Road to Recovery (14 page)

Some more creaking as he rocked. “I
understand your hesitation, Brooke, but we’re consenting adults
here. There’s nothing to hide. It’s going to come out sooner or
later. My assistant already figured it.”

“
What? How?” Her voice took
on a high pitch.

“
Geez, that was my ear, you
know.”

“
Sorry.” She lowered her
voice, trying not to chuckle when she heard what she assumed was
him pitching forward and his feet hitting the floor. “But I don’t
understand. How did she figure it out?” Brooke asked, her anxiety
rising to another level.

“
Relax, Rhonda won’t tell
anyone,” he said, most likely settling back into his reclined
position, causing more creaking over the phone. “My mom called,
invited me to a cookout, and I didn’t realize there were still
people in the room when I mentioned I was bringing a guest.” He
rushed out to assure her. “I didn’t say your name.”

“
Then how did she figure it
out?” she asked, frowning at the flowers she was tracing with her
finger.

“
Let’s see, Rhonda’s words
were ‘
don’t play dumb with me, I’ve got
eyes in my head
.
’”
He sighed as she continued to
remain silent on the other end. “I’m not as good as you at hiding
how I feel. I’m not sorry about it, either. Don’t worry, I’m not
going to announce it over the intercom, nor am I saying we should
walk down the hall holding hands. But I’m not going to lie if
someone comes straight out and asks, because people are going to
start to wonder. And talk. The more you deny, the more rumors form.
Better to be upfront.”

She was silent for a few seconds and
finally relented. “You make it sound so simple. Once
again.”

“
Because it
is
simple.
You
make it sound so
hard.”

“
OK, one day at a time. But
I’m serious. This doesn’t mean making twice as many trips to my
office, least of all for no good reason.”

“
There goes my sex in the
office fantasy.” He sighed deeply, his grin coming through the
phone.

Though she knew he was joking, she felt
she had to respond. “Not on your life.”

“
I can compromise. How about
sex in-a-pair-of-killer-heels fantasy later tonight?”

Her pulse started to pick up. She
cleared her throat. “That I can manage.”

A loud squeak and thump, his feet
hitting the floor again. “Really?”

She turned at the knock on her door, a
second before it was opened by her boss, Mark, the HR
Director.

“
Sorry,” Mark said when he
saw her on the phone, “I need to see you in my office for a
minute.”

Standing up, she placed her hand over
her phone and answered Mark. “Sure, I’ll be right down.” Then she
pulled her hand away, her voice staying completely neutral when she
answered Lucas. “That sounds good. We can discuss it later.” She
ended the call before he could say another word.

***

Later that night, lying in his bed,
hands stacked behind his head, staring at the ceiling, Lucas
conceded she had given him everything he wanted out of it. And then
some.

His mind started to wander back. He had
been walking out of the gym locker room as Brooke and Cori finished
up. He knew Brooke was watching him carefully to see if he would
act any different than normal, but he didn’t. Just walked by,
greeted them both quickly with a smile and wink, and then went
about his workout.

Almost an hour later he pulled into her
driveway. He saw her before he even shut the door to his Range
Rover, standing in the open doorway to her home.

His steps faltered when he got a good
look at what she was wearing. Brooke had obviously come home and
showered after her own workout, then changed again.

Her hair was pulled back in a messy
knot, leaving her slim neck bare. His eyes traveled further down
and noticed the green and white shapeless dress she was wearing.
Something like a tunic, he thought absently. There was nothing sexy
about it, until he realized that it stopped mid-thigh, exposing
most of her legs. And those toned legs looked endless.

She shifted her hips and placed one arm
on the doorframe above her head in a clearly provocative move.
Causing her dress to rise up even higher. He would have guessed
there was only about a foot of material covering her most private
area and a tad bit of thigh.

It only got better when his eyes moved
down. Resting on the bronze heeled sandals she was wearing. Which
easily added four inches to her height. Barely there sex-on-a-stick
heels. Straps around her ankles, with a little piece of leather
stretched across the top of her foot. Showcasing the bright pink
pedicure that flashed back at him.

He had never seen anything as sexy as
Brooke standing there smiling at him in the doorway with a
come-hither look.

Dropping her arm from the doorway as he
made his way up the few stairs, she moved back to let him in,
clicking the door shut behind him.

Painfully aware of how tight the front
of his jeans had gotten, he reached his hand behind her head,
loosening her hair in the process, and leaned in for a taste of
her. There was no softness, just heat, and power. He thought he was
going to combust.

Not knowing or caring if he was
rough—at the moment, he had to get his hands on her, he had to
possess her—his mouth continued to feed off of her, while his hand
ran down her side, to the hem of her dress. Because the dress was
so loose-fitting it rose easily when his hand glided underneath,
searching for her essence.

He received another shock, causing his
jeans to become tighter, making it almost unbearable. “Brooke, you
aren’t wearing any underwear,” he growled into her
mouth.

He pushed her back against the wall,
his groin grinding into her. She rubbed up against him and he
kissed her harder, not even caring if their lips were going to end
up bruised.

Sliding his hand between her legs, he
murmured, “You are so wet, so fast, just for me. All for me.” He
slid one and then two fingers inside of her.

Gripping his shoulders tight, her moans
were almost animalistic as she continued to rub up against him,
trying to pull him closer.

Sensing what she was after, he slid his
thumb up to rub her as he pushed his fingers deeper. Within seconds
she was throbbing, her inner muscles gripping his fingers, her
cries ripped from her throat as she held on and rode out the waves.
He was merciless, not stopping till she was rung dry. Left shaken,
leaning dazed and limp against the wall, gasping for
air.

“
Wow.” Her eyes closed
shut.

Lucas broke away and grabbed her hand.
He led her on shaky legs down the hall toward her bedroom, only to
change directions at her office door instead.

Stopping at the front of her desk, he
placed his hands on her lower back and started to guide her body.
“Lie on your stomach across the top and grab the back,” he ordered
her. Not giving her a moment to hesitate, he placed his hands on
hers and moved them forward the way he wanted.

He stepped back to see her upper body
lying on the desk, bent over, cheeks peeking out the bottom of the
dress, begging for his touch.

His body was throbbing painfully, he
couldn’t wait a minute longer. Unzipping his jeans and rushing a
condom on, he rubbed against her. His big hands grasped her hips
and slid her dress up to expose all of her. Running his hands over
and around each luscious mound. Listening to her moan, until he
couldn’t take it anymore.

The sight of her there, bent over just
so, waiting for him for the taking finally sent him over the edge
of sanity. Positioning himself at her entrance, he easily slid into
her moist passage. “Hang on tight,” he demanded as he grabbed her
by the hips and started to move. Slowly at first, pacing, wanting
to savor the feeling, never wanting it to end. She felt so good, so
tight from behind trying to push her body back against him, take
more of him.

He pulled out completely, heard her
plead for more and then slid back home. Speeding up, and easing
back, he teased her, drawing the pleasure out for both of
them.

The sounds she was making
were roaring in his ears, fueling him to increase the momentum,
give her what she was begging for. He was so close, but he wanted
her there with him. “Are you there, baby? Come for me. Let me feel
you squeeze me tight. Come on, baby, right now.” He groaned as she
shouted out, felt her muscles constrict around him, his hands
digging into her hips. “Holy shit.
Holy
Shit.”

He breathed out and stepped back, then
took care of the condom. When she didn’t move, only continued to
lie there across the desk panting, he asked, “Did I hurt you? I’m
sorry, baby, I didn’t plan that. But when I saw you in the doorway,
my body took over.”

She finally rolled over, sat on the
edge of the desk, and looked at him, her eyes glazed over. “Did we
do that on my desk? I’m never going to be able to work here again
without thinking about this.” With a shy smile she told him. “Guess
you got your office fantasy after all.”

The next day after changing back into
her work clothes, Brooke heard Lucas’s voice in the hallway of her
physical therapist’s office. She knew it was cowardly, but she
wanted to stay there and hide until he was gone.

After a few minutes, she decided to
risk it, realizing how childish she was being. Pushing the door
open, she prayed he wouldn’t look her way. No such luck.

“
Brooke?” Lucas asked,
interrupting Scott, her therapist.

“
Hi, Lucas.” She
acknowledged him with a nod, gripped the shoulder strap of her bag,
and continued on her way.

She knew it wouldn’t be that easy. He
caught up with her before she could make it to the elevator. “Are
you getting physical therapy?”

“
Obviously,” she replied
with a sigh.

“
Obviously,” he repeated
with a bite of sarcasm. “If it’s so obvious then why haven’t you
said anything about it?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Why
would I?” She knew that was the wrong answer and regretted it the
minute it was out of her mouth. She could see the hurt in his eyes
and felt her own guilt creeping in.

“
Oh, I don’t know. Maybe
because it’s something that would come up now and again.” He leaned
in closer, kept his voice low. “Like when we’re in bed and I’m
asking if I’ve hurt you, or if you are in pain. If everything was
all right.”

She glanced around at the patients and
employees moving throughout the hallway. It wasn’t the time or the
place for this conversation. “Not now. We can talk about this
tonight if you want, but not now and not here.” She turned and
walked away.

***

He stood there, watching her retreating
figure. She shut down. Again. It wasn’t the first time he had
witnessed it. But it was the first time she did it to
him.

Whenever she felt out of control, or
off balance, her first reaction was to shut down, to go into
self-protection mode. He knew it was her defense mechanism to
regain control of a situation.

And it killed him that she felt she
needed to do it with him. That she couldn’t or wouldn’t open up to
him. Even with something as simple as this.

She always told him just enough. Enough
to get by and stop the questions, but never all the facts. She
always held back parts of herself.

Should he go after her and have it out,
or wait until later? Glancing at his watch, he realized it would
have to be later.

***

Brooke jumped when she turned and saw
Lucas in her open doorway. She hadn’t heard his approach because
her mind was on their upcoming conversation. All thoughts of what
she might say flew out her brain while he stood quietly staring at
her, obviously trying to read her thoughts.

Gathering her courage, she walked
toward him. “I’m heading home now,” she said, her voice
level.

When he nodded, she walked past him and
noted that he fell in step with her down the hallway. They were
both quiet in the elevator on the way down, over the glassed-in
bridge and back to the parking garage elevator.

Stepping out of the elevator before
her, he turned and said, “See you in a bit.” He didn’t even look
around to see who might have heard.

For once Brooke cursed the fact that
she hit all the green lights on her way home, wishing the drive
home were longer than the normal twenty minutes and hoping to push
this conversation off.

She hated confrontations.
She knew she was wrong to not tell him.
Knew it
. But she couldn’t stand to see
the look of pity he’d give her if he knew she was still going
through therapy.

She worked hard to let everyone know
she was fine. She didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t want to
talk about her accident, or relive any of it. She wanted to move on
with her life.