“Me either,” He mouthed, before placing a kiss on the tip of my nose, and walking into the bathroom. I looked around the room and noticed that not one thing had changed since I left. My clothes still lay draped over the chaise lounge, and bulging out of open suitcases on the floor. I had practically moved in with him, but had not even put a dent in my closet back home. “Babe, you okay?” Luke asked, emerging from the bathroom, completely nude from the waist up. My eyes fell on the bruises that covered his side and I cringed. Surely, that shit had to hurt. I walked to him, snaking my hands gently around his waist and bending to kiss the swirling purple marks.
“Does it hurt?”
“No, babe. It doesn’t hurt.”
“It looks like it hurts.”
“Looks can be deceiving. Besides, I took my medicine.”
“What medicine?” Had Luke gone to the doctor, or had he swiped some pain killers from someone at the clubhouse?
“Your sweet pussy is my cure for everything.” I smiled into his chest, I’m not sure why his words embarrassed me, but they did. A smug comment would have worked perfectly here, but instead I continued with the questions.
“Are you going to Lake Charles?” I asked, my grip tightening around him, unknowingly. I knew Brooklyn had been hinting about something, was that it? Was that what Red was hiding? Just the thought of her words had me wanting to stomp my feet and demand Luke tell me what was going on.
“You are just full of questions tonight,” Luke said, pulling my arms from around his waist, so he could undress me. “Why do you ask that?” If I had not looked up, I would have never thought anymore about his question or the answer that he gave me, but when my head lifted, the impassive face he wore when he was hiding something was firmly in place.
“I overheard Brooklyn say something about us seeing more of them. What’s going on?” Even though my voice was pleading, I knew he would not tell me.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about, beautiful,” he said, trying to appease me with a reassuring smile and an endearment.
“If it’s about you, I need to worry about it. Just tell me the truth.” I had pulled my body away from his. I didn’t need him trying to avoid the conversation with his hands and mouth, which was exactly what he had planned. I watched as his tongue licked his bottom lip slowly, distracting me while he made his move.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I said, snapping myself out of my Luke spell and back to the matter at hand. I threw my hands up in front of me, and took a step back. I watched Luke’s body sag with exasperation as he stared at the tops of my breasts. He had managed to remove my shirt and my bra, which lay on the floor at his feet. I knew I had the advantage, teasing him with the sight of my firm breasts and hardened nipples, but he would just have to endure it. “Tell me.” I demanded, standing my ground, and placing my hands on my hips.
“It’s nothing. Just club business. It doesn’t concern you.” I tried to hide my hurt, but Luke’s tone was just a little too harsh for me to recover quickly. That one cut deep. I wasn’t sure if he was doing it to piss me off, so I wouldn’t ask questions, or if he was annoyed that I kept pressing the issue.
“No secrets, Luke. That’s what you promised me. You said there would be no secrets between us, and now you have made me look like a fool.” I watched as his eyes turned almost angry. His brow deepened as he opened his mouth to say something then quickly shut it again. He took a deep breath, trying to rein in his temper, and placed his hands on his hips, mirroring my stance. He squeezed his eyes shut, and lifted his face to the ceiling.
“How did I make you look like a fool, Dallas?” We were back to the formalities, and that was never a good sign. Babe, darlin’, beautiful… Those were words that Luke used even when he was growing impatient. Dallas was the name he used when he was pissed, or trying to get a very strong point across. My bet was that he was pissed.
“Brooklyn and Red know what is going on. They tried to hide it, but I saw straight through them.” I wanted to rat Red out, but I kept my mouth shut. “I am the President’s ol’ lady. Doesn’t that mean something?” Luke’s reaction was a huff and an eye roll, better than I was expecting.
“You gonna play the ol’ lady card on me? Really? What’s it been, Dallas? Twelve hours?” I knew Luke was still trying to avoid my question. I knew he was fishing for low blows to piss me off and shut me up. He was struggling with not telling me. I could see that he wanted to do so, but either he believe the truth would hurt me, or he thought I couldn’t handle it. A small voice in the back of my mind was telling me he didn’t trust me. Luke and I had been through too much to have trust issues, but it still made sense. I tried a different tactic, one that always seemed to have the best end result. I closed the space between us and stood on my toes to wrap my arms around his neck. His pleading eyes begged me not to ask, but I had to. I had to know what was going on.