Celeb Crush (30 page)

Whatever.  I look back at Luke, and he’s staring at me with an unreadable look.  “Good luck,” I say with an evil smile.  His gaze goes back to the three big boys standing there.

“Shit,” he mutters under his breath.

I walk away with an attitude, though my insides are quaking like a laughing Santa’s belly.  I manage not to look back once.  Even when someone pinches me on the ass.  Actually, I can’t be sure.  There’s a region back there that has suffered extensive nerve damage from a sports injury years ago.

It’s raining heavily outside.  I lean against a lamp post, shivering.  I want to wrap my arms around myself to conserve warmth, but I don’t want a hug—not even from myself.

He comes out a few minutes later, the glow from the neon lights making his injuries look worse than it probably really is.  His left eye looks puffy and red, and his bottom lip is split and bleeding.  I don’t care.  I’ve seen him in worse shape with a smile on his face.

He’s not smiling now.  “Where’s your car?” he asks in a toneless voice.

Instead of answering him, I just start walking to the lot across the street.  He follows me, and goes over to the driver’s side.  He looks at me, probably expecting an argument, but I just toss him the keys and get in the passenger side.  I make squishy squeaky sounds against the leather as I hunch down in my seat.

Luke gets behind the wheel, but doesn’t start the car right away.  He gets out his phone and calls someone.  I look out the window and watch the rain pelt against the glass as he talks.

“Hey.  I got her.  Yeah.  No, I’m taking her back to the hotel…yeah, go ahead, I’ll see you tomorrow.  Thanks, man.”

He tosses his phone on the dashboard, just staring straight ahead.  I sneak a glance over at him, and I notice his hands are shaking.  My chest cramps up, and I quickly turn my head again.  I don’t care.  Finally, the engine roars to life, and we pull out of the lot.

I’m willing to sit there in stony silence until a thought occurs to me.  “How did you find me?” I ask.

“Micah,” Luke replies shortly.

He doesn’t have to explain further.  Micah is ex-something-badass.  He probably has all kinds of shady contacts that can find out what someone had for breakfast in a matter of minutes.  I used to try to ask him about his past, but the man is immune to my charms.

Luke suddenly slams the heel of his hand down on the steering wheel, causing me to jump.  “What the fuck were you thinking, Andi?!  Those assholes were bad news—they could’ve had you hogtied and in the trunk of their car—and not one of those guys back there would have lifted a finger to stop them!”

“Why would they have to put me in the trunk?  I would have gone with them willingly,” I say reasonably.  “As for the tying me up part, I would have been down with that—and anything else they wanted to do to me.”

“Fuck!”

“Exactly.”  I flash him a deadly smile.

Luke takes a deep steadying breath.  “Look, what you saw back there wasn’t—”

“Shhhh!”

I hold a hand to my aching forehead and close my eyes tightly so I don’t have to see the outraged expression on Luke’s face.  Nobody shushes LUCAS GREYSON—even before he was all capitals.  I don’t care.  I don’t want to hear his excuses—or even his voice.  Not when I’m shivering and vulnerable, and I feel like I’m bleeding to death inside.

Thankfully cheater boy remains silent.  I can feel his simmering rage heating up the interior of the car.  Why is he so pissed?  He cheated on me—I had my marines mess his pretty face up.  In my book, we’re even.  Sort of.  No—after I blow up his baby—the 1969 ZL1 Camaro sitting in his friend’s garage in West Covina—then we’ll be even.

Luke grabs my backpack from the backseat and when I go to protest, he just shoots me a quelling look.  I shrug. We manage to get back to his hotel room without him being recognized, unfortunately.  He’s got his cap on and keeps his head down low to hide his injuries.  I study his face under the fluorescent lights of the elevators, and decide that he doesn’t look as pummeled as I originally thought.  Too bad.  I briefly wonder what Mike/Mark, Cogs, and Javi look like.  I also wonder if anyone called the cops.  Probably not.  The bar seems like the kind of place you hide dead bodies in.  I didn’t use the bathroom the whole time I was there.  I’d rather pee myself than go down that abyss of a hallway.  The only reason I’m going willingly with Luke right now is so I can use his bathroom.  I did drink a lot of soda.

Luke opens the door for me to go inside, but I flinch backwards.  Is
she
still in there?  I almost hope so because she and I need to have words.

He accurately interprets my reaction, and his expression softens a fraction.  “She’s not here.”

Great.  Guess I won’t be burning any beds tonight.  Maybe.  I stride past Luke on rubbery legs, straight to the scene of the crime:  the bedroom.

My eyes automatically go to the bed.  The sheets are rumpled, and the room still reeks of Kat’s expensive perfume.  A wave of nausea almost knocks me on my ass as I can’t help but picture them on that bed together.  Did she go down on him?  Did she touch herself for him?

What the hell am I doing?  Why am I standing here so broken and bleeding?  That’s not me.  It’s not.  I don’t break for anyone—especially cheating ass boyfriends.

“Andi—”

“No, it doesn’t matter,” I snarl.  “I’m going to take a shower, and then I’m going to leave.  And you—you can do whatever the hell you want, Luke.”

“No, fuck that!” Luke says explosively, blocking my way.  “You’re not going anywhere.  Just hear me out, okay?   I didn’t touch—what are you doing?”

I don’t reply because the answer is obvious.  I’m taking off my shoes and my wet jeans.  I leave them in a heap, walking towards the bathroom and pulling my shirt off along the way.  I unhook my bra and let it drop, giving him just a peak of side boob before I disappear into the bathroom.  Like them apples, asshole?

I walk in, kicking the door shut behind me. But just before it latches, Luke storms through, slamming the door against the wall with a crash.  I quickly cover my chest and glare at him.

“What the hell?!” I shriek.  “Get the fuck out, Luke!”

“I don’t think so,” he growls, stalking toward me like a deadly predator, and backing me up against the counter. “You wanna punish me with your tits hanging out?   Do it right; drop your arms.”

If looks could kill, we’d both be dead right now.  He’s breathing hard, eyes flared and body tensed as if ready for a fight.  His one eye is swollen and half shut, the area around it an angry red; the cut on his lower lip clotted over.  He is utterly beautiful and more than a little dangerous.  I love it when he’s on the edge like this.  I love giving him that one tiny push. 

I smile up at him, full of malice. Shrugging with fake nonchalance, I let my arms fall to my sides.  Luke immediately looks down, and swears under his breath.  His eyes devour me.  I stand defiantly in front of him, wearing just my panties and an attitude.

We’re just a few inches apart.  I can feel the heat emanating from him like hot coals.  My skin breaks out in goose bumps as his gaze rakes over me slowly and intimately, like the whisper of a touch.  I don’t want to be affected by it, but my hormone-infused body has other ideas.  I can’t stop myself from giving his body the same treatment, noticing the way his damp t-shirt is molded to the elegant contours of his torso, how his jeans hang low on his hips exposing a strip of bronze taut flesh.

I have to clear my throat to ensure my voice comes out steady.  “Now what?”  I ask, going for bored.  If only my voice wasn’t trembling.

Luke finally drags his attention away from my naked breasts.  When his molten gold eyes finally meet mine, I’m ferociously happy to see that they are slightly glazed and out of focus.

“I didn’t fuck Kat,” he says huskily.  “There was only that one time, I swear.  I haven’t touched her since.

“Riiight.”  I roll my eyes.  “Let me guess—you were just talking…naked?”

“I didn’t know she was—shit.”  Luke glances down at my body again, then closes his eyes and shakes his head.  “She set me up.”

I snort derisively.  “Yeah, right—and you’re so innocent, baby.  You told me you were hanging out with your friends tonight.”

“I was.  I didn’t lie about that.”  He looks steadily into my eyes.  “Kat was part of the group.  She’d been acting weird all day, so when she said she needed to talk to me in private, I took her up here.  Don’t look at me like that, Tiger.  She’s been my friend, and has been for a long time—since before I even met you.  Things were still awkward between us, and I didn’t want it to be.  I thought we could talk through it.”

“Sure.  Naked talking.  Is that a celebrity thing?”

“Andi.”

“Go.”  I wave him on imperiously.

Luke hesitates, his gaze flicking away.  I instinctively brace myself, knowing I’m really not going to like whatever comes next.

“She told me she might be pregnant,” he blurts out.

I gasp loudly, falling back in shock.  If the counter hadn’t been there, I would have fallen right on my ass. 
Pregnant?! 
The word sinks slowly in, and my brain   processes it as quick as mud.

He looks pained at my stunned expression, but grimly continues to stab daggers through my chest.  “She’d been really busy lately, so she didn’t notice her missed period for a while.  Not until she started throwing up.”

“Oh, my god,” I say faintly.  I cross my arms over my chest and concentrate on trying not to hyperventilate.  I look up at him in disgust.  “Did you not use a condom?”

Luke’s jaw tightens.  “I did—I always do.  But they’ve been known to fail.”

I don’t say anything, though uncharitable thoughts are definitely running through my mind right now.  Pregnant…fuck.

“She brought a bunch of pregnancy tests.  I made her take all five of them.”  Luke cups my chin in his hand and forces me to look up at him.  “They were all negative.  She’s not pregnant, Tiger.”

I almost want to collapse in relief—but then I remember why it shouldn’t matter to me anymore.  I jerk away from him.  I can’t stand to be naked in front of him any longer, so I grab a towel from the rack to cover myself.  “Congratulations,” I say sarcastically, looking away from him.  “So, to celebrate you decided to go for another round?”

“I said I didn’t touch her,” he says through gritted teeth.  “We talked for a bit, and I told her I was going to take a shower.  I thought she left.  I was as shocked as you when I came out and she was still here.”

“After you ran out, I asked her what the hell she was doing.  She set me up, Andi.  She admitted everything.”  Luke rubs a hand over his jaw, his expression turbulent.  “She said she was in love with me.”

I barely refrain from rolling my eyes again at his sheepish expression.  “There’s a shocker,” I mutter.

He smiles wryly.  “I should have guessed, right?  But I was too hung up on you to pay attention to anything else.  Kat told me about the night we hooked up—I was drunk and—I took some of those pain pills.   I didn’t remember anything.  She said I didn’t even finish.”

Something inside me reacts to that, but outwardly I’m like stone.  I stare up at him, my eyes narrowed.  “So that whole pregnancy thing…was a ploy?”

“Yeah.  She was hurt and pissed.  It got worse after she found out we were together.”  Luke stares at a point above my head.  “She thought a pregnancy scare would bring us closer—or something like that.  When that didn’t work, she decided to try and seduce me.  She got naked and waited for me to get out of the shower.  That’s when you came in.”

He moves forward suddenly, caging me in with his body.  “I swear to god, baby, nothing happened.  I did not touch her.”  He captures my gaze with his, willing me to believe him.  “When I thought Kat might be pregnant, I panicked.  Having a baby right now is the last thing on my list of things to do.  But my first thought was how the hell was I gonna tell you.  It killed me to think of hurting you like that!  Look at me, Andi.  I didn’t betray you—I love you.  Please believe me.”

I am beyond confused and conflicted right now.  My stupidly hopeful heart tries to beat again, but I ruthlessly repress it.  Is it naïve of me to think he might be telling the truth?

I clutch my towel tightly to my chest and study Luke’s pleading expression, his wide intense eyes and firm mouth.  Yes, I know him very well—maybe even more than anyone like he says.  But he’s also a brilliant award-winning actor.  How do I know if he’s telling the truth, or playing a scene?  The fact that I want to believe him more than I want to keep on breathing tells me I absolutely cannot trust my instincts.

“I don’t know,” I say finally.  “I need to think.”

He takes a step back, almost as if I’d slapped him.  Why does he look so sad right now?  What does he expect—that I’d fall at his feet, instantly appeased?  Fucker.

“There’s nothing to think about,” he says softly.  “Either you believe me, or you don’t.  Either you trust me—or you don’t.”

“You’re right—I don’t!” I scream.  “I don’t believe you—and I don’t trust you!  What the hell’s the point, anyway?!  You know what?  It was stupid to think that it could actually work between us.”

I push past him and storm back out into the room.  I don’t get more than a few steps before he grabs my arm, whirling me around.