Chapter 17

Taking Chances

Saturday

Chelsea stirred and it took a moment for the memory of the previous evening to urge its way through the fog. She reached sleepily over, only to find herself alone. Did she imagine the whole thing? No, there was no ignoring the masculine scent which clung to her sheets. She smiled as she thought about the night she’d just spent with Lucas and realised no-one had ever had this impact on her before. For a split second his absence panicked her but she felt wonderful and allowed her worries to slide away.

I think I love him.

She shook it off. It had only been a couple of days. Surely it doesn’t happen that fast. Nevertheless, there was no denying her feelings. He was the most incredible man she’d ever met. Falling in love was a journey and the thought of taking the ride with Lucas thrilled her.

Underneath the gruff exterior lived a passionate man who craved to be loved. Being aware of how terrified he was about becoming close to anyone after the way he’d lost his parents, and knowing he could be taking a chance on love, only intensified her growing feelings.

She would never have the internal fortitude to cope with such a loss and she believed this showed Lucas’ true strength of character. How courageous to join the police force and deal with dramas so similar to his own. How he was persevering through these murders, so similar to his parents’ fates, was amazing.

Filled with a renewed vigour that she hadn’t experienced in a long time, she got dressed and went downstairs to find Lucas. She found instead Sarah and Charlotte in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Worry gripped her chest. Did he leave? Would he come back? She’d never been in this position before and had absolutely no idea what to do now.

“Morning, Sleepyhead,” greeted Charlotte. “Bit tired, are we?” she noted dryly with a raised eyebrow.

“I haven’t been sleeping well since Elle disappeared.”

“I’m sure that’s not the only reason.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she replied.

“Mum knows, Chelsea, you don’t have to act coy. She saw his car when she went out for her walk this morning. He’s gone by the way, if you were wondering. He left about an hour ago.”

Chelsea blushed.

“If you really like this man, dear, I think it’s wonderful. It’s been too long since you were happy and if he’ll be the one to do that, then I think it’s a good thing,” Sarah said.

“I hardly know him and by the way, Charlotte, I’m not acting anything.”

“You obviously know enough because you’re not the kind of person to jump into anything,” Sarah continued.

“Yeah, like his bed!” Charlotte quipped. “Or in this case yours.”

“Charlotte! I know this is totally unlike me but I just … couldn’t help it.” She smiled.

“He is very hot,” Charlotte stated.

“Hands off.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sister dear. Does he have a brother?”

Chelsea laughed. “No, an older sister. Are you coming to help me at the shop today?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I guess I’d better go and get ready then.” Chelsea grabbed a slice of toast. “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.” She hurried up the stairs.

“What do you think?” Sarah asked her daughter.

“I think she’s in love!”

* * *

The girls were busy all day at Bloom and didn’t have much time to chat. Charlotte tried to drag the details out of Chelsea but she was tight lipped.

“I don’t kiss and tell like you do, Charlotte.”

Chelsea was happy for the distraction of a busy day. It gave her little opportunity to think about who could be stalking her, if that was actually what was happening. She knew that Lucas thought so, but he was a cop and was suspicious of everything, as he had to be. This didn’t reduce her anxiety. When Gavin came in at lunchtime to collect the deliveries, she couldn’t help but look at him differently. Could he be the killer? She shook her head - of course not. It had to be someone else. But who?

And then there was Lucas. Where were they going? She didn’t want to fall too hard too soon. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. Her heart skipped too fast when she thought of him. Chelsea hoped again he hadn’t run out on her this morning. She wished she knew what was going on in his head. Regardless of her concern, a smile crept back and she hummed as she worked.

Her mind wondered to Elle as she finished her final arrangements of the day and her smile dropped. Here she was walking around like a starry-eyed teenager and there was a vicious killer on the loose who had murdered her best friend. How could she be happy so soon after Elle’s death, especially when her friend was never going to experience anything again? There was nothing she could do about Elle except help Lucas in any way she could with the investigation. She couldn’t help falling in love and Elle would have been excited to see Chelsea ‘out there’ again, like she used to push for her to do. Elle constantly tried to set her up with her male friends. Chelsea smiled at the memory.

I miss her so much.

She really hoped they would catch the bastard that took away her best friend.

* * *

Lucas awoke with a start and looked at his watch to find it was almost six. He had slept for six dream-free hours and felt refreshed. He got up, showered to shake off the sleep and realised he was hungry. Discovering nothing appetising in the kitchen, he threw a few things in an overnight bag, grabbed his keys and headed out the door. It was time to take a chance.

* * *

The moment Chelsea and Charlotte walked in the door they were greeted by the aroma of their mother’s cooking. Mouths watering, they located Sarah in the kitchen.

“You don’t have to cook, Mum. You’re my guest.”

“Nonsense, you were at work all day and I needed something to do. I went and did some shopping.” She pointed to an opened bottle of wine. “Help yourselves. I did your laundry and tidied up – not that there was much to do – but it kept me busy. You know I can’t sit idle.”

“Thanks, Mum.” She kissed Sarah’s cheek, then filled their glasses.

The phone rang making them all jump. Chelsea walked to the bench to answer it and cast a worried glance to her family before picking it up.

“Hello.”

“I know you had the detective over all night. Whore! You’ll get what’s coming to you soon, spoilt bitch.” The line went dead.

Chelsea’s face paled and her hands started to shake.

“Chelsea, what is it?” Sarah asked, rushing over to her.

“He knew Lucas was here and he called me a spoilt bitch, which is what he has been leaving on his victims. Lucas was right. I am a target. Who would do this?”

The knock at the door startled them and they all yelped in surprise.

“We’re all a bit jumpy,” said Sarah, trying to calm her daughters. “I’ll go and see who it is.”

Sarah applied the safety chain before opening the door a crack. The girls heard her say “Thank goodness it’s you”, and when she came back to the kitchen, she had Lucas in tow.

“What happened?” he asked, seeing the scared look in Chelsea’s eyes.

“He called again.”

Charlotte filled him in on the latest call. Lucas listened intently and said nothing for a few moments. Fear for her safety threatened to choke him as images of the victims flashed through his mind.

“Please don’t open the door for anyone and, if you do, put the chain on like Sarah did. Chelsea, please don’t go anywhere by yourself.” He wrapped her up, pulled her close and kissed her tenderly. “Are you alright?”

“I’m a little shook up but I’ll be ok,” she answered, gazing up at him. “You had your hair cut?’

“Yeah, whenever I visit my sister she gets her scissors out.”

“I like it,” she said running her fingers through it.

“Have you had dinner, Lucas?” asked Sarah.

“No, not yet. I don’t cook much. It’s not really my thing. There wasn’t anything to eat at home anyway so I came by to see what you girls were doing. I see I have arrived just in time. It smells great.”

“Well, there’s plenty here. I always make too much. Please join us.”

They steered clear of any disturbing subjects over dinner and Charlotte as always was the chatty entertainer. Lucas watched Chelsea as she talked and laughed with her family. He suddenly realised there was no way he could walk away now. She already possessed his heart and he didn’t want it back.

Charlotte and Sarah discreetly decided after dinner there was a café they wanted to try with great desserts. After Lucas warned them to be careful, they left.

Once alone, Lucas scooped Chelsea up and carried her towards the couch. He placed her lightly but with haste to the floor. Impatiently he groped at her clothes as his lips sought hers.

Her eagerness to feel smooth skin equalled his and she tugged at his clothes with the same fervour. With arms wrapped around her, he brought her with him as he sat on the comfortable cushions so she was astride him. They made love on its softness, their bodies pressed tightly together, their mouths exploring, their hands buried in each other’s hair. They reached the crescendo together, their groans of pleasure in unison.

As their slick bodies slowed to a stop, she rested her head on his shoulder and feathered kisses along his neck and jaw while he caressed her back and hair. Snuggling with her as she sat cradled in his lap, was just how he imagined it would be.

“Sorry to pounce on you like that but I’ve been thinking about doing that with you on this couch for a couple of days.”

“I’m not complaining.”

“I’m also sorry for running out this morning.”

“It’s ok, I understand. We have only known each other for a short time and this is happening really fast.”

“I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

She giggled. “Spoken like a true romantic cliché.”

“I know but it’s actually true in this instance.”

She smiled, stood up, took his hand and guided him towards the stairs.

“Again?” he asked.

She just nodded and took him to her room. This time she wanted him to make love to her.

* * *

As they did the previous evening, they sat out on the balcony enjoying the scenery. They were feeding each other chocolate cake while drinking wine. Lucas was grateful for the cover of darkness. If Chelsea was being stalked, he didn’t want to give the maniac any fodder for his delusions.

“I wish we could stay here forever and forget about everything,” Chelsea whispered. “I suppose that’s naive and probably just as corny as what you said downstairs.” She giggled.

She popped another piece of cake into his mouth with her fingers, which he nibbled on.

“It would be nice not to have to see another murder victim,” he said once she’d removed her fingers.

“Then why do you do it?” she asked before he put cake into her mouth and she sucked his fingers.

He groaned and closed his eyes until she stopped. “I don’t want other families to go without justice, like my family did.” He clenched his jaw so Chelsea kissed him and his eyes turned amber again.

“That’s better,” she said, looking into his eyes. “I love it when your eyes go that colour.”

“Yeah, they tend to do that when I’m happy or ….” He kissed her again.

“Oh and how do you know this?”

“I’ve been told.”

“By whom? All those other girls you’ve been with?” A stab of envy pierced her heart.

“A few have mentioned it,” he teased.

“Oh, I suppose there have been lots. I mean you’re attractive and I don’t actually know if you’ve been serious with anyone before ... and you’re so amazing and a man ... who I guess has needs ...” She trailed off, not able to look at him now.

“Chelsea,” he waited until she brought her eyes back to his. “I’m not going to lie to you, there have been .... a few but I’ve never felt about any of them the way I feel about you.” He paused. “Attractive huh, is that all you got?”

“Okay, then, to quote my sister, you’re hot.” He laughed.

“I’ve just decided I’m going to enjoy teasing you.” He brushed her face tenderly with his lean fingers. “If you must know, there have only been a few who have seen me happy. It’s how my sister knows, just like she did this morning. She hasn’t seen it happen very often though, and not in a while.”

“You were happy this morning?”

“Deliriously.”

She smiled and began to play with his hair. “Not as much hair to do this now.”

“I’ll grow it back for you, then.”

“I like it both ways, so maybe just more time between haircuts.” She smiled again before her face grew serious.

“I’m scared, Lucas,” she whispered.

“Me too”

“What are you scared of?”

“This animal getting you.”

He pressed his forehead to hers and held her hands in his.

“Don’t come out here by yourself, ok?”

“Ok.”

“I’m going to see about getting uniforms to protect the house when I’m not here and to escort you to work.”

“Is that really necessary?” she asked, pulling her head back to look into his eyes.

“It would ease my mind a little.”

“Ok.”

He stood, scooped her up and carried her back to bed. They made love slowly, looking into each other’s eyes. They cherished every moment, both wishing they could stay this way forever. They fell asleep that night in each other’s arms.