Thirty One
~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~
Good girl.
Standing there, staring down at her, Luke was beaming with pride. This woman had stood up for him. For Cole. So their relationship wasn’t normal. It would never be normal in the eyes of most people, but he didn’t care. What he felt for both Sierra and Cole couldn’t be changed by the harsh stares of others, or their ignorant comments. And to know that Sierra stood up for them had his heart swelling in his chest.
“I love you.” He blurted the words out.
Sierra stumbled back a step, still staring up at him. “What?”
“You heard me.” He said, stalking her as he moved forward and she took another step back.
“Say it again.”
“I. Love. You.” He told her before he pulled her up against him and crushed his mouth to hers. He filled his hands with her luscious body, while letting his tongue tease hers. When she tried to pull away, he kept her close, a little worried about what she would say. And yes, maybe he was a little insecure. But, Luke knew one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt. He loved this woman fiercely and with everything that he was made of.
Sure, it took him longer than it should have to say it, almost as long for him to accept it, but now that the words were out there, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
To think that his own actions could have very well pushed away this woman because he was too insecure to have something of his own, scared that she would be taken away from him and he would be left with another empty space inside of him had been too much to bare. It had happened with his parents. They had been torn from his life so easily and Luke had vowed, even as a young kid, that he would never have something stolen from him again. Yet he had almost done that to himself.
“Luke.” Sierra managed to push back from him, breaking the kiss, but not letting go of him. He stared down at her, holding his breath as he waited to hear what she had to say. God, please don’t let her reject him. He didn’t think she would, but with the way his luck seemed to run lately, there were no guarantees.
“I love you.” She whispered the words and they went straight through him, piercing his heart.
When she kissed him, he poured every ounce of what he was feeling into the kiss, lifting her in his arms and carrying her to the bedroom.
“Where are we going?” She asked, grinning.
“To get you naked.” Plain and simple.
Luke didn’t waste any time getting them both out of their clothes and then climbing on top of her. “Wait, I forgot something.” He said and rushed off the bed, nearly face planting off the side.
“We don’t need a condom.” She told him, laughing as she watched from where she lay, naked and beautiful, sprawled out like a goddess before him.
No. They didn’t need a condom. But that wasn’t what he was looking for. As he searched through his pockets, finally finding it, he crawled back over her once more.
Staring down at her, seeing the light in her eyes, the soft smile on her lips had his heart rate increasing. The fact that she was naked already spiked his blood pressure, but the way she looked at him so sweetly, had him grinning like an idiot.
“What are you waiting for?” She asked, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.
What was he waiting for? He didn’t know.
“Marry me.” For the second time that day, his mouth got ahead of his brain. Since he wasn’t the romantic, gushy type, he knew it was the best he could do, even if he had spent the better part of the day trying to come up with poems and sonnets to express how much he loved this woman. “Marry me, Sierra.”
She didn’t immediately say no, and she didn’t try to pull away, so he took that as a good sign, but he was frozen in place, staring down at her as he aligned their bodies, wanting to lose himself in her warmth, needing to make love to her. Holding on to his sanity by a very fine thread, he held back, sliding his cock through her slit, but not penetrating her.
“Please.” Hoping that was the magic word, definitely not one of the most used from his vocabulary, Luke continued to look at her.
“Yes.” Sierra whispered the word, but that didn’t matter because she had said it. She said yes!
Luke drove himself inside of her, overwhelmed by the emotions that lit him up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. When Sierra pulled him down, crushing her soft, sweet lips to his, he could barely move. Her pussy clamped down on his cock, sending shockwaves through him and making his balls draw up tight.
He pulled back, slid his hands into hers, their fingers twining together as he pulled her arms above her head. Holding himself above her, their bodies touching from chest to ankle, Luke lurched forward, then pulled back. Over and over he slid into the wet, warm depths of her body and let her consume him. Mind, body, and soul.
A few minutes later when their bodies were coated in perspiration, the velvet walls of her pussy tightened around him, milking him until he couldn’t hold back. “Come with me, baby.”
Her fingers tightened around his as her body tensed, those blue, quicksilver eyes lit up like a flame as she came, sending his body skyrocketing into paradise.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Sierra couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. And it had nothing to do with the two hundred plus pounds on top of her. Her orgasm had registered a 10+ on the Richter scale.
When Luke moved, falling to his side and pulling her against him, she didn’t let go of him. Wanting to keep him close, praying this wasn’t a dream, Sierra kept her eyes open although exhaustion was closing in on her.
Luke took her left hand and lifted it, placing a kiss to the tips of each finger before something cool slid down her finger. It was real. He had really asked her to marry him, and now he had…
“Oh my goodness! Luke!” Sierra pushed up, staring at the ring on her finger, wondering how she was going to carry it around on her hand every day. The one single diamond sparkled radiantly, a very simple, yet elegant – although enormous – setting that made her head spin.
“Do you like it?” He asked. If she wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of uncertainty in his tone.
“I love it.” She answered, then looked at him. “I love you.”
He kissed her once more, warming her body from the inside out, a tender, heart wrenching press of his lips against hers. She needed to get out of that bed, or they would end up there for the rest of the day. Not that she minded at all, but she had people she wanted to tell. Her mother. Samantha. Cole
Oh God. Cole.
Sierra shot up off the bed, unsure of what to do or where to go – feeling the same way she imagined Luke had when they hadn’t used a condom that first time. She grabbed her robe from the back of the door, slipping it on while Luke merely sat up, watching her intently.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, apparently picking up on her panic attack.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Broken record that she was, Sierra couldn’t think of anything else to say. How could they have not thought about Cole in all of this? This wasn’t a relationship of just two people, no matter how strange that sounded. The three of them were in this together. At least Sierra thought they were. She loved Luke. She also loved Cole. Equally. She wasn’t complete without either one of them, yet she had just agreed to marry Luke without even thinking about Cole. How could she?
Sierra stormed from the room, trying to get her brain to settle down, and her heart rate to follow along. When Luke appeared moments later, he was wearing his jeans but not his shirt, and his feet were bare and holy cow, he looked amazing.
“We didn’t even think about Cole.” She blurted out, turning to face him. The look on his face was not one she recognized, but when he didn’t say anything, she knew there was trouble brewing. “What’s wrong?”
Luke shook his head but didn’t move. Sierra wanted to scream at him, but she didn’t. She’d already lost her head once today, and that might have ruined her career.
“We need to talk to him.” Sierra said, dropping into a chair, resting her head in her hands. Luke might not be talking, but they needed to.
This was big.
Huge.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Cole rapped his knuckles against the door, waiting patiently for Lucie to answer. His patience was running thin, so he wasn’t sure how he managed. He’d received a call from Sierra earlier, asking him to stop by. Her message had been cryptic and she sounded worried which made Cole worry. Two attempts to call her back had failed, so he opted to go over to Lucie’s before he went to Sierra’s.
“Thanks for coming.” Lucie said when she opened the door. She had changed out of her work uniform into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She looked tired. Her eyes were puffy like she had been crying.
“Sure.” He replied, walking in and shutting the door behind him. “Is Haley here?”
“No. She’s at my mom’s. I didn’t want to take a chance that she would overhear our conversation, so I asked my mom to keep her for the night.”
Cole knew where this conversation was going to go, especially if Lucie made a point to keep Haley away.
“Can I get you something to drink?” She asked politely, but without heart.
“I’m good.” He took a seat on the sofa, waiting for her to join him. When she didn’t, he waited. He didn’t have to wait long though.
“I have to tell him.”
That was a good start. At least Cole thought it was. “What made you decide that?”
“Haley deserves to know who her father is.”
Cole didn’t know if she was telling him the reason, or trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do.
“You know how I feel about this.” They’d talked about it numerous times and Lucie never agreed with him, but he hadn’t held back how he felt. Having grown up without a father, not knowing who the man was, Cole had firsthand knowledge of what that felt like. Although his situation was different. Cole’s father knew about him, he just chose not to be a part of his life. Haley’s father didn’t even know.
“When are you going to tell him?” Cole asked, hoping to get her to open up a little.
“I don’t know.”
“Lucie. Sit down.” Cole told her, letting her hear the insistence in his words. She had asked him to come over, and he would never turn his back on a friend, but he needed to check on Sierra, which meant Lucie had to get on with it. “Talk to me.”
Her feet moved albeit reluctantly, and she made her way to the couch, sitting down beside him and putting her head in her hands as she spoke. “Haley deserves to know him. And he deserves to know her. It’s not her fault that he doesn’t remember what happened.”
“It’s not your fault either, honey.” Cole assured her.
“I know it’s not. But I could have brought it up to him. I could have told him what happened. I mean we had sex. And it was amazing.” She sighed. “How can he not remember?”
Cole didn’t have an answer for that. He’d never had an answer for that.
“This is going to turn his world upside down.” Lucie continued. “He seems happy. Truly happy right now. How can I just unleash this on him? He’s going to hate me. And probably fire me.”
“He’s not going to fire you.” That he was sure of. “Look, honey.” Cole took her hand and turned her to face him. “This isn’t going to be easy, but it’s the right thing to do. Haley needs to know her father. He needs to know about her. Hell, we don’t even know how he’ll react until you tell him.”
Lucie nodded her head.
“I think you should call him. Tonight.”
That had Lucie’s head jerking back in surprise. “Tonight?”
“Yes. Call him. Ask him to come over so you can talk to him. He’s a reasonable man.” Granted, he might not be reasonable once he realizes he slept with one of his bartenders, getting her pregnant and having absolutely no recollection of the night in question. But, that didn’t change the fact that the man was a father.
Cole couldn’t sit any longer. He hated to leave Lucie, hated that she would have to go through this alone, but he needed to get to Sierra. “I hate to run, but I’ve got somewhere I need to be. Call me tomorrow and let me know how things went tonight.” He told her as he walked toward the door. “You can do this, Luce. Just remember, it’s best for all three of you.”
Cole left Lucie nodding her head, whether she was placating him or agreeing with him, he didn’t know. As much as he wanted to see the man’s reaction when she sprang the news on him, Cole couldn’t stick around.
He quickened his pace on his way to his truck, pulling out his cell phone. He fumbled through the numbers, but managed to dial Sierra’s phone, listening to it ring as he started up his truck. When Luke answered, Cole glanced down at the screen, wondering if he’d misdialed.
“Where are you?” Luke asked.
“On my way to Sierra’s.” He told him as he put the truck in Drive and tore out of the parking lot.
“That wasn’t the question.”
Well, fuck. Luke knew exactly where Cole was because he heard him tell Lucie he would see her tonight. Apparently Luke wasn’t happy with the idea. Was he jealous? The thought made Cole smile. Luke McCoy. Jealous. Ha. “I’m leaving Lucie’s.”
“What the fuck are you doing with her?” Luke’s voice lowered, and Cole realized he was trying to hide his conversation from Sierra. Not that there was any reason to. He was sure once he told Sierra exactly what was going on with Lucie, she’d understand. Not that he could. At least until Lucie shared her news. Cole damn sure wasn’t going to be the one to spread that little rumor. He’d never be forgiven. Not to mention, too many people could get hurt.
“She just needed someone to talk to.” Cole assured him as he pulled onto the highway. Traffic was light, so Cole floored it, gaining speed and getting closer to his destination. “I’ll be there in ten. We’ll talk then.” With that Cole disconnected the call.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Luke wanted to throw the phone, and he might have if it had been his own. Instead he dropped Sierra’s cell phone on the coffee table, staring at it in disbelief. Thankfully Sierra had gone to take a shower because Luke would have hated for her to talk to Cole. Knowing that he was coming straight from Lucie’s to see Sierra actually made Luke’s stomach hurt. Dropping his head into his hands, he closed his eyes.
What the hell had happened? Just yesterday the three of them had been happy. Or so Luke thought. They’d spent nearly every night for the past week together, at one of their houses. And in the matter of just a few hours, each one of them had done something to change the entire dynamic of their relationship. Luke had asked Sierra to marry him. Sierra had said yes. And Cole had been doing God knows what at Lucie’s during that time.
Should he have consulted Cole before he proposed to Sierra? Probably. Was the man going to be pissed? More than likely. Did Luke actually give a shit? The answer should be a resounding no, but it wasn’t. Luke did care. He cared about Cole. Hell, he loved the man.
Yes. Love.
Not a feeling he thought he would ever feel for another man. At least not that way. But he did. Since the day he met Cole all those years ago when he waltzed into the club, fully intending to make it his own, Luke had been fascinated by Cole. Then over the years they’d become friends, sharing women.
Then that one October night… Logan’s bright idea to shock some sense into Sam had turned out to be Luke’s nightmare. He had been so taken with Cole that night, the intensity of being close to him, having Cole touch him, put his mouth on him, surrendering to him in every way. It had been too much. So much that Luke had lost all common sense and had fucked Cole three ways to Sunday. Rightfully so, that had been the most erotic night of Luke’s life. Which was saying something because Luke had done some crazy things before then.
And somehow being with Cole had changed him. The two of them, when they took Sierra for the first time - that had altered him as well. And now, here he was, engaged to the one and only woman he had ever loved, and feeling as though he had just betrayed Cole. Hell, he had betrayed Cole.
Even with all of that, Luke still wanted the man. Desperately. They had yet to be together, just the two of them. Except for that morning in the shower in Vegas. That was the closest the two of them had ever been. Yet Luke wanted more. He wanted Cole to give himself completely. And Luke wanted to give back.
And maybe that’s what bothered him the most about Cole being with Lucie. He said they were just friends, and he had no reason to believe otherwise. Was it his way of pushing Cole away? Still?
Pushing to his feet, Luke looked around. Sierra was still in the shower. Knowing he couldn’t leave, nor did he want to, Luke resigned himself to figuring out the next step. It was time the three of them hashed this out. Cole would probably be pissed, but that couldn’t be helped. Come hell or high water, they were going to make this permanent. Tonight.
Twenty minutes later, when Cole walked through the front door, Luke was sitting on the couch, and Sierra was in the kitchen. Making tea.
Seriously. Tea.
Luke had turned down her offer. He’d prefer a shot of whiskey, but since she didn’t have it, he opted for nothing.
Keeping his eyes on Cole as he shut the door behind him, Luke felt his muscles tense, gearing up for a fight. He’d told himself they wouldn’t do this. They could talk this out like rational adults and figure out what they were going to do next. Sierra didn’t think it would be that simple. Or so she said while they waited for Cole to show up.
Luke had been surprised when she didn’t take the ring off of her finger. That little gesture lifted four tons of bricks from Luke’s chest. She wasn’t going to hide it. That said more than words ever could, although they both knew it could very well be the final shove in pushing Cole away. At the moment, thinking about where the man had just come from, Luke didn’t know if that was necessarily a bad thing.
“Where have you been?” Sierra asked when she walked in the room carrying a coffee mug.
Cole glanced at Luke, then back to Sierra. “I had to go talk to a friend. Sorry I missed your call earlier. Is everything ok?”
“No.” She said honestly.
“What’s the matter?” Once again Cole was looking back and forth between the two of them, but Luke didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say.
“I had a run in with Susan Toulmin – sorry, you know her as Susie Mackendrick. The woman had the audacity to blackmail me. She told me I had to quit, or she was going to sue me for misrepresentation.” Sierra rambled quickly. “But the thing is, she wasn’t worried about my professional abilities. She was pissed off that I’m in a relationship with the two of you.”
Sierra sat her mug on the table before sitting in the chair opposite of Luke. He wanted her to come over beside him, but he didn’t move from where he was. He was waiting for Cole to elaborate on just what the hell he had been doing at Lucie’s.
“Is your friend alright?” Sierra asked.
“She will be.” Cole said before taking a seat on the couch beside Luke. It was the only other place to sit after all.
“She? Do I know her?”
Luke didn’t have to say a word; apparently Sierra’s curiosity was going to get him the answers he wanted.
“Lucie Werner. She’s a bartender at Club Destiny.”
“Oh. The one who was caught stealing?”
“Yes.”