Kimber wasn’t Heather. She had better control over her emotions, true, and was far more mature. But she could be hurt. She could emotionally bleed. Deke had seen that the night he’d shoved her out the door with all those vile words. Kimber had been sheltered, unlike Heather. She hadn’t seen the worst of life, thanks to the Colonel and her brothers. What would she do if she suddenly found herself in Heather’s situation?
Deke didn’t know. And even if he felt like a two-ton weight sat on his chest for the rest of his life, he should be glad he hadn’t taken a chance to find out that answer the hard way.
At nearly nine that night, Deke climbed behind the wheel of Luc’s Jeep. His cousin eased in beside him, grim and exhausted.
“You sure you don’t want to stay the night?” Deke asked.
Luc turned, gazing back toward the dark, sleeping house. “No.”
“You okay?”
Nodding, Luc gripped his thighs. Luc looked completely spent physically and emotionally.
Deke understood the pleasure of f**king a beautiful woman. He sensed a certain drive in Luc though, as if his long sex marathons were attempts to banish some inner demons, not merely find the extreme edge of physical pleasure.
“Fine.” Luc hesitated. “Did you wait long?”
“A while.” He shrugged. “No big deal.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.” Deke focused on the road to avoid the question. The answer would only send Luc into some guilt spiral he didn’t need to put on himself.
“How long?” The bleak demand in his voice lashed through the Jeep.
Sighing, Deke caved in. Luc would figure it out sooner or later. “About two hours.”
“And you were gone for…what? Three or four hours prior to that? Damn it to hell.” Even under the streetlights, Deke could see the shame controting his cousin’s fluid features.
“Stop beating yourself up, cuz. She sounded like a very happy woman.” Luc had made her mindless, driven the woman to orgasm until her cries nearly shook the walls.
Luc sent him a sharp stare. “Did Alyssa say something to you?”
“No. She fell asleep after you bathed her. What I overheard before then made me think she fell asleep with a smile. What happened between you two?”
“You know damn well. It’s happened before.” Luc whipped a shaking hand through the tangled mess of his dark hair. “I lost my head.”
“Why beat yourself up? This doesn’t happen every time you have sex. It doesn’t even happen often. And Alyssa sounded like she was having a great time.” Luc nodded half-heartedly, reluctantly conceding the point. “Because this time the need was stronger. Alyssa was amazing. I felt… I don’t know. Connected…or something. I can’t explain it.”
He sighed, then grimaced. “I really wish I’d had more control. Alyssa was so tight.
She said she hadn’t had sex in nearly two years.”
“Really? Then why did she agree to f**k us in the first place?” After hesitating, Luc shook his head. “I doesn’t matter. I’ll send her flowers tomorrow and that will be it.”
“You’re not going to see her again?” Somehow that didn’t surprise Deke. Luc never liked to be reminded of his losses of control.
“Why do you ask? Still hot for her?” Luc slanted Deke a sly stare. “If we come back here, are you planning to f**k her?”
“No.” Deke frowned as light bulbs went off in his head. “That’s why you brought me here, isn’t it? You knew I wouldn’t f**k her.”
“I suspected. It was a gamble. If you’d touched her, I would have known that you weren’t in love with Kimber.”
Shit, now he’d dug his own grave. Luc had the proof he needed to keep needling him to try and win Kimber back. And he would be relentless.
CHAPTER 11
After the concert, the suite was packed. Band members, press members, roadies, groupies—all kinds of people crammed the hotel room that only hours ago had felt enormous. Alcohol flowed everywhere. White, powdery lines were laid out on the glass-top coffee table a few feet away. A young woman, maybe legal, knelt and sniffed. Around her, a handful of partygoers gathered, waiting their turn. In the corner, Ryan had an inebriated, braless blonde on his lap. Her ni**les stabbed her tight turquoise shirt as Ryan fondled them using one hand. His other hand snaked up her skirt, pulled her thong free, and toyed with her sex—in plain view. Kimber looked away when he unsnapped his leather pants.