Chapter 3: If looks could kill...

Chapter 3

~Lucas' POV~

I had just gotten out of the shower, dripping wet from head to toe when the doorbell rang.

“Scottie get that for me!” I called down then crossed the room in search of a towel.

The bell rang again and I let out a sigh. No surprise there, Scottie tuned out everything when he was watching the T.V.  I grabbed the towel that was draped across a nearby chair and wrapped it around my waist, then made my way downstairs to open the door. I wasn’t surprised that Scottie hadn’t even budged to get it.

”Don’t you have a key?” I asked when I pulled the door open and saw Adrian standing there, a smile planted on his clean shaven face.

“Yeah but considering the mood you left my place in last night I figured it’d be best to ring the bell.” He said then pushed past me and into my apartment without actually being invited in, which led me to silently question his point on ringing the bell in the first place since he had chosen to barge in anyway.

“If I didn’t know for sure that my brother was as straight as they come I’d probably be having some doubts about your fidelity Lucas.” Adrian said looking at my semi naked form and then glancing back at Scottie who was sprawled out on my oversized couch munching on potato chips and watching T.V. I rolled my eyes.

He’d somehow followed me home the night without my being aware and it was only when I was about to enter the apartment that he showed himself. I’d had no choice but to invite him to stay the night. Not that I’d really had a problem with it, Scottie staying over my place was getting to be a regular occurrence.

“Don’t you have a home to get to?” Adrian asked his brother when Scottie finally managed to tear his gaze from the screen long enough to greet us.

“Don’t you?” Scottie sassed and I couldn’t help the grin that lit my face.

“Yeah I’m standing in it and last time I checked you have a security system to hack into.” Adrian told him with a bored look and after looking between the two of us for a second Scottie dropped the bag of chips on the table and pushed up with a sigh.

“Cheeky bastard. Fine I’ll go hang with Marcus.” Scottie mumbled and as he passed by us Adrian reached up and ruffled his hair.

“Remember we have a meeting tonight.” He told him and Scottie nodded.

When he was out the door Adrian turned to look at me, the smile now gone from his face.

“You good?” he asked me uncertainly and rather than cut into him as I’d imaged doing last night I decided to cut him some slack, after all, his intentions had been good, it wasn’t his fault his men had turned out to be incompetent idiots.

“Yeah great.” I said then turned to head up the stairs once more, I was freezing my ass off standing there dripping wet and as I ascended the stairs Adrian was right behind me.

He immediately went to my bed and sat there watching me as I searched for something to wear.

“What’s that?” I questioned, gesturing to the manila envelope in his hand. He looked down at it briefly then glanced back up at me.

“I know it won’t really be of much use to you but I dug up evidence on your guy.” He started, his eyes never leaving me as I dropped the towel and dragged on my boxers. “I figured it would at least give the victim’s family some closure.” He continued and I stopped what I was doing to look at him.

“Why did you do it? You never help with my cases.” I said watching his expression carefully.

“Because I know how pissed you are about the whole mess and I wanted to make up for it somehow.” He said looking uncertain and I think that’s the look that did me in.

I could tell he really was being sincere and I was touched that he would choose to go through all this trouble to make it up to me. So I found myself crossing the room and I came to a stop between his legs, running my hands through his hair. He tilted his head, looking up at me then brought his hands up to grip my hips.

“I was pissed last night, you’re right, but it wasn’t your fault and I don’t blame you. Your intentions were good, you couldn’t control how they turned out.” I told him with sincerity and he pulled me closer, resting his forehead on my abdomen.

It had been unfair of me to blame him for it and for that I was sorry even though I was still a bit annoyed at the turn of events. He didn’t say anything as I continued to run my fingers through his dark curls and after a brief silence he moved his head and I felt the press of his soft lips against my hard abdomen.

I shivered in response, my hands tightening in his hair and he groaned pulling me even closer to him, his hands sliding up from my hips to rub against my bare skin.

His head moved lower and he proceeded to kiss a slow trail down my abdomen and came to a stop at the waistband of my boxers. I sucked in a shaky breath when his hand dipped into the fabric and came into contact with my already hard and heated flesh.

I gripped his hair as an automatic reaction to feeling the pleasure of his hand on me and that only seemed to urge him on because he pulled at my boxers, sliding them off my hips and they fell landing around my feet on the ground below, then he looked up at me, his eyes glinting with mischief and my breath caught.

When he took me between his lips slow and deliberate, I cried out, unconsciously moving my hips closer. My breaths started coming in soft pants and my grip on his strands became even tighter as I tried to pull his head closer but  he pulled away, leaving me momentarily dazed.

Then he grinned, that grin that said I knew exactly what was coming next and I moaned in anticipation as he stood, then grabbed my arm  turning me so that I had my back to the bed and pushed me down none too gently.

I licked my lips as I watched him pull his shirt over his head, then his pants went and a second later he stood before me naked as the day he was born, his little friend standing at attention. He climbed onto the bed after me and parted my legs coming to rest between them and I groaned when his flesh pressed against mine.

“Tell me what you want.” He whispered against my neck and I writhed against him as his tongue trailed a wet path along the column of my neck.

My breath left my body when he ground against me and I gripped his head, pulling his face to mine and taking his lips. They were as I expected them to be, soft and supple and perfect against mine…

……………………………

A long while later we lay sated and sweaty in my bed, our breathing finally under control and our heated flesh cooled. He had his head on my pillow, his face turned to me as he stared into mine. His fingers absently drew imaginary circles on my bare chest as I looked up at the ceiling, my hands tucked under my head.

“I love you.” Adrian whispered in the silence of my room and despite his whispered words he sounded so certain, so absolutely sure that I had to turn my head to look at him. He stared back at me silently, his eyes not wavering as they met mine and I took a deep breath and looked away again.

It hadn’t been the first time he’d said it and as with all the other times I couldn’t reply with the answer I knew he wanted to hear and as I lay there staring at the ceiling I knew what I had to do. It was times like this, that despite how wrong it seemed, that you had to exploit a person to get what you wanted. So I spoke, my voice soft but audible.

“What would you do if I asked you to stop killing people?” I questioned without looking at him and I could tell he hadn’t expected my question from his silence, but when I turned my head to look at him he spoke.

“Lucas you know I can’t do that, it’s unavoidable in my line of work, it’s a way we instill fear and respect in others.” He said, pushing up so that his head rested in his hand.

“Then how can you say you love me if you can’t do this one thing for me?” I asked and I knew from the look in his eyes that he was hurt that I would question his feelings for me but it had to be done. His senseless killing was something I just couldn’t tolerate any longer, whether or not his victims deserved it, it shouldn’t be left up to him to decide whether a person deserved to live or die.

“Just because I can’t do this doesn’t mean I don’t love you with everything I have.” He spoke, his voice rising and I shook my head.

“When I loved Laken I would have done anything for him. Anything.” I said and it was true, I had loved that boy with everything I had in me to the point where if he asked me to jump off a cliff I felt I would have done it just to please him.

I knew that bringing up Laken’s name was the worst thing I could have done but I did it because I knew for a fact that it would get me what I wanted. I also knew that despite my words, that Adrian loved me  as much as he could and if I questioned that love then it would be easier for me to get him to do what I wanted him to do.

Some might call me wicked to take advantage of him this way but I didn’t know how else to get him to do it. He was stubborn; my Adrian.

He shifted to sit up in the bed, still facing me. “What if I asked you to stop talking to him? To just forget about him, would you do it?” he counteracted and I glanced swiftly at him.

“What kind of question is that?” I asked, my eyes narrowed.

“It’s not much different from what you asked me. You want me to give up a lot for you but would you do it for me if I asked?” he questioned again. This time his expression was unreadable.

“Of course it’s different, I’m just asking you to stop killing people, you’re asking me to cut a friend out of my life. I won’t do it.” I said adamantly and his jaw tightened.

“What if Laken came back today? What if he, by some miracle left his mate and came back to you, what would you do? Would you leave me?” he asked softly, his eyes roaming my face as he awaited my answer and I looked away.

“Don’t ask me that.” I responded because I didn’t know the answer to that question myself. I would be lying if I said I didn’t still love Laken but that didn’t mean I didn’t care deeply for Adrian.

“If I didn’t care about you I would still be there with him, trying to get him back.” I said after awhile, but it would have been pointless for me to try to win over Laken’s heart anyway because he was a werewolf, already mated and it was next to impossible to break the kind of bond he had with his mate so I had given up. Then I had met Adrian and I was trying desperately to move on, I didn’t love him but I was close.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Adrian spoke up again but I kept my eyes fixed to the wall above me. I kept my mouth shut and he let exactly a minute passed before he spoke again.

“I’ll do it. I’ll do my best but in my line of work I can’t promise anything. Just tell me you’ll forget about him Lucas, please! That’s the only way you’ll ever move on.” He practically begged me, putting his hand on my arm. I froze my eyes flashing to his.

“Don’t ask me to choose between you and him Adrian because you won’t like my choice.” I said. My voice cold as I glared at him. My constant communication was the only thing I had left with Laken and I’d be damned if I would let anyone take that away from me.

I watched as Adrian looked at me for a second, then he swallowed hard and lowered himself back onto the bed, this time he was looking up at the ceiling. When his bottom lip trembled he clamped his teeth down on it and I instantly felt like an asshole.

What people tended to forget was that while Adrian was a hardened criminal he was also human. He was a man in love and to hear your lover tell you something like that had to be painful. I would know.

I groaned at my cold-heartedness and rolled over burying my face in his neck silently asking for his forgiveness and when he brought his hand up to wrap around me I felt even worse knowing that he had forgiven me so easily.

……………………………………

~Adrian’s POV~

“Fuck!” I cursed the kicked the cylinder out of my way. I felt like I could kill somebody; just rip them apart with my bare hands the way I was pissed. What was the point of all this?  Why was I tormenting myself by being with a heartless jerk who didn’t even love me?

I kicked another cylinder from the stack and it went toppling over. Fuck Lucas anyway! I didn’t need him, I didn’t need anyone! I’d been fine by myself for years before he came along  and now look at me. He was driving me crazy and I was letting him.

When exactly had I gone from being the badass Drug lord to being putty in his hands? I was weak, he made me weak. I should have fucked him up for saying that shit to me. Who was he to treat me like this? As if I wasn’t as important as his precious Laken, as if I couldn’t even hold a candle to him?

I kicked over another and watched it roll then turned and punched the wall, my knuckles came away bloodied but I didn’t feel a thing. I was so pumped with rage and hurt that I felt that if I was to rip my own heart out I still wouldn’t feel the pain. How had I gotten myself in this mess in the first place?

I’d turned into one of those pathetic love-struck fools who allowed people to walk all over them just because they were blinded by love. Love; my daily tormentor. I’d done some crazy shit in my life, I’d been shot, stabbed, tortured and I’d still come out on top, I’d still come out stronger yet this single emotion was what was tearing me apart.

It was ripping away everything I had worked for, sapping my strength and my resolve. Causing me to lose myself. To have thoughts that a person in my position had no place having.

It was ridiculous what he had turned me into and I didn’t like it. I understood that he couldn’t actually love me because he was still caught up with his past love but I had thought that time would have healed him and I’d have him to myself. So much for that fantasy. I berated myself for the way I had responded to his words today. As if I didn’t have a voice of my own, as if when he said jump I would ask how high.

He had hurt me wickedly and like always I still forgave him. I hated him! But I still loved him and I hated it.

I let out a breath and ran my hand over my face. He’d hurt me and I’d still spent the day with him, smiling and laughing and acting as if everything was perfect while inside I was a mess. I really was weak to keep holding on to something that would probably never be mine.

But even as I thought it, I knew that I wouldn’t give up. I was an optimistic man by nature; I knew that one day he’d come to love me. I knew that eventually everything would drop into place and I’d look back on this day and laugh, but tonight I just wanted to rant and rave about how unfair the entire situation was.

Tomorrow, I’d be back to normal. I’d be levelheaded and I’d restructure the plot and I’d be back to finding a way to draw him closer to me.

With this thought I walked over to the ledge and sat on the ground, folding my hands on the surface and resting my head on my hands, taking in the view from my dusty rooftop. I couldn’t even enjoy the view of the city tonight; my mind was so caught up in my predicament.

I didn’t have to guess who it was coming to interrupt me when I heard the door leading to the roof slam shut. I wasn’t sure if it was a family thing of just a shape shifter thing that allowed my brothers to sense when I was distressed but when they both came over to sit on either side of me I shifted to accommodate them.

“What’s wrong Adrian? You missed the meeting.” Scottie said as soon as he sat. His voice was low and gentle.

“Yeah we’ll get back to that tomorrow instead.” I said softly, looking out at the city rather than at either of them.

“Are you going to tell us what’s wrong then or are we going to have to beat it out of you?” Scottie joked but it fell flat.

There really was no point in keeping it from them because they’d annoy me until I spilled anyway and so after a few more minutes of silence I spoke, my voice coming out in a whisper.

“I don’t know how to make him love me Scottie. I don’t know what to do anymore.” I said then took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Marcus cursed as I expected he would, but I opened my eyes when Scottie pulled me up from the wall and pulled me closer so that my back was resting against his chest and his arms encircled me.

If anything, that just made me feel like I would just give way to how I had been feeling all day and just let out a good howl; cry until there was nothing left but a look from Marcus had be swallowing hard and  trying to pull away from Scottie. He wasn’t having it though and pulled me back to him, speaking in a soothing voice.

“You know how Lucas is Adrian, he’ll come around.” Scottie said and I nodded though I couldn’t say in all honesty that I believed him.

“So this is why you’re up here sulking then? Because the kid doesn’t love you?” Marcus said, his voice sounding bored and I felt Scottie tense behind me.

“Don’t be an ass Marcus.” He said but I couldn’t even muster the nerve to care. I just continued to stare out at the city lights, trying to get Lucas off my mind and after a long moment of silence I heard Marcus sigh then he scooted closer to us.

He reached up and ruffled my hair then shocked me by doing something he rarely did. He reached over and kissed my forehead, like he used to do when we were kids and something or another had upset me. I looked over at him but said nothing as the lump formed in my throat.

“You’re only hurting yourself by staying with him Adrian, the sooner you let him go the better.” He said then pushed up from the ground and stood looking down at us for a while. Then without saying a word he turned and left, pulling the roof door open and letting it slam shut behind him.

Everything was silent for a few minutes, as we listened to the sound of car horns and the hustle and bustle of the city below. Then Scottie spoke up.

“Maybe he’s right Adrian. Lucas is my friend but maybe it’s time you moved on.” He said resting his chin on the top of my head.

I drew in a shaky breath.

“I can’t.” I whispered and Scottie’s arms tightened around me.

…………………………………….

~Lucas’s POV~

It was just after midnight when I heard the pounding on the front door and I pushed up out of bed with a groan. Who the hell could that be? I pushed up out of bed, slightly unsteady on my feet and dragged my hand over my face and through my hair.

“I’m coming!” I shouted down to whoever it was that was disturbing my peace then grumbled under my breath as I made my way slowly down the stairs. Man I was tired.

When I reached the door, I snapped on the porch light but as soon as I pulled it open I  felt something grab onto me, slamming me into the wall opposite the door. It happened so fast I didn’t even have time to catch my breath. I brought my hands up to pull against the hands that were wrapped around my neck as I gasped for air and when I snapped my eyes open it was to the sight of Marcus’s angry face.

Ever heard the expression; ‘if looks could kill?’  Well I had a feeling he was going to be doing more than just looking tonight…

AUTHOR'S NOTES

THERE YA GO LOVIES! ANYONE PICKING SIDES? OR DO YOU SUPPORT BOTH OF EM?

NB/ for those who didn't get it..Adrian and his brothers as well as lucas are shapeshifters

ENJOY!

-DoUbLe.A

-unedited.