Always Running (MATURE CONTENT)

CHAPTER 16

Nessa froze. Her body nearly went limp as she let him go and removed the knife from his neck. "What are you doing here?"

Lucas turned around and saw the frightened state she was in. "This brings back memories," he said, pointing at her knife.

Nessa dropped her knife and lunged herself at him and hugged him tight as she let out tears of relief. It wasn't Justin, it wasn't Justin, she kept telling herself. She pulled away enough to be able to kiss Lucas and that time he responded and deepened the kiss. After devouring her mouth for a few moments, Lucas broke the kiss and looked at her still frightened eyes.

"I thought I told you to go home."

Nessa laughed and kissed him some more.

After taking Nessa against the wall and making love to her hard, Lucas got her safely in his truck and began the drive home.

"Why did you run?" Lucas asked knowing full well the answer to his question, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"You didn't kiss me back." Her voice was a whisper, the pain of the memory once again hitting her. "Your rejection cut me to the soul, and I couldn't take it, Mac."

He smiled at his nickname coming off her lips. "I didn't reject you. I had a lot on my mind, and I was fighting with my own demons. I want you all the time, Nessa. Every single moment of the day I think about making love to you, sweet and tender and rough and every way that you'll let me make love to you."

Nessa's body began to respond to his words and her cheeks became flushed.

Lucas' laugh roared. "I'll pull over if you need me to," he said, teasing.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and snuggled up to Lucas' hard and warm body.

"A few minutes after you left my office, I realized that not responding to you was a mistake. Then Henry called me to inform me that you never went down, and I knew you were running again." His voice was pained. Nessa took his right hand and held it between both of hers.

"How did you find me?" She leaned her head on his shoulder and breathed in deep, loving the smell that was Lucas. It was a mixture of his fresh cologne and his own scent. It was simply divine.

"My mother told me to check all the train and bus stations. I sent men each direction you bought a ticket for."

Nessa sat up straight and faced Lucas with a serious look on her face. "A state trooper found me. Why would a state trooper find me?"

Lucas knew that she would want to know, and he would have to tell her. She was however on a need-to-know basis and there were a lot of things that she didn't need to know yet and perhaps never would.

"Joe works for me on the side," Lucas said. He gauged her body's reaction. She didn't stiffen or become stressed in any way.

"Oh." Nessa leaned her head on his shoulder once again and closed her eyes never letting go of his hand.

CHOICES. Life was all about choices. Should you go to college? What car should you buy? Is marriage really for you or would you rather stay single? Do you stay with the man that has given you the one thing you have always wanted, always wondering what he really does and not trusting him completely because of his secrets or do you stay with the man that has given you the one thing you have always wanted, accepting him completely and trusting that he would never let anything, or anyone hurt you? Yes. Life was made up of one choice after another.

Nessa had had her hunch that Lucas was a businessman that didn't follow the law to the T. She honestly didn't care what Lucas did to make his money as long as it didn't involve hurting women or children and she was almost one hundred percent sure that he didn't, however that was a discussion that she wanted to have with him at a later time. All she wanted was for Lucas to be honest with her and not keep her in the dark. She wanted to be a part of his business and personal life. She didn't want to be kept in the dark like Justin had always done with her. She needed to be all in or all out and that was a choice that she would give Lucas.