16. Scarlett
Scarlett
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
My heart rate spiked through the roof. Someone was banging on my door. I jumped out of the tub, quickly wrapping myself in a towel.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
The banging sounded again.
My hands were shaking as I reached for my phone to call Luke. I was trying to be as quiet as possible, but my breathing was so damn loud I wouldn’t be surprised if it could be heard down the block.
“Scarlett? You in there? Open up.”
“Sebastian?” I asked. My phone was still in my hand, unlocked and ready to call for backup.
“Yeah. Unlock the door.”
I didn’t have a peephole to confirm, but I’d been friends with Sebastian Devereux for just about as long as I had been in Calla Bay.
I knew he was safe. I shot a text off to Luke anyway, letting him know that I had company.
I knew he would want me to keep him informed.
I unlocked and opened the door to let Seb in.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, hey now. I didn’t know we were doing naked greetings, but works for me,” he said with a grin. His eyes held a playful glint as I stood in front of him in nothing but a towel.
“Shut it. I was taking a bath when you started banging on my door.”
I stalked my way to my bedroom to throw on some sweats. I heard the text notification ding, and I looked down to see a message from Luke.
Luke: Sorry. I should have warned you. I asked Seb to keep you company while I’m on duty. You can let him in.
Me: I don’t need a bodyguard, Luke. It was just a note. I’m sure I’m fine.
That was a lie, but I didn’t want Luke to know how worried that little piece of paper had made me. I was trying to play it down like it was no big deal.
Luke: Please let Seb stay with you. I hate the idea of you being alone right now. It’s for me just as much as it is for you.
I sighed, but it wasn’t because I thought he was being ridiculous. I loved that Luke was looking out for me and reaching out for reinforcements when he couldn’t be here himself.
Me: Fine. But only because you said please.
I walked back into the living room with a stupid smile on my face. Seb was sitting on my couch, already having taken off his shoes and turned on the television.
“Comfy?”
Seb didn’t miss the sass, but he also didn’t care. That was the thing about Seb. He was always down for a good time and didn’t take anything too seriously.
“Meh. You could use a new couch soon, but it’s fine.” He winked.
“Want something to eat or drink? I guess we’re going to be hanging out for a while,” I said.
“Only if you’re making yourself something.”
I went over to the kitchen. My apartment had a combo living-dining-kitchen setup, so while I puttered around collecting the pan and ingredients to make a taco salad dish, I continued chatting with Seb.
“I hope Luke didn’t pull you away from anything important for this.”
“Nothing I couldn’t get out of,” he said. “And this is important, Scarlett. Luke was right to have someone with you if you’re being threatened. He said that someone left a note on your car. What did it say?”
I started browning the beef, adding the taco seasonings.
“It was a warning. To stay away from this case or else…” I paused, and when Seb looked over at me, I made a slashing motion across my throat.
“I’d like to see someone try to put their hands on you.” He huffed out a humorless laugh. “If Luke got into a fight over Jules, he’d decimate someone for you.”
I turned back to the stove quickly. I didn’t want Seb to see the way his words affected me. That wasn’t true, anyway. Juliet was his wife. I was just his friend. Sure, I believed he would protect me and keep me safe, but the way Seb made it sound… it sounded like so much more.
The beef was finished, so I layered the ingredients onto a sheet pan and put it in the oven. My heart was still in my throat when I took a seat next to Seb on the couch .
A few hours later, after Seb and I watched some terrible reality TV and ate our weight in taco salad, I heard the distinct sound of my entryway doorknob rattling.
Then, a knock sounded. My eyes shot to Seb’s instantly.
He moved to get up and check on it when Luke called from the other side of the door.
“Letty, it’s just me. You can open the door.”
“What is up with you guys not calling me ahead of time to give me a heads-up?” I whisper-yelled at Seb with a huff.
He just laughed, but when I went to get up to answer the door, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me back.
“Sit. I’ve got it,” he said. At my confused look, he added, “Just to make sure everything is good first.”
He cracked the door open, assessing the situation, before throwing it open fully. “For me? You shouldn’t have.” Seb’s voice was a high-pitched, bad imitation of a woman’s voice.
Luke strolled past him, my bouquet from earlier this morning in his grip. I had completely forgotten about my flowers, but seeing Luke present them to me made sure I wouldn’t be forgetting this arrangement again. Maybe not ever.
“I grabbed these for you,” he said, handing them to me.
“Thanks. How’d you make out today?” I pulled a vase from cabinet and filled it with water.
“I don’t have a suspect yet,” he complained. “There was an accident on Main Street that ended up taking me away from investigating this. But Letty,” he said, looking me in the eye intently, “I’m not done looking. I’ll find the asshole. No one’s going to hurt you.”
“I know. I trust you, Luke.”
We were standing so close. I wasn’t even sure when Luke had moved into my space. His gaze roamed my face, a determined set to his jaw, his broad chest rising and falling in time with his heartbeat.
We stared at each other, neither of us speaking—neither of us moving—for a minute.
I had no idea what was going on in his head, other than he needed to protect me.
To keep me safe. But I wasn’t thinking about the danger from earlier.
The only thing on my mind was what it would feel like to have Luke’s touch on my waist. His lips on mine.
“Well, now that you’ve got your big, strong protector back, I’m going to take off,” Seb said, pulling me back into reality.
“Thanks, Seb. I appreciate you hanging out with me.” I may not have invited him over, but Seb was always good company, and I had to admit that I did feel better with someone in the apartment with me.
“Yeah, thanks, man,” Luke said to him, giving him daps and a quick bro hug.
Seb closed the door on the way out, and the first thing Luke did was go over to lock it.
“Everything went okay here?” he asked.
“Yeah, no issues. No one came by except for Seb. It’s been quiet.”
“Good.” He took his shoes off and placed them by the door. He must have come straight here after his shift because he was still in his police uniform.
“Do you need to go home and change and shower or anything?” I asked.
“Letty Girl, I’m not leaving you here for anything. You’re stuck with me now.”
Those pesky butterflies were back with a vengeance, his words affecting me down to my core. There was no one I would rather be stuck with than Luke Wilder.
“Okay,” I breathed out. “In that case, I have some taco salad if you’re hungry.”
“I’m good. Let’s just sit for a while and hang out.”
As he strolled past me, his hand brushed against mine. Things had felt different between us lately, an imperceptible shifting that was making me hopeful and confused. It was probably all in my head. Luke was the same he had always been. Loyal, strong, protective, steady.
I followed him to the couch, taking a seat next to him. How he smelled so good after being on duty all day was a mystery, but he did. It wasn’t a rich cologne scent. It was subtle, something that was distinctly him. I leaned toward him slightly to breathe it in a little more.
“Come here.” Luke opened his arm, inviting me into his space.
My gaze roamed his profile, but he wasn’t looking at me.
He had his eyes trained on the television, the ending of my guilty pleasure reality show playing out.
I adjusted myself on the couch and fell into the spot under his arm, my head against his pec.
I felt like I was home. Like this was exactly where I belonged. Luke wrapped his arm around me, tugging me closer to his chest. His breath came out in a rush, as if me being close to him was settling to him.
“What do you want to watch?” I asked.
“What makes you think this isn’t exactly what I would have put on myself?” he asked with a soft chuckle.
I laughed, trying to pass the remote to him. “Here. Put on anything you want.”
“This is fine, Letty.” His hand moved to the side of my head, tucking my curls behind my ear. I lost all my will to argue as I curled myself into him, relishing in his warmth.
It was the most comfortable evening I could remember. After a couple more episodes of my shows, I was sick of listening to the TV.
“Hey, do you want to play a game?” I asked.
Luke’s entire body froze beneath me. “What kind of game?” he asked slowly.
My face flushed. I spent so much of my time around guys at the police station I was pretty good at guessing what was going through their minds. And Luke’s mind just went to a totally different type of game than I had intended. I rushed to clarify. “I don’t know. Like a card game or something?”
The way his body relaxed after that would have been comical if it didn’t send a sharp reminder to my brain that Luke and I were only ever going to be just friends.
The relief he felt that I didn’t mean a fun, sexy kind of game was palpable.
He was clearly worried that he was going to need to reject me.
Instantly, me lying on his chest was no longer comfortable and secure but rather awkward and ill-fitting. I pulled myself away from his hold. His arm tightened around me quickly before letting me go.
“Sure, but I should warn you, I play a mean Go Fish.”
I pulled a pack of cards from the drawer of random things in my kitchen, calling to Luke while I was in there. “Hey, do you want a beer or a water or anything?”
“I’ll take a beer if you’ve got it,” he answered.
I pulled two cans from the fridge and settled on the area rug in the living room. Luke joined me on the floor, folding his long body to tuck his heels under his thighs crisscrossed.
“What about War?” I asked, passing him a cold can .
It was a simple card game where two players each put down one card, and the person who put down the higher value took the cards.
If both players put down a card of the same value, they had to stack five cards on top, and the fifth card was the tiebreaker.
Whoever collected all the cards was the winner.
“Let’s do this,” Luke said, raising his brows at me in challenge. I couldn’t help but laugh. Any tension from a moment ago seemed to dissipate. Luke was just too easy to be around to let things be weird for too long.
I shuffled the cards and split the deck evenly between us.
After losing my sixth hand in a row to Luke, I groaned, “No.” I went to take a pull of my beer but found it empty. The game had started off fine, but I was getting closer to the end of my cards each hand, and if I continued on this trend, I would be out of cards entirely in no time.
“New rule,” he said, finishing off his beer as well. “You can buy back your card, only it’ll cost you an article of clothing,” he laughed.
“Not fair! I’m in sweats, and you’ve got your full uniform on.”
“Those are the rules. You want the card back or not?” He shrugged. He didn’t seem in the least bit concerned, so I wasn’t going to be either.
I rolled my eyes, trying with all my might to keep the blush off my cheeks. I reached down and pulled a sock off my foot, throwing it at Luke.
“You asked for it.” I smiled smugly, raising my shoulder with attitude.
His smile dropped, and an unmistakable heat lit his eyes. “And I’ll take it.”
I won the next hand, so I threw his offer back at him. It was only fair, after all.
“Buying it back, or am I keeping this?” I waved his card in my hand.
Luke reached down and unbuttoned his police shirt.
“I’ve been dying to take this off anyway.
Might as well get my card back while I’m at it,” he said.
He was wearing a plain white T-shirt under his police shirt.
He folded his shirt neatly, placing it on the floor next to my sock.
His gaze held mine for a beat. This felt like uncharted waters, and I wasn’t sure what to do.
“Card, please.” He reached his hand out, a smirk on his face.
“It’s all yours,” I said as nonchalantly as I could.
My other sock went, along with Luke’s socks, my hair elastic, and Luke’s T-shirt.
I laid my card face down, only turning it over when Luke had his card placed beside mine. “Shoot,” I grumbled. His ten of clubs stared back at me next to the eight of diamonds that I had played. “I don’t have anything else that’s small.”
“You could always lose your bra,” he said. His bare chest rose and fell quickly. His eyes darted to my breasts before pinging back up to my face.
“I’m not wearing a bra,” I told him. My voice was low, almost sultry-sounding. My breasts were full but on the smaller side. Behind the baggy sweatshirt I was wearing, it wouldn’t be obvious that I was braless.
The column of his throat bobbed on a thick swallow. He rubbed his hand along his jaw roughly, his eyes closing shut. He cursed under his breath. When he opened his eyes, I felt like I was seeing a completely different side of him.
“Guess it’s mine, then,” he said.
I stood and dragged my sweatpants down my legs. I may not have been wearing a bra, but I did have underwear on. It seemed like the safer option.
Luke let his eyes roam up and down my body. The sweatshirt I was wearing was long enough to cover my butt, but just barely.
“Christ, Letty. You’re killing me,” Luke groaned.
My skin tingled in every spot Luke’s darkened gaze touched.
I didn’t want to overthink what was happening between us.
I wanted to stroll over to him and straddle my legs over his lap.
I wanted to feel the bulge that was evident in his pants rub against my sensitive center.
But before I could do any of that, my phone rang, startling both of us. I glanced at the screen out of habit.
“It’s just my sister. I can call her back.”
Luke jumped to his feet. “You should answer it. It’s getting late. I’m going to jump in the shower. You’re good if I take the spare room tonight?”
“Of course. That’s fine,” I said automatically.
I waited until he had walked away, my phone long forgotten, before I picked up my discarded clothes and shut myself in my bedroom.
Confusion and embarrassment were fighting for dominance in my brain.
I lay in bed, listening to the sound of the shower, to Luke shuffling around in the room next door, all while replaying the events of the day.
At least I could say that he’d certainly distracted me from the threat that loomed overhead, because right now, that was the last thing on my mind.