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“Marley, come here,” Luke commands, gently, holding out his hand. A sob escapes me as Luke reaches for me, urging me out of my seat. He pulls me onto his lap, just as I’ve fantasized so many times in my head. His arms wrap around me, cocooning me in his embrace. I rest my head on his shoulder, sobbing like a baby. He runs his hand over my hair and whispers soothing words of comfort.
“Shhh now, don’t cry.” Luke’s voice vibrates through me. “Everything will be okay.” I want to believe him. I’m sure he believes his words, but he doesn’t know what’s been happening to me. I’m not sure I should share it all with him, but I’m so alone. I just need someone to talk to, to lean on. I don’t have any family close by. My parents divorced when I was a baby. Dad died a few years ago, and mom can barely pay her own bills. There’s no way I can tell her about my troubles. I’ve been so busy working and attending classes I haven’t made time for a lot of friends. The few I have I don’t want to burden with my troubles. “Marley, tell me what happened. I want to help you.” Luke is so sincere, and I’m so tired of trying to handle all of this on my own. I blurt out all my problems before I have a chance to think it through.
“I don’t know what’s happening other than someone is trying to ruin me,” I manage to say, despite my tears. He stiffens,tightening his arms around me before pulling back to look down at me.
“What are you saying?” Luke demands. “Someone has been trying to hurt you?” I hesitate. I don’t want him to think I’m crazy, and what I have to say sounds crazy.Why would anyone go the lengths they have to destroy my life?I’m no one important. I don’t have money or fame.
“Marley!” Luke’s sharp command startles me. I’ve never heard him raise his voice. I look into his eyes and see his concern for me. “Please, tell me what’s wrong. I only want to help you, but I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s happened to you.” I swallow hard. I have to trust this man who’s only ever been kind to me. While I don’t know him intimately, I feel as though I know him as much as we’ve interacted over the last year or so since I first noticed him. With a sigh, I begin telling him the strange events that have been happening over the last few weeks.
“Please don’t think I’m crazy,” I begin. Luke frowns at me like I’m being crazy for thinking he would think I was crazy. “See? That look right there. Please don’t look at me like that when I tell you.” His face relaxes, so I carry on. I have nothing to lose at this point. “Strange things have been happening to me, and I don’t know why anyone would go to the trouble they have to ruin my life, but someone is definitely doing a great job at it.”
“What do you mean by that?” Luke asks, his voice laced with curiosity. Feeling a presence nearby, I look up to see the men he’d had lunch with have come to stand by him.God!This is hard enough telling him, but these men too! “Go on, Marley. We are all friends here. No one is going to think you’re crazy,” Luke assures me. I scoff because they will definitely think I’m crazy.Hell, I think I’m crazy. Why should I concern myself with them thinking it too?
“And even if you were crazy,” Bo chimes in, “You’d fit right in. Our whole family is a little coocoo, but who cares. Crazy is the new normal.” Bo smiles down at me sitting in Luke’s lap. I’m suddenly acutely aware of Luke’s body under me. I can feel myheart begin to race at his nearness. I start to get up, but Luke tightens his hold on me. We look at one another, and I see the determination in his eyes. He isn’t going to let me up without a fight. I’ll just be making a scene if I try to force him to let me stand. I relax once more in his arms. I might as well get this over with, so I carry on with my story.
“I’ve felt like someone is watching me, following my every move,” I tell him. “I haven’t seen anyone who looks sketchy or out of place, but the feeling won’t go away. It’s the sensation of being watched, you know?” The men all nod as if they understand what I mean. “A couple of months ago, my bank account was emptied, but the bank couldn’t tell me where my money went. All my deposits were wiped off the system, but I made those deposits. I still had my paper receipts.” I look at Luke expecting him to look at me with suspicion, but all I see is concern on his handsome face. He nods, encouraging me to continue. “That was the first time it happened. My bank accounts have been emptied twice since then, including my savings account. The bank finally agreed to change my account numbers after the second time, but it happened a third time, just a couple of days ago. Other things have happened, too. Bills I know I’ve paid, have come back as late with no record of them being paid, even though I have my invoice showing I paid. The companies can’t explain why the entries were removed from their computer system or how. The latest issue is Mr. Conner, the owner of the Bistro, got multiple complaints on my service over the last few weeks, each one by a different person. I’ve never been rude to customers even when they’ve been rude to me. I try to do my best, and until now, I’ve never gotten a complaint before. I just don’t understand what’s happening. Now to put the icing on the cake, my landlord just called to say I’m behind three months on my rent. The woman is new to my complex, so she doesn’t know me very well, but I know I’ve paid the rent every month, to her, in person. I have the receipts at my apartment. I’m going to her office with them in themorning. I just don’t understand how or why all of this is happening.” The tears begin to fall once more. It seems once I’ve let the waterworks start, I can’t stop them. Luke pulls me against him, holding me tightly. It feels good to be in his arms, but I worry that I’m hurting him. I’m not a small woman, at least weight wise. I’m not very tall at only five foot two and a half, but I’m over weight. I shift my weight, trying not to rub the wrong places. I’m not sure if paraplegic men can get erections, and at the moment, I don’t want to find out. Not when his brothers are standing right here.
“I’m going with you,” Luke declares, suddenly. I raise up to look at him questioningly. “I run a security company along with my brothers. What you are experiencing is the kind of thing we do on a daily basis. We’ll figure out the who, what, and why all of these things are happening to you and make sure you get all your money and credit score back.” I shake my head. I can’t seem understand what he’s saying.Why is he wanting to help me?He doesn’t really know me. I mean, we talk whenever he’s here, and I feel like I know him, but outside the restaurant, we haven’t ever spoken or seen one another. I’m just his waitress most days of the week.
“What? Why?” I blurt out. He frowns back at me like he doesn’t understand the question. “Why would you help me? I’m no one to you. I’m just your waitress.” I can see the understanding dawn on his face. The frown is replaced with a tender look, which is almost too painful to look at. All of that concern and compassion for me is overwhelming. I’ve never had anyone look at me this way before, which triggers another flood of tears.
“Marley,” Luke says, his voice full of tenderness. He cups the right side of my face as he stares into my eyes. “I want to help you for several reasons. One, I can. I have the knowledge and resources to help you. Two, I’ve been eating here for a long while now. You’ve been my waitress nearly every time. I feel like we have gotten to know one another pretty well. We are at the veryleast friends, and friends help each other. Third, you’re a good, kind person. You go above and beyond to help other people. I’ve noticed your kindness as you interact with people at the restaurant. You don’t deserve this. I’m not the kind of man to sit back and allow someone to be mistreated, especially when I can do something about it. Four, I…I care about what happens to you. Let me help you. Keep you safe.”
My heart is pounding so hard. I can’t process everything he’s just said. He wants to help me. I’ve daydreamed that someday he would ask me out. I know that’s not what’s happening now, but it seems maybe he feels the same connection I feel whenever he’s nearby. It’s like an invisible rope between us that pulls me toward him. I don’t want to fight the connection anymore, and I likely don’t have any other options.
“Okay, Luke,” I say at last. “Thank you for helping me.”
“You don’t ever need to thank me,” Luke replies his voice deep with emotion. “I’ll do my best to look after you, Marley.” My chest fills with warmth at his words. I’ve not had anyone look after me in so long. Not since I was a child. Once I became a teenager, mom pretty much left me to fend for myself. She had her hands full trying to keep the bills paid. Being an only child, I don’t have siblings to lean on in hard times. Knowing that Luke is in my corner lifts some of the weight from my shoulders. “Now let’s get you home and find those receipts.”
Before I can make a move, Luke is wiping the tears from my face. He continues to look deep into my eyes as if he’s looking at my soul. I can feel the connection between us growing. I want so much for him to kiss me. It’s absurd I know, but the feeling, the need is so strong. Surely, he can feel it, too. Just when I think I’m imagining the connection between us, he closes the distance between us. His warm lips brush mine, and I lean in closer to him, urging him to deepen the kiss. I want more.
When our lips touch again, I open my mouth to him. His tongue sweeps in, and I can’t stifle the moan that escapes me. Weexplore one another in a sweet dance of tongues and teeth. I’m so lost in the moment I’ve completely forgotten his brothers are standing beside him or even that we are in a public parking lot. How long we kiss; I’m not sure, but the loud clearing of a throat brings us both out of the spell we are under.
“You can kiss her later, brother.” Bo grins down at us. “We have work to do. We should get going. We still have that lead to run down, and you need to get Marley secured. We’ll meet you later at the office.” With that, Luke’s brothers turn away walking back across the parking lot toward several large black SUVs.
Luke rests his forehead against mine as his brothers walk away. I’m a mess of emotions and confusion. While I’ve dreamed of kissing Luke, having him hold me, it’s overwhelming to have it actually happen. It’s immensely better than I’d fantasized. Almost more than I can handle. It’s not that I’m inexperienced. I’ve dated and had a couple of more serious boyfriends, but none of them ever made me feel like Luke has with just a kiss. My heart is pounding. My nipples are aching for him to touch them, suck them, bite them. My panties are damp. My core is throbbing, aching for him to take things further.
“We should get you home,” Luke says, his voice husky. I can feel the magic spell we’ve been caught up in burst. Disappointment fills me, but I know now isn’t the time or the place for us to be taking things further. I take a deep breath and pull back to look at him. I can see desire swirling in his eyes and maybe a little disappointment, too. It makes me feel better to know that he wants more as much as I do. I give him a smile. He smiles back, lighting up his handsome face. His eyes are bright and beautiful. He leans forward and places a quick kiss on my lips. “Wait for me and I’ll follow you.”
Biting my lower lip as I look into his eyes, my heart and head warring with one another. I feel like I need to tell him how much I appreciate his help, but more than him helping me, I want to tell him how long and how badly I’ve wanted him to kiss me. In theend, I’m a coward, and I just nod and slip off his lap. Once I’m seated in my car, with my seatbelt on, he’s still outside my door. I lower my window as I can tell he has more to say.
“Give me your phone, Marley,” Luke commands, his tone kind, but authoritative. I pull my phone from my purse, unlock it, and hand it over. I don’t even question why he would want it. He pulls up my contacts and begins typing quickly entering his contact information and then sending himself a text so he will have my number, too. His phone pings as it receives his text. “Send me your address, okay? Just in case we get separated in traffic.” He hands me my phone. I take the phone and quickly enter my address and hit send. His phone pings, again. “Stay safe, Marley. I’ll meet you at your place.”
“Okay, Luke. I’ll be careful driving,” I answer him. “You be careful, too.” He grins and nods at me before turning to wheel himself back toward his large black SUV. I sit patiently and watch as he gets himself into the driver’s seat, which is totally amazing by the way. I never thought about how he drove or if he even did.
Once he’s started the engine and backed out of his space. He pulls near my car waiting for me to drive away so he can follow me. I put my car in gear and pull out of the parking lot and into traffic. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but at the moment, I feel the better than I’ve felt in weeks. I know without a doubt Luke will do his best to help me, and that gives me great comfort.
LUKE
Iwatch Marley pull out of the restaurant parking lot and into traffic. My emotions are all over the place, at the moment, but I have to get control. Marley needs me and my skills. I can’t let my feelings for her get in the way of keeping her safe. I follow her car through traffic, keeping a watch out for anyone who might be following her. Even though she hasn’t seen anyone, the fact she’s felt the unnerving sensation of being watched is enough to have my hackles on edge. I can’t wait to get to the office and begin doing a deep dive into the electronic side of her recent problems. I’ll figure out who’s been taking her money, and I’ll get every penny back for her.
I’ve programed her address into the GPS on my vehicle. I know the area where she lives. It’s not the best of neighborhoods, but it’s not the worst either. We when get there, I’ll make a full assessment and determine what security upgrades she’ll need. I’m sure working as a waitress she can’t afford a security monitoring system, but I’ll take care of it. I won’t leave her another day without protection.
I check my mirrors, once again, and notice a black sedan. It’s a couple of car lengths behind me. When Marley signals to make aleft turn, the sedan also signals a left turn. The light is red as I roll to a stop behind Marley’s car with sedan right behind me. The sedan’s windows are tinted, so I can’t see who’s in the car. I don’t want to over react, but the hair is standing on the back of my neck. I just know whoever’s in that car is following Marley, and they don’t have anything good in mind for her. I need to bide my time, however, and be certain. I don’t want to tip them off and let them get away. Using the Bluetooth feature in my vehicle, I call Bo. It rings twice before he picks up.
“Yo, bro, what’s up?” Bo answers. I roll my eyes at his greeting. I don’t think he’ll ever grow up.
“I’m following Marley to her place,” I begin. “We have a tail. Black Ford sedan, tinted windows. I haven’t seen plates, yet. I’m not sure I’m comfortable letting them get between me and Marley. I don’t know if they are just tailing her or if they intend to hurt her. I’m going to need back up. Sending you her address now.”
