Wednesday, September 3rd – 12:45 pm
“You’re out.”
“What?” Luys stared at the open door of his cell, where a guard stood with a hand against the door frame and above his head. He snapped a piece of gum between his teeth.
Luys had seen him before. Except for the shock of white on the top of his head, the rest of his hair was shaved on all sides. He had yet to see anything on his face other than a frown. Polanco. Luys now remembered his name.
“Come with me.”
Dread buried into Luys’ gut as he followed the correctional officer from his cell and down the hall. Whatever was happening couldn’t be good. Had they moved him to a facility with more violent criminals?
“Where are we going?”
“You’re being released.”
“What? Why?”
The guard arched a brow and snickered—-the first smile Luys had ever gotten from him. “Haven’t a clue. They don’t pay me enough to ask questions.”
When they reached the property room, another guard with close-set eyes and thick, black-framed glasses dropped a clear plastic bag onto the counter. “You need to go over to the next building through the double doors to the right. First, trade out your uniform with your clothes. There’s a basket in the bathroom,” he nodded to the door across the hall from him.
“Don’t come back. Next time I might not be so nice,” Polanco threw over his shoulder with a smirk as he disappeared through the double doors, and Luys quickly changed into his clothing in the locker room.
When he went through the double doors, a clerk handed him a stack of paperwork. Several signatures later, he was done. “Is that it?”
Were the guards going to let him walk out? Just like that? “Do I need to speak to anyone?”
“Nope.” The clerk arched a brow. “Did you want to hang around here longer?”
“No, of course not.” He looked down the hall to the single faded yellow metal door and hesitated. Outside waited, but he had no clue how far a drive or walk it was to his home. “I need to call for a ride.”
“Behind you. But if you’re calling for a taxi, there’s no need. You have a ride waiting for you.”
“Oh.” Gabriel, of course.
Once he stepped outside, he blinked, adjusting to the sun’s blinding rays before he glanced around the parking lot. He looked around at the few parked cars in the lot, but he didn’t see any sign of his brother. He then noticed a woman leaning against the side of a compact car. The sun’s rays caught her hair and shot metallic highlights into the strands.
At the sight of her, he felt his chest expand and a wave of relief wash over him. Avery. She was safe. And she hadn’t given up on him. After she had vanished that last time in his cell, he had Gabriel check on her, but his brother had found her car gone and no answer at her condo. What had stopped Luys from going completely mad was that Gabriel had checked all the hospitals and morgues and found her in neither. When his brother couldn’t find her car in the complex’s parking lot, they both believed it was a good sign she had hidden out somewhere safe.
Avery waved, and as he drew closer, it felt wonderful to see the welcome smile on her face. For a brief, awkward moment, he stood in front of her as she grinned up at him. “Well, are you going to kiss me hello?”
That’s all he needed to hear before he swept her up in his arms and held her tight. He caught her mouth in a deep, slow kiss, savoring the taste and smell of her. After a few moments, and when both were breathing heavily, he forced himself to break off their kiss and look down into her twinkling eyes. “You’re the best thing I’ve seen.”
Her lips twitched. “That’s saying a lot about how long you’ve lived.”
Finally, reluctantly, he unwrapped his arms from around her and stepped back, but he had to touch her one last time by sweeping a strand of hair that had caught on her eyelash before curving it around her ear. “Why? I don’t understand.”
Her brow dipped as she searched his face. “You mean your lawyer didn’t notify you?”
“No.”
“They dropped the murder charges against you.”
“How? I don’t understand. What happened?”
“They found the person who really murdered Noah Harris. Your sister isn’t the killer.”
He trailed a hand down her arm to catch her hand in his. He could not stop touching her. She felt too good, but he needed to focus on the reason behind his release. “Was it the plainclothes officer who arrested me? The one you mentioned earlier? This Ben?”
“Yes.”
“But how? Did they get evidence from his latest murder? The one you witnessed?”
“Not the last one I witnessed. I checked all online sources, and there’s no news on a brutal murder. Maybe he cleaned the area and disposed of the body.” She slipped her hand from his and bit her lip. Something was off from her guarded expression. Her next words confirmed it.
“Let’s talk in the car. I have a lot to catch you up on, and here isn’t the best place.”
Once behind the wheel and out of the parking lot, Avery explained what had happened after she left had him that day in his jail cell. A chill washed over him as Avery confessed to going into Ben’s home to find a way to prove Luys’ innocence, how Ben had found her inside and she’d had to kill him before he did the same to her. She added how she’d found blood and fibers in Ben’s bathroom that tied him to Noah Harris’ murder.
He was humbled, ashamed, and… “I don’t know what to say….” But then he thought of what she had gone through, the danger, the possibility of dying because of him. “I really should be furious that you jeopardized your life for me.”
“How about a thank you?” She arched a brow at him.
“Of course. Words are insignificant and can never repay you, not for all you’ve done for me.” He glanced over at her profile, taking in the sweep of her glossy auburn hair, her upturned nose, the strong but elegant line of her jaw. He didn’t deserve such a woman in his life. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, her voice turning husky and sober. “I have to admit there were a couple of moments where I didn’t think I’d be able to outsmart or outrun Ben.” She rolled her shoulders. “Thank goodness that’s done. But now I’m in Mayor’s sights. She trashed my condo. I guess she was unhappy I escaped and took it out on my furniture and walls. She’s the main reason I can’t go back home. I’m pretty sure she wants me dead.”
“I don’t know how yet, but I’ll repay you. Of course, I’ll reimburse you for any damages done.” Luys knew that was little consolation or compensation for having someone laying waste to a person's private space.
“We can worry about that later.” She shrugged, her voice turning wry. “There are more important things to consider right now.”
Her words humbled him further. He didn’t understand how one woman could turn his life into something unrecognizable in the course of weeks, not months. His chest tightened with a deep, all-encompassing emotion he couldn’t remember experiencing for the longest time. Love. Could something so profound have entered his life after so many years of emptiness? “Where have you been staying? I’m curious. Gabriel looked for you. When he couldn’t find you, the only thing keeping me sane was the knowledge that you were smart enough to keep away from your home.”
“I’m renting over at The Grove. They’re weekly rentals a couple of miles from the condos.” Her hand tightened on the steering wheel. “I don’t think it’s such a good idea to go over to your place right now. At least, not for any length of time.”
“I do have to get a change of clothes if nothing else.”
“Okay, we’ll make it quick.”
When they reached the complex, she backed the car into a parking slot. From this vantage point, she could get a good view of the complex and anyone coming or going. She kept the car running. She wasn’t about to venture into any building right now, even if Ben was dead. There was still Mayor. The last time they’d met, the woman had tried to kill her. She needed to talk to Luys about her. They needed to figure out how to work with her sister, whatever that meant. But right now, she wanted to avoid anything to do with Mayor and her penchant for killing people, including the possibility of herself.
“Do I need to get cat food for Clover?” Luys paused after opening his door.
“No, I’ve got her covered. She’s all safe where I’m staying.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
Avery waited tensely, locking all doors with a click of the button. She eyed the other cars, the walkways. Even with no sign of Mayor, she didn’t relax. That was fine. Really. Paranoia was good.
Finally, Luys appeared with a backpack over his shoulder. After Avery unlocked the car, he slipped into the passenger seat. The minute he was situated, she clicked the locks again and drove out of the lot. Only then did she feel the tension ease from her back and shoulders.
With the idea of Mayor far away somewhere, she relaxed even further and her thoughts segued in a far different direction. She glanced over at Luys. His long legs brushed up against the dashboard, and his large body and wide shoulders filled far more than his section of the front of the car. Memories of them previously flooded her mind. His hand on her breast. The feel of him inside her. She shifted in her seat as a wave of longing pooled in her belly. He was a selfless lover.
The air between them thickened with awareness. Or was it just her? But there was a definite something to the silence, and it was growing pretty lengthy.
“Are you hungry?” Oh, hell, not a good question. She needed to rephrase that. “Did you need something to eat? I have very little in the fridge.”
“No, I’m fine,” he said, his voice wrapping around her in its husky baritone.
Hands tightening on the wheel, she shivered and glanced quickly over at him. He met her gaze, and something in his eyes made her body feel that much hotter.
“Okay,” she managed, finding her words far too shaky with need, and she suspected he could hear it in her voice.
When she rested her arm on the pad between the seats, Luys caught her hand in his and twined his fingers around hers. “I’ve never been able to forget being with you. How you tasted. How you felt.”
Her fingers tightened around his before she whispered in an equally husky voice, “I haven’t either.”
There had been times she’d wanted to forget. She’d been furious with him when she’d found out his secrets. But now, how could she? She’d killed a man. Granted, she was protecting herself, but she knew the danger she was putting herself in when she went into Ben’s condo and that someone could end up dead. She’d been lucky that she hadn’t been the one who had died. Immortality, or the next closest thing, kind of put a stop to her death. But it was more than that. He had been trying to protect a sister. Yes, lots of gray, but the meaning behind his actions where understandable. She didn’t know what she would have done in the same situations.
Every move after—even though neither one of them touched each other—from the time they left the car and walked across the parking lot and up the walkway to the rental, she was hyper-conscious of the way his body moved, how he dwarfed her height, the inches or feet that separated them. She felt like she was about to self-combust at any second, and she’d only touched his hand!
The moment they stepped into the rental and Avery closed the door, Clover meowed and charged toward them. Luys picked her up and scratched her behind her ears. Her purr, a loud rumble for such a tiny cat, increased in volume, and Luys rubbed beneath Clover’s chin. “I’m glad to see I’ve been missed.”
“She’s a sweet little thing. I’m sure she knows she’s got it pretty good. It has to beat living out of garbage pails and scrapes from fast food wrappers.”
He placed Clover back on the ground, where she wound herself around both his legs. But she quickly lost interest and trotted over to the window by the sofa and jumped up on the ledge. Luys’ smile of affection deepened when he turned his gaze from the cat to Avery. His brown eyes turned to dark chocolate. “I wonder if I can make you purr as loudly as Clover?”
She barely had the chance to take in a shivering breath of excitement before Luys had his hands in her hair, his lips on her mouth. With fumbling fingers, she got the door locked before her brain turned to mush and her insides reacted with a wave of intense sexual need.
Sighing into his mouth, she kissed him back, rising to her toes and pressing into the immovable wall of his chest. At the feel of his erection and how it dug into her stomach, her legs started shaking. Knowing that he wanted her just as badly made her want him that much more.
She toed her shoes off, broke off their kiss just long enough to pull her t-shirt up over her head and toss it on the ground. Luys followed with the same. He then tugged her toward the bed, picked her up, and dropped her on the sheets. A second later, he was on top of her, still in his jeans. Even so, the heat of his body burned into her, his cock nestled between the juncture of her legs. She lifted her knees and pressed into him, sucking in air at the hunger that raged through her body to grip at her belly. Her breasts tightened with need.
He lifted himself, rested both elbows on either side of her, and looked into her eyes. The heat of his gaze scorched through her skin and into every cell. “Thinking of being with you like this while I was in jail was the only thing that kept me going. I was terrified for you.”
“Well, I’m fine now.” She lifted her neck until her breath fanned his lips. “I don’t want to think about anything but now.” She flicked a tongue across his lower lip. “We’re together, we both want each other, and that’s all that matters.”
“You’re right,” he whispered against her lips before sliding a palm along her neck to brush a thumb over the pulse point below her ear. She groaned as his mouth replaced his finger, and he laved the lobe of her ear and cut a path down the sweep of her neck and to the ridge of her collarbone. Still lower he went. He paused at the edge of her lace bra, but for a second. Then he enclosed his mouth over her nipple.
She gasped, arching toward him, curling her hands into his hair, and pressing his head against her breast. He suckled her for several long, toe-curling moments. Avery forgot everything but the heat of his mouth on her, the dampness of his tongue, and the way his hands stroked restlessly up and down the sides of her body.
Then he moved back to her lips and claimed her mouth again. When his kiss grew hotter, more demanding, Avery lost it. She opened her mouth wider, brushing against his tongue with her own, delving beyond his lips. She wanted to consume him.
The need got so bad she started squirming beneath him. “I can’t take much more. I. Need. You. Bad.”
When he drew away, she clutched his biceps while the pit of her stomach twisted with excitement. She wanted more than kisses.
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea after all,” Luys whispered, his face flushed, air sawing in and out of his lungs. “I’ve got baggage like no other.”
He didn’t have to mention her name. They both knew he meant Mayor.
“Don’t,” Avery breathed. She ran her hands down the hard muscles of his shoulders and upper back. “We both deserve a moment to find pleasure, a bit of happiness.”
At her words, something inside him seemed to crack, and his tense muscles eased beneath her palms. This next time, there was a subtle difference when he kissed her, almost as if he were savoring each touch, each caress with a new depth.
With his mouth still on hers, he slipped both hands down over her arms to clasp her hips to tug her even closer. He thrust back and forth. The friction of their jeans against her sex stoked her desire, making her feel out of control. The room filled with heavy breathing, moaning. Then she realized in shock that it was herself. He made her feel alive. It was both terrifying and intoxicating.
Avery sucked in a breath. “I can’t take it any longer...”
She didn’t have to say anymore. He slipped off the bed. With quick, efficient hands, he pulled his pants, socks, and underwear off until he was naked at the end of the bed. Lifting up on her elbows, she eyed his scar on his chest briefly before dipping past his flat stomach to his erection. He was big. Thick. The idea of him inside her, flexing, pumping, moving flooded Avery. Her sex quivered and tightened.
She couldn’t get the rest of her clothes off fast enough. He helped her, his hands deft, warm, lingering on her skin until she was naked, and he pulled her further down on the bed where he stood between her legs. Bending, he clutched her hips and wrapped them around his waist as he slid into her, inch by electrifying inch. With both feet flat on the mattress, she lifted her hips up to meet his body until he was flush to her. The hunger, the need was all-consuming. Too quickly, he’d branded her body, her mind, her thoughts. She didn’t question the well of emotions flowing through her. Now wasn’t the time.
Fulling impaled, she sucked in a breath with a loud whoosh. They stared at each other for a heated moment, both breathing heavily as he moved inside her. Her legs tightened around his waist, locking her ankles around him, and he pushed them both along the length of the bed while still embedded in her. His fingers curled into the thick waves of her hair until he cupped her skull in both hands to hold her steady as his tongue mated with hers, and he began deepening his strokes.
He shifted beneath her, tilting his hips in a way that deepened his movements. Avery groaned into his mouth, savoring the way his body fit into hers. Thoughts fled. Sensation took over. Breaking off the kiss, she gripped his shoulders, ran her hands into his hair, curling the strands between her fingers and tugging until he gave her his neck. She licked at his throat, scraping her teeth along the corded muscles as she arched into him. Both their bodies were slick with sweat. An oncoming orgasm wound tighter and tighter through her body, unrelenting, savage, until it broke free and barreled into every muscle, every fiber of her body, as her insides clutched tight around his cock.
Luys gulped in air, grabbed her hips, and shuddered above her. He came long and hard. His grip on her didn’t loosen until he was spent, and his body’s weight sank onto hers.
Gasping, she came down from her orgasm, slowly, effortlessly. The rough texture of his cheek against her neck, jaw, brow highlighted every sensation that still encompassed her body.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He drew back and searched her face.
“No, not at all,” she whispered, unable to stop looking up at him with wonder. “I…”
He stared down at her, waiting.
“Thank you.”
“You thanked me last time.” His brow dipped as he trailed a finger along her shoulder and over the indentation above her collarbone. “We’re both giving each other pleasure.”
Heat flared into her face. How did she say what she wanted to say without coming across as cheesy? She guessed it didn’t matter, not with what they had both gone through so far. “Yeah, but it’s more to me. I’ve never felt this connected with someone else. It makes being with you different, far more… I don’t know how to say it. With you, I feel out of control, like my body isn’t my own. The pleasure. It’s so intense. Nothing before compares to what this is between us.”
His lips grazed her temple. “I know. I feel it too. It’s scary and accelerating at the same time.
When he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her along the full length of his body, she rested her head against his arm and took in the moment, relished the sensation of his breath against her cheek, how the hair on his calves and thighs brushed her skin when he entwined his legs with hers.
After a couple of minutes of silence, Luys’ lips curved against her brow before he murmured, “I hate to say it…but I’m hungry. This time for food.”
She drew back and eyed him with a smile. “Well, I guess that’s better than falling asleep on me.”
“I can always hold off for another round. I could have a bite of you right now instead.”
The wicked gleam in his eyes and his innuendo made her body clench in reaction. “Don’t tempt me.” She kissed him and scrambled from the bed for her phone. “If you want another romp in the sheets, I’m going to need some energy. Pizza sound fine?”
“Yes, anything other than anchovies.”
“Perfect. Glad to see we’re on the same page.” She grabbed her cell phone on the nightstand and did a quick order through her app. Then she picked up her clothing scattered around the room.
“I think we are on the same page on many things.”
She hugged her clothing close to her body, feeling suddenly self-conscious with Luys staring at her with those dark, fathomless eyes. Trying to shake off the feeling, she teased, “Hmm, hopefully, you don’t have any darker secrets hidden away. I don’t think I can take anything more. Like loud, break the door down snoring. That’s something I won’t tolerate!”
A look of mock shock crossed his features. “I would never do that.”
“Only time will tell,” she said and immediately realized how she’d taken the next step between them for granted. She backed up toward the bathroom.
“Yes, it will,” Luys agreed, his gaze softening. “I would like to spend all my nights with you, not just my days.”
She paused, still holding her clothing against her middle. “I just realized your job and how you must have lost it. I’m sorry.”
“Before everything, I was well regarded, so I’m sure I’ll have it back. If not…” He shrugged, though he looked somewhat pensive. “I should be able to find another.”
“Do you enjoy your job?”
“Sometimes, but I was researching on the side and trying to find solutions behind Gabriel’s, Mayor’s, and my ability to live beyond a normal human’s lifespan. Gabriel would like an ordinary life with his wife. Amanda isn’t like us. She’ll grow old. After several decades, people will think she’s his grandmother, not his wife.”
“That would be hard.” She twisted her fingers in her clothes. “And Gabriel wants to be normal? After all this time?”
“Yes. He’s tired, I think.” Luys slipped from the bed and sauntered naked toward her. He stopped a foot away and looked down at her with a sad smile. “I believe the love he has for his wife is strong. So strong the idea of living after her death is not an option he wants.”
The idea of not having Luys in her life stung. She wanted him longer than a week, a month, or even a year.
They took a shower together. Washing each other quickly turned sexual, and they made love with the mist and water around them. Gabriel was tender one moment and fierce the next. Feeling completely relaxed, she dried off and changed. God, it felt good to feel so alive, even happy. Yeah, there was Mayer, but hopefully, things would calm down. Maybe Luys could talk some sense into her. With the three of them in a room together, just maybe Mayer could see that she hadn’t done anything wrong to Luys.
As she pulled her t-shirt over her head, the doorbell rang. “I got it.”
After paying the pizza delivery driver, she closed the door and carried the pizza over to the kitchen as her cell phone started ringing. She grabbed her phone on the counter, saw that it was Cristina, and thought of letting the call go to voice mail, but then her phone turned silent. Two seconds later, Avery’s phone started up again. Cristina again. It wasn’t like Cristina to hang up and call again. She usually left a message or text. Something was off.
“What’s wrong?” Avery asked. “Are you okay?”
“No! I’m scared. So damn scared.” Cristina groaned and started crying. “Is Luys with you?”
“Yes,” Avery answered, her voice thickening in alarm. “Why?”
“It’s Stephen. I need help. He’s gone crazy. Luys is big enough to stop Stephen if he tries anything.” Cristina sniffled and took a deep breath as if to get a hold of her crying. “I can’t go to the police. He threatened he’d kill me if I did. I don’t know where to go. You’re my only friend.”
“Where are you?”
“Home, but I don’t have much time until Stephen comes back.”
“What about his brother? Can he help you?”
“No. He’s been gone all day. And he hasn’t a clue about what’s going on between Stephen and me.”
“We’ll be right there.”