.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t feel the same.”
“How do you know?”
Because he hasn’t asked me to stay.
The door opened and she turned her head, wiping her face again when she saw Luke.
“Limo is here,” he said, stopping when he looked at her. Two lines of worry appeared between his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she lied, smiling while she stood. “Just saying goodbye to my best friend.”
He didn’t look as if he believed her. She turned to Holly. “I guess this is it, then.”
Holly stood, wrapping her arms around her. “I’m going to miss you, Roxy.”
“I’ll miss you more,” she whispered, embracing her before letting her go. “Are you sure you don’t want to ride with us to the airport?”
She shook her head and said, quietly, “No. I’m sure you don’t want me around when you have to say goodbye to him.”
Looking over her shoulder, Roxy knew her friend was right. She couldn’t say goodbye to Luke with an audience. It was part of the reason she’d done her farewell with the others the night before. Seeing them today and knowing it would be the last time would be difficult enough without having to face them when her nerves were already on edge. Letting Luke go would be torture.
“Okay,” she said, reaching down and grabbing one of her bags. “Let’s get this over with.”
****
The minute Bobby pulled the limo away from the curb, Luke grabbed her and hauled her into his lap. His kiss left no doubt in her mind what he wanted and within minutes she was straddling his hips while his hands pushed her skirt up around her waist. Her panties were pulled to one side, his cock probing her slick folds, and she gasped when he impaled her with one quick jerk of his hips.
She grabbed onto his shoulders, rocking against him.
It was hurried, a frenzied act that left her lips swollen from his kisses, her skin bruised from his grip on her, and when they rushed toward orgasm, she knew Bobby heard her scream. She couldn’t find a reason to care.
When their breathing returned to normal and the tingles stopped running laps down her spine, she raised her head. “So, was it good for you?”
He laughed, grabbing the back of her head and kissing her. “The best,” he said, when he broke the kiss.
She laid her forehead against his, sighing. There was so much she wanted to say but didn’t dare. She’d come to New York with one goal in mind and she’d accomplished it. Losing her heart in the process hadn’t been on her agenda and neither was the tug of war her conscious was waging with her. She wanted to stay, but more than anything, she wanted him to want her to stay.
Bobby’s voice filtered into their little haven and Roxy looked up when he said they were approaching the airport. She reluctantly extracted herself from Luke’s arms, trying to tidy her appearance while he did the same. When they were both presentable, she turned to look at him.
There wasn’t anything to say, really. What could she say? Thanks for a great time? You were better than I imagined? You made me fall in love with you and now I can’t have you?
As the limo pulled to a stop, she looked out the window, blinking away the tears trying to form. She wouldn’t cry. Not in front of him. Her breakdown could come later. Thirty thousand feet in the air.
“I guess this is my stop,” she said, turning and forcing a smile on her face.
He nodded his head and she could tell his own smile was forced. She felt better for seeing it. When the car shifted, her luggage being removed from the back, she turned to the door and grabbed the handle.
“Roxy?”
“Yeah,” she said, turning her head.
Luke stared at her, drinking in her image, and burning it into his memory. One week wasn’t enough with her but he didn’t know how to tell her that without sounding like an idiot. He wanted to beg her to stay. Crawl at her feet and worship every inch of her for one more second of her time. He smiled at her instead and reached out, cupping her face in his palm. “I’ll miss you.”
Her eyes misted with tears before she leaned toward him, giving him the softest, most tender kiss anyone had ever given him. When she pulled away and said, “I’ll miss you, too,” before darting out of the car, he cursed himself for a fool. The best thing to ever walk into his life was now walking away and he felt powerless to stop her. Would she think him insane if he told her how he felt? Did she feel the same?
He watched her walk away, his chest tightening with every step she took until she was lost in a sea of bodies. The light he’d lived in for the past week dimmed, the sweet knowledge that she was there, waiting for him, gone.
The woman he loved just walked out of his life and he let her.
Epilogue
2 months later
Roxy looked up from her keyboard when she heard the door open.
“Special delivery,” Linda said.
“For me?”
“That’s what the delivery guy said.”
Linda held out her hand and Roxy sat back, staring. “A single rose?” It was pale pink in color, the outer edges darker. Reaching out, she took it and inhaled its soft scent. “Who sent it?”
Linda shrugged. “No clue. There wasn’t a note.”
Roxy stared at the rose, trying to think of anyone who might have sent it. She couldn’t think of anyone. Well, one name came to mind, but she shook off the thought. She hadn’t heard from him in three weeks.
Looking down at the flower, she let her thoughts wander, and inhaled its scent again. Something on one of the rose petals caught her eye. Raising her hand, she peeled back a few layers and her eyes widened.
“Someone wrote on the petals,” she said, squinting to see what was written.
“Really?” Linda asked, peering over the desk to look. “What does it say?”
Roxy’s pulse raced at the words. “It says, I miss you.”
The words made her think of him.
“Ooh. Do you have a secret admirer?”
A closer look at the rose petals and Roxy could only stare. Every other petal was adorned with a message…I adore you… I’m miserable without you… I want you… I need you…
It was the last message that caught her breath. I love you.
Tears clouded her vision and she looked up, smiling at Linda. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned her head to the door. The tears pooling in her eyes slipped down her cheeks when she saw him.
“Seeing those tears makes me real glad I didn’t get the whole dozen.”
“Luke.” Roxy jumped from her chair and ran across the room.
He caught her in his arms, wrapping them around her waist, and burying his face in her hair. “God, I’ve missed you, Roxy.”
She let out a choked laugh. “I’ve missed you too.”
He looked up and took her lips in a soft, teasing kiss. “What have you done to me?” he whispered, pulling back to look at her. He raised a hand, pushing her hair from her face and his gaze swept over her features. “I can’t sleep… can’t eat.” He smiled then, staring her in the eyes. “Hell, I can’t even look at another woman without wishing it was you.”
Roxy’s heart fluttered at his words. “I’m no expert, but it sounds like you may be in love.”
“You think so?”
“Yes,” she grinned. “I seem to be having the same problems.”
&nbs
p; “Is that right?”
“Uh huh. I hear there’s only one cure for it.”
“And what’s that?”
She leaned forward, nibbling his bottom lip into her mouth. “Lots and lots of sex.”
“Oh, I think I’m going to like this cure of yours.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It takes constant administering for it to work.”
“Then I guess you have no choice but to come away with me.” He stared down at her, his thumb sliding across her bottom lip. “I’m not leaving without you, Roxy.”
Her pulse quickened when he kissed her again, his tongue slipping into her mouth and setting off a flurry of butterflies in her stomach.
He broke the kiss and said, “Besides, I need a lawyer.”
“What for?”
He grinned. “I stole Curt’s plane and forced the pilot to fly me across the country.”
“Oh, you definitely need a lawyer,” she said, laughing. “And a priest. Curt is going to kill you.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll survive as long as I have you with me.”
He glanced over her shoulder suddenly, an amused look on his face. Roxy turned and saw Linda and laughed. She’d forgotten she was there. “Linda, this is Luke.”
“Oh, I know who he is,” Linda interrupted, grinning. “I guess I know why you’ve been so grumpy the last two months.”
“I’ve not been grumpy.”
Linda snorted, unladylike. “Yes, you have. When you aren’t biting people’s heads off you look like someone killed your puppy.”
Roxy’s secretary walked to the door, skirting around them, and walked into the hall. “Should I cancel all your appointments?”
A look at Luke and Roxy smiled. “Yes,” she said. “Indefinitely.”
She laughed when Luke pushed her into the office and slammed the door behind them, turning to lock it. “What are you doing?”
He turned back to look at her. “I’m going to test this cure of yours.”
“Now?” she asked, backing up a step.
“Right now.”
Roxy felt the first prickling of tingles race up her spine at the look on his face. He shrugged his jacket off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor before pulling his shirt over his head. She drank in the sight of him, licking her lips and closing her teeth over her bottom lip.
“Now, Ms. Carlisle,” he said, stalking her. “Strip for me.”
The End
Wicked: Jade Butterfly
(The Wicked Series #3)
by
Lily Graison
One
"What about, `I’m going to have sex with you tonight. You might as well be there to enjoy it?'”
Christian Palmer choked on his drink and coughed, trying to clear his throat. He looked up and shook his head. When he'd caught his breath, he said, "No. Pass."
“If I tossed this quarter, what are the chances of me getting head?”
"Absolutely not!"
Mick laughed. "Come on, man. You only get three passes and you've already used them all.
"I don't care," Christian said. "There's no way I'm saying that to a complete stranger."
"That's the whole point."
"Forget it. I'll take my humiliation in small doses if that's all right with you."
"Humiliation is the whole point," Mick said, grinning. "Now pick one of these."
"But it's my birthday. I should be watching you three make fools out of yourselves."
Devin grinned and reached across the table, grabbing another card. "Not going to happen, my friend. Holly would kill me. Besides, you're the one sitting alone on your birthday. Now, choose."
Christian ran a hand through his hair, dislodging the dark strands as another card was read. Like every other night out when they found themselves in a club, the pick-up game was in full force. The cards, with the cheesiest pick-up lines known to man were laid out on the table and his band mates were trying to find one for him. Finding a card wasn't the problem. Having to walk up to a strange woman and actually say what was written on it was.
Since Luke and Devin now had steady girlfriends, it was up to Mick and himself to provide the entertainment of the game and the guys had decided that tonight, it was all on him.
Luke tapped the table with his knuckle to get his attention. “How about, I lost my keys. Can I check your pants?”
"No."
“I’ve already had sex with you five times while you were sleeping. Want to make it six?”
"No."
“My favorite number is sixty-nine?”
Christian laughed and stared across the hotel bar, trying to ignore them. He knew he was blushing as the cards were being read. He could feel the heat burn his face and neck. Everyone's laughter only caused it to burn hotter.
Why they tortured him with this game when they knew he hated it was beyond his comprehension. Like asking a girl out wasn't nerve wracking enough for him. To have to approach a woman with one of those cards was the worst humiliation he could think of. Not that the cards deterred women from following him back to his room. You could say anything to a woman when she realized you were a member of the band Wicked and know without a shadow of a doubt, you'd get laid.
The fact they were forcing the game on him tonight shouldn't have been such a surprise. It was his birthday, after all, and he was dateless.
"Are you juveniles still torturing Christian?"
Christian turned his head at the sound of Roxy's voice. Luke's girlfriend smiled at him and grabbed the cards Luke was holding before sitting down beside him. She read over the cards, grinning before tossing them back to the table. "He'll never find a woman with these."
"Finding a woman isn't the point," Devin said. "He's Christian Palmer. All he has to do is speak and women will fall all over themselves to be his date for the evening. The fact he has to say this to them when he approaches them just makes it fun."
"And cruel," Holly said when she joined them.
Devin laughed at his girlfriends comment. "It's not cruel. We've all done it."
"You've actually picked up a woman with one of these horrible pick-up lines?"
"Yes."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed a few of the cards. "Wonders never cease."
"What we say to a woman isn't important. It's who we are that matters." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "Tell me you didn't want me the minute you knew who I was?"
Holly snorted a laugh. "No. You were an asshole. Although this card," she said, waving it in front of him, "may have saved you from an immediate let down. I would have been laughing too hard to say no."
Christian listened to them talk and scanned the bar. He really didn't need their help finding a date. Devin had been right about that. Being a member of the band had its advantages. One of them being the fact that women walked all over each other to get close to them, even him. But, finding someone to fill his bed for a night, then disappearing, wasn't what he wanted. He wanted more than a string of one-night stands. He wanted to find her. The one girl made just for him. The one who would be there forever.
"This is the last one, Christian. Take it or we'll pick the worst out of the lot for you."
He looked over at Mick and took the card from him. His eyes widened when he read it. "This is worse than any you've read."
"No its not," Mick grinned. "I can find one ten times more humiliating."
"Fine." He bit his tongue before shoving the card in his pocket as he stood.
"And he's going for it!" Luke said, laughing. "Go get `em, tiger."
Christian lifted his hand, raising his middle finger and flipped the guys off before walking away. Ignoring their taunts, he made his way through the throng of people crowding their table. Stopping by the bar, he waited for the bar tender and ordered a drink, gulping it down and waiting for the fire to hit his stomach. No matter how much he drank, it wasn't enough to dull the gut wrenching fear he had at approaching a complete stranger.
He g
lanced back over his shoulder. The guys were watching him. Waiting. "Why me?" he asked no one. Turning, he scanned the club again. The light was dim but the bright flashes of blue and red from the overhead lights illuminated the people crowding the bar enough for him to see.
Blondes, brunettes and redheads as far as the eye could see met his pursuing gaze. "Eenie meenie miney moe," he said to himself. Christian smiled when a blonde crossed in front of him and looked his way. He knew by the look on her face she'd be a sure bet. He'd seen the look a thousand times. If he just stood there long enough, someone would come to him and he was half tempted to do just that. But it was the standing there and waiting part that he didn't like. Besides, the guys preferred he approach someone, not the other way around.
He sighed and leaned back against the bar. His band mates made it look so easy. All Luke ever had to do was look at a girl and she was falling all over herself to be with him. Devin and Mick only had to speak. Women loved them and spent every night in their presence trying to get them in their beds. He'd had his share of prospects too, but not like the others. Women wanted them, the bad boys of rock. They weren't drawn to the quiet one. The one who had to fight a blush when a woman looked his way.
He'd been the butt of their jokes for years and he'd taken them all in stride. He was the quiet one. He was the guy who stood in the background while life moved around him in a blur of movement. But it wasn't only sleeping with any one woman that interested him. He wanted more. He wanted someone who would always be there. Someone who loved him, not the bass player for the band Wicked. He wanted a woman who wanted Christian Palmer-small town boy from Kansas.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he straightened his spine. "Okay," he said, quietly. "Who is it going to be?"
He searched the club, letting his gaze fall on every woman he saw. The redhead by the dance floor was pretty. Too tall for his tastes, though. The blonde next to her wore too much make-up. Another blonde. Too few clothes on that one. Nothing was left to the imagination and he was almost positive he'd get laid before they made it out the door but she wasn't very pretty.