Holding On (Road House Series) (5 page)

“Get the fuck away from her before I break your jaw,” growled someone from behind her. She whirled around to see a very angry Luc.

The creep moved away from her and held up his hands. “Whatever, she ain’t worth it,” he said and walked away.

“Keys.” Luc’s jaw twitched.

Without thinking, she dropped her keys in his hand. He clicked the button and shuffled her into the passenger’s seat. Luc climbed in, started the car and sat in silence.

Iris ran the events over and over.

“Do you realize how bad that could have been?” Luc said after some time. His voice was raw with emotion.

“Yes.”

He turned to her, surprised by the admission.

After several minutes of silence, he had gathered himself enough to pull out and drive her home.

“What about your bike?” Iris asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“It’s fine. Jake will move it to the garage.”

They sat in silence for some time, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Why did you follow me?” Iris blurted out.

Luc’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“I couldn’t leave it like that.” His brows creased in thought. “What we did was fantastic. I never meant to hurt you. It’s going to sound lame, but I’ve got hang-ups.”

“I’m not her you know.” Iris clamped her mouth shut. All this alcohol had totally removed her filter.

“Sarah,” he said softly with a smile.

“Yeah. She just thought I should know.” Iris chewed her bottom lip. “So, was she right?”

“It’s obvious you’re special. Maybe the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” Her cheeks heated at the compliment. “But you can see, I’m damaged in more than one way.”

“You have to know that she was wrong.” Iris saw the store in the distance. “Maybe she was always wrong.”

Luc turned off the car when they were stopped outside the shop.

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t stop the pain.” He quickly got out of the car to mask his emotions and opened her side.

Iris walked slowly, uncertain what her next move was. She wanted to invite him in, but it was so soon. However, she didn’t want to push him. When they came to a stop at the door, the decision was made.

“Would you like to come in for some coffee?” The waver of uncertainty filtered through the air.

“I think,” Luc leaned in toward her, “That we should avoid coffee considering what happened this morning.”

“We don’t have to have a repeat performance.” Her voice came out breathy and her knees shook.

Sadness drifted over her, and she knew she was losing the battle. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Her tongue immediately sought entrance, which he promptly granted.

Her little hands fisted in his hair and when she pulled back from the kiss, her mouth traced along his neck.

“Come inside,” she whispered in his ear.

She slid her hand in his and pulled him toward to door.

When the door popped open, smoke billowed from the ceiling.

“Oh my God!” Iris raced inside.

“Iris!” Luc ran after her, covering his mouth as he went. The smoke wasn’t thick, but there was definitely a fire somewhere. The smoke alarm beeped in the distance but offered no relief. He caught up to her as she started to cough. He whipped his shirt off and placed it over her mouth and nose.

She pulled the shirt back. “It’s coming from the office.”

Luc tested the handle. Not too warm. He flung the door open and smoke ballooned out. When it was mostly clear, he could see a small fire on the other side of the desk. The acrid smell of burned plastic filled the air. The flames had engulfed the computer and a portion of the wall, but they were blocked on either side by tall metal file cabinets.

Looking around, Luc spotted the large coffee stand.

It was a struggle to lug the large pot over. Several times the hot brew spilled onto his arms and chest, but he ignored the pain. When he reached the other side of the desk, he dumped the coffee out and the flames died immediately.

Sirens sounded in the distance. Dirty, burned and tired, Luc led Iris to the door.

Iris worried her bottom lip for about the millionth time that night.

The firefighters hadn’t been happy with them for rushing in but on the whole were glad the fire wasn’t bad. Well hadn’t spread at least. For Iris, it was all bad. Not only was smoke very bad for her books, but all the files had been on the computer. There was supposed to be a backup, but she was fairly certain it was also in the office. It could have been worse though. If they hadn’t come when they had, most everything would be a loss. She loved the old building, but there were some downsides to being a grandfathered building. Lack of sprinklers were top of the list. Not that water would have been better than smoke.

She bit back the tears that ached to come out when her phone rang.

“Oh thank God, Pan.” Iris nearly lost it at the sight of her sister’s name.

“What’s going on? Where are you?” Pan’s speech was slightly slurred.

“Luc drove me home.” She sighed. “There was a fire when we got here.”

“Are you hurt? Do you want me to come?” The sobering news seemed to have exactly that effect on Pan.

“I’m all right. We’re not supposed to stay here tonight. The place stinks, and we should really let it air out before we sleep here.” Iris eyed Luc near the ambulance. They had tried several times to treat the burns on his arms and chest, but he had repeatedly brushed them off.

“Oh that’s not a problem really. Sarah offered to let me stay with her for the night.” She paused, likely trying to collect her thoughts. “You sure you don’t want me to come home?”

“That’s all right. I’ll just get Luc to drop me at a hotel. Maybe a little room service.”

“Well I’m just glad you’re safe. Call me if you need me. I’ll be home tomorrow around noon to help clean up.”

“Thanks. Night.” Iris hung up and went to collect some things.

She threw a few clothes in the suitcase and wondered how things had started. The firemen seemed to think it was a short in the cord connecting the computer to the outlet, but they would know more once they were able to examine it in the daylight.

“How are you holding up?” Luc came in and perched on the edge of the bed.

“I’m all right.” It might have been believable if her bottom lip would quit trembling.

“Come here.” Iris silently fell into his arms and wept.

She was not fine. This could be the setback that put them out of business. Luckily, they had very few expenses, but something like this could ruin them. It might not have been that path she would have picked, but she did love books.

When her crying had subsided, she wrapped her arms around Luc in a hug.

He hissed when her hand swept over his arm and pulled back to look.

Raised welts splotched across him. Holding her had to have been so painful, yet he didn’t even grimace.

Silently, she went to the bathroom and gave a stern look when she returned with a tube of ointment.

“Now are you going to be a good patient and let me put this ointment on, or do I have to get creative?” She wiggled her eyebrows at him in what she hoped was a suggestive way.

He grinned and leaned back. “Have at it, but it’s really not that bad. Just a few red spots.”

“Hush,” she whispered.

Silently, she worked to put the ointment on. “There, that should help.” She tossed the ointment onto the bed.

“So I hate to ask you this, but I’m still a little tipsy, would you give me a ride to a hotel?”

“No,” he said. Luc reached over, slipped the ointment into the bag and hefted it onto his shoulder.

“No?” Iris stood a little stunned. “I guess you could take me to Sarah’s, or I could call and see if Jake would pick me up.”

Luc stopped and glowered down at her.

“You’ll stay with me. I’ll bring you back tomorrow and that’s that.”

Luc turned and stormed down the stairs. Iris hurried to keep up and stopped once they were outside the door. In their haste to get inside, the keys were still hanging from the door.

He locked up and ushered her to the car.

“Really, Luc, you don’t have to do this, I have no problem staying at a hotel. You know, room service?”

Luc tucked her inside and snapped the belt into place. With his face inches from hers, he whispered, “you’ll stay with me.”

Just as quickly the door, he shut the door, and they were on their merry way to Luc’s.

Chapter Six

As they pulled in front of his shop, Luc felt jittery letting her into his world. He hadn’t brought a woman to his house since Victoria. It was just too overwhelming, but he couldn’t just take her to a hotel. Tonight had set him on edge. From the prick in the parking lot to watching her race toward danger, Luc just couldn’t let her out of his sight.

He climbed out and came around to help with her bags. He stopped her when she started to walk to the shop. “Did you want a tour or something?”

Iris stopped and gave him a puzzled smile.

“I don’t live above the shop. That’s just where my office is.” He pointed to the house next to it. “This is me.”

He watched her reaction to his sweet little Cape Cod style house.

“This is you? But it’s light yellow.” Not only was it yellow but pretty daffodils lined the walk. Luc was almost sad she wouldn’t get the chance to see the crocuses that littered the yard.

Luc brushed past her toward the house. Slowly Iris made her way to the door but stopped when she reached the steps. She stared at the plants lining the house.

“Are those irises?” Her bewildered face made it hard for him to keep his control.

“One of my favorites. They are a deep purple and make the whole neighborhood smell nice.” He smiled broadly at her. “Let me guess, your favorite?”

Iris wrinkled her nose. “Not the most creative line. But no, they were one of my mother’s favorites.”

She said nothing else as she swept into the house.

The inside surprised her. This room had been decorated with the color purple in mind. The only thing that seemed to stand out was the very masculine, brown overstuffed couched. It was obvious who had decorated. Iris wrinkled her nose. It was like being in another woman’s space.

Luc walked in and took her bags down the hall. She trailed behind looking at pictures that hung from the walls. Most were of him in the military with other men. Several times she spotted Jake, arm slung over Luc’s shoulder and another man. They all seemed so open and carefree. She supposed that they had been back then. She paused when she heard the rustle of a paper bag.

“Shit.” In her confusion with the house, she had failed to see Luc had grabbed her sack from shopping with the girls. Last thing she needed was for him to find her new stash.

She walked into the room and reached out to take the bag.

“Oh this was supposed to stay in the car. I’ll just take that back.” Iris pulled the bag closer.

“It’s dark out. I’ll do it.” Luc pulled it back toward him.

“It’s really no big deal.” Again, she pulled it to her.

“Yes,” he pulled it back, “It is.”

“No, really.” She pulled again. The ripping of paper tore through the room. Before either had time to react, all of her frilly items flew into the air and fluttered to the ground.

Luc stared at her wide eyed. She cringed when his eyes found a cream baby-doll nighty she had bought.

He scooped it up and held it open in front of her.

“Is this for me? Because I would really like to request you wear this all night.” Desire throbbed through her. It had been for him. Or rather, it had been for her to wear for him.

Iris took the clothes and tossed them on the bed. It was then she noticed the masculine tones. The bedspread was a rich brown with bits of cream and sky blue. This was a room untouched by Victoria, and it made her happy to know he wasn’t going to bed thinking about her.

She knew he had been watching her when she turned around.

“This is where I tend to spend the most time. I know what you were thinking.” He waved a hand in the direction of the living room. “It’s pathetic I haven’t redecorated. I don’t keep it out of love. I just want you to know that. I just don’t have enough time. And when I do, I’m rarely in the living room.”

“But doesn’t it bother you?” Iris dropped to the bed.

“Sometimes. More like the memory of what I could have had." The sorrow touched her.

"There isn't a thing wrong with you." She reached up and pulled him down beside her.

Luc laughed bitterly.

"Except for the nasty scar on the side of my face." Anger blazed in those blue pools.

"No!" The vehement response made him jump.

Iris pulled his face to her and cupped it with both hands. Gently, she ran her thumb across the ridged surface.

"This," she again ran her thumb over the scar, "has made you the man you are and for that I'm grateful."

Confusion kept him planted as she leaned in and kissed the scar. He took a shuddered breath. She knew she was finally reaching him.

When her mouth slipped up and kissed the next spot, Luc slipped a hand behind her back. She came back down and planted another kiss at the bottom of his jaw, where the scar ended. His hand tightened around her back, and then she was being pushed away.

Two steps forward, one step back.

Iris sighed. At least he understood her feelings on this.

"You." He stumbled to his feet. "You wanted room service. I'll be back in a bit. Just make yourself comfortable."

Luc cursed as he closed the door. That had been close. Somehow she was breaking down all his walls, and it wasn't safe. He wasn't safe.

She created feelings in him that he knew wouldn't end well. It’d end with his heart torn to shreds and her moving on. Just like Victoria.

No, he would offer her his home, something to eat and then take his horny, love-starved ass straight to the couch.

Iris knew she was losing him. For a glimmer of a moment, she was able to break through and show him how great they could be, but as soon as she had, the wall came down.