Disclaimer- I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories Emotion, Old Friends and Family.
It was a warm summers morning in Trinity SC and Lucas Buck was laying comfortably in his king size bed with Gail Emory lying naked on his chest. A few weeks had past since Gail's return to his home and he was happy that the visits were becoming more frequent. A week ago they had their usual discussion about their relationship being strictly physical and even though he knew she would come around to his way of thinking eventually, he chose to let her believe that lie for as long as she needed.
His plan for last night was to try something a little different and take her for dinner, then dancing. Although Gail liked to display a hard persona, he knew she had a light hearted side and that she loved to dance when she was alone. He thought it would be a nice surprise to show her his fun side for a change; however, they had never even gotten out of his house.
Gail had stopped by early, as something had clearly been bothering her and decided she wanted to have a few drinks before heading out. After a few glasses of wine she inspected his music collection, found Elvis Greatest Hits and placed the CD in the music system. She managed to stay reserved at first and just hummed along to the catchy tunes; however, after a few more drinks she was up on her feet and dancing around his living room, goading him to join her. It was only gentlemanly for him to comply with her wishes, so he got up and they danced seductively for half an hour. Inevitably the moves they performed became dirtier and dirtier until they both could not resist each other any longer, at which point Lucas lifted her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom.
Lucas had found himself being more tender with Gail in their recent encounters, since she had awoken from her coma a few months previously. He had seen her in a fragile state laying in a hospital bed and his subconscious had taken over to prevent him from hurting her. Gail on the other hand seemed to have different plans and wanted to be more rough, especially last night. She had pushed him hard onto the bed and tried to straddle him. Lucas had shaken his head and smiled, he wanted to be in control so he had rolled her over until he was on top and restrained her wrists effortlessly with his hands. She had tried to fight him but it was no use, it was not long after his hands dropped slowly to caress her body that they both could not resist any longer and he took her how he wanted.
The acts they performed went on until well after midnight, then they both became exhausted and fell asleep together. Gail did not usually want to stay the night and normally crept out when she thought he was asleep, believing he was unaware of her exit; therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when Lucas had been awoken by Gail on his chest playing with his chest hair. He had reached down to his blue silk bedsheets which were resting on her behind and pulled them half way up her back to ensure she was warm enough. He nuzzled his nose gently on her head and she looked up into his eyes. 'Morning' she said and pushed her face up towards his for a kiss.
Lucas kissed her passionately, stroked her back and decided not to question why she had stayed. 'You didn't sleep well?' he asked after their embrace.
Gail lay her head back on his chest, 'Well enough...did I wake you?'
Lucas nodded and stroked her face with his hand, 'I don't mind being woken up like this darlin'. What's bothering you?' he asked, 'Anything I can do to help?'
Gail kissed his chest and ran her hand down his stomach until it reached his manhood. Lucas took a large intake of breath and let out a small moan. 'There's something I can help you with' she smiled and gripped him gently.
Lucas went to roll her over, but she released him and pulled away from his grip. 'Now, now Sheriff. You got your way last night, it's my turn now' she said and placed herself on top of him.
'What ever the lady wants' Lucas said with a smile and gently pulled her face down to his for a kiss.
Caleb sat on his cousin Gail's front steps, waiting for her to come out. Since his birthday he had been spending more time at the cemetery and his sisters grave, Gail had told him she did not like him being there alone and promised to take him whenever he wanted to go. Well he wanted to go now, but his cousin was nowhere to be found.
He stood up, walked towards her front door and knocked again loudly. He could see that her car was not in the driveway so wondered whether she had either headed out early or stayed somewhere else last night. It was not like his cousin not to be home in the morning, he did not like not knowing where she was. The sound of a car door closing made Caleb turn around, he walked towards the figure walking down his cousins path and smiled when he saw Doctor Billy Peele.
'Hey Champ, what are you doing here so early?' Billy asked.
'Looking for Gail to take me somewhere' Caleb said, 'How come you're here Doc?'
Billy looked towards Gail's driveway and frowned when he did not see her car parked there. He gave himself a little shake so Caleb could not see his concern and turned back towards the boy. 'I've just finished the night shift at the hospital, I was hoping that lovely cousin of yours would be around to cook me some breakfast. Did you see her last night?'
Caleb shrugged, 'She picked me up from the library at about 7:00pm and dropped me at the Boarding House. She had an argument with someone on her phone then just left. You think she's ok?'
Billy had noticed his friend had been spending a lot of time on her mobile phone recently and she had become quite distant, that was part of the reason he had stopped by this morning. He had also noticed that she was not around in the evenings much any more and wondered whether the two were linked, or if something else going on. Billy noticed Caleb was staring at him and put on a reassuring smile, 'That cousin of yours is one of the toughest woman I know, she'll be fine. Do you want me to drop you off somewhere, save you waiting around here?' Billy asked.
Caleb considered the offer, he had told Gail that he would not go without her to the cemetery; however, he had tried to find her, it was not his fault that she was not around. 'Well seen as your offering' Caleb said with a smile.
Billy ruffled his hair and they both walked towards his truck.
Gail stood still in Lucas's shower, letting the water run off her skin. She had the water temperature hotter than she would normally, which meant her skin was starting to turn pink in the parts that the water was hitting. The heat did not bother her, she was too preoccupied to be concerned with something trivial like that. She turned around to let the water run down the front of her body, it felt soothing and helped her to relax. She had a big day ahead of her and she could feel herself starting to get anxious.
Gail was so lost in her thoughts that she had not heard Lucas enter the bathroom and step into the shower with her, she gave a little jump when she felt his hands caress her hips and he pulled her back into him.
Lucas kissed the back of her neck, then pulled away when he felt how hot the water was. 'Now I like a bit of heat as much as the next person, but your burning here darlin''. He said and reached over her to reduce the water temperature, Gail just lay back into him and did not say a word. Lucas smiled, placed his hands on her hips again, gently moved them over her stomach, then slowly reached down between her legs. He gave a triumphant smile when he heard her let out a small moan.
Gail let Lucas play with her, it helped relax her and made her forget about her worries. She reached behind, gently placed her hand around his manhood and let him kiss her tenderly on her neck. His hand began to move faster and she could feel him gently nipping at her neck with his teeth. The feeling of him so close was exquisite and she let him play with her for a moment longer, then came to her senses and pulled away from him. 'I have to go' she said turning to face him.
'Now?' Lucas asked confused.
'Now' she said sternly. 'You want to get out of the way please?' she asked when Lucas did not move, then carefully stepped around him and out of the shower.
Gail grabbed a towel and rushed towards the bedroom to find her clothes. She felt dirty having to wear the same clothes she had on last night; however, she had no choice, she just hoped no one that she knew would see her before she got home to change.
As she was headed out of the bedroom, Lucas came down the hall with a small towel wrapped around his waist. 'You're leaving in a hurry darlin', something I said?' he asked sarcastically.
Gail shook her head, sometimes he would get a look on his face which just made her want to smack him. 'Get out of my way Lucas, I'm late as it is' she said and stormed past him.
Lucas watched her walk carefully down the stairs, rush through his lobby and out of the front door. He shook his head and smiled, this may not have been the best end to their encounter; however, he was making progress.
Gail got out of her car quickly when she pulled up at her house and rushed down the path, trying to avoid being spotted. When she walked up her porch steps she sighed loudly when she saw Selena Coombs sat comfortably on her porch swing. Selena got up from her seated position and sauntered towards her with a smug smile on her face. When she reached Gail she moved a wet strand of her from her face, which made Gail take a step back.
'Don't be shy Gail, I've done the walk of shame a million times. I won't judge' she said, with the smug smile getting wider.
'Oh I bet you have' Gail said more judgemental than she had intended. She walked past Selena, opened her front door and signalled for the woman to follow her.
Gail walked through the living room to her bedroom, to find a suitable outfit for the day. She did not have time to deal with Selena right now; however, she would be polite as usual and try to get rid of her as quickly as she could. 'What's wrong Selena? Has Caleb done something?' she asked and reached for the hair dryer to dry her hair.
Selena had followed Gail to her bedroom door, but did not dare enter. She was not scared of pushing boundaries; however, she could sense her nemesis was not in the mood for their usual banter, so she decided to get to the point. 'I'm not here about your cousin, although he has become distant in class again. No, I'm here about Billy.'
Gail laughed, her friend was the furthest thing from her mind today. She turned on the hair dryer and tried to dry her hair straight, Selena could wait a 10 minutes before getting her full attention.
Looking in the mirror she shook her head at the state of her unruly, curly hair and reached for her straighteners. Once she had accomplished the seemingly natural sophisticated look she was going for, she stepped out of her bedroom still buttoning the cream blouse she had decided to wear and headed towards the kitchen to make herself a coffee. 'Last I heard Billy wanted nothing to do with you, so why are you bothering me?' Gail asked asked, as if no time had passed.
Selena could sense that Gail was on edge and it peaked her curiosity. The woman in front of her was usually calm and laid back, today she seemed to be more driven towards something and in a hurry. She wondered if Lucas knew what his little pet was up to and made a mental note to make further enquiries into the lovely Miss Emory's activities later today.
Right now she wanted to focus on Billy, she was trying to keep her activities with him completely separate from what she was trying to achieve with Lucas. She cared for Billy and she was happy that they were starting to spend more time together; however, the time spent together was not out in the open and he seemed to be hiding their relationship. Selena felt it was time to find out exactly what his relationship with Gail was and why he felt the need to hide.
Selena sauntered into the kitchen, picked up a mug and put it next to Gail's. She knew the woman would not be outwardly rude and would feel obliged to fill it with coffee for her. When Gail did just as she had expected, she took the cup and sat down on a stool by the kitchen counter. 'Clearly your information is not as good as it used to be Gail. Billy and I are back together, we have been for weeks.'
Gail sighed at how predictable Billy was, she knew her friend had been acting strange and had been making excuses to leave early on the odd few occasions she had seen him recently. She could feel Selena's eyes on her waiting to see what her reaction would be to the statement, she would not give Selena the satisfaction of reacting in a bad way. Gail shrugged, 'Oh well, clearly I've been too busy with Lucas Buck to pay attention to you two running around in the shadows. You remember how demanding Lucas can be don't you Selena?'
Selena smiled to hide her frustration. It infuriated her that Lucas had chosen this prim and proper woman above her, especially with how much history they had. Selena had once been the innocent preachers daughter with a respectable reputation; however, that all changed when Lucas Buck took a fancy to her when she was sixteen and he had turned her into what she was today. Lucas had helped her to see her true potential, it had taken some experimenting and some uncomfortable situations where she had to do things she would never of imagined she would do, but Selena was not mad at what she had become. She thrived on taking other women's men and proving she was better than them, it made her feel powerful when a man would do anything she wanted and all she had to do was show them a bit of attention and appreciation.
Part of her felt sorry for Gail, as she could have no idea what Lucas was really like and what he had planned for her. Even Selena could not imagine what he could possibly want with her, she believed that Gail would not be able to comprehend all the things he had done in the past and therefore would never truly be able to give him what he needed. Lucas may be trying to portray himself as the perfect gentleman with the lovely Miss Emory; however, Selena knew from experience that his facade could change at the drop of a hat and she did not believe Gail could handle his true nature.
Selena stood up and moved closer to Gail, fully aware that it had been a few minutes since Gail had asked her a question. 'Oh I remember all to well what our good Sheriff's needs Gail, in fact I find it hard to believe that such a lovely woman like yourself can handle his demands'
Gail straightened up and stared defiantly into Selena's eyes, neither woman seemed prepared to back down. 'I hate to disappoint you Selena, but I'm more than capable of seeing to our good Sheriff's needs. That should be obvious with how quickly he discarded you when I decided to give him a chance.'
Selena shook her head slowly and tried to hold back her anger. She did usually enjoy these little heated chats, as it was not often another woman actually held a conversation with her; however, Gail had struck a nerve. It was true that Lucas had suddenly decided he did not want her and she could not tell at the time whether it was due to her affections for Billy, or that his attentions had turned towards another woman. It was obvious that Lucas had gotten with Gail just as she was starting to make head way with Billy, but she truly did not believe the woman could offer anything but mundane sex and she thought Lucas would come crawling back to her sooner rather than later. So far that had not happened and this is why she was left trying to patch up her relationship with Billy.
Both women were focussed so much on each other that they had not heard the front door open. Billy walked into the living room with Caleb trailing behind him, but he stopped when he saw his friend and lover seemingly ready to pounce on each other in the kitchen. Billy had two older sisters so he knew better than to intentionally get in the middle of whatever women were doing; however, he was aware that Caleb was close and he would be expected to break up whatever this was before the boy witnessed anything inappropriate.
Before Billy had a chance to say anything, he saw Gail's stance soften as she turned towards him holding a cup of coffee. 'Morning Doctor. I think we should switch partners here, don't you?.' she said walking out of the kitchen and away from Selena.
Caleb came from behind Billy and headed straight for his cousin. Gail gave a warm smile and hugged him, but gave a non impressed glance at Billy when Caleb could not see her face. 'Where were you?' Caleb asked. 'Doctor Peele took me to visit Merly, but wouldn't leave me alone there'
Gail cupped Caleb's face gently in her hand. 'You shouldn't be left alone there Caleb, we've already discussed this'
'Where were you?' Billy repeated the boy's question, when he noticed Gail had avoided answering it.
'I was out' Gail said sternly, giving him a look which dared him to continue questioning her whereabouts. She returned her attention to Caleb when it seemed Billy had decided to drop the matter. 'So, did you do what you needed to do at Merlyn's grave?'
Caleb smiled, his cousin had been taking more of an interest in what he was doing recently. He knew she would always be worried about him with all the loss he had suffered; however, she had no idea that the loss was not as bad as she thought, as he could talk to his sister again and he had decided that her grave was he safest place for them to meet recently. 'I just cleaned off some leaves and made sure the flowers were still ok' he lied.
Gail nodded and smiled, she knew he was lying to her and something else was going on; however, she did not have time to get to the bottom of it just yet. She had an important meeting today and could not be late. She ignored Selena casually walking out of the kitchen and began to look for her bag. Once she had located it, she checked she had everything she needed then turned towards all her visitors. 'Right, you all feel free to stay as long as you want, but I've got somewhere to be'
Caleb looked at her suspiciously, but decided not to question his cousin just yet as she seemed to be in a rush for some reason. Gail gave him a big hug and kiss on the cheek before heading out of her house. Caleb turned towards Doctor Peele who just shrugged and signalled for them all to leave.
Lucas entered the Sheriffs Station to see Ben and Floyd having a debate about something. He could not imagine these two having an intelligent conversation and smiled to himself when he heard the debate get heated. When both men noticed Lucas had entered the building they straightened up and turned towards him. 'Morning boy's...' Lucas said '...do I dare ask what you two are arguing about?'
Ben shook his head, stepped away from Floyd and sat down. 'It's nothin' Lucas, we're just talkin''
'It's not nothin'' Floyd said and moved closer to Lucas. 'I was telling Ben that Johnny Cash is the greatest country singer of all time, but Ben disagreed!'
Lucas looked at Ben and sighed, 'Now Ben, Cash is one of favourite artists. What reason would you have for disrespecting him, that's sacrilege.' he said in a serious tone, it amused him making his Deputy squirm.
Ben shifted in his seat uncomfortably, 'I wasn't saying nothin' like that Lucas. It's just that recently I've been listening to Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson who have made me have a new appreciation for the music, that's all'
Lucas shook his head and ignored the sound of the bell above the Sheriff's Station door. 'A new appreciation huh? You've been spending too much with Miss Emory, stick to the classics Deputy'
'Gail Emory?' an unknown man asked from behind him.
Lucas, Ben and Floyd all turned towards the interruption. The stranger had a tall handsome frame and was wearing a grey suit, which instantly got Lucas's back up. Lucas did not like to be interrupted and it had thrown him off at the mention of Gail's name. He looked the man up and down trying to get a feeling of his intentions, to say Lucas was curious at this intrusion was an understatement.
Lucas stood tall beside the stranger and flashed his most welcoming smile, which he reserved for newcomers to Trinity. 'I don't believe we've met friend. I'm Sheriff Lucas Buck, that's Buck with a B...and you are?'
The stranger stared suspiciously at Lucas, but put on a confident smile 'I'm Gregory Jones and I'm looking for Gail Emory, is that who you were referring to before?'
Lucas did not like this man, he had an arrogance about him and he did not seem to be fazed by Lucas's presence. He hid his feelings from the man and continued showing his welcoming, disarming smile. 'Are you a friend of Miss Emory, Gregory?' Lucas asked avoiding the question and being aware that the man had not said he could call him by his first name.
Gregory shifted in the spot he was standing, he could not believe the audacity of the man in front of him. Gregory was the type of man who was used to getting his way quickly and for the fact that this small town Sheriff was ignoring his question, not to mention casually called him by his first name, was beginning to irritate him. 'Well Lucas, I am a very close personal friend of Miss Emory's and I'd appreciate you telling me where I can find her.'
Ben watched both men in front of him carefully and was ready to step in if the situation veered out of control.
Gail cursed herself as she left the small coffee shop that she had arranged to meet Gregory at, she knew she should have gotten there earlier. Damn Lucas Buck and his playful ways, it was getting harder and harder to resist his affections. She had planned to just have a drink with him then head home for an early night last night in preparation for today, but she would never have guessed that Lucas would let his hair down and dance with her, as he usually seemed so driven towards some unspeakable goal when he was with her. His actions had intrigued her and she could not help but stick around to see where they led.
She could try and blame Lucas all she wanted; however, she could not deny that it was her will power, or lack of, that had resulted in her staying the night and most of the morning when she knew she had somewhere to be. Now she had found that her appointment had disappeared and he was not answering his phone, the only way this could have been worse is if he had run into Lucas.
Gail's heart dropped at the realisation and she stopped in her tracks, 'Oh please god no' she said out loud and closed her eyes. Gail ignored the old woman in front of her, who was staring at her like she was crazy and inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm herself. If she was looking for someone and had no idea where to start, she would surely head for the nearest police station. Gail spun around and headed for the Sheriff's Station which was only around the corner, she cursed out loud when she saw the silver Jaguar parked out front and hurried across the road towards the door.
When Gail entered the Sheriff's Station, she was greeted with her lover and Gregory squaring up to each other. This was not good. It was bad enough that she had to have this meeting with him, if Lucas got involved things would go from bad to much worse. She looked around the room and spotted Ben, she sighed with relief and gave him a look to be ready if things went south.
Surveying the situation she made the most logical choice she could think of and placed her hand on Gregory's arm, she would deal with Lucas at a later time. Gregory turned towards her and his serious look softened when he saw her. He took her in his arms and spun her around, before placing a kiss on her lips. 'Hello stranger, I wondered when you'd show up.'
Gail put on her best smile and stroked his arm, trying to ignore the furious look she could feel coming from Lucas. 'Well stranger, a girl has to work and this town keeps me busy. It would have been nice if you would have stayed put rather than making me search high and low for you, shall we go get a coffee?' she asked, eager to get away from prying eyes she could feel resonating towards her.
Gregory glanced at Lucas, then back at Gail and held out his arm for her to take. Gail put her arm around his and let him lead her out of the building. Before the door fully closed she shot Lucas a look which indicated he was not to follow her and then left. When outside Gail let go of Gregory's arm and began to walk in the direction of the coffee shop.
Lucas stared in disbelief as the Sheriff's Station door closed and tried to take control of the darkness inside him, which he felt slowly trying to rise to the surface. He could picture Gail and Gregory in his minds eye crossing the road, it would not take much to imagine a car running the man over and to make it happen. He was aware that both Ben and Floyd were watching him carefully; therefore, this would not be the time for the man to have an 'accident'.
Lucas turned away from the men and headed to his office so he could think. Once he was in his private place with the door closed, he took a deep breath to calm his anger. The darkness inside him was calling for him to act and a big part of him wanted to give in to it's will.
He had lived with this darkness as long as he could remember and it took all of his strength not to let it consume him. When he was a young boy, not much younger than Caleb, his mother had died and the darkness had surfaced. Even at a young age Lucas was not naive and deep down he knew his father had murdered her. Although the darkness had tried to consume him then, he had learned to control it and used it's power when he needed it the most.
It was safe to say that his father had come to a bad end, but not before Lucas could punish him for what he had done to his mother. His mother had been a good god fearing woman and he knew that the slow, painful death that he had made his father endure would not have pleased her; however, this was who he was and each time the knife pierced his fathers skin, it had given him great pleasure.
Since that fateful night, Lucas had lived with the darkness inside of him and came to think of it as his twin. His twin would surface when things were not going his way and within moments any obstacle in his way would be eliminated. He had kept his twin on a tight leash after Gail had given herself to him, there was a goodness in her which reminded him of his mother and he did not want to deal with the disappointment that he knew would follow if he let his twin take over. Sure he had let his twin out once in a while, like when he needed the good Judge to sign Matt Crower over to Juniper; however, the good Doctor had covered his tracks for him when he decided to take a shot at him.
Although there was goodness in Gail, he could sense a darkness inside her too. This is one of the things that drew him to her and he truly believed they were kindred spirits. It was clear to him that they were meant to be, when Gail had admitted she would not change him if she could. Even after she found out that he had forced himself onto Caleb's mother, she still found a way to overcome her feelings and come back to him.
Family clearly meant a lot to Gail, probably because she had grown up without one and he knew it was hard for her to disregard what he had done to Judith. He had no doubt that the feelings she pushed deep down would feed her darkness and would surface one day like his twin. The thought excited him and it would give him great pleasure helping her reach her full potential.
Lucas had taken a seat behind his desk and was leaning back in his chair, trying to relax and push his twin back down. It was getting harder to control the darkness inside and he could hear it whispering to be let out. Lucas took another deep breath and closed his eyes, it was taking all of his concentration to regain full control of himself and he could not tell whether the thoughts of what Gail could become were helping to calm his twin or feeding it's desires. Lucas was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he had not heard Ben knock on the door and enter.
'Oh Lucas, I'm sorry' Ben said uncomfortably.
Lucas exhaled loudly and sat up. 'What?' he asked agitated.
Ben was nervous, he could tell Lucas did not want to be bothered and that there would be hell to pay with what he was going to tell him; however, if he did not break the news to Lucas, the consequences would be worse. 'Well, I sometimes read the Charleston Post and well, um...there's a story in there today about, um...'
'About what Ben?' Lucas asked standing up and holding his hand out for the paper.
Ben handed him the paper and looked down at his feet. 'Well, about Tommy Wallace signing on to run for Sheriff'
Lucas stared at the paper in disbelief, he had been so distracted over the past few weeks with his son's birthday and Gail that he had forgotten it was election month. Lucas laughed out loud when he saw the name of the reporter covering the story, it looks like his lover had been keeping secrets from him. He could not blame her, it was his own fault for becoming complacent and it was his responsibility to know everything that was going on in his town. He threw the paper down on his desk and started walking out of the office, 'Come on Ben, I think we may have a few things that we need to do today.'
Ben shifted uncomfortably on the spot and Lucas smiled, it looked like his twin may get the chance to come out and play after all.
-To be continued-