by Mandy Baxter
“What about my underwear?”
The smile in her voice put him at ease. “Sorry, but those are mine. The spoils of war.”
“You just want to think about me sitting across from you at dinner with nothing on under my skirt.”
Her husky tone stirred his cock. Down, boy. There’d be time for an encore later. Right now, he needed to salvage this evening and try to restrain himself long enough to get her fed. “True. And so you know, I’m planning to get dessert to go. Something with hot fudge. I’m going to lick it off you later.”
Kayleigh stood up straight and her gaze warmed as it caught his in the mirror. She pulled the elastic band from her hair and smoothed out her ponytail. “That sounds like a great end to a perfect day.”
Perfect.
***
Luke returned to the table first, giving Kayleigh a quick peck on the cheek before ducking out. Only Luke Blackwell could get her to do something as brazen and reckless as fucking in a restaurant bathroom. But oh, god, it was worth every bit of the embarrassment she’d feel as she took the walk of shame back into the dining area. Which … surprisingly, wasn’t very embarrassing at all.
Was it a sign of how completely under his spell she was that she didn’t give a damn what anyone thought about their long absence from their table?
As though he’d sensed her presence, Luke turned in his seat. His smile was more brilliant than the sun, displaying so much tender emotion that Kayleigh’s heart stuttered in her chest. “What?” she asked with a grin as she sat down. Luke’s gaze smoldered, raking over her in a way that made her feel devoured.
“You look so good, I want to bend you over this table.”
Kayleigh giggled and tapped the white tablecloth. “This table?”
“Right here. Right now.”
She slipped off her shoe and rested her foot in Luke’s lap, stroking the length of his erection that was still hard enough to press tight against the denim. He sunk low into his seat in order to spread his legs wider and slung an arm casually over the chair. “Maybe not on top of the table …” she said with a sly smile. “But I can think of a few things I can do under it.”
Their waiter stepped up to them and cleared his throat. Without even giving him an opportunity to speak, Luke said, “Two of whatever the special is tonight and two molten lava cakes. With a side of hot fudge. To go. And a two-hundred-dollar tip if you can get the chef to put a rush on it.”
Kayleigh couldn’t help her seductive laugh as the waiter beelined it for the kitchen. “Impatient, Mr. Blackwell?”
“Baby, I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d take you right here and now on top of this table.”
So. Freaking. Hot.
Luke’s expression fell, his lips forming a thin, hard line. His eyes sparked with angry fire and Kayleigh turned around to see what had soured his mood so quickly. Not what. Who.
Spencer.
The past two days had been like a dream. A roller coaster of emotions and a visit to her past that had virtually erased the rest of the world. Despite the impetuousness of his decision to propose to her even though they’d been seeing each other for only a couple of months, Kayleigh had failed to acknowledge how Spencer might be feeling amidst all of this. And seeing her out with Luke—his perceived reason for their breakup—was no doubt going to be like a shot of bourbon on an open wound.
“It’s not taking you long to make the rounds, Blackwell,” Spencer said with a sneer. “I guess it doesn’t matter to you that you’re going to leave her in hundreds of shattered pieces when you blow out of here again.”
Kayleigh cringed. Her history with Luke was well-known, as was the way she’d fallen apart the first time he’d left her. And though she didn’t always consider herself a pillar of strength, she was better than what Spencer had just reduced her to. As though she’d simply quit living without Luke in her life.
“Don’t worry about Kayleigh,” Luke drawled. His cocky smile elicited a hateful glare from Spencer. “She’s going to be well taken care of.”
The innuendo didn’t help to cool Spencer down. “You might think you’re hot shit, Blackwell, but I know better.”
Kayleigh’s stomach clenched. The conversation was heading down a dangerous road. One that was sure to ignite Luke’s ire. A superior smirk accented Spencer’s lips. He slapped a glossy page that had been ripped from a magazine down in front of Kayleigh and leaned over her, the pad of his index finger jamming down on the headline: LUCIFER BLACKWELL, DEADBEAT BABY-DADDY? Below the headline read: Riot 59 front man flees to avoid being slapped with a paternity suit.
The words blurred out of focus and Kayleigh swallowed down the lump that rose in her throat. Her jaw hung slack as her eyes met Luke’s. His brows came down sharply over his eyes. “What?”
“Luke …” She could barely push the words past her lips. Didn’t want to believe the picture of Luke shying away from cameras on one side and on the other, an overdone hottie smiling at the camera with smug satisfaction. The thin paper vibrated in her shaking hand as she handed it to him across the table. “Is this true?”
Luke snatched the article from her hand and glanced down at it before bringing his gaze back to hers. His mouth turned down, his jaw squaring. He focused his attention on Spencer and grated the words from between clenched teeth, “You fucker.”
“Spencer, you have every right to be upset. I’m the one who ended our relationship, not Luke.” Guilt ate at her. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t ended things so badly with Spencer, he wouldn’t be here now trying to publically humiliate Luke. “It’s not fair to come over here and use petty gossip to hurt him when it’s me you should be angry at.”
Spencer scoffed. “Petty gossip? If he’s not trying to get out of something, then why has Blackwell missed two court appearances in the past six months? I checked, Kayleigh. The court records are legit.”
She didn’t want to believe Spencer, but the his expression told her just how serious he was. Had she been a fool to fall for Luke’s romantic, tortured artist sensitivity and his bullshit line that he couldn’t live without her? All along he was hiding out from the press and a woman he couldn’t even be responsible enough to practice safe sex with!
“Kayleigh.” Luke’s warning tone told her that he sensed the storm brewing. “You need to let me explain.”
Luke had never lied to her. Not once in all of the years they’d known each other. Even when he left eight years ago, he’d been up-front with her, no sugarcoating whatsoever. But the care he took with his words now made her wonder if Luke was attempting some sort of damage control. Softening the blow so she wouldn’t freak the hell out.
“There’s nothing to explain.” Kayleigh forced her mouth into a complacent smile and kept her tone soft and even. She refused to add to tonight’s spectacle by making a scene.
“Kayleigh, he’s a loser.” With her attention focused solely on Luke and his on her, she’d completely forgotten there was anyone else in the restaurant, let alone standing beside her. “The entire family is trash. He misled you and I can understand how—”
“Who are you calling trash, you piece of shit?”
Luke pushed out his chair with enough force to topple it backward as he stood. His roots and impoverished childhood had always been a sore spot. Spencer knew that and was using it to push Luke’s buttons. Every set of eyes in the place turned toward them and Kayleigh’s heart fluttered in her chest as a wave of anxiety crested over her.
“Luke.” She reached out in an attempt to get him to sit back down, but his temper flared past the point of reason. She’d only seen him this angry one other time, and it had been after a group of kids had scrawled “white trash” across his locker with a sharpie. He’d been thirteen at the time and was suspended from school for a week after giving Ken Malheur a bloody nose over it. Not only was Luke considerably bigger now, but bulkier, his entire body corded with sinewy muscle. He’d pound Spencer into a pulp before anyone could do anything to stop it.
“Luke, don�
�t do this.” Kayleigh pushed her chair out and got between him and Spencer. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You can’t afford any more negative press.”
Eleven
She thought he was worried about some bad fucking press?
Luke trembled with unrestrained rage, his hands curled into tight fists ready to strike out. Yeah, he knew that the story made him look bad, and that fucker Spencer hadn’t exactly helped his case. And the fact that Kayleigh was so quick to believe that son of a bitch was a knife straight through his goddamned heart. Hell, he wasn’t even worried about that fucking tabloid article Spencer had decided to wave in Kayleigh’s face. It was total bullshit anyway and nothing he couldn’t explain given the chance. It was the insult to his family that sent Luke toppling over the edge of reasonable anger management.
He was going to beat that mouthy son of a bitch to a bloody pulp.
Spencer puffed out his chest, real fucking macho with Kayleigh standing between them. “I said you’re trash, Blackwell.” He flashed a superior smirk as he laid a hand on Kayleigh’s shoulder. “I’m just saving her from your bullshit before it’s too late and you take off again.”
Luke glanced down at Spencer’s hand wrapped possessively around Kayleigh and jealous rage flared deep in his chest. “Take your fucking hand off of her before I shatter it.”
“You were a ratty piece of shit when you were a kid and you still are now,” Spencer remarked with disdain. He smoothed his free hand over his silk necktie as though the simple act would proclaim his social grace and standing in the community.
Luke snorted. What a fucking wanker.
Luke met his superior gaze and quirked a half smile. “I sure hope you don’t have any meetings tomorrow, Jackson, because I’m going to beat the fuck out of your face.”
“Luke, stop it.” Kayleigh took a step forward, shrugging off Spencer’s hand. “You’re making this worse than it already is. Just … go back to Ryder’s.”
His eyes narrowed. “So I should just take this asshole’s shit? Turn the other cheek and crawl back to my brother’s house like a fucking pussy?”
“Yes.” Her eyes shone with hurt and Luke looked past her to Spencer’s ugly, smirking mug. He could walk away, for her. They had a lot to talk about, namely that fucking trash mag and the lying fame seeker who’d contacted them. “All right.” He held out his hand and though he’d begun to calm, his breath still raced in his chest. “Let’s get out of here then.”
“No, Luke.” The corners of her mouth tugged down into a frown. “You go back to Ryder’s. Alone. I need …” She rubbed at her temples and sighed. “I need some time to think.”
“Bullshit.” How could she possibly be buying into this crap? “Come on, Kayleigh. This is me. You know I’d never do anything to—”
“She said she doesn’t want to see you!” Spencer pushed his way past her and shoved at Luke’s chest. “So take your low-class, white trash ass out of here and—”
Luke socked the fucker in the nose before he could say another word.
A cannon of gasps from every person in the restaurant was followed by a collective raising of the smartphones. Photos and video clips were no doubt being uploaded en masse to the Internet at the speed of 4G. Fucking great.
Spencer pushed himself up from the floor and took a stumbling step toward Luke. Blood gushed down his face, dripping all over the fancy blue silk tie that he’d been so goddamned proud of.
Luke squared his shoulders, more than ready to knock him flat on his ass again when the sound of a siren howled outside. Shit. Red and blue lights flashed through the wall of picture windows on the north side of the building.
“Let’s see you bullshit your way out of this, asshole.” Spencer snatched Kayleigh’s napkin from the table and pressed it to his nose. “Kayleigh, I’ll be at my place if you want to talk.” He brushed past them both, knocking his shoulder into Luke’s as he passed.
Like the pussy he was, Spencer went straight to the nearest cop to file a complaint. A silent comedy, the little prick provided plenty of entertainment as he pointed and railed, lifting his bloodstained tie to the officer’s gaze as though his swollen nose and bloody face weren’t indicator enough that Luke had assaulted him.
He fixed Kayleigh with an emotionless stare as he turned his chair upright and sat his ass back down. No use in standing around looking foolish while he waited for the cops to slap the cuffs on him. Hopefully Ryder had his checkbook on him and was in a generous mood, because his brother’s prediction that he’d have to bail Luke out of jail had come to fruition.
“I’m not going anywhere, Kayleigh.” One of the officers stepped into his line of sight and cleared his throat. “And I’m not going to let a bunch of lies someone told give you an excuse to push me away.”
“Mr. Blackwell, would you stand up please?”
The cop didn’t sound too happy with him. Whatever. Looked like it was never too late to live up to one’s nickname. He turned his back to the officer and put his hands behind his back. All around him, cell phones continued to snap off shots but he ignored every last one of those voyeuristic assholes. Instead, he kept his gaze locked on Kayleigh.
Silence answered him, as though she couldn’t bring herself to speak. “I’ve never lied to you, baby. Don’t forget that.”
“Luke Blackwell, you’re under arrest for assault …”
The cop’s words were nothing more than inane chatter in the back of Luke’s mind. Who gave a shit about going to jail when a possible future with Kayleigh balanced on a razor’s edge? As he was dragged away, Luke fought to turn. To get just one more eyeful of her. She slumped down in her chair and buried her face in her hands. Goddamned Spencer. Because of his bullshit, Luke might have lost the only thing in this world he gave a shit about.
Oh, who in the hell are you kidding? Luke thought as he was dragged from the restaurant to more eager amateur paparazzi. You have no one to blame for this but yourself.
***
Kayleigh sat in her chair, her skin crawling with the multiple sets of eyes on her, unable to move.
She was too numb for embarrassment. Too stunned for confusion. Much too concerned for Luke to think about her own hurt. The crazy thing was, she did trust him. Even so, by the way he’d spoken to her, Kayleigh knew that no matter how much of the article Spencer had shown her was a lie, somewhere buried inside of it was a kernel of truth.
Did she really want to know how much?
“Um, here are your dinner specials and desserts.” The waiter gingerly set a white plastic bag on the table along with the check. Kayleigh looked up at him, incredulous. Not only had her date been arrested, she was now saddled with more food than she could eat and the bill. Riotous laughter bubbled up Kayleigh’s throat and the waiter looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Tears pooled in her eyes as she fished her credit card from her wallet and plunked it down on the table. The waiter retrieved it like he was reaching into a bowl full of scorpions and another bout of uncontrollable laugher burst from her that quickly turned into painful, wracking sobs.
She wiped at her eyes in a desperate attempt to stem the flow of tears. She stared at the table, unwilling to acknowledge the people still staring at her when the waiter returned with her receipt. As she gathered up the bag of food she dialed Ryder’s number on her cell. “It’s Kayleigh. Luke’s been arrested. Can you meet me at the county jail?”
“Shit.” She could only picture Ryder’s enraged expression. “What did he do?”
“He punched Spencer in the middle of Angus.”
“Is that all?” Ryder snorted. “Hold tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
***
Kayleigh sat outside of the county sheriff’s office, the keys to Luke’s rental car clenched tightly in her fist. Was it stupid to trust a man that she hadn’t seen in years just because of something they’d shared almost a decade ago? And why did the prospect of hearing his explanation for the magazine exposé make her stomach tie up into myriad uny
ielding knots?
“You’ve been sittin’ out here all night?” Ryder took a seat on the bench next to her and leaned against the brick wall, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
Kayleigh let out a slow sigh and allowed her head to fall back. She turned toward Luke’s brother. “You look nice.” His custom-tailored suit probably cost more than she made in a month. “I’m sorry if I ruined your date night.”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” Ryder remarked. He tilted his head up toward the star-filled sky. “Luke, on the other hand, owes me big time.”
“Is Lara mad?”
Ryder snorted. “Nothing ruffles her feathers. She thinks having Luke around makes life more entertaining.”
Entertaining. That was one way to describe Luke.
“How are you holdin’ up? Those two idiots didn’t hurt you when they went at it, did they?”
Ryder was like the big brother she’d never had. It warmed her heart that he was still looking out for her. “I’m fine. Really, it was only Spencer who got hurt. His face had a run-in with Luke’s fist.”
“Sorry to say this, darlin’, but Spencer has always been an asshole.”
Rather than debate Spencer’s shortcomings, Kayleigh reached into her purse and handed Ryder the folded-up magazine page. “Did you know about this?”
He scanned the article and crumpled the paper into a tiny ball in his palm. “I did,” he said with disgust. “I take it this is what tonight’s scuffle was over?”
Kayleigh shrugged. More like years of pent-up aggression and grudges were what tonight’s scuffle had been about. It wouldn’t change what had happened to tell Ryder that Luke had been defending his family by decking Spencer, though. “More or less. Is it true, Ryder? Did that woman have Luke’s baby?”
Ryder didn’t look at her, just stared at the sky. “What do you think?”
The knots in her stomach tightened and Kayleigh hugged her torso as if it would keep her shattering world intact. “I don’t know. Whether or not it’s true, I think he had a relationship with her.”