Midnight Daffodil (Poisonous Petals #1)

Chapter 11Luke

eleven

LUKE

“ W hat a fucking night.” Aidan blew a raspberry as we cruised down the street around the side of the building. He chatted it up casually as usual, glancing at the monitor attached to the dash, checking license plates as we drove by parked cars.

I gripped the door popper in my hand, mindlessly toying with the device as Aidan drove.

“Aidan, you gotta watch your speed,” I said, sounding my age. He continued to fly through the streets, glancing at the technology we had at our fingertips every two seconds.

“Yeah, yeah.” He grinned, looking down again. As his eyes flickered off the road for a split second, mine landed on the chaotic tumble of curls. Her eyes, wide with fear, locked onto mine as she darted into the vehicle's path.

“Fuck! Aidan!” I yanked the wheel hard, veering the SUV onto the curb, barely avoiding a collision with a mailbox.

Aidan's eyes went wide with terror as he slammed on the brakes, his face contorting in shock. The door popper flew from my grasp, hitting the windshield with a loud smack, just as my face crashed into the passenger side window. The SUV flung open, with Rev sailing out of it. Meanwhile, Aidan's face smashed into the steering wheel, the sickening crunch of his nose shattering like a brittle twig.

Metal screeching and bodies slamming subsided into piercing silence. The hissing tide of blood rushing through my ears ebbed, giving way to the harsh sound of Rev’s retching, jolting me back to reality. I spun my exhausted body to see the door hanging wide open, no sign of Rev, only the haunting echo of his distress lingering.

“Son of a bitch.” Aidan spat blood. My heart thundered in my chest, like a bass drum colliding against my ribs.

My memory slammed into me with brutal force.

Olivia was in the street.

Kicking open the door, I stumbled out, running on pure adrenaline. My head raged with pain. Rev had been thrown from the car; vomit coated the street reeking of kibble.

Where’s my dog? Where’s Olivia?

Panic came in waves.

Fucking Aidan, dicking off as usual nearly got us all killed.

I spotted them both. Olivia lay in a heap on the ground; her chest heaved as her wide eyed gaze stared, unblinking. Rev was no worse for wear, panting beside her, nudging her face with his paw.

“Olivia.” I made it to her in a heartbeat. I gently lifted her body off the street, cradling her in my arms. “I’m right here. Talk to me.” She blinked rapidly, sucking in a breath. “I need to know you’re okay.”

The shock wore off in seconds as her eyes met mine in a smoldering chocolate gaze. “I think I’m okay.”

Relief surged through me. Aidan stumbled out of the driver’s seat, his heavy footsteps echoing as he gasped desperately for fresh air.

“Yeah, I’m okay too, guys. Don’t worry over here.” He laughed even though his voice held a noticeable quiver.

Dumb fuck.

The subtle click of a door dragged my attention from Olivia. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know. I just ran.” Her gaze went to the metal door that stared back at us in secrecy.

I hugged her body closer to me instinctively. “Can you walk?”

Her head bobbed.

I stood with her in my arms. Regretfully, I set her back on her feet, and we made our way back to the cruiser. Rev trotted happily, uninjured, hopping into the backseat. I helped Olivia get settled in.

There was no way I was letting her go this time.

Or ever.

I’d deal with Aidan’s dumbass later for almost running her over. That could wait.

After giving the cruiser a once over, I got in the driver’s seat and pulled away from the curb to head back to the station. The silence was thick save for Rev’s heavy breathing. We made it there in record time, with the station’s bright lights burning my retinas.

Olivia’s head lulled to one side against the window, looking peaceful. Beautiful. Mine. Her dark lashes rested on her full cheeks as I opened the door for her. Supporting her body, she rested softly in my arms. Eyes the size of saucers fluttered open, and a smile pulled at her lips upon seeing me.

“There’s a nurse here,” I told her. “We should all get checked over.” She agreed and stepped carefully out of the vehicle.

The three of us filed into the sterile and silent station. Aidan and I led the way to the back corridor, past the break rooms, where our in-house nurse spent most of her days and even more nights. We knocked on the already open door to be greeted by a woman in her forties.

“Got a full house tonight.” Sandra laughed as we shuffled in. She was a sweet woman who was amazing at her job.

One by one, she looked us over. My pleas to have Olivia go first fell on deaf ears. Sandra refused to pass up Aidan, who bled profusely with flaps of flesh hanging off his face.

Aidan fucked himself up.

“That, my good sir, is going to leave one hell of a scar.” She tsked as she cleaned the wound. His eyes were swelling into dark, bruised orbs, giving him a nightmarish clown appearance with a nose smeared in blood red, completing the unsettling look.

“You need to go to the hospital ASAP,” she scolded him. Guilt coursed over his features. Aidan hated fucking up at the job and punished himself more than Lampton ever could.

When it was my turn, the verdict was bruising and a knot that would throb for a fucking week. I made a mental note to take Rev to the vet since he probably took the biggest hit when he went flying from the cruiser.

Finally, Olivia’s turn came. Sandra’s pale skin was a stark contrast to Olivia’s natural tan. I watched silently, mesmerized by Olivia’s features, as Sandra turned her face over in her hands and examined her.

“Was this all from today?” she asked. Her finger smoothed over a yellowing bruise.

Olivia’s cheeks reddened as her gaze flicked to me, then back.

Sandra took a tiny flashlight out from one of the drawers behind her, shining it into the bruised eye. Olivia’s gaze shimmered with the warmth of molten caramel and chocolate, radiating a comforting sense of home.

The type that you want looking up at you while that wet pink tongue licks across those full lips.

Shit.

I adjusted myself subtly. Feeling like a joke, I sat there with my dick half hard, thinking about cramming it down her throat. I wanted to bring her to her knees, but I had a feeling she’d bring me to mine first.

“Now, I’m no eye doctor, but it looks like you have a tear on your cornea,” Sandra explained, her tone professional.

Olivia’s head moved up and down politely as the cold truth set in. Matt caused that. I could fill oceans with the regret that flooded every cell in my body.

I should’ve killed him that night.

Small talk dwindled as we made our way out, ready to put the night behind us. Aidan and I called Lampton to let him know we were taking the rest of the night off. He demanded to see the dashcam footage but was glad we were all fine. Aidan practically pissed himself with worry over what this meant for him.

“Aidan, it’s fine. It could happen to any of us,” I told him.

“Do you think I’m gonna get canned, bossman? Are they gonna suspend me?” His voice cracked, which should’ve been funny, but unlike him, I knew the time and place. Aidan wasn’t at his best tonight, but he was one of the good ones.

“Aidan, I disfigured a man.” I paused as the memories flashed before his eyes. “He needed surgery after I was through. And I still have a job. You’ll be fine. It’s protocol for them to check everything. No one was seriously hurt,” I reassured him. “Go to the ER, get patched up, and go home.”

I saw him off to his personal vehicle and watched him pull onto the street.

We were alone.

I turned to her, my cheeks heating up as I struggled to speak. My tongue felt thick in my mouth. I fiddled with my vest and stared at my shoes, unable to meet her gaze.

“I can’t go back there tonight,” she spoke first. “But I dunno where to go.” Her eyes peered up at me through dark lashes. “Please don’t make me go back.” Her little hand gripped mine. My fingers curled around hers, imprinting the way she felt against me to memory.

“If it were up to me, I’d never let you go back to that place,” I said, my voice raw with emotion. “Did you want to go to a hotel? A friends? I’ll take you wherever you tell me to.”

Something in her eyes changed as she looked at me. “I don’t want to see other people.”

I didn’t want to read into what she was or wasn’t saying. “Uh…” Fuck, I sounded stupid as shit.

“Do you have an extra room I could stay in for the night?” she asked. Her voice blended pleading and something else I couldn't quite place. I wanted to believe it was desire, but who the fuck was I kidding? I could only dream.

“Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat. “Yeah, I do, that’s fine. We can, uh, go back to my place. Yeah. That’s fine. Yeah.”

Dear God, Luke, shut the actual fuck up.

I walked over with her to the Tundra. Rev jumped in eagerly. Olivia’s stature was so small she could barely reach the oh shit! handle to hoist herself up. I helped lift her in, and images of all the ways I could bend her little body under me flooded my mind's eye.

My dick swelled at the explicit scenes playing in my head. God damn, get your shit together, Luke. If there was even a slight chance, I refused to fuck it up by thinking with my cock, no matter how much of my blood rushed away from my main head.

Sliding into the driver's seat, I revved the engine and pulled out, heading back to my place. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel. The tight sensation was equivalent to what my balls currently felt. I turned onto the back road as the country station’s soft twang quietly played in the background. She hummed off-key in the cutest way to one of my favorite songs.

She giggled, which sounded better than any song I’d ever heard. I saw her shift cross-legged on my seat. “What are you chuckling about?” Her tone was playful. I hadn’t even realized I let that slip.

“I just would’ve never pinged you for a country fan, that’s all.” I felt the warmth of her touch as she ran her finger along my bicep absentmindedly. I throbbed with desire for her.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” she said, rolling her eyes.

For a second there, I thought about what I had said. And how it must have come off.

Goddamn it.

“No, I just, I didn’t mean cuz you’re, no.” Half my foot went down my throat. “Not because of any reason, in particular, I just. I don’t know what I meant. I don't know what I’m even saying.”

Fuck, I’m a loser.

Everything I’d spewed in the last five seconds could’ve been taken so wrong—tons of people of all backgrounds liked country music. In my stupid mind, I was thinking about her and Vera listening to pop music. Thank God I didn’t blurt out that I followed her that night like a freak.

I really am fucked in the head when it comes to her.

The heat was intense, and a burning desire consumed me sitting so close to her. The gorgeous sound of her laughter sprinkled my senses. As I pulled into the garage, my hands were all over the place, fumbling for the gear shift.

“I’m just teasing. It’s okay.”

Finally figuring out how to put the truck in park, I turned and faced her. She stared at me intently while a Faith Hill song played softly on the radio. The lyrics cleansed me of the shit night, replacing my thoughts with softer ones.

“I like this one too,” she whispered. Her hand found mine and squeezed it. “Thank you for letting me stay here. I don’t mean to be a burden.”

My hand moved to her face. “You’re never a burden.”

She leaned into my touch as her eyes lingered on mine. The blubbering dumb ass sitting with the hottest girl in the world? Who would’ve thought?

The air was thick with a sensuality so intense, it took everything in me to keep my hands from wandering. Show her how good a man could make her feel. How good I could make her feel with just two fingers.

Fuck, I was a pig. My cock was brick, leaving me unable to think.

“Let me take you inside,” I choked out. Her cheeks flushed.

Was she feeling it, too?

My dick was trying to bust through. The head stung as it pushed against the zipper. Her body moved, sending a wave of the most intoxicating scent toward me. A sweet mix of creamy strawberry and gardenia stuck to my nostrils. I could bathe in her. Drown in her. As I stepped around the truck, her body was so close that I could feel heat radiating from her.

“Lead the way, Sergeant.” Her voice was a whisper that dripped sex.

Fuck, she was going to unravel me.