The Darkness Beneath, page 17
The more he saw of her the more he wanted to get to know her more intimately. She was definitely his type: blond, slim, pretty, and she presented contradictions that he found appealing, a feisty edge protecting a vulnerability he had only seen hints of. She was the kind of woman who he thought could challenge him. Luke suspected this ex of hers had come close to crushing her spirit, but Nell appeared strong enough to have fought back. She was guarded and hesitant, fragile even, but also a survivor, which made her all the more fascinating. It was complicated though, and there was no conceivable way he could see it would work. Besides, Stacey had to be his primary focus. She was his girlfriend and the one he needed to take care of. He poured himself a large glass of whiskey, wallowed in self-pity for a while, letting the dark liquid burn in his empty belly.
Newt said Michael had taken Nell to the party. Of course, there was a high possibility Jenna would be there and if one blessed thing had come out of the shooting, it was that she had left him alone. Luke knew she was a mess and it was inevitable he would have to have a conversation with her at some point, but at least it was one less problem to worry about for now, which was good. He sure as hell didn’t have the energy needed to deal with Jenna Milborn right now.
He drained his glass, poured another whiskey, the alcohol starting to take effect.
As he started to drift off into a drunken sleep, Jenna’s face lingered in his mind, hard and broken, so different to when they had been high school sweethearts. He was popular, she was popular, and their relationship had just kind of happened. They had parted ways after high school, but still they remained tenuously bound. Luke knew she was fragile and could easily break, so he kept a close eye on her, gave her a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen to when every so often things became too much, all the time hating the way she looked at him with longing. At times he loathed having to go through the merry dance, had considered on more than one occasion severing the tie, but it wouldn’t be easy.
Her face morphed into Stacey’s, who was sharper and had more spirit than Jenna, dark hair always glossy, her eyes always alert and never missing a trick. Luke had tried to keep her happy, moving her into his home when she lost her job and funding her expensive lifestyle. She never trusted him though, always suspected he was lusting after other women.
It wasn’t true.
Liar, a little voice whispered in his ear, as Nell O’Connor’s face took Stacey’s place. Nell had complicated everything with her return to the island. She was his friend’s sister – hell, his brother’s boyfriend’s sister – and he had no business wanting her, especially after everything with Stacey. But it didn’t stop the craving.
Nell was off limits. She had to be. But as he finally drifted off to sleep, it was her that stayed in his mind.
*
Nell knew she should have called Michael, or at least texted, to let him know where she was and that she was safe, but she had been so caught up in the moment it had slipped her mind. Alex had told her they would figure things out as they went along, and she fully intended to take things slowly, but that plan went out of the window less than five minutes after they arrived back at his house, and it had mostly been her own doing.
Teddy and Sasha had been pleased to see them and Nell had preoccupied herself making a fuss of both dogs while Alex fetched glasses and a bottle of wine. The look he had given her as he’d crossed the room to where she sat on the couch, a wide sexy smile curving his lips, worn jeans clinging to lean hips, and his hair still disheveled from where she’d been running her fingers through it, had Nell turning to liquid. She was already nervous, had silently questioned a dozen times on the walk back along the beach if she was making a mistake. Sex was something she no longer enjoyed and, even before Caleb, she hadn’t been the type of person to engage in one-night stands.
Of course, nothing had to happen. She trusted Alex, knew he wouldn’t push her, but truth was, the part of her that wasn’t scared wanted him, and so she had tried not to overthink things, going to him and taking the wine and glasses, setting them down on the table, giving in to the need to touch him, to taste him, to have his body against hers again, figuring that for tonight she would take and not ask questions. He hadn’t complained at her advances, his mouth on hers hungrily, and they had tumbled onto the couch, necking like teenagers, hands roaming over clothes, kissing and nibbling bare flesh. Nell fumbled at the buttons on his shirt, undoing the first four before deciding to pull the shirt straight over his head. As Alex reached for the zipper on her dress, her cellphone began to ring.
He paused for a second, glancing at Nell.
‘Ignore it,’ she demanded, pulling his head back down and kissing him. She wanted him so badly, but the nerves were still there and she was scared that if they stopped now she might lose her courage. She shifted slightly beneath him so he could get the zipper fully down, running her hands down the taut muscles in his lean back. His bare flesh was hot under her fingertips. The cell stopped ringing and she wriggled out of the top of the dress, eager to be free of it.
The phone pinged, a text being delivered, and she glanced at it in annoyance.
Alex paused. ‘It’s probably Michael wanting to know where you are.’
Or Caleb, Nell thought, though his calls and texts had stopped over the past few days; something that both bothered and relieved her. Alex was probably right about it being Michael.
She sighed. ‘I meant to text him.’
Before the words were even out the cell started ringing again.
‘Shit, Michael.’ She reached for her phone, poking out from the top of her purse from where it sat on the coffee table, checked to be certain it was him before answering.
‘What are you going to tell him?’
Nell cut Alex a look. ‘It won’t be that I’m currently half naked on your couch. Just be quiet, okay?’
Alex grinned as she answered the phone, ducking his head to kiss her neck.
‘Hello?’
Michael’s voice came booming out of the phone. ‘Where the hell are you?’
‘I had an accident with my shoe, so I decided to leave the party.’
‘You left? Without telling me? Where are you? Back at home?’
‘No, no. I’m not there.’
‘Well where the hell are you? You’re worrying me, Nell.’
‘I’m fine. I’m with Alex.’
‘Alex? Why are you with Alex?’
‘It’s all good.’ Nell arched her back as Alex deftly worked her bra strap.
‘Where are you? At his place?’
‘Umm, yeah. We cut back along the beach.’
‘You should have told me. I was worried.’
‘I’m sorry, it slipped my mind.’
‘Newt and I are now leaving. We’ll swing by and pick you up, give you a ride home.’
Free of the bra, Nell lost focus on the conversation as Alex closed his mouth on her left breast. ‘What was that?’
‘I said we’re coming to pick you up.’
‘No, no, God, no, you don’t need to.’ Her voice raised half an octave, as his tongue teased her nipple.
‘Why? What’s wrong? What the hell’s going on?’
‘I’m fine, everything is fine. I’m going to stay here tonight.’
‘Nell?’
‘I’ll call you in the morning.’
‘NELL!’
She ended the call, dropped the phone on the floor, this time letting out an audible gasp as Alex continued to torment her breast.
The phone immediately started ringing again.
‘Jesus, Michael!’ Nell growled, ignoring it.
‘I told you we should have talked to him before we left.’
When the call rang off there was a three second period of silence before Alex’s phone began to vibrate.
‘Don’t answer it,’ Nell urged. ‘I already told him where I am.’
Alex arched a brow. ‘We both know if I don’t answer it he’ll show up here in ten minutes.
As annoyed as she was, Nell figured he was right.
Grunting, Alex shifted his weight, reached in his pocket for his cellphone, and sat up, shoving his free hand back into his hair.
‘Yeah?’
Nell studied him as she waited, his handsome face currently wearing a slight frown, drawn dark brows over those expressive green eyes, the aquiline nose and unshaven jaw.
‘Yeah, she is.’
Broad shoulders, toned chest smattered with a few dark hairs, flat belly with the wisp of more dark hair disappearing into his low-riding jeans.
God, her brother had terrible timing.
‘No, it’s fine… Yeah, I’m sure.’
There was another pause.
‘Oh, I won’t, I promise.’ Alex glanced down at Nell and grinned wickedly. ‘Got it… Yeah, okay… Night.’
He killed the call, threw his phone on the coffee table.
‘You won’t what?’
Alex settled himself back down on top of her, his weight pinning her to the couch, and his lips curved an inch above hers. ‘Let you out of my sight.’
‘He hasn’t figured it out yet, has he?’
‘Nope, he thinks you’re staying here because you didn’t want to be alone tonight.’ Alex admitted. He blew out a breath, looked momentarily distracted. She could tell from the frown on his face it bothered him lying to her brother.
Not that it was a lie. They just hadn’t told Michael why she was here. Alex might be Michael’s best friend, but this was all new. It could be a one-night stand and fizzle out or perhaps it was the start of something. They deserved time to figure things out without anyone else interfering. Right now, she didn’t want to think any further than tonight.
‘Hey, earth to Alex.’ She ran her fingers up into his hair, guided his mouth back down to hers, distracting him from thoughts of Michael with a slow lingering kiss, savoring the taste of him. ‘I’m the only O’Connor you need to be focusing on right now. My brother can wait.’
He chuckled at that, hands slipping down over her hips and the tops of her legs, easing underneath the silky material of her dress and pushing it up her thighs, green eyes locked on hers. ‘That shouldn’t be too difficult.’
As he kissed her, a wet nose nuzzled against Nell’s shoulder. She heard panting, felt something wet roll against the side of her neck and turned as a large slobbery tongue licked her across the face.
‘Teddy!’
Pleased she had acknowledged him, Teddy nudged the ball he had dropped and gave a big doggy grin, willing her to play.
‘Dammit, Teddy!’ Alex growled, grabbing the ball and throwing it across the room. As Teddy bounded after it, toenails scraping against the floor, he glanced down at Nell, and they both burst out laughing.
‘We’re not having a lot of luck here,’ Nell commented, as the dog returned, dropped his ball, and waited in anticipation.
‘You wanna go upstairs?’
Nell was silent for a moment, the niggling doubts still eating away at her. Alex wasn’t Caleb though and it scared her how much she wanted him. She sucked in a breath, tried not to overthink things. ‘Yeah, I do.’
Alex’s grin widened. ‘Good.’
Teddy could wait. Michael could wait. It could all wait. For now, all Nell wanted was to lose herself in the moment, forget everything that had been happening, and have this one night to herself. She figured she would work the rest out in the morning.
*
Luke awoke to the scent of her perfume. As he stirred himself awake, his mouth rough from the taste of Jim Beam, his head pounding, he cranked open one eye glancing at the clock on the TV, aware from the thumping pain in his shoulder and the dull ache in his neck that he had dozed off on the couch.
The perfume lingered, and he scrambled to sit upright, hope surging through him. ‘Stacey?’
At first, she didn’t answer, and he wondered for a moment if perhaps he was dreaming, then came the familiar sound of heels clicking on the wooden floor echoing through from the bedroom. He bolted upright, heart in mouth, the mixture of alcohol and pain sending a wave of nausea shooting through him and for a moment he thought he might pass out. He gripped the arm of the couch, drew a deep breath.
‘Stacey?’
He tried again, this time staggering into the hallway and through to the bedroom they had shared. Stacey stood in the center of the room emptying her clothes into a suitcase from a drawer. She had her back to him, her long dark hair in a loose braid and her shapely rear snug in her favorite tight-fitting white jeans.
‘Don’t say a word,’ she said sharply. ‘I’m not interested in anything you have to say. You’re responsible for this and you’ve got to live with the consequences.’
‘I miss you.’
‘You should have thought about that before you did what you did.’
‘Please can we talk?’
‘It’s over, Luke. Accept it.’ Finished with her clothes she began to gather up her bottles of perfume and toiletries, piling them on top of the strewn garments in the already overloaded case. ‘I have nothing more to say to you and I want you to leave me in peace.’
He couldn’t let her leave like this. They had been together for four years, which had to count for something.
‘Please. Let me try fix this.’
‘It’s final, it can’t be fixed.’ Stacey’s tone was calm, but he could hear the edge. ‘What’s done is done. At least now you won’t have to worry about me knowing about the women.’
‘There are no women! The only one I care about is you.’
‘Liar. You had dinner with Michael’s sister the other night.’ Stacey turned in time to see Luke’s jaw dropped. Her tight smile said it all. ‘Don’t even bother to deny you want her.’
‘Nell and I are friends. Her brother is dating my brother for God’s sake.’
‘Who you trying to convince, Luke?’
‘You, because you’re crazy. Nell means nothing. You’re the only one I want. Why can’t you believe me?’
‘Because I know better. You’re in denial and I can’t be here anymore.’
Glancing around the room, seeming satisfied she had everything she needed, she pulled down the lid of the case and sat on it to weigh down the contents and force the zip around. As she heaved it off the bed, it made a scraping noise against the wooden floor.
When Luke blocked the doorway, Stacey let go of the case, jammed her hands on her hips, the gold bangles she wore jangling on her wrist.
‘Don’t make this difficult, Luke. You know it has to be this way.’
‘Don’t leave me. Please.’
‘Get out of my way.’
When he didn’t budge, she scowled at him, blue eyes flashing furiously. ‘If you want a last fight I will give you one. It won’t end well though.’
Luke stared at her. He had loved her, still did love her, but Stacey was right. It couldn’t go on. It was time for him to try and move forward with his life.
‘I hope you find happiness,’ he told her quietly, stepping to one side to let her pass.
She grabbed hold of the case and dragged it past him into the hallway towards the front door then she was gone, disappearing into the night. Feeling numb, Luke scrubbed a hand over his face and went back through to the living room to fix himself another drink.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Sunday brought gray skies full of ominous dark clouds that threatened to pour. Alex rose before the rain hit, slipping out of bed and shrugging into jeans and a sweatshirt, leaving Nell sleeping as he took Sasha and Teddy for an early morning walk along the beach. As he threw the ball for them, watched Teddy gambol frantically into the surf, he reflected back over the previous evening and Nell O’Connor.
He hadn’t intended on sleeping with her last night, hadn’t actually planned on making any kind of move until he was clear in his head what he wanted from her and what he was able to offer in return, but then she had shown up at the party looking so damn pretty in that blue dress and had knocked his world off its axis. When he had found her outside looking lost, he had thrown caution to the wind. Things had escalated quicker than he had anticipated, but the truth was he couldn’t bring himself to regret any of it. As he had told her before they left Mahoney’s together, they were going to have to figure it out as they went.
Alex wasn’t sure how Michael was going to react. His friend knew about his past back in Portland, also knew of his reluctance to settle down. Although Michael was forever trying to fix him up on dates, how was he going to feel knowing Alex was sleeping with his sister? There was no doubt in his mind he intended to sleep with Nell again. In fact, he liked knowing she was back at the house asleep in his bed more than he cared to admit. Thoughts of her still on his mind he whistled to the dogs, keen to get back. As he entered the bedroom ten minutes later, two cups of coffee in hand, he took a moment to study her sleeping frame.
She had rolled across the mattress and lay on her belly, the sheet having slipped down to expose the arch of her back, her breasts mashed into the mattress, one arm above her head and a tumble of curls spilling over the pillow. In the sliver of light cutting across the shadowy room he noted the slim scar that ran down over her hip and his gut tightened.
It could have been the result of an old injury, possibly even dating back to childhood, but doubt was in his mind. Had Caleb Sweeney put the mark on her?
He set the coffee cups down on the nightstand, sat down on the edge of the mattress and ran his fingertips lightly down her back and over the scar. She stirred beneath his touch, turning her head and staring up at him through sleep heavy eyes the color of whiskey.
