Skin Deep (27 page)

He nodded once, sharply, before standing up
and, inclining his head to Allie and Brandon, stalked out the front
door. I heard his car start and then the squeal of tires as he
peeled away from the curb.

“Well, as entertaining as this has all been,
Brandon? Could you give me a ride back to the shop? I seem to have
been stranded in enemy territory,” Jadalee drawled, lithely getting
to her feet and walking to the door.

“Jadalee, if you wouldn’t be such a bitch all
the time, then maybe you wouldn’t end up in enemy territory so
much.” Brandon’s voice cut sharply through the tense silence
hanging heavy in the room.

My eyes widened and then narrowed dangerously
at her as she turned to me and began speaking.

“Just so you know, you’re stupid if you let
this come between you two. Nothing happened in the shop, he pushed
me away. And in the ten or so years that I’ve known him, he’s never
called any girl his girlfriend, nor said I love you to anyone but
Brandon. I’d get your head out of your ass if I were you, but keep
this in mind. You fuck things up with him? I’ll be standing right
behind you waiting to pick up the pieces, enjoying every minute of
him being back in my bed, in my body.”

With that, she turned to leave again but my
words stopped her causing her to whirl and step back, every one of
them coated in ice and dripping with contempt and truth. “If you
think for one second that you will EVER get your slutty, whorish
hands on him again, you are sadly mistaken.” I stood, walking
slowly toward her, satisfaction coursing through me when she took a
nervous step back.

“I’m not controlling and selfish, so I won’t
say that there’s no room in his life for you, because IF you’ve
been a FRIEND to him for so long, then it’s not my place to tell
you to fuck off. That’s his choice, and frankly, I’d be concerned
right now if I were you. But what I will tell you is this: I’m
drawing the line, here and now. You so much as drop an eyelash over
it and You. Will. Regret. It. Luke’s mine.” I smiled sweetly at her
and raised my hand, wiggling my fingers at her and finishing with,
“Buh-bye, now! Have a nice day!” before I turned my back on her and
walked into the kitchen.

I heard Brandon murmuring something to Allie
and then the soft click of the door as it closed behind them. I
stood where I was, breathing deeply and trying to calm my shaking
nerves. I jumped when Allie grabbed me from behind, jumping up and
down and shrieking in my ear.

“OH MY GOD, Emma! You are friggin’ awesome!
She’s a bitch but you just out-bitched her! I mean, capital
B-I-T-C-H and don’t you forget it! I’ve never seen you like that
before…well, okay, maybe once or twice when some idiot got on your
nerves, but not like that! God, I love you…can I have your
baby?”

I laughed and wrapped my arms around her,
hugging her close for a second. “Allie, I love you, too, and yes,
you can have my baby. Save me the pain, anyway. Thank you, by the
way.”

She pulled back from me, asking, “For
what?”

“For just being you and being my bestest
friend in the whole wide world,” I told her, grinning.

I had Allie drop me back off to my car in the
parking lot of her shop, promising that I would call her later,
once I’d talked to Luke. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and
powered it on, ruefully noting that I had ten voice mails,
twenty-seven missed calls, and two dozen or so text messages. Most
of them were from Luke, but a couple were my sisters, my mom, my
brother, and even Brandon.

Ignoring all the messages, I called Brandon,
who picked up immediately. Wasting no time on pleasantries, I
asked, “Where is he?”

“Home,” was all he said before I hung up on
him.

I headed home.

Chapter 18

I pulled into the drive and parked, but
didn’t get out right away. Leaning my forehead against the steering
wheel, I braced myself before I blew out a breath and headed
inside.

I opened the door and went in, looking for
Luke. I caught a glimpse of his dark hair out the kitchen window on
the deck, so I quietly slipped out the door behind him. My heart
clutched when I saw him, sitting there dejectedly with his head in
his hands, elbows braced on his knees. I walked around the front of
him, sinking to my knees and gently raising his face to mine.

“Luke.”

He closed his eyes and mine started to fill
with tears at the raw pain etched across his face. “Baby, I trust
you and I believe that nothing happened with Saw. I know I told you
I needed time to think, but I know there’s nothing to think about.
I love you, Luke. I’m sorry.”

His eyes opened, revealing the intense,
gorgeous smoky blue-grey depths that I’d fallen for, and he smiled
briefly before asking, “Saw?”

I nodded, unable to contain my smile when I
said, “You know, Skank-Ass-Whore. Saw. That’s my nickname for-”

“I get it, Emma.” He gave me another small
smile before his face fell again and he reached up, skimming his
thumb down my cheek. “I’m so sorry, sugar. I really was pushing her
away. She just caught me off guard after I gave her a hug, and then
she just reached up and planted a kiss on me…I was excited to see
her. I hadn’t seen her in about a year, and I wanted to tell her
about you, but…”

“Shhh, its okay, Luke. Like I said, I trust
you. And, um…don’t be mad, but I kinda told her that she’d regret
it if she ever touched you again, and also kinda sorta hinted that
you’d be mad at her and tell her to fuck off.” I winced as soon as
the words left my mouth, rushing to continue. “But I didn’t mean
that you can’t be friends with her or whatever, I mean, you totally
can be friends with whoever you want to be friends with, but I
can’t help it if she touches you again and I have to jump on her
back and thump her forehead into the concrete about a half million
times before she gets the message, but you know what I mean, right?
I’m not-”

“Emma?” Luke said, his voice low and
soft.

“Hmm?” I asked, half afraid of what he was
going to say.

“Shut up.”

“Okay.” That’s what I said, but it’s not what
I did. “I’m not trying to take away your friendship with her, Luke.
She’s been in your life a lot longer than I have. As long as she
respects the boundaries, then everything should be fine. I…um…also
told her you were mine.”

I looked into his eyes, smiling tentatively
at him while he blinked down at me.

“I am?” he asked, the beginnings of a smile
playing around the edges of his lips.

I nodded slowly at him while he brought his
hands up to cup my face. “Emma, I think you’re too good for me,” he
said roughly, continuing over my protest, “but I’m going to try to
live up to you. I’m so sorry, baby. I think I went a little crazy
when I heard you make that little choking sound and then you ran
away from me…you wouldn’t answer your phone, wouldn’t talk to me,
and all I kept thinking was that I’d fucked up one of the only good
things I’ve ever had in my life. God, I’m so sorry…”

I brought my hands up to touch his face,
pulling it close to mine and laying my lips softly on his. He
groaned deep in his throat before crushing me to him, sweeping his
tongue between my lips and devouring me like he was starving for my
taste. He gathered me up in his arms, pulling me off my knees and
into his lap without breaking the kiss, his hands roaming every
inch of my back, thighs, and ass, setting me on fire just as much
as letting me feel his reassurance that he was there with me, for
me.

I pushed against his chest with my hands,
breaking the kiss to catch my breath for a moment. He caught my
eyes and I melted when he whispered, “I love you, Emma.” I leaned
my forehead against his, completely in awe with the fact that he’d
finally said it, that this was real.

“I love you, too,” I whispered back, kissing
him again. I shook my head at him and gave him a small smile. “I
can’t believe you waited until we were fighting to tell me you love
me.”

He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, saying
softly, “ I was waiting for you to realize it on your own. I
shouldn’t have, though. I should have just told you.” He closed his
eyes and sighed, holding me even closer to him.

We didn’t sit there in silence for too long
before Luke pulled me into the house and started stripping my
clothes off of me before we’d barely cleared the door. In fact, we
didn’t make it out of the kitchen before he lifted me up, sat me on
the counter, and was buried balls deep in my dripping wetness. I
wrapped my legs around his thighs, holding on for dear life as he
pounded into me, over and over before we both exploded, the waves
of release crashing over us, wrenching us under and drowning us in
earth-shattering pleasure.

We stood there wrapped in each other, trying
to catch our breath when the front door opened, admitting Brandon
and Jackson who froze in their tracks, their eyes wide with
shock.

Of course, that didn’t last long. “Jesus H.,
man! I eat on that counter!” Brandon wailed, but there was no
mistaking the look of relief in his eyes that belied the pained
expression on his face.

Jackson just winked, a secretive smile
playing about his lips before he grabbed Brandon and walked
backwards out the door. “We’re gonna give you a minute to get your
clothes. Just holler when its clear.” He shut the door softly
behind them.

Luke and I looked at each other and busted
out laughing before he kissed me gently and pulled out of me,
helping me down off the counter so we could grab our clothes. Once
we were dressed again, he strode to the door, opening it wide and
laughing when Brandon stumbled, almost falling, from leaning on the
door trying to eavesdrop.

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out
with Brandon, Jackson, and Allie, who showed up about twenty
minutes after the guys did. I called my mom and my sisters to see
what they had wanted, and was surprised when they said that Luke
had been by all three of their houses to see if I was there. What
shocked me even more was the fact that Luke had never been to
Jenna’s house, so how the hell had he known where to go? I called
Calland, as well. Luke hadn’t gotten to him; he was just wanting to
know if he could borrow my house for a party. Shaking my head I
told him no, and told him not to even bother calling Leah because I
would be letting her know that I said no, too, to which he replied
by calling me a selfish bitch and hanging up on me.

Luke wasn’t far from my side for the rest of
the weekend, and I wasn’t complaining. I was almost sorry that I
had to go back to work and wouldn’t be able to see him until that
evening. Christmas was right around the corner and I was hoping
that the time would go by quickly because Floyd always gave me the
week off between Christmas and New Years. I know, kick ass
boss!

I was finishing setting up a conference with
a client when my other line rang. I answered the phone, pleasantly
surprised to hear Luke’s warm voice come through the line.

“Hey, baby. Just wanted to call and tell you
that I love you. Busy?”

I sighed. “Yeah, a little busy, but I’m
always glad to hear your voice. I love you, too, by the way.” My
other line rang and I quickly got off the phone with Luke before
answering.

After giving my usual greeting, I listened to
the silence stretching out on the line. “Hello? Anyone there? Floyd
Grim’s office…can I help you?” I shrugged my shoulders, but before
I could replace the phone on the cradle, a low, gravelly laugh came
through. From reflex, I jerked it back up to my ear, again saying
hello.

“You know, Emma, I had high hopes for
you.”

Oh, God, it was Creepy. I reached up and
clicked on the recorder that Floyd had gotten me; this was the
first time I’d had to use it. I remained silent, not wanting to say
anything, and really not wanting to stay on the phone with him, but
I was hoping he would keep talking and give me some kind of clue as
to who he was or why he kept calling me.

The voice chuckled before continuing. “Turns
out I was wrong. You’re just like all the others. All the other
whores and tramps who say one thing and then do the other. Did you
enjoy fucking him this weekend? Huh? Did ya?”

My breath was coming in pants, and my hands
were shaking. The little bell on the door chimed as Floyd walked
in, and when he saw my pale face and my white-knuckled grip on the
phone, he dropped the files in his hands and rushed around the
counter to yank the phone out of my hand.

“This is Floyd Grim, and I suggest you find
another attorney to call. Do not call my secretary again.” He
slammed the phone down and turned to me, patting my back and asking
if I was okay.

I nodded and he glanced at me worriedly
before scooping up his files and taking them back to his
office.

The rest of the day passed without incident
until I slipped and mentioned it at dinner that night.

“What? What the fuck are you talking about,
Emma?” Luke yelled.

“You should have said something earlier,
babe,” Jackson interjected.

I turned my eyes to Brandon, asking silently
for him to help me. He glared at me before turning away, refusing
to look at me.

“Look, I’ve never had a problem like this
before, and it’s not been an issue until a couple weeks ago when he
called and told me about the…” I broke off, realizing that Luke’s
face was blood red and all three of them looked ready to blow.

I winced when Luke growled at me, “Told you
about the what, Emma? How long? Tell me how long this has been
going on, that you decided wasn’t important enough to mention. How
long!” he bellowed the last words and I flinched, jerking back in
my chair.

I blinked up at him, not afraid of him, but
more afraid of what he would say. I swallowed audibly, and sent
Jackson a grateful glance when he put his hand on my knee,
squeezing gently in reassurance. “A while, I guess,” I said softly.
“I was getting hang up calls a lot, and I thought I had mentioned
those to you. Anyway, he…he called a couple weeks ago and told me
that the rose I found on my car was from him.”