In Love by Design (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) (25 page)

Luke didn’t say anything, just stalked towards me.

“No, no, no!” Backing away towards the dining room, I laughed and said, “No muss, no fuss!”

His smile
was sharp and predatory, his tail was snapping. “Back in the barn, you didn’t smell so good or look so hot like you do now.” He ignored my outraged choke of laughter, his gaze running down my dress. He cocked a black brow. “Stockings again, and lace.” He murmured,. “I warned you about stockings, Anabel.”

“These are
delicate tights that I don’t want ripped off me. Plus, you don’t smell so hot right now yourself!” I retorted sassily, quickly putting the dining room table between us. I noticed it was of the Danish Modern style and not to my taste, but I didn’t let that stop me from using it as a buffer zone while taunting, “So, ha to you, Mr. Sweatyballs!”

Luke
placed a hand near the middle of the table and vaulted across my buffer zone to land right next to me. It happened so quickly, I didn’t have time to move before his hand tilted up my chin and I was staring up, agog, into glinting eyes.

“You were saying?”

‘Who cares what you were saying! Quit talking and vault his pole!’
screeched the sex kitten voice.

His skin glowed golden with a healthy sheen.
The athletic devil didn’t really smell sweaty, he smelled all rugged male. I bet he’d taste salty and…

I shook my head to dislodge the mind control. “I was saying that Pam wants to know if I am meeting her in Faribault or
should she leave now to pick me up here?”

Until Pam called me a few minutes ago, I hadn’t remembered
that I didn’t have my jeep here at the farm. Being trapped with no wheels was alarming enough but at my question, a fleeting expression of dismay passed over Luke’s face and he let go of my chin.

Interpreting his look to be discomfort at me taking his truck, I tried not to sound offended when I said, “
Hey, no problem. I’ll call Pam and have her pick me up then.”

I walked around the table and back into the kitchen to
grab my phone on the counter. Luke followed me and caught my arm.

R
unning a hand through his hair, he said quickly, “No, she doesn’t have to do that. I’m sure it’s out of her way.” He pulled out a drawer and opened a box. He took out two keys. Putting then in my hand, he smiled, but it seemed strained around the edges to me. “I have stuff to do here so it’s cool, take the truck. That’s a key to the back door, too.”

“Listen, if you’re worried that I’ll hit a curb or something because o
f what my stupid brother said…”

I
stopped talking when Luke blinked at me. For one nanosecond I had seen his confusion before the veil came down and his eyes resumed their customary teasing gleam.

“N
ow that you mention it,” he chuckled casually, “I was worried, but it’s okay.”

I
met his eyes and he gazed back calmly, no trace of the momentary panic I’d seen a few seconds ago before he shut it down.

I’ve always thought it
interesting how you can see a person regularly, but one particular expression on their face can imprint on your memory. You’ll never forget that fleeting look. Whenever you think of that person, it’s their image with that one emotion displayed that pops up first in your mind’s eye. It can be anything from a huge smile to a seductive stare, or in the example of my boyfriend, that nanosecond look of confusion when I was certain that he lied to me for the first time.

“
What’s going on, Luke?” I asked, tilting my head in puzzlement. I was hoping he’d be straight with me if I asked point blank.

“Nothing’s going on. Go ahead, take the truck
,” he answered steadily, and added with another light chuckle, “You can’t blame a guy for stressin’ for a sec.”

C
losing my hand in a fist around the keys, I gathered my phone, purse, and in my disappointment at Luke’s answer, even my jacket.

‘
No, but I can blame a guy for trying to BS me.’
I didn’t bother saying anything more. I know men and I know that look when they lock down into stubborn mode
.

I was
halfway out the back door and Luke’s voice wasn’t raised, but I heard the steel when he said evenly, “Oh, Anabel?”

I
leaned my head back around the back entry doorway into the kitchen. “Yes, Luke?”

Mr. Secretive
was leaning back on the counter and tossing a red apple back and forth in his hands.

Without looking my way, h
e answered softly, “Don’t forget our deal.”

I stared at him
, not connecting what he said. “What deal?”

He
looked over with bland green eyes that didn’t fool me for a minute and supplied helpfully, “The deal where you agreed to do whatever I say for the rest of afternoon when you get back.”

A
llowing bored disinterest to color my voice, I repeated, “Oh yeah, that deal.”

I toyed
with the idea of reneging on the deal based on the argument of being under the influence of drugs when agreeing, but then discarded it. I don’t welsh.

Holding the apple up for inspection,
Luke didn’t visibly react to my tone but said, “If I’m not around when you return, this is your first instruction.” Pausing, he took a big, crunching bite from the apple with sharp white teeth.

I
didn’t say anything, but raised my brows slightly in polite question.

As I waited with outward calm, h
e finished chewing while his eyes took their time appraising me.

“Go
immediately to my bedroom and strip off all your clothes except,” Luke grinned wolfishly, “the stockings.”

“Tights
,” I corrected gently and returned his grin. It’s the grin my sisters have dubbed EVILBEL. They even say it in capitals before they take cover. “Sounds like you’ve got a plan. I can’t wait to see how it goes.” I blew him a kiss. “Bye, baby.”

I
was proud to have refrained from slamming the back door, especially when I heard Luke’s low laughter when I shut it carefully behind me. I also didn’t peel out in the gravel, but backed up carefully and drove sedately down the long driveway and onto the paved road. I would never take my frustration out on a vehicle any more than I would kick a dog, but the truck could take me pounding on the steering wheel a few times.

Something I’ve learned since falling in love, I really d
id not like being played for a fool. In fact, it infuriated me.

‘
Trust and react, huh?’

We’ll see how Luke like
d how I reacted to his lack of trust.

I d
idn’t expect Luke to blurt out every secret in his head, nor did I assume every evasion or misdirection he performed with the precise talent of a virtuoso was all about me. But something was going on with Luke that was popping up often enough to bug the living hell out of me.

The leaving for two weeks without a word
and saying it’s because he freaked about loving me, Svettie living with him and the amnesia, the money issues and bad investments, Dickie having a DDL & Associates card on him, and even Luke being weird about his time spent here on the farm as a boy. Maybe they all meant nothing, and taken singularly, I could almost convince myself of that. I was probably being paranoid thinking they all related in some way I couldn’t see, but my gut was talking and I was listening.

Trust and react.

Would Luke ever feel in his gut that we were partners? That I was someone he could share his twisted, manipulative thoughts with? My Hero was not going to find it so easy to distract me by blatantly challenging me with his arrogant domination. Sure, I loved it, but I was the Queen of Multitasking.

Speaking of which…I tapped the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. Throwing
the truck into park, I jumped out and strode purposefully back to the light blue Honda Civic that stopped a few yards behind me.

I
rapped the passenger window impatiently and leaned down to be heard when Crazy Woman rolled down the glass.

Without preamble or looking in her direction
, I said coldly, “I specifically stated I never wanted to see you again, yet here you are.”

I
was looking behind us down the road, but sensed my ex-cousin slithering around in the car. I wondered if she slept outside of Luke’s house all night.

Crazy’s
voice was a cross between furious and a grating whine when she said, “You are only seeing me because you stopped and came back here, otherwise I am staying back far enough. It wasn’t my fault your boyfriend dragged me into that farmhouse and made me…”

All I heard
was blah, blah, blah and I interrupted the annoying noise by slapping the side of the car with my open hand. “These are your two choices and you have until I get back to the truck to decide. Keep following me and suffer. Stay away from me and live,” Smirking, I added, “at least as long as I do.”

The nutjob yelled
something, but I was already walking away towards the truck. As I opened the driver’s side door and climbed in, the light blue Honda Civic zoomed by.

I
f I was listening, I may have heard a scream that sounded like, “You fucking bitch, I hate you and your ugly boyfriend!”

Luck
ily, I wasn’t.

“The Unforgiven” by Metallica

Friday 121/07/12

11:47 AM

I was buckling up when my phone started ringing. Practicing my new rule of no anti-social behavior, I answered while accelerating back onto the road.

“Anabel, dear, is this a good time?”

The cool tones of Luke’s mother washed over me and I sat back in the seat with a smile.

“Well, I just threatened my ex-cousin with death and I
’m driving your son’s truck under duress, so you tell me.” I cried pathetically, “Help me, Mama D!”

Damaris’ silvery laugh tinkle
d and she said smoothly, “I don’t know your ex-cousin, but if she needs killing, I’m sure I wouldn’t like her. As for Luke, that boy does nothing under duress. If you are driving his truck, it’s with his blessing.”

I missed
most of what Damaris said next because I was too struck by her comment regarding Luke.

‘My god, she’s right!’
Luke got that strange look on his face when I mentioned Pam picking me up or me meeting her. If the look wasn’t about me driving the truck, then it only left my questions regarding Pam. Luke’s never met Pam, so why would asking that make him react the way he had?

‘How do you know Luke’s never met Pam?’
pointed out the detective voice reasonably.

‘Holy
Crap! That’s right, too!’

The jolt from th
at question did something to my insides. Something twisted into a tight knot and it was painful. My birthday ring chose that moment to bling out in fiery sparkles, but I hardened my heart.

“Ha! Nice try, Boyfriend
, but too late!’

I’
d hit the far wall of my patience. The gloves were off and there’s no more “Luke can tell me his truths in his own time” Miss Nice and Understanding girlfriend.

Who kn
ew how long it would take me to train that sneaking ass to treat me as partner and trust me?

I know, it could take as long as it w
ould take him to train me to be an expert at self defense. I’ll be damned if I was waiting years to find out why he looked me in the eye and bald-face lied about a friend of mine that I was under the impression he’d never even met before.

I ha
d a moment of sisterly empathy for Mac’s upset behavior last night. Knowing someone you cared about was acting hinky was no fun. I was glad now that I’ve agreed to investigate Diego and can only hope we find something out quickly tonight for Mac’s sake.

“
We should arrive just in time for the party,” Damaris was saying.

Apologizing
, I used the excuse that she had been cutting out when I asked Damaris to repeat what she said. Inwardly, I cursed her son for making me lie to his mother again. “I missed the first part. What party?”

“Paul and I are driving up Sunday morning in time for Anna’s
bridal shower. Anna and Mac were kind enough to invite me when we were all shopping on Black Friday. I wasn’t sure we could make it until today, so I didn’t mention anything before now.”

“T
hat’s fantastic!” I exclaimed. “Anna will be ecstatic! I’m ecstatic! How long will you stay?” Before she could answer, I said in a voice designed to elicit pity, “Anna is a motherless orphan, too, just like me. Don’t be surprised when she tries to hog all your attention. I’ll share you at her dumb party this one time, but just remember you’re mine, okay?”

Damaris snorted while answering,
“Yes, dear, I’ll remember. We’re staying until Tuesday morning this trip, so it’s only for the two nights.” Her voice was a little tentative when she offered, “We can stay in a hotel, if it’s not convenient for Luke to have us at the farm. His father and I don’t want to intrude.”