by Nicole Snow
When I fling my door open and step into the hall, it's deserted. Thank God. They've gone to my father's room to finish what they started. I'm not wasting this precious time while they're distracted.
I have to find Robin, and then check on rooms in Chicago. The city will do, until we have a place to call our own.
If I have my way, I'll be signing the ink on my own plane next week, something it's taken me years to save for. Those wings will shelter us. They're freedom itself in steel, titanium, and the custom gold and platinum trim I've had installed to spruce up the interior. They'll take us far from the sickness unfolding here, and closer to each other.
I love this woman. I wasn't going to say it point blank until I put my ring on her hand, but if that's what it takes to move her tonight, then I'll do it sooner. I'll rip out my heart and push it into her hands, beating and alive, bleeding the hope I have for us into our world.
There's no way this won't be messy.
Forget the perfect choreography of love I've been planning in my head on those long cargo flights. Long as she's mine, we'll find our way, no matter how complicated or painful it turns out to be.
3
One Last Night (Robin)
“We have to leave tonight, little bird. Car's waiting. Come with me.” He keeps making the same demand, and I keep staring at him like he's crazy. We're standing in my backyard, close to the path leading to his family's gardens, alone as we always are at this time of night.
“Just up and leave?” I ask, staring at my backpack. “I don't know if I'm ready, honestly.”
He catches me in a daze, and takes one wrist in his huge hand, pulling me close to him. “You've finished your classes. You said last week you'd be moving onto acting school next. Robbi, you can do that anywhere. Don't have to be stuck here for another few months while you wait to find out if you're moving to downtown Chicago or Hollywood. Fuck, maybe London.”
“London?” I wince. “I don't have the money or the talent, Luke. I think heading downtown is as good as it's going to get.”
“Say the word, and I'll pull the right strings,” he growls, pushing his hand against my back, sending chills up my spine.
I've heard him serious plenty of times, but this is a whole new level. He won't take no for an answer. He doesn't care about my excuses, my hesitation, or my very sound logic why this is a bad idea. What I can't figure out is why.
Why the hell does he want us to leave so badly? Why tonight?
I stop for a second, staring into his bright blue eyes. They've never been more determined. Tonight, they're unshakeable, even more piercing than usual. He's promising me the universe, and I'm too proud to take a single star.
“This is our second chance. We'll start a whole new life,” he says, brushing his stubble against my cheek when he comes close. “Together, we'll make it happen.”
“That's kinda the thing. I have to do this acting thing myself,” I say softly, hoping he won't take offense. “I can't let you step in. If I'm going to get anywhere, it's got to be with my own talent. If I'm not good enough, if I use your connections, well, I'm only hurting myself. Weakness will shine through in front of the panels, on the stage, or on the screen, if I ever make it that far. I appreciate the offer – really, I do – but all the money and handshakes in the world can't cover for mediocrity.”
“You're not mediocre, Robbi.” His denial comes out so harsh it makes me smile.
If only I believed in myself half as much as he does. We stop moving, eyes lost in each other. Sliding my hands up his big arms, I let my fingers wander, squeezing his biceps. God help me, they're bigger and harder than ever. I think all the heavy lifting on his cargo flights, helping the ground crews get their shipments in and out, are sculpting him into perfection that would make Michelangelo jealous.
“Come away with me,” he says again. “Tonight, Robbi. What's it going to take to slaughter your doubts? I'll stand aside and let you shine in the spotlight, if that's what you want. Long as it's with me, I don't give a damn. I'm not up in your face because it's all about jump starting careers. I'm here, Robbi, because I'm sick of these midnight liaisons. Tired of having to keep our love a secret from the rest of this fucked up world because they wouldn't get it.”
My heart skips a beat. Love?
Sensing the heat in my eyes, he stops and reaches up, running his fingers through my hair. “That's right, beautiful. I said it. I mean it. I love you, babe, and one fine day I'm going to show you it's forever. I'll have my ring on your finger before everybody else starts beating down the door of a world class star.”
“Luke...” I don't know what to say.
Love? Marriage? As wonderful as it sounds, it's happening so fast. The heat in my head expands until I'm feeling faint.
Seeking grounding, I push my hands into his, lacing fingertips, and squeeze. His heat, his strength, his sweet stability dashes the questions murmuring in my head.
“You better not just be saying this because I'm about to let you in my pants,” I say, narrowing my eyes.
His smirk rises, bringing the heat between my legs up a hundred degrees. “That's exactly why I'm telling you tonight, and you know it. Sex changes everything between a man and a woman, especially when it's more than straight up fucking. With us, it's more than I ever imagined it could be. I want to leave tomorrow. Let the next sunrise start the rest of our lives. Come with me, baby. We can find a hotel downtown, leave all this bullshit here behind.”
His happiness wilts when he looks around, gesturing to the bungalow behind me, and then to his huge modern castle in the distance behind him. Grabbing my shoulders, his fingers dig deep, and he comes in, pressing his forehead to mine so hot it burns.
“I don't know. I want to, but...”
“But what? You're still afraid? You think the two ghosts living with you here will ever care about you more than me?” He pulls back, his eyes locked onto mine. “I'm not looking to bring up your family drama. I want to take you away from it, before it drags you down. Not sure what I'd have become if I didn't have so much on my end bogging me down. It's only been that way because I let it, Robbi. That's what I've realized since I started going on those flights – we're not nailed down to these lives. We can fly. Go anywhere, be anybody, and love like the rest doesn't matter because it really fucking doesn't.”
“Okay, fine! Whatever. Let's just roll the dice.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, his kiss seals the deal. The soft, sweet fire dashing across my lips convinces me more than words ever will, and they've been pretty convincing too, tonight. “I love you, Luke. We'll leave tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Hesitation swells in his eyes. I start laughing when I imagine everything rushing through his mind, thinking he's just had what I've promised him tonight delayed by a whole twenty-four hours.
“Let's go to my room. As long as we leave by six in the morning, they'll never know. Mom doesn't even come home some nights. Dad just stops in to eat breakfast and cleanup. He sleeps at the bar most nights.”
It takes a long stare and a tug of his hand to convince him. Soon, we're moving in through the backdoor, fumbling into the spartan kitchen while his hands move all over me.
Whatever held him back before, it's gone now. Luke corners me, pushes me into the counter, shoving me up on it, folding my arms and legs around him. He buries me in several more panty soaking kisses, then his mouth moves down to my neck, working with more freedom than it's ever had before.
I'm breathless before he lifts me up, slinging me over his shoulder. He's panting too, and my thigh brushes the raging hardness through his jeans. “You'd better be right about your folks staying the hell away tonight. Because once we start, I'm not stopping for anything. I'll violate you seven ways from Sunday with the entire world watching if I have to.”
Before I can say anything, he silences me with another kiss. His tongue pushes deep into my mouth, conquering mine, pulsing more heat into me. I'm burning.
I'm in heat, just like an anim
al. I've resisted him for so long I'm not even bothered by his crude promise. Hell, crude sounds pretty damned good right now.
We're in love, and I'm ignorant about what really goes on between the sheets, but I know I don't want him to hold back anything. I want him to use me hard, push me to places I've only imagined, show me the hot white ecstasy I've thought about inside the stars while his pleasure becomes mine.
“There, Luke,” I whisper, pointing to the shoebox bedroom straight ahead. He carries me in and throws me down on the bed a moment later, kicking the door shut with a bang.
We're alone. His hands are on me. Twisting, stretching, maneuvering off my clothes. I don't stop to help him because he knows exactly what he's doing.
My sweater disappears in his hands as swiftly as my jeans. He swipes my bra open with one jerk, popping the clasp, freeing my aching nipples for his teasing mouth. When his lips come down on the first little bud, I tense, falling backwards on the bed and grabbing the sheets.
Sweet. Holy. Heaven.
I've found it, and the key was always having this man's mouth engulfing my nipple. His teeth form the perfect ring, divine tension, holding it taught while his tongue lashes the tip again and again. My pussy rises to meet his knee, poised between my legs. I moan when he lets me have just a little bit of pressure against my clit.
“Save some of that honey for when I'm in you, baby girl,” he whispers, his blue eyes stabbing mine like daggers. “It's going to flow hotter and richer than anything you've ever felt when you're wrapped around this cock. You're still afraid and unsure. I see it in your eyes. Won't be that way much longer.”
“No!” My head snaps to one side. I'm a pathetic liar, melting as he cups my chin with one palm, making room for his lips all over my throat. His other hand slides down the curve of my waist, a cool tingle in the wake of his fingertips.
“I'm ready,” I tell him, trying to breathe. “For you, I'm ready for anything.”
“Correction: you will be soon. Soon, little bird. I'll set you free and teach you how to fly. I'll mend every last fracture in those wings, every fear and doubt you've got left churning in your blood. We don't just fuck with these bodies. We reminds ourselves why we live.”
Something is definitely living deep inside me when he starts pulling off my pants. A dozen butterflies take flight in my belly. The simple act of fabric shimmying down my thighs causes my legs to shake.
Sweet anticipation. Sweet and short because he won't keep teasing me forever. Luke's breath flares hot against my skin, summoning goosebumps. His huge chest rises and falls as his face moves between my legs, kissing up my thighs, tasting me and inhaling the hot need surging in my pussy. His hands grip my knees, pulling my legs apart.
Muscles I didn't know I had go taut. He spreads my legs wider, making room for his magnificent shoulders. He reaches straight for my panties, tightens his grip around the lacy fabric, and pulls.
I'm embarrassed when he sees the wet spot. His eyes glow, amused because I'm just one more toy responding predictably to his touch. He rubs his thumb across the stain, drawing a deep breath, before he throws them over his shoulder and plants another kiss on my upper thigh.
“It's been too long, Robbi. You need it bad.” he tells me, reading my mind. “Don't stop screaming when my tongue starts fucking your sweet little cunt. It's music to my ears. Remember how much I like it when you're coming too hard to remember your own name.”
Lofty promises. If it were any other man, I'd think he was exaggerating.
But Lucus Shaw doesn't BS about sex. Before his tongue sweeps across my swollen virgin lips for the first time, I know I'll be hoarse by the end of the night.
My mouth trembles. I'm holding it in, tugging on the sheets like reins, muscles stretching so tight my ass lifts automatically, tries to escape the maddening pleasure steaming from his mouth.
He doesn't like that. His hands reach behind me, clench my ass, and pull me into his tongue.
Growling, he holds me there, and goes to work fulfilling every last word he promised. Luke buries his face. Licking, sucking, tonguing deep inside me, ringing my clit with his teeth.
I gasp. I moan. I'm trembling when I can't hold back the screams anymore.
His tongue seeks them out, discovering the spots that make sirens come to life in my throat, then working them like mad. He's taking me over the edge in record time, faster than my busy little fingers ever brought sweet release.
Every new movement of his tongue on my tender flesh becomes a word. I hear it in my head when his hungry circles dance around my clit, taking me closer and closer to the edge, before shoving me over.
Fly for me, little bird. Come on my tongue.
Come so fucking hard you soar before falling from the sky.
Like I need the encouragement. My body goes off in a blinding, hot, pussy drenching convulsion. Tipping my head back, pressing it deep into the mattress, I scream for all I'm worth.
My legs quake, threatening to slam shut, but he holds them open. His mouth binds me back to earth when I'm completely gone, lost in the bliss, halfway to the sun where everything is hot and bright and perfect.
Also, tingly. Needles dance through my skin, prickling me through the inside out. I wish someone told me an orgasm with a man, the right man, could feel like full body acupuncture.
I'm coming down from the high when I sense his hand on my face. Luke cups my cheek, forcing me to open my eyes. I see him hovering over me while his fingers stroke a few last aftershocks into my quivering pussy.
“I'll never forget your O as long as I live. You're beautiful when you come for me,” he whispers, breathing heavy, stopping to run his tongue over his lips. He's still tasting me. “Robbi, fuck.”
“I love you, Luke.” I wonder why saying it makes me feel a hundred times more vulnerable than when his face is between my legs. Red, shameful fire beats against my cheeks, turning them raw.
“Good.” He smiles, touching his forehead to mine, a subtle gesture I'm loving more every time it happens. “Because I'm going to make you come harder next time, babe. I'll watch your little face blown to smithereens the next thousand times you're coming for me. I'll swallow your screams on our wedding night, on our honeymoon, when we're done with condoms and I'm fucking our first born into you. Love means something because you're fucking mine.”
He's insane, but he's right. His words, his promises, they make me shudder with their weight. Emotions fold in my heart, tight like a security blanket, lovingly tucked around me by the only man I'll ever allow in.
“Show me,” I say, needling my bottom lip with my tongue. “I want you in me. I've wanted it since the first night you chewed me out, and I hated you. Even when I thought you were an asshole, I wanted it.”
I don't know why I'm confessing, spilling my inner secrets all over him. It just makes his smirk bigger, wider and more amused than I've ever seen it. He holds my face, running his hand back across my ear, collecting blonde hair in his hand before he closes it in a fist.
“You shocked the fuck out of me that night. Saw a piece of me I never showed anyone. I knew it wasn't an innocent mistake. Knew we'd either end up taking this thing all the way, loving each other bigger and deeper than the shadows over our own lives, or we'd have to end it all.”
“End it?” I ask, when he's done laying another steaming kiss on my lips.
“Yeah. We'd absolutely destroy each other. Scorched earth. Torches, pitchforks, and sledgehammers. Mortal enemies, babe. Who ever charted where love and hate ends? I think they're neighbors, and it doesn't take much to blur the lines.”
“I'm glad it's ending on the right side.” I mean it. I can't imagine what he'd do to me if he hated me, if he'd pursued me as a monster instead of the man after my heart.
“Wrong. It's just beginning, beautiful. We're not even done with tonight until you've had my dick showing you things my tongue can only dream of.” There's a crinkling sound near his legs. I realize he's pulled a condom from his pocket, and he's tes
ting the foil, crinkling it in his fingers. He stops, holding it, and gives me an icy stare.
The time for talk is over, especially with the maddening hard-on bulging between his legs. He climbs off the bed and stands at the edge, pushing his fingers through mine, pulling me up. “Undress me first,” he says, relaxing his arms.
I'm feeling bashful again. Amazing how that works, when he's seen me naked for the last half hour. Maybe it's because I've never seen him, and now he's ordering me to undo one more mystery.
I need his hands to guide me. I fumble several times, drawing his shirt off over his huge chest. He's even more gorgeous bare.
The ink is the real surprise. I'd only seen the ends on his arms before, stripes and criss-crosses, never knowing they were just the edges to a beautiful tapestry scrawled all over him. There's a falcon spreading its wings on his chest, screaming at the sky, lightning arcing out to his shoulders. My hands take their time roaming him while we kiss, melting my pussy with new, wet need.
The mysteries aren't all swept away. I don't know what the date stamped on his shoulder in the broken heart means. 2-13-97 probably has something to do with his dead mother. It's beautiful and sad like the rest of him, and I'm so lost in his wild ink I almost forget all about his pants.
“Down, baby, down. I want your lips full of cock. Start sucking, and I'll teach you everything.” He puts his hands on my shoulders and gently lowers me to the floor.
Then his fingers are on his zipper, slowly pulling it down, urging me to reach inside while he undoes his belt. My hands warm when I pop the clasp, tugging his jeans to his knees.
My second surprise of the night pops out when I shove his boxers down to meet them.
Lucus Shaw is huger, harder, and more eager than anything I imagined.
Dicks aren't supposed to be like this, are they? Hung doesn't begin to describe the thick, angry root throbbing in front of me. It's strong, bigger than life, and maybe a little dangerous. No different than the other six foot something of glorious man it's attached to.