Brooke stood in the doorway of her new apartment watching as five sweaty, sexy men in their twenties moved her things in and furniture around. She was irritated. Normally if she was in this position she would have all five men surrounding her, vying for her attention. Instead she was standing in the doorway scowling and thinking about a particular guy with buzzed cut blond hair and startling blue eyes. And a nice body. And a really, really big-

She was pushed out of her thoughts when she felt one hand go around her waist and pull her toward a body. Brooke's scowl deepened, "shouldn't you be at practice going over the videos of your opponents games?"

"Coach, gave me the day off so I could rest. When a man is injured he needs rest," Luke told her.

His thumb was rubbing her ribs and every once and again the underside of her breast. Oh, God, she wanted to kiss him!

"You better go get some of that rest then," was that her voice? All breathless and half choked?

"The thing about resting is that it can be boring without a partner," Luke explained. Before she could reply and deny him he pulled her to him and brushed his mouth very sweetly across hers. She felt her body become electric, every nerve waiting for his next move.

"Seriously, if you guys do this as often as I've seen it recently then I'm surprised no one picked up on the whole thing," Rachel's voice had Brooke jumping back four paces.

"We do," Brooke felt her tongue getting tied, "well just not in public. Ever!"

"Ever," Rachel questioned, hands on her hips.

"Nathan, what are you doing here," Luke asked.

Nathan grinned at Brooke, "not what you were doing."

"Everyone's a funny guy," Luke grumbled. He wasn't upset that they were caught, on the contrary he thought it would be very beneficial if everyone finally knew. However, he was very unhappy that his plans for his afternoon were interrupted.

"I just got my hair clip from their place and invited him down for dinner with us, I figured we could go over the rules and shit," Rachel explained.

Brooke nodded and sighed, "I suppose that does need to get done soon."

"The rules," Luke asked.

"Apparently now we're a part of a very big problem and there are rules that the girls are going to map out that we must follow so that they can protect us," Nathan smothered his smile. Rachel thought Nathan was very nice to do so because he still didn't understand what they were up against. Although, the fact that he been able to be in the forest that night and she hadn't detected him made him a case for study.

"Come on," Rachel motioned inside, "we'll cook and then talk over dinner."

As Luke closed the door behind all of them he looked at Brooke in surprise, "you cook?"

XOXOXOXO

"Man, can you cook," Luke groaned over the perfect pasta fettuccini that Rachel and Brooke had made from scratch with an easy comfort within the kitchen.

"We've been cooking since," Rachel looked to Brooke who was across the small table for four, "God, how long?"

"Years and years, Rachel's mother was a gourmet chef on top of being an angel," Brooke explained.

"Seems like an amazing lady," Nathan commented, his eyes on Rachel.

She nodded and then looked at Brooke with a tenderness that Nathan recognized. It was the way he felt about his mother, his brother and his sister. It was an easy comfort because there were no secrets.

"More than amazing," Rachel elaborated, "she had a presence. When she walked into a room everyone took note of her and everyone was a little bit better for knowing her. Brooke definitely got her goodness from Mom. When she came to live with us Mom would hold her when she had a nightmare, would do little things for her. Brooke does the same thing for me now."

"Rach," Brooke whispered her name painfully. Brooke felt as if she had lost two mothers in her lifetime. It had been painful every time, it never was easier, she never got over it.

"I'm not surprised, Brooke has a lot to her, it's just undercover. But it's in her eyes too," Luke was talking to Rachel, not even glancing at Brooke.

Rachel nodded in agreement, pleased that Luke had noted that. Finally Brooke huffed, "I am right here, people!"

"You're certainly right," Rachel flashed her a grin.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "rules!"

"Ah, yes, the illustrious rules," Nathan took another serving of the pasta and inhaled a large bite.

"If you ever feel like you're being stalked," Rachel began but Luke interrupted her.

"Stalked how?"

"Something in your room seems to have been moved when you know you didn't move it," Rachel gave the best example.

"Or you're walking down the street and you notice a car that's always parked in the same spot and you've never actually seen it move. Or you notice it parked every where you go, tell us immediately."

"What will you do," Nathan asked.

Brooke looked at Rachel, "we'll handle it."

"Oh, no you don't, you're not going to force me and Nate out. We're in it just as much as you guys are. Besides, we saved your asses last time."

"At what cost," Rachel wondered.

Everyone looked at Luke's sling. The game they were playing was for keeps, it was life or death. There was no pretty in between, just pain, just winning or losing.

"Rachel and I are specially trained to disappear. Since you two have become a part of this whole thing we've had to figure out how to disappear if we need to and still keep you safe. This isn't child's play, if he catches the scent of money in your family he will use all of his resources to get to you and to use you. Don't think he'll stop at you two, you're whole family became involved the second you were stupid enough to agree to go to Elizabeth City."

"I asked," Rachel reminded her.

"And risked their lives. That was the stupidest thing you've ever done," Brooke told her.

"Brooke," Nathan tried to forestall the storm he saw in Rachel's eyes.

"Well the stupidest thing you've ever done was to try and complete a mission that important without me! What the hell were you thinking, Brooke? Have you lost complete control of your senses? You never go into a voluntary mission without all of the weapons at your disposal. Rule number fucking eleven!"

"Rule number fucking one in my heart," Brooke rose and slammed her fists against the table, "never put Rachel in danger over myself!"

"Damn it Brooke," Rachel ran around the table and pulled her cousin into her arms.

Brooke held her and felt the cowardly beginnings of tears in her eyes, but she would not cry. Brooke Davis did not cry damn it!

"Okay, why don't we just sit down and get another glass of wine," Nathan offered. Both girls stared into each other's eyes and nodded before taking their seats again.

Luke took Brooke's hand and she looked down at it in awe. He never held her hand. Everything was becoming so surreal to her. This world was so different from the one she had inhabited before the guys had known about the real her.

"Okay," Rachel drank a healthy gulp of wine, "rules."

Brooke nodded and looked at both Scotts, "rules."

XOXOXOXO

"Why is everything so emotional with you two," Nathan asked later as Rachel walked with him toward his apartment.

Rachel smiled, "well first of all, and I'll bet you never guessed this one, we're girls."

"Hahaha," Nathan laughed sarcastically, "but really. Everything is so all or nothing!"

"Yeah," Rachel nodded, "that's just the way we roll. We work hard, Brooke especially, we play hard, as often as possible, and we laugh as hard as we cry. When life gets you down all the time you have to put something up against it or it just takes over and you turn into him."

"Him being Bill," Nathan asked.

Rachel turned and braced her hands on the railing so she could look over the campus, still in the dark silence of a Friday night unfulfilled. Soon everyone would be leaving, going out to party but she wouldn't it was always too risky. There was always a chance that he would see her. That he would catch her.

"That demented motherfucker deserves to pay," Nathan's voice surprised her with it's anger and passion.

"Don't get mad," she told him, "it's a futile emotion unless you can harbor that energy. Brooke can tell you something about that."

The wind caught her long red hair and it flew back to caress his bare arm. In the darkness it seemed to be a silken touch that set Nathan's body on fire. He had never wanted to touch a girl's body as much as he wanted to touch Rachel. She smelled like flowers. He just wanted to get a closer smell of it. He inched closer into her until his hands were braced on the railing too and so his strong forearms were brushing against her tiny waist. Finally he buried his nose right below her left ear.

"Nathan," her voice had gotten raspy, but not like Brooke's voice could get. Different, intriguing, and quite intoxicating.

"You smell like flowers," he whispered into her throat.

"Mariah Carey's new fragrance," she murmured.

"Your hair feels like silk."

"Herbal Essence," she tried to turn in his arms.

"I'm going to try hard to walk away, but if you turn around then I'll have no choice but to bury my tongue in your mouth to see how you taste," he stepped away from her as her body shuddered and would have begun a quick walk back to his apartment when she turned and pulled his tee-shirt until he was close enough. With little fanfare she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him the way she had wanted to kiss since the moment he had bumped into her. He groaned and lifted her until her body was locked to his.

XOXOXOXO

Luke watched as Brooke cleaned the dishes and neatly dried them. It was very patterned, very routine. But nothing about them was normal anymore. He couldn't stop thinking about her and as much as he would like to assume it was because he was a chivalrous Southern man who never wanted a woman to be in danger, he knew it was because he was beginning to fall in love with her.

"I like Rachel," he told her.

She looked at him over her shoulder, "me too. So if your brother thinks she's going to be a fuck and run then he can think again."

Luke felt the familiar boil of his anger. She always seemed to know what to say to piss him off, "Nathan isn't the type to 'fuck and run' as you so charmingly put it."

"Call it what you want but if he hurts her," she tossed a sharp knife in the air and caught it by the tip, behind her back, "I'll slice one of his testicles off."

"I'll relay that message," Luke told her.

"We can't afford to have you two as added baggage. I can't stress how important it is to be able to disappear without a moment's notice," Brooke continued on.

Luke tuned her out as he stared at her ass in the skin tight Capri length black leggings she wore. He wondered briefly if she was wearing underwear.

"Could you please focus and stop looking at my ass," her tone of voice snapped him back to reality.

He inched closer to her, "how do you always know?"

"A girl always knows, she may choose to ignore it but that's a whole other matter entirely," she told him, "and could you quit invading my space."

"Baby, I've been so deep inside of you before that there wasn't a such thing as space between us," she could have moved before he locked his arm around her waist, but she didn't. He knew she was thinking of the last time he had taken her in his bed, a rarity. Never had they had more intense sex, their eyes had locked as he had slid deeper and deeper within her until they were one.

"Lucas," she warned, "Rachel and Nathan-"

"Are probably making out in my apartment," Luke cupped her naked sex after putting his hand in her leggings and smiled into her throat, nope, no panties.

"Your arm," her legs began to tremble.

"You're so wet for me," he nibbled gently on her ear, "did you know I would come over here and see?"

She nodded against her own will. She had known on some level that he would get her to this point, he always did. Because like it or not, she was connected to him on a level that was far beyond her to understand.

"Take me into your room Brooke or I'll make love to you against this counter, door open, fuck Rachel and my brother," he warned her.

She nodded and led him into her room, and into much more than either of them could comprehend.