Finally, in the dark, he heard her whisper, “Thank you, Luke,” before her breathing deepened in slumber.
Lying with the enigmatic woman at his side, he smiled. That night as he dreamed, the woman from the bar and from the diner and his cyber-friend, all melded into one…the beauty in his arms.
Chapter 12
The early morning light gave little comfort to the two teenagers huddled together underneath the overhang of a thick grove of trees in the park across from the World Bank. Penny Owens blinked a few times before nudging closer to David, hoping to give him some of her meager warmth. His cough had gotten worse during the night and Penny was worried about him.
A thin blanket was draped over their bodies and she pulled it up tighter to their chins while making sure to tuck it closer around their feet. The air was not cold…not yet, but the hint of the coming winter gave her pause. What then? How will we survive then? She glanced over to David, still sleeping, his chest rattling with each breath. They had been together through the spring and summer, since meeting at a soup kitchen. A lifetime for a homeless person who lives day by day. And with every painful rasping, her heart hurt a little more.
Pushing his dark hair back away from his forehead, she noticed how long it had become. Maybe I can find some scissors and give him a haircut. At that thought, she grimaced, thinking of her own overly long, dirty braid.
The sound of footsteps nearby had her instantly on alert and she shook David awake. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered, glad that he woke quickly, attempting to move in front of her. The two looked up as a woman walked by before stopping to smile down at the two huddled under the tree.
“Hello,” she said, her voice warm and friendly. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out packs of peanut butter crackers and water bottles. “Please don’t be afraid, but I’m in the area offering some snacks and water to some of the homeless in the area.”
They eyed the proffered treats suspiciously, but both of their bellies growled at the same time. David doubled over with his fierce cough and the woman’s eyes immediately grew concerned. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a card. Setting it on the ground next to the water bottles, she said, “I am leaving the name of a clinic where I work. It’s not too far from here and they would be glad to see you about your cough.”
“Thank you, but we have no money,” Penny said, eyeing the pretty Asian woman with a mixture of suspicion and overpowering need.
The genuine smile did not leave the woman’s face as she said, “Part of the clinic is for assisting those who are unable to pay.” Her gaze dropped to David’s pale face. “Please come in today. Be sure to bring the card with you and they’ll make sure you are taken care of.”
“They can make me well?” he asked, hope in his voice as his chest racked with another cough.
“They will certainly make sure you are no longer in pain,” she said gently. With that, she stood and continued down the path.
As soon as she was gone, Penny jumped up and grabbed the snacks along with the woman’s card. “Dr. Cheung’s Medical Clinic,” she read, handing one of the water bottles to David. He took a long drink, the refreshing liquid cooling his dry throat. They both tore into the crackers, relishing the early morning treat.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“We might as well go check out the clinic. You’re getting sicker and we’ve got nothing to lose.”
As the two teens finished their snack while the early morning mist slowly rose over the park, both smiled at the possibility that luck had finally come their way.
*
As the sunlight filtered through the blinds, creating slatted patterns on the bed, Charlie struggled to analyze her surrounding as her eyes blinked open. Uncertainty filled her as she jerked up, the room swimming for a moment until recognition slammed into her. Luke’s room. Oh, my God. I came in here last night. One quick glance to the side revealed the empty space beside her and she dropped her chin to her chest. I wonder what he thinks of me? He’s certainly not here so—
“Good morning,” his warm voice came from the doorway, causing her to whip her head around. From his tousled, dark hair down to his full lips surrounded by his stubbled jaw, to his dimple peeking deliciously. He looked even yummier in the morning than he did last night, something Charlie did not think could have been possible. Leaning against the doorframe with one muscular, jean-clad leg crossed in front of the other, her eyes drifted back to his strong arms, crossed, one hand holding a cup of coffee.
As much of a god as he appeared with the morning light illuminating his body, it was the scent of strong coffee that had her leaping from the bed. “Is that coffee for me?”
Luke laughed at the beautiful woman, her feet kicking out to untangle from the sheets in an attempt to rush to his side for the coffee. Her eyes peered into his cup as she sniffed the steam rising from the brew. He watched as her eyes closed and a soft, dreamy expression crossed her face. “So you like coffee?”
Her eyes jerked open as she lifted her hands to the cup and then gazed up at him. “Doesn’t everyone?” Taking a sip of the bold brew, she moaned. “Oh, that’s so good. I’m nobody to mess with in the morning until I’ve had this in me!”
Smiling broadly now, he handed the cup to her. A woman after my own heart. “Well then, you should have it,” he laughed. “Go ahead and get dressed and I’ll have some breakfast for you. We’ve got some talking to do.”
His words pulled her back to the here and now, forcing her to step back, the warm cup still in her hands. A light blush crept over her as she wondered about last night, unable to keep from checking the messy bed behind her.
“Hey,” he said, pulling her head back toward him, kissing the top of her forehead. “No regrets, okay? At least not for me. I slept better than ever last night with you in my arms.”
Lifting her face, she felt his words slide over her as comforting as the warm coffee. Nodding, she met his grin as she stepped back. “Okay. No regrets.” Hearing a noise from the front of the house, she looked up.
“Jack’s here,” Luke explained.
Sighing heavily, she said, “I’ll be right out.”
With a wink, Luke turned and left the room leaving her staring in his wake. Sucking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she headed to the bathroom, coffee in hand. Looks like I’ll need this brew today.
Later, sitting at Luke’s kitchen table, the three enjoyed the breakfast sandwiches Luke cooked and served.
Tossing his napkin down, Luke leaned his tall body back from the table and turned to Charlie. “Okay, time for some info. How did you break into my place two nights ago?”
Sucking in her lips for a moment, she glanced nervously around the table, focus jumping between the two men before finally landing on Luke’s smiling face. He leaned over and took her hand in his much larger one.
“It’s okay, Charlie. We need to know so that we can secure the rest of our homes and facilities.”
Nodding, she said, “Honestly, I don’t know much about security systems, but Eli was always getting jobs where he had to create codes for security companies. He shifted some of the work to me.” Twisting her fingers, she glanced over at Jack. “You…well, the Saints…contracted for some preliminary work to be done and he passed it off to me.”
“You worked on Jack’s system?” Luke asked, his voice hard as Jack looked at her askance.
Letting out a deep sigh, she dropped her attention to her hands. I’m losing his trust…before I had a chance to discover if there was a real connection. Grimacing, she lifted her head and forced the words out, staring at Jack’s hard face, “Yes. I helped set up the security for your company. It was just the preliminary work…nothing that would tell me anything. But later,” she shifted her eyes to Luke, “when I stumbled across someone seeking information using another one of my program creations, I knew it was you. Again. So, using the preliminary work I had done, I was able to…uh…hack your security codes.”
“O
ur security codes?” Jack prodded. “All of them?”
“No! I never tried anything, honest.” Lifting her shoulders in a small shrug, she said, “I could see what Luke was working on and was able to help since I wrote the first part of his program anyway.”
“And my house?” Luke asked.
“I determined the code for getting in. Only your place…nowhere else. Only here.”
The silence sat heavily in the room as they watched her carefully. Just as she felt the need to flee, Jack spoke. “I’m not normally a trusting man, but so far I have no reason not to trust you, Charlie. We want to keep you safe, but to do that, you’ll have to work with us on this case. At the same time, I want you to work with Luke to review our security programs.”
Nodding quickly while wiping her sweating palms on her yoga pants, she said, “Yes, yes, I can do that. I promise, I only want to help.”
With a nod and short smile, Jack stood walking toward the front door, leaving Luke and Charlie alone at the table.
“He’s kind of intense, isn’t he?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
Chuckling, Luke agreed. “Yeah, but he has to be.” After another moment, he added, “I actually think that Jack is glad to finally know who’s been helping us all along. He hates unanswered questions…hates the unknown. And now, he knows who you are and what you can do.”
“But he doesn’t trust me, does he?”
“He will.” Luke watched as her eyes widened in response to his declaration. “I do…and therefore he will too.”
Taking the plates to the sink, Charlie began to clean the kitchen, but Luke grabbed her hand and pulled, saying, “Come on. I want to show you something.”
He led her through the laundry room to the door leading to the garage. Smiling at her curious expression, he continued to lead her past his truck to another door. “I think you’ll like this,” he said, opening the door.
Peeking inside, her eyes opened wide as she took in the room. Mats covered the floor and mirrors lined one of the walls. A weighted bag hung from the ceiling on one side. He had turned the back part of the garage into an exercise room. But not just any exercise room—a room perfect for karate practice!
Giving a very un-karate-like squeal, she dashed into the room and turned around several times taking it all in. “I can’t believe you have this here.”
Luke grinned at the first sign of enthusiasm she had displayed since meeting her. “I remembered that you had some moves that worked well at Chuck’s that night.” Moving onto the mat he began with warm up exercises, quickly joined by her.
After several minutes they faced each other, bowing first before circling. Knowing he had a huge height and weight advantage, he jabbed and kicked carefully, but was impressed with her skill.
Charlie, heart pumping, felt her body on fire as she watched the play of muscles in Luke’s arms, abs, and legs. Keep your mind on the task, she chastised herself, but quickly realized that was easier said than done. Seeing an in, she kicked out, connecting with the back of his knee.
Luke felt the force of her kick but managed to whirl around, taking her legs out from under her. With a quick movement, she landed on her back on the mat and he moved over her. With a grin, he subdued her easily.
Her eyes widened as she sputtered, “That’s not karate!”
“I use MCMAP,” he said, his body lying on top of hers, his hands securing hers to the sides of her head. Seeing her confusion, he explained, “Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Bart taught me the moves. I already knew karate, but he showed me what the Marines use.”
Her eyes twinkled as she acknowledged the benefits of the fighting techniques. “Will you teach me?”
Luke saw her mouth move and knew she spoke words but, at the moment, had no idea what she was saying. Her breath came in pants, her breasts pressing against his chest. Her eyes no longer just hazel but flecked with bits of green. All the blood in his body rushed south and his erection lay nestled at the apex of her legs. Her mouth, moist and plump. Just waiting to be—
Before he had a chance to back away, Charlie leaned the scant distance upward and molded her lips to his. Not needing any more encouragement, Luke took over the kiss. Her lips were soft and pliant, opening slightly as he angled his face to the side for better access. Slipping his tongue inside her warmth, he explored leisurely at first and then, with only the touch of her tongue against his, the kiss exploded into a tangle.
A sliver of reason crept into his consciousness and he pulled back slightly. She felt the millimeter of distance and refused to allow him to let his honor keep them apart. Bucking her hips, she caught him off guard and dislodged his body enough to heave him to the side, rolling them so that she was on top.
“You’re pulling away,” she accused. “Why?”
Her hair hung around him like a silken curtain, the scent filling his nostrils. Closing his eyes for a moment, he willed himself not to give in to the urges coursing through his veins. “I told you last night that I wouldn’t take advantage of you.”
Her eyes narrowed in frustration as she leaned down further into his space, her hands gripping his shoulders. “You listen to me, Luke Costas. Do not dare treat me as though I’m some fragile woman who can’t be responsible for making her own decisions. Don’t treat me as though I don’t know exactly what I’m doing. I’ve wanted you for months, until it was the only thing I could think about. And now…now I have you right where I want you and I’ll be damned if you push me away because of a misplaced sense of honor.”
Straddling his hips, she felt his thick cock against her aching core. With her hands still in his, she now pressed him down and lowered her head again. “Not letting you stop,” she muttered as her mouth slammed back onto his.
The kiss flamed white-hot once more and she let go of his hands to grasp his face, feeling the rough stubble underneath her fingertips.
Luke, tired of fighting the desire to claim her as his own, circled her body with his arms, pulling her tighter against him. One hand slid down to cup her ass, his fingers molding the firm flesh while he pressed upward against her heated core. The other hand moved up from her waist to the side under her arm, his thumb caressing the underside of her breast.
With a quick, unexpected roll, lips still attached, she was once more underneath him. She grabbed the bottom of his shirt at the same time he reached for hers. Grinning, he moved up to now straddle her hips and pulled his sweat-damp t-shirt off in one fluid movement, tossing it to the side. He slid his hands underneath the bottom of hers and began working it upward until it caught on her breasts.
Watching her carefully, he asked her permission with just her name. “Charlie?”
“Yes,” she panted, helping him to pull her t-shirt over her head.
He looked down at her white bra, simple and unadorned, and yet her breasts spilled over the tops creating a scene worthy of a Victoria Secret model. His breath caught in his throat as he watched her unsnap the front closure and the cups separated enough to expose her pretty breasts crowned with dusty pink nipples, hard and ripe.
His swollen cock was raring to play, but he wanted to savor every moment. Shifting back on her legs, he hooked his fingers into the elastic top of her black yoga pants and shimmied them down her legs, catching her panties along the way. In a few seconds, she was completely naked, spread out on his exercise mat, her body illuminated from every angle with the bright lights.
He skimmed his hands over her, from her shoulders to her breasts, kneading the flesh before rolling her nipples between his fingers. She arched her back, pressing her breasts further into his hands, as well as her core against his erection.
Bending down, he sucked one nipple deep into his mouth, eliciting a moan from her parted lips. Moving between breasts, he made sure to give equal attention. His beard scraped her tender skin, leaving a trail of pink as his mouth made its way down over her stomach. Circling around her belly button, he eyed her as she jerked and gasped.
“I’m tick
lish,” she protested, trying to push his head away from her sensitive tummy.
“Then I’ll have to find somewhere else to kiss,” he murmured against her flesh as he moved down between her legs. Carefully sliding down her body, he kissed her stomach again before continuing his trail of kisses down to her slick folds. Licking her wetness, he pulled her folds apart to allow his tongue deeper access. God, I love the taste of her.
As his tongue plunged in and out of her sex, he reached up with one hand to fondle her breasts. Her hips rotated upwards, pushing into his face.
She could feel the delicious pressure building in her core, smell the scent of sex in the air, desperately needing her release. Turning her head to the side, she watched their lovemaking in the wall of mirrors. Instead of feeling embarrassed, she was turned on…more than she could have ever imagined.
He moved his mouth up towards her swollen clit, sucking it into his mouth, allowing his tongue to swirl around it. At the same time, he pinched her nipple and felt her convulse against his face.
Her hips bucked as she begged for more. He added a finger deep into her channel and she exploded as waves of bliss pounded over and over. Throwing her head back against the floor, she allowed the sensations to carry her away. Away to a place where there was no running, no fear, no worry.
Luke watched her face carefully as the pleasure washed over, grateful to have been able to take her there.
Charlie slowly opened her eyes, smiling down at him. Raising her hands, she beckoned him, needing to feel his body on hers.
He moved back up her body and carefully lowered his hips between her legs, positioning his dick at her opening after grabbing a condom from his wallet. God, I hope this condom isn’t too old. Sliding his hand between them he guided himself in and with one thrust was fully seated. “Charlie, I want you to feel every inch,” he whispered.
Discover Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 10