Relentless (9 page)

She closed her fingers around his shaft, smiling at his sharp intake of breath.  Her eyes, drunk with seduction, darkened as she caressed him.  Hot, pulsating need consumed him.  He groaned, pressing himself into her hand, taking a moment to enjoy the sweet ache her touch created. 

He reached between them, removing her hand.  Turning her, cradling her back against his chest, he held the backs of her hands, leaving her palms free. 

With their fingers entwined, he placed hers on her abdomen and slowly slid them upward over her slippery skin as steamy water pelted them.  He helped her cup her own breasts, testing them and massaging them.  She leaned her head back against his shoulder, her eyes closed, her mouth parted on a sigh.

"See how good you feel?"  He took her pointer fingers and circled her nipples, and then flicked the crested buds with his thumbs.  "You're so beautiful, Lily.  So beautiful."

She shivered and tried to turn in his arms.

"Uh-uh.  Not done yet."  He trailed their linked hands down her sides and over her hips.  With deliberate slowness, he dragged her closer to the place he wanted to touch the most.

She tried to hurry their descent.  "Touch me, Luke," she whispered.  "I'm going to die if you don't."

"Trust me honey, I’m going down in flames with you."  He moved their hands to the sensitive place between her thighs, running her finger between her folds. 

She bucked against him.  "Oh, Luke."

He held her trembling finger as he retraced their path, this time delving deeper into her hot core.  Even from his place on the outskirts, her slick juices covered him.  "Lily.  You're so hot."  He sucked her earlobe into his mouth as he made her touch herself again. 

Then he released her, searching for and finding her sensitive bud, totally turned on by the fact her hand remained as she continued to arouse herself.  She jerked again, went rigid, before she melted against him.

Damn. 

He turned her, her lust-glazed expression drawing him deeper into her sensual world.  "I need you, Lily."

She slipped a hand around his neck, bringing her face to his and giving him a kiss that scorched his lips.  "So take me."

"Do we need a condom?"

"No," she whispered against his mouth.

He dug rough fingers into the soft flesh of her bottom as he lifted her.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he anchored her back against the wall.  He met her gaze and held it.  Slowly he tested her resistance and then drove himself deep inside her.

She gasped as he relentlessly plundered the addictive pleasure she offered.  He couldn't think beyond the space she occupied in his world.  He needed her…desperately. 

In the back of his mind, he registered the feel of her nails raking his back, but the sensation only added to the feral quality of the moment. 

He thrust into her again and again as water rained down on them.  Steam filled the air.  Lily gasped and clung to him as he pushed them both toward ecstasy. 

He couldn't stop.  Not until he thoroughly satisfied her.  Not until he appeased the deep ache inside him.

"Luke."  Lily pulled his head toward hers, stealing his soul with a passionate kiss.  She cried out as she tightened around his shaft. 

He increased his momentum, giving in this time to the hunger that consumed him.

Pent-up pleasure crested, and his body vibrated with sweet release.

He took a moment to catch his breath, studying her eyes, amazed that he could feel so much for one person.  "That was…wow."  He kissed her until he couldn't breathe.

She gave a small chuckle.  "Liked that, huh?"

"More than liked."  Loved?  It wasn't just lust or the afterglow of sex.  Somehow, during the few short weeks she'd been in Aspen, she'd managed to ensnare his heart.  The best part was, he didn't care that she'd imprisoned him.  He wanted to tell her exactly how much he felt for her, but it was too soon.  If he spouted the "L" word, she'd run, and he didn't intend on losing her.  Ever.

He scooped her up before he said something he'd regret and carried her to the bed, depositing her wet, sleek body on the downy comforter.

She welcomed him with open arms, and then snuggled against his chest.

"Don't get too comfortable."  He grinned.  "You and I aren't finished yet."

A frantic pounding woke Luke from a deep slumber.  He sat up, nearly toppling Lily as she apparently tried to do the same.  "What the hell was that?"  His heart thumped wildly from the abrupt awakening.

"Someone's at the door," Lily whispered, sounding breathless and scared.

Several more rounds of banging echoed through the house, confirming Lily's answer.  Luke cursed.  "Stay here."

Who the hell even knew he was there?  He dragged on his boxers as he stumbled through the darkness and out of the room.

He flicked on a light switch and headed down.  Whoever it was pounded again causing him to almost miss a stair.  He grabbed wildly for the handrail to catch himself.  "Hang on a damn minute," he hollered as he descended the rest of the steps.

He swung the door open wide, ready to kick someone's ass.

"Bastard," Hannah hissed as she shoved past him.  Black mascara hung in half-moons beneath her eyes, giving her the appearance of a zombie.  "Where is she?"

Luke made the mistake of glancing up the stairs, and Hannah didn't miss it.  He tried to grab her before she hit the first step, but she was primed for battle and escaped his grasp.

He chased her, but couldn't catch her before she entered the bedroom.  Hannah flipped on the light switch just as he reached her.

Lily stood at the side of the bed tucking the woven throw from the chair around her, her eyes wide pools of shock.  "Hannah, what are you doing here?"

"I can't believe I was worried about you."

Anger emanated off Hannah in violent waves, and Luke stepped forward to put a protective hand on Lily's back.  He wouldn't tolerate Hannah's emotionally abusive ways any longer.  When he touched Lily, she shrugged him off.  He took a step back, stunned and a little hurt.

"Slow down, Hannah.  Why were you worried?"

"My mom heard about the accident and went to the house to check on you.  When you didn't show up for a couple of hours, she got worried and called me.  I hurried back from Roosevelt, and we've been looking for you for hours.  I didn't know if you'd been hurt, too, or what."

Lily took a step toward her friend.  "You can't get mad at me for that.  I didn't know you'd come look for me.  You weren't even supposed to be home tonight."

Hannah let loose a semi-hysterical laugh, and Luke wondered if she'd gone completely off the deep end this time.  "That's right.  You waited until I left town and then jumped at the first opportunity to trick Luke into bed."

Luke couldn't let this continue.  "That's not what happened, Hannah."

"Stay out of it, jackass.  It's pretty damn obvious you fucked her.  The only question is, did you rape her like you did me, or did she use you for a good fuck like she said she was going to before she dumped you on your ass?"

"Whoa."  Luke took the emotional blow, but didn't back down. 

Lily slapped Hannah's face, the sound echoing through the room.  "How dare you?"

"Bitch."  Hannah raised her hand, but Luke caught it before she made contact with Lily and threw it back at her.

Adrenaline screamed through his veins, but he retained control.  "I did not rape you.  I did not sleep with you.  I did not touch you.  Take back what you said, Hannah.  This has gone on far too long."

Hannah seemed momentarily stunned by the anger in his voice, but it didn't take her long to recover.  "You're just lucky I never called the cops."

"Get out."  His voice shook with every bit of anger and resentment he'd held toward her.  Hannah opened her mouth, but he cut her off.  "Now."

Tears flooded Hannah's eyes.  "This isn't over.  It isn't over by a long shot."  She turned and stormed out of the room.

He met Lily's gaze and held it.  She cringed when Hannah slammed the door.

He inhaled what he hoped was a sustaining breath.  "I didn't rape her.  I never even had sex with her."

"I know," she whispered.

"When is this fucking nightmare going to end?"  He kicked a stool near him, sending it toppling over.  Lily flinched again, but remained silent.  He'd had all he could take.  The years of lies, of people whispering behind his back, the way they looked at him like he was less than.  Now she'd label him a rapist.  He was done with it.

There was just one thing.

He pinned Lily with a look, needing to see her face when he questioned her, needing to know if there was one person in this God-forsaken town that he could love and trust.  He swallowed the burning bile in his throat, knowing deep down how this would end, but praying it wouldn't.  "Was Hannah lying about what you said, too?"

Lily's eyes watered over before she dropped her gaze.  "Not exactly," she whispered.

"What the hell does that mean?"  His heart might as well have been ripped from his chest.  It couldn't have hurt any worse. 

"I didn't mean it when I said it.  It was before I knew you."

"So you routinely make suggestive comments that you don't mean?"  He knew his bottled emotions had taken control of his words, but he didn't care.  He had to get the hell out while he still had a shred of his soul.  "Never mind."  He grabbed his jeans, his keys jingling in the pocket.  "Don't answer.  I've stayed in this fucking town too damn long as it is."

She grabbed his hand, the gesture tugging at his shattered heart.  "Luke, you have to understand.  That was before I got to know you.  I'd only heard Hannah's side of the story."

He shook her off.  He wanted to believe her.  He really did.  But he was so damn tired of games and lies and trying to figure out who wouldn't ultimately break his heart.  "Doesn't matter.  I'm done.  I don't need this shit.  I don't need to wonder if you're really the type of girl who would do that.  I don't need to wonder if you can get past something I never did."  He looked her in the eye, wanting her to know how damn serious he was.  "I'm done."

He ignored the heart-wrenching look on her face and left the room.  Who the hell knew if he could even trust her expression?

He was over this town and these people.  Fuck, he was an idiot for sticking around for so long. 

*        *        *

Lily placed a hand on her chest, trying to breathe.  This was wrong.  So wrong.

She couldn't let Luke leave, not without having a real chance to explain what had happened, not without making him understand.  If things didn't work out between them because they weren't well-matched, then so be it, but she didn't want him leaving because of the vicious words Hannah had spewed.

Lily hitched the blanket higher so she could move unfettered and hurried down the stairs.  She had to stop him.

She'd made it halfway to the bottom when the blanket slipped from her nervous fingers, tangling around her legs and onto her feet.  She panicked, trying to gather it again.   Part of the blanket landed between her heel and the wooden stairs, creating a slippery surface that sent her tumbling down.  Her ankle twisted as she tried to catch herself, and her elbow smacked hard against an edge.

She landed with a thud at the base of the stairs, her cheek smacking against the hardwood floor.  She laid there for a moment, naked amidst a tangle of blanket, trying to assess what damage she might have taken.  Air slowly eased back into her lungs.

"Shit."  This wasn't how her magical evening was supposed to end.  She rolled over, but before she could sit up, she heard the sound of a truck screeching away into the early dawn.

"No," she cried, hot tears flooding the corners of her eyes as pain radiated up her ankle.

Luke.  Her insides squeezed in on each other, leaving her with a sick feeling.  With everything that had happened to him in the past, he probably believed that she was as heartless as Hannah.  This was another arrow to his heart, and of course, he would be hurting like hell.  She had to find him.

She needed to talk to Hannah, too.  She couldn't believe her friend had snapped like she had.  What happened to the fun and carefree roommate she'd known in Salt Lake?  Could a person really hide from her past like that?  No doubt, Hannah had some serious issues she needed to deal with, but she was beyond Lily's reach now.  Luke had to come first.

She got to her knees, wincing as she moved her left wrist.  She rotated it an inch before a sharp pain made her cry out.  She must have sprained it, and her elbow hurt like a bugger.  So did her cheek where it had made contact with the wood flooring.

She had to admit, though, her heart hurt worse than any of her physical pains.  She'd gone from lying in Luke's strong arms one minute to being laid out naked on the floor in the next.

Life could be cruel.

But she wasn't going down this time without a fight. She wouldn't give up and walk away like she'd done before.  So what if life wasn't black and white, right or wrong?  Maybe it was in the gray areas where all the happiness was found anyway.  In time, she and Hannah might find a way to forgive each other, but she'd never forgive herself if she let Luke get away without telling him how much he meant to her.

*        *        *

The morning sun was well over the mountains as Lily pulled in front of the little house she shared with Hannah.  She'd driven through the small town of Aspen and some of the surrounding areas searching for Luke's truck, but she had no idea where he lived, and the possibilities were just too vast.  So, she'd gone home.

Battered and bruised, inside and out, Lily exited her car with care, prepared for another round of abuse.  Inside, she found Hannah in her bedroom shoving a pair of Lily's jeans haphazardly into a suitcase.  The closet door stood open along with all of Lily's drawers.  Clothing trailed from the closet, across the floor, to a jumbled pile in the center of her bed.

Lily exhaled a huge breath, wanting to knock over her roommate, but knowing she had to pick her fights.

Hannah tossed a black pump and a pink bra on top of the jeans.  She was obviously still operating under the influence of her wild emotions.

Lily stepped inside the room.  "We need to talk."

Hannah stayed focused on her task.  "I don't have anything to say to a traitorous, lying bitch."  In went a white cotton shirt and a brown sandal. 

Lily cringed, but said nothing about her friend's blatant violation.  "Come on, Hannah.  That's a little overkill."

Hannah whipped her gaze toward Lily, her brows arched with attitude.  "So you say."  She narrowed her eyes.  "What the hell happened to you?  Looks like he beat the shit out of your face."

Lily touched her cheek, the spot tender and swollen.  Luke was not that kind of man.  As messed up as things were, that was one thing she was sure of.  "I fell."

"
Really
?"

Lily frowned.  "Yes, really.  I slipped and tumbled down the wooden stairs at his lodge after you lied to him, and he left."

Hannah smirked and continued to shove things into the suitcase.  "Good."  Lily had the sinking feeling that Hannah would have been even happier if Lily
had
accused Luke of physically harming her. 

Emotion slammed her pulse against her throat, and she waited until she'd inhaled and then slowly exhaled before she spoke again.  "I'm not sorry I've spent time with Luke, but I am sorry that it's hurting our friendship.  That was never my intention."

She paused long enough to glare at her.  "Whatever."

"Seriously, can we talk about this?"

Her friend turned to her and placed her hands on her hips.  She opened her mouth to speak, but bit down on her lip instead.  Fresh tears pooled in her eyes, twisting the knot of guilt Lily wanted to ignore.

Hannah tried again.  "Out of all the people I know, I would think you would be the one person who would know what it's like to be betrayed."  Her voice cracked with raw emotion.  "I thought you'd have my back.  That's the only reason I returned to this hellhole.  Because you were coming with me.  Otherwise, I would have been happier living on the streets."

"Hannah—"

"I never should have listened to you about coming back."  She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.  "But it's all worked out real well for you, hasn't it?  You have a job, the hottest guy in town.  Even my parents love you more than me.  You've succeeded where I never could.  This whole town hates my guts...including my own family."

"No, Hannah.  God."  Lily twined her fingers, trying to figure out how to make this all better.  "How can you say that?  Your parents obviously worship the ground you walk on.  So does your brother.  I'd give anything to have what you have."

"Take them, they're yours.  Oh, wait.  You already have."  Hannah laughed, the sound smacking of the deranged.

"That's not fair.  I'm not trying to take anything from you.  I'm truly grateful that you've given me a place to live."

"And look how you show your thanks."

"Come on.  When you offered me a place to stay, you didn't mention the extent of the issues you had with this town or the fact that you expected me to hate everyone and everything while I'm here.  I got a job to carry my own weight, and I've been as nice as I can be to your parents because I'm grateful to them for taking me in.  I haven't done anything wrong."