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Being back at the club after seven days in paradise with the two girls he loved more than life itself proved harder on Kane than he expected. They arrived back in Dallas late on Sunday evening, and after dropping Lucie and Haley off at her apartment, he found it difficult to go home to an empty house. Having spent every day with them, he found the quiet lonelier than ever before.
But that wasn’t the case at the club. The place was jumping, the crowd bigger than he expected on a Monday night, but apparently that was to be expected when Luke McCoy, owner of Club Destiny chooses to close the doors on the mysterious swinger’s club. He hadn’t closed the door on the nightclub that allowed the general public admission, and that was evident.
People were coming from all over just to see what all the fuss was about. Kane knew before he disappeared on vacation that there was something going down, mainly because of the arrival of McKenna Thorne, the reporter for one of Dallas’ esteemed swinger’s magazines. She had been given provisional entry into the member’s only club that even Kane wasn’t privy to.
Not that he had ever applied to join. He knew he had the money required, but he had never seen the point in joining. He had enough going on in his life as it was. Especially now that he was trying to come up with a plan to make Lucie his forever.
Forever.
It was a term he never thought he’d become familiar with, but after the last week, he knew there was no way in hell he was going to allow her to slip through his fingers again. They’d overcome some serious obstacles in the years they had known each other, and as far as he was concerned, the hard part was behind them.
He loved her.
Now he just needed to find a way to tell her. The three little words had been on the tip of his tongue for days, yet he’d been worried that he wouldn’t be able to express them well enough. Kane wasn’t known for his communication skills.
The sound of a song being butchered by a wannabe karaoke singer had him damn near cringing. What the fuck was Luke thinking when he decided to make Monday nights karaoke night? For the last few months, Kane had endured some of the most gruesome attempts to brutalize a song, and he didn’t know how much more he could stand.
Glancing over to the other end of the bar, Kane noticed Lucie talking to someone. The man had his back to the bar so Kane couldn’t tell who he was, but he could sense that the conversation wasn’t pleasant. It didn’t happen often, but from time to time a drunken guy would take to harassing one of the waitresses. Usually Kane or one of the bouncers could intervene before things got out of hand, which he fully intended to do now.
Lifting the bar top and easing out from behind the bar, Kane left Jacob Heyman, one of the club’s few bartenders, to tend to the customers lined up for what seemed like miles.
As he got closer to Lucie and the man she was talking to, or rather arguing with, he realized immediately who it was. Justin Jones. Not the man Kane wanted to see tonight. Or ever for that matter.
“Is there a problem here?” Kane asked, keeping his voice low and his eyes trained on Justin. He was received with a stern look from Lucie and an easy disregard from Justin. Bastard.
“Why don’t you mind your own fucking business,” Justin retorted and Kane could smell the booze on his breath. He was beyond intoxicated.
“She is my business,” Kane replied, moving to stand directly in front of Justin, crossing his arms over his chest. He easily had a good six inches on Jones and probably at least thirty pounds of solid muscle. Not that the man was scrawny, but Kane knew he could hold his own. He didn’t expect it to come to that though.
“How so?” Justin asked, turning to look at Kane directly. He seemed genuinely interested in knowing just how Kane played into this.
He didn’t respond immediately because he wasn’t looking to embarrass Lucie, but he needed to get this situation under control and more importantly, get Justin into a cab before he did something stupid like try to leave the club drunk.
Kane glanced over to see Jacob looking his way, and he nodded his head toward the phone just beneath the bar. The bartender didn’t need any more explanation as he picked up the phone and dialed the number taped close by.
“Why don’t we take this outside?” Kane asked, and he knew immediately that Justin was going to get all riled up. He had no intention of fighting the man, but he needed to get him outside and on his way.
“I’ll go outside, but only if she’ll go with me,” Justin replied, looking toward Lucie.
Kane waited to see what she would say. When she nodded her head, he held out his arm to allow her to lead the way.
Once outside, Justin did the unthinkable and Kane could only stand back and stare. The man broke down in tears right there on the sidewalk with probably a good fifty people waiting to get inside. What the fuck?
“Please, Lucie,” Justin begged, staring at her with tears streaming down his face.
Lucie glanced back at Kane, then turned to face Justin once more, grabbing his arm and leading him a few feet away. The distance between them didn’t offer her any more privacy than before, but Kane wasn’t about to mention it. If he had to hover over her, he damn sure planned on hearing what she had to say.
~~*~~
Lucie had no idea what the hell prompted Justin to show up, begging her to give him another chance. He had never had a chance in the first place. It wasn’t like they were dating, nor had they ever even been on a date. He just frequently showed up at the club, showered her with attention which she tried to avoid, and left fairly decent tips.
He’d asked her out a time or two, but Lucie had always politely declined. Just like she had tonight. And yet here they were, standing in front of Club Destiny, the man crying like a baby in front of her while Kane looked on from just a few feet away.
Why did she have to have this conversation in front of Kane? She had already told Justin that she was seeing someone because, well, just because it seemed easier than telling him she wasn’t interested. No, she wasn’t seeing Kane in the technical sense, and he’d probably laugh if he heard her say it. But, with Justin crying and people beginning to gather around them, she needed to put an end to this quickly. She only hoped the cab that Kane had prompted Jacob to call would arrive quickly and save her – and him – from further embarrassment.
“I’m seeing someone, Justin,” she repeated the same statement she had given him earlier, only this time she lowered her voice, hoping that Kane wouldn’t hear her.
“Who? Who are you seeing?”
Well, so much for trying to be discreet. Lucie couldn’t find the words, so she stared back at him, hoping to buy herself a little time.
When Justin moved forward, wrapping his fingers around her arms, Lucie tried to pull back, but his grip was too tight.
“Tell me, Lucie. Who the fuck are you seeing?”
“She’s seeing me, asshole. And I’ll give you three seconds to get your fucking hands off of her.”
Kane’s voice was so deep and so low that Lucie barely registered the words he said. It didn’t matter what he said, his intentions were clear. To her surprise, Justin immediately released her arms and Kane pulled her up against his side. When she tried to back away, his hand tightened around her waist, holding her closer.
“Get in the cab and go home. You need to sleep it off, man,” Kane advised, sounding much more like himself than just moments before.
Justin turned to walk away, but Kane grabbed his arm, releasing his grip on her and Lucie immediately backed away. That’s when she noticed the cab parked at the curb. Kane physically turned Justin toward the yellow car, opened the back door and forced him inside. He then leaned in through the front passenger window, talking to the driver, pulling his wallet from his back pocket as he did. Money exchanged hands and then the cab was on its way.
Kane turned back to her, took her hand in his and then led her back inside the loud bar. God, she was beginning to hate karaoke night. If she had more guts, she’d mention as much to Luke McCoy, but she knew she wouldn’t.
Once inside, everything resumed as normal without another word between the two of them. Lucie didn’t know if Kane was angry with her, but she wasn’t going to ask him. If all went well, she’d get through the next three hours, go home and crawl into bed and resume the crying jag that sleep had finally interrupted last night.
Lucie had just grabbed her purse and was trying to make it across the room without attracting Kane’s attention when she heard him call her name from behind the bar. She stopped, turned slowly and faced him. With about twenty feet between them, she couldn’t see his expression clearly, which was just fine with her. She’d embarrassed him enough for one night.
“I’ll call you when I get there,” she told him before he prompted her.
He nodded his head but didn’t say another word, so Lucie turned toward the parking garage, moving as fast as her tired, aching feet would take her.
Fifteen minutes later, she was locking her apartment door behind her, grateful that Haley was with her mother for the night. After having gone an entire week without seeing her granddaughter, Carolyn had insisted that she get to spend some alone time with her only grandchild. Lucie hadn’t been able to argue.
Now, she wanted to fall into bed and resume her crying jag while no one was the wiser. Hopefully by morning she’d feel human once again, and she would finally be over Kane Steele.
Not that she actually believed that would happen, but she could hope.
She moved to the kitchen, grabbing a diet soda from the refrigerator and a protein bar from the pantry. She leaned against the counter while she ate, trying not to think about all of the events of the night. She still couldn’t believe what Kane had told Justin, but then again, she knew he was just trying to diffuse the situation, which he did rather well. For the last few hours, she had warned her heart not to get too excited because he hadn’t meant the words he said.
Still, her stupid, naive heart had hoped.
Tossing the wrapper in the trash can, Lucie downed most of her drink before flipping off the kitchen light. She was moving through the living room when a knock on the front door damn near had her heart jolting from her chest. Slowly, and as quiet as possible, she moved to the door and peeked through the security hole. There, distorted by the oblong shape of the peephole was Kane looking awkward, yet still handsome.
Lucie quickly unlocked both locks and opened the door, stepping back so he could enter. It was the middle of the night, and she didn’t want to piss off her neighbors and have them call the cops on her. Since this was becoming a frequent occurrence, she was surprised it hadn’t happened yet.
Once he was inside, she shut the door, locked it and turned to face him. Thankfully, she hadn’t been crying because she wasn’t sure she could face him if she had.
“We need to talk,” Kane said, thrusting one hand through his hair in that adorable way he did as he stared back at her. He seemed irritated. Or maybe he was just concerned. She had no idea.
“About?” she asked because she had no idea where this could possibly be going.
“Is Haley here?”
“No, she’s at my mother’s.”
“Mind if I take a shower?” he asked, and Lucie had no idea what to say. Hadn’t he just said they needed to talk? Now he wanted to take a shower? She was confused, but she nodded her head anyway.
Kane disappeared down the short hallway, the bathroom door closing behind him. God, what she wouldn’t give for two bathrooms. She really needed to take a shower because she reeked of cigarettes and beer and the last thing she wanted to do was face Kane while she smelled like a damn brewery.
Ten minutes later, he returned wearing only his jeans, sans his boots, socks and shirt. Damn, the man looked good. Before Lucie could consider what she wanted to do to him while he stood there half naked, she excused herself to the bathroom so that she could take her own shower.
It took her a little longer than it did him, but not by much. Had she not spent the last five minutes staring at her reflection in the mirror, trying to prepare herself for whatever he wanted to talk about, they’d probably already be done talking and he would be on his way.
Coming out of the bathroom, the first thing she noticed was that all of the lights in her apartment were off, with the exception of the single lamp on her bedside table. The soft golden glow spilled out into the hallway and Lucie steeled herself for what she would find when she entered her room.
Forcing her feet to move, she walked into the cramped little room, noticing Kane lying on her bed, one arm propped over his eyes. He was still wearing his jeans, but he hadn’t bothered to pull down the comforter on her bed.
Was he asleep?
Moving to the opposite side of the bed, Lucie stared down at him, wondering just what the hell she was supposed to do now. Before she could contemplate her next move, Kane raised his arm and looked up at her.
“Lay down beside me.”
His voice was gruff from sleep, and she knew he had actually passed out right there in her bed. Instead of arguing, she climbed onto the bed beside him, not pulling the blankets back before she placed her head on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling.
When the lamp turned off, she turned her head toward him but couldn’t see a thing in the darkened room.
“Come here, Lucie.”
As though she was on autopilot and his voice were her commands, her body moved toward him, curling into him as she rested her head on his arm.
“I missed this last night,” he whispered into the darkened room, his breath fanning her hair as he spoke the words close to her face.
It wasn’t like they had slept in the same bed for the last week because he had always ventured out to the sofa at the condo while she remained in the bedroom. Lucie hadn’t had the luxury of waking up in his arms, and she wondered whether she ever would.
While she had been in the shower, she had resigned herself to listening to everything he had to say. She wasn’t going to argue, nor was she going to beg. Instead, she had decided that she would take what he could give her. If that meant he came over, and they stole a few hours alone in the dark in her bed each night, so be it. It was more than she felt she deserved.
“We’re moving,” she blurted out before she thought better of it. Clearly she had an issue with the silence because she felt the need to fill it with random thoughts.
“Moving?”
“Yes. I found a nicer apartment, and it’s in a great neighborhood with good schools. I’ve been saving up so that Haley and I could move before she started kindergarten.”
Kane didn’t say anything more, he just pulled her closer and Lucie listened to the sound of his heart beating beneath her ear. After a few minutes of silence, she figured he’d fallen back asleep. She knew she should try to sleep too.
“I love you.”
Even with the complete silence, Kane’s words were barely audible, but Lucie figured that was because her heart had begun to pound like she’d just run a marathon. And that was after he spoke. He didn’t move, and he didn’t say anything more. She was beginning to think she had imagined it, when finally he repeated the words.
“I love you, Lucie. I’ve loved you for a long time.”
Lucie’s fingers dug into the warm skin beneath her fingertips as a single tear slid down her cheek landing on his chest.
“Don’t cry, baby,” Kane whispered, pushing her off of him as he maneuvered so that he was above her, resting on his arm.
Lucie couldn’t see his face in the dark, but she could feel his presence above her and the weight of his body against her side. She had no idea what to say. She didn’t know if her voice would even work because there was a lump the size of a basketball in her throat.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say it before,” Kane began, but Lucie immediately silenced him by pressing her fingers against his lips.
“Please don’t apologize, Kane. If anyone should say they’re sorry, it should be me.” She’d hurt him so badly by keeping her secret and Lucie considered herself lucky that he would even speak to her, much less tell her that he loved her.
“I don’t want you to be sorry either,” Kane whispered, his breath closer to her mouth. “I just want you to love me back. I want you to love me forever, Lucie.” His mouth pressed gently against hers, “Please just love me forever.”
Lucie peered up at him, trying her best to see him in the dark. Her eyes had finally adjusted somewhat, and she could see his profile, but not the pained look she sensed on his handsome face. “I already love you, Kane. And you don’t have to worry about forever, I can’t go back now. I’ve never been able to go back.”
Kane’s warm hands came up and cupped her face, his mouth insistently pressing against hers, his tongue sliding through her lips until she opened wider, letting him in. Letting all of him in.