My Lucky Catch (University Park #6) (20 page)

“Stop.” She pushed my hand away. “You’re just trying to be nice.”

“Delaney, you have a great body.” I continued to roam her soft curves with my eyes since she didn’t want me touching her.

“Uh, whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “I have a thick waist, big butt, and average size boobs. I wouldn’t call that a great body.” In one quick sweep she threw the covers over herself, blocking me from admiring her flesh.

“Well, I happen to think you’re hot as hell. In fact, I’d love to take some more photos of you.” I searched around my room for her backpack. “Did you bring your camera?”

“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “No more nude pics.”

“Why not?” I pouted and struck a pose, hoping to entice her.

Her eyes widened in delight, and she ran her fingers through the stands of her hair. For a moment, I thought I had her until she closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. “Your sister almost saw the ones we took.”

“Oh, shit. When was this?”

“Before she told me she knew we’d hooked up. It was a close call. Besides, you might try and sell them.” She eyed me suspiciously.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, you never know. Too bad I won’t be taking Lexi and Collin’s engagement photos.” Her smile faded away. “Now that she called off the wedding.”

“I know. I can’t believe it.” He shook his head, and then it spun in my direction. “Wait a minute, you were supposed to take photos of Collin and my sister?”

“Uh, yeah. You didn’t know?”

“No.” I shrugged. “No one told me. Sorry your first real gig got canceled.”

“I know,” she made a duck face with her lips, “but I don’t think they were really
in love
with each other.”

“I’d have to agree with you. They were more like friends, instead of lovers.”

“Isn’t that the truth?”

Stroking her long hair, I said, “I’m sure there will be more people that will want you to take photos of them. You just have to network.”

“Oh, I know, and I will. In fact, I talked to Martin about opening up a studio after I graduate.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he’d support me for the first year, but that we’d talk further once May comes.” Happiness lit up her features, making her even more radiant in the dim room.

“I’m happy for you.” I planted a kiss on her forehead. “You’re going to do great.”

“I hope so.” She sighed softly.

“You deserve to be happy, Delaney.” I gathered in her in my arms. “To have the best of what the world has to offer.”

A smirk bellowed from her. “Yeah, well . . .”

I honestly knew very little about Delaney’s life, only that she was adopted and had a rough childhood from the little she’d told me. I was determined to know more about her. Find that key, like Forbes said, and unlock her heart. Show her she could trust me and tell me anything. But would she be willing to let me in?

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Depends on what it is.” A fake smile spread across her face.

“Why do call your adopted father by his first name? Why not, Dad?

She took a hard swallow and inched away from my embrace. “He’s not my dad. It’s as simple as that.”

“How old were you when they adopted you?”

“You said, one question, not two.” Her lips quickly pressed to mine. “I better go. It’s getting late.”

And just like last time, she was fleeing from my bed, avoiding my questions. She might not have been ready to talk, but I wasn’t done trying to open her lock. Pieces of her life filled my heart, and I loved and hated it at the same time. I wanted more than what she had to offer, and it was time she really knew how I felt. More than anything, I was tired of the charade she was playing with me. Deep down underneath the layers, I could see the pain she was hiding. It was time to uncover the real reason for her torment.

***

Delaney

“Come here. We need to talk.” Luke pulled me back into bed, and I sat next to him.

“Why are you so distant to me?”

I gave a slight shrug, refusing to admit why.

“Talk to me, Laney.” He brushed my hair away from my face, leaving my breasts exposed. I might not have had problems exposing my bare body to him, but I had serious issues when it came to exposing my past. It wasn’t something I openly talked about with anyone.

“You’re so serious at times,” I pushed away. “We’re good. Trust me.”

“No, we’re not.” I tried to stand, but he clenched my waist with both hands and hauled me across him, forcing me to lie on my back. “We fuck, and you leave.” He half laughed. “I don’t think that’s good. I mean, we’ve been doing this for how long?”

I shrugged, even though I knew it had been over a year. “I told you when we first hooked up, if you wanted to be one of my top three guys, it had to be on my terms.”

“And your terms suck.” He lay next to me, positioning his naked body next to mine. “Do you really want to keep up this game? I mean, you don’t think we’ve got something going on here?” He pointed to himself and then me. “Because I’m not going to lie. I have deep feelings for you Laney, and they are only getting stronger.”

“Shit. That’s not good, Luke.” I shoved him away, but he wrapped his arms around me.

“Why? Do you really not have any feelings for me?” His eyes glossed over. “I’m really just your fuck buddy?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Reality was that I had serious feelings for Luke, but I kept them suppressed.

Hidden.

Safe from the world that would be determined to take him from me.

“You wouldn’t understand.” I turned my head, fighting back the tears. I wouldn’t cry for him because if I did, I would give in to what I wanted most.

Him.

“I told you when we got together not to expect nothing more than sex. Why are you doing this to me?”

“Seriously? Laney,” he touched my face with his palm, “my feelings for you are more than you know. Lexi, I’m falling in—”

“No!” I placed my hand over his mouth. “Don’t say it.” If he did, he’d surely jinx himself. “Don’t you dare say what I think you’re going to say.”

“Why not?” Confusion tightened his jaw. “I don’t understand you.”

I closed my eyes, but no matter how hard I squeezed, the tears fell. “Please, Luke.”

“I gotta go.” I pried his hands off of me and got out of bed. Grabbing my clothes, I darted to the bathroom. Just as I shut the door, his hand stopped it.

“You’re not running away from me.” He shoved his body through the door. “Not this time. You’re not running away from whatever the hell is bothering you.”

“Stop, Luke.” I shoved him, trying to push him out of the restroom. “Just get the hell out of here.” I pounded on his chest, but he refused to leave.

“No. I’m not going anywhere.” He grabbed my flaying fists and wrapped his arms around me. “Stop hitting me, and just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing!” I screamed. “Now leave me the fuck alone!” I raised my hand and without thinking, I slapped his face. Instantly, I stopped crying, realizing what I’d done. Instead of hitting me back, he pulled me against his chest.

“Tell me Laney. It’s okay.”

“You wouldn’t understand.” I cried, my body shaking uncontrollably. “I can’t lose you.”

“You’re not going to lose me.” He smoothed my matted hair away from my face. “I promise I won’t get mad. Did you screw someone else on the team besides Riley?”

“No. I promise he was the only one. I did make out with Hunter and Braun, together, but that was before me and you hooked up.” Since he knew about Riley, I figured he should know about the rest. What did I have to lose?

He shook his head. “Are you sure you didn’t have sex with them?”

“No, I swear.”

“I’m glad they’ve already graduated.” Disappointment framed his face. “You don’t talk to them anymore, do you?”

“No.” I shook my head.

“Good, but why do you think you’re going to lose me?”

“Oh, Luke.” I moaned, not wanting to talk about it. “It’s my past. My fucked up past that haunts me.”

“What about your past?” He pulled back and lifted my chin. “What happened to you? Did someone do something to hurt you?”

I glanced at him through wet lashes. Sniffing, I shook my head. “Not physically, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Is it your parents?”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “My real parents and . . .” Although I’d told him some of the story, he didn’t know the entire story. Hell, no one really knew the whole story, except my adoptive parents. But they had no idea how much it really destroyed me. It had turned me into a person who I didn’t want to be. A girl who fucked whenever and whomever to forget about what I’d never get to have. The pain of loving someone was too damn hard to bear, and I swore I’d never love again.

“And what?” Using the pads of his thumbs, he wiped my tears away. “Who?”

“My grandma and my high school boyfriend.” I stared behind him at the blank wall. It was much like the wall I had built around my heart. On the surface, it was textured and painted with a pretty color for all to see, but underneath it were two-by-fours, and behind those a solid brick wall that I swore no one would ever penetrate. Brick by brick, with mortar in between, I created a strong barrier that I told myself repeatedly would protect me. Protect my heart. The reality was that it had cracks all along, and with every guy I fucked, more cracks formed, and the crumbling started. And all it took was meeting that one guy who knew how to come crashing through it.

That guy was Luke Thompson.

But for the past year, I refused to accept him. Instead, I tried to push him back through the wall, shoving brick after brick into him, throwing mortar, too, hoping he’d give up and walk away. But he never did. He was here to stay, and that scared the hell out of me.

“What about them?” Confusion enhanced his features. “Did they hurt you?”

“No,” I whispered. “I killed them.”

His eyes bulged, and his hands slipped from my face. “What do you mean, you
killed them?
”
He stumbled back.

“Not literally.” I latched on to his arms, pulling him back. “What I meant was my stupidity killed them.”

My head dropped, and I took a deep breath and released it. Gathering what was left of the strong Delaney, I decided to tell him, hoping I wouldn’t regret it. “The night we had the wreck, the one that killed my parents, I was acting out and being a brat. My dad was getting on to me and wasn’t paying attention to the road. He swerved when a car nearly hit us, but he lost control, and the car flipped.” I looked at him through tear-filled eyes. “If my dad would have had both hands on the wheel, we wouldn’t have wrecked. I caused us to wreck!”

“No, you didn’t. The other car did.”

“I still feel responsible.” I sighed heavily. “After my parents died, my grandmother took me in to care for me.” My throat tightened, but I managed to keep talking. “I was so rebellious. She loved me, and I did things that worried her and caused her so much heartache. I ran away constantly. Got in trouble with the law.” I wiped my tears with the back of my hands. “I knew she had heart problems, but that didn’t stop my bad behavior.”

“Delaney, what you did wasn’t the cause of her death.”

“Yeah, it was, Luke.” I nodded, accepting full responsibility for what I had done. “One night, I stole her car and ran it into the corner store, trying to kill myself. Child protective services took me from her, and she was going to court for the damages I caused to the store. She was forced to sell her home, and she practically lost everything. The night before our hearing, she died of a massive heart attack.” I covered my face. “I killed her through my stupid actions.”

“Delaney, you were only a kid.”

“A stupid twelve-year-old. And it didn’t get any better.”

“What do you mean?”

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “I didn’t change much when Veronica and Martin adopted me.”

“Did you know them?”

“Yeah. They were friends of the family. Since my parents didn’t have any siblings, and my dad’s parents died shortly after I was born, there was no one to take care of me..”

“Did they not treat you right?” Luke questioned.

“They did and still do. Veronica and Martin are awesome, but at first, I didn’t think they were. They sent me to therapy to help me cope with everything, but I rebelled by sneaking out with guys, having sex, and getting high. They were determined to help me and constantly forgave me, despite what I did.”

“They are good people.”

“Yeah, and I’m fortunate to have them. Things did get better for a while, when I met this guy in high school, Scott. He took me to his church, and we attended youth services weekly. He was really sweet and helped me see the brighter side of life. But on the anniversary of my parents’ deaths, I regressed and got drunk.” I remembered it just like it was yesterday. Images flashed through my mind and my body trembled.

“It’s okay.” Luke stroked my arm. “If you don’t want to talk about it you—”

“No, I want to.” I inhaled deeply and continued. “It was New Year’s Eve and we got into an argument after he refused to go to a party some of my friends were throwing. I went without him and got trashed. A few hours later, he showed up and found me with another guy, drunk off my ass. We started fighting, and he forced me into his car, determined to take me home. Like a dumb ass, I tried to jump out while he was driving. I wanted to kill myself.” Closing my eyes, my head bowed from the heaviness in my heart. Nothing could change what I had done, and I’d never forgive myself for it.

“Hey, we’ve all done stuff we’ve regretted.”

Glancing up, I said, “True, but I caused him to have a wreck. Instead of me dying, he died.” The sadness weighed me down, and the tears released. My knees weakened, and my body caved. Luke caught me, and I wailed. “He died, Luke. I fucking killed him, too!” I cried, beating on his chest. “I’m a killer. That’s why you can’t love me.” I wept. “Don’t love me, Luke, because I’ll kill you, too.”

“No, you won’t.” He held me tightly, trying to calm my frazzled nerves. “You’re not going to kill me.”

“But I’ve been hurting you,” I sniffed. “Screwing all these guys. Because that’s all I’m good at doing. I can’t ever love anyone because if I do, I’ll just fuck it up, and they’ll die. That’s why I can’t love you. Can’t you see that?”