Fleeting Moments by Bella Jewel
“That’s quite a predicament,” Dad says, his eyes wide.
“Yes, Darren, it is.”
Mom looks to me. “I’m so sorry, Lucy.”
I smile weakly.
“Me too, love.”
“I do ask that you keep this to yourselves. I’m taking more than a big risk telling you this information, but I wanted”—Heath looks to me, his eyes finding mine—“to prove to Lucy that she’s worth taking the biggest risk of all for.”
Oh my god.
“Oh my,” Mom gasps. “Our Lucy is lucky to have you on her side.”
Dad shakes his head. “You have our word, son. As far as we know, you do not exist.”
Heath drags his eyes away from mine. “I appreciate that very much. I’d also appreciate if you’d give me the permission to take your daughter with me now. I’d really like to spend some time with her.”
“Absolutely!” Mom cries.
I giggle.
“Of course,” Dad says, and we all stand. “But please, take care of her heart. I’m sure you know she’s recently separated from her husband.”
“You have my word.”
They shake hands, and I hug them both before following Heath out the door. He walks to a massive black truck. “Leave your car here. Tonight, you’re coming with me.”
“I am?” I whisper.
He turns and cups my face. “You are.”
Yippee!
~*~*~*~
Heath takes me to a warehouse out of town and down a dirt road. It’s secluded, that’s for sure—you wouldn’t be able to find it unless you were looking. He parks, and we climb out. There are lights on inside, and I can hear the faint rumble of music trailing out through the open windows.
“Do you live here?” I ask, taking his hand.
“Kind of. Listen, I’ve told them you’re coming, so you need to understand that some of them aren’t happy about me telling you, but they understand why I did. You need to promise your secrecy, Lucy.”
I look to him. “What the hell am I going to walk into?”
“Do I have your word?”
“Of course,” I whisper. “Of course you do.”
He nods, and we walk towards the warehouse. We enter through a front door and step into a massive space that’s all open. There are pool tables in the middle, some cars parked off to the left, a huge television with chairs in front of it, a kitchen, and four men standing in the middle, all silent as they watch us come in. I swallow and let my gaze fall on them.
Oh. My. God.
I know even before Heath opens his mouth that at least two of these men are related to him somehow. I clutch Heath’s hand harder as he pulls me towards them. Two study me with curiosity; the other two simply scowl at me. Heath brings me closer and stops in front of them.
“Guys, meet Lucy. Lucy, meet my two brothers, and my two best mates.”
His brothers. His best mates. Sweet Jesus.
He points to the first guy on his left. This man has green eyes, and his hair is flowing around his shoulders in thick brown waves. He’s taller than Heath, but leaner. His features seem sharper, too. “This is Blake, my best friend from the force.” His finger trails to the next one, who is short and muscly as all hell. He’s also incredibly handsome. His hair is brown, but still dark, and his eyes are blue. “This is Sheldon, my other best friend.” He moves to the third one, who is by far, the most attractive out of the four men standing in front of me. I probably think that because he’s the spitting image of Heath.
Spitting.
Twins.
“This is my twin, Johnny.”
The only difference between the two is that Johnny has hair cropped short on his head. Otherwise, it’s like looking at Heath.
“And this is my brother, Tank.”
Tank? Seriously.
I drag my eyes away from Johnny and stare at Tank. He’s scary. Seriously scary. He’s bigger than all of the men, by far, and that’s saying something because Johnny and Heath are huge. His muscles bulge from his shirt, and his black hair is also cropped short. He has the same silver eyes as Heath and Johnny, but his are cold and scary. He’s scary. But absolutely beautiful.
“Ah,” I finally squeak. “Hi.”
“The troublemaker,” Blake says, a sly smile creeping across his face. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
I laugh nervously.
“At least she’s pretty,” Sheldon points out. “Nice to meet you, Lucy.”
“You too.”
“She shouldn’t fucking be here,” Johnny snaps.
“I agree,” Tank growls.
Oh, boy. The best friends like me. The brothers do not.
“Well she’s fuckin’ here, and she knows, and she’s not going to say anything so you need to back down,” Heath warns.
“You’re playing with fire, Heath,” Johnny seethes. “If he finds out what we’re doing . . .”
“He won’t,” Heath hisses through his teeth.
“She better keep her mouth shut,” Tank mutters, glaring at me.
That was a threat. I swallow.
“I won’t say anything,” I manage.
“Funny, you’ve been runnin’ around causin’ shit for weeks now.” Johnny grunts, grabbing a beer and walking out before any of us can answer.
“Come on,” Heath says, taking my hand and jerking me towards the back of the warehouse.
He shoves through a door and we step into a rather large room. It has a king-sized bed in the middle, a private bathroom attached, and a huge sofa, with a television opposite.
“Is this your room?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“You live with your brothers and friends?”
“Yeah.”
“Are your brothers cops, too?”
“No, just Sheldon and Blake.”
I shift uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, Heath. I didn’t . . . I didn’t realize it was this bad.”
“I know that, honey.” He sighs, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me down onto the sofa. I fall onto his lap and for a few minutes, I let him just hold me.
“They don’t like me,” I whisper against his shirt.
“They’re just worried. They’ll come around.”
“Are you the oldest of your brothers?”
He grunts. “No, youngest. Tank is the oldest here. Then it’s Johnny and I.”
The oldest here. That has so many questions popping into my mind. “So there are three of you in your family?”
“Four.”
Four? I turn and study him. “Four?”
“Yeah. There is one more who’s older than all of us.”
“Where is he?”
His face hardens.
Oh.
“Did you lose him?” I say softly.
“No, he’s still very much alive.” He says that in a way that basically tells me he’s not going to give any more information, so I don’t push.
“I’m sorry I’ve created such a mess for you.”
“Worth every second,” he says, nuzzling my hair.
“Heath?”
“Mmmm?”
“What are we doing here?”
“Don’t know, baby. But I like it.”
Baby.
God.
I can’t get enough of this man.
CHAPTER 15
“Gotta stop, honey,” Heath murmurs as my lips trail down his throat.
I pull back, hot and bothered, but mostly confused. His hands are under my shirt, but he slowly pulls them out.
“What do you mean stop?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No. Fuck no.” He sits us up, shifting so his erection is no longer pressed against me. “Believe me, I don’t want to stop, but . . .”
I look away, shame rising in my cheeks.
“Hey,” he prompts, moving so he catches my eye. “Listen to me.”
Feeling insecure, I turn my head back but can only bring my eyes to his chest.
“
My eyes move up to his. “What?” I whisper.
“I respect the hell out of you, and I shouldn’t have fucked you last night. Not because I didn’t want to, but because you’ve barely stepped out of a marriage, you’ve seen awful shit, and we hardly know each other. If you were any other woman, I’d likely not care, but it’s you and I do.”
He’s slowing down . . . for me?
“You’re not going to sleep with me again because of the situation?”
He cups my jaw. “No, because I respect you. You’re not the kind of woman to just be thrown on her back. Shit, Lucy, I’ve never met anyone like you, and I want to keep getting to know you. Until we know each other a little better and all this shit is over, I think the right thing to do is not sleep together again.”
My heart explodes, not with shame or anger, but with absolute admiration for the man beneath me. No one has ever, not ever, respected me like that in my life. My entire body swells with happiness, and a tear rolls down my cheek.
He reaches up, swiping it away with his thumb. “I know you’ve been feelin’ guilty about it, on top of everything else you’ve been through, but you shouldn’t have to feel guilty about it.”
“I don’t regret it,” I croak.
“I know that, but we’re going to give this some time, yeah?”
“Does that mean I don’t get to see you?”
He grunts. “You’re in it with me now, honey. I’m not keeping away.”
I smile and grab his face in my hands. “Do I get to kiss you?”
“As much as you want.”
I lean forward and press his lips against mine, a soft, short kiss. Then I pull back and roll off, lying beside him. “Does this mean I get to ask questions about you?”
He groans.
I chuckle.
“If you must, but I’ll only answer the non-serious ones.”
I huff. “No fair.”
“I didn’t say I played fair.”
“All right.” I grin. “What’s your favorite food?”
His mouth twitches, and he shifts us so I’m tucked against his chest and we’re snuggled together on the bed.
“This is going to sound weird,” he begins. “But it’s . . . cheesecake.”
I smother a giggle. “How very masculine.”
“It gets worse.” He grunts. “Strawberry cheesecake.”
The giggle bursts forth, and he pinches me softly.
“I can’t help it; I have a sweet tooth.”
“Okay, cheesecake boy, what’s your favorite color?”
“Red.”
Hmmm. Red would highlight his beautiful silver eyes.
“My turn,” he says. “Fair is fair.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
“What’s your favorite food?”
“That’s easy. Hot dogs.”
He snorts. “Seriously?”
“Hey, yours is cheesecake. Don’t be judgy.”
“Fair call. And favorite color?”
I snuggle closer. “Purple. My turn. What’s your favorite quality in a person?”
“Honesty,” he says, his voice firm. “All the way.”
“And your pet hate?”
He thinks on that. “Liars.”
The way he says that makes my body more than aware of the anger simmering off him, but I let it go. “Your turn,” I say softly.
“Same questions,” he says, his voice a little less tense.
“Okay, my favorite quality in a person is loyalty, and my pet hate is shady people, the ones that just dance around the truth instead of saying it.”
“Good call. Those people are fucked.”
I smile, shaking my head softly. “Okay, do you like to read?”
“Nope.”
“What’s your favorite movie?”
“Don’t watch television.”
I push up from his chest and stare down at him. “Seriously?”
He nods. “Seriously.”
“What do you do for fun?”
He grins.
I roll my eyes. “God, you’re an animal. Okay, so you don’t watch TV, you don’t read, let me guess—you listen to the radio?”
His grin gets bigger.
“How old are you?” I joke.
“Thirty-five.”
Okay, well, that wasn’t actually a question, but I’ll take it. He isn’t much older than me, thank god.
“You?” he prompts.
“Twenty-seven.”
He strokes my jaw. “Just a baby.”
I grunt. “Hardly.”
“Enough questions for tonight,” he says, taking my body and tucking it beneath his as he rolls on top of me.
“I thought we weren’t having sex?” I breathe, staring at his lips.
“We’re not, we’re going to kiss until our lips hurt.”
I flush.
No complaints from me.
~*~*~*~
Blood explodes, landing on me as I crawl along the ground. It’s sticky and it smells awful. Tears roll down my cheeks as I try to escape it, but it just keeps coming, big, thick flows of it, falling all over me. I sob and inhale, taking some into my throat. I can’t breathe. People won’t stop screaming. I choke and choke, blood spilling from my lips.
“Help,” I scream. “Please help me!”
“No one can help you now,” he says, and I look up into his terrifying eyes. His gray hair seems so stark in the moonlight.
“No, go away. You can’t hurt me. Go away.”
He smiles. “It’s time to join Hayley. I’m in desperate need of someone with a little fight.”
“No,” I scream as his fingers curl around my arms.
More blood flows into my mouth.
“No, please.”
“Lucy!”
Someone is shaking me. I lash out, clawing, desperate to get free. “No, let me go, please!”
“It’s me, Lucy. It’s me. Calm down. You’re dreaming.”
I’m shaken again, and my eyes flow open. It takes me a few minutes to realize I’m in Heath’s arms, clutching his shirt. I’m panting and covered in sweat. I blink a few times, letting the dream slip from my mind. With every passing second, it becomes clearer where I am and who I’m with. I glance at Heath, who studies me with a concerned expression, then I turn my head and see all four men standing at his door, two of them half-naked, the others with sleep-ruffled hair.
I woke them.
“I’m,” I croak. “I’m . . .”
Shame floods my cheeks and tears well under my eyelids. I scurry out of Heath’s arms and throw myself off the bed, landing on my feet and scrambling backwards. I’m wearing only a pair of panties and a tank. Great. My cheeks burn and I rush towards the door, needing fresh air before I choke. The men part and I rush past them, my hair flowing as I run away.
“Lucy!” Heath calls.
I run to the door and burst out, letting the cool night air hit my face and wake me up. Hysterical tears threaten to explode, and I feel like a damned idiot. Those men don’t even know me and now I’m waking them all up with these nightmares that have plagued me since the attack. I rush to a patch of grass and lower down, squatting with my arms around my knees. I focus on breathing. I need to breathe.
“Hey,” Heath says, squatting down beside me. “Hey, come on honey. Come inside.”
“Just leave me, Heath,” I rasp. “Please.”
“I’m not leaving you out here alone.”
“Leave!” I scream so loudly I scare myself. An angry tear rolls down my cheek.
“No,” he says firmly. “So yell away.”
“God dammit. I don’t want you to see me like this,” I hiss, staring back at the ground.
“It’s okay, Lucy girl. Nobody cares that you’re having dreams. They’re not judging you.”
“I woke them all up. Like they don’t hate me enough already.”
??
I shoot a glare in his direction. “They do hate me, because I’m ruining whatever little plan you’ve got going on here.”
“Come on, stop it.”
“Shit,” I whisper, squeezing my eyes closed. “Nothing is going right for me.”
“Come inside. It’s cold out here and you’re half naked.”
I glance down at my bare legs and sigh, standing. I walk back towards the warehouse and straight past the four men, who have obviously given up on sleep and are now sitting on the sofas with beers in their hands. I keep my head low as I charge back to Heath’s room.
“I have nightmares, too.”
I stop at the rugged voice, but don’t turn around. I think it’s Blake speaking, but I could be wrong.
I say nothing.
“One day, they won’t be there anymore. You just have to tell yourself that someday soon, you’re going to wake up without them.”
My bottom lip quivers, and I say a soft, “Thanks.” Then I disappear into Heath’s room.
A moment later he emerges, wearing only a pair of jeans. I hadn’t noticed before in my panic to leave. My eyes find his, and he comes and sits by me on the bed. For a while, neither of us says anything, but finally he speaks. “Get some rest; you need it. I’ll lie with you.”
“Heath?” I croak.
“Yeah?”
“Is he right? Is there going to come a day when I wake up without them?”
He reaches over and takes hold of my hand, engulfing it with his. “Yeah, baby. You just have to hang onto faith.”
“I don’t know if I believe in faith anymore.”
“Never let another person or action take away your beliefs, Lucy girl. No action, man or nature, is worth the loss of that.”
I look to him. “You can go and sit with the guys.”
“No,” he says, pulling me into his arms. “I’m staying with you.”
God dammit, this man just keeps getting better and better.
There is just no way I’m not falling in love with him.