Page 18 of Truly (Peachwood Falls #2)

L aina

“Look,” I say, my voice sleepy. “The sun is coming up.”

Luke brushes his fingertips over my arm as I snuggle into him. “You kept me busy tonight.” He pauses. “Last night? What’s the right word?”

I laugh and stretch, my muscles screaming for rest. Being with Luke makes Pilates seem like a walk in the park. Only, walks in the park aren’t this fun.

“Who knows,” I say, curling up against him again. “Just say that I kept you busy. Point made.”

“You kept me very busy .” He chuckles into the top of my head. “I didn’t know I had that much stamina. You must admit, I was impressive.”

“That you were. All five times . You were so impressive, in fact, that whenever you’re ready to go again, just let me know.”

His chest shakes as he chuckles again. “I need a nap and a snack first. Unless you want to put my cock in your mouth. I’m sure you can convince it to go another round.”

His hand snakes around my side and grabs my boob.

“I was kidding,” I say, grinning. “I need a nap, a snack, and a cold compress, I think.”

Muted rays of sunlight flicker into the room. The trees are illuminated from behind, creating a painting-worthy picture in the distance. The world slowly awakens, greeting us with the coziest, warmest good morning .

I yawn, wiggling around until I’m comfortable. I can’t help but notice the ink on the top part of his arm. Each thin line is crisp, marrying different shapes into one beautiful, intricate design. Tattoos aren’t something I would’ve thought Luke would do. Yet, somehow, it’s perfect.

“Tell me about these,” I say, tracing lines in his skin.

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know. What made you get them? What do they mean? Or are they random stuff you plucked off an artist’s wall?”

He takes a deep breath. “They all mean something.”

The faint catch in his voice makes me pause. There’s a chance he doesn’t want to share this with me. After all, I haven’t been in his life for a long time. Maybe some of these are to mark special events in his life that don’t involve me.

As true as it is, my heart still squeezes tight.

I’m not mad—that would be ridiculous. I’m not hurt because I was engaged to another man, for heaven’s sake.

But my heart hurts for the years we didn’t share—for all the time we spent apart, for the pain we caused—and for the wounds we didn’t help each other heal.

For the life we lived without one another.

“I think most guys get tattoos of really cool shit,” he says, running his fingers through my hair. “Mine are pretty dorky.”

I smile against him. “I definitely want to know now.”

He holds his arm so we both can see it better.

“You better not make fun of me,” he says.

“No promises.”

He rolls his eyes. “The outside line is a horseshoe. That should be self-explanatory. And there’s a p wrapped around the top of it for Poppy.”

I find the letter and press my fingertip against it.

“Inside the horseshoe are things that remind me of all the important people in my life,” he says, clearing his throat.

“There’s a daisy for my mom. She’s always growing something in her garden.

Flowers or those damn roses that make me bleed when she cons me into coming over and pruning them for her. ”

I chuckle softly.

“There’s a flag for my dad to honor his time in the military,” he says, rotating his shoulder.

There are boxing gloves for Mallet, a little crown for Kate.

” He laughs. “I had something else picked out for her, but she went with me to get this done and convinced the tattoo artist to substitute her thing out with a crown because she’s a princess. ”

“She did not.”

“Oh, she did. What she can get away with is amazing when she flutters her lashes at men. I don’t get it.” He sighs. “There’s a baseball for Chase because he taught me how to throw a ball. Sometimes, I think he used it as an excuse to hit me and not get into trouble, but whatever.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“Yes, he would.” He shakes his head, pointing at a square. “That didn’t come out great, but it’s supposed to be a Lego to represent Gavin. We spent so many hours playing with Lego when we were kids.”

I turn his arm to see the far side more clearly. “What is the last one? I can’t see it from here.”

“That one is a pumpkin.”

My eyes widen as I try to sit up. He holds me against him, burying his face in my hair. I grip his arm and pull it to me until I can see the final item.

Yup. It’s a pumpkin.

His voice from Thanksgiving, our first year together, echoes through my head. “I’m just going to start calling you pumpkin since you like it so much.”

“Luke …”

He nods, his heart pounding. Each beat taps the side of my face at the same tempo as my heart races in my chest.

I turn his arm back and forth to see if I missed any. Is that it? Just his family and … me?

“Needless to say, I didn’t expect you’d ever see that,” he says, exhaling.

“When did you get your tattoo?”

“I don’t know. Three or four years ago.”

Three or four years ago?

“Is this weird or creepy?” he asks. “I’m not sure how I would take it if I were a woman and found out an ex-boyfriend got a tattoo to remind him of me years after we’d broken up. I didn’t think about it at the time.”

He tries to keep me from getting up again, but this time, I power through. I want to see his face, to take in those beautiful green eyes, and to treasure this moment.

The sheets pool at my waist as I twist to face him.

“Weird or creepy?” I ask, grinning. “Luke, I don’t know what to think about this, but weird and creepy aren’t two words I’m considering.”

He lays a hand on my thigh. “I missed you. I missed you so fucking much. And when I was selecting something for everyone in my family, it wasn’t complete until I added you to it.

” He grins. “Even if I never saw you again, and I didn’t think I would at that point, you still belonged with me. To me, at least.”

His words touch my heart as much as the pumpkin in the horseshoe.

His genuineness blows me away. His honesty raises the bar to a level that no man will ever come close to reaching.

All those nights, I sat alone in hotel rooms and tour buses, wondering if anyone was thinking about me beyond the show I just performed …

and Luke was getting a tattoo to keep me close.

Tears well in my eyes.

I don’t think my own family would do something like this unless I paid them.

“I think it’s special, lovely, sweet, and a million other things,” I say, lacing his fingers through mine. “Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we would’ve figured things out? Are you ever curious where we might be?”

He studies our hands. “Yes and no.” He brings our fingers to his lips and kisses them.

“I think about it often. We’d probably have babies right now.

Hopefully, a little girl who looks just like you and a little boy who loves horses as much as I do.

We’d cook dinner together every night and watch documentaries while we go to sleep, and it would be so boring and absolutely perfect. ”

A single tear slides silently down my cheek.

“But you were destined for greatness, Laina. You were meant for something more than a little house in the middle of nowhere with a man who will never be able to give you all the things that you deserve. I really have nothing to offer you.”

Oh, Luke. If you only understood that you’re the only one who can offer what would make me happy… you.

That’s it. That’s why he didn’t come for me.

He doesn’t think he’s enough.

Why would he think that?

Another tear spills over the edge and travels over my lips and down my chin. Luke brushes it away with the pad of his thumb.

Doesn’t he understand that he’s more than enough for me? Doesn’t he see how good and honorable and respectable he is—and that my life is littered with snakes and rats and people ready to betray you for a check?

It’s my life that’s not good enough for him. And I hate that with every fiber of my being.

“Do you think we could make it work now?” I ask.

“I want to hear what you think.”

My lungs fill with air. I exhale slowly, thinking about the men in my life—namely my father and Tom—the two men who were supposed to love and protect me.

I gave them everything I had to give: loyalty, honesty, and transparency. I communicated as clearly as I could. I showed them respect, even when they didn’t deserve it, and gave them the benefit of the doubt more times than I can count. Yet they didn’t reciprocate any of it.

The idea of adding another man to my life when I’m in the process of removing the only two currently taking space in the lineup is frightening— except it’s Luke .

It’s not even like I’m adding him to my life because he’s always been there.

Even when I was devastated that we were done, he was always there.

After all, he was the only person I thought of when I desperately needed a safe place to land. Him . It’s always been him.

I smile. “You are the only man I can imagine trusting enough to let into my life. You understand what loving someone means.”

He grabs my other thigh and pulls me closer.

“You don’t hide things from me, Luke. And I know you won’t be manipulated by terrible stories in the media and the whispers that constantly surround me.” I grin. “You’re solid as hell.”

“So, you do think we can make it work?”

“I think there’s a lot to work out. I’m unsure what that looks like, and I know it won’t be easy. But I know that I will either be alone forever or I will be with you.”

He swallows. “You’re sure?”

“No one else understands me. I don’t think they can. You knew me before all this music stuff, and no one realizes I’m still that girl . Besides,” I say, straddling him. “My heart belongs to you. You can take it or leave it.”

“It would be really awkward if I said I wanted to leave it now that you’re rubbing your pussy against my cock, huh?”

If I thought he was serious, I’d be humiliated. But there’s no piece of his words or a single feature that isn’t playful. That isn’t full of love.

“See, that was my plan,” I say, grinding myself against him. His cock hardens as my juices coat him. “I figured if you were going to turn me down, I’d make it really hard for you to resist me.”

He grips my hips and lifts his to help the cause. “I’m still not sure how I’m going to respond. You better try harder.”

I stop moving and pout. “Oh, darn.”

He chuckles mischievously.

I lift high enough to grip his cock. It’s thick in my hand—steel wrapped in velvet. Holding his gaze, I lower myself slowly onto him.

He hisses, his eyes squeezing closed as I take him in.

Once I’m fully seated, I slowly rock my hips in a circle. “Is this helping?”

“A little.”

I laugh and grip the headboard. He cups my breasts, growling as I begin to bounce on his cock.

“I thought you needed a nap and a snack,” I joke, clenching my pussy around him.

“What happened to the cold compress?”

“Come in me, then I’ll sit in a cold bath.”

His eyes fly open. “Fucking hell.”

“ Right there ,” I say, sucking in a hasty breath. “Pound that spot.”

He meets me move for move, gripping my tits so hard it stings. The added sensation amplifies the riot firing off inside me. Fuck, I love this.

The buildup climbs dizzyingly fast, and every cell in my body braces for the impact. My thighs shake. My core is so hot it’s as if I’m swallowing fire. The top of my head might blow.

I’m … so … close … “Fuck!”

“Ride me, baby,” he says through clenched teeth. His hands find my hips again, and he moves me up and down. “Ride my dick all the way through it. Don’t stop.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” He thrusts into me from the bottom until his body goes taut. Then he begins to shake. “ Dammit .”

I fight to open my eyes to watch him fall apart.

His head presses into the pillow, exposing his throat. A low, guttural sound escapes him. The tone scratches against my already sensitive skin, sending a second orgasmic wave tumbling through me.

I pant, my hands dropping to his chest. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me onto his chest. He struggles to catch his breath, too.

“You are quite the negotiator,” he says, chuckling.

I laugh. “Does this mean you want to try to make it work?”

“This means I’m never letting you leave my life again.”

I nestle against him. Thank God for that.