Chapter 10 - Things get hot, then awkward

“Although I’d love that, that’s not what I had in mind,” Lukas said with a frown. It made his beautiful amber eyes disappear beneath thick black lashes.

His long curly hair fell on his face, and I shook my head at the urge to come closer and remove the strands.

I slightly jumped in place and made small circles with my wrists to warm up. I needed to think of something else.

“I was hoping we could go out and grab a bite to eat. You didn’t tell me where you lived, so I thought it best to meet here.”

Lukas wasn’t dressed to fight. He wore dark-washed jeans over his construction boots and a white t-shirt underneath a black jacket. My heart screamed, “Yes! Yes!” but it took everything from me to force the other words out.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve had a rough day today. I would be poor company. I’d prefer to stay here and demolish the punching bag or something.”

Lukas looked away when I turned him down. What was wrong with me? Was it too late to say yes?

I wanted to pull my hair out.

This man was making me become a complete mess.

I turned around, hoping I’d find that bastard David somewhere and I’d be able to let off some steam.

“If you’re looking to demolish stuff, I know somewhere we can go instead. Are you up for it?”

I slowly turned to face him. Lukas crossed his arms over his chest and regarded me with a glint of mischief in his eyes. It piqued my curiosity.

“Where would we go?”

Lukas’s smile broadened, and he extended his hand in my direction. “Do you trust me?”

I took it without hesitation and followed him outside to a parked JEEP.

Oh dear Lord, what was I doing?

“You must be out of your mind,” I muttered when Lukas opened the passenger door and left me alone in the car while he circled it to climb aboard.

The vehicle was clean and still smelled like a new car. It wasn’t old by the look of it. I momentarily wondered if anyone had ever sat in the front passenger seat.

Lukas started the engine and drove us out of town. I looked at myself and asked if I was dressed appropriately for whatever he had planned. I should have brought a spare change of clothes.

I stopped my chain of thoughts when the JEEP hit a dirt road and became bumpy. I shot a concerned glance in Lukas’s direction. I had known him only for a few days, and I was in his car, going somewhere mysterious.

Shit… I groaned and blamed it all on my stupid hormones and the fact that he looked like a sex god. I had a hard time saying “no” to him. I would never have let myself get into a position like this in the past. I was a bright girl, but I now have doubts about it.

When Lukas saw me eat the skin around my nails with worry, he laughed and gently placed a hand on my left thigh. My rigid body tensed even more, and a deep laugh escaped Lukas’s throat.

“I won’t kill you and leave you in a ditch.”

“Am I doing a face that gives exactly that impression?” I sheepishly asked and stared at his thumb, making circles against my legging.

“No, but I can imagine how this looks in your mind. I would never harm you, Max. I promise. We’re here to have some fun.”

Lukas pulled left on another dirt road. We were getting deeper into the forest. When we emerged into a clearing, a quaint little cabin appeared before us, illuminated by the JEEP’s headlights. It looked run down but had a solid frame and a good roof. Besides the house, there was a covered trailer with an extensive LR construction and demolition logo on its side.

“Is that your company?” I asked while pointing to the trailer.

“Yes. I’m restoring this place,” Lukas said with a proud smile. “When you said you wanted to demolish someone, I immediately thought of this cabin!”

Lukas shut the engine and beckoned me inside the small building. He moved over to the far end and opened two work lamps attached to a tripod. Tiny specs of dust drifted in the air.

He then produced a pair of work gloves and gave them to me, followed by an enormous sledgehammer. He held it like it weighed nothing, and when Lukas dropped it in my hands, I wasn’t expecting the weight, and it fell with a loud thud on the bare wood floor. This made him laugh.

“See that wall over there? You’re going to take it down. Think you can do it?”

I snorted at his question and quickly picked up the hammer to examine the wall. It wasn’t made with drywall but with thin wooden planks nailed to the 2X4s.

“Do you also have a crowbar at hand?” A sledgehammer might help start the job, but it would probably be best to finish with a crowbar to remove all those nails that would ultimately stick out once everything was destroyed.

When I turned to face Lukas, his eyes had a playful gleam, accompanied by a slight upward curve in the corner of his mouth.

“What?” I asked, placing a hand on my hip.

Lukas shook his head and hid his hands in worn-out construction gloves.

He stepped before me, his chest brushing against my breasts, making my heart hammer with excitement.

I inhaled sharply when I felt my nipples pebble under my shirt. I hated the way my body responded to him.

Fuck. Fuckety, fuck!

“I do. It’s on the left. Oh, and don’t forget this,” Lukas leaned down and placed protective goggles over my eyes. “I’ll be in the kitchen removing the tiles. Let me know if you need anything.” He winked, then left me alone.

I closed my eyes and sighed. God, I really wanted him to kiss me.

I swung the hammer, shoved it deep within the wooden planks and twisted it out. I hammered it hard again, and each time, I tried to squish the awful feeling that didn’t stop surfacing—deception.

I yanked the sledgehammer away and pounded into the wall with more force. Deception for the Umbridge case I couldn’t solve right away. Another hit of metal on planks. Deception for not controlling my emotions when I was around Lukas. I wrenched the tool out and broke more siding. I wanted to scream. Deception of everything I had no control over.

I turned to face the wall and groaned furiously.

A flood of memories surfaced and weakened me. I remembered growing up in a different foster home almost monthly. Having to depend on monstrous people who didn’t care if I lived or died, just so long as they could collect their monthly cheque for having taken me in.

I grew a thicker shell to drown out those flashbacks and continued to ram the hammer into the wall with all my strength.

I hit a 2X4, and the force of it made the hammer vibrate painfully in my hands. I let it fall to the ground and looked at the split 2X4 that would need to be replaced.

Damn it.

Why was I even thinking about those things? I made sure I wouldn’t need anyone in my life and would be independent and responsible when I left foster care at sixteen. I didn’t understand why I wanted so badly for Lukas to take care of me. I didn’t need a man, regardless of how much I was attracted to him. My fucked-up self was quite enough. But annoyingly, that seemed no longer accurate.

Lukas popped his head from the kitchen at the sound of my cursing. He looked at the wreckage I had made, then at his watch, and his eyes rounded.

“Wow. You did quick work on that. I was sure it would keep you busy for at least forty-five minutes.”

When Lukas saw the state of my face, I realized my emotions were showing. His amber eyes were scanning every inch of me, looking to see if I was hurt or why I was distressed. He took a few steps in my direction but hesitated.

I could no longer bear it. I jerked the work gloves off my hands and rapidly sprinted toward Lukas. I jumped on him, linking my fingers behind his neck, and crashed my lips on his.

My legs went around his muscular waist, and I felt Lukas’s arms hold me in place while he savagely welcomed my mouth and pressed my head closer to deepen our kiss.

My blood was singing inside me, and I shuddered at his rough touch. It appeared as though he had been holding back as well.

The muscles on his back rolled under my touch, and his body melted into mine. We were puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.

Lukas backed us into the kitchen and swiped his arm over the counter. I heard power tools and broken construction materials fall on the ground, and he sat me on the now-free surface.

I tightened my legs around him, not wanting us to part. His hands slid up my back, and one of them twirled around my ponytail. When my hair was firmly twisted in his hold, Lukas yanked my head back and trailed ravenous kisses along the length of my jaw and down my neck. His other hand dropped over my breast, and he kneaded it gently.

I was getting drunk from his scent and touch.

My fingers fumbled while searching for the hem of his t-shirt. When I found it, I pulled it up and looked down at his naked torso. There were scars, strangely resembling claw marks, starting at the top of his pectoral and ending close to his navel. There were more on his shoulders and ribs. I traced my fingers over the thick, healed skin and wondered when he had gotten them.

I slid my hand lower over his abdomen and cupped his erection through his jeans.

We were both panting when Lukas detached himself from me and backed away. His eyes were yellow, but I thought I had imagined it. It must have been caused by the bad lighting.

Lukas quickly turned around and bent to pick up the t-shirt I had removed.

“This was a bad idea,” he said, stretching the t-shirt back over his head. I noticed his whole body was shaking. “I’ll bring you back to Sal’s.”

His words hurt me, and I dropped from the counter. I smoothed away my hair and tugged on my clothes while trying to suppress the humiliating feeling that bloomed inside my stomach.

We didn’t exchange any other words while he drove me back into town, and Lukas dashed away in his JEEP the moment I was out of it.

The sting of his rejection left a bitter taste in my mouth. I removed my t-shirt and threw it in a garbage bin. It smelled like Lukas and sawdust, and I didn’t want to think of him and what had happened.

The streets were quiet as I ran back to my place and prepared myself for a sleepless night of tossing, turning, and wondering what I had done wrong.