Loving Lucas (5 page)
surprised delight as Lucas suddenly stepped outside the
bookstore.
He looked good, Riley realized. Damn good. His blond
hair looked golden in the sunlight.
Won’t be so pretty when it’s splattered with blood
.
Smirking, he watched as Lucas stood on the sidewalk,
looking up and down the street, but Riley was certain he
didn’t notice him behind his darkly tinted windows.
Just as Lucas turned to walk back inside his business,
both he and Riley heard someone calling his name. Tensing, Riley watched a tall man with thick black hair jog quickly
across the street, to stand beside Lucas.
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Loving Lucas /
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A fucking cop! He’s talking to a fucking cop!
Hands gripping the steering wheel, Riley felt the anger
boiling, because just looking at the way the man reached out and gently touched Lucas’s shoulder told Riley he knew
Lucas intimately. And he could sense that Lucas trusted
him, even as he shook his head at something the man said,
only to finally sigh and nod.
Son of a bitch! Someone wants him? He has someone!
How can he? He’s mine!
Driven by pure rage, Riley cranked the car, knowing he
had to send a message to Lucas here and now, and he knew
just how to do it.
HEARING the unmistakable voice calling his name, Lucas
turned to watch Nicholas jogging across the street and
couldn’t help but smile.
He was fairly certain he had never seen anything as sexy
as Nicholas in uniform.
Well, he was pretty damn sexy last night, with his lips
wrapped around my cock
.
Annoyed with himself for recalling that image and
annoyed with the way he grew instantly hard at the memory,
Lucas cursed himself and Nicholas. He was trying damn
hard to do the right thing for both of them, but it seemed
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Nicholas wanted to fight him on that every step of the way.
Lucas was really beginning to wonder how much longer he
could resist what Nicholas was offering.
How he had resisted for five years, he wasn’t sure.
Use common sense, Luc
.
Trying to hold that thought in mind, he still felt his heart race when Nicholas reached his side. He looked up into vivid green eyes that were filled with worry, but beyond the worry, Lucas could clearly see how much Nicholas loved him.
“How’s it going?”
“Great. Busy day, but that’s a good thing.”
“You know what I mean, Luc.” Nicholas lowered his
voice. “Seen anything unusual?”
“Aside from Sasha’s hair?”
“Luc….”
“Nothing unusual, Nic. I swear. And considering how
your deputies keep stopping in….”
In answer, Nicholas shrugged casually and, clearly,
unapologetically. “The guys like to read.”
“Right.”
“Come on, darlin’. You know I plan on keeping an eye on
you.” He took a small step closer and Lucas felt his heart
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kick in his chest again. “If given a chance, I’d like to be keeping a hand, or better yet, both hands on you.”
“Nic….”
“I’ll be at your place again tonight.”
Lucas shook his head. “No. I don’t think that’s
necessary.”
“I do.”
“I know you’re worried and I appreciate that, but there’s
a good chance Miller won’t come after me, so you don’t have to babysit me.”
“I’m not babysitting you. And tell me the truth, Luc. Do
you really believe he won’t make a move against you?”
He wanted to say no, that he didn’t believe he might be
in danger, but he couldn’t, and about this, he couldn’t bring himself to lie to Nicholas.
“I think there’s a chance he will come after me. He said
he would.”
Nicholas frowned at that. “When did he say that?”
“A year after he was put in prison, he sent a letter to me, saying if he ever got out, he would make me pay.” He looked away from Nicholas, wondering why he had shared that
when he knew damn good and well that the information
would only support Nicholas’s concerns. “I gave the letter to the DA and he made certain Miller couldn’t contact me
again.” But the impression had still been made and now, the 47
Loving Lucas /
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fear was alive again. Lucas hated that, hated feeling
vulnerable, but he struggled not to show it as Nicholas
touched his shoulder and Lucas looked at him again.
If Nicholas had chosen that moment to pull him into his
arms, Lucas wouldn’t have been able to resist him, standing in the middle of town or not.
“He won’t get to you, Luc.”
“You don’t have to….”
“I want to, because I love you, and I won’t let that
bastard take you away from me.”
Half-smiling, Lucas shook his head. “Sasha is already
dying for details after seeing you leave my place this
morning.”
“Did you tell her about the incredible blow job?”
“No, I didn’t.
“Not the kind to kiss and tell?” Nicholas grinned and
Lucas had to smile back.
“Not really. Besides, Sasha has an active imagination, so
she can fill in the blanks for herself.”
Nicholas leaned close and Lucas shivered at the feel of
warm breath against his neck. “You like chocolate, don’t you, Luc?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
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Loving Lucas /
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“Good.”
“Why do you ask?” Desire fluttered in his stomach as
Nicholas pulled back and Lucas wanted to whimper.
“You’ll see. Tonight.”
“Nic….”
“Got to run, gorgeous.”
Shaking his head, Lucas smiled as Nicholas turned,
glancing over his shoulder with a quick wave as he crossed
the read.
I love you, Nic
.
He nearly called out the words, but stopped himself as a
movement to his left caught his attention. He saw an
unfamiliar brown car suddenly speeding down the street and
panic seized him, as he realized the car seemed to be aiming itself at Nicholas.
“Nic! Watch out!”
Heart falling to his stomach, Lucas watched as Nicholas
saw the car just in time to make a wild dive to the other side of the narrow street, landing hard on the sidewalk as the car sped on by and turned left at the first side road it came to.
Rushing across the street, Lucas dropped to his knees at
Nicholas’s side.
“Nic? Nic, can you hear me? Are you okay?”
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Wincing as he pushed himself so he could at least sit up,
Lucas could see he had a bleeding gash on the side of his
head and he favored his right arm.
“I’m okay. Nothing serious.”
The words were slurred and sluggish and Lucas felt
something inside of him shatter, when Nicholas slumped
forward, unconscious in his arms.
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Loving Lucas /
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THREE hours later Nicholas was sitting in a hospital bed,
feeling woozy, but assured by the doctor on call that he
would be fine.
He had a mild concussion, the cut along his hairline
required seven stitches, and the fall had dislocated his
shoulder, but the doctor had easily reset it. He was,
according to the doctor, lucky, but he didn’t need anyone to tell him as much, though it was obvious to him that Lucas
was still on edge as he paced the length of the hospital room.
The car that had nearly hit him had already been found,
abandoned just outside of town. Inside the car they found a letter, written to Riley Miller by a former cellmate, and it was obvious from the nature of the letter that Miller had paid the man to find information on Lucas.
And he had.
He knew where Lucas lived and about the business he
ran, and now, there was no question that he intended to
come after Lucas.
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“Luc, sit down. Please. I’m fine.”
“You’re lucky. You could have….” He paused at the foot
of the bed, words fading, but Nicholas knew what he was
thinking.
“You saved my life.”
“It’s because of me your life is in danger.”
Nicholas sighed and shook his head, then winced and
Lucas noticed it.
“Are you in pain? Should I call for the nurse?”
“Any pain is mild, and no, you shouldn’t call for the
nurse. You should come over here and sit down so I can hold your hand and tell you I love you.”
Smiling as Lucas did as he asked, Nicholas reached for
his hand and held it.
“I love you, Luc.”
“I love you too, Nic.”
The words came so easily from him that Nicholas had to
smile again, as he lifted Lucas’s hand to his lips and kissed it. He had to swallow past the lump of emotions in his
throat. Even if he knew what Lucas felt for him, hearing him actually say it never failed to touch his heart and soul and he prayed a day would come when Lucas would say those
words often and freely.
“But regardless of what I feel….”
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Loving Lucas /
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“We aren’t doing this thing, where you push me away.”
“It’s easier to push than to watch you leave.” Lucas
whispered and Nicholas ached inside.
“Nothing could make me leave, Luc. Let me in and find
that out.”
“It’s not that easy.”
Lucas looked down at their locked hands and Nicholas
wanted nothing more than to pull him into his arms and kiss him. He knew when Lucas felt exposed or vulnerable his first reaction was to turn and run, but the fact that he was still here, still at his side, told Nicholas that maybe, just maybe, Lucas was tired of running.
“Do you know where Ridge is now?”
Obviously surprised by the question, Lucas looked up.
“What?”
“I was just wondering if you knew where to find him.”
“Why would you want to find him?”
“Well, I’d like to beat the shit out of him for hurting you, and when I’m done beating him, I plan on telling him that he never deserved you.”
That earned him a half-smile. “Nic….”
“I really hate the guy. I hate that what he did makes it so hard for you to trust me.”
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“He couldn’t handle my recovery and what he knew I
would look like.”
“Which means he’s a self-centered, superficial asshole.”
“I know you think I punish you for what he did, Nic, but
that isn’t the case. I mean, it hurt, when Ridge walked away like he did, but I didn’t feel for Ridge what I feel for you, so losing him….” He shook his head. “That pain wouldn’t
compare to the pain I would feel if you finally saw me and
realized you can’t stand what I look like.”
“Luc….”
“I see the love in your eyes, and I see how much you
want me, and I am terrified that if you see my scars, you will find them repulsive and that will be it, and the thing is, if you did find them repulsive I wouldn’t be able to blame you.”
“Why are you so sure I would be repulsed?”
“Because I am,” he answered simply and honestly.
“Why?”
“Because they’re hideous.”
Nicholas bit the inside of his lip, knowing he was about
to push, but Lucas was being very open at the moment and
it seemed this might be a good time to really get to the heart of a few issues once and for all because Lucas needed to do that.
He’s held too much inside for too long. He has to let it out
.
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Loving Lucas /
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“Is it that, or do you hate them because they remind you
of what happened?”
“I don’t need anything to remind me of what happened,”
he snapped.
“Luc….”
“But yeah. It’s a physical reminder. And I can’t escape
it.”
“And you think if I see the scars, I’ll just see you as a
victim?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“No. Never. God, Luc, you aren’t a victim. You’re a
survivor.”
He shook his head. “I’m not….”
“You faced nothing short of hell, baby. And you survived
it. I thank God for that, and you want to know something
else? I admire you for picking up the pieces and putting your life back together and I,” he reached out, knuckles caressing Lucas’s cheek, “I love you, Luc, and seeing your scars won’t change that. Even if it takes me another five years, another fifty years, I will prove that to you and I will make you realize that we are meant to be together.”
He watched Lucas drop his eyes to their still-locked
hands and swallow hard. “That’s really a big promise there.”
“I’m good at keeping my promises.”
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“I don’t doubt that.”
“For instance, I asked you earlier if you liked chocolate.”
Lucas’s eyes came back to his, wide and curious. “You
did ask that.”
“Well, I had a reason.”
“What was that?”
“Oh, I plan to cover every inch of you with chocolate
sauce and slowly take my time licking it off.” Just mentally painting the image had his cock throbbing and he watched
as a slight gasp escaped Lucas’s parted lips. “You like the idea of that, don’t you? My tongue licking you slowly,
teasingly, until I have you begging for more, begging me to fuck you.” He could see color rising to Lucas’s cheeks and
his breath hitched. Nicholas knew he was being just a little cruel, considering he currently wasn’t in any position to