Connor ran his hands up Lucy’s legs and met her hands with his. He entwined their fingers together as he continued to tease her and push her into an unforgettable bliss.
His tongue ran the length of her folds, and each time he hit her nub, he pressed a kiss, sucking her in completely. Her body went numb, her legs flew open even wider and her head lifted off the mattress as a wave of shattering orgasms ran through her body.
“Fucking Christ!” Lucy screamed as she held on tight to Connor’s hands as his tongue continued to swipe up her arousal. Once the intenseness of her orgasm died down, she pressed her head against the mattress and tried to control her breathing.
“That was so hot, love.”
Connor had the pillows out from under her in seconds and pulled her legs so her butt was on the very edge of the bed. In one swift movement, Connor inserted himself into Lucy’s already-wet pussy and started pumping hard into her. When he’d lost his pants, she didn’t know and she didn’t care, all she cared about was the way Connor applied pressure to her already-swollen clit and thrust into her.
In fascination, Lucy watched as every sinew of muscle in Connor’s body flexed and stretched with his movements. He was fucking hot to watch when he lost control, when he wanted to forget…which Lucy didn’t mind at all, because the picture in front of her was absolutely priceless.
“Fuck….” Connor drawled out as his body started to tense. “Love, you have to come with me.”
“I am,” Lucy didn’t lie, as an orgasm raked through her body.
Connor grunted through his teeth as he filled Lucy with his stiff cock and drained himself completely. Collapsing on top of her, Lucy felt his heavy breathing match hers as they reveled in their post-orgasmic state.
When Connor finally caught his breath, he propped himself up on the bed and looked into Lucy’s eyes. The stress and worry were no longer clouding his eyes, but instead they were replaced with love…love for her. Her heart melted at the sight.
“Thank you, love. Thank you for letting me have this.”
“You always come first, Connor. Even if I hate Molly, really, really hate her, you will always come first.”
“I know you do and I’m sorry you had to wake up to that, but she has no one else to go to and Luke is my brother. I have to take some responsibility in making sure he gets better.” Connor lowered his head as he said, “I want him better, I need him better. I miss him, Luce.”
Shit.
Lucy felt like absolute shit. Her hatred for Molly really clouded the fact that Luke was Connor’s brother and that Connor must be going through hell…and her fighting with Molly probably wasn’t helping.
“I’m sorry, Connor. I haven’t been very supportive when it comes to Luke, but I promise to be better, just…keep me away from her.”
“I’ll do my best, love.”
That was all she could ask.
Chapter Ten
**Molly**
After putting the bed back together, throwing the smashed-up chair away in the dumpster, and taping up the shattered window, Molly waited patiently for Luke to show up. Connor was dropping him off after he posted bail. Molly made sure to hide Luke’s car keys so he had to come back to the apartment and he had to stay.
She was still shaken up from the events of this morning, but she knew she had to push her emotions to the side and be strong, not only for herself, but for Luke as well. Even though she knew she had to be strong, she didn’t know how much more strength she could muster. She’d used up most of her strength when she thought Luke had died and she still had to carry his child through birth. That took Incredible Hulk fucking Godzilla kind of strength; she didn’t think she had that much left.
Looking over at a picture of Winnie on her wall, she thought about how she so desperately wished everything was different…that Luke never “died,” that they’d actually gotten married on the beach like they planned, that Luke actually knew his daughter. The mere fact that Luke had never even held their daughter killed Molly, tore her apart, because she knew Luke would be an amazing father and would love Winnie more than anything, if he actually gave their family a chance.
She couldn’t think about that right now, though…small steps. She first needed to get Luke to agree to stay with her and see a psychologist; then she could start integrating Winnie into their lives and hopefully, they could be a family. Wishful thinking.
Molly’s door flew open, startling the ever-living-hell out of her.
She turned and found Luke barging in and Connor trailing after him.
“Dude, I told you. I’m not going to leave you here if you’re going to go all psychotic. You have to calm down,” Connor said, as he shut the front door, blocking off the noise from the neighbors.
“I’m calm,” Luke practically shouted, as he took a deep breath and tried to calm his rapid breathing as both of his hands rested on his hips. “I’m calm.”
Molly stood in the living room, shocked at first from two Cartwright men barreling through her apartment, trying to decide what to do. Her heart was pulling toward Luke after the hell they went through this morning, but then again, he had a look in his eyes that was warning everyone within a hundred foot radius to stay the hell away.
“When you say you’re fine while clenching your teeth, that doesn’t mean you’re fine,” Connor countered.
Luke turned to his brother and said in an even tone, “I was in jail today for something I don’t remember doing. I was put through hell, sitting in that cold cell, while flashbacks of the last two years kept popping up in my mind. I’m fucking tired and I just want to be left alone. I promise I’m calm and I won’t do anything to Molly.”
Connor scanned Luke up and down, looking for any kind indication that he was lying. When Molly looked at Luke, she could tell he really was tired and tense. He needed space and she needed to remove Connor from the apartment because, even though he had the best of intentions, he was doing nothing to calm Luke down.
“I’m fine,” she said, interrupting Connor before he could reply to Luke.
Connor looked at Molly skeptically and then back at Luke. Returning his eyes to Molly he said, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
“And what about me?” Luke practically seethed. “Do I get any assistance when she turns into a massive bitch?”
“Luke…” Connor warned.
Luke threw his hands up and said, “Where’s the brotherly love? Damn!”
“Just go, Connor,” Molly pleaded.
Connor nodded his head and left Luke and Molly to themselves in their apartment. Once the door was shut, Luke turned on his heels and looked Molly directly in the eyes.
“Where are my damn keys?” Luke seethed, as he started looking around the apartment like a damn banshee.
Molly knew Luke wasn’t in the best of moods, but for some reason, she had thought Luke might come back to the apartment, give her a hug and apologize for this morning then they would make sweet love and talk about their options for the future. As she watched Luke tear through the apartment, she realized she was thinking crazy. Yup, she was the crazy woman living in denial. Like the man was going to change for the better from going to jail…that was just wishful thinking. Of course he was going to come back seething; he’d just sat in jail all day while trying to fight off his demons. She was sure the conditions he’d been sitting in were a fine reminder of where he recently came from.
“Luke, can we talk?”
“No, we can’t fucking talk. Just tell me where my keys are so I can get the fuck out of this hell hole. I don’t know why I came here in the first place; you’re probably still seeing that douche that I ran into when I first came here. I know you’re a filthy whore; you always have been.”
Molly stepped back from the hatred that was spewing off of Luke. How could he be so cruel to her? Especially after everything they’d gone through. Where was his heart?
“Why did you come here last night then?”
“Why the hell do
you think? I needed to get laid, even though it was decent, I at least was able to blow my load. Now, tell me where the fuck you hid my keys so I can get out of here.”
“Decent?” Molly ignored his demand for his keys.
“Yeah…decent. What, did you really think you rocked my world?” a maniacal laugh escaped Luke’s mouth as he threw his head back in enjoyment. “Fuck, you are delusional. But good for you if you can pretend, keeps your spirits up, right?”
Without another word, Luke went to the bedroom to search for the keys. Molly followed after him, even though her heart was pounding against her chest, ripping in every possible way; she was not going to give up, no matter what he said to her. She knew the man she once loved was still hidden in the devil of a man that was in front of her; she just had to find him.
Tearing through the night stand, Luke stopped in his tracks and looked up at the photo of him in his dress blues. He picked it up and inspected it, touching the frame as if he was looking into a mirror from ten years ago. The two men were completely different. The one in the picture was strong, confident, and nothing could get in his way. The man standing before Molly was lost, confused, and fighting a boatload of demons that were slowly destroying him.
Before Molly could speak, Luke lifted the picture, slammed it against the wall, and then tossed the nightstand over on its side and dropped to the floor to look under the bed.
Molly screamed as she went after the picture. “What are you doing?” When she looked at the picture, luckily it was unscathed, but the frame was going to need to be replaced. She held the picture to her heart as she looked at Luke.
“Why would you do that?”
“You’re holding onto something that no longer exists. I was trying to get rid of it for you. You lost that man the minute you started seeing another guy.”
“Stop!” Molly screamed. “You have no fucking clue what I went through after they told me you were dead. I didn’t want to move on and I didn’t, I never moved on, you still owned my heart. I never moved on, even though you told me to.”
“Okay, psycho, I would never tell you to move on. Why would I tell you to move on when you were supposed to be mine?”
Molly seethed as she pulled her pillow from her bed, reached into the pillowcase and grabbed the note that Luke left her and was delivered to her when he “died.” She shoved it into his hands and said, “You fucking told me to move on, to be happy. Even though I wanted nothing to do with it, even though I was close to committing suicide many times, I never moved on. I filled my nights with meaningless sex, drugs and alcohol. I lost our child to your parents. Yes, our child Luke, and almost lost my life. Thanks to my friends, they pulled me out of my Luke-coma and helped me live again.”
“So, you just moved on like we had nothing, like we were nothing. How could you do that?”
“Read the fucking note! Read your own goddamn words, you asshole. Read it!” Molly shouted.
Luke looked at Molly for a second before opening the letter and reading it. His brows furled in the center of his forehead as he read and, when he was done, he looked up at Molly and shook his head.
“Molly’s man,” a laugh escaped him. “That fucking ship has sailed.” Before she could stop him, Luke tore her letter, the last piece of him she had left, into shreds, not even flinching at her wail of a cry as she fell to the ground and sobbed as he finished tearing it up and tossing it in the air.
Scrambling around on the floor, Molly gathered the pieces and held them to her heart as tears ran down her face.
“You fucking monster!” she screamed, as she cried on her knees, not believing what he’d just done, what he just took away from her.
“Glad you finally realize that.” Luke continued to search for his keys, destroying the bedroom she’d just put back together. “You want me to continue to rip everything apart until I find them? Because I have no problem with that, I have no problem tearing everything up.” He flipped the mattress up against the headboard and tore at the sheets. Molly just watched as he went into destructive mode.
There was nothing she could do but watch, watch him demolish the bedroom they once shared together, the one she’d just put back together. Once he was done, and everything was scattered on the floor, he turned on her and stormed to the next room. Winnie’s room.
She didn’t care if he destroyed everything in her apartment because he was mad at her, disappointed, angry…whatever it was, but she would not stand for him going into their daughter’s room and taking apart everything in there. Winnie had nothing to do with Luke’s rage; she didn’t deserve to have her room torn apart.
Molly chased after him as he threw the door open. The minute he took in the room, he was struck with the vision of what was inside. The sight stopped him in his tracks. The walls were pink, with fairies and princesses in every corner. Her crib sat against the wall, with sparkly drapes that cascaded down from the ceiling hanging over the sides. Tea sets, miniature dolls and furniture scattered the room, sending off the signal that a precious little girl occupied the room.
Before Molly could warn Luke not to touch a thing, he dropped to the floor and picked up one of Winnie’s slippers. He held the miniature foot apparel in his hand, studying it as if it was the hardest math problem he had ever come across. He set the slipper down and moved on to the tea set that was scattered across the floor. Sometimes Molly didn’t bother picking up after Winnie because she was destructive and there was no point in cleaning up after her every single night.
Molly just watched as Luke went through Winnie’s room, examining everything from her crib, to her clothes, to the princess dolls that littered her room. He took his time as he looked at everything, touched everything, and smelled everything. When he got up off the floor and went back to her crib, he took a look at the mobile that Jane had made for Winnie. Molly held her breath as Luke examined the little pictures of him that Jane had put together so Winnie would always know who her father was.
Luke turned around, clutching a teddy bear, as he looked into Molly’s eyes. “I have a daughter, don’t I?”
Molly nodded her head, not being able to speak from the lump that was in her throat.
“I have a daughter,” he whispered to himself as realization set in. He looked back up at Molly and said, “Is she funny?” Molly nodded, still not able to talk. “Can she walk?” Molly nodded again. “Does she talk yet?”
Clearing her throat, Molly said, “Only small words, but she’s getting there.” Luke nodded as he looked back at the empty crib. He traced the outline of the wood as he took in the entire scene.
“I want to meet her,” Luke said, as he continued to stare at the crib.
This was it, she needed to stand her ground. She could tell Winnie was a weak spot for Luke, especially after the way he reacted to seeing all of her things, so she needed to use his weakness to her advantage, but not just for her, for Winnie. Molly wanted nothing more than for Winnie and Luke to have a relationship, the one every little girl deserves to have with her daddy, but hell if she was going to introduce Winnie to the shallow, empty man that stood before her.
Molly took a deep breath and said, “You can, once you get your shit together.” Luke was about to protest when she held up her hand. “You are not well, Luke, I think you can agree to that after what happened this morning.” Molly couldn’t believe the ordeal they’d gone through was only this morning; it felt like days ago. “If you don’t want to get better for me, then so be it, but if you want to see your daughter, you have to get better for her. No excuses. She can’t see the man I’m seeing right now; she can’t ever know him because he is scary, terrifying actually, and not the father I want for my little girl. So, if you want to see her, then you need to start seeing a psychologist and start working out your issues; until then, you will not be allowed anywhere near her.”
Luke nodded his head as he continued to look into the crib. Molly was shocked; she’d expected him to at least put up a fight, but after he saw where his daug
hter resided, he was different, less angry, more sedated. She should have brought him into Winnie’s room earlier.
“I want to help you, Luke, I want to help you get better, but you’re going to have to let me and you’re going to have to want to get better. Do you want to get better?”
Luke nodded. “For her, yes, I do.”
Molly tried to ignore the pain that seared her soul at Luke’s confession of wanting to get better only for Winnie, but she couldn’t help but feel upset. Was she wasting her time on him, were they ever going to be the same again? She couldn’t help but wonder if she should just let him go, help him get better for Winnie, but just let him go.
As she studied the man in front of her, she thought, there was no way she could let him go. He meant the world to her, he was her heart, her soul, her family. She would help him; she was at least going to go down trying because hell if she was going to let him walk away from her so easily, not now, not ever.
**Margo**
Parker’s back was turned toward her as he drove his friend’s boat out to the middle of the ocean. They weren’t that far away from the dock, but just far enough so they felt secluded. When Parker picked her up, the last thing she expected was for him to take her out on a boat; she was pleasantly surprised.
As she took in the sights around them, she noticed just how good Parker was looking tonight. He wore some ass-hugging jeans, a navy checkered button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of boat shoes. The shoes made her giggle to herself because he was really trying to play the part, but when he put on a cheesy captain’s hat, she lost it.
He turned around and said, “This spot good?” He was still wearing the ridiculous hat, so it was hard to take him seriously.
“Looks good to me. Now that we’re here, do you mind telling me what we’re doing out here? You don’t plan on cutting me up and feeding me to the sharks, do you?”