“I shoulder so much, Five. I’m used to doing it alone.” He crosses his arms over his chest and I place my hand on his back. He looks at me strangely for a minute until the corded muscles in his back begin to loosen.
“If you ever want to talk, or just take your mind off it, I’m here. I care about you, Tucker. I try not to, but I can’t help it.” I run my hand up and down his spine, and I can feel him relax further beneath my touch.
“It’s not something I can just talk about. I need to know that I can trust you implicitly before that happens.” He steps away from me, before turning around and sliding a hand behind my head until he’s cupping my neck. “I’ll take the distraction though.” His mouth is on mine in seconds. I can already tell he isn’t holding back by the way our teeth clash together as he dominates my mouth.
My toes curl in my shoes, and my body feels electric as he consumes me whole. This isn’t a kiss that they make romance novels of. It’s furious, hard, and above all else, it’s real.
He pulls back, chest heaving as he looks around at the destruction he’s caused, and the tips of his ears turn red.
“I shouldn’t have brought you here, I just…” he hesitates and I thread my arms around his waist, he jumps but relaxes into me.
“It’s okay, Tucker. Y-y-you’re always so in control. You’re the thing mysteries are made of, and I’m glad you brought me here,” I speak softly and he looks down at me with his brow furrowed.
“Why would you be glad? This side of me is ugly, and it makes me feel weak to lose control like this.” I smooth his lines with my fingers, and he shivers as his eyes slide shut.
“I don’t see it like that, but even if it is ugly, then what does it matter? It’s your ugly, and I’m glad you trusted me enough to let me see it. It doesn’t make you weak to lose control, it just means you’re human.” He takes my hand and kisses me on the pulse point before biting down on my palm. His eyes darken as he grips my ass and pulls me into him, my legs wrapping around his waist on instinct.
“I used to think you were weak, Luna. That you couldn’t handle this place, us, me. I was wrong. What I viewed as your weakness is exactly where your strength lies.” I don’t know how to respond to that, so instead, I run my nose up the column of his neck.
The smell of sandalwood and something distinctly Tucker fills me as I trail kisses up to the bottom of his ear, before sucking lightly on his lobe. It’s worked for me, so why not try it out now?
A low growl falls from him before he carries me to the bed. We fall down onto it, making quick work of our clothes until I’m back in his arms, and we’re leaning against the wall. He slides inside me with no hesitation as his mouth bites down on my neck, and he sets a hard and furious pace.
My hands run over his back as I hold on for dear life, my head thrown back, and loud cries fall free as he brings me to the edge, faster than I expected. I can feel it coursing through my system, begging for release as he adjusts the angle, hitting me just right and I cry out his name.
“Fuck this, we should have stayed on the bed,” he growls, and I can’t barely think to respond before we’re moving again.
He carries me back over to the bed before he pulls out, spins me around and thrusts in from behind. My hands fall onto the mattress, and my eyes roll back at all the sensations he’s unlocking within me.
“You feel so fucking tight. I’m going to come so hard. Fill you to the fucking brim, and you’re going to come right along with me.” His hand finds my clit, and that’s all it takes before I scream out in pleasure. His own guttural cry of my name makes me feel, euphoric.
22
Celebrating The Little Things
He collects some clothes to bring back to my room so he can have a shower. His shower door is smashed into tiny little pieces, and full of nasty shards that would slice right through him if he even attempted to take one in his bathroom.
“Here.” He passes me his phone and I look up at him, my eyes wide as I rub at my forehead.
“W-w-what’s this?” Such a moronic question, I know it’s his phone. I just don’t understand why he would offer it to me.
“You can ring your mom while I take a shower, at least you can have some privacy that way.” He’s still holding it out to me, but my arms won’t move to let me take it.
He takes my hand and places it inside before he steps back.
“I want to be able to trust you, Luna. And I realize I can’t do that unless I try. So, this is me trusting you not to look through my phone or say something you shouldn’t.” He walks into the bathroom. The door closes and my tears fall free, streaming down my face as I stare at the space he just left. He’s trusting me.
I take a few deep calming breaths before I tap the screen and press the phone to my ear.
“Luna bean?” She sounds hesitant and hopeful, and I doubt I’ll be able to stop my tears from bleeding through into my voice.
“Mama.”
“Oh, my sweet girl, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” She sounds as though she’s moments away from storming the place and freeing me from my confines, although it suddenly dawns in this moment, that despite everything that is going on, this is the only place I want to be.
“Mama, I’m fine. They’re happy tears, I swear. I’m so happy I can call you. Merry Christmas, mama.”
“Merry Christmas, baby. I don’t think much of those Harkwrights, but Tucker certainly has my thanks.” She sighs almost wistfully before clearing her throat. “How are you really? Are they treating you okay?” Her mom voice is now in full force, and even that is making me smile like a fool.
“I can’t say, but I’m... happy. I didn’t expect to be, but I feel as though I’m finally discovering who I am. My stammer has calmed down. It still happens, but nowhere near as much as it used to.”
“I’m happy for you, sweetie. I wish it didn’t take you going in there to see it, but I’m glad you’re starting to see yourself the way I always have. I am so proud of you, Luna. I sometimes think you’re the strongest person I know.” Her voice now sounds quiet, and somewhat sad.
“Is everything okay, mama. You seem off?”
“Don’t worry about me, you just focus on yourself and let me be the adult for a change,” she mock scolds, and it alleviates my worry, slightly but not all of it.
“How’s Poppy doing?”
“Okay, we had a conversation yesterday that lasted for about thirty minutes, Dr. Stevenson isn’t here at the moment, but the staff are a lot friendlier and certainly more helpful these days. Their attitude stinks, but what else can I do? Although, I am worried about her, she snapped at one of the nurses yesterday and nearly made her cry. You know the one I mean. Curly brown hair, a tiny little thing who always has a smile on her face.”
“Oh, you mean Kayla, the poor girl. She’s always so bubbly and friendly. What the heck did Poppy say to her?” I feel outraged on the nurse’s behalf, she’s always been kind to us, even before the Harkwright payments started.
“I don’t know, she wouldn’t say, and Poppy acted as though she hadn’t done anything. The doctors said they’ll look into it, but I don’t know what good it will do.” She carries on speaking and I agree and ‘ahh’ in the right places, but I’m not really listening. I love my mama, but she loves us to a fault. She can’t admit when we’re not being fair, and I think she needs to believe that Poppy is acting out because of her imbalance. I mean, didn’t I wonder the same thing myself? I’m just not sure anymore. Maybe Poppy is just a rotten egg.