by Jordan Marie
“It does make me… happy, Luka,” she whispers, her tongue flicking into my navel. She begins working on my belt, unlatching it along with my pants. I take the belt from her, being careful with the gun and holster, and place them on the chair beside me. “And I can’t lie,” she whispers, pulling my pants down easily. “I do like the path it takes me on.”
She says those words in her soft voice just as her hand wraps around my cock again. I should stop her. Essentially, my ass is hanging out for anyone that passes the shop to see. Main Street isn’t really busy in our town at this time of night, but that doesn’t mean it’s deserted either.
“Lo’, I don’t think this is a good idea,” I warn her.
“I really like that you still go commando,” she says, her eyes glued to my dick as she strokes it tightly in her fist. Maybe she didn’t hear me. Hell, right now, I’m not sure I care.
“Lo’, honey, right now that means my ass is on display to anyone passing down the street.”
The word “street” comes out as a growl because Petal chooses that moment to drag her tongue up the side of my cock. She twirls her tongue on the head, gathering up my pre-cum which is covering not only the head, but running down the sides. Shit. I can’t help but watch as she gathers it on her tongue. I may come just like this.
“Do you want me to stop?” she asks before sliding that fucking mouth of hers down on my shaft and taking me all the way to the back of her throat. She comes off of me so slowly that I can literally feel each jerk of my cock against her tongue. She releases me with a loud pop of a sound and looks up at me, begging me to say no.
Her hair is mussed around her flushed face, her lips are wet and swollen from what we’ve done, and I can see a little of my pre-cum on her chin. Her breasts are bare to me, the nipples hardened and pointing up toward me. Every fucking fantasy I’ve ever had. That’s Petal.
“Finish me, Lo’,” I growl, and the joy that spreads over her face is my reward. I close my eyes and lose myself in my woman. I tangle my fingers deeper in her hair and fuck her mouth with a hunger and a need I’ve kept hidden for years.
When I shoot her mouth full of my cum—so fucking full that it leaks from her mouth and drips back down the shaft that she’s still eagerly sucking—it’s her name I cry out. As I watch my cum drip down onto her breasts, I vow that whatever I do, I will find a way to put my family back together.
I don’t care what I have to do; it’s happening. Our families can go to hell. The only ones that matter are me, Petal and River.
Which is ironic, since if I had been watching out the front window, I might have seen disaster approaching us way before it arrived. I was occupied, however—delightfully so—and I didn’t notice the person standing in front of the door taking in the show Petal and I were unknowingly providing. I didn’t see the anger on their face and I didn’t see them walk away.
Thankfully I saw none of that. I only saw the woman I love.
25
Petal
“I told you I don’t want River at that man’s house! You know that, Luka!” I yell, feeling desperation circle in on me.
“That man is my father, Lo’! He has a right to spend time with his only grandchild!” Luka growls back at me.
He doesn’t understand. He thinks I’m being unreasonable. He doesn’t have any idea what a bastard his father is. The thought of that man around my child chills me to the bone. The few times I’ve had to be in a room with him have been hard enough.
Maybe I am being unreasonable. I don’t have proof exactly that he did anything to my mom. She refuses to even discuss it, but just from the man’s comments, I know something happened. I have a feeling deep inside of me that tells me whatever it was, it wasn’t good. I know that’s what is behind my mom’s resentment of Luka.
I haven’t pushed it further. How can I? What if I’m right? If I find out that my father-in-law in fact raped my mother…
Just the thought causes bile to rise up in my throat. I can’t allow that man to be alone with my son—or to be around my son at all. I can’t let a monster have any influence over my child.
“He has zero right when it comes to River,” I tell Luka, but I’m mostly speaking the thought aloud to remind myself. I turn away from Luka to grab my jacket off the side of the couch.
“Where are you going?” Luka questions, clearly exasperated with me.
“I’m going to go get my son,” I tell him, turning to head for the door. My hand is on the knob about ready to turn it when Luka says something that hurts me deeper than anything we’ve said to each other to date.
“Will you quit being stupid, Petal? I swear, I can’t stand it when you act like an immature brat just because you don’t get your way.”
“Luka,” I start. Having him call me stupid feels like he’s carving my heart out of my chest. I want to tell him to stop, to let him know how much he just hurt me, but he doesn’t let me say anything. He has no interest in what I have to say. I’m starting to wonder if he’s listened to anything I’ve said to him since the day he found out I lied.
“I’ve had enough of this shit. River is staying with my father tonight and that’s it.”
“That’s not it. I forbid it,” I state, standing up to Luka like I never have before.
“You don’t have a say. Short of a court order that says he can’t, then nothing can stop a grandparent from spending time with their grandchild—especially when a parent agrees.”
“Luka—”
“And last time I checked, I was still River’s father, Petal.”
“So, nothing I say matters? You don’t care how I feel? I’ve tried and tried to talk to you about your father!”
“You’ve always had it out for my father. I know he can be harsh—”
“Harsh? He’s a monster, Luka.”
“Quit exaggerating Petal. I’m not listening to this anymore.
“Then I want a divorce,” I whisper, the words out before I know it. The words being torn from my very soul.
The words that would change my life forever…
Present:
“Hey, honey,” Luka says into the phone.
I get tingly all over. I swear his voice—all slumbered and soft—makes my toes curl. We’ve been kind of together now for three months.
Kind of together…
Crap. I don’t know what you call it. I’d say sleeping together, but not much sleep has been going on. I’d say having sex, but there’s actually been very little insert-penis-inside-the-hole type of sex. Lots of oral sex, and definitely loads of foreplay, but except for that first night…
It’s been great yet frustrating at the same time. If we don’t go all the way again—and soon—I may lose my mind.
“Hey,” I answer softly, curling into my pillow.
“Did you make it there okay?”
“Yeah, I got in around three.”
“I hate that I couldn’t take you.” Luka sighs, and I have to agree with him. The owner of the salon asked me to attend a tradeshow in Dallas with her. It’s spotlighting the hottest designs and trends in our industry and some of the newest equipment on the market. I didn’t really want to go. I hate the idea of being away from River. He’s getting sick, and I hate not being close to him.
I can’t lie either. I hate being away from Luka, too. Being away from him might give him time to think twice about whatever we’re doing together. He might decide to end it if I’m not there reminding him why he shouldn’t—and I think that might kill me.
I’m not sure what we’re doing together or where it might go, but somewhere in the back of my head, I’m praying a miracle happens and I finally get the life I’ve always wanted with Luka. I know we still have the world between us, but we’re older now. We’re wiser too, and surely there has to be a way to make it all work out.
I know I’m probably fooling myself, but I have to believe it. I have to.
“I hate it, too.” I grin into the phone. “But if you had, we probably wouldn’t
have made it here,” I add, only half joking.
“What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying. I’m saying flat-out that we would have still been in the bathroom of the service station I filled my car up at,” I say with a laugh.
“You didn’t complain last time we played in a bathroom,” he murmurs. His voice is dropping down a notch and making me feel all warm and soft.
“That’s because the last time we played in a bathroom, it was at Legions,” I tell him, naming the local steakhouse just outside of Mason.
“I thought you liked Legions?” Luka asks innocently.
“I do, but their bathrooms are clean. Gas station restrooms, not so much.”
“I bet I could have made you like it.”
“Probably.” I’m not even bothering to deny it.
“I miss you baby,” he whispers, and maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think he’s smiling.
“I miss you, too.”
“Hurry home soon.”
I want to ask him what would happen if I moved in his house when I got back. I want to ask him what we’re doing here, or how much longer it will last. I have so many questions, but I’m terrified to ask any of them.
“I will,” I answer lamely—refusing to give voice to all my other questions.
“When you get back, we need to… Shit, honey. Hold on a second. My beeper is going off.”
“Okay.” I’m instantly worried. Luka might only be the sheriff in a small town, but that can still be dangerous, and having his beeper go off this close to midnight is never a good thing. I wait in silence for him to come back to the phone, and I wonder exactly what he started to say. Is he tired of keeping our relationship quiet, too? Is he ready to risk more?
“I’m sorry, honey. I have to go.”
“What’s going on?”
“Shots fired out on Paradise Road. Tani sent Ronald out, but he’s not checked in.”
“Shit. Luka, I don’t…”
“I’m taking backup with me, honey. Don’t worry.”
“What about River? Do you need me to get one of—”
“Nah, honey. I’ll call Mom. She can be here in five minutes. I’ve got this. Honest.”
“Will you be careful, please?”
“I’m always careful, Lo’,” he answers, and I can hear him rummaging around in the background, already getting dressed.
“Be extra careful. I couldn’t handle it if anything happened to you, Luka.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise. Though I have to admit, I like having you worry about me again,” he adds quietly.
“I’ve never stopped worrying about you, Luka.”
“That sounds serious.”
“I care about you. I always have,” I tell him, tapping down my nerves.
“Care? Could there be more than just ‘care’ involved here, Petal? Because care doesn’t come close to summing up how I feel about you,” Luka says, and heat rushes through me like the force of a knife in my stomach. Could he be saying what I think he is?
I could play it cool here. That might be the wiser choice. I’ve made so many mistakes with Luka, and somehow I think playing it safe would be another one. I’m tired of games. What does it matter if I give him the words? Nothing is going to change. If I lose him now with or without the words, I will still be devastated.
“I love you, Luka,” I tell him, the words rushing out in a panic before I lose my nerve.
“Jesus Christ, woman, you have bad timing,” he growls.
There’s a moment of disappointment that he didn’t give the words back. Still, I’m a big girl. If he doesn’t feel the same, it is better to know now.
I just need to convince myself of that before I cry.
“I’m sorry. I mean, you don’t have to say anything. Nothing has to change. I mean, it doesn’t have to mean anything even. I probably—”
“It means everything, Lo’. I’ve needed those words from you for years. It’s just now that you’ve given them to me, I can’t touch you, and I have to go.”
That’s not an “I love you” in return, but there’s emotion there. He wants me to love him. That has to mean something.
Doesn’t it?
“Okay, then. We’ll talk when you get back, yeah?” Luka asks, and I fight through all the emotions I’m feeling to answer him.
“Sounds good.”
“Shit, Lo’, honey, I have to go. Someone is knocking on the door.”
“Who would be knocking this late?”
“It’s probably Mom. I sent her a text when Tani called. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Okay, sweetheart?”
“Promise you will be careful.”
“You can count on it. Especially now,” he adds.
He hangs up with those words, and I’m left lying here in the dark wishing he could have said he loves me, too.
26
Luka
“What do you mean she agreed to everything?” I growl.
I demanded things I never should have, hoping like hell Petal would fight the divorce. There’s no way she should have agreed to any of it. In the deal my lawyer just gave me, I keep possession of the house, my retirement account, the furniture, our personal savings account, and both vehicles. All of it. In addition, I will keep River one week, and she will keep him the next. It’s shared custody in the most basic sense. She literally walks away from our marriage with nothing. Who would agree to that?
But the part I truly don’t understand is that I made the demand that she keep my last name. It’s a ridiculous request, and probably one of the first times it’s ever been asked. I’ve basically demanded something she should get pissed I even bring up. It’s also against one of the main requests she had. Initially, she asked the court to restore her maiden name. I thought for sure she would fight me on some of these—if not all. Does she want rid of me so much that she’s willing to give me everything?
“Just what I said: she gave into every demand without a word.”
“I won’t agree to it!” I growl, throwing the papers across the conference table.
“Luka, you’re the one who made the demands,” he points out.
I’d like to introduce my fist to his face. “I know that, Tom! But, I only did it to delay the divorce. If she fights things, then there’s still time.”
“Time for what? She filed for divorce, Luka. She moved out. She’s given in to ridiculous demands—all to go through with the divorce quickly. Through it all, she’s only asked for one thing. I know you’re trying to hold onto the marriage, but I’ve got to tell you, buddy: she’s going to get her divorce, and you’d be insane not to take this offer and run away with it.”
“Wait. What did she ask for?”
“What?”
“You said she asked for one thing. What was it?”
“She demands that your father only have supervised visitation with your son. She requests that you or your mother always be present during his visits.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“Afraid not, and I know that’s not going to make you happy, but…”
“But what? That’s insane!”
“If I were you, I’d agree to it. I know your father is pretty powerful here in town, but you’re getting everything here, and let’s face it, Luka...”
“Tom—”
“Your father wants nothing to do with River. You’ve said that yourself time and time again. Take the deal and run, buddy.”
Over the last few months Petal has become more and more insistent about keeping River away from my father. I’ve tried to work it out and talk about it. I know there is so much animosity between the two of them that Dad hasn’t bothered to hide it—even in front of River. I thought that was all that was involved.
Yet, I’ve also seen my father changing lately. His ambition is taking over everything he does. He became unhinged after losing his bid for Congress. He blames Petal because I didn’t go into the FBI. Somehow in his brain, having a son in the FB
I meant he would get elected easily.
I’m tired of getting caught in between both of them, but I never thought, even with everything going on it would end in a divorce. I love Petal.
“I don’t want a divorce, Tom.”
“You’re going to get one, buddy.”
Fuck.
Present:
“Just a minute!” I yell out, securing my gun and holster as I walk toward the door. I open it, not really looking at who is standing there and assuming it’s my mother. That’s my first mistake, apparently.
“We need to talk,” my father says, and I immediately jerk my head around to look at him.
I don’t feel much for my father. Our relationship has always been a little strained, but after Petal, it just got worse. When I look at him now, it is with surprise, but also disbelief. His suit is disheveled to say the least. There’s a red stain on his white shirt. I venture to say it’s lipstick. It looks as if he hasn’t shaved in a couple days, at least. I can’t smell the alcohol, but I have to wonder if he’s been drinking. Shit! This is the last thing I need tonight.
“What are you doing here?” I growl, rubbing the back of my neck in frustration.
“I’m here to see you,” my father answers, pushing his way inside.
“Dad, I’m in a hurry here.”
“Where are you going? To meet that little cunt again? Jesus, have I taught you nothing, Luka boy?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You’ve been using that Lucas pussy to wet your dick again.”
I don’t think; I just punch him on instinct. He goes down instantly, staggering against the sofa.
“You don’t talk about Petal like that, you sorry son of a bitch!” I warn him.
He stays where he’s at, rubbing the side of his face. I feel a little bit of vindication when I see his bottom lip is split and I can see blood.
“Is this what we’ve come to? You’re picking that—?”