Flesh: Part Fifteen (The Flesh Series Book 15)

Flesh

Part Fifteen

SKY CORGAN

Text copyright 2015
by Sky Corgan.

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CHAPTER ONE

“
I
poured us some wine.” I smile, trying my hardest to pretend not
to notice the look of disdain on Lucian's face.

“
Trying
to kill me now?” He grunts.

“
What?”
My expression contorts in confusion.

He closes his eyes
and shakes his head. “I'm sorry, it's just been a long day.”

“
Well,
come in and I'll make it better.” I gesture for him to enter my
apartment.

He takes a few quick
strides to get to my living room, then just stands there with his
arms wrapped around himself. It seems like he's putting up some kind
of protective wall. I've never seen him act like this before.

I walk into the
kitchen to retrieve our glasses of wine, then return to offer him
his. He stares down at my hand as if it's a snake waiting to strike.
Hesitantly, he takes the glass from me.

“
So
tell me about your day.” I do my best to remain chipper. Maybe
if I'm kind to him, patching things up will go a lot smoother.

“
Is
that really what you called me over here for?” He watches the
bubbles in the glass. It hurts that he won't look at me, that he's
being so cold.

“
I
told you why I called you over here. I want to make things better.”
I take a deep breath and approach him, resting my head against his
chest.

The part of me that
feels like I know him expects him to take me into his arms. He
doesn't though, and it makes my heart ache. It's like I'm trying to
cuddle a statue. He's unmoving, uncaring.

“
Today
isn't the best day for that.” He disengages from me, taking a
few steps away to set his glass on the bar.

“
Well
then, we could get together tomorrow,” I suggest.

“
I'm
busy tomorrow.”

“
Sunday?”

“
And
Sunday as well.” He turns his head but doesn't look at me.
“It's today or not at all. That's the only reason why I'm
here.”

“
Then
let's make the most of today.” I walk up behind him and put my
hands on his shoulders, kneading into his muscles. They feel like
steel beneath my fingertips, so tense that I doubt I'm doing him much
good.

He sighs, gazing
down at his wine glass. His body begins to relax, and I pray to God
that I'm making some leeway. Instead of speaking, I just continue to
rub his shoulders, then move down to his back. Giving him a massage
while he's standing is awkward, but I'm not about to stop. He
deserves at least this much from me.

“
I
lost a patient today,” his voice is so low that it's barely
audible.

“
What?”
I pause, unable to fathom the weight of what he's saying.

He inhales deeply
and lifts his face towards the ceiling. “She was an older lady,
a long time patient of mine. She came in for her third facelift. I
wanted to do IV sedation on her, but she insisted on general
anesthesia because she wanted to make damn sure she didn't remember
any of it. She went into cardiac arrest in the middle of the
procedure. I did everything that I could, but...”

My hands are
trembling against his back and I can't fight the tears that are
coming to my eyes. They're not for the lady who died though, they're
for Lucian. I can't imagine having to bear such an emotional burden.
He was right, this isn't a good time to be discussing our
relationship. He should have just gone straight home and did whatever
he needed to do to get over this.

“
It
wasn't your fault, Lucian,” is all that I can think of to say,
and I know it's not good enough.

“
I
know, but that doesn't make it any easier.” He turns to me and
our eyes meet. The level of pain that I see staring back at me makes
me suck up my own sorrow and go into pampering mode. All I can think
about is making him feel better. I just wish I knew how.

“
Come
sit down.” I set my glass of wine next to his and then take him
by the hand to lead him to the sofa.

We sit together in
silence for several minutes, staring out into nothing. There are so
many questions I want to ask him about what happened, but I know now
isn't the time for curiosity. Desperately, I try to think of anything
that I can do to help him, but my mind keeps coming up blank.

“
What
do you want to eat?” I ask, glancing down at his knee.

Today he's wearing
gray slacks and a white button-down shirt and a gray silk tie. I
would probably be lusting over him if the mood wasn't so grim. It's a
big time hormone kill, but that doesn't really matter right now. All
that matters is making sure he's going to be alright.

“
You
can order us whatever you want. I'm not really hungry, which is why I
didn't want you to cook.”

“
Oh.”
I wish he would have just told me that over the phone. Then again, I
can understand why this was something better said in person.

I reach up to smooth
down his hair before caressing his face, drawing his attention to me.
“Tonight is all about you, alright. We're going to do whatever
you want to do. We don't have to do anything at all. We don't have to
talk about what happened last night. We can just sit here if that's
what you want.”

A solemn smile
creases his lips and he takes my hand in his, giving it a gentle
squeeze. “Thanks, Amy. I appreciate it.”

“
Would
you like to watch television? We have the History Channel.”
Keeping his mind distracted would probably be the best thing.

“
Sure.
Mind if I take my shoes off?” He begins taking them off before
even waiting for my reply.

“
Get
comfortable.” I reach forward and grab the remote off of the
coffee table, flipping on the television and cycling through to the
History Channel, since I don't have it memorized.

There's a
documentary on Nostradamus. I'm sure it's going to bore me to death,
but I don't really care. I'm just happy that Lucian came over and
that hopefully we can do some healing, even if we don't discuss
things.

Once Lucian has his
shoes off, he brings his feet up onto the couch. It takes me a second
to realize that he wants to lie down and use my lap as a pillow. I
mirthfully oblige, scooting to the far edge of the sofa.

Understanding that
he probably doesn't want to talk anymore, I lean back and try to
focus on the show. There are several historians discussing the
four-hundred-year-old prophecy of the Roman Popes. Just listening to
them yammering on about something I care nothing about is making me
sleepy. Lazily, I rake my fingertips through Lucian's hair, hoping to
soothe him.

Just before sleep is
about to take me, I glance down to check on Lucian. To my surprise,
he's staring up at me. His eyes are hooded though not with
exhaustion.

Very slowly, he
begins to sit up, his face tilted towards mine. I smile softly before
leaning down to kiss him, our lips tenderly molding together.

He rises the rest of
the way and scoots over next to me, his arm sneaking around my back
to pull me against him. I don't resist, completely lost in the
moment. My core heats up like someone just flipped a switch. Knowing
that he's so emotionally vulnerable does something to me, makes me
feel a deeper desire for him.

His fingertips
gently whisper across my cheek, and I lean into his touch, moaning
softly. When he kisses me this time, it's deeper, more urgent. My
fingers almost instinctively move to loosen his tie. I need to feel
his body on top of mine. Good God, do I ever need this.

I break free from
the kiss, my hand sliding down the front of his silk tie. “We
should go to my room.”

“
Should
we?” he asks, a hint of the man I knew before breathed back
into his voice.

“
Mhm.”
I nod, standing and curling my fingers around his tie to lead him to
my room. He follows obediently, keeping close. At one point, he
accidentally steps on my heel, but it just makes me giggle, though
laughing feels inappropriate given what he just shared with me.

By the time we make
it to my room, he's all lust. He turns me around and cages me in his
arms, kissing me passionately. I'm surprised that he doesn't even
take a second to look around. He's only interested in me.

I catch my breath as
he unbuttons my blouse, my eyes fixed on the broad expanse of his
chest. As soon as his arms are out of the way, I finish taking off
his tie. Then I remove his shirt.

In a matter of
minutes, we're both naked. He sits on the edge of my bed and pulls me
on top of him. I straddle him, desperate to feel him inside of me.

I'm not sure if our
bodies have ever joined more quickly, but I'm loving it. I toss my
head back and moan as I move on top of him, feeling his thickness
spreading me. He kisses my throat and gropes my breasts, his hips
writhing.

I squeak as he
tosses me down onto the bed, crawling between my legs. I hook them
around his hips and gasp when he drives into me. I wrap my arms
around his shoulders, holding onto him while he pushes us both
towards oblivion. The sex is needy and intense. He thrusts into me
with long deep strokes, causing a tiny bite of pleasure-pain every
time he reaches the limits of my body. I whimper softly, gently
pressing my teeth into his shoulder.

Knowing that I
haven't lost him, my heart is so full of love that I'm drunk on it. I
don't even need the wine.

Lucian picks up the
pace, and I blush in embarrassment as my bed gives protest.
Occasionally my headboard hits the wall. My neighbors must hate me
right now. Serves them right though. I can remember all the times
I've had to listen to them having sex. Now it's my turn. It's a silly
thing to think about, but that's apartment life for you.

“
Oh
yeah,” I whisper as I feel the friction building at my core.
“Don't stop.”

“
I
won't,” Lucian reassures me, clumsily kissing my lips before
returning his focus on the task at hand.

He bucks into me a
few more times before grunting out his release. My body follows suit,
my clit throbbing from my climax. I groan shamelessly, my toes
curling. So good.

Lucian stays on top
of me for a couple more seconds before rolling off and staring up at
the ceiling. I want him to pull me into his arms, but since he
doesn't, I turn to rest my body against him, wrapping my arm around
his waist. His breathing is labored, and I smirk in amusement at the
feel of his muscles moving beneath my hand. I was so worried that I'd
never get to experience this again. I'm glad that I can put that
thought behind me. We're better now. We have to be after this.