Rock Chick 05 Revenge (43 page)

I turned away from the door (by the way, he never looked at me, it was like I ceased to exist which made my throat feel all the funnier) and went to my luggage.

I’d been keeping my things pretty tidy, I just had some stuff in the laundry room, the bathroom and a few things on the nightstand. I went to the laundry room and separated my clothes in the dryer from Luke’s. This activity made my throat stop feeling funny and start feeling tight. I hurried as fast as I could, taking my clothes back to my luggage and shoving it all in without folding it which was hard to do, I didn’t like to iron but this was definitely not the time to be obsessively tidy.

I grabbed my toiletries bag and went into the bathroom. I walked by Luke who, at this point, was putting those little white strips on his cut to hold the edges together and pulled back the shower door to get my shampoo and conditioner.

Just like he’d done to me, I tried to ignore him.

This became hard when I’d nabbed my stuff, shoved it into the bag, turned back around and Luke was standing dead center of the bathroom, feet planted, arms crossed on his chest.

Clearly, Luke was done ignoring me.

“Which one?” he asked.

I shook my head because I wasn’t following.

“Which one did you convince yourself I was thinkin’ of when I was fuckin’ you? Was it Roxie?”

I stared at him, my tight throat getting even tighter because he was
guessing
. Why on earth was he guessing?

No time to dwell on that without tequila.

Time to move on, fast.

“I’ll, um…” I stopped, deciding to ignore his question and get on with packing so I could get out, get to the store, buy an enormous amount of food that had no healthy living mojo whatsoever, go home and start the painful process of getting over Luke which I assumed would take me approximately one hundred and fifty years therefore, I had to get started, pronto. After making this decision, I started speaking again. “Give someone a call to come and pick me up.”

I leaned to the side, reached to get my toothbrush and his hand shot out, fingers wrapping around my wrist and he yanked on it, bringing me closer to him.

My head tilted back and I looked at him. I was beginning to lose it, beginning to let all those things I wasn’t thinking of, all those things I’d buried, seep into my head and they were overpowering.

I wanted to be angry. It wasn’t
me
who was in love with someone else. It wasn’t
me
who had a fight in bar parking lot like a testosterone-fuelled idiot. However, for some reason, I was having trouble holding on to anger and instead felt something far, far worse.

“Which one?” he repeated.

“Luke, let me go,” I said quietly, mainly because my throat was closing even more and I couldn’t get more than a quiet sound out of my mouth. I swallowed as I felt the tears hit the backs of my eyes and I looked down at his fingers wrapped around my wrist. When he didn’t release me, I repeated, “Please, let go.”

“Look at me,” he returned, his tone low and vibrating with fury.

“Please let me go,” I whispered again and I felt the wetness in my eyes start to spill over just as he used my wrist to give me another yank. I really didn’t want to cry but I didn’t have a choice. It was either that or let my throat close completely, making me suffocate which, I thought distractedly, might not be a bad thing.

His fingers were beginning to get painful and I continued in a whisper. “You’re hurting me.”

He let my wrist go immediately, tore the bag out of my other hand and threw it in the sink. Then he advanced, pushing me back against the wall, his body coming in close, his heat hitting me.
 

I kept my face down and to the side and pressed my lips together trying to control my thoughts and the tears. His anger filled the room but it didn’t frighten me. All I could think was getting out, slicing off this part of my life and starting over, as soon as possible.
 

“Look at me, Ava,” Luke pressed. “Which one?”

“Step back, Luke,” I said in a small voice but he just pushed closer.

“I’ll take you to Zano myself the minute you fuckin’ answer me.”

I flinched as uncontrolled pain sliced through me at Luke offering to take me to Ren. I hated the idea that he was so through with me that he was ready to hand me off to another man. But there it was.

“Move away, please,” I said quietly.

He pressed even closer, his body now full frontal with mine and I was looking at his shoulder.

“You didn’t feel it at all, did you Ava?” he asked and I could tell by the sound of his voice that this was an important question. I didn’t know what he was talking about and I wasn’t going to ask.

I lifted my hands to his waist, grabbed fistfuls of his tee and pushed, pressing my bodyweight into his to move him back. The tears were streaming down my face and I was going to make sob noises soon, I just knew it. I didn’t want him to see me cry but I really didn’t want him to hear me make a sob noise.

“Move away,” I repeated.

“Who the fuck was it that you told Zano I was thinkin’ of when I was fuckin’ you?” he was back to his original topic, which was and was not a relief considering I knew what he was talking about this time but I still didn’t wish to participate in the discussion.

“Move away,” I said again.

“Answer me.”

That was when I lost it mainly because I couldn’t take any more. It was actually surprising I’d lasted this long. I looked up at him, not caring that he could see me cry.

I had to get out. Now.

I felt the sad desperation start to subside and anger start to take control and I held fast to the anger.

“Luke, move away!” I snapped but unfortunately my voice hitched on the end.

“
Answer me!
” Luke thundered and I’d had enough.

“Jules!” I yelled in his face. “Jules! All right?” I shoved at his shirt but he didn’t move an inch (per usual). Of course it was then that I made the humiliating sob sound in my throat but I powered through it. “I heard you call her ‘babe’, I saw you standing close, holding her face, stroking her cheek,
just like you do to me
. You were looking at her, like… like…” I couldn’t say it and I didn’t have to. It finally hit me that he couldn’t hold me pinned to wall not for another second, not one more fucking second.
 

“Move, the fuck, back! Right now!” I screamed.

He didn’t move, instead he stared at me, straight in the eyes with that scary, fury-unleashed look.
 

Then his gaze wandered, down the tracks of tears and something happened just like when he was angry at me when he thought I was yanking his chain and he ended up declaring I was his. At first it flickered in his eyes and then his face began to soften, the fury melting, the electricity sliding out of the room and I had the distinct feeling I was in more trouble than ever.

It was too late for me. I didn’t care what was happening with Luke, I was done. I’d buy more whatever it was I’d leave behind in his loft. I was going, immediately.
 

With a mighty, superhuman push, I moved Luke back an inch and slid out from in front of him and ran from the room. I kicked the lid closed on my bag and bent double to zip it but didn’t even get my hands on it before I was lifted in the air.

Foiled.

Always, always, foiled. Even when it mattered the most.

Luke settled me in his arms, carrying me like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold. I was still crying, pushing against his shoulders, kicking my legs and struggling like the bride from hell. My struggle didn’t last long. He planted a knee in the bed, dropped me on it and before I could move an inch, he covered my body with his.

Shit!

“Get off!” I shoved at his shoulders, arching my back, bucking my hips. It was like I didn’t move, his face was in my face and one of his hands came to my jaw. I jerked my head away and looked anywhere but at him.

“Did you tell Zano I was thinkin’ of Jules when I fucked you?” His voice was quieter, softer and even though his complete change in tone took me off guard, I still kept my face averted.

I decided to answer his question. As far as I was concerned, the sooner this conversation was over, the better.

“Ren came up with that on his own. I just told him you were in love with someone else.”

“Ava, I’m not in love with Jules.”

Bullshit,
I thought but did not say and kept looking away.

“Fine, great, sorry for the misunderstanding. Now if you’ll get up, I’m going home.”

“Babe, look at me.” Now he was using his gentle, affectionate voice and I had to bite my lip. The tears were still coming but they were subsiding. The Voice would make them come back full strength, I knew it.

“Please get off,” I repeated. “I need to go home.”

His weight settled full on me and his hands came to frame my face, forcing me to look at him.

I was too caught up in my drama to notice the look on his face. I just focused on the next second which would take me to the next second and the next, which would eventually take me home, where I could be safe, renew my vows to my vibrators and never leave my house ever again.

“Jules is pregnant, Ava.”

In a flash, thoughts of vibrators and a lifetime of being a hermit flew out the window and my eyes focused on his.

“What?” I asked.

“Vance told me yesterday morning. It’s early, she doesn’t want anyone to know until she’s further along. Vance didn’t agree. He’s fuckin’ beside himself. He told everyone but Shirleen.”

I realized I wasn’t breathing. Then I realized I forgot how.

Luke kept talking. “That’s why I was standin’ close to her, touching her face. She’s got no blood family left and Vance isn’t close to his. They’ve been through a lot and they both want this. I’m happy for them, this is a good thing.”

Ho-ly
crap
.

Okay. It was official. I was The A-Number-One Dork of All Time.

I told you that you should have talked to him,
Good Ava admonished.

Bad Ava was silent.

Good Ava looked around my neck at Bad Ava.
Nothing to say?

Bad Ava looked around my neck at Good Ava. Then she put her thumb to her nose and wiggled her fingers at her.

I let out my breath and my eyes slid to the side. “Sorry,” I whispered.
 

Luke’s thumb slid across my wet cheekbone. “Babe, please look at me.”

It was the “please” that got me and my eyes slid back to his.

“I’m guessin’ that was the drama yesterday, why you needed to get your head together.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. It was obvious.

“What I want to know is, why you came back to me last night, considerin’ you thought I was in love with Jules.”

I forgot how to breathe again.

Oh… my…
God
.

I’d given it all away. I didn’t even mean to but I did, I didn’t expect him to find out I thought he was in love with Jules.

Fuckity, fuck, fuck,
fuck
.

I bucked my hips a bit, a tester to see if he was off guard (he wasn’t).
 

While I did this, his face came closer, his lips came to mine and he said, “That’s what I thought.”

“Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there.”

Shit! Did I say that aloud? I did.

Hell and damnation.

I was going to have to go with it.

His head came up an inch.

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” I told him. “Bad guys were after me, remember?” That wasn’t bad, it was even the truth.

“You could have stayed with Zano,” Luke replied.

Shit, shit,
shit
.

He was right. I could have.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

I started to think of something else, a lie, a fib, anything. Luke’s body started moving like he was laughing and I knew he read my face.

I didn’t think this was funny. Not even a little bit.

“Please get off me. I need to go home.”

The amusement faded from his eyes when he heard my tone but he didn’t move his body from mine. Instead, his finger traced my hairline. His eyes watched this and then they came back to mine.

“Beautiful, I told you that you were going to have to clue in yourself but tonight I’m gonna give you a little help.”

This did not sound good.

I didn’t want any help. I wanted this to be over. It was much better to be over now than over later when he left me because he was bored or done with me or whatever. Or worse, when I had to identify his bullet-ridden body at a morgue.

“First…” he started, interrupting my thoughts.

Oh no! It had multiple parts.

“I’m gonna fuck you until you feel it until I know you feel it. ‘It’ being what we have between us. I thought I was gettin’ through last night, you talkin’ about your Dad and today, you callin’ me when there was trouble or when nothin’ was happening at all. We’ll see if that took but either way, I’m gonna get through to you I don’t care what it takes.”