The Renegade Returns (Mill Town Millionaires) (9 page)

Tonight was about Avery, not the hometown celebrity. More than having fun or even having sex, he wanted to shake the foundations of her safe world. He couldn’t do it with an audience. And having the crowd to come to him would only put her in the public spotlight right alongside him.

He sighed, throwing the blanket aside. Playing the gentleman role, as he had two times in three days, was not nearly as rewarding as people made it out to be.

* * *

Within minutes of Luke scooting out of the car, the real estate between them and the next row became a revolving door of people. Avery couldn’t even see the bottom half of the screen because of the crowd. She huddled into the shadows of her car, shoving popcorn in her mouth like a squirrel storing for winter, not willing to risk the exposure. She recognized more than a few patients, members of their families, and knew her business would be a hotbed of gossip if she set one foot near Luke. Maybe they’d forget the car he’d come from.

Between Luke’s teasing challenge back at her office and her desire to save face in front of Cindy, Avery hadn’t given herself time to think this decision through. She and Luke couldn’t just go out as friends. All eyes would be searching for the slightest behavior that proved they were more than that. She loved these people. That didn’t always mean living with them was easy.

She’d lived all her life under their scrutiny, and tried to avoid it when she could. But it was the constant questions and insinuations that would be thrown at her after Luke left town that she was truly trying to avoid.

As the second set of movie credits rolled, Avery put the leftover food back into the basket. The last thing to be packed was the blanket, fluffy and soft. Heat rolled over her as she remembered those few precious moments with Luke wrapped tight against her. Would she have survived four hours of that? Maybe not, but it would have been fun to try.

Thirty minutes later, she couldn’t help wondering if more time under that blanket would have meant driving them both back to her house at top speed, instead of turning onto the highway that led out to Blackstone Manor. Which one did she really want?

The quivery feeling in the pit of her stomach told Avery she wasn’t sure. And to her disappointment, Luke had made his position quite clear: friends, not lovers. Now he remained silent, probably exhausted from the overload of people. Her guilt over leaving him to handle himself alone weighed her down, but self-preservation was a strong instinct.

Luke leaned against his car door, staring out the window at the farmland flashing past as they left the lights of Black Hills proper.

His voice bordered on surly when he finally spoke. “Why didn’t you remind me what a social event the drive-in could be?”

“Um, I’ve never been. Remember?”

“I just remember making out with my girlfriends,” he grumbled. “Tonight wasn’t what I had in mind.”

Just what Avery needed. A reminder of times past and all the women Luke had had better experiences with. “It wasn’t my fault. You could have stayed in the car.”

“But you didn’t go out of your way to help, either, did you?”

Her face flamed. “I didn’t know you needed my help.” After all, he was the big star. Though honestly, she had taken the coward’s way out.

“You could have joined me.” He turned back toward the window. “Or were you just too embarrassed to be seen with an old, broken-down celebrity?”

Uh-oh.
“It wasn’t that at all.” She struggled to gather her thoughts while still concentrating on the road. “I just—”

“Didn’t want to be seen with me?”

This was going from bad to worse. Tonight hadn’t been a dream date, but now it was turning into a nightmare. Why couldn’t these things ever go right for her?

“Me staying away had nothing to do with not wanting to be seen with you, or your injuries. I work with people with mobility issues every day. What have I ever done to make you think I would be ashamed of you?”

He didn’t answer, but continued to stare out the window. The silence that filled the car seemed heavy with recriminations—something Avery couldn’t handle. And she couldn’t leave him thinking that she was embarrassed by him in some way.

“Yes, I did choose to stay away. But you have to remember, Luke—one day you’ll leave. And I’ll be the one left behind, dealing with their pity.” She gestured between them, wishing she could see his face. “Whether anything happens between us or not, they’ll think it did.”
And that I wasn’t good enough to keep you here.

The continued silence forced more words out.

“I’m sorry if that’s selfish, but I don’t know if I can handle that.”

When he didn’t respond, a glimmer of something hot sparked deep in her belly. It grew with every second he didn’t speak until she recognized the anger building inside her. There he was, sulking like a spoiled boy, when she’d done nothing but protect herself, her reputation. How dare he?

Finally reaching her limit, she whipped over into a church parking lot—one of the few buildings out here in the boonies. She gave a soft growl. “I can’t talk about this and drive.”

“I can.”

It took a moment before the flash of realization came. That’s what was happening. She shoved the gearshift into Park and turned on him. “Is this about the driving? Luke, you are not broken. Not doing it right now is a protection for your body, not an indication that you are anything less than you were. You will get there. It takes time.”

At first, she thought he’d continue with his silence. Instead he spoke, his voice rough with emotion.

“This just… None of it is right. I should have picked you up. I should have set up the car and made you comfortable. I should be the one protecting you, not you having to protect yourself. It’s just—wrong.” He shoved his fingers through his thick hair. “I feel powerless. Every day.” He glanced her way in the dark. “Except when I’m with you.”

She swallowed hard.

“When I’m playing with you, challenging you, kissing you, all that other stuff melts away. Until I wish you were by my side for—” His touch was firm as he pulled her close. “Why am I picking a fight when there are much more pleasurable ways to remember I’m alive?”

Whatever she’d been thinking disappeared beneath the onslaught of sensations as his lips devoured hers. Here there was no self-consciousness, no fear of being seen and judged. Only her and Luke. His body and hers. And the magic he made her feel.

His hands tilted her head to the side so his lips could cover hers fully. His tongue pressed inside, brooking no argument. Her body thrilled at his invasion. Without thought, her hands went to his biceps, pulling him closer. He sucked on her lower lip, leaving her mouth full and swollen. Then those wicked lips trailed across her jawline and down the curve to her neck.

His soft mouth contrasted with the light scrape of his teeth against her skin, sending shivers across every inch of her body. She heard herself moan as he found the pulse point at the base of her neck. His harsh breath as he devoured her. A knock at the window.

Wait—what?

Jerking her head to the side, Avery saw a stream of light coming through the car window across the dash, then up Luke’s body. She pushed him away. “Oh Lord, no.”

Luke blinked. “What’s wrong?” She laid her palm against his cheek and turned his head so he’d see the light.

Another knock sounded on his window.

“I can’t catch a break tonight,” he mumbled. With what sounded suspiciously like a chuckle, Luke straightened up and pressed the button to roll down his window. He didn’t seem concerned that a sheriff’s deputy stood outside, having clearly caught them in a compromising situation.

This was even more embarrassing than if they’d been caught at the drive-in. No, she had to get caught in a church parking lot. Heaven forbid!

“Everything okay, folks?” the deputy asked. Avery suspected she heard amusement in his voice.

“Oh, not by a long shot,” Luke replied.

Lordy, they were going to jail if he kept that attitude up—and he was certainly in the mood to push it. “Luke, stop it.” She leaned forward. “Everything’s fine, sir. We’re just going.”

“Might want to. You be careful behind the wheel, Miss Prescott.”

When he said her name, something clicked. Avery realized the dark figure outside the car was none other than Douglass Holloway—an officer she’d done some rehab with. As he walked away, Avery wondered how long it would take Deputy Holloway to relay exactly what he’d seen Avery and Luke doing at the church.

NINE

A
very slowed her jog down to a walk as the end of the wooded trail behind her house came into view. She’d hoped some exercise this Saturday morning would take her mind off last night’s fiasco, but she continued to replay the officer’s amusement in her mind. After twelve hours, her cheeks were permanently stained red.

She’d gotten the impression that Luke had been secretly laughing at her as she’d primly driven him home and dropped him off. Not surprising. He could laugh something like that away. He hadn’t spent his entire life going on date after date where embarrassment was the main course. That was probably why she’d let the casual relationship with Mark go on as long as it had—no attraction meant no accidents, no tripping and no flying food.

And no pulse-pounding, muscle-gripping excitement, either.

Avery paused, bending to rest her hands on her knees while she breathed deep. After she’d left Luke in the drive without a word last night, she had a feeling all her excitement was over.

Her muscles now heavy with fatigue and recrimination, Avery continued down the trail until she reached the edge of the woods along the east side of her house. One of the reasons she hadn’t wanted to move closer to town had been the land surrounding her family’s home. The three-story house was way too big for one woman, but the thirty acres it sat on fed her need for privacy and nature—something hard to find closer to town.

She squinted as she moved from the cool shade of the woods into the bright sunlight. Walking across the side yard gave her a clear view of the drive that circled the front. To her surprise, the black Bentley that Nolen drove for the Blackstones idled in the drive. Great. Now she wasn’t just embarrassed, she would have to face Luke sweaty, messy
and
embarrassed. Nice.

She diverted from the side door around to the front. Luke was navigating the stairs as she reached the porch. With a small wave and smile for Nolen, she climbed to the long veranda that ran the entire length of the front of the house. She couldn’t help running her hand nervously over her damp hair.

“Whatchya doing here this morning?” she asked, a little breathless, a lot peeved. Maybe by avoiding eye contact she could keep from tripping over her own feet and tumbling off the edge of the porch.

A trip to the ER would just be icing on this week’s cake.

Silence surrounded them for long moments, then she heard the thump of Luke’s cane as he moved closer. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him approach, hand outstretched, until his fingers found her chin. Gentle pressure insisted she raise her gaze to his. Only then did he speak.

“I think I owe you breakfast after the way I acted last night. Would you go with me?”

Why did those amber eyes have to look so sincere?

She shook her head, trying to resist. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Luke. Maybe we should just let it go.”

His look darkened. “I don’t want to let you go. I wasn’t kidding when I said being around you makes me feel alive, cuts out all the noise.”

“So this is all about you?”

She felt like a heel for saying it out loud, but she needed to know. He was already shaking his head.

“You know it isn’t. I told you we needed to have fun, shake up the boundaries. Are you giving up so soon?”

“As you can tell, my track record is horrible. Last night was a disaster.”

“But memorable. Right?”

“Yeah, I haven’t been able to get Deputy Holloway’s face off my mind all morning.”

Luke laughed. “Look at it this way—you livened up his probably boring shift.” His thumb rubbed along her cheekbone. “Breakfast. Please.”

She shouldn’t. She knew she shouldn’t. She wasn’t the type of woman to do casual relationships. But deep down inside, she wanted just a little more of him—even if she had to suffer humiliation to get it.

With a sigh and careful steps, she led him inside. After a quick shower and change, she almost defiantly met him back in the front parlor. He’d shown up at the last minute. She wasn’t decking out in makeup and pearls. He’d have to settle for jeans and a comfortable T-shirt.

He stood in front of the mantel covered in pictures of her mother, father and herself. The reminders of her family made her both happy and sad, but she tried to hold on to the happy part.

“I’m ready.”

Luke picked up a silver-framed picture of her parents smiling at the camera, arms wrapped around each other. “Do you have any other family around here?” he asked.

“No.” Avery swallowed against the lump forming in her throat. “Both my parents were only children. I was an only child. There may be some distant cousins, but no one close.”

“Even after my dad died, and Mom’s car accident, I’ve always had my brothers. We may give each other grief, but they’re there, you know?”

“I’ve got friends,” she said, hating the defensive note in her voice. Her family had meant a lot to her, but she’d known long before her mother died that they would one day be gone and she’d be alone. “I’m not isolated. I’m active in the community.”

“You don’t get lonely?”

“Of course. Doesn’t everybody?” She shrugged. “But I’m surrounded by people all day, people I genuinely care about. That counts.”

“Good.”

His approval shouldn’t make her glow inside. She’d shaped her life into what made
her
happy, or as close as she could get without outside interference. Though she’d love to have a family of her own, her life was full without one.

Luke didn’t seem in any hurry to head out. “You’ve never wanted to leave? Move somewhere else? Start over?”

“There are people who need me here. I can’t just abandon them.” So she hadn’t realized how entrenched she would become once she started on this path, but she cared too much about the people in Black Hills to leave them high and dry. She tried to shrug her doubts away. “Besides, where would I go? There’s no reason for me to be somewhere else.”

“I just can’t imagine being content in one place. Just signing the lease on my apartment made me itchy.”

And she was pretty sure he had no plans to hang around here.
Don’t forget that, girl.

She’d rather not dwell on it now. “So what was that about breakfast?”

Snagging her hand as if afraid she would change her mind, Luke led her out to the car, where Nolen patiently waited. Luke waved the butler aside and helped her into the back of the car. Nolen slid behind the wheel. They were on the road in minutes, the smooth purr of the Bentley slowly soothing her nerves.

Avery held herself stiff, back to prim and proper after her lapse the night before. Luke obviously didn’t feel the same way. He leaned in close, his tempting mouth inches from her ear. “Interested in a repeat of last night?”

Would he run screaming if she said yes?

She couldn’t stop the shiver that raced over her. She also couldn’t stop her glance in Nolen’s direction. “Shh,” she warned.

Luke’s laughter told her he found her reticence highly amusing. “It can’t be worse than being caught by the cops.”

The red flush Avery thought she had washed away in the shower returned full force—and burned until they reached the restaurant fifteen minutes later.

The Wooden Spoon had been serving Black Hills for almost half a century, and was still one of the best places to eat. Breakfast was particularly popular, and seating was at a premium despite three dining rooms full of tables and counter seating. Still, Luke swept past the hostess stand with his wicked smile firmly in place. One of the girls trailed behind them like a groupie until they reached a back booth, where she set their menus on the table with a shy smile before backing away.

“How’d you manage this?” Avery asked.

Luke was already perusing the selection, oblivious to the magic he’d just worked. “Call-ahead seating,” he said, giving her a quick wink.

Deadly, that’s what that wink was to Avery. Able to get around every last barrier she built, no matter how solid. She turned to her own menu to avoid any more Lucas Blackstone charms.

“Guess you got perks like this all the time in North Carolina, huh?” she asked.

Luke shrugged. “Some.”

A waitress appeared. Much older than the hostess, she handled waiting on a celebrity with a calm friendliness and efficiency that left Avery grateful.

Avery doctored her coffee with flavored vanilla creamer—her sweet morning indulgence. “Do you miss it?”

“North Carolina?”

“Yes.” Avery glanced sideways at him. “You’ve lived there quite a while.” Yet he hadn’t put down any roots at all. Only what was necessary.

Luke took a sip of his own coffee, black and sweet. “The place? No. The racing? The track? My crew? You bet.”

“Why?”

His look of surprise made her a little sad. Had no one ever asked about this before?

“It’s thrilling, for one. I control the vehicle and use it to conquer whatever obstacles appear before me.”

She could see how that would appeal to Luke.

The Blackstone brothers had spent their childhood after moving in with their grandfather James, without control over anything. Not their father’s workaholic hours, which he kept in an attempt to appease his father-in-law, and not his death at the mill. Their mother had been unwilling to stand up to her father, especially after becoming dependent on him. And the constant arguing between James and Aiden Blackstone—the rebel brother who hadn’t backed down over anything, including leaving home without any prospects because he couldn’t live with James one minute longer.

Escape.
It had become a habit for Luke. She’d watched him, had seen him work off his frustrations and anger with speed. Sometimes it had been scary, but it had worked. Most people would think Luke was the calm Blackstone brother. Oh, no. He had the same turbulent emotions; he simply handled them in a different way. Aiden raged against authority. Jacob became the authority. Luke simply drove.

“Most of all,” he continued, “while I’m behind the wheel, I don’t think of anything else. Nothing but the road and my next move.”

The intensity, the passion in his expression rolled over her. This wasn’t a guy on an ego trip. He wasn’t in it for the money and the fame. Luke loved being in a car—no wonder the thought of waiting out an entire season had been immediately rejected. How tortuous was it for him to watch from the sidelines?

“It’s the same with you.”

Avery glanced up to find Luke’s gaze tight on her face. “What?”

“It’s the same when I’m with you.” He reached out and ran his thumb back and forth across her bottom lip, leaving her all melty inside. “When we’re together, all the buzz just stops. No more static.”

Her heart almost caved in. She wanted to warn him not to say things like that, that she might get attached. But then the waitress appeared with plates loaded with fluffy omelets, stacked pancakes and crisp bacon. The smell commanded Avery’s attention. Her stomach growled. “Good thing I ran this morning,” she said.

He turned away from the pancakes he’d been eagerly cutting to brush back her hair, which was still damp around the edges. The feel of his skin against her cheek and ear had her breath catching in her throat. “Honey, calories are the last thing you need to worry about.”

Oh Lordy, this man was dangerous—and he knew it, too. “Are you trying to butter me up?”

He swallowed his mouthful of food, then grinned. “I figured I better after last night. I’m not usually such an ass.”

That much was true. Luke might speak impulsively, but he rarely lost his temper or let much push him into a bad mood. Last night had been an anomaly. Yet looking back over all Luke had been through, it wasn’t surprising.

She’d been off her game, too. Dating wasn’t a normal situation for her. Luke wasn’t a normal guy for her.

Lifting the maple syrup, she toasted him with the bottle. “Well, if your apologies include pancakes, I’ll always accept them.”

To her surprise, he didn’t laugh her off, but met her gaze with his own clear amber one. The darker flecks in his eyes became visible as he leaned closer, then closer still. Avery’s heart thumped against her chest. Was he going to—

She quickly inhaled, afraid to pull away, but afraid not to. Then came the scent of coffee, syrup and man as Luke brushed his lips over hers. Warmth against warmth. Like a sugar rush, the thrill raced straight through her. Too quickly it was gone.

“Dammit, Avery, I’m sorry.”

Reality returned, and Avery automatically glanced around to see if anyone had noticed the kiss. One nosy busybody and half the town would have her married off to him in an hour. Wouldn’t that be a great gossip storm after he left town again? With her right at the center of it all, and him nowhere to be found.

Mark’s brown gaze studied Luke, then flared with a dark, fiery emotion almost akin to hatred. At least, she thought it was. He quickly shuttered his expression and turned back to the man beside him, talking quietly.

Was he jealous of the kiss? She hadn’t thought he would be, after all, he’d only ever initiated a few end-of-the-night brushes across her cheek. He’d never really pushed for more. Theirs was a casual, convenient relationship that benefited them both on numerous social occasions. Or so she’d thought…

Avery couldn’t worry about Mark for long.

She turned to face Luke, almost afraid of what she’d see in his expression. “What?”

“You tried to explain to me last night why it would be hard for you if people assumed things.” He dipped his head for an instant, reminding her of a much younger Luke. His words were hesitant. “I wasn’t really in the mood to listen, but I did understand. Yet here I am, not twenty-four hours later, stepping all over that boundary once again. So… I’m sorry.”

Avery realized she stood on a precipice, looking over the edge into unknown territory. Darkness loomed, scary and uncertain. The landing would definitely hurt. But wouldn’t she kick herself one day if she held back now?

The past week had been a roller coaster of emotions. Making the most of their time together wasn’t as easy as it should be. Too many emotions were coming to the surface. Along with physical needs that she’d allowed to lie dormant for a long time—too long. Maybe she wasn’t built for casual, but she simply couldn’t walk away from this chance to be with Luke. However he wanted.