More of You

Chapter 16

Harper awoke in the middle of the night screaming and fighting off an invisible assailant. She was dripping with sweat and her heart was about to beat out of her chest because the dream was so vivid. She had forgotten that Luke had agreed to stay and when his hand reached out and touched her shoulder another scream escaped her as she tried to fight him off.

"Harper!" he called out over her struggling form, but she was to upset to hear him. "Harper, it's me Luke, you asked me to stay, remember?"

She froze, turning to look at him and then broke down into tears once more. Realizing that she wasn't going to try to punch him, he gathered her close once more and let her cry.

"I think it's time you talk about it Harper," he insisted as he looked down at her and brushed her hair behind her ear.

But she refused to say anything as she sniffed into her chest.

"Fine," he said after a moment, "I'll do the talking then. Maybe if I ask a few questions it will be easier for you to find a place to start?" He looked down at her and waited for her to agree.

She nodded and wiped her eyes in an attempt to be strong.

"When Brooks George was talking to the police I heard him say he caught you red-handed, that you were having an affair with him and it was all the proof he needed? Who did he mean, who were you having an affair with?"

"No one, it wasn't me, I'm not having an affair with anyone, it was Mindy, I agreed to meet her and Richard for Lunch and he must have been following Richard," she denied.

"Richard? Is this the Richard that your sister mentioned at your apartment a while back?"

"Yes, Richard Davies." Harper felt Luke tense as she said the name. "I know," she agreed with his surprise, "they didn't start dating until last fall, and Richard wants to tell everyone but Mindy is too afraid. She thinks father will disown her when he finds out."

"You realize that both of them are taking a huge chance, and that due to their relationship George might have a chance to reopen this case by saying that he got bad legal advice from Richard about his chances with the case? He could argue that Richard was influenced by Mindy"

Harper nodded. "But Mindy and Richard didn't even know that George and his case would be a problem. The case was over two years ago. There was never an issue until George saw me and Mindy with Richard."

"Doesn't matter, the fact is that he has seen you, and he is going to open all of it back up again. Your sister would have been better off being honest from the start, at least there would have been a time line that everyone could vouch for. Now the secrecy behind their dating takes on an entirely new meaning."

Harper listened to the words as they rumbled through Luke's chest and she nodded.

"But he doesn't know about Mindy and Richard," she insisted.

"No, and I could kill your sister for making you a target in this. As usual, you rushing forward to help has landed you in trouble. I bet she will come to you in the next day or so and try to convince you that you should pretend to be dating Richard until they have a chance to figure it out."

"She wouldn't do that!" Harper defended.

Luke ignored her outburst. "So, you went to lunch with the two of them to try to talk her around and he followed you back to the office?" he asked. "You didn't see him waiting for you?"

"No, he was hiding between two cars that were parked by the entrance, and when I got close enough he jumped out from behind them and caught me off guard." She shivered as she remembered. "I wasn't scared at first, only mad, and I said somethings that angered him."

"Like what?"

Harper cleared her throat. "I told him that it was his fault, that he was the one that had been drinking on the job. Then he tried to tell me he had a disease and I agreed that he did, alcoholism, and that I could smell it on him. I then asked him how much he had had to drink, and that was when he got mad and tried to drag me away."

"Where was he taking you?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me." Her eyes teared up as she remembered the next part. "I told him I would scream if he didn't let me go and he told me to go ahead that no one would hear me."

"I heard you, Harper and I came." He kissed the top of her head.

"I know, thank you," she said looking up at him.

"You're welcome." He tucked the covers back in around her. "Now try to get some more sleep."

"You'll stay, just in case?" she asked.

"Yes, I'll stay until morning," he agreed.

Harper sunk further down into her bed and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

Luke watched her as she fell asleep, her little nose and her eyes were red from crying, she looked so helpless and he felt helpless. There was nothing more he could do to help her. She had to find her way through it on her own.

When he had seen her fighting George in the parking lot, he had lost it. George was lucky that he had gone unconscious after the first punch because if he had tried to fight Luke he would probably be dead.

The fact that she had been unable to let go of the truck at first had let him know how truly scared she had been, and he had been just as scared. To see her threatened in such away was almost unbearable. If he hadn't of already known that he loved her he would be sure of it now.

He couldn't help himself as he looked down at her while she slept, remembering, how he had almost lost her. He was suddenly so overwhelmed with tenderness for her that he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her parted lips, and he was caught off guard when she slowly opened her eyes. He was sure she had been asleep.

"Luke?" she asked, blinking as if she was trying to awaken from a dream.

"It's alright Harper, go back to sleep," he insisted once more.

But she didn't. Luke's heart stopped as she wrapped her arm around his neck and brought her lips up to meet his once more. This time it wasn't a gentle peck though, his world exploded as her soft lips met his. Kissing her was everything he had imagined it would be and more. When she opened her lips in a soft invitation, he gave a little moan as he deepened the kiss.

Was this what he had been missing out on his entire adult life by being such a fool and trying to hide his feelings for her? She was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.

Harper was returning his kiss as passionately as he was giving it and he was quickly losing control. Taking a deep breath he broke away and looked down at her noting her shocked gaze. There was no way he could continue, to do so would be to take advantage of the situation. Besides, he wasn't even sure she was fully aware of what she was doing.

"Go back to sleep Harper,"

She nodded and turned away from him as if she was afraid to face him, leaving Luke to wonder all night if he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.