Page 115 of Unexpected

James and Devon weren’t too far behind them. Throughout the night, Devon began to open up more and more and his dry sense of humor made me laugh so much my stomach hurt. They were both so much fun and easygoing. James’s commentary on Reed’s shenanigans could have possibly been my favorite part.

The entire group was amazing, and I knew why Luke liked them all so much. They fed off each other and there was never a dull moment.

When I walked back into the living room, I found Luke covering a passed-out Reed with a blanket. He was starfished on the couch, one leg and arm hanging off the edge.

“He can stay there for tonight,” he said and then hiked his thumb over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

I knew he was asking if I was ready to pass out, and God was I ever. But we still had a conversation to have. I managed to push the thought out almost entirely for the rest of the evening, but then my eyes would land on Blakely, and I couldn’t help but wonder what Valerie had put her through.

Luke shut off all the lights and Sadie followed us down the hallway. I’d long since lost my heels somewhere in the living room, so I quietly padded to his bedroom and flung myself on the made-up bed the moment I saw it.

Exhaustion wanted to overcome me and pull me under into a deep sleep, but I fought it hard and sat back up on the bed. The moment I turned around, Luke appeared from the bathroom door in low-slung gray joggers and no shirt.

With his tattoos and broad muscled chest on full display, I couldn’t help but gawk at him. Instantly, I felt a pull to run my nails up and down the dark hair speckled over his chest and stomach and through the happy trail until I would push below his waistband. Just looking at him made my panties wet and after lingering touches and heated glances all night—even with Blakely’s drama—I was aching.

As I gawked, Luke tossed one of his old T-shirts into my lap.

With a saccharine smile, he said, “I didn’t know if you brought anything for tonight but figured you wouldn’t mind sleeping in one of my shirts.”

Eager to take my bra off after an entire evening wearing one with underwire, I hopped off the bed and whipped my shirt over my head. I placed it on the bed, which was quickly followed by my bra. It was pure bliss. Once completely undressed—aside from my soaked panties—I tugged the shirt on and placed my clothes on the blue chair in the corner of his room. The same one he lounged in when we had our tryst through the windows. I smiled at the memory but tried not to think too hard about the house just on the other side of his bedroom window.

Big arms wrapped around me from behind and large hands flattened against my stomach and just below my breasts.

“I love seeing you wearing my clothes,” Luke said in a husky voice as his proud erection ground into my lower back, grazing the top of my ass.

“I can tell,” I mused as I rose on my toes just enough to ground my ass back into him. He grunted in response and his hands automatically found my breasts which were aching from the damned bra. He massaged them, his thumbs pressing from the outside and moving inward until he tugged both of my nipples. An illicit moan ripped through my throat and I pushed back again.

“I honestly thought you’d want me to sleep naked,” I whispered because I couldn’t get my voice any louder.

He chuckled and kissed my shoulder, running his tongue along my skin until he found my neck and kissed me there, too.

“I’m sure you will, but we should talk if you’re up for it. And I can’t talk to you if you’re naked—I’ll be too distracted to have any type of constructive conversation.”

I laughed but then gasped as his hands gripped my hips and spun me around. My hands landed on his chest, and I was immediately distracted by everything about him.

“Then you need a shirt, too,” I said and he rolled his eyes with a chuckle. He disappeared into his closet and returned a second later wearing a tight black T-shirt that was only a little better than him being shirtless.

He positioned himself against the headboard, and I found a place beside him. As he always did when I was close, his hand found me and fell onto my knee. Sadie was already snoring at the bottom of the bed, and the entire situation felt eerily comfortable—being in bed with the man I’d only just begun seeing with his dog curled up like my being there was a common occurrence.

“Fuck, I don’t know where to start,” Luke said and dragged a hand through his hair. It was perfectly messed up from him dragging his hands through it all night long.

“Just start. And don’t sugarcoat it—I’ve been on edge all night, and I just want to know what the hell I can expect from her.”

“I don’t know if there is a way to sugarcoat it,” Luke muttered and sighed. “So, like I said before, I was under the impression that Valerie incessantly called Blakely, texted her, too, but eventually gave up. Her threats were disturbing, but I didn’t think she’d ever acted on them. Blakely told me one day she just suddenly stopped, and we both figured she’d gotten bored. That’s the story Blakely told me, but that’s not actually what happened.”

His hand tensed on my knee, and my gut twisted at what I assumed he’d tell me next—what really happened. And I knew he wanted to give me the entire story, but I was eager to know. I needed him to hurry, so I could figure out how it impacted my—our—situation.

“Turns out, Valerie made good on some of her threats.” The second the words left his mouth, I swore my heart stopped beating and time stood still. With his head down, staring at his free hand in his lap, he continued, “Valerie broke into her house and held her at gunpoint for hours. Apparently, she didn’t do much besides scaring the absolute shit out of her. Valerie cut off her hair and knocked her around a little bit. Blakely tried to reason with her and told her we’d broken it off, but Valerie was past reasoning. She’s long been past reasoning, but Valerie told her that if she ever told me or the cops, she’d come after us both again. Blakely was terrified and believed Valerie would do it, so she did as she asked and didn’t tell anyone.”

As Luke spoke, it felt like someone steadily turned the heat warmer and warmer in his bedroom. “But she told you now.” I croaked out.

“Yeah, because she knows that Valerie’s back. Blakely’s terrified that she’s going to escalate even more this time, but since she called me, she’s been silent. Which is honestly worse than when she’s active—when she’s quiet, I can’t predict her next move. Blakely manages Murphy’s, the bar where Josh also works, and they’ve thrown her out a couple of times, but that’s child’s play for Valerie.”

My brain was working overtime to keep up with all the moving parts while fighting the several other emotions and thoughts that were at war within me.

“Blakely thinks we should stop seeing each other,” he said, dropping his voice low. “She wanted me to march into the fucking living room and tell you to leave. Make a big scene, so you wouldn’t have any desire to come back.”

The only thing keeping my emotions in check was the knowledge that he hadn’t done what Blakely asked. It would have been humiliating to be dismissed so abruptly, but it would have also broken my fucking heart. At that moment, I realized I was too far gone for the man in front of me. No matter how it ended, it would be an utter and all-consuming heartbreak.

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