Shelter Me(46)

“Yes, we do.”

Luke has already found a vase in one of the kitchen cabinets and is adding water to it. Turning around and handing it to me, he brushes past me, lightly touching my free hand with his fingertips. Just that touch has me burning all over with desire for him. Instantly, goose bumps rise to the surface of my skin. My body begs for his hands to touch me more.

Once I place the flowers in the water, Lucy lets out a big yawn. The poor girl must be so exhausted with everything that has happened in her life these past few days, so I talk her into climbing onto the couch with me while Luke goes to make a few phone calls in his office. I lie beside her and stroke her long, silky dark hair until she is peacefully asleep.

I need to try and talk to Luke about what is happening between us, I think to myself. Where do we go from here? I need to find out, now.

I take measured steps down the hall toward his office, my nerves almost getting the best of me. Seeing that the door is slightly ajar, I can hear him softly talking to whoever it is on the phone. I pause, not wanting to eavesdrop, but not sure if I should interrupt his discussion, either.

“You leave them out of this. They have absolutely nothing to do with what is going on here,” he says angrily.

What the hell is he talking about? I have rarely heard his voice this upset.

“She knows nothing, absolutely nothing!” he shouts so loudly I take a step backward, unnerved. “Believe me, if you come near her, I will fucking kill you!”

Not wanting him to notice I have overheard his conversation, I slip back into the living room and take a seat in one of the chairs facing the window. I stare outside blindly, shaking off the fear that has suddenly taken over me.

He must be working on a very difficult case, I tell myself, still unsettled by his intensity. What else could it be? Why would it have anything to do with me?

Suddenly, I feel Luke’s presence in the room behind me. I turn and he is standing there, looking down at a sleeping Lucy. His hair is all unruly like he has been running his hands through it, and his face tells me he is under a huge amount of stress. The corners of his mouth tip up a little as our daughter sighs in her sleep. He finally feels the weight of my stare and lifts his eyes to mine.

“She’s out cold, huh?”

I study him closely, but whatever it was seems to have faded.

“Yeah. I think with all the excitement she has had over the past few days, she needed this. I won’t let her sleep long though, or she won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“Okay then. Do you want to go into the kitchen and talk before you get her up?”

“I would love to.”

We take a seat at the kitchen table and the room is instantly filled with silence. Should I bring up what I heard? I don’t want Luke to think I’m invading his privacy, but I am still a little on edge from that overheard conversation. I decide to test the waters.

“Hey, are you okay?” I ask tentatively. “You came out of your office looking a little stressed out. Do you want to talk about it?”

Luke tunnels his hands through his hair.

“I wish I could, Shayne, but it’s this case that the three of us are working on and I just can’t talk about it with you.”

I release the tension I didn’t realize I was holding. I was just being paranoid; all of this was about a case, after all.

“Do you need to get back to work?” I ask, switching to supportive mode. “I mean-”

He swiftly cuts me off.

“Hell, no! I am not going back to work and missing out on this.” He gestures with his hand that he means being with Lucy and me.

“Okay,” I say quietly. Feeling a little braver, I circle behind him and start to massage his shoulders. Neither one of us says a word for several minutes while I work his shoulders. I have no idea what I am doing, but he seems to be enjoying it as I massage lightly all around his upper body, gliding slowly and sensually down his arms and then back up again. I feel him start to relax under my touch.

“That feels so good, baby.”

He gently takes hold of my right hand, bringing it up to his lips and placing a soft kiss to the inside of my wrist. I gasp at the sensation. Just the brush of his lips has me aching with want and need for him to touch me more, but we have so much yet between us we have to discuss before we go there. I pull my hand away and sit back down in the chair across from him.

“Luke,” I whisper tremulously, needing for him to hear me out. “There is so much I need to tell you. Please listen to me.”

He nods curtly, indicating for me to continue.

“When you left, I was broken. And I did look for you. Adam and I looked everywhere I could think of, and when I found out I was pregnant, I…I should have...”