Love me till the end

Chapter 15

The low whistle of the wind outside and the sound of a country song playing low on the radio were a pleasant mixture to relax to. Luke stared out the window until night fell while sipping at the second bottle of scotch Swanson had left behind. He was deep in thought as Charlie slept peacefully by the fire.

What was he going to do about her? Going to the crash site in the morning was a start at getting her out of his life. With a little luck and a prayer, the search and rescue plane he'd spotted would come back. Do I really want her gone?

Charlie made him feel, no want things he'd stopped caring about a long time ago. She'd claimed his body, but there was no way in hell he was going to let her claim his heart. Her near miss experience with death that afternoon showed him he'd never survive another devastating loss. He couldn't afford to give his heart away again. Yes, he wanted her gone, before he didn't have the strength to let her go.

Movement caused Luke's eyes to shift to Charlie, thankful to see her stirring after sleeping for hours. She stretched with a low moan and pushed against Lady, who pushed right back. The sight brought a smile to Luke's face. Beauty and the beast. Charlie glanced up, meeting his eyes.

"You're in her spot. Lady doesn't like sharing her bed." He rose from the chair he'd been sitting in.

Charlie sat up keeping the blanket around her. "What about her master?" she inquired softly, not realizing how alluring she appeared to Luke at that very moment.

A seductress who knew she was being observed by her lover, patiently waiting for him to come to her, to claim her. Her hair was everywhere. It cloaked her naked shoulders and fell to the floor. Luke's gaze moved over the graceful line of Charlie's throat and delicate collarbone, before traveling down to the visible swelling of her breasts, just above the blanket. His cock stirred to life.

He finished his drink in one swallow and placed the glass on the mantel. "I haven't shared my bed in a long time, Charlie. I don't want to hurt you," he said carefully. What he really meant to say was that he was afraid of being hurt again. Of loving someone so much that he couldn't go on without her when she was gone. He knew it was just a matter of time before she left and he would return to his life of isolation.

"Physically or mentally?" Charlie said, watching him carefully.

The warmth of her eyes entrapped his, warming Luke better than any fire. "Both," he replied, after a few moments of giving it careful thought.

"Luke, you might not believe this but you could never hurt me," she insisted with the confidence of a woman who loved a man and trusted him.

He could and he would. It was inevitable. Only he didn't say the words. He took a resigned breath and turned his back to Charlie. He walked to the window. It was pitch-black out but for the stars. Nothing to see really, but in the reflection of the glass he could see Charlie getting to her feet behind him. She looked like some regal Indian princess, the scarlet blanket cloaked around her slender shoulders like a royal cape. Her graceful movements held him bewitched and before he knew it she was touching him on the shoulder. He didn't turn around, but their gazes made contact in the smoky glass.

"Tell me about Susan."

Her soft whisper moved over him like warm honey, drawing him toward her.

"Please, Luke. I need to know in order to understand."

He clenched his teeth until a muscle twitched in his jaw and it started to ache. His eyes burned with an emotion he refused to reveal. His body tensed beneath the softness of Charlie's palm. He hadn't talked about it to anyone. "Maybe I don't want you to understand."