I scoot over the bed to get closer to him and lowered my head to the level of his stomach. He had a serious scar. As my finger ran over the scar, Luc hissed as if my touch had burned him. It made me sad to think that he’d been so broken that it was hard for him to feel the touch of a woman.
“What is this?” I asked, inspecting the scar closely.
“A bullet wound.”
“You were shot?” I asked with round eyes.
“Yes, my father had threatened Alexis, he sent my brother Henri to send a message. He would hurt her if I tried to leave the family. My father called me up to warn me that Henri was going to pay Alexis a visit, and by the time I reached her, Henri was threatening her, we fought. Henri had a gun on him. I think he wanted to scare Alexis or maybe even kill her…” he paused. It must be the look of terror on my face at the mention of threats and guns.
“I told you I was a monster, have I scared you enough for one evening?” he asked with sheer honesty.
“Please tell me more,” I urged him forward, despite the fact that yes, he was scaring me.
“Henri had smashed Alexis against a wall and she was hurt, we scuffled and I got a hold of him, hoping Alexis would run away. Only she was probably in shock and she was stuck in the same spot. Henri had held a gun to her and he still had the gun flailing everywhere as we fought. I feared it going off and Alexis getting caught in the crossfire, but that’s not how it played out.”
“Your brother shot you?” I asked with disgust.
“Yes, then he ran away and Alexis’s boyfriend and long-time love came to help us. He stopped me from bleeding out onto the road and he took care of her.”
“You took a bullet for your ex-wife?” I asked, smacking my hand to my mouth, his story was becoming more than tragic by the passing minutes, and he didn’t even end up with the girl. Who was this Alexis? I didn’t like her one bit by the sounds of it. She led him on. Even though he lied to her, she wasn’t honest either. I now understood why he was being so open and honest about his past and his feelings. He had been burned before.
“Luc, I’m so sorry that you have had to live through such a hard time,” I said apologetically. I knew I couldn’t push him and I didn’t want to touch him and make him more nervous than he clearly was.
“I should get you home,” he smiled lightly.
“I don’t want to leave, not yet. I have another question?”
“What is it?”
“Is that why you created the women’s shelter, is that why you dedicate your time to that cause?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” he sighed. “I told you that my intentions were not altruistic. I do it to make myself feel better.”
“But you are giving all these women a second chance,” I said, like I am trying to prove him wrong. Why was I proving him wrong? Was he not the bad guy? I already knew what I felt inside.
“Vicky, you have to understand that I am running after my redemption, but I don’t know if I will ever feel true salvation.”
“That is tragic, Luc. Did your ex-wife ever forgive you, or did you ever discuss how you felt with her?” I asked needing to know. He had wronged her in so many ways. Was she able to forgive him?
“I saw my ex-wife after I had been shot. She did forgive me and her fiancé forgave me too. They are the ones that introduced me to Bryce. You haven’t met him yet, but you have a cousin named Brad, he is a good friend with my ex’s fiancé Dylan. It was Dylan who set me up here in New York.”
I sat up from the position I had been lying in. This was a lot of information to process after everything that had happened tonight with Scott. His ex and her boyfriend had forgiven him and yet he didn’t forgive himself; it’s tragic. I brought my knees up to my chest in a protective stance. I tried to mull things over in my mind. Since the moment we met, he had only been trying to help me and watch out for me. If he hadn’t shown up when he had to save me from Scott, then Scott would have probably raped me. Goose bumps sprung up along my arms and down my spine just thinking of it.
“What is it?” Luc asked, maybe noticing my shiver.
“If you would have found me, even five minutes later tonight, Scott would have probably forced himself on me again. You saved me from that, Luc. I think he has mental issues. He called me Vicky at first, but then he switched to calling me Jenny. I think this Jenny must have done a real number on him because it felt like he wanted to cause Jenny pain. I knew he was a sick guy before, but I think someone made him snap. Shit, Luc, I was so scared I became useless to myself. I didn’t fight him, I lay there and took what he was dishing out,” I admitted as my eyes swell with tears. I’m not the emotional type and here I was, an emotional mess, feeling, hurting.
“I am not a hero, Vicky. Don’t make me out to be something I’m not. I try to do good and stay out of trouble because my soul is dark. I’ve seen and done dark things and when I help someone, it’s the only thing that keeps me from drowning.”
“I want to keep you from drowning,” I admitted, looking at him with a serious expression.
His lips tugged up at the corners. “Thank you.” His smile was beautiful and light. This man needed to smile more, he was too damn intense all the time and now I understood why.
“I like your smile.” I tilted my head to the side and grinned at him.
“I like you,” he answered, cocking his head to the side and tugging his lip up at the corner.
“Can I stay here?” I asked, knowing my question would probably make him nervous.
“It’s one o’clock in the morning, can you sleep with this music? Last time the guests stayed until three a.m. I can sleep on the floor you can take the bed,” he said with a soft tone. He looked tired and defeated. I was disappointed he wouldn’t stay in the bed with me.
“Yes. I’m safe with you, Luc,” I confirmed. He shrugged his shoulders.
“Weren’t you listening to what I just told you, I’m dangerous. I’m haunted. I’m not what you need,” he said, shaking his head from side to side.
“How do you know what I need?” I asked feeling irritated with him. I hadn’t told him anything about myself and he didn’t press, but he didn’t know shit about my problems.
He lifted both hands in the air. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I won’t push, not tonight. I want to know what makes you look sad all the time. And you’re wrong, Vicky, I do know what you need. You need love. I just don’t know if I am capable of giving you what you need,” he sighed and let out a long breath. He stepped off the bed and walked over to the closet. A moment later he came out holding a sheet and a plush blanket that he began to spread out on the floor.
“You can sleep in bed with me, I’m not scared of you,” I said looking down at him.
“I know you aren’t scared, not much seems to scare you and that worries me. It’s me that is scared, Vicky. I would feel better on the floor,” he said, and I knew there was no point in arguing with him. He got under the sheet and lay with his hands on his abdomen.
I pulled the covers over me and smelled the fresh masculine scent of his sheets. They smelled of Luc and that made butterflies dance in my stomach. Had he moved into bed beside me, I probably would have wanted to jump his bones, needing to feel a connection with him. The truth was that I had been going to parties in search of sex. Needing to find a connection and drown out my loneliness. Tonight was different. Tonight I found an intense man, and we had a serious conversation. For some reason, that felt so much deeper than sex ever did.