“No, Luke! Get off of me!!” She begged, fighting him with everything she had left in her. He slid his other arm around her, and Jake’s body fell down onto the bed. She clenched her fists and beat Luke’s chest and shoulders. “Get off of me!! Jake…” She wailed as Luke started for the door. Dr. Capernick and his orderly held their heads, as Luke carried Cara out of Jake’s hospital room.
She didn’t know when her body gave up the fight, but as Luke carried her down the hospital corridor, she stopped pounding her fists against him. Instead, her arms snaked around his neck and she buried her face in his neck, crying quietly in Luke’s strong arms.
Nick walked Sam up the walkway to her apartment. Her tears had dried, but she felt numb, like a light inside her had gone out. When she reached her door, she dug into her purse for her keys.
“I’m going to go get your suitcase out of the truck. I’ll be right back.” Nick said softly, reminding her of the whirlwind of a weekend. How had they gone from spending a beautiful day on the boardwalk, thinking Jake would be okay, to this? It was funny how life worked. She found the key and fitted it into the lock, turning it slightly. When she pushed the door open and stepped inside reaching for the light switch. She dropped her purse onto the couch, and kicked off her sandals as Nick walked through the front door, her suitcase in his hand.
She turned around and watched as he placed it down beside the door. He lifted his head, his eyes finding hers as he shoved his hands into his front pockets. They looked at one another for a moment, both of them clearly unsure what to say to the other. Sam knew that Nick was aching too, feeling the same lose she was. They both had lost a man they called a brother. He was just able to mask his grief better, or at least be strong enough to take care of her while she grieved her brother.
“Do you need anything?” Nick asked, breaking the silence between them.
Sam assessed him. He stood with his back straight as a rod. His shoulders were so broad they nearly took up the frame of her doorway. His eyes narrowed as he watched her tongue sneak out and run along her bottom lip. “Nick?”
“Yeah?” He said hoarsely, lifting his eyes from her lips back to her baby blues.
“Don’t go.” She whispered, before she held her breath and waited for his response.
Nick pulled his hands out of his pockets and as if he was contemplating her request, he ran his knuckles along the line of his jaw. She watched him anxiously and she was abruptly aware that at the moment all she wanted was for Nick to erase everything from her mind. She didn’t want to think, she just wanted to feel something other than anguish she had been feeling since they left the hospital. He turned around and she felt her heart plummet, how many times would this man disappoint her? How many times would she allow him to? Nick splayed his palm over the door, and pushed it closed.
She watched him curiously as he turned the bottom lock. When his hands found the deadbolt at the top of the door, he stilled and looked over his shoulder.
“Are you sure?” He asked roughly. By the tone of his voice Sam knew he was just as desperate as she to make the pain disappear. She closed the distance between them, coming up behind him. She reached around his body and placed her hand over his. She guided his hand over the deadbolt sliding it so it locked. Her eyes drifted from the lock to his eyes, watching them darken. He twisted his body around and grabbed her face in his hands. She swallowed, dropping her hands to her sides, surrendering to his hold. His eyes searched her eyes, for what she had no idea. She just hoped whatever he was looking for he found quickly. She needed to feel him. She needed to consume him. He drew a ragged breath before his mouth crashed hard on top of hers.
Her fingers gripped his T-shirt in desperation as his hand glided through her hair, pushing against the back of her head, holding her mouth against his. His tongue parted her lips, and was cool against hers. He tasted faintly of spearmint, that’s all she was able to make out, before his tongue went to work assaulting her senses. She tilted her head to the side, offering him a better angle to taste all she had to offer. Her tongue meshed with his, caressing and stroking each other. She moaned as his teeth grazed her lower lip. Slowly, and deliberately tantalizing, he let his tongue stroke her sore lip.