Unbreakable (Alessi Brother #3)

8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

PENNY

T he next morning starts the same way. I wake up to discover I’m alone in the cabin, and I find Lucas sitting on the top porch step packing supplies into a backpack.

“Are you going hiking again?”

He turns to look at me over his shoulder. “Yes.”

“Any chance you’ll let me join you this time?”

“No.”

I didn’t expect any other answer, but I thought I’d ask anyway. I sigh with disappointment. “Have fun.”

“There’s nothing fun about it,” I think I hear him mumble as he walks away.

If that’s true, why is he going hiking if he doesn’t like it? I watch him disappear among the trees.

There’s no way I’m spending another day at the cabin with nothing to do. Racing inside, I rummage through my luggage, looking for something appropriate to wear. But it’s not like the forest fairies repacked my bag with hiking gear. There’s no time to search through Lucas’ closet; he’ll be long gone and I’ll never find him if I take up too much time. I’m going to have to make do with what I have.

I pull out a sundress. Forgoing a bra, I quickly dress then slide my feet into strappy sandals. Tossing my hair into a messy bun, I secure it with a clip and run out the door. Hopefully he’s not too far and I can catch up to him.

Pausing at the trail, I hesitate. He doesn’t want company. Will he get mad if I join him? Probably. I pull my shoulders back. This forest doesn’t belong to him. I’m free to wander wherever I want. He can’t stop me. But I’ll keep my distance, so he doesn’t see me. With my mind made up, I scurry through the shrubs.

The sunlight dapples over the leaf-covered path. Birdsong and insect sounds float in the air. The smell of damp vegetation is strong. Being surrounded by the beauty and music of nature immediately sends a sense of peace through my mind and body. Like all the stress and drama of my life have flittered away.

Up ahead, I spot Lucas. His stride is long and determined, like he’s not taking the time to soak up his surroundings. Like he’s on a mission to get somewhere.

I follow him, taking care to not make noise as I avoid stepping on twigs. The bottom of my dress gets snagged on a fallen branch, and I yank it free, tearing a large hole in the soft fabric. The ripping sound, to me, seems to ricochet through the forest, and I freeze. Did Lucas hear? Looking up ahead, I see that he’s still trudging along, unaware of me following him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I continue on. If I keep following, eventually I’m going to make myself known. I can’t keep creeping after him like some stalker. For now, I’ll see how far he goes. If I get too tired, I’ll turn back, and he’ll never know I was here.

As time passes, the path inclines, and my legs grow heavier with each step. My breathing is labored. Sweat trickles between my breasts, and fallen strands of hair sticks to my neck. My feet are covered with dirt. My sandals definitely belong on the beach, not in the woods.

Why did I follow Lucas? I could have used the time alone in the cabin deciding how to move forward with my life when I get back to the city. I still don’t know what damage the paparazzi have caused with the photos they took of me. When we get back from the hike, I have to ask Lucas to take me into town. I can’t put off calling my mother and Claudia.

The path gets steeper and steeper. I’m now climbing over boulders and fallen trees. My dress is sticking to my body. I’d give anything to have a drink of water. I’m not built for anything athletic. This is why I should stop putting off going to the gym. Maybe if I did, I wouldn’t feel like every muscle in my body is screaming in pain.

Just as I’m about to turn around and head back, Lucas stops, tugs the backpack off his shoulders, and drops it at his feet. Sitting on a flat rock, he unzips the bag and pulls out two beers. Did he go on a hike to drink? I move closer to get a better look and find a large boulder to hide behind. Squatting down, I peek around the rock and watch him. I should tell him I’m here. I don’t feel right hiding. Yet something tells me in my gut I might be interrupting a private moment, so I stay hidden.

Lucas twists the bottle top off a beer and holds it up in the air in a toast. His mouth is moving like he’s saying something. But the sound of his voice gets whisked away by the breeze, and I can’t hear him. Then he takes a swig of beer, turns the bottle upside down and pours the liquid onto the ground. Why is he doing that? When it’s empty, he sets it on the ground and picks up the other bottle. Again, he toasts toward the sky. This time he doesn’t pour the beer out. He sips at it and stares out into the distance with a look of sadness on his face.

Folding his legs up, he rests his wrist on his knee, the bottle dangling from his fingers as he squeezes his eyes shut. A moment later, he swipes at his cheeks and tilts his head back to stare at the sky.

I shouldn’t be here. Lucas is obviously going through something. Something private. I’m the last person he’d want witnessing his sorrow.

After squatting for so long, my legs stiffen and a sharp pain shoots into my thighs. Slowly getting to my feet, my sandal slides out over loose dirt, and I fall. Something sharp pokes into my butt.

“Ouch!” I cry out in pain. Immediately, I cover my mouth and scurry back behind the rock, praying Lucas didn’t hear or see me.

“Penelope. Is that you?”

Crap! Busted.

The crunch of his footsteps on leaves and rubble gets closer. There’s no way I can hide anywhere before he reaches me. I squeeze my eyes shut. If I can’t see him, he can’t see me, right?

“What are you doing?” His voice booms above me.

I open my eyes and glance up. His jaw is tight and his nostrils flare. There’s no doubt by his expression that he’s not happy to see me.

Getting to my feet, I dust dirt off my butt and give a nervous laugh. “I was out for a walk. What are the chances we would end up on the same hiking trail?” I lie.

A frown deepens on his face. “Are you following me?”

“No…I was just…I—”

“Unbelievable.” He throws his hands up in the air. “Not only do I have to share a cabin with you, you’re also following me on a hike after I asked you not to come. Can’t I have a moment to myself?”

“I didn’t want to stay at the cabin alone again. There’s nothing to do.” I don’t even try to keep lying.

“Not my problem.” He pushes his hair back off his forehead. “I keep telling myself I should have left you at that hotel.”

“It was your idea to take me to the cabin. I’m here because of you. It’s not my fault.”

Lucas’ face hardens, and a vein ticks on the side of his cheek. “Not your fault? Everything is your fucking fault. If it wasn’t for you, Garrett would be—” He slams his lips shut and rakes his fingers through his hair.

What has Garrett got to do with anything? I remember Lucas and Garrett were best friends in high school. Wherever one went, the other followed. There was nothing they didn’t do together. Why is Lucas bringing him up now?

“Garrett would be what?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Forget I said anything.”

“No. You brought Garrett up for a reason. What were you going to say? What does he have to do with me?”

He narrows his eyes and points a finger at me. “It’s your fault Garrett is dead.”

I suck in a shocked breath. “You’re blaming me for his accident?” His accident had been a shock to all who knew him. Death is always hard, but dying so young is incomprehensible. How am I involved with what happened?

With a sneer, he says, “Yeah, I am.”

Why is he saying this? “How is his death my fault? I wasn’t in the car with the two of you. After the humiliation you put me through in senior year, I hardly stepped out of the house, let alone hung out with old high school students. After what you did to me, I had nothing to do with you.”

“After what I did?” Tossing his head back, he gives a mirthless laugh. “I did nothing to you!” I open my mouth to protest, but he cuts me off. “ You planted drugs in my locker and tattled to the principal. You got me expelled from school. Because of that, I couldn’t get into any of the colleges I applied to. You did all that.”

I hang my head with shame and stare at my feet. Yes, I put drugs in his locker. I was so upset and humiliated by what had happened, it was the only way to get back at him. But as much as he hurt me, it was a terrible thing to do. Had I known he would have lost so much, I never would have done it. It doesn’t explain why he’s blaming me for the accident though.

“Lucas, I’m sorry about what I did—”

His face darkens. “You’re sorry? Tell that to Garrett’s parents. He was their only child.”

“Garrett’s death was tragic. But I’m still confused as to how you believe I’m to blame. You need to explain how it’s my fault.”

Lucas links his fingers and puts his hands at the back of his neck, spreading his elbows wide. “You know what? I don’t want to talk about this with you.”

“Oh, no, no, no. You’re accusing me of a person’s death. You can’t drop a bomb like that and not explain.”

He stares long and hard at me. Just when I think he won’t respond, he drops his arms by his sides and says, “When I got kicked out of school and couldn’t get into any colleges, I fucking lost it. Thought my life would be over. If I couldn’t study law, I didn’t know what the hell I’d do.”

“What about your family’s fashion house? Isn’t that where you were going to work?”

He shakes his head. “No. I never wanted to work for the business. I was planning on breaking out on my own. But after what happened, I had no choice but to join the family business. Thankfully, my hobby of photography turned into my passion and things worked out.” Dropping his head, he scuffs the toe of his boot into the dirt. “I drank and partied hard. Garrett deferred going to college because he didn’t want to leave me in the state I was in. He was trying to pull me out of the hole you pushed me in.”

Tears sting the backs of my eyes. My chest tightens. One stupid mistake turned Lucas’ life upside down.

“The night of the accident, I was drunk, and I called him to pick me up from a party. He didn’t hesitate. Never did. On the drive home, a storm hit, he lost control of the car going around a sharp bend and crashed into a tree. I walked away with only a few scratches and a broken arm. Garrett…” His voice cracks on his name, “You know the rest.” He digs his fingers into his eye sockets like he’s trying to wipe away the image.

How hard it must have been to watch his friend die. This is something that will affect him for the rest of his life. “It was a terrible accident. I still don’t understand why you’re blaming me.”

He pins me with a hard stare. “If you hadn’t pulled that stunt with the drugs, Garrett and I would have been in college. I wouldn’t have been drunk and calling him to pick me up. He’d be safe with his nose buried in books. Not fucking buried in the ground. You did that.”

Blood drains from my body, leaving an icy trail. He’s right. It is my fault. It was a stupid thing to do. I shouldn’t have listened to Claudia. She’d given me the idea and the cocaine. But she’s not the one who went through with it. I did.

“Lucas, I’m sorry. Never did I imagine things going so far.”

Anger pinches his features. “Why did you hate me so much? Why did you set me up? I thought we were friends. I would never believe you’d do such a thing if I hadn’t overheard you talking to Claudia about it.”

My legs shake and I sit on the nearest boulder. I had wanted to be more than friends with Lucas. That was until I learned that his ‘friendship’ was only a joke. A guy like Lucas Alessi—the hottest guy in school, rich, smart, and athletic—doesn’t fall for the overweight, poor girl. None of the popular kids looked twice at me or ever dated me. I always wondered why Lucas talked to me. Until I learned his attention was all a sham. A fun game for him and his buddies.

“You humiliated me in front of the entire school,” I say. “Pretended to be my friend when I was only entertainment for you. You took naked photos of me at the beach party and spread them around to your friends until everyone in school saw them. Do you know how traumatic that was? Knowing everyone had seen me naked? I wanted revenge.”

Lucas’ eyes grow wide, and his mouth drops open. “You think I took those photos?”

“You took photography classes and owned a fancy camera with a super-zoom lens. You texted me to tell me about the party at the beach. The one you never showed up to.”

“Just because I owned a camera you think I took naked photos of you?”

“Your friend Travis told me you did it. He said you both laughed at how gullible I was.” My face burns with embarrassment. It’s something I’ll never forget.

It should have been a night of fun; taking risks and being young. Claudia dared me to go skinny-dipping with her. Being so self-conscious about my body, it’s something I never thought I’d ever do. But I wanted to break free from my shell. Live a little. If Lucas saw how fun I could be, he’d look at me differently. Not just as the girl he sat next to in math class.

“I never took those photos,” Lucas says. “And Travis wasn’t my friend. He was a jerk. I only tolerated him because his parents were friends with mine. Did you ever think he might be lying? Why didn’t you ask me for the truth?”

I never thought to ask him because I had proof. “Travis showed me your camera with my photos on it.”

Lucas blows out a frustrated breath. “I used to lend my camera out to people all the time. Travis used it often. It’s possible he took the photos and shared them around. He probably deleted them before he gave it back to me, because I never saw them on it.”

“Why would he want to hurt me? I hardly knew him.”

Lucas scratches the back of his neck. “Who knows? He enjoyed causing trouble and playing pranks. Believe me when I tell you I never took those photos.” His shoulders sag and he sits on the boulder next to me.

“It really wasn’t you.” It’s not a question. I know the truth. I can see the sincerity on his face. If only I had asked him when it happened, things would have turned out a lot differently. And like Lucas said, Garrett would be alive.

Lucas scrubs his hands over his face. “I didn’t take the photos, but I sent the text. I never made it to the party because—” He stops speaking and frowns like he’s remembering something. “Travis called me because he was stranded at a party and couldn’t get back. He said he’d been drinking and didn’t want to call his parents to get him.”

“Did you pick him up?”

“I went to the house, but he wasn’t there. When I called him, he didn’t answer. I assumed he’d gotten a lift and forgotten to tell me. Then the shitstorm happened with your photos and the drugs, and I never asked him about it.” He slaps a hand on the rock. “He set us up!”

“Why would he do that? I rarely spoke to Travis. We weren’t in any classes together. What did he have against me?”

“Good question. And I’m going to find out the answer. That motherfucker is going to pay for what he did.” He springs off the boulder and marches toward the hiking trail.

I scurry after him as fast as I can on the uneven ground in my slippery sandals. “What are you going to do?”

“Find out where he is and beat the shit out of him.”

Grabbing his arm, I pull him to a stop. “You need to calm down. Beating him up won’t change what happened.”

“It will make me feel a lot fucking better,” he says as he starts to turn away.

Stepping closer, I reach up and place my hands on his shoulders. “No, it won’t. Whatever you do to Travis, it won’t bring Garrett back. It’s not going to erase the photos. What if you take things too far? You’ll never forgive yourself. Hopefully, karma will give him what he deserves.”

He blows out a long breath. “It kills me knowing he’s gotten away with this.”

I rub his shoulders to comfort him. They’re firm and strong, and I like having my hands on him more than I should. “I hate that he’s gotten away with it too. And I’m so sorry for my part. I’ll never forgive myself.”

For a beat, he stares at me with an unreadable expression. I guess that’s better than the hate he’s been throwing my way. “I liked you. You weren’t a joke to me or entertainment. I thought you knew I liked you more than just as a friend. I can’t believe you’d think I’d do something like that.” A fleeting look of hurt crosses his features.

What? He liked me? No way! “You were the most popular guy in school, with girls falling at your feet. Why would I think you liked me when you had your pick of gorgeous girls?”

“Those girls were all fluff and airheads. They couldn’t hold a conversation if their lives depended on it. All they cared about was being seen with the popular crowd. You never cared about shit like that. I could talk to you for hours and never get bored. We talked about real shit, like your dad leaving. My goals in life.”

When Travis told me Lucas’ attention was all a joke, it had crushed me. Because the boy who I thought was kind, caring, and sweet, and took time to talk to me, turned out to be a creep. God, I’d gotten it wrong.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not enough. My insecurities got the better of me, and I believed Travis. I never thought I had a chance with you when you had so many other girls to choose from.”

“Those girls never interested me, because you were the most beautiful. All I wanted was you.”

My heart races as I suck in a startled breath. “I didn’t know…You never told me.”

“Yeah, I was building up the courage to say something at the beach party. Was planning to make a move.”

He’s saying all the things I wished he would have said in high school. And he would have, if life hadn’t taken an unfortunate turn.

I’m not sure when it happened, but Lucas’ hands are resting on my hips. Our chests a hairsbreadth from touching. We’re standing so close I can see flecks of gold in his hazel eyes. My heart is beating so hard. His gaze drops to my lips and desire smolders from his eyes.

Whoa! What is going on? This is a man who has hated me for years. A man who I’ve hated for years. Now he’s looking at me differently. Not like I’m dirt under his shoe. More like a woman he wants to devour in one bite. And gosh, I’m ready to serve myself up on a silver platter. In all the time I spent with Darren, he never looked at me like that.

His gaze drops to my mouth, and his tongue darts out to lick his bottom lip. Oh, my legs have turned to water as I imagine him kissing me. During high school it was something I constantly dreamed of. Is my teenage wish about to come true?

A second later, he dips his head and our lips meet. The kiss is soft at first, with a lingering taste of alcohol on his tongue. It doesn’t take long until he clasps onto my waist and pulls me closer. Our chests touch and I can feel the steady thud of his heartbeat. The kiss deepens, and I throw my arms around his neck, anchoring onto him like he’s a lifeline.

On this mountain top, time seems to stop. Pasts forgotten, we lose ourselves in the moment.

Breaking away, his mouth trails down my neck, licking over my racing pulse. I tilt my head to the side, and my eyes flutter shut. He takes it further and places kisses along my collarbone and the tops of my heaving breasts. Sighing with pleasure, my nipples harden, and I arch my back, giving him permission to take things further.

Like he can read my mind, his hands resting on my hips skim up my sides. His thumbs brush underneath my breasts as he sucks a nipple through the thin fabric into his mouth.

“Oh God,” I moan. His touch feels so good. The loose-fitting clothing I’m wearing suddenly feels tight and restrictive, and I want to strip out of them and have him kiss me everywhere.

Fusing our mouths together, he pushes the straps of my dress off my shoulders and down my arms. Without breaking the kiss, he scoops my breasts up in his hands and massages them in gentle circles. With his thumbs brushing over my peaked nipples, the sensation travels down south and I’m wet with wanting.

He backs me toward the boulder, and my butt leans against the rough surface. Spreading my legs, he steps between my thighs. The firmness of his erection presses against my sex, and my pelvis automatically thrusts against him, wanting more. Needing him inside me.

Without breaking the kiss, he reaches between our bodies, hikes up the bottom of my dress so it’s around my waist, and slides his hand behind my panties until he reaches my most sensitive spot. I hiss and bite my lip when he presses against my clit. I lean my elbows on the rock and my head falls back, and I let him take liberties with my body. He slides a finger between my folds and pumps into me. My body bucks and I press harder into his hand. I’ve lost all feeling in my elbows, and I fall back onto the boulder, not caring about the hard surface scraping at my back.

“This is perfect,” he says with a devilish grin.

Perfect for what? I don’t get a chance to ask because he drops to his knees, spreads my legs wide, and dives forward, kissing my sex with an open mouth.

“Yes,” I moan. It’s the only coherent word I can form. With his mouth doing wicked things, my brain has turned to mush.

Then he pulls my underwear to the side. If I thought his mouth was doing wicked things, his tongue takes over, and it’s positively sinful: twirling, sucking, and licking with thoroughness. Everything inside me is humming and tightening, ready for a release. But before this ends, I need to touch him too.

As much as I hate for him to stop, I sit up, pulling him back onto his feet. My hands roam over his body as my mouth places wet kisses on his neck. With frenzied fingers, I pull his pants down and wrap my hand around his huge, hot erection.

On a long groan, Lucas grinds into my hand. “That feels fucking amazing. Don’t stop.”

I have no intention of stopping. In fact, I want to take it one step further. Shuffling off the rock, I drop to my knees. I cup his balls with one hand, and with the other, I guide him to my mouth, taking him in.

“Fuck me!” he cries. His hands tunnel into my hair as he pumps into my mouth. “I fucking wanted to do this to you for years. My imagination wasn’t half as good as the real thing.”

A giddy feeling swirls in my chest. I wasn’t the only one who imagined the two of us doing wonderful things to each other. For months I dreamed of having a moment like this. Pulling away, I say, “I always wanted this too. I wish things had turned out differently.”

Lucas stops moving, and I look up. A fierce expression is on his face. He takes two steps back. “We shouldn’t be doing this.” It sounds as if it pains him to say the words.

I slowly blink as the desire burning through my body is screaming at being interrupted. “Why not?”

“You just broke up with your fiancé. You must be heartbroken. This isn’t what you need right now. I’d be taking advantage of your vulnerable state.” He pulls his jeans up and zips them.

What he’s saying should be true, yet I don’t feel heartbroken or vulnerable. All I want is for Lucas to keep kissing me—touching me. Do all the things I yearned for him to do to me years ago. Making my body burn like it’s never done before.

I get to my feet and dust dirt off my knees. “It’s exactly what I need. In the six years I was with Darren, he never once looked at me with such desire. Never touched me with so much wanting. What I need is a man who wants me like he can’t get enough of me.”

“We can’t do this. We hate each other, remember?”

My heart squeezes. Even after he learned it was Travis who set us up, he hasn’t forgiven me for what I did to him. He suffered a tremendous loss. That’s something that will take time to forgive—if he ever does.

After what Darren put me through, I need this. I want nothing but Lucas’ hands on my body. Think about nothing but the pleasure we can give one another. I rest my hand on his chest. “Is that still true? Now that we know what really happened have things changed?” He still might not like me very much for the trouble I’d caused, but since learning the truth, my hostility toward him has vanished.

As he stares at me like he’s contemplating how to answer, the sky darkens and thunder rumbles in the distance. He pulls away and turns his back on me. “We better head to the cabin before we get caught in the storm.”

My shoulders sag with disappointment. This is new information he needs to digest. It may take time, or he may never forgive me at all. Maybe him stopping was for the best. It has only been four days since I learned of Darren’s affair. What if taking things further with Lucas was a mistake I’d regret? I guess I’ll never know. And that feels like a bigger disappointment.

Fixing my clothing, I stand next to him. “I’m ready to go.”

Without saying a word, he nods. His expression is shuttered, giving nothing away. Just when I thought we’d made a breakthrough, he’s gone back to being sullen.

We begin the trek back to the cabin. Wind whips through the trees, plastering my dress to my body and wrapping the fabric around my legs. Taking a step, I stub my toe on a tree root and stumble forward. Lucas catches my arm, stopping me from falling. Once I’m steady on my feet, he drops his hand so fast, like he doesn’t want to touch me.

“We need to go into town and buy you appropriate clothing. What you’re wearing is ridiculous and can get you killed.”