by Tracy Ellen
He spoke with bluff heartiness, “Why, it’s the beautiful Anabel. Don’t be shy and hide back there. Here, sit down next to me. Heard you girls got yourselves into a spot of trouble tonight?”
His attitude set my teeth on edge. I always expected Sam to be wearing a bow tie and suspenders to match his projected air of pompous superiority. He was three years younger than me, but by his jocular tone you’d think he was my grandpa. He was the last asswipe I wanted to be around tonight.
“Well, Sam Sheedy, we girls didn’t “get” ourselves into anything. If you’re referring to the attempt at vehicular homicide by a murdering serial rapist attacking us for insane reasons we may never understand, then the answer is yes- that did happen tonight.” I smiled grimly and politely excused myself. “I’m going to make something to drink in the kitchen.”
I turned around and decided to go use the facilities first. My ponytail could probably use a redo, as well. I was back to fiercely calling Luke names. I timed them to my footsteps down the short hallway off the living room leading to the first floor bathroom.
‘Idiothole, assclown, bitchtard, fuckblossom…No, that one was too nice...duckfucker, dicklicker. Oh yeah, Mr. Manly would hate that one!’
I said it aloud for my own cheering up entertainment, “Luke Drake is a duckfucking dicklicker.” Happy with the result, I said it again louder, “Yes, it is true. Secret Agent Luke Drake is a big, fat, lying DICKLICKER.”
The bathroom door abruptly swung inward at the same time I was knocking to see if it was occupied. I stumbled into the room and threw my hands out to keep from falling. They landed against a hard chest. I looked up. The word DICKLICKER died on my lips as I stared up into puzzled, but amused bottle-green eyes.
Chapter XV
“Brighter Than the Sun” by Colbie Caillat
Saturday, 11/17/12
11:07 PM
I know the least I can about quantum physics and theories, but even I couldn’t help knowing a body can’t be in two places at one time in the Northfield area. To be absolutely sure Luke could not accomplish the feat, I’d verify with Crookie tomorrow what the advances were in this field. In the meantime, my heart was singing and I was doing back flips down the hallway- in my head, of course.
My life was again blazing in Technicolor brightness. I needed sunglasses to keep staring at Luke and not be blinded by my reflected exuberance that he wasn’t The Betrayer 2.0.
Luke had stepped back into the bathroom. He was leaning against the vanity with his arms crossed on his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles. He no longer looked tired and rumpled, or amused. He lounged back with a glint in his eye.
He reminded me of a sleek panther ready to pounce, but in his own good time after he’d played with his prey. I could easily imagine his tail snapping lazily back and forth as he contemplated me. He had changed clothes from earlier today and was wearing a long-sleeved, black shirt and jeans. The T-shirt was pushed up his forearms and fit close on his chest. With his arms and legs crossed over pulling his clothes taut, I was admiring his ripped body. Maybe he wouldn’t wait too long to attack.
Luke was giving me the dark once over I was becoming used to that signaled he was not happy with me. The one where his black eyebrows met, and there was a crease in his forehead, and his eyes glittered, and his sensuous mouth got that slightly cruel twist. The fingers on his right hand were drumming where they rested on his upper arm, a sure sign he was in think mode. I love it when he goes into think mode.
In an idly musing tone, Luke spoke first. “I have not the remotest clue why you’re calling me a…duckplucking dicklicker, was it?” He glared down at me. “Aside from that, I didn’t think it could be possible, but I’m even unhappier with you now then I was this afternoon.”
His last comment broke the spell of my lustful meanderings. I nodded in fervent agreement. “Ha! You’re telling me! Why, I positively hated you until one second ago, you disgusting creep. It was duckFUcking, not plucking. Now, come with me.”
I took hold of Luke’s hand. I forcibly pulled him with me, waving off his glowering “What the hell!” expletive.
Instead, I laughed at his irritated expression. He wasn’t done reaming me for not calling him about The Hammer. Well, he would just have to wait before he got to exact his pound of flesh and I got the fun job of soothing his savage beast.
“Quit bellyaching and come with me. There are a couple of people you absolutely have to meet.” I skipped down the hallway with him in tow, urging him to hurry.
“Bellyaching?” Luke repeated ominously. Curious, he allowed me to pull him along, but squeezed my hand in warning that I was pushing it.
Squeezing his hand right back, I grinned at him over my shoulder. Then I couldn’t resist stopping to reach up and kiss those delicious lips of his. I pulled back and lightly stroked my fingertips up and down his lean, bearded cheek. I took in his black scowl.
“You, my big, pissed-off, tail snapping, black panther of a sweet, little kitty cat are so unbelievably cute!”
Taking advantage of Luke’s stunned silence while he processed my latest endearments; I peeked around the corner into the dining area.
I called an urgent “come here” to Jaz and Tre J.
All the men turned to watch as the girls hurriedly worked their way towards me around the crowded table. Their two faces were wearing similar questioning looks at my excited, laughing tone. I was grinning from ear to ear and probably looked loony, but I didn’t care.
‘This was going to be so good!’
I waved to the room at large. “We’ll be right back.” I then whispered, “Female stuff.”
Predictably, six of the men immediately put their heads down at those words. They all suddenly felt the pressing need to study their cards carefully. Except for my brother, but he was used to female stuff and weird behavior from his sisters. He only cared the girls didn’t block his view of the TV for too long.
The other exception was Jazy’s friend with the long braid. I was surprised to notice he was slowly scrutinizing me over his cards. When he caught my eye, the man lazily leaned back in his chair and lit a thin cigar. Each slow draw hollowed out his cheeks and accented his strong, prominent bone structure. As he puffed, eyes black as midnight met mine with an inscrutable stare. He didn’t do anything overt, yet I felt as if I was being measured or evaluated. He looked down at his cards, but I had the impression he was smiling slightly even though his face hadn’t changed expression. Not that his face had an expression to begin with.
‘Okay then, strike very attractive. He was gorgeous. Jazy better watch her step with this one or she’ll be the filly learning new tricks for a change.’
Luke was standing impatiently behind me out of sight in the dim hallway. When he went to move, I forgot all about Jazy’s potential problems to give his arm another yank.
I hissed on a laugh, “Please, will you stay put for just one blasted minute?”
Luke was literally growling when my sister and friend rounded the doorway.
Tre was first in the hallway. “What’s up, Bel?”
I didn’t answer immediately, but switched on the overhead hall light.
I stepped aside with a flourish. “Jazy and Tre J, meet Luke Drake!”
I chuckled at Jazy’s immediate frown of confusion and Tre J’s tentative glance of puzzled confusion. I turned to Luke and saw his polite, wary confusion.
“Luke, meet my little sister, Jazy and our good friend, Tre J.”
They did the “Heys” and “Hellos” while I rubbed my hands together.
“So Jazy, does Luke look familiar to you? Have you seen him around town before? Perhaps sitting around somewhere, hmm?”
My sister started chuckling. “No, Bel. I can honestly say that I have never seen this man before in my life.”
Tre J threw me a questioning widening of the eyes. At my smiling nod of affirmation, her confusion cleared. She was soon laughing as hard as Jazy.
Luke stood silently. He cool
ly observed the women introduced to him laughing like hyenas for no discernible reason. It wasn’t very courteous they were laughing at him, but he’d understand why soon enough. It was minor suffering compared to the amount of misery he had caused me for twenty-three minutes and forty-two seconds.
Jazy got control and casually said, “Nice to meet you. I feel like I know you already.”
Beside her, Tre J choked on her breath. Luke shot her a concerned glance before looking back at Jazy and nodding a curt greeting.
All business now, my sister gave him a quick appraisal. “So, have you boys been playing poker long tonight? Or did you just get here, after slipping in through the patio door and you can’t really say what time they started?”
I had no trouble deciphering Luke’s glance my way. He thought my sister and her questions were odd. He knew something was overall odd. I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face.
He was leery of answering the openly skeptical Jazy. His already creased brow lowered more when Tre J took a protective step nearer to me at his hesitation in answering.
“I’ve been here since about seven tonight.” With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he added dryly, “Through the front door.”
The girls visibly relaxed. Jazy disappeared back around the corner without another word. I had no doubt she was off to corroborate his story.
I patted Luke’s arm. “Of course you used the front door. Do you have a gun on you, Luke?”
At this non sequitur, Luke was finished cooperating. He put his arm around my waist and spoke to my friend, “Tre J was it?”
At Tre’s wide, brilliant smile Luke paused, struck. He was taking in her Junoesque stature and Mount Olympus beauty. Being one determined and focused man, he resolutely shook it off. “It was…nice meeting you, but would you excuse Anabel and me?”
Without waiting for her answer, he led me back down the hallway the way we’d come.
Over my shoulder I called to Tre, “Goodbye, I’ll be with Luke Drake!”
Before returning to join the others, my tall guardian suspiciously watched Luke marching me away. “You scream if you need me.”
I laughed as Luke muttered, “Christ.”
He opened the door across from the bathroom. He swore when it proved to be a small room impossibly jammed full of boxes and tools.
He pulled me over to the last door and impatiently threw it open. Before this door bounced back off an obstruction and slammed shut in his face, we caught a glimpse of another disorganized room. It was full of random exercise equipment and more boxes. All the boxes were wedged tightly around a pool table heaped high with sporting equipment.
Luke blinked twice at the closed door two inches in front of his face. He had caught a tantalizing vision of a treasure trove. Then he was right back on point and demanding irritably, “What is wrong with your brother? Does he have any rooms that aren’t stuffed with crap?”
He was heading for the bathroom door again and I protested through my laughter, “Wait! Please, not the bathroom again! Not in my brother’s house.”
Without a word, Luke suddenly turned and kissed me.
There was no soft, leading up kisses and no tenderness. The kiss was explosive and white-hot, and exactly what I needed.
In response to his powerful onslaught, I threw my arms around him. I met his hungry mouth with all the tempestuous emotions I’d kept inside all evening. Somewhere in our impassioned kissing, I was aware of his hands grasping my ass and hiking my body up higher against him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on tight for the ride. This was a dangerous, pushed out of control Luke letting go. He didn’t give a damn about anything but showing me a thing or two. I thrilled at this side of him, and then I went up in flames and let him consume me.
I don’t know how many minutes he kissed me, and then swore at me in a fierce undertone for driving him crazy. Then he roughly caressed me, all while threatening me with extreme punishments for being in danger. Then he rocked against me with such raw aggression that our wildness caused my head to bang back loudly against the hallway wall.
The thumping sound of my head smacking the wall caused a millisecond of clarity. I remembered we were in an open hallway with ten, noisy people around the corner.
The pain in the back of my head reminded me that I’d lost my mind. Unless I wanted ten curious people seeing me with my pink flouncy top twisted up around my neck and my pink lace bra cups pulled down to fully expose my breasts, I’d better stop Luke before I was stripped naked and done against the wall. I was regretful only my head was getting banged, but I was not into extreme exhibitionism; or at least not when I was lucid.
I was also not into denial and I wanted to be horizontal. I softly kissed the top of Luke’s bent head.
“I asked if you had a gun so we can go somewhere for privacy, but we could shoot The Hammer if he pops up.”
Luke’s mouth was on my shoulder and working his way down. It wasn’t easy to stop his determined hands while being pinned on the wall like a butterfly with his body as the large, hard pushpin.
I felt his tenseness when he slowly returned to reality at my words. He reluctantly let his hands slide off my breasts to hold my hips. He watched my hands with heavy-lidded eyes as I wiggled into my bra and pulled my shirt back down.
His eyes closed briefly while he rubbed his jaw with one hand. After a moment, his eyes opened and he smiled wryly. “Okay, I’m listening. I understood some of what you said, except the hammer popping part.”
Unwrapping myself slowly from around his waist, I let my legs slide to the floor. I nudged him slightly away from me, so I could stand on my own two shaky legs.
“The Hammer is the rapist who tried to kill us tonight. Since I shot at him, Jack took my gun as evidence.”
Luke’s fingers smoothed escaped strands of my hair back behind my ears. I sighed as one curling length sprang right back again into my eyes. I had to be a mess after the last couple of hours.
His touch was gentle, but I had reminded him of my evening’s adventures. He laughed shortly. “Yeah, I’ve been waiting to hear from you about this guy since Reg told me earlier tonight. The Hammer, huh?” He shook his head and repeated, “Christ.”
Curious how he’d respond, I was breezy. “Let’s go to your house right now and get your gun. I can tell you there all about what happened tonight.”
“Oh, we don’t need to go to my house. I always carry my weapon with me. The job, you know.” Luke shrugged insouciantly. His voice didn’t betray one flicker of hesitation in answering, the little devil.
“Do you have two guns with you?”
“No, but I can get you a weapon tomorrow.” He put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer. “Don’t you think I can protect you tonight?”
Okay, he was a big devil. “Hmm, weren’t you telling me it’s better to be prepared?” I gave him my best beguiling smile and ran my hand up his arm. I softly traced and massaged his biceps. I was fascinated by this man’s muscles, so that was no hardship. “You only live right across the road,” I lowered my voice, “and we want to be alone, right? I do need a gun, too. Doesn’t it seem like a perfect idea to go to your house?” I caressed his other arm. “You don’t want me defenseless, do you?”
Restlessly tapping a finger against the wall above me, Luke wouldn’t meet my eyes. He was looking down the hallway with a harried air. “Of course, I don’t want you defenseless, but I think…”
The look of intense relief on his face when his cell phone buzzed was so damn funny, I had to cover my smile.
Luke took a step away to talk, but I could hear the sound of a deep, strident voice that reminded me of Jack Banner’s. I didn’t even bother pretending I wasn’t all ears, not that it was worth it. The one-sided conversation lasted a few minutes, but Luke was mostly silent on his end.
Luke mainly listened for the first minute and then quietly said, “Yeah, it’s covered for tonight. By early morning it will be full on.”
He listened a
gain, this time for much longer. He glanced my way and met my eyes, but his expression was closed and revealed nothing.
Into the phone, he snorted a humorless laugh. “You have got to be shitting me? No, this is the first I’ve heard of that.” He listened even longer, and then ended the call with, “Not a problem, I should be thanking you. I totally agree. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”
After the call, Luke was staring off and scowling, deep in his own thoughts.
I tried for nonchalance when I asked, “Everything okay? Do you have to leave tonight?”
It was obvious he wasn’t thrilled with the news he’d just heard. It was also obvious he was choosing his words when he focused on me and answered only the second question.
“I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
I only cared he’d be around. It didn’t matter right now about his ongoing secrecy concerning anything job related. Normally, I’d have figured out the details of a person’s job that seemed so top secret, hush-hush long before now. Something strange was happening to me. As our relationship grew deeper, it was now a matter of pride I didn’t do an end run to know Luke’s private business. I certainly don’t want unsolicited interference in my business. Sometimes, I get cranky over my stupidly inconvenient sense of fair play, but I have to offer him the same respect. The strange part for me is that I want him to tell me what he can, when he can because he trusts me, and not due to me playing Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps I need Dr. Watson to examine my sore head.
I smiled slowly. “I’m so happy to hear that. I’ll get my purse and we can go over to your house.”
‘Hey, I never said I have a sense of fair play about everything!’
I started walking up the hallway after this gauntlet. I wanted Luke to voluntarily tell me about the man at his house with Candy, and not be so evasive about absolutely everything. He had done a great job of avoiding, but I was still feeling somewhat battered from the surge of earlier negative emotions from my past, and from believing Luke was a total, cousin-humping loser.