Hunting Truth (8 page)

I told Lucas that I needed to get back to
Angel before she worried.
He asked if he could join us. I was surprised but I agreed
without hesitation. As we stood, he rested his arm along my
shoulders. It felt good. I turned to face him and stood on my
tiptoes. “I’m so glad you came here tonight. I’m so sorry. I should
have trusted you more. I shouldn’t have left you like that. I truly
am sorry, Lucas. For everything.” I kissed him on the
cheek.

He wrapped his other arm around me and
pulled me against him. When he spoke, his voice was thick with
emotion. “Issy, does that mean you might consider forgiving
me?”

I hugged him as tightly as I could.
“Lucas, there’s nothing to
forgive. I’m the one who should beg for forgiveness.”

“
No, Issy. You should beg for
nothing.”

I pulled back and looked him in the eye,
raising an eyebrow playfully. “Nothing?”

He chucked delightedly. “Well, yeah. If
you’ll take me back, I fully intend for you to beg for some
things.” Then he looked at me with tenderness. “Will you consider
taking me back, Issy?”

I kissed him passionately.
I think he figured out my
answer, but when I tried to pull away he held me in his arms as if
he couldn’t bring himself to let me go. I relaxed back into his
arms and after a few seconds he spoke.

“
I
’m not experienced in the art of romantic gestures and I’m
useless at expressing myself . . . but I have to tell you what you
mean to me. I thought I had a pretty good idea until you left me
but then I realized that I hadn’t a clue. When you walked away, I
was broken. I thought I’d lost you forever, that there was no way
you’d understand or give me a second chance. That I’d be alone for
good.”

“
Oh, you wouldn’t have been. You’re a very
special man, Lucas Hunter. You deserve to be loved. To be happy.
You’d have been snapped up by some lucky lady,” I whispered,
desperately hoping that I’d be the one to make him happy for a very
long time. Perhaps even forever.
Wow! Where did that come from? And I’m not
even freaked out by that revelation. Oh God, I’ve got it
bad.

I was shaken from my thoughts by Lucas
roughly holding me at arms
’ length and looking into my eyes . . . his irises were
liquid black. “The fuck I would! You don’t get it, do you? I could
never want anyone as much as I want you. Need you. I want you to be
mine. Totally and irrevocably mine. I want to leave my fingerprints
on every inch of your body. I want to invade your every waking
thought and all of your dreams. I want to hold you in my arms and
have you melt into me. To have your heart and soul branded with the
very essence of me, as you’ve branded mine. You make me feel alive.
For too goddamn long, I’ve merely existed. Now I want to live.
Because of you.”

For someone who was no good at
expressing
himself
emotionally, he’d done a damn good job of taking my breath away.
His words had awoken something unfamiliar inside me. I’d heard the
expression ‘my heart swelled’ but I’d never experienced anything
like it . . . until that moment. It literally felt like my heart
was about to burst out of my chest. And the only scary thing was
that I wasn’t scared at all. My own feelings echoed his. I didn’t
want to live my life without this man.

I slipped from his grasp and hugged him to
me.
“Oh Lucas, that
sounds perfect. Simply perfect.”

We walked back into the bar and thankfully
the band was still playing.
I led Lucas by the hand to our table and we sat down
without a word. Angel was focused on Chad as usual but, when she
glanced across at me and saw Lucas too, she did a proper double
take, then she actually, audibly gasped. I grinned at her and she
looked totally confused. Lucas kept his face straight and mouthed
‘Hello Angel’. She looked from Lucas to me and back to Lucas again.
Then I could see her subtly trying to attract Chad’s attention but
he was lost in the music. I could see Scott staring and he didn’t
look happy.

I felt a little apprehensive when the boys
returned to the table.
Thankfully, Travis went back to his girlfriend so at least
we were spared his loud mouth. Ethan and Chad looked very pleased
to see Lucas, and to see us obviously together again. Scott was
subdued and didn’t speak. I knew that I’d have to explain things to
him after I’d confided in him about what Lucas’ brother had said
but that needed to be done privately and it wasn’t the right
time.

The conversation turned to the coming
weekend
’s festival gig.
The boys were flying out to Seattle and there was concern about
their instruments getting there safely. Scott didn’t need to take
his drum kit but would use one provided on the stage for support
acts. Angel voiced her disappointment that she wouldn’t be going
because she hadn’t been around when Lucas had made the
arrangements. Lucas surprised us all by saying that he’d booked her
a ticket—just in case. That earned him a huge hug from Angel and I
could see in Chad’s eyes that Lucas was once more firmly installed
on his pedestal.

I would miss them but I was just thinking
how nice it would be to have Lucas all to myself for the weekend,
when he asked if I wanted to go to the festival.
He said he hadn’t planned on going but
that we could if I wanted to. Angel begged me to go so I agreed.
Lucas leaned over and whispered in my ear that he’d charter a
private jet just for us. I grinned, liking the sound of that. I
grinned even more when he said that we should ‘join the Mile High
Club and then some’.

Just then Travis came
over
, leading his
girlfriend by the hand. She was what might be called a wallflower.
Not plain by any means but happy to blend in and not be the center
of attention. Travis introduced her as Jenny and she smiled shyly
as we all said hi. Travis pulled out a seat for her, settled her
into the chair and then acquired one for himself from another
table. He took her hand and gazed into her eyes adoringly. He was
obviously besotted.

Lucas asked if she wanted to come along to
Seattle and she blushed, looking to Travis for help.
A whispered conversation took
place before Travis said that she’d love to. Lucas said she could
have his ticket as he now wouldn’t need it. Scott immediately asked
why and Lucas told them we’d travel by private jet. Scott got up
and walked off to the bar. I was tempted to follow but thought it
best to leave him be and not stir up potential trouble between him
and Lucas.

As we got up to leave, Angel asked whether
I was going home with her or whether I was going with Lucas.
I hadn’t even thought about it
and, before I could, Lucas had picked me up and thrown me over his
shoulder. I squealed and laughed as he marched through the bar and
out into the car park.

He carried me to his car and, to my
surprise, opened the rear door before lowering me to my
feet.
I got in and
realized that Carter was sitting behind the wheel. That’s where I’d
seen him before! The first night that Lucas and I had slept
together, we’d left this very bar and he’d been driving Lucas’ car
that night too. I asked Lucas why he wasn’t driving and he said
he’d have needed a few drinks if it had gone badly with me, so he’d
taken precautions.

In no time at all we were parked in the
underground garage of the Orion Building.
It felt weird although I’d only been split from
Lucas for four days. Carter stayed in the car as we got out and
walked to Lucas’ private elevator. He inserted the key and the
doors opened immediately. As we entered, I had arousing flashbacks
of our previous passionate encounter. I looked across at Lucas and
saw his lips twitch. He obviously knew what I was thinking
about.

The doors opened into his apartment. I
wondered whether Lucas wanted me to go to the playroom. I asked him
and he shook his head saying, “Not tonight.” Instead he led me down
the hallway and into his bedroom. He switched on a lamp then turned
to face me in the mellow light.

“
Oh
, Issy, I was beginning to think that I’d fucked everything
up and I’d never get you back. I thought I’d lost you
forever.”

I bit my bottom lip, feeling guilty. I saw
his eyes flare and I released it. “I can only keep saying sorry and
try to earn your trust, Lucas. I should have had more faith in you
or at least given you the chance to explain. What I did was
unforgivable.”

“
No, Issy. Letting you walk away from me.
Out of my life. That was unforgivable and I’m never letting it
happen again. I should have had the courage to fight for you, there
and then.”

I smiled playfully. “But what about our
agreement? You promised not to pursue me at the end of the month
trial.”

He grinned wickedly and shook his head.
“No, I promised to back off if you asked me to.”

I raised an eyebrow.
“Isn’t that the same thing?”

He closed the gap between us and kissed
me. Hard. As he pulled his head away, he caught my bottom lip
between his teeth. The pressure of his bite made my lip sting.
Weirdly, that sting travelled straight down between my legs and
caused my sex to clench. Oh that was it, I was wet.

“
No, because you aren
’t going to ask me to. Are you, Miss
Prince?” he growled as he released my lip.

That growl
broke through my restraint. My hands grasped his
shirt and pulled. The sound of fabric tearing and buttons hitting
the hard floor filled the air. I yanked it out of his jeans and
tugged it off his arms. He simply looked bemused. Then I unfastened
his belt and pulled it swiftly through the loops on his jeans. I
walked around him and grasped his wrists, pulling them behind him.
I was just wrapping the belt around when he laughed and said, “What
do you think you’re doing? I think you have our roles a little
confused. Do you need me to remind you?”

I pulled the belt tight and wrapped it
around again. “Oh no, Mr. Hunter. You said I had to abide by your
rules in the playroom but not in here. That you wouldn’t dominate
me in here. You said nothing about me not dominating you. Now do as
you’re told.”

I wrapped
the belt around again and again tucked in the end.
I reached around from behind him and unfastened the top button of
his jeans. Then I slid my hands down those long, lean legs and
removed his footwear. When he was standing there wearing just his
black jeans, I walked back around and stood in front of him,
admiring the view. His pupils had dilated and his irises had
darkened like ink.

I stepped closer then bent
forward
. I kissed from
his happy trail all the way up to his neck. I planted kisses along
his jaw then nuzzled the tender spot, just below his ear, making
sure my breath blew across his ear. I felt him shudder and his
breath hitch. I smiled a secret, self-satisfied smile as I licked
behind his ear then traced the shell with my tongue.

I stepped back and saw that his eyes were
closed and his jeans were bulging. I could see his throbbing
erection, straining against its denim prison. His eyes opened and
he looked at me in question. I took another few steps backwards and
began to remove my clothes—slowly. Maintaining eye contact the
whole time, I slid my clothes against my skin with seductive
precision. I could see his rapid pulse in the vein in his neck as I
finally stood naked before him, except for my stockings and heels.
My nipples peaked under his admiring gaze.

I walked back over to him and pressed
myself against the length of him, rubbing my stiff peaks across his
chest. I stood on tiptoe and whispered into his ear, “I fucking
want you, Lucas Hunter.” I bit his earlobe gently as I spoke. I
felt as well as heard the rumble of his answering growl.

Carefully,
I allowed myself to fall backwards onto the bed.
He moved to follow but I lifted my foot and put the sole of my shoe
flat against his chest. The thin heel pressed into his skin
slightly as I shook my head. He raised an eyebrow but stayed where
he was.

I bent my legs and placed my feet flat on
the mattress, allowing my knees to fall open, just enough for him
to get a good view.
Then
I trailed my fingertips up my sides and onto my breasts. Gently, I
kneaded them and teased my nipples, rolling them between my fingers
and pinching them lightly. I moaned softly and looked at Lucas
through my lashes. The blatant hunger and frustrated restraint I
saw there drove me on.

My
hand slid down between my legs and stroked my open slit. I
heard a low moan and glanced at Lucas. The muscles in his neck were
taught and I could see his jaw clenching. It turned me on even more
to see him fighting his urges, knowing how much he wanted me. I was
already wet so I dipped a finger inside and clenched around it as
my other hand pulled roughly on my nipple. I slid the finger out
and then slid two fingers inside, lifting my hips up slightly to
afford him a better view. I was so wet that my fingers were
dripping when I withdrew them. I traced my juices up along my slit
and around my clit. I felt it swelling with need.

I slid my ass to the very edge of the
bed
and let my feet fall
to the floor, spreading my legs. I inclined my head to Lucas and
widened my eyes. His own eyes widened in recognition of my silent
command. He dived to his knees between my legs, graceful even with
his hands restrained behind his back. I recalled him saying his
mother had been a dancer. He’d obviously inherited her natural
poise and grace.