Hunting Truth (10 page)

He pulled up at my idea of heaven.
Several large name furniture
stores and major retailers of soft furnishings in one location. How
did I not know about this place? Lucas led me to one which
specialized in quality solid oak furniture. I felt like a child in
a sweet shop. Oak was my favorite wood; I preferred the lighter
shades but I adored all oak.

We wandered around and I began to wonder
why we were there. I assumed that maybe Lucas wanted some more
furniture for his apartment. I knew that he shared my preference
for solid oak.

“Seen anything you like yet?” he asked
suddenly.

I grinned. “Most of it!”

He frowned slightly. “Seen anything that
you’d put in the main apartment at mini-Dakota?”

I blew out my cheeks and shrugged. “I’d
not thought about it. And anyway, it doesn’t matter. Whoever buys
it will furnish it.”

He nodded and we continued walking around,
but I sensed Lucas was brooding about something. I let him be and
was soon distracted by the merchandise.

We went into a soft furnishing store next
and I wandered around, enraptured. Then suddenly, Lucas pushed me
onto a display sofa and sat next to me.

“
Lucas!” I hissed. “These aren’t for
sitting on.”

“
I don’t care. Just listen. Issy, I’d like
you to move in to the apartment at mini-Dakota.”

“
What? Me?” I cried, then looked around to
check nobody had witnessed my outburst.

“
Yes, you. I’ve seen the way you look when
you’re in there. You designed it for you and, well, it is you.
Completely you.” He paused and looked at me, I mean, really looked
into my eyes before continuing in a small voice, “Who knows,
perhaps one day we could live there together.”

My jaw dropped to the floor and my
eyebrows took flight.
Did I just hear him right?

“
You. Want. Me. To. Live. In.
Mini. Dakota?” I
managed.

He nodded; his face the picture of
sincerity. “So choose away. Whatever you want. It’s
yours.”

“
But . . . but even if I took you up on
your generous offer and I could afford the rent, I’d be responsible
for the furniture or were you thinking of renting it to me as a
furnished apartment?”

“
Oh, Issy! I’m not talking about a rental.
I want you to live there for as long as you wish. Forever
hopefully. With me, one day . . . possibly. No rent payable. You
are my love—my life.”

I didn
’t know what to say.
This is big. No, this is massive!
What would Angel
say? Oh . . . Angel!
“But what about Angel?”

He laughed. “What about her?
Don’t take this the wrong way
but I really didn’t picture Angel living there too.” His eyes were
twinkling and I knew he was joking. “Issy, she’s a big girl and she
and Chad are certain to want to move in together soon. What will
you do then? You won’t be far away from her. You can see her every
day if you wish. It’s totally up to you. Your call.”

What he said was true
. But the apartment was massive. Lucas’
apartment was also massive. It seemed silly the two of us rattling
around huge apartments that were only a short distance apart. I
made my decision.

I took his hand in mine and smiled. “Well,
in that case I accept. But on one condition and it’s
non-negotiable.”

He looked concerned, his brow furrowing
slightly. “Oh, and what’s that?”

“That you move in too.”

It was his turn for his jaw to hit the
floor. He recovered quickly and threw his arms around me. “Really?
You’re sure? Oh, Issy, I’m so happy. You have no idea.”

I pulled my head back so I could look into
his eyes.
“No
Lucas,
we
are so happy.
Together. And we will be for a very long time.”

He kissed my nose.
“Forever?”

“
Well, they do say that forever is a very
long time.” And then he kissed me.

It seemed
silly to buy new things when Lucas had some
gorgeous furniture in his apartment. He said he’d probably have his
apartment converted into office space. I was particularly fond of
both of his beds. They held vivid memories and I planned on adding
many more to the list. We agreed to see what would fit where and
then buy whatever else we needed. I was walking on air by the time
we got back to his car. We detoured to my apartment for me to
collect my overnight things and some of my work stuff that was
still boxed up from my office move. Lucas had said I could either
work from his apartment or his office the next day.

Angel wasn
’t home so I couldn’t share my news. As I rushed
around collecting things, Lucas called his favorite restaurant to
have our dinner delivered later in the evening. James helped us to
the car with my bags and boxes. To his credit, he didn’t bat an
eyelid at me being with Lucas again. Such old-world gentlemanly
charm and professionalism were rare. I doubted that mini-Dakota
needed a doorman, but if it did, I would ask Lucas to steal James
in a heartbeat.

Dinner was heavenly
, then I managed to persuade Lucas to let
me work on the designs for mini-Dakota. I had another perspective
now. I was going to be the immediate neighbor to whoever bought the
second apartment. As I worked, I kept hugging myself. I constantly
caught Lucas grinning like an idiot for no apparent reason too. I
ended up with samples and plans spread all over the floor in the
living room. When I was struggling to keep my eyes open, I began to
sort them into piles and then box them up. I needed desk space, I
realized.

Lucas said
he was going to take a quick shower and I couldn’t
resist wandering into the bathroom to sneak a quick peek. I took my
toiletries in so that I had a reason for being in there. As usual
he turned as I was ogling him. I continued walking and began to
arrange my toiletries, ignoring him completely. I screamed when a
strong arm grabbed me around my middle and pulled me
backwards.

“Either take your clothes off or be prepared
to get them very wet,” he growled.

The threat of danger in that growl made me
press my thighs together. I quickly stripped off my clothes and
placed my jewelry on the top. I had barely stood up straight when
that arm snaked around my torso and picked me up. He carried me
into the shower and kissed me hungrily under the hot spray. His
hands roamed all over my back and my ass before coming to rest on
the back of my head. His mouth devoured me so that I was breathless
and a little lightheaded when he released me. I was glad that my
arms were around him, because my knees were a little weak
too.
Damn
that man!

He kiss
ed my neck as one hand slid between my legs, gently cupping
and rubbing. I slid my feet a little further apart to grant his
hand better access and rolled my head onto my other shoulder to
give his mouth better access. My breaths were coming in short pants
and I felt incredibly hot in the steamy shower. Suddenly, without
any warning, Lucas spun me around and pressed my front against the
wall. It was cold against my skin, which was a nice contrast to the
heat, if a little shocking. I turned my head so that my cheek was
pressed against the wall. My nipples reacted predictably to the
cold—they’d already been hard but they turned to stone.

I felt his leg in between mine and he
nudged my
feet further
apart. Then his fingers spread my ass cheeks as he sought access. I
thought for a second that he was thinking of introducing me to the
scary delights of anal sex. But I felt my folds being parted before
his cock slid inside me. One arm went around my waist and the other
hand pinned both my hands high above my head, against the wall. He
leaned forward, put his mouth against my ear and growled quietly,
“You. Are. Mine. I’m going to fuck you fast and hard. Don’t come
’til I tell you.”

I gasped but
, true to his word, he pounded into me. It was
exquisite and I found myself pushing my ass out, into him. He was
relentless, slamming into me over and over until I found myself
building quickly. There was no way that I’d be able to stop it.
“Lucas, I’m sorry but I’m going to come soon. I can’t help
it.”

His hand left my midriff and gripped my
throat.
He tightened his
grip slightly so I could feel the pressure. It didn’t hurt but it
was uncomfortable and a little unnerving.

“
Don’t come,” he growled.

I was so shocked that I found my impending
orgasm was held at bay very effectively. I knew from his movements
and his curses that he was getting close. His hand left my throat
and wound itself in my hair. Just as I felt him climaxing inside
me, he pulled my hair back roughly and whispered in my ear, “Come
now, Issy. Come with me.” And I did. Oh my God, I did. If I hadn’t
been sandwiched between Lucas and the wall, I would surely have
fallen over.

Massive shocks like firecrackers flew
around my body, making it shudder and jerk.
My orgasm was incredibly intense. I heard
the sound of my voice making guttural, animal noises that I
couldn’t control as Lucas cursed and cried out my name. I could
feel his cock pulsing, emptying into me for what seemed like an
eternity, pushing me onward until I was mentally and physically
spent.

I felt Lucas pull out of me and then catch
me as I sagged. He turned me and pulled me to him in one smooth
movement.
Tears were
coursing down my cheeks and I had no idea why. I wasn’t upset or
angry. Just overcome with emotion I supposed. Lucas kissed them and
held me tighter.

“
Oh
, Issy, did I hurt you? Or frighten you?” He sounded
distraught.

I managed to shake my head and say the
word ‘intense’, trying to convey the reason for my tears and my
inability to speak.

“Oh baby, was that a little too intense for
you?”

I nodded and melted into his
embrace.
Once I’d
recovered my wits, we washed and dried each other and got ready for
bed. As I dried my hair, Lucas made us both a hot chocolate and we
sat in bed, talking about moving into the apartment at mini-Dakota
until sleep threatened to overtake us both.

We awoke to the sound of the alarm the
next morning.
I was
shocked to find that it was 7:30 a.m. I stretched and asked Lucas
why he wasn’t using him gym anymore. He grinned a devilish grin and
said he didn’t need the exercise or to get rid of his frustration
now. I nudged him playfully, then shot out of bed when he
threatened to spank me.

We emerged out of his elevator and
walked into his office
together. He helped me to carry my designs and samples. I carried
my laptop. We spread them out over his huge conference table and I
happily got to work whilst Lucas checked his emails. It wasn’t long
before I felt my hair being pushed aside and his lips on the back
of my neck.

“
Mr. Hunter, some of us have work to
do.
I’m sure you do
too,” I said, trying not to grin.

“
Oh, but I don’t. I pay Daniel a small
fortune but he’s good at what he does. I run a tight ship with
rigid systems so after a while most things practically run
themselves.”

“
Well, I have a creative role which cannot
be run by someone else or a system. And I need to get
on.”

Sulking, he returned to his desk and set
about organizing our moving in to mini-Dakota. I listened to him
making enquiries and penciling in dates. I’m sure that if we
weren’t going to Seattle with the band at the weekend, he’d
probably have had us moved in then. Then I heard him finalizing
arrangements for the rock festival, including our private jet
booking. Life was certainly looking up.

A short time later there was a sharp knock
on the door and Daniel came bustling into the office with a handful
of papers.
He almost
fell over his own feet when he saw me sat at the conference table.
He recovered himself and continued to Lucas with utter poise and
calm but, after a brief discussion and as Lucas was reading one of
the papers, I felt eyes on me so I looked over. Daniel had stepped
back behind Lucas and was gesticulating none too subtly. I just
smiled and gave him the thumbs up. He looked very relieved until we
realized that Lucas was eyeing us intently. I grinned and Daniel
studied the ceiling. Lucas’ lips twitched, then he winked at me
before continuing reading.

At lunchtime, we went out on foot to eat
lunch at my favorite deli.
Clark managed to hide any thoughts he might have had about
Lucas and I being together. He’d have known about my office being
emptied because he kept the ledger of anyone coming in or out of
the building. I had a folder of finalized plans and orders to take
to mini-Dakota. It felt weird to be on my way to visit it again,
but this time knowing that I’d soon be living there. With Lucas!
Over lunch we chatted about how we’d utilize the different rooms.
Lucas thought it would be a fabulous idea for me to work from the
apartment and have a home office. He was still adamant that he had
enough work for me to last a lifetime, but he also said that if
prospective clients met with me in such a beautiful building that
I’d worked on, they’d be blown away. I could see the merit in it
but couldn’t help but wonder whether his protective side wanted me
near him and not in a separate office somewhere.