Gravity (Artistic Pricks Ink Book 1) (22 page)

“Awww,” Leah sniffles. “It’s like a movie.”

“Shut up,” Shelby hisses through her teeth.

“Goodbye, ladies,” Luke says, glaring over my shoulder.

“We’re already gone,” Shelby says, just before the door slams.

“Come with me,” Luke says, taking my hand.

Leading me down the hallway, Luke turns into the bedroom where I woke up. “The closet has some clothes in it and shit. Cam hasn’t exactly had time to come back and sort through it all yet. You two are close to the same size, I think. Whatever you do need, we’ll get until you can get into your house.”

“I’m not comfortable wearing your ex’s clothes, or whatever she was,” I reply, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Luke pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it to the dresser before looking at me. “Camaron isn’t my ‘ex’ anything, if you want to get technical about it.” He begins. “She is a friend. There wasn’t enough there to explore it further. Besides, she was already in love with someone else, who she is now very happily married to.”

“Oh,” I reply, sounding more relieved than I wanted to.

“Oh, Dollface.” Luke’s lip quirks up in amusement. “Were you jealous?” Arching a brow, his smirk now spreading into a full blown face splitting smile. “I like this. You’re all possessive and ready to fight to the death for me and shit. It’s hot.”

“I was
not
about to fight to the death, Prick.” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest.

He shrugs, “Maybe not to the death, but you were jealous.” Reaching down, he pulls me to my feet. Wrapping his arms around me, he runs his nose along mine and inhales deeply. “People get jealous of what others have.” He says, running his fingers up my arms. “You’ve got me, which means you have nothing to be jealous of. Right now, I don’t want to be anywhere else. Even if I walked away, I’d only end up right back here with you. No matter what direction I turn, you’re there.”

“I don’t want to rely on you so much, Luke.” I whisper. “I don’t need anyone.”

“Bullshit. We’re all halves, searching our whole lives for that missing piece. You go through your entire life relying on others. They rely on you. It’s the cycle of it all. You may not like it, but it’s the truth.” Pressing a kiss to my lips, Luke sighs. “There’s a lot you have to take care of, I get that. Tonight, though, you’re all mine. Once we’ve had showers, we can eat, watch movies, or do whatever you want. Unless Vegas is overrun by people wanting tattoos and the guys need me, it’s just us. You and me, here and now. No crazy asshole with pictures and notes, no trashed houses, no bullshit.”

“But, Luke…” I start.

“Is it anything that can’t wait until tomorrow?” He asks, arching a brow. “I mean, seriously, unless it requires 9-1-1, let’s file it away until tomorrow. Or better yet, next month.”

Dropping the subject, I let Luke lead me into the walk-in closet and find something comfortable to wear for the night in Cam’s things. Luke grabs a spare pair of shorts he had there and heads in to shower before me. “Separate showers?” I ask when he starts to close the door behind him. Memories of our shower yesterday flood my mind, making my thighs clench together.

“I’m all about saving water. I mean we live in the desert so I’m used to droughts,” he chuckles. “I just don’t want you to think this is about sex, Ki.” He assures me. “Because it’s not.”

“Oh,” my voice almost unrecognizable as I answer.

“Oh,” he replies, closing the door behind him.

True to his word, Luke showers alone, then I do. We sit and snack on what Leah left and watch reruns of our favorite show Luke had stored on the DVR. “Some nights I don’t have time to watch and I never miss this show.” He says, digging through the box of brownies between us and popping one into his mouth. “Once I have time, I’m going to restore another car. Just haven’t decided what, yet. I do know it will be an eighties model this time.”

“Why the eighties?” I ask, grabbing a brownie from the box. I have tried to get into the show, but my focus keeps drifting elsewhere.

“All the best things happened then,” he replies, with a grin. “The music was killer, nothing like some of the shit out today, Big Dick opened his shop, oh and I was born in nineteen eighty. Really, other than some of the awful fashion…” He stops mid-sentence, his fingers fumbling through the box. “It’s empty. That’s the last one.”

“It is?” I ask, both of us looking down at the last piece in between my fingers.

“Hand it over, Dollface.” Luke says, holding out his hand. “Last one’s mine, it’s a rule.”

“No way,” I reply. “You snooze, you lose, Hanlon.”

“Oh really?” He asks, grabbing for my hand.

Shoving the entire bite into my mouth whole, I nod. “Mhm,” I mutter around the bite, moaning because the last bite tastes better than any of them did.

“Oh Dollface, now you’ve asked for it.” Tossing the empty box to the floor, he lunges at me. “Come here.”

Leaping from the couch, I squeal. Running around the coffee table, his arms miss me as I skirt past him to the other side. “You’ll have to be quicker than that,” I giggle.

Standing from the couch, Luke’s eyes light up as he stalks me. For each step he takes, I take one in the opposite direction. “Is this how it’s gonna be?” He asks playfully, shuffling left.

Scooting right at the same time, I laugh victoriously. “Yep and there’s nothing you can do about it.” I tease when he tries to go right only to cause me to go left and miss his arms as they reach for me again.

Luke smiles. “Fucking hell.” He says, leaping across the center of the table with no effort at all. Turning his body, he falls back onto the couch pulling me down with him. The heat of his chest radiating through my t-shirt. His hands rest on my hips as his thumbs run along the bare skin above my shorts. “Do you even know how damn beautiful you are when you laugh?” He asks, with a knowing smile. Biting my lip, I shake my head. “Well, you are. Now, since you ate the last brownie go grab the other box from the kitchen table.”

Sprawled across Luke’s chest, I look down into his eyes and laugh as he smiles up at me. Emotion threatening to clog my throat, forcing me to swallow around the tears I refuse to shed. He did it again. Luke gave me exactly what I needed. He takes my mind off of all the shit I can’t do anything about. I’m laughing when any other time I would be falling apart inside. Sabrina and my destroyed house are the furthest things from my mind.

“Enough grillin’ me about the wedding and the tour, big brother,” Chase says, interrupting me. “Who is this woman Mitch keeps telling me about and when do I get to meet her?”

Balancing the phone on my shoulder, I start up the steps with the grocery bags. “You should know better than to listen to Mitch,” I reply.

“You’re holding out on me, Luke.” She snaps into the phone.

“Never,” I assure her as I step into the apartment.

When I walk into the kitchen Ki is sitting at the table, doodling on a notepad while talking to someone on her phone. Five days have passed and still there are notes every day along with text messages. Those started the first night here, only adding to our unease. Thankfully, there are fewer pictures now since we don’t leave the shop often. Mostly, it’s only to check on my mom.

The police have nothing, not for their lack of trying. According to Alvarez, whoever is doing this isn’t just crazy, they are smart. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to shatter that goddamn phone to pieces every time she powers it up and the alerts start going off. No matter how many numbers we block, another one replaces it. Every single one traces back to a cash bought, prepaid burner phone. Leaving us waiting for the next contact from whoever this is, hoping they fuck up and give us something to go on.

“I’m fine,” Ki says into the phone, sounding anything but. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Luke, are you listening to me?” Chase shouts, getting my attention.

“Sorry, what?” I ask, knowing that I sound distant.

Chase takes a deep breath. “Oh Luke, Mitch is right, you do have it bad. Since you have no time for me right now, I’ll let you go,” she huffs, playfully. “I love you and love how she’s gotten under your skin. Call me later, yeah?”

“Yeah, love you too, Sis.” I mutter before hanging up.

Tossing the bag onto the counter, I step behind Ki. Her hair veils around her as she buries her face in her hands. “I have to go back to work,” she sighs loudly. “We can’t stay living in the bubble, you know?”

“Okay,” I reply, waiting for her to continue. When I’m not working that’s what we have. Our bubble. Just us. No outside bullshit allowed and I’ve been determined to keep a smile on her face as much as possible. Which, given the circumstances, hasn’t been easy, but I’ve done my best.

“Stewart called too. They padlocked my door to keep squatters and wildlife out. Since he was already there, I asked him to leave the key with your mom. My house is officially clear for me to re-enter. I need to go see what’s salvageable.” She informs me. “My insurance company needs a run down so I can sign off before the repairs start.”

“He called me too while I was downstairs. Are you ready to go back there?” I ask her, knowing that when we have checked on Audrey, Ki won’t even look toward her home.

“I just want to get it over with.”

Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head. Letting myself get lost for a moment in the smell of the cherry and vanilla lotion I have learned she carries everywhere in her bag. I may tease her about applying it damn near religiously, but honestly, just a whiff of it makes my dick twitch. Though, I’ve not acted on it.

Every night that I slip into bed with her and hold her while we sleep is a double edged sword. While it is torture for my ever-aching hard-on, I love every second of how simple it is. I crave it, those moments alone with her. Soft touches, tender kisses, every stolen moment between obligations better than the last.

Mitch and the guys are all picking up slack. I may not be used to having so much downtime, but I’m damned grateful for the way our little family has come together for me, for us. Mostly, I am only working my regulars and appointments, unless we get swamped. Standing straight again, I rest my hands on her shoulders. “I’ve got a session booked for tonight, so if you want we can go now.”

Slipping from my hands, Ki pushes to her feet. “The sooner the better.” Turning to face me, she nods. “I’ll just go get dressed, then I’ll be ready to go.”

Stepping closer to her, I wrap my arms around her. Pressing her face into my chest, she inhales and exhales slowly. “More messages?” I ask, but it’s not even a question. “You shouldn’t even open them. We need to get you a new number, should’ve done that days ago.”

Ki meets my eyes, tears threatening. “I’m fine.”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that, Dollface.” Her body trembles against mine. I’m the most conflicted I have ever been in my life. My heart breaks for her and this situation I can’t seem to do anything about. I want to hold her and comfort her, but then a part of me wants nothing more than to find this fucker and bash his damn head in. “The fucker doing this shit better pray to whatever God he believes in that I’m not the one that finds him. A restraining order and some jail time is the least of his worries.” I say, knowing there will be no controlling the hothead in me that takes over if I ever get my hands on him.

“No one is that perfect. He has to mess up and when he does, the police will find him,” Ki whispers. Pushing up onto her toes, her lips brush mine. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Okay, I’ll put this stuff away and go let Shelby know we’re leaving for a while. Come on down once you’re ready,” I say, searching her eyes for an ounce of doubt. The last thing I want is to push her too far in one direction right now.

Ki nods as I release her. Turning, she walks away from me. Stopping in the doorway, Ki sighs deeply, “Thank you, Luke. I don’t know if I’ve said that nearly enough. You have no idea what you being here for me and turning your life upside down during all this means.”

“Ki,” keeping my voice soft, I close the distance between us. “Look at me, baby.”