It wasn’t like a slap in the face but it didn’t feel good either.

Right after I had that thought I got angry because I wasn’t the one who cuffed me to his bed and left me there way longer than expected with nothing to do but worry and freak out. I didn’t want or ask to get kidnapped, shot at, manhandled, ordered about, taken to the verge of orgasm twice to be left wanting. In fact, I’d made it perfectly clear I didn’t want any of those things.

Furthermore, he had a scary job where he got called late at night to do scary things. And that scary job or the old “doing crazy shit” one got him that vicious scar slicing across his belly because he sure as hell didn’t have it when he left the neighborhood (I would have noticed or his Mom would have told my Mom). I wasn’t going to ask about it because I really didn’t want to know. Even if I wasn’t sworn off men, I didn’t know if I could hack being with who Luke had become. But I had to remind myself, I was sworn off men.

I just kept staring. The buzzer went. Sissy.

I slid away from him, grabbed my workout bag and headed to the elevator.

When I got in, hit the button and turned, he was leaning against the bar, arms crossed on his (bare) chest, eyes on me.

The doors slid shut.

* * * * *

I spent the rest of the day seeking advice.

Sissy (next to me on a stair machine in the gym):

“I’ve already told you what I think about Luke. In regards to Ren, just tell him you’re with Luke, he’ll back off. In regards to scary guy trying to run us down, just talk to Luke, he’ll take care of it. Simple.”

Okay. No.

Next!

Riley (after my workout and I cornered him even though he still looked pissed off at me, which, I might add, if Luke lost Riley as my friend I’d tack another ten years onto his Ava Barlow Silent Treatment Sentence):

“Jesus, Ava, what the f**k?” he breathed when I shared most of the story leaving out all of the sex stuff and Luke’s brutally honest proclamations. Then his face went gentle and I saw for the first time that Luke was right. Riley wanted to f**k me.

Jeez.

What was going on? How on earth did this happen?

“Do you want to stay with me?” Riley asked.

Hell no!

“Thanks, Riles. That’s sweet of you but I can’t,” I said softly.

Next!

Shirleen (at Fortnum’s, where Sissy and I went after the gym to get one of Tex’s unbelievably divine coffees):

“Child, tune out your head and follow your heart.” Her tawny eyes had gone soft.

Following my heart meant holding onto Luke and never letting go, that was until he got tired of me and scraped me off or he got filled with bullets and killed in a gunfight.

Not gonna happen.

“What are you doing here? I thought you had a day job,” I asked Shirleen. She was relaxed in one of the couches at the front of Fortnum’s where the espresso counter was.

“I’m pickin’ up orders for the boys in the surveillance room,” she said, tossing back another gulp of her cappuccino.

I hoped “the boys” weren’t hankering too much for their coffee, by the looks of Shirleen they were going to wait awhile.

Next!

Tex (while handing me my skinny, vanilla latte):

“Go on vacation…”

Hmm. This had merit.

“With Luke,” he finished.

I did not think so.

Next!

The Rock Chicks:

Jet: “Don’t fight it.”

Next!

Ally: “I don’t get it. Luke’s hot.”

Next!

Indy: “Do you want me to talk to Lee about this guy who chased you in his SUV?”

No!

Next!

Daisy (over the phone while Sissy was dropping me back at Luke’s):

“Sugar, take it one minute at a time. Life will lead you where you need to be.”

That’s what I was afraid of.

Then she went on. “And don’t worry about whoever is after you. When one of the Rock Chicks finds trouble, every one of the Hot Boy Brigade kicks in. Whoever-it-is will have to take ‘em down one by one to get to you and that’s just not gonna happen.”

Eek!

Next!

Jules (after Sissy dropped me off, I had a shower, picked up Luke’s newest clothing additions from the floor, started a load of his laundry and sat at my computer to research all-inclusive vacations in Jamaica):

“Give him time, Ava. There’s more to Luke than you know.”

“I’ve known him since I was eight!”

“I know, but you want the truth?”

No, I did not want the truth.

She gave it to me anyway. “I don’t think you know who he is now. If you did, there would be no question.”

Shit.

* * * * *

I finished my deadline project, e-mailed it off and was working on clearing all my other projects in order to send them in well ahead of the due dates which would cause client-wide strokes as I always worked right up to deadline.

I had a plan. I intended to clear my workload and disappear to Jamaica for a month, taking Sissy with me. By the time we got back all the macho men in my life, undoubtedly needing to give someone the business, would have moved on to a new girl and I’d be off the hook. Then it would be back to just me and my vibrators.

The elevator doors slid open and I knew it was Luke just because. It might have been a long time since I’d seen him, but my Sixth Luke Sense was instinctual and kicked in immediately, like riding a bike.

And anyway these days, I’d been getting lots of practice.

I ignored his presence, kept my back to the room and kept clicking through holiday getaway packages.

I heard his keys hit the bar and then he came up behind me. “Goin’ on vacation?” he asked.

I stayed silent and kept clicking. He waited a beat and then pulled out my chair at least four feet, me still in it.

My head shot up to look at him, my mouth opened and I almost cried, “Hey!” but just stopped myself.

He bent low, took a wrist and threw me over his shoulder. It took a lot of control but I didn’t struggle and stayed completely limp. He carried me to the bed, tossed me on it and followed me down. He settled part at my side, part on top of me and his hand came to my jaw.

“You don’t want to talk, Ava, we’ll do something else. We don’t have to talk to f**k.”

Uh-oh.

Escape!