Learning to Trust: Sweet Temptation (14 page)

Not
that he had ever applied to join. He knew he had the money required, but he had
never seen the point in joining. He had enough going on in his life as it was.
Especially now that he was trying to come up with a plan to make Lucie his
forever.

Forever
.

It
was a term he never thought he’d become familiar with, but after the last week,
he knew there was no way in hell he was going to allow her to slip through his
fingers again. They’d overcome some serious obstacles in the years they had
known each other, and as far as he was concerned, the hard part was behind
them.

He
loved her.

Now
he just needed to find a way to tell her. The three little words had been on
the tip of his tongue for days, yet he’d been worried that he wouldn’t be able
to express them well enough. Kane wasn’t known for his communication skills.

The
sound of a song being butchered by a wannabe karaoke singer had him damn near
cringing. What the fuck was Luke thinking when he decided to make Monday nights
karaoke night? For the last few months, Kane had endured some of the most gruesome
attempts to brutalize a song, and he didn’t know how much more he could stand.

Glancing
over to the other end of the bar, Kane noticed Lucie talking to someone. The
man had his back to the bar so Kane couldn’t tell who he was, but he could sense
that the conversation wasn’t pleasant. It didn’t happen often, but from time to
time a drunken guy would take to harassing one of the waitresses. Usually Kane
or one of the bouncers could intervene before things got out of hand, which he
fully intended to do now.

Lifting
the bar top and easing out from behind the bar, Kane left Jacob Heyman, one of
the club’s few bartenders, to tend to the customers lined up for what seemed
like miles.

As
he got closer to Lucie and the man she was talking to, or rather arguing with,
he realized immediately who it was. Justin Jones. Not the man Kane wanted to
see tonight. Or ever for that matter.

“Is
there a problem here?” Kane asked, keeping his voice low and his eyes trained
on Justin. He was received with a stern look from Lucie and an easy disregard
from Justin. Bastard.

“Why
don’t you mind your own fucking business,” Justin retorted and Kane could smell
the booze on his breath. He was beyond intoxicated.

“She
is
my business,” Kane replied, moving to stand directly in front of
Justin, crossing his arms over his chest. He easily had a good six inches on
Jones and probably at least thirty pounds of solid muscle. Not that the man was
scrawny, but Kane knew he could hold his own. He didn’t expect it to come to that
though.

“How
so?” Justin asked, turning to look at Kane directly. He seemed genuinely
interested in knowing just how Kane played into this.

He
didn’t respond immediately because he wasn’t looking to embarrass Lucie, but he
needed to get this situation under control and more importantly, get Justin
into a cab before he did something stupid like try to leave the club drunk.

Kane
glanced over to see Jacob looking his way, and he nodded his head toward the
phone just beneath the bar. The bartender didn’t need any more explanation as
he picked up the phone and dialed the number taped close by.

“Why
don’t we take this outside?” Kane asked, and he knew immediately that Justin
was going to get all riled up. He had no intention of fighting the man, but he
needed to get him outside and on his way.

“I’ll
go outside, but only if she’ll go with me,” Justin replied, looking toward
Lucie.

Kane
waited to see what she would say. When she nodded her head, he held out his arm
to allow her to lead the way.

Once
outside, Justin did the unthinkable and Kane could only stand back and stare.
The man broke down in tears right there on the sidewalk with probably a good
fifty people waiting to get inside.
What the fuck?

“Please,
Lucie,” Justin begged, staring at her with tears streaming down his face.

Lucie
glanced back at Kane, then turned to face Justin once more, grabbing his arm
and leading him a few feet away. The distance between them didn’t offer her any
more privacy than before, but Kane wasn’t about to mention it. If he had to
hover over her, he damn sure planned on hearing what she had to say.

~~*~~

Lucie
had no idea what the hell prompted Justin to show up, begging her to give him
another chance. He had never had a chance in the first place. It wasn’t like
they were dating, nor had they ever even been on a date. He just frequently
showed up at the club, showered her with attention which she tried to avoid,
and left fairly decent tips.

He’d
asked her out a time or two, but Lucie had always politely declined. Just like
she had tonight. And yet here they were, standing in front of Club Destiny, the
man crying like a baby in front of her while Kane looked on from just a few
feet away.

Why
did she have to have this conversation in front of Kane? She had already told
Justin that she was seeing someone because, well, just because it seemed easier
than telling him she wasn’t interested. No, she wasn’t seeing Kane in the
technical sense, and he’d probably laugh if he heard her say it. But, with
Justin crying and people beginning to gather around them, she needed to put an
end to this quickly. She only hoped the cab that Kane had prompted Jacob to call
would arrive quickly and save her – and him – from further embarrassment.

“I’m
seeing someone, Justin,” she repeated the same statement she had given him
earlier, only this time she lowered her voice, hoping that Kane wouldn’t hear
her.

“Who?
Who are you seeing?”

Well,
so much for trying to be discreet. Lucie couldn’t find the words, so she stared
back at him, hoping to buy herself a little time.

When
Justin moved forward, wrapping his fingers around her arms, Lucie tried to pull
back, but his grip was too tight.

“Tell
me, Lucie. Who the fuck are you seeing?”

“She’s
seeing me, asshole. And I’ll give you three seconds to get your fucking hands
off of her.”

Kane’s
voice was so deep and so low that Lucie barely registered the words he said. It
didn’t matter what he said, his intentions were clear. To her surprise, Justin immediately
released her arms and Kane pulled her up against his side. When she tried to
back away, his hand tightened around her waist, holding her closer.

“Get
in the cab and go home. You need to sleep it off, man,” Kane advised, sounding
much more like himself than just moments before.

Justin
turned to walk away, but Kane grabbed his arm, releasing his grip on her and
Lucie immediately backed away. That’s when she noticed the cab parked at the
curb. Kane physically turned Justin toward the yellow car, opened the back door
and forced him inside. He then leaned in through the front passenger window,
talking to the driver, pulling his wallet from his back pocket as he did. Money
exchanged hands and then the cab was on its way.

Kane
turned back to her, took her hand in his and then led her back inside the loud
bar. God, she was beginning to hate karaoke night. If she had more guts, she’d mention
as much to Luke McCoy, but she knew she wouldn’t.

Once
inside, everything resumed as normal without another word between the two of
them. Lucie didn’t know if Kane was angry with her, but she wasn’t going to ask
him. If all went well, she’d get through the next three hours, go home and
crawl into bed and resume the crying jag that sleep had finally interrupted
last night.

Lucie
had just grabbed her purse and was trying to make it across the room without
attracting Kane’s attention when she heard him call her name from behind the
bar. She stopped, turned slowly and faced him. With about twenty feet between
them, she couldn’t see his expression clearly, which was just fine with her.
She’d embarrassed him enough for one night.

“I’ll
call you when I get there,” she told him before he prompted her.

He
nodded his head but didn’t say another word, so Lucie turned toward the parking
garage, moving as fast as her tired, aching feet would take her.

Fifteen
minutes later, she was locking her apartment door behind her, grateful that
Haley was with her mother for the night. After having gone an entire week
without seeing her granddaughter, Carolyn had insisted that she get to spend
some alone time with her only grandchild. Lucie hadn’t been able to argue. 

Now,
she wanted to fall into bed and resume her crying jag while no one was the
wiser. Hopefully by morning she’d feel human once again, and she would finally
be over Kane Steele.

Not that
she actually believed that would happen, but she could hope.

She
moved to the kitchen, grabbing a diet soda from the refrigerator and a protein
bar from the pantry. She leaned against the counter while she ate, trying not to
think about all of the events of the night. She still couldn’t believe what
Kane had told Justin, but then again, she knew he was just trying to diffuse
the situation, which he did rather well. For the last few hours, she had warned
her heart not to get too excited because he hadn’t meant the words he said.

Still,
her stupid, naive heart had hoped.

Tossing
the wrapper in the trash can, Lucie downed most of her drink before flipping
off the kitchen light. She was moving through the living room when a knock on
the front door damn near had her heart jolting from her chest. Slowly, and as quiet
as possible, she moved to the door and peeked through the security hole. There,
distorted by the oblong shape of the peephole was Kane looking awkward, yet
still handsome.

Lucie
quickly unlocked both locks and opened the door, stepping back so he could enter.
It was the middle of the night, and she didn’t want to piss off her neighbors
and have them call the cops on her. Since this was becoming a frequent
occurrence, she was surprised it hadn’t happened yet.

Once
he was inside, she shut the door, locked it and turned to face him. Thankfully,
she hadn’t been crying because she wasn’t sure she could face him if she had.

“We
need to talk,” Kane said, thrusting one hand through his hair in that adorable
way he did as he stared back at her. He seemed irritated. Or maybe he was just
concerned. She had no idea.

“About?”
she asked because she had no idea where this could possibly be going.

“Is
Haley here?”

“No,
she’s at my mother’s.”

“Mind
if I take a shower?” he asked, and Lucie had no idea what to say. Hadn’t he
just said they needed to talk? Now he wanted to take a shower? She was
confused, but she nodded her head anyway.

Kane
disappeared down the short hallway, the bathroom door closing behind him. God,
what she wouldn’t give for two bathrooms. She really needed to take a shower
because she reeked of cigarettes and beer and the last thing she wanted to do
was face Kane while she smelled like a damn brewery.

Ten
minutes later, he returned wearing only his jeans, sans his boots, socks and
shirt. Damn, the man looked good. Before Lucie could consider what she wanted
to do to him while he stood there half naked, she excused herself to the
bathroom so that she could take her own shower.

It
took her a little longer than it did him, but not by much. Had she not spent
the last five minutes staring at her reflection in the mirror, trying to prepare
herself for whatever he wanted to talk about, they’d probably already be done
talking and he would be on his way.

Coming
out of the bathroom, the first thing she noticed was that all of the lights in
her apartment were off, with the exception of the single lamp on her bedside
table. The soft golden glow spilled out into the hallway and Lucie steeled
herself for what she would find when she entered her room.

Forcing
her feet to move, she walked into the cramped little room, noticing Kane lying
on her bed, one arm propped over his eyes. He was still wearing his jeans, but
he hadn’t bothered to pull down the comforter on her bed.

Was
he asleep?

Moving
to the opposite side of the bed, Lucie stared down at him, wondering just what
the hell she was supposed to do now. Before she could contemplate her next
move, Kane raised his arm and looked up at her.

“Lay
down beside me.”

His
voice was gruff from sleep, and she knew he had actually passed out right there
in her bed. Instead of arguing, she climbed onto the bed beside him, not
pulling the blankets back before she placed her head on the pillow, staring up
at the ceiling.

When
the lamp turned off, she turned her head toward him but couldn’t see a thing in
the darkened room.

“Come
here, Lucie.”

As
though she was on autopilot and his voice were her commands, her body moved
toward him, curling into him as she rested her head on his arm.

“I
missed this last night,” he whispered into the darkened room, his breath
fanning her hair as he spoke the words close to her face.