Scars of Love

by Lindsey Hart

“Cara and I haven’t seen each other in two months,” he said, following close behind her. “We’re over.”

  “Yeah, but who else is gonna show up here?” she snapped, spinning around and facing him. “Who are you not over with?”

  His lips formed a grim line, and she smirked. She couldn’t help it.

  “I knew I needed to stay away from you. Everyone told me to. But I just couldn’t stop myself. I had to have you.”

  “I don’t want you to regret it.”

  “Yeah well, I do.”

  She turned around again, going into the kitchen and placing Jason in his high chair. “We’re moving out, by the way.”

  “What? You can’t do that. How can you even afford to?”

  “I’ll figure it out.” She grabbed formula mix from the cabinet, knocking the sugar over in the process and not giving a single care. Good. She was gonna leave it there too.

  “You’re the one that I want, Lisa. Please. Listen to me.”

  He moved closer to her, getting right up against her. His chest touched her shoulder and, for a moment, Lisa faltered. She wanted him so bad. God, she really did. And she knew she probably always would. She had to do what was right though. She wasn’t going to be stuck in some situation that worked out for Alex’s benefit and never hers – her staying home and taking care of the baby, while he no doubt went back to his old ways. It might be only a matter of time before he started going out again and picking up girls at bars. She leaned against the counter, grabbing the edges for support.

  “Please,” she whispered, gritting her teeth. “Give me some space.”

  Surprising her, he backed away. “Okay. Can I mix Jason’s formula though?”

  “I got it. I just…” She sighed. “I need a little space right now.”

  “Why don’t you let me take care of him for the morning then? Go take a break. Get out of the apartment.”

  Lisa huffed, finally looking at him. His eyes were sad, imploring, and she almost gave in and fell into his arms. Almost. Across the kitchen, Jason whined.

  “Okay, fine. I’m gonna go out.”

  Brushing past him, she moved fast. It was true what she’d said about needing space. She felt like she was going to scream, being trapped in this apartment with Alex like this.

  Without even changing, she grabbed her purse from her room and was out the door in a flash. She didn’t bother with the elevator, instead taking the stairs, hitting them heavy with each step. She didn’t know where she was going, but she had to get there fast. Out in the parking lot, she stood in the bright sun, trying to decide what to do. She didn’t feel like driving and she probably shouldn’t in her current state of mind, so she started walking. She took to the sidewalk, heading towards the park she’d sometimes taken Jason to over the last few weeks.

  The playground was busy, little kids running around and being pushed by their parents on the swings. Lisa sat on a bench and watched for a few minutes, but the whole scene just made her miss Jason. And Alex.

  God, she was gonna miss Alex when she moved. She covered her face with her hands, trying her hardest not to be the crazy lady freaking out at the park. Thirty minutes later, after walking around by the river watching ducks, she had nothing to do but go home – or back to Alex’s apartment. She didn’t like that she thought of it as home. It couldn’t be her home any longer.

  She took the elevator this time, her mind reeling all the way up. How was she going to be able to afford her own place? Maybe there was some kind of government subsidized housing they could be approved for. Or maybe she could get a roommate. She bit her lip. Whatever the plan was going to be, she had to figure it out fast. The sooner she got out of Alex’s, the better.

  The apartment was quiet – no baby or man in sight. Lisa dropped her purse on the floor and collapsed on the couch. She needed a nap so bad. Maybe she would just close her eyes for a few minutes…

  When she woke up there was something oddly familiar flashing on the TV screen across the room. She blinked, adjusting her vision, and looked again. On the TV was a picture of Sara and Daniel, standing underneath a garden trellis on their wedding day. It dissolved, and a picture of Sara and Jason, taken in a hospital bed just a few minutes after Jason had been born, appeared. Out of nowhere, tears slid down Lisa’s face. Who’d put this slideshow together?

  The next picture formed, one that Lisa instantly recognized from the Thanksgiving party four years ago. It was a group photo – Sara, Daniel, Aunt Margaret and some distant relatives whose names Lisa couldn’t even remember… They were all there, standing in front of the fireplace, smiling.

  And in the far-right corner of the photo was Alex, standing by himself, but with his head turned. He was looking – staring – at someone across the room.

  It was her. It was Lisa. And Photo Lisa was totally unaware that Photo Alex was looking at her. She was too busy giving a cheesy smile to the camera.

  “What?” Lisa whispered, not even entirely sure what she was looking at.

  “I loved you from the moment I met you,” came Alex’s voice from across the living room. Lisa turned to see him standing in the hall. “I just didn’t realize it till the accident.”

  He took a few steps towards her. Lisa opened her mouth, trying to respond, but realized she had no clue what to say.

  “This last month has been the best of my life,” he said, getting even closer now. His eyes glistened. “Which is pretty amazing considering the tragedy … but Lisa,” he paused, coming to a stop. “You and Jason have changed me. You two are my everything. You make me want to be better – to work at it every day. I know what my past is like. But that’s all behind me.”

  Reaching down, he took her hand, the warmth from his skin reaching straight down to her heart and thawing all the places she hadn’t even known were frozen solid.

  “You can trust me,” he said.

  Tears spilling down her cheeks, Lisa nodded. Deep down, in the depths of her soul, she knew everything he was saying was true. He had changed. She could trust him.

  And she would.

  She was tired of always throwing everything away in fear that it would hurt her. This time she would have no regrets.

  Alex bent, getting down to rest on one knee. Lisa’s free hand flew to her mouth. “Are you kidding me?” she asked.

  “No,” Alex responded. “I want you to marry me, Lisa. I want to give Jason the life he deserves. I want to give you the life you deserve. And I don’t want to spend another moment of my life without you by my side.”

  “You really aren’t kidding,” she gasped.

  Slowly, Alex shook his head.

  “Well,” he prompted. “Will you marry me?”

  Choking on more tears, Lisa smiled wide. “Under one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You always let me win at Hide and Seek.”

  Alex grinned even wider, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

  “Deal.”

  The End

  BURNING TOUCH

  Available in the kindle store HERE

  Luna James knew from the second the handsome, larger than life stranger walked through the door of her tattoo shop requesting a cover up, that he was trouble. Her brutal track record with men should have taught her to stay away from him but somehow, she just couldn’t manage to forget his haunted eyes or the burning feel of his skin beneath her fingertips.

  Knowing it was going to be pure torture, she accepted to work her art on his naked body at nightfall.

  But the night held more secrets and danger than maybe she was prepared for. And it did not help either to have sparks fly left and right with her every touch of his naked skin.

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  CHAPTER 1

  “Check out the code H at the front.” Adrianna Thompson actually ran to the back. She poked her head in the private booth where Luna was finishing up a drawing for a client’s sleeve. The guy was scheduled to arrive in two hours and she hadn’t bothered to start the damn drawing until ha
lf an hour ago. She was definitely feeling the pressure and didn’t need to be distracted by the code system she shared with her best friend and business partner.

  H was for hot, of course. B was for bitch, A for asshole, C for… well of course everyone could figure that out. It wasn’t a real hard system to decode. Luna couldn’t even remember when she and Adrianna started using it. Probably about a year after they opened. One day they were likely bored, waiting for clients to show up before they got far too popular and far too busy to worry about downtime.

  Had that really been five years ago? It was hard to believe time passed so quickly.

  “Are you coming or what?” Adrianna hissed under her breath.

  Holy. Whoever is out there must be truly smoking to get her so worked up. “I have to finish up this drawing. Go on ahead without me.”

  Adrianna’s pretty green eyes widened in shock, like she couldn’t believe she was getting a free pass to hot dude city. Maybe all the conversations they’d shared over the years didn’t quite register in that moment. Luna wasn’t interested. Now or ever. Well, pretty much ever. She didn’t want to wind up alone in some sick parody of a spinster, but she could certainly do without the drama she was so happy to have left behind the day she finally walked out on Jarod. Turns out that last black eye had been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  “Are you kidding me? You have to at least see him,” Adrianna pressed.

  Luna refused to look up. She kept her attention glued to the koi and water she was currently producing. “Nope. I mean it, you have dibs. I’m way too booked anyway.”

  “Gah!” It was truly what Adrianna muttered before she disappeared. The sound of her footfalls beating a fast pace down the short hall that led up to the front reception area was actually audible.

  They were much heavier on their return trip. “What is it?” Luna didn’t look at Adrianna. Instead, her eyes strayed to the skull clock on the wall where it announced her appointment would be there before she finished her drawing. She turned back to it, trying desperately not to be distracted.

  “He wants a cover up. Asked for you specifically.” Adrianna couldn’t have sounded more disappointed if she tried.

  Luna’s head cranked up so sharply she nearly gave herself whiplash. Her pencil fell with a dull thud to her opened sketch book. “For fuck sakes,” she whispered under her breath. Of all the times someone needed to come in and demand her time.

  “I’ll get rid of him if you want.” For some reason Adrianna’s statement sounded totally suggestive and Luna wondered just what it was the other woman intended to do to get said stranger out of there. Perhaps leave with him?

  “No, it’s alright. I’ll go try and book him in. He probably won’t want to wait six months. No one does. That usually gets rid of them pretty fast.”

  “I don’t understand you. This guy is hotter than sin. He’s hotter than sex. Why would you want to get rid of him?” Luna shot Adrianna a pointed look and her friend nodded sagely. “Oh. Right. I forgot you were off men and focused on work.”

  “I don’t need another Jarod. Everyone is another Jarod at this point.”

  “It’s been three years.”

  Panic struck like a hard fist to Luna’s gut. She recalled that last night, the night she’d finally had the courage to get out of that house while she still could. Jarod had come home in the middle of the night after drinking with his buddies, like he did every weekend. He was a mean drunk. No, that word didn’t even begin to cover the sadistic bastard’s actions. He’d promised. No more drinking. No more violent show downs in the middle of the night. Of course, he fucking promised. He always promised.

  He’d pushed her anyway. Thrown her around the room like a ragdoll and beat her like he did every time he was liquored up. Except that time, it was one too many. There would be no apologizing in the morning. No amount of promises could fix the damage he did to her. He’d left her, in a heap on the floor. She remembered feeling pain. Everywhere. Finally, when she’d found the courage to get up and walk into the bathroom she looked at her bloodied nose, the black eye already forming, the split lip. The bruises on her body.

  She’d walked out and hadn’t looked back. She’d saved up enough money by then, money Jarod could never get his hands on because she’d funneled it away through the business. He knew where she worked but luckily enough she had some clients who were tough mother fuckers and didn’t need to be paid to rough someone up. They’d warned Jarod and that had been the end of it. He always was a coward through and through.

  Luna realized Adrianna was staring at her, waiting for an answer. She rose slowly, shaking off the bad memories like flicking a disgusting bug off her shoulder.

  “I’m coming.” Luna followed Adrianna down the short hall, past the private rooms where they tattooed, out to the front of the shop. A large reception desk cordoned everything off from the back so people couldn’t just walk out back and disrupt business. The front of the shop was small, with most of the actions happening in the back. There was a plush couch out front for waiting with a coffee table and magazines. Nearly every inch of wall space was decorated with art, their own and fellow tattoo artists.

  The man, if he could be called a man and not a mountain, turned slowly. He wore the trappings of a businessman, crisp pressed black slacks, a blue dress shirt, square toed expensive leather shoes, but Luna sensed right away he was no paper pusher.

  Ice blue eyes, deep set into a shadowed brow, were far older than they should have been for a man who looked like he was entering his early thirties. His hair was blonde, the flaxen, wheat coloured kind that glistened when the sun hit it just right. There currently was no sun outside on the cloudy, windy day but Luna knew somehow that it would. The sides were buzzed short and the top was left long. On anyone else dressed that way it might have looked professional but on this guy it looked military or gangster. He looked nothing like the average nine to fiver. For starters, he wouldn’t even fit behind a desk…

  He stood a good six and a half feet tall. He was huge. Literally the largest man that Luna could ever remember seeing and she’d tattooed her share of giants. Perhaps his size had more to do with the cold glint in his eyes than his physical demeanour. He seemed too large for the room and she swallowed audibly, immediately nervous and on guard.

  This guy was trouble. She didn’t know how she could tell but it was kind of like some sixth sense similar to how some people could tell that her real name wasn’t Luna James. It was actually Stephanie. Only her mother called her that and her mother hardly ever bothered to call. Changing your name was kind of like changing your hair. After more than ten years of doing it, you kind of forgot what the real colour actually was.

  “I heard you were looking for a cover up.” She didn’t mince words. Something about this stranger caused her body to react in a brutally visceral fashion that she didn’t appreciate one bit. She didn’t like the heat pooling in her belly or the way her nipples hardened under her black camisole. It was more than just noticing the guy’s appearance. Her body appreciated it. The sooner she turfed this guy, the better.

  “Yes. Are you Luna James?”

  “Well there are only two of us here. You already met Adrianna.” She wasn’t normally so rude but she didn’t like the way her palms were starting to sweat or the cramped feeling she had in her stomach. Her lungs were starting to compress in as well. Fuck.

  “Everyone says you’re the best at what you do. I do need a cover up. I was wondering if you would be willing to do it.”

  “I would have to take a look.” Damn it. Tell him to fucking leave. Tell him you’re booked. Tell him that your fucking shop is burning around you. Tell him anything in the world but yes. “What is it exactly that you want covered up?” Instead of eyeing the guy up, Luna’s gaze fell to her hands, which trembled slightly on the top of the large reception desk. One purple rose adorned her left hand and one red topped the right. When she finally glanced up she expected to find his eyes on her but strangely eno
ugh he was eyeing the front door as though considering escape.

  She found herself wishing he wanted something covered up that involved stripping off a few of those layers of expensive looking clothing. She gave herself a mental shake. Wake the hell up. Guys like him, whether he’s dressed nicely or sporting leather and chains, mean vibrant nights, fumbling interludes and years of regret.

  “My back,” he finally said. She was again struck by how powerful, deep and rich his voice was.

  “Your back?” Luna realized how breathless she sounded and quickly forced herself to get a grip. She gathered up what little composure she had left. “Yes… well, do you want to show me? I can give you an idea of whether I can do it or not or how long it would take.”

  His eyes darted around the shop, storm tossed and frantic like she’d just offered to knife him. Jesus, the guy was cagey. Just another indication that he was trouble, or at the very least, troubled, which was no better. Probably far worse.

  “Is there somewhere more private?”

  Hmmm. Mr. Modest. He obviously didn’t know how this worked, which meant he was probably a first timer. But no, that didn’t make sense. He wanted a cover up. “Yah.” Luna turned slowly, cautiously, and indicated the private booths at the back. “I have rooms back there where we tattoo. If you come out back with me I can take a look.”

  Cue the darting eyes again. She was shocked to realize they held a glimmer of fear. What the hell did he think she was going to do to him back there? Attack him? She nearly laughed at the thought. She was half the guy’s size. If she was stood, shoulder to shoulder, four of her probably wouldn’t be enough to match the girth of his chest.

  “Fine,” he agreed slowly.

  Luna lifted up the section of counter beside the reception desk that unlocked and let him pass through. She was painfully aware of how he nearly didn’t fit. God, that opening was wide enough to admit three of her holding hands side by side.

  She waited, breath baited. Half hoping he would follow her back, half hoping he would turn and walk out that door. Silence filled the shop. A small noise drifted from the back where Adrianna was probably either cleaning equipment or setting up a room for a client due to arrive.