Fitting The Pieces (The Riverdale Series Book 3) (24 page)

           
“I know.” He said, remembering when
he finally walked into the waiting room, wearing scrubs, and staring into the
faces of his expectant family. He was smiling so wide when he announced he had
a daughter. His parents cried, Sam ran to him and Jake lifted Cara and spun her
around in a circle, before they all demanded to meet the little angel.

           
“I may not have planned for Ava, or
on being a single parent, but she is the greatest joy of my life.” He said
hoarsely before he blew out a breath. “I stayed in the hospital around the
clock with Marie. She barely held her in the two days we were there. When they
were discharged from the hospital, she took Ava and sent me on my way. I was
allowed to visit in the mornings and before the last feeding. Then one day she
showed up at my parent’s house with the baby and said she made a mistake. I
thought first, that she had given her the wrong formula or something silly that
new parents don’t realize, but she shoved Ava into my arms.” He shook his head.
“She told me she didn’t want her. That she didn’t want a child and had made a
huge mistake. And as quickly as she said the words was as quickly as she was
gone. I couldn’t take off after her, because I had Ava. I couldn’t do a goddamn
thing to stop her and a part of me didn’t want to, if she could bring herself
to say those words than she didn’t deserve to be Ava’s mother.”

           
“But eventually you reached out to
her.” Cara remembered the devastation in his eyes.

           
“Yeah, but she was gone. She never picked
up her phone. In fact, she changed the number. Her Aunt Vicky told me that she
packed up her car and drove to Florida before she threatened to have me locked
up for acting like a lunatic on her front lawn. I kept trying to get in touch
with her and there was no way to, until one day when the certified papers came
in the mail stating she signed over all her rights to me. She even requested
for her name to be taken off of Ava’s birth certificate.” He sighed. “That was
the last we heard from her.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Her loss.”

           
“You aren’t kidding.” Cara said,
moving closer to him on the couch. “I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch with you
and that you had worried about me.” She said softly.

           
“One thing has nothing to do with
the other, but do me a favor, yeah?” He said as he lifted his arm off the back
of the couch and brushed a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. “If you don’t
want to be here, don’t be. Don’t be here because you think it’s what I want or
because it’s convenient for the time being. Be here because it where your gut
is telling you to be.”

           
“The funny thing is there are a
million and one reasons I should be by myself yet the only place I want to be
is here with you. And it’s not just my gut telling me so.”

           
He leaned towards her closing the
distance between them. “Say it again.” He demanded in that gruff tone of his.
His hands cupped her face and when she remained silent he tilted her face
upward and bent his head to crash his lips against hers. His lips worked her
lower one, his tongue sneaking out for a teasing taste. “Say it.” He murmured
against her mouth.

           
Every fear that she wasn’t good
enough or that she was too broken to be a part of his life vanished from her
brain and all she could think of was how badly she needed to taste him. He
pulled his mouth from hers and stared into her hooded eyes.

           
“Say you want to be here.” He said
running the pad of his thumb along her lower lip. His gaze dipped to her pouty
lips and he sucked in a breath. “Say it.” He said sternly.

           
She swallowed. “There’s no place
else I want to be. I want to be here with you.” She whispered, barely getting
the words out as his mouth crashed over her desperately. Her fingers ran wildly
through his hair, tugging on the ends, pressing his mouth firmly against hers.
She opened her mouth and her tongue pushed past his lips, gliding over his. His
tongue danced against hers, together battling for who could feed their hunger
first. He gripped the cheeks of her ass and slid her onto his lap, her legs
wrapping around his waist.

           
He pulled away and searched her
eyes. “Is this okay?” He asked hoarsely.

           
“Shut up and kiss me.” She answered,
pulling his mouth back to hers.

           
“Tell me when to stop.” He said
between kisses. She arched herself against him, rubbing herself against his
abdomen, letting out a small cry when she felt herself heat at the friction one
little movement sparked. He squeezed her ass pressing her core against him. He
leaned over and flicked on the lamp that rested on the end table, deciding the
light from the Christmas tree wasn’t enough, as she peppered kisses along the
base of his neck. The last time he had her body in front of him, his for the
taking, he was in a dark room with only a screen saver on a computer for light.
This time he wanted to see her, all of her.
 
His hands gripped her hips and he maneuvered her onto the couch before
making his way to the floor in front of her. He kneeled between her legs,
making them eye level. Their breathing was hitched and raspy as she grabbed
fistfuls of his shirt and began to tug it up over his spectacular chest. Her
fingers began to fumble as she stared at his impeccable bare chest just a
slight dusting of hair that trailed into his jeans, a happy trail she decided
and bit down on her lip. He took over and pulled the rest of his shirt over his
head.

           
He brushed the strands of hair away
that had fallen from her messy bun that was on top of her head and stared into
her eyes, remembering a time not too long ago when he wished he could have
those eyes staring at him again like they were right now. He cupped the back of
her neck and leaned into her trailing kisses along her jaw. Her hands gripped
his shoulders, sliding down his biceps. His lips moved from her jaw to her neck
where he kissed thoroughly until he reached the neckline of her sweater. He
pulled away and watched as she lifted her arms above her head. She gave his
questioning eyes a slight nod and he slowly began to peel the fabric over her
body, revealing all the skin he dreamed of night after night. The fabric strained
at her heaving breasts that were begging to be freed from the confines of her
bra. When he finally pulled her sweater over her head, he threw it onto the
floor beside him and took her in. He took every inch of her in, from the purple
lace bra, to the tattoo that peeked out of the waistband of her jeans. He even
took notice of her belly button making a mental note to dip his tongue into it
for a taste when he explored her luscious body. He reached down and rearranged
his straining erection that was bulging against his jeans before he leaned over
and turned on the lamp on the end table.

           
It felt like it had been a lifetime
since she last felt turned on. She could feel her breasts swell, aching to be
fondled. Her panties damp in anticipation of what would come. She pictured him
naked, between her legs, his cock teasing her and then she heard herself
whimper. She opened her eyes and looked into his. He was patient but she could
tell his control was teetering on the edge. She wanted to give herself to him.
She was living in the moment, her brain shut off, only feeling desire for the
man before her, the man who had picked up the pieces of her shattered being and
reawakened the woman inside her.

           
She reached behind her back and with
her eyes, she warned him to pay close attention. She could tell by the feral
look in his eyes that he already knew he was about to get a piece of her. She
unsnapped her bra and drew the straps down her arms.

           
The moment her bra dropped away from
her body, he squeezed her thighs in the palms of his hand, an instant reaction
to her full breasts, standing at attention. She braced her hands on the sides
of the couch and leaned back, pushing her chest out towards him. Her nipples
erect and begging for his mouth, his tongue, heck his hands would do.

           
“Christ, Cara…” He swallowed hard
against the lump in his throat and tried desperately to find his voice.

           
“Touch me, Luke.” She all but
begged.

           
His hands lifted from her thighs and
he cupped her breasts in the palms of his hands. He watched her face intently
as he tweaked her nipple between his fingers. She closed her eyes and arched
her back while a soft moan escaped her plump lips.

           
Luke bent his head to take her
nipple in his mouth when he heard footsteps. He pulled back and Cara’s eyes fluttered
open.

           
“What’s the matter?” She asked
breathlessly. He grabbed her sweater off the floor and pushed it into her lap
before he stood up and began to pull his shirt over his head not bothering to
turn it right side out.

           
“Ava’s awake.” He mumbled as the
shirt went over his head, muffling his voice.

Cara’s
eyes widened as she scrambled to put her shirt on, shoving the bra under the
cushion of the couch. A hundred realities that she had pushed out of her mind
suddenly hit her at once.

           
“Daddy?” Ava called from the top of
the stairs. Luke stared up the length of the staircase to the landing where she
stood groggily with Benny at her feet.

           
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” He
asked, bracing his arm on the banister.

           
“I had a bad dream.” She said as she
rubbed at her sleepy eyes.

           
“Go back to bed. I’ll be right up,
just going to shut the light.” Luke said softly.

           
“Okay, Daddy.” She said through her
yawn and turned back around and walked towards her bedroom.

           
Luke turned around and looked at
Cara, who was sitting on the couch hugging a pillow to her chest. She felt his
stare and lifted her gaze. He saw the regret flash in her eyes and he sighed,
defeated once again.

           
He walked over to her and kneeled before
her, turning her chin so that she looked directly into his eyes.

           
“I’m going to put her to bed. Go to
my room, make yourself comfortable. We’ll talk… just please don’t freak out on
me.” Luke said his eyes pleading with hers.

           
She blew out a breath and looked
into his eyes. He was right, she was about to freak out. She tried to reign
herself in. She tried to push away the guilt and the fears that suddenly
overcame her, desperate to be back in the moment where no one existed but him.

           
“Cara?” He prodded softly.

           
“Okay.” She whispered. He pressed a
quick kiss to her lips before he jogged up the steps to slay the dragons and
evil doers of a child’s dream. She threw her head into the palms of her hands
and sighed exasperatedly. She was a mess. Her life was a complete shit show. If
it wasn’t one thing dragging her down it was another and then there was Luke.
She couldn’t contain the feelings she had developed for him, hell truth be
told, she didn’t want to. In her shit storm of a life he was the only good. But
he had built a life for him and his daughter a stable life, one that didn’t
need any tainting from her miserable one.

           
As her mind raced, she found herself
climbing the stairs. She walked down the hallway, passing Ava’s room and
listening as Luke told her a bedtime story. Did she really belong here? She
didn’t deserve him and Ava, and they deserved far better than she. Still, she
wandered into his bedroom because she couldn’t help herself. Because as much as
she thought she wasn’t good enough, or that things were too awkward for them to
truly make it, she wanted to be good enough, she wanted them to make it. She
wanted to fit into his life, because he and Ava were already becoming the
center of hers.

           
She pulled open one of his drawers
and found a wife beater tank top and a pair of his boxers. He wanted her in his
bed. He wanted to hold her. She could give him that. Even though just minutes
ago she was willing to give him everything, she needed to slow things down. She
needed to fix her head. If she really wanted to be the woman in Luke’s life she
needed to get her shit together. He was a man full of responsibilities. A man
who took care of everything and everyone that mattered to him. He deserved to
be taken care of. For once in his life he deserved to be cherished and Cara
wanted to be the woman who finally gave him that.

           
She stripped out of her clothes and
replaced them with his, rolling the waistband of his boxers until they didn’t
threaten to fall off anymore. She climbed onto his bed and sat Indian style in
the center of the bed. It was a few minutes longer before Luke walked quietly
into his bedroom, closing the door behind him, yet leaving it open a crack in
case Ava needed him.