Beautifully Broken (10 page)

“Let
me take you out to dinner. We can go to Joe’s…” I can hear him chuckling
against my thigh. In college, if there was a crab restaurant anywhere near we
were there. Since coming to Chicago we haven’t waivered in our love of crabs.

“Alright,
but I have a meeting so I’ll meet you there at 7.” He says standing up and
enveloping me in his arms.

“It’s
a date,” I give him a quick kiss on his cheek and hurry back to my office
realizing I never got any information on Liam’s visit today.

********

I
arrive early and asked to be seated. While I wait I order the crab cakes and a
bottle of sauvignon Blanc as per our ritual. I have to admit when Luc walks in
I do a double take like half the women in the room. He must have gone home
before coming here. His face is now clean shaven and it brightens up when he
smiles at me. Why couldn’t I be with a man like Luc, he’s so kind and loving.
Being with him is simple and easy but my brain doesn’t understand simple. I
always have to get myself into the most complicated situations.

He
gives me a quick kiss on the lips before taking his seat. We eat the crab cakes
and order two platters of crab claws cause there is no sharing when we get our
hands on crabs.

“Remember
that time we decided to have an all-nighter in your room” that sexy little
dimple appears as he smiles.

“Oh
God, you mean the time you decided to bring 20 lb of crab legs to my room. Then
you get the bright idea to steam them in my rice cooker.”

“That
was a genius idea.” He says.

“No,
we could hardly fit one at a time in that thing. We spent hours steaming all
those crabs.” I giggle thinking of how much crab we ate. 

‘You
ate so much crabs you went on a boycott for a whole month, I thought you would
never touch another one.” he chuckles.

“That’s
not funny; I really couldn’t even look at another one. Besides it’s my favorite,
I always come back to my favorite things.”

A
glint of hope flashes in his eyes, “yeah you always do come back.”

“So
how’s Anna?” I say rapidly changing the subject. I want to remain friends with
Lucas so I don’t need him thinking this is me coming back to him.

“She’s
good, says if she doesn’t hear from you by Friday she’ll think she’s done
something to offend you.” He says going to work on his plate.

“I’ll
call her. So what was Liam doing at the office today?” I ask nonchalantly.

His
face darkens and he sits back in his chair, “He came to tell me he’s leaving.”

“Leaving?
As in for good?” I ask with far too much interest.

“Yup,
leaving on Saturday and is not even going to bother to go see Anna.” He says
digging back into his food.

I
hate this awful feeling that’s beginning to fill my stomach. There’s no way I
can let him leave without saying good-bye. But I also know good-bye will take a
huge toll on my heart. How can I let someone go who holds a piece of my heart?
Will I ever be the same without him?

“So
I have a business meeting next month in Vegas with a potential client…” he
shifts nervously in his seat.

“And?”

“Would
you mind coming with me. I know were not together anymore but we always make
these trips together. I’ll feel a lot more confident if you come with me.” his
fingers begin to drum on the table. He’s afraid I’ll refuse him, and I should.
Nothing good will come from spending days alone with Lucas. He has this aura
about him that’s irresistible. He’s made it his life goal to learn all the
pleasure points in my body. He does a fantastic job at bringing me satisfaction
but after being with Liam he pales in comparison. I hate the way he lets me
manipulate him. I know he has no clue I’m doing it but I wish he could see
through my guise as easily as Liam does.

“I
don’t know Lucas,” I sigh sitting back in my chair. He squints his blue eyes at
me, turning on the charm.

“Come
on, your not afraid of me are you? I promise not to do anything you don’t want”
he winks at me. Oh yeah, he’s throwing in all the charm for this one. God he’s
so adorable smirking at me with those gorgeous dimples.

“Ok
I’ll come but no tricks Lucas. This is a business trip.” He breaks out into a
full out grin, his eyes lighting up with joy.

After
dinner he walks me to my car satisfied with a hug as we part ways. I drive off
feeling good about the progress I’ve made in my relationship with Lucas. So why
is it that I end up parked outside Liam’s place staring at the shadow
occasionally passing behind the curtains? I tap nervously on the steering
wheel, trying to talk myself out of going up those stairs.

After
twenty minutes of useless deliberations I’m walking down his hallway wondering
if I should use my key. Breakeven by The Script is booming through the door as
I bang against it. After the Alice incident, I refuse to use my keys, too
frightened I might see way more than I can handle.

The
music is lowered the second time I bang and the door is swiftly snatched open. I
stand motionless as he crosses his arm over his bare chest, waiting for me to
speak. My eyes impulsively travel down his bare chest to the thin line of hair
leading into his pajama pants. Pants that ride so low they expose his well
defined hip bones, making a v shape pointing down towards my own personal
heaven.

Umm…He’s
so unbelievably hot. One man shouldn’t have the right to look so good. This is
already starting out with an unfair advantage to him. My eyes widen as I watch
him twitch in his pants. God I hadn’t realized I was still staring at him,
practically drooling.

“Are
you done molesting me with your eyes?” he asks raising his hands to let me
further explore his hard body.

“Can
I come in?” I’m surprised by my faltering voice. He steps back and lets me in,
as I pass him my arm drags against his bare chest and I halt in front of him. I
feel like I’m stuck in some kind of magnetic bubble. His warm breath caresses
my cheek and my stomach flutters as his scent hits my overactive senses.

I
hear the door shut somewhere in the distance. His rough fingers graze my neck
pushing my hair away. His heat moves in closer, his nose nuzzling my neck. I
try to pull myself out of this fog my brain has walked into but I feel his
erection against my hip and shut my eyes, my heart racing in anticipation. The one
night we spent apart feeling like I’ve been in a month long drought from him.

“I
missed you,” he whispers into my ear. His word floating against my skin like a
thousand caresses. I take a deep breath knowing I need to focus on the reason I
came here.

Alice,
Alice, Alice
my brain chants to me in self defense.
I take a few steps forward, the space doing nothing to ease the ache between my
legs. “We need to talk.” I walk to the kitchen bar and take a seat, spinning
the chair around to watch him approach.

He
thinks he has me, owns me with a whisper in my ear.

I
see it in the glint in his eyes, the wicked smile playing at the corner of his
full lips. He stops between my parted thighs placing an arm on each side of me,
effectively caging me in as his hands rest on the counter top behind me.

He
leans in licking on my neck, “talk.” He demands while attacking my senses. I
can’t even format a thought with him licking small circles down my neck. I
reluctantly push against his chest and gain only an inch of space between us.

“I
can’t concentrate when you do that.” I scold him.

“I
know” he cocks an eyebrow at me, “but you love it.” He removes my hand from his
warm skin and returns to the wet path he left on my neck. “How’d you sleep last
night?” he asks between kisses.

“Horribly”
I moan, my eyes drifting shut.

“It
doesn’t have to be this way, come back to me.” Sounding as close to pleading as
I’ve ever heard from him. He pulls back and looks into my eyes searching for an
affirmative answer.

“What
about Alice?” I demand, my eyebrows shooting up.

“There
was never anything with Alice. What you saw this morning was just me
apologizing for the fucked up way I left her. There will be no one else but you,
if you’ll let me have you again.” His fingers run through my hair, massaging my
scalp.

“Even
if we try again how is this going to work? You’re leaving Saturday.”

“Talked
to Lucas already huh?” he snarls, pulling away from me. He begins to pace
furiously, the look he cast my way dark and dangerous. “I can’t stay here and
nurse this sick attachment you have to Lucas but I can’t leave without you.” He
runs a hand through his already tousled hair.

 “So
we’re at a stalemate.”

“What’s
keeping you here,” he snaps grabbing my face with both hands. “You belong to me
and you know it. Lucas will move on, he’s stronger than you think. Stop
pampering him and live your life.” He has a valid argument I just refuse to
take off my Lucas blinders to do something about it. Lucas and I have a
co-dependent relationship but it’s not much different from what I share with
Liam.

My
dependency of Liam seeming far more dangerous; I crave him day in and day out.
I need him to sleep and I can’t breathe when I think of losing him. I cling to
Lucas for the safety he brings me but I cling to Liam like he breathes air into
my lungs. The choice he’s asking of me seemingly impossible.

“Give
me a little time,” I run my hands into his hair, I missed the wavy texture
under my finger tips. His eyes close and his grip on my face loosen, the tension
slowly
dissipating
from his body.

“I’ll
give you till Friday but when you pick me there will be no turning back, I need
all of you. I’ll need to own all you and I won’t allow you to leave me again.”
Then he claims my lips like a man possessed.

 Possessed
by his love for me.

Liam

When
I open the door and see her standing there my heart begins pounding in my
chest. A million thoughts run through my mind at once.
Is she coming back to
me? God she’s beautiful. I missed her more than I realized. I really hope she’s
here to stay. I can’t spend another night in that cold bed without her.
I
close my eyes and take a breath hoping to clear my mental ramblings.

I
observe her appraising my body, her mouth agape and eyes dilated. Thank god she
still wants me as much as I want her. Winning her back might not be as hard as
I thought. Her eyes’ worshipping my body causes my cock to twitch, it’s as
happy to see her as I am, hardening by the seconds. Her eyes fly to mine when
she realizes she awoken the beast.

“Are
you done molesting me with your eyes?” I lift my arms letting her know she
welcome to whatever she see’s.

“Can
I come in?” she asks shyly, or maybe nervously. I step back leaving her a small
path. As she passes her arm brushes against me causing her to halt mid-step.
She felt the jolt that ran from my skin to hers. I push the door shut as I move
in closer. Her exotic smell hypnotizing me, I nuzzle my nose against her neck
so I can breathe her in. My fingers graze her soft skin as move her hair to one
side.

“I
missed you,” I confess.

She
takes a deep breath seeming to center herself and takes a few steps away from
me, breaking the warm band we were wrapped in.

“We
need to talk,” she announces walking over to have a seat at the kitchen bar
stool. She’s so affected by me she’s trying to create a barrier against the strong
pull she feels towards me. If I allow her the space she’s requesting she may
pick up and leave again. I approach her ready to attack her with the only
weapon I have.

 Her
weakness for me.

I
lean into her and begin to run my tongue up her neck. “Talk.” I demand. If she
wants to talk we’ll do it my way. She pushes me back and gives me a warning
glare.

“I
can’t concentrate when you do that.” She looks so cute trying to reprimand me.

“I
know,” I remove her hand. “But you love it” I continue to taste her sweet skin,
her responding shivers indicating just how much she loves it.

“How’d
you sleep last night?” If it was anything like my night she didn’t get any
sleep. I missed gazing into her clear gray eyes as I drifted off, caressing her
silky skin with my fingers.

“Horribly”
she moans slightly as I suck on the skin behind her ear. In that small sound I
know I have her. As much as she wants to fight me she can’t fight the pull she
feels.

“It
doesn’t have to be this way, come back to me.” I pull back and look into her eyes,
imploring her to see how much I need her.

“What
about Alice?” She snaps her persistent anger evident. I wish I never let that
women touch me, the amount of animosity in her glare shakes my resolve to win
her back. Her trust in me is already broken and I’m not sure what it’s going to
take to rebuild it.

“There
was never anything with Alice. What you saw this morning was just me
apologizing for the fucked up way I left her. There will no one else but you,
if you’ll let me have you.”