Learning to Trust: Sweet Temptation (3 page)

Each
night, Erica graciously brought Haley back to the apartment – before dark – just
to make sure the little girl got to go to sleep in her own bed. And when Lucie
arrived at three or four o’clock in the morning, Erica would sometimes remain
on the couch, or she would drag herself home if she had an early class. On
those nights, Lucie would lock Haley inside the apartment, and then dutifully walk
Erica to her car just to ensure her safety.

Of
course, there were days like yesterday when Lucie would take Haley to Erica’s
and the little girl asked if Kane would be coming over to see her. Never did Lucie
know for sure whether he was, but his track record over the last few months
pretty much allowed Lucie to ensure Haley that he would. Kane did little else
other than visit his daughter each and every day. 

Since
they both worked until two in the morning, or later, he didn’t get to see Haley
in the evenings, but he made sure he was over each day, either bringing lunch
to them, or taking them somewhere – usually McDonald’s if Haley had her say.

Although
their interactions were awkward at best, Lucie and Kane managed to be civil to
one another when Haley was within ear shot. Not that he had talked to Lucie
much any other time, but she knew the day would come. He had some big questions
he wanted answers to, and she was trying to avoid that conversation like the
plague. Even after her high level account of what happened, she knew Kane
wasn’t satisfied with her answers.

Hurrying
up the stairs to the second floor landing, Lucie approached with her keys
ready. As was her routine, she had both of the locks unlocked, herself inside,
and the reverse completed within seconds. With her phone at the ready, she hit
the call button, dialing Kane’s number and then waiting for him to answer.

“Everything
ok?” Without fail, he asked the same question he asked every time she called.

“Yes.
I’m here and Haley’s sleeping.”

“Ok.
I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Lucie
hung up and wondered if that would be the extent of their conversations from here
on out. Each day she hoped for minimal interaction with the man because, despite
the relationship he was building with Haley and his ability to at least look
her in the eye these days, Lucie had a difficult time getting over the
attraction she still felt for him. It seemed to burn hotter and brighter every
time she was close to him.

It
wouldn’t be so terrible if she thought there might be a chance in hell of them
ever replaying that one spectacular night all over again. Or better yet, if she
thought there was even a remote chance he might feel a fraction of what she
felt for him. Despite the repeated lectures she gave herself, it all boiled
down to the fact that Lucie was still in love with Kane.

There
was no doubt in her mind that Kane would never be able to forgive her completely
for what she did. Nor would he ever be able to truly trust her. And that meant
these feelings that she had for him were better left tucked away, deep down,
and hopefully, if she was lucky, eventually forgotten.

*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***

Three months
later...

Three
o’clock could not have come fast enough for Kane. He’d been anticipating this
morning for the last week, and now that it was here, he was admittedly feeling
a little nervous.

With
Haley at Lucie’s mother’s house for the next few days, Kane knew it was time
for him to seize the opportunity. Because Lucie wouldn’t have any excuses, he
was looking forward to getting some things hashed out between them. The tip
toeing around, avoiding eye contact, and otherwise ignoring one another was seriously
beginning to piss him off.

Although
he went to see Haley every single day because he was so enthralled by the miracle
that was his daughter, Kane and Lucie didn’t seem to be making any headway. In
fact, she seemed to be pulling away more and more each time he tried to get
closer. That was mostly his fault, he knew. Ever since that creep Justin Jones
came into the picture about a month ago, Kane hadn’t been able to be around
Lucie without getting pissed off.

Maybe
he didn’t have the right to tell her whom she could and could not date, but
Kane didn’t like the little shit who had been stalking her at least three or
four nights a week at the club one bit. He had to hand it to Lucie, she handled
him fairly well. Kane wasn’t entirely convinced they were actually dating, but
he still felt the need to interfere any time the opportunity presented itself.

Kane
knew Lucie was extremely careful with Haley – probably a tad on the paranoid
side, in fact. And as far as he knew, Justin had never even been introduced to
his little girl. If he had anything to say about it, he never would either.

Admittedly,
it had taken a little while for him to get past the initial anger and resentment
of Lucie’s deceit, but now that he was, Kane was beginning to think about
things he knew he shouldn’t. Like getting Lucie in his bed – or hers – he
didn’t care either way. The fact that she hadn’t dated another man as far as he
knew for the last few years probably hadn’t helped him either. The problem was,
he’d been stupid enough to hold back because he hadn’t had any real motivation
to pursue her. Until now.

Since
he couldn’t clearly remember anything about that one night so long ago when
he’d obviously taken what he had wanted for so long, Kane was anxious to go
back there. Only this time without the alcohol impairing him.

Even
without the memories, each time he was close to Lucie, he got the sense of what
her skin felt like beneath his fingertips. It was quite possible that his
subconscious remembered her, the feel of her soft, smooth skin, the taste of
her sweet mouth, but he wasn’t satisfied with almost knowing. He was ready to experience
all of those things again, and those were the G rated visions he had about her.
His cock wasn’t able to decipher between real and make believe, so those fleeting
images that came out of nowhere to fuck with his mind had a damn near painful effect
on him.

Unable
to remember anything they did that night, he couldn’t help imagining what it
would feel like to have his cock buried in her sassy mouth, or sliding between
her better than perfect tits, or deep in her pussy while he made her scream his
name as she came. Or better yet, buried to the hilt in her ass while he gripped
her hair in his fist, taking her in ways he’d only ever dreamed about.

Kane
wasn’t a gentle lover, never had been, nor did he feel the need to pretend he
was. His desire was ferocious, his urges brutal, and all of his desire had been
aimed at Lucie for as long as he could remember. Now he just had to find a way
to satisfy his craving for this woman once and for all.

And
Kane was sure as shit not about to let some young punk come in and intrude on
what he wanted more than his next breath.

“You
going home?” Kane asked when Lucie tried to walk past him without as much as a
goodbye.

He
hadn’t seen Justin in the club all night, and he only could hope she didn’t
have any plans with the man now that Haley would be at her mother’s for a few
days. If she didn’t plan to go home, her plans were about to change.

“Yes
and I know the drill now, Kane. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.” Her tone
was guarded, her eyes filled with irritation.

“I’m
coming by,” he informed her, and he hoped she heard the lack of request in his
tone. He wasn’t asking permission.

“Haley’s
not there. She’s at my mother’s.”

“I
know,” Kane replied. “That’s why I’m coming by. We need to talk.”

Lucie
eyed him suspiciously for a minute, maybe two before she shook her head,
telling him no. “I’m too tired right now. Can we do this tomorrow?”

“No.”
That was his final answer. Kane wasn’t putting this off any longer. They didn’t
have to talk if she didn’t want to, but he was still going to her house.
Whatever this was that he felt for her, he was almost certain she felt it too.
Since this was the perfect opportunity to test the waters, he wasn’t going to
back down on this one.

“I’ll
be there in half an hour,” Kane said, “I’ve got to finish up here.”

“Kane,
I don’t –”

Before
Lucie could come up with any more excuses, Kane pressed up against her,
eliminating all of the space that had been separating them. He placed his
finger on her lips to shut her up, although he’d have much preferred to use his
mouth, but he was cognizant of where they were. “I’m coming over. You better be
there when I get there.”

Rolling
her eyes and sighing deeply, Lucie nodded her head briefly then spun on her
heel and walked away.

He
knew she recognized the frustration in his tone, but he was willing to bet she
didn’t realize every ounce of it was sexual in nature and he was past the point
of waiting for her to come around.

It
was time they got some things cleared up – including those damn memories that
still eluded him.

~~*~~

Driving
home in the dark hours of the early morning, Lucie wondered whether the
pounding of her heart was actually the first signs of a heart attack. Ever since
Kane mentioned that he was coming by, she’d been feeling strange. Between the
constant thump of her heart against her ribs, and the roar of blood in her
ears, she was beginning to get a little worried.

Kane’s
words reverberated back and forth in her head, leaving her wondering whether she
had actually heard him correctly. Not the words necessarily, but the way he
said them. He’d thrown her off balance with his domineering attitude, but even
more so when he pressed his finger to her lips.

For
a second there, Lucie hadn’t known whether her knees were actually going to hold
her upright. She wanted to believe that the hunger she detected in his words
was real, but she was worried her overactive imagination might just be getting
the better of her. After all, she hadn’t been sleeping well for a few months
now, so it was quite possible.

Until
recently, when Kane began shooting daggers from his eyes whenever Justin Jones
would come visit her at the club, he had been totally indifferent to her. Or at
least she thought he had been.

His interference
hadn’t been needed because Lucie had positively no interest in Justin. He
continued to ask her out, she continued to turn him down. Since Haley was her
first and foremost priority, Lucie didn’t give a second thought to dating a man
that she knew wouldn’t be long term material. Not that she was necessarily
looking for long term, but if anything were to happen, she needed to know that
it was at least a possibility.

No
matter how many times she thought about those overprotective glances that Kane
delivered her direction, she couldn’t wrap her mind around any reason why.
Well, other than him wanting to ensure that his daughter always came first. He
didn’t have anything to worry about there, but she hadn’t necessarily explained
that to him.

It
boggled her mind that she still had the audacity to think Kane might have a slight
interest in her. After what she’d done, Lucie was surprised he even chose to speak
to her. Even though she secretly wished that there was something between the
two of them, she knew better than to get her hopes up.

Even
that one night when she’d given herself over to Kane, the night Haley was
conceived, she hadn’t been convinced that he actually wanted anything more than
sex from her. Considering she didn’t have it in her to do casual relationships,
it didn’t make sense how much she still craved his touch. Especially on those
lonely nights when she couldn’t get her mind to shut down because it constantly
returned to images of the two of them together. Not even touching herself could
alleviate the ache that had only intensified over the years.

Thinking
back on the night at Club Destiny when she and Kane and a couple of the other
bartenders had been sitting around talking had become a frequent occurrence for
her lately. She could still remember the feeling that something was wrong with
Kane that night. Sticking around to see if he wanted to talk about it had set
everything in motion.

He
hadn’t wanted to talk. Well, not about what was bothering him anyway.

Instead,
he’d indulged repeatedly in shots of bourbon as they chit chatted about nothing
important until Lucie finally decided it was time to call it a night. Kane had
agreed, but when she’d seen his intention to drive himself home, Lucie had
interjected.

That
was her first mistake of many that night.

Calling
a cab hadn’t even been a consideration for her, yet she didn’t know why. It was
the first thing she thought about when they encountered someone who had
overindulged at the club. She remembered thinking that she would never forgive
herself if she let him walk out of there and he was hurt or killed, or someone
else was, because of his overindulgence. It had taken remarkably little
persuading to convince Kane to let her take him home. After forcing him into
her car, she managed to pry the directions to his house from him before he
closed his eyes.