“Oh, that sounds nice,” she murmured, more to herself than to him, pointing to random dishes on the screen. Finally she selected, and kissed him on the cheek, leaving him to place the order as she began to scroll through the channels.
She stopped hearing Julie Andrew’s voice, smiling as she recognized the beginning of the Sound of Music. She wasn’t sure Sir would want to watch this, but he’d said it was her day, and she believed him. She settled back, this time leaning against him, and snuggling close.
Luke smiled, placing their order and then forwarded the email to one of Evan’s butlers for them to bring up and leave outside the door to Luke’s rooms. He smiled when she kissed his cheek, feeling strangely homey. This wasn’t a feeling Luke had ever really wanted to feel, yet with Lauren, something felt strangely alright.
He curled his arms around her shoulders and looked up, reading on the guide what it was she’d selected. Luke nuzzled his nose into her hair and sighed, just holding her. “You know, I’ve never seen this movie?”
(Source: lukebrandt)
“I want,” she said, pausing to sit up and give him a gentle kiss, “to curl up next to you and watch whatever stupid movie we can find on tv. I want to order a takeaway, maybe Indian, and eat until our stomachs hurt, and then later I want to fall asleep right here next to you.” She sat back against the pillows, looking up at him, hoping he wouldn’t think she was silly for wanting an average couple’s night in.
Luke felt his smile spread across his face and he nodded. He kissed her one more time before standing up and grabbing his laptop. He sat beside her on the bed, letting her move however she wanted while he pulled up the local area’s takeout menus and started flicking through them. He grabbed the remote and put it in her lap and then turned the laptop so it was facing both of them. “Pick which one you want, then have fun finding a movie Lauren.”
He gave her a smile and leaned back against the headboard, feet out in front of him and waited for her to pick whatever she wanted.
(Source: lukebrandt)
After he kissed her, Lauren tilted her head to let it rest against his shoulder. She felt well loved, though that word had never been said. There was a strong chance it never would, and she’d certainly never say it first. With a soft sigh, more of contentment than anything else, she followed his lead into his bedroom, turning away from him to fall back onto the bed.
She scooted carefully until her back rested against the headboard, then beckoned him to her with a wag of her finger.
Luke watched her collapse onto the bed and he smiled, about to reach for her until he saw how she moved and the gesture with her finger. He arched and eyebrow but said nothing, only kicked off his shoes and slowly pulled off his shirt, leaving himself in only his jeans. Luke took his time, teasing her with his look for a moment before crawling onto the bed and over her, kissing her shoulder gently.
“And what would the birthday girl like to do now?”
(Source: lukebrandt)
“I never met my grandmother,” she told him, walking directly into his arms and gently kissing his cheek. She stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “I’m very fond of you, Luke.” Her cheeks grew warm at the action of using his name. “Why don’t you take me home now?”
She’d realized through the course of their game that home was where she really wished to be, or at least their temporary home, with Evan. She wanted to be snuggled next to him in his bed, or in hers, eating something unhealthy and watching a silly movie, and pretending that their relationship was normal for one night.
Lauren was full of surprises tonight. Luke didn’t know what to do for a moment as she walked right up to him. His hands quickly found her waist and held her there, wanting her closer. Her words, knowing that she was found of him, made him feel like a nervous school boy again and he found himself feeling simply happy about that. “Of course Lauren. We’ll go home now.”
He quickly turned, looping his arm around her waist and guided them in the direction of the house. As they walked, Luke turned his head to look down at her, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple.
(Source: lukebrandt)
As she walked down a random path, knowing they all eventually lead back toward the house, Lauren hummed softly to herself, some piece of music she could never remember where she’d heard it before. The melody was soft, like something from a dream or a fairy tale.
She wondered what it’d be like to be part of a normal relationship as she followed the path. It was a strange thing to her—nothing had ever explicitly stopped her from pursuing one, except the knowledge that she wouldn’t find what she wanted that way. Normal wasn’t best for everyone.
Luke was quiet, as quiet as possible as he made his way down the paths, wandering, trying to find her. He hadn’t thought it was going to be so hard to find her, but she seemed to be good at keeping out of his way, or maybe it was just that he was bad at finding her.
A few more minutes passed by when he heard humming and Luke smiled, recognizing the tone of Lauren’s voice and quickly trying to follow it. He ended up in front of her on the path and watched her coming closer to him. He stepped out, blocking her way and grinning. “Didn’t your granny tell you not to walk in the woods alone?”
(Source: lukebrandt)
Lauren watched as he disappeared back towards the water. She made no move to follow him, instead turning to the woods and slipping back into her clothing as she found each piece. She took her time, nearly dawdling.
She figured that it would only be a matter of time before he came to find her, and the idea left her tingling. It was definitely more like her to be pursued than to hunt.
Luke returned to where his own pile of clothes were and started pulling them back on. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t shocked that she had not followed him. She was usually so good, always wanting to be the best and yet tonight, when he’d given her whatever she wanted, she’d chosen to not follow him. It confused Luke, but he liked it too.
He wondered what her purpose was before giving up and heading back into the woods, listening carefully for any movement she could make, while being as silent as he could.
(Source: lukebrandt)
“You could just let me go?” Lauren asked with false hope. She was becoming more sure each week that he would never, ever let her go. At the same time, she knew if she asked…if it was what she truly wanted, he’d let her leave. Looking up into his face, she wondered for the thousandth time what she’d done to be lucky enough to have found him.
The moment of doubt that Lauren’s words brought him was quickly forgotten, pushed from his mind as Luke held her close. He didn’t want to let her go, but perhaps for this, their little role play, it could prove to be fun.
“Very well.” He quickly released her, taking a few steps away from her. “If you promise never to do it again, you’re free to go.” He smirked at her, daring her to do something before turning around and heading back to the pond.
(Source: lukebrandt)
Lauren squealed as his strong arms wrapped around her, scooping her up and trapping her against his chest. For a moment she enjoyed his warmth and forgot she was meant to be struggling. Remembering the game, she looked up at him through her eyelashes, and let her lower lip tremble.
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked him in a low whisper. “Please don’t hurt me.”
Luke laughed, holding his girl tight against his chest. He felt her relax, knowing that no matter what, she would always be comfortable in his arms. He took comfort in that and held her even tighter, watching as she looked up at him. Luke had to pull back the smirk that was slowly rising to his lips as her own trembled.
“You snuck onto my land and went skinny dipping in my private pond! What do you think I’m going to do to you? You’ll be punished for this.”
(Source: lukebrandt)
Lauren could feel the water covering less and less of her as she backed away. When the waves lapped against her thighs, she turned to run, sending up big splashes of water as she failed to move nearly as fast as she wanted to.
The adreniline was building inside her, both of them knowing she wouldn’t ever be fast enough. He was just so much bigger than her, his legs so much longer. She braced herself for his hands on her body.
Luke was prepared for her to run, but the splash shocked him. He sputtered against the water in his face before laughing and taking off after her. They were both naked, running across the grass to the water and Luke felt alive.
He let her run for a few minutes, keeping pace behind her but not trying to catch her yet. But then he grew tired and knew he wanted her in his arms and he picked up his pace, catching her in his arms and quickly lifting her up, careful not to tackle her to the ground. “Caught you.”
(Source: lukebrandt)
Lauren shivered. His words got right to the heart of the matter, exciting her. She had to bite down on her lip to remember the game—that he was a stranger and she should be afraid of him. Quickly, she took a step away, frowning.
“You—you can’t just say things like that. My friends know where I am, and they’ll be looking for me soon,” she lied, looking off into the woods for a place to run as she backed into the shallower water.
Luke felt like the predator hunting his prey and he smiled, shark like as she moved away from him. It was a thrilling feeling and Luke enjoyed it, seeing the quick look she gave to the words. There was no way for her to outrun him and she must have known that.
“I can say whatever I want to you. You sneaked onto my land, swam in my lake. You’re mine to do whatever I want to with.” Luke moved closer, the water rippling around him, his chest bare and cold and wet as it parted the water. He reached out for her, ready to grab her at anytime.
(Source: lukebrandt)
