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“Honey Bolder. I’ll have you know that we have not slept together. After all, I’ve only known the man for six months.”
Now they all laughed. Their forced merriment soon became real, and it broke the strain that had formed from recent events.
Once they’d satisfied her mother’s need to make them coffee and some toast, they headed back to Honey’s new apartment where Mel gathered her belongings and said goodbye. “You sure you’re okay alone?”
“Of course I am. Besides, didn’t you say that you and Jess had plans later? It’s his day off, right?”
“Sure, but I’d break them if you need me.”
“Nope. As much as I love you, I’m fine to be alone. Soon as you leave, I’ll be heading for the bedroom and intend to sleep for hours.”
And it was exactly what she did. Well the first part anyway. She cozied up on the king size bed with a soft blanket covering her and her head on the large feather pillow. But sleep couldn’t be coerced.
Her mind spun with all that had happened recently. Experiencing so many conflicting emotions at once, she gave in to her misery. Thinking about the young girl who’d lost her life earlier started a buildup of fluids in her mouth. Sickness roiled until she ran for the bathroom to relieve herself of everything in her tummy. Returning to her nest, her control broke, and she cried for all the messes that had suddenly attacked her normal sublime lifestyle.
Her mind traveled back to the face of the man in the crowd of lookie-loos who’d turned away from her, and she cried harder. Had it been Luke? Why hadn’t he come to her? More tears fell. Taking deep breaths to control the maddening release, she blew her nose and tried to concentrate on anything else.
She thought about her past. And it dawned on her that ever since she’d been called to the FBI office and heard the latest information they’d shared about Katrina; her whole world had been off kilter and messed up. Who was she kidding that she could gather information on a murderer?
The thought of her shortcomings brought on more tears, making her wail like she had when overcome with grief about missing her sister. It had been years since she’d let her emotions rule so strongly and yet it seemed she had no off switch.
When her phone pealed she ignored it. When a knock on the door sounded, she didn’t hear it. Too immersed in her heartache, she just sobbed.
When a certain male voice sounded from the bedroom doorway, it only made her weep harder. But when strong arms gathered her close, and a sympathetic man rocked her, she finally succumbed to a peaceful slumber and knew no more.
Hours later, when her eyes eventually opened, her first thought was – where the hell am I? Then she felt the warm body cuddled next to her and almost yanked away before she suddenly knew there was nothing to worry about. The man was Luke, and he had come to take care of her.
As if he sensed her being awake, he mumbled in a soft tone, “You okay now, Honey?”
She pulled away from his body and sat up to look down on him. “How did you get in here?”
“I called first and when there was no answer, it didn’t feel right. So I came up and knocked at the door. Again, you ghosted me, and I got worried. You know… ahh, Jess told me about the threatening texts you’d been getting lately. I came inside and found you crying. I couldn’t stand seeing you that broken up.”
“So you slept with me?”
“Actually, what happened is… in my defense, you wouldn’t let me go.”
Vaguely remembering her begging him to stay, she backed off from that line of questioning. “Did you hear what happened earlier?”
“A little bit. I ran into Mel, and she told me most of it before she let me in.”
“Mel let you in? I never heard you.”
“We stepped into the hallway and kept the door open a little so I wouldn’t get locked out. We were there for a while. Are you feeling better now?”
“I guess. It all seems like a bad dream. That young girl’s body. The police. All those questions.” She caught his eye on purpose. “You know, I imagined I saw you there at the crime scene.”
“Is that right? Thank God Mel stayed over and was with you.”
He reached for her and scooted back to lean against the leather backrest, holding her against him like she was a fine piece of porcelain. His hand stroked her hair away from her face, a gentle caress one wouldn’t have imagined Luke would perform. Having this as a distraction, she forgot her earlier remarks and let herself relax.
She’d accepted his hard edges as being a part of the man, and when this sudden gentleness appeared, it had her leaning in, opening to him in a way she’d never experienced before. When his hand came near her mouth, she turned her face to kiss his palm.
That brought his head down to place a kiss on her hair. Feeling him so close, she twisted so she could give her mouth to him. And he took it ever so carefully, as if not sure of her intentions. When her body angled into his, he gathered her up and the kiss turned into pure hot magic.
Their tongues met in a soft dance of welcome on her part and begging on his. Their playfulness lasted until she heard him moan. Then she pushed closer, her hands skimming his wide shoulders to wrap around his back, clinging with a wantonness she never knew she had in her.
Emotions peaking, their kisses ignited the seriousness of the moment, and both were entangled in helping each other remove unnecessary clothing. His murmurs of appreciation made her tingle with anxiety to pleasure him, and soon she had her lips on his naked chest, his nipple playfully being tugged. Unaware that he’d stiffened, she snuffled the abundant chest hair and kissed his body purring like a hungry kitten.
