“It is.” She grinned. “But don’t worry, several studs asked me out, and I had to swat them away like flies.”
We laughed, and catching up with her made me feel a whole lot better than I had earlier that day. Tomorrow, I would make an appointment with a doctor and hopefully, pull myself together again. If not for me, for the pretty young lady in front of me.
On Sunday night, I woke to hushed whispers in the hallway. I rolled over and looked at my bedside clock. It was past two in the morning. I knew it had to be Mal. I smiled and got up, yawning. I walked toward the door and stilled.
“I said I’d get the money to you,” he hissed into the phone. “I meant that, so leave my family and me the fuck alone.”
“I told you, she’s perfect, she’ll—” Malcolm looked straight at me, and for a moment, I was startled. “I have to go.” He cut the call.
He walked toward me, gripping me by the waist.
“Everything okay, babe?” I asked him.
“Everything’s perfect now,” he said, placing a kiss on my neck. “I missed you so much.”
“That sounded intense.”
“It wasn’t, just some drama to sort out at the club. Nothing serious.”
He picked me up by my waist, walked with me toward the bed, and stopped when the back of my knees touched the edge.
Setting me down, he started to unwrap my gown, grinning when he saw I had only a flimsy bra and panties under it.
“You make coming home such a treat.” I looked up at him and saw the hint of anger in his eyes, and I knew he was lying to me. Something was up because he always tried to distract me when he lied, and as always, I fell for it.
He let my gown fall to the floor as I unbuttoned his shirt and pants. Within a few minutes, we were undressed and between the sheets. As he buried himself deep within me, I forgot the conversation and anything else for that matter.
He knew how, where, and when to touch me. There was no doubt in my mind I belonged to him. His kisses were desperate, his nips and bites enough to bruise. Here, in this place, there was no room for questioning what we had. This was forever, and later that night, I fell asleep in the crook of his arms, and there was no safer place.
ChapterEighteen
Luke
She was desperate to find her daughter. I understood that, but the last thing she should be doing is thinking of going out there, and the last thing I should be thinking about was helping her do that.
It turned out there was no Nurse Jones on the staff list, which meant she went by a different name. It was nothing footage couldn’t uncover, but it would still be a few days.
I looked at the alarm clock. It was just past five in the morning, and my heart was beating a million seconds a minute. What I was thinking of could cost me my job, and it could very well cost me my license, but there was a young woman out there who needed to be found, and something told me her mother was the best lead. It was time to call in that favor. I dialed Ray, and he picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, Doc.” Ray coughed.
“You still down with the cold, Ray?”
“Yeah, I tried everything. This cough won’t go away,” he croaked out the words.
“Listen, can we meet, say seven, at the coffee shop down the street?” I knew his shift ended at six, which meant he’d be at the coffee shop by half past.
There was no use trying to get back to sleep if I was going to do this. I had to make the necessary preparations now. I had never been the kind of man who took risks or did things that were out of the ordinary. Audrey used to say that everything about me was predictable, and it was what drew her to the other man. He was spontaneous, took risks, and made her feel like she was on a constant adventure. Maybe she wasn’t the one I was meant to take risks for. Maybe she was merely the beginning, and there was so much more to come.
Alyssa, on the other hand, from the day I’d met her, I was out of my comfort zone and had remained there these last few months.
I grabbed what I needed, packing it into my SUV. Then for the next hour, I sat contemplating the likelihood of failure, and it was pretty high, but still, I had no other option. Ray was already waiting for me when I arrived at the coffee shop. The strong scent of the brew that hung in the air did little to settle my nerves.
I slipped into the seat across from him.
A waitress immediately came over, smiling at me suggestively. “Long night, boys?” she asked.
“You could say that,” I replied, accepting the piping hot mug of coffee she poured.
