The Fight for Love (Contemporary Romance) (10 page)

***

It sounded like the storm was getting stronger. Lucie pre-empted a potential power outage as she carefully lit several scented candles around her apartment. As the little flames danced atop of them everywhere started to smell sweetly of vanilla
.
As she moved around she kept the blanket wrapped around her. It made her feel safe, like it was some sort of protective clothing.

Sometimes during a storm, as a child, she’d nestle down within her duvet, taking only a flashlight and a book with her for company. There in her little makeshift tent she’d wait out the storm while trying to lose herself in whatever story she was currently reading.

Lucie suddenly had a desire to retreat into such a nest. She went into the bedroom and climbed up into her bed. Then she snuggled down beneath the duvet with only the light from her cell phone to guide her. She could still hear the storm raging outside but its fury was more muffled now. Thunder still cracked so loud that it felt like the storm was directly above her, targeting her apartment building. Lucie shuddered and pulled her knees up to her chest. She felt moderately safer in her bed, hidden beneath it like some sort of tent.

***

Dalton didn’t wait for a cab. He dashed towards the train station, hoping what little change he had in his pocket would be enough to get him beyond the city towards the outskirts. The platform was surprisingly empty. He figured few people wanted to be out in such weather. The few people who were braving the storm were dressed in heavy-duty coats and carried umbrellas which they remained tucked beneath.

Jogging on the spot Dalton waited for the train. His clothes were already wet despite the coat he’d hastily pulled on. Thunder growled overhead but Dalton ignored it. The storm could rage as much as it wanted but nothing was going to stop him reaching Lucie.

It took ten stretched-out minutes for the train to arrive. No sooner had it pulled into the station then Dalton dashed aboard, eager to keep moving. Rain pressed against the windows of the compartment as lightning kept streaking across the skyline of the city. People around him commented on the fury of the storm.

“Terrible weather,” they said.

“Quite the storm!”

The train pulled away from the platform and Dalton just hoped that he wasn’t too late to win back Lucie.

***

More thunder. Lucie burrowed deeper beneath her duvet, willing the noise away. She felt like a scared little girl again. She needed her father to come and tell her that everything was okay, that there was nothing to fear. Usually she enjoyed storms over the city but this one was different, this one was fueled by a great power which made even the grandest of buildings shake and quiver at its might.

“It’s just a storm,” Lucie reassured herself, still hugging her knees to her chest. “It will pass.”

But the storm seemed reluctant to leave. It roared and lit up the night sky, soaking the city in a constant barrage of heavy rain. News reporters were advising people to stay in their homes. The storm had progressed from heavy to dangerous. Car alarms squealed in dismay as lightning struck nearby, setting them off. The whole world felt chaotic and lost to the storm. All of these events Lucie followed from the security of her bed via her phone
.
And then, after she’d caught up on the storm’s events she checked Dalton’s Twitter page which had remained frustratingly inactive all through the day. She wondered where he was during such a storm. She imagined him in some plush apartment surrounded by beautiful women drinking overpriced champagne. He probably hadn’t given Lucie a second thought since their meeting that morning.

Sorrow burned through Lucie as she remembered that only twenty-four short hours ago she had been in Dalton’s arms. He had shared the very bed she was now cowering within. The memory was still so real, so vivid. All she had to do was close her eyes and she could imagine his breath upon her neck, his bare skin pressed up against hers, hot and sweaty.

Thunder made the foundations of the apartment building shake. Lucie snapped away from thoughts of Dalton and hugged herself tighter.

***

Dalton had to use his phone to guide him from the train station. He had little idea where he was going and it was hard to follow the instructions on the screen when it kept getting covered in large raindrops. As Dalton ran through the neighborhood the streets were eerily empty. Car alarms screamed out, struggling to be heard over the constant booms of thunder.

Keeping his head down, Dalton kept running. His phone told him that he was heading in the right direction. That he was almost at Lucie’s apartment building. His clothes were now completely soaked and clinging to his skin. The rain lashed down as heavily as it had in the center of the city. It was certainly one hell of a storm covering an impressive area of the city.

Dalton winced as lightning flashed close by. His heart hammered nervously in his chest. He knew it was foolish to be out in such a storm but what else could he do? He had to get to Lucie. He was finally following his heart rather than his head, letting it guide him to where he needed to be.

Lucie’s head was pressed against her knees and her eyelids were starting to get heavy. She knew she’d soon fall asleep in her makeshift bed tent. It was so warm and comforting in there. Outside the car alarms droned on but they were quiet compared to the thunder.

Suddenly a new sound reached her ears. This one more desperate and closer than any of the others. Lucie froze and strained to hear more clearly. Banging. Hard, persistent banging. It took her a few seconds to realize that someone was banging on her apartment door. Tentatively she withdrew from her bed and peered out at her bedroom suspiciously. Who could possibly be at her door at such an hour and in such weather?

Groaning, Lucie reasoned that it was probably her neighbor Daniel. He was often getting locked out of his own apartment through losing his own keys while drunk. He’d given Lucie a spare set to cover such instances. The first few times Lucie was wary, fearing he might just be trying to get to sleep with her. But as it went on she realized that aspiring model Daniel was really just that dippy. And that when it came to bedfellows she most definitely wasn’t his type as she was the wrong gender.

Reaching for her blanket and surrounding herself with it like a shawl, Lucie scurried out of her bedroom and towards her front door.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” she called to the person banging on the other side of it. “Jeez, Daniel, how many times do I have to tell you to get a spare key!”

She pulled open the door, expecting to see Daniel smiling apologetically at her, revealing his perfect teeth and flawless skin. He was the sort of man you’d describe as beautiful. But Daniel wasn’t there. Lucie’s mouth fell open in shock when she saw Dalton, soaked to the bone, standing in her doorway. He was panting heavily as though he’d been running.

“Dalton?” she uttered his name in shock. What was he doing there? What was going on?

“Can I?” he glanced past her, towards the warm, candle lit interior of her apartment. His teeth were chattering.

“Yeah, sure,” Lucie stepped aside and let him in. A part of her wanted to send him back out into the storm, to tell him that he had some nerve to come knocking on her door at such an hour. But another, stronger part of her wanted to just get him out of his wet clothes as swiftly as possible. And not because she was concerned he might catch a cold.

“I’ll make you some tea,” Lucie offered, feeling the need to keep herself busy and preoccupied from the fact that Dalton was once again in her apartment.

***

Dalton gratefully accepted the hot mug of tea from Lucie. He noticed how beautiful she looked in the candlelight. He kept telling himself that the fact that she’d let him in was a good sign, that he wasn’t too late. There was still hope.

“So,” Lucie dropped down beside him on the sofa but she kept her distance. “Dalton, what are you doing here?”

Taking a deep breath Dalton gazed deep into her eyes. “Lucie, I was wrong,” he admitted humbly. “When I told you that you would always come second to my fighting, to my career, I was wrong.”

He expected her to come tumbling into his arms, all her anger forgotten, but Lucie remained rigid on her side of the sofa, staring at him angrily.

“Lucie,” Dalton put down his mug, already missing the warmth it provided for his cold hands. But he needed to be vulnerable and honest. He needed to win Lucie back and the only way to do that was to show her his heart, all of it. Even the parts which he’d never revealed to anyone else before.

“I’m a fighter,” he explained. “It’s all I’ve ever known, all I’ve ever been good at. For so long being a fighter has defined me. But since meeting you I’ve…I’ve realized that there’s more to life than that. I’ve realized that you, Lucie, you’re the only thing worth fighting for. I love you.”

The three small words slipped easier from his tongue than he’d have ever thought possible. He’d never said them before. He’d not intended to say them to Lucie that night but they’d tumbled out of him, desperate to be heard.

He watched Lucie as a hand fluttered up to her throat and her eyes misted.

“Do you…do you mean that?” she wondered tentatively.

“Yes,” Dalton swiftly crossed the space between them and gripped her hands in his own. “I mean it, Lucie. I mean it more than anything.”

“How do I know that come tomorrow morning you won’t just be gone again?” Lucie feared.

“Because I promise that I won’t,” Dalton lifted one hand to gently cup her face. She leaned against his palm and he felt his pulse quicken. “When you wake up I’ll be right by your side, exactly where I belong.”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Lucie’s. At first the kiss was sweet and tender but it quickly deepened. As he pushed his tongue against hers she leaned back on the sofa, positioning herself beneath him. Dalton groaned as he felt her pulling down his jogging bottoms.

“Oh Lucie,” he breathlessly called out her name as he felt her hands upon him. Her touch sent fireworks exploding throughout his body. He panted and groaned with delight as she slowly eased him back so that he was once again sitting on the sofa. She moved with such confidence that it was unbearably sexy.

When he was sitting on the sofa Lucie slowly removed the clothes she was wearing, elegantly stepping out of them. The soft glow of the candles highlighted her perfect curves and soft, delicate skin. Dalton was desperate to reach out and grab her, to press her against his body.

Slowly Lucie approached him, dropping to her knees. Dalton leaned his head back in blissful anticipation. When her mouth connected with his rock-hard arousal he had to strain not to climax too quickly. It felt amazing.

***

As she rolled away from Dalton Lucie was finally exhausted. They’d been making passionate love for the better part of an hour and had eventually ended up on her bed, with Dalton entering her from behind as they lay together in the spoon position. Lucie had lost count of the number of times she’d climaxed. While they’d been entwined together the storm had moved on to unleash its fury elsewhere. The night outside was calm and peaceful as Lucie lay panting in the darkness. Beside her she could hear Dalton’s breath slowing as he fell asleep.

For a while she lingered on the edge of sleep, not daring to close her eyes. A part of her feared that despite all that Dalton had said, despite his declaration of love, that come the morning Lucie would still wake to find her bed empty and him gone.

But despite her efforts her eyelids slid closed and she soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

***

The harsh scream of her alarm clock jolted Lucie awake. In a panic she sat up in her bed, her heart beating madly in her chest. She felt sick and disoriented. She waited several seconds for her senses to calm down and as they did so her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the bedroom and the events of the previous night came flooding back to her. Lucie tentatively glanced at the far side of the bed. Her whole body tensed in disappointment when she saw that it was empty. Only crumpled sheets remained as a sign that Dalton had ever been there at all.

“No,” Lucie choked out the word, refusing to believe that Dalton would have crept out from her bed a second time. Not when he’d promised to remain by her side, not when he’d said that he loved her.

Her movements were heavy with despair as Lucie climbed out of bed and wrapped a terrycloth robe around herself. She didn’t want to cry but the tears were building up behind her tired eyes. She couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t wake her to say goodbye. Or leave a note.

Lucie quickly turned on the main light in the bedroom. Perhaps there was a note. The harsh glow stung her eyes as she scanned the small space. There was no note. No discarded clothes upon the floor. Dalton was gone.

“Bastard,” Lucie seethed to herself as she pushed open her bedroom door. It was then that she smelled the pleasant aroma of bacon permeating her apartment. Her heart fluttered excitedly in her chest. There were lights on in the living area, it wasn’t shrouded in darkness as she’d expected it to be.

Lucie walked out and turned to look into the kitchen area. Dalton was standing at the stove turning over strips of bacon which sizzled in a frying pan. Lucie was speechless.

“Morning.” Dalton glanced up from cooking when he saw her and smiled. Lucie almost melted on the spot upon seeing that smile. He was so perfect, so handsome and so very much there in her apartment. He hadn’t left like a thief in the night, he was still there.

“You look surprised to see me,” Dalton quipped.

“I am a little,” Lucie admitted as she came and stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He smelled good. She inhaled his scent of cologne and sweat, pressing herself tightly against him.

“I told you I’d be here,” Dalton tenderly stroked her arms as she held him.

“Well, I’m glad you meant it.”

He turned around so that they were facing one another.

“I meant everything I said,” he clarified as he stooped down to softly kiss her lips.

“I love you too,” Lucie purred with a smile.

“Good,” Dalton’s arms were reaching up her waist, drawing her closer to him. He kissed her and Lucie gave into the heat of the embrace. They tumbled together down to the floor,
the bacon now forgotten. They were only reminded of it when the fire alarm started shrieking, the apartment filled with smoke and the meat in the pan blackened and became unusable.

Laughing, Lucie stood up and began hastily opening windows, letting in the moist air which had lingered after the storm. Dalton was also laughing as he hurriedly pulled on his clothes.