When Lily and Jane go missing one night after a party, ex-cop Luke Carillo does whatever he can to try and find them. He ends up undercover on an island run by the drug trafficker who was responsible for the attack, alone and without backup. Before...
The best part of the house was the garden. Whoever lived here before had planted hundreds of flowers of every color, scattered in boxes, lining the exterior walls, and artfully scattered in the yard. In truth, I hadn't paid much attention to the interior of the three bedroom log cabin style home with the big A-frame window in front. I bought it for the flowers. For the acre of woods that gave me privacy. For the reminder of my family and the home I grew up in.
"It's beautiful." Luke stood next to me on the gravel walkway, his arm encircling my waist and pulling me into his side. The key was clutched tightly in my fist as I still tried to wrap my head around the fact that I owned it. Thanks to my father, I finally had a place of my own. "Wanna go inside?"
I already knew what was in there. A beautiful modern kitchen with stainless steal appliances, two bathrooms, one attached to the master bedroom that was way bigger than I knew what to do with. I didn't have furniture yet. It was one modestly sized, empty log cabin.
"Sure." I cast one last glance at the white flowers in the windowsill as I grasped Luke's hand and unlocked the front door. We stepped inside and I looked around in wonder, unsure of what to do next. My life had no path. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, how I would furnish it, how I could start being a normal person.
"You know what we have to do now, right?" Luke suddenly pulled me flush against him, my face inches from his. My breath caught in my throat as I looked up at him, briefly distracted from how overwhelmed I had been.
"What's that?"
He leaned down for a kiss, pulling me close, backing me into the front door that I had closed behind us. He left no room for arguments, for doubts. I gave into it quickly, wrapping my arms around him, welcoming it.
When he pulled away, I was breathless. Much like every other time he'd kissed me since I showed up at his apartment a couple weeks ago.
"We have to have sex in every room. To christen it." Luke grinned.
I let out a short laugh. "Oh yeah?"
"I think the kitchen's a good place to start."
I looked over Luke's shoulder at the granite counter top. "Well I wouldn't want an unchristened home."
I jumped into Luke's arms, wrapping my legs around him as he held me against the wall. I kissed him this time, breathlessly, eagerly. He walked me over to the kitchen island and set me down, the surface cold against my bare legs.
Just like that, my mind was wiped clear of everything but Luke. I focused only on the moment, on the affection we shared for each other. Darkness was eradicated and replaced with a light that only he could uncover.
It didn't matter what came next. I was home.
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