Chapter 46
The banging knock on the door jerked Leona out of a dream where Luke held her after making love. She wanted back in that dream, in that world where Luke loved her and hadn’t slept with another woman.
She looked around the room, trying to orient herself, but then she realized she was still in the little beach house, all the curtains drawn, the AC humming, and alone. All except for the person banging on the door.
Rubbing her face, she climbed from the couch and made her way to the door. She opened it a slice and froze when she caught the intensity in Luke’s stare.
“Leona, let me in.”
She pushed the door shut, but he shoved, knocking her back.
Before she could crash to the floor, Luke caught her, strong arms lifting her up. “Please listen to me. You don’t know the whole story. You wouldn’t be here if you did.”
A bitter sound ripped from her as she tried to twist free of his hold. “Let me go and leave. I can’t do this.”
“You don’t understand,” he pleaded.
She shoved at him, and he trapped her against the wall, pinning her as she tried to shove him off her.
A cry broke free. “You fucked another woman in a bathroom. There’s nothing you can say to fix this.”
“I need you to listen to me, Leona. I’m begging you to hear me out. I know it looked bad, but you didn’t see the whole video.”
“There was more?” she screamed. “Don’t care. Don’t need to see.”
“I wasn’t awake. She drugged me. I nearly died.”
The words didn’t sink in. She was too upset, too mad, too drained from days of crying and wanting to forget. Her voice broke. “Let me go.”
He caught her face and stared into her eyes. “Leona, I love you with my heart and soul. I would never cheat on you. I told you, I would end things before I went there. Someone drugged me. I hit my head.” He twisted his head.
Closing her eyes, she tried to squirm free.
His cheek pressed against hers. His voice was rough, pleading. “The drug she gave me stopped my damned heart. I was in the hospital when you landed. I didn’t wake up until the next day.”
Tears streamed down her face as she gripped his hand and tried to pull it away. “But you—but she—she was riding you. How can you lie about that? Did you see the video, Luke? She was riding you.”
His tears mingled with hers. “I know how it looked. But please, look at the rest of the video. If you were anywhere with any media, you would have seen the truth by now.”
Her eyes closed. She tried to wrap her head around what he was saying instead of fighting. He was too damned persistent. And the sooner he got this off his chest, the sooner he would leave. Or she hoped.
Luke continued, “Tara slipped Ketamine into my ice tea. I’m severely allergic to it. It knocked me out, stopped my heart. Ryan had to give me CPR or I would have died. I swear to you I was not fucking Tara. I was busy dying.”
A sob escaped. “You tore me open, ripped out my heart.”
He slammed his hand against the wall behind her. “Did you hear me? I didn’t fuck her. She drugged me, and tried to rape me, but she nearly killed me in the process. Tara is in jail now. Please, watch the whole thing.”
That name, she knew that name.
“You didn’t?” she whispered.
He shook his head, catching her face to look into her eyes. “I wasn’t even drinking alcohol. She drugged me, Leona. I wish I hadn’t gone out with Ryan.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and he wiped them away. “I love you, Leona. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Who was she?”
“Tara Punce. Same woman who interrupted our first dance.”
Her chest heaved as it all clicked into place. “Crazy bitch.”
“Leona, watch the video. So you don’t have any doubt.”
“I believe you. If I knew, shit, if I knew…” She sobbed.
“Watch the rest. Please.”
Gulping, she nodded. How could she deny him? She wanted desperately to believe he hadn’t betrayed her.
He carried her into the bedroom, laid down with her, keeping one arm around her while he pulled the phone out. “It’s bad, Leona. But you need to see.”
“Okay.” She didn’t want to see.
Luke opened the video and handed it to her. Then he closed his eyes, laying his head next to hers.
Lying on her back, she held it up and pressed play. She couldn’t stop crying as every second played back from the time he entered the bathroom, to when the paramedics took him away.
She was horrified by what Tara did, what Luke went through, and leaving only made it all worse. Guilt rocked through her so hard she could hardly breathe for a long moment.
With tears streaming down her face, she rolled to Luke. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you pissed I believed the video?” Her voice broke.
“Everyone thought I did it. I had a press conference, told the press. I know someone posted the edited version on your page a million times, but people are posting the rest now. I wish I could have found you sooner. I didn’t want you to suffer.”
She reached out and touched the wound. “Concussion?” she asked.
He nodded. “Heart stopped. Ryan got there in time.”
New tears slid down her face. Then his own followed.
“Wish I had been there,” Leona whispered. “I shouldn’t have gone to the signing.”
“Don’t do that. You can’t bail on your obligations for me. I should have been smarter. I should have known. I should have done something.”
She caught his face in her hands. “You can’t say that. How were you supposed to know? Ketamine? You can’t taste that.”
His brow cranked down. “How do you know?”
“Research for a book.”
He pulled her closer. “I love you, Leona. I’m sorry you hurt so bad.”
She let out a strangled sound. Luke came for her, when she should have been there. She didn’t know how to make up for her own stupidity. “I’m sorry she did this. I’m sorry I left.”
“I don’t blame you. I just need to hold you. Need to know you don’t hate me.”
“I wanted to hate you. I couldn’t. I was broken-hearted, but I didn’t hate you.”
He grabbed her hip and drew her closer. “Leona, I’m sorry.”
Shaking her head, she placed her hand over his heart. “Don’t. I made bad assumptions.”
“What else would you have seen?” he asked.
“The blood. If I noticed the blood, I would have known something was wrong, but all I saw was you, with her riding you, or it looked like she was. Damn it. Now that image is crumbling, but I kept seeing that every time I considered calling. And as bad as it hurt, I didn’t want to be tempted to say something horrible about you to the press. I just wanted to forget.”
“Everyone thought the same thing, Leona. And even in the hospital, the only thing I worried about was you.”
“Instead of confronting you, I ran. If I had the balls to call, I would have known. I could have been there for you.”
He shook his head. “I wanted to be there for you.”
“Aren’t you messed up about what she did?”
“More concerned with what you think of it than what happened.”
“You’re going to have to deal with it sooner or later.”
He blinked and another tear fell. “I can if you’re with me. If you don’t hate me.”
“I don’t. I can’t. I wish—”
He kissed her. Slow, sweet. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Forgive me?” she whispered.
“I can’t blame you. If I saw the same thing, the way it was cut…shit, only it could be so much worse for you…fuck…I think I would die inside, thinking you did that. And after finding out the truth, shit.” He rubbed at his head and winced.
She caught his hands. “She did that to you. She tried to violate you. Your heart stopped. God, I could have lost you and never known what really happened.”
He took her face. “We both need to let it go.”
“I’m not sure I can. Not with what she did.”
“No, I mean, we need to move past this stage. We need to get through it, together. Please tell me we’re still together.”
“Always,” she breathed. “The last few days were hell.”
He covered her mouth with his, kissing her deep, taking away the pain with their connection. She curled her leg over his hip and ran a hand under his shirt.
She leaned back, her eyes wide. “Wait, your head. How bad?”
He sighed. “Hurts on and off. I can’t go crazy, but I need you, I need to know we’re still one. That you’re mine. I need you, Leona. The only thing on my mind the last few days was how you would feel about all of this, how hurt you would be until you knew the truth, and something told me that if you knew the truth you would have been right there with me.”
“I would have.” She ran one hand up his chest, wrapping it around the back of his neck. “I fell apart. Some part of me thought I must not have meant anything to you if you could randomly fuck another woman.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t even make myself dance with another person. I just needed you. No one else. And you weren’t available. Ryan asked me to stay.”
“It’s not his fault either,” she whispered.
“No, it’s not. It’s Tara’s. I can’t believe she drugged me.”
Leona let out a bitter laugh. “I can’t believe she thought that might actually win you over.”
“Yeah, that too.” He kissed her neck. “Don’t want to think about her right now. I just want to hold you.
“I’m sorry I let you suffer alone,” she whispered.
“Now that I’m here, with you, I don’t care about that. I love you.”
“Love you too.” She held on tighter.