Gail forced herself to focus on a spot on the ceiling as she bit her bottom lip hard, causing a small trickle of blood to fall on her tongue and reminding herself of pain rather than succumbing to the pleasure that her Husband so often gave her. She would have preferred to continue to cut him off, a fitting punishment for the disrespectful way that he had treated her a week earlier at the behest of Malcolm; however, she had chosen to take the high road in an attempt to be a good role model for her children and today was his birthday after all, she could put her disappointment to one side on the day that should be a celebration of the man she had damned herself for.
As Lucas' body weighed heavy on her chest and stifled her breaths, she could not help but wonder if this was how it would feel to be buried alive. The thick earth pushing heavy on her body and cutting off her air supply, would that be so different than if Lucas decided to put all of his weight on her? His muscular frame crushing her petite bones and slowly suffocating her to the point of no return? She supposed not and began wondering if her Mother had felt something similar as the smoke filled her lungs when she was trapped in the burning building on the 4th of July.
Lucas was aware that Gail was still mad at him due to his frank words of the previous week, and he knew her choice to disconnect from their current intimate embrace was an attempt to show that she was not easily controlled; therefore, he had decided to allow her to continue her charade, he was inside of her and they were too connected for her to pretend that she was not enjoying this act as much as he was.
Lucas continued to knead her breasts as he sucked on her neck affectionately, thrusting his hard manhood deep inside of her with every satisfying moan and smiling when her soft hands stroked his back, as she subconsciously pulled his body to hers so the warm skin on their stomachs touched and there was no space between them. When he sensed her mind completely wander from him, his hand moved to her neck instinctively and he squeezed hard, smiling when her eyes moved from the ceiling to his and she was back with him.
'Do it, it'd make your life so much easier' Gail goaded, as the remnants of her vision lingered and she remained in that dark place with her Mothers gut wrenching screams.
Lucas saw the torture in her eyes and forced his way into her mind, taking in a long frustrated breath when he caught the glimmer of the fire and heard the last terrified scream before her haze completely disappeared. He should not have brought up her Mother, that had been uncalled for and it had stirred up memories which should have remained buried. She had not been the same since his cruel words at the old Temple farm and her cool demeaner was disconcerting. 'Don't say things like that...I ain't fallin into that trap' he advised, moving his hand from her neck down her body and gripping her behind as he thrust deeper inside of her.
Gail let out a low pained moan at the force of his thrust, then let out a small laugh and shook her head. 'Oh I wouldn't dream of trapping the all seeing Lucas Buck, a little simple woman like myself wouldn't even dare to step a foot out of line' she said sarcastically, closing her eyes as a strong surge of pleasure flowed through her and she subconsciously pulled his body to hers.
Lucas smiled as she failed to hide her arousal and continued his slow movements with her unspoken approval, not wanting to rush and savouring the feeling of her closing in around him. 'You're the smartest most complicated person I know Love, simple don't even touch the surface' he laughed, brushing his lips over her hard nipple and taking it in his mouth teasingly.
Gail tangling her hand in his hair and gave him her full attention, allowing him to make love to her against her better judgement. She hated it when he got like this, considerate and gentle; however, this was his day and she cared too much to spoil it by taking away what he wanted.
'Atta girl...you know I'll return the favour when it's your day' Lucas advised as he released his mouth from her breast, then began sucking her neck affectionately.
Gail forced herself to relax and let him take her as he wanted, never understanding why he insisted on this gentleness every so often. She supposed it was his way of remaining in control of her, keeping her heart solely his. She hated this act as it reminded her of the weak part of herself, which melted every time he let his guard down and showed his true feelings for her. There was no tough facade here, everything lay bare and he stripped away a piece of her soul every time he thrust deep within her gently.
'Stop, clear your mind and just allow yourself to feel' he whispered, as he cupped her chin softly and brought down his lips on hers.
Gail closed her eyes and savoured the taste of his tongue in her mouth, as they kissed passionately. She let go of her disappointment, her upset and embraced her climax as it began to build slowly within her.
It was taking all of Lucas' control not to quicken his pace and he continued taking her softly, opening himself up to the deep surges of pleasure which took over when they played liked this and sensed that she was as close as he was. When Gail lost control and called out his name uncontrollably, he could not hold on any longer and he erupted inside of her, burying his head into her chest to stifle his own call.
'Happy Birthday Soulmate' Gail whispered begrudgingly into his ear, panting hard and struggling to regain control of her breath.
'Thank you Love, I expect your behaviour today to remain this good throughout the day' Lucas responded sarcastically, then kissed her passionately before she pushed him off of her and ordered him to the shower so he could address their children appropriately.
Caleb sat in his Fathers large Grandfather chair in front of the fireplace, shaking his head at his siblings indiscreet giggles while he read his book. Luke had stumbled across Gail's bag of goodies for the annual Halloween party later and had taken some party poppers, deciding to rope his Sister into being an accessory and they both hid either side of the door to the Study. 'It ain't gonna work' he warned, trying one last time to get his siblings to see sense.
'Shush, you're gonna ruin it!' Luke snapped moodily, not moving from his current position.
'Yeah shhh' Gail Jr copied quietly, then put her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles when she heard the strong footsteps of her Father coming down the stairs.
'Suit yourselves, don't say I didn't warn ya' Caleb shrugged with a sigh, then turned the page and continued to read his book.
Lucas made his way casually down the stairs and through the small room leading to his favourite Study. He had hoped to have more fun with his Wife before taking on the day; however, she had chosen not to join him in the shower and had headed down before he had returned to their bedroom, showing that she had only temporarily put her disdain of him to one side. That was alright, her choice to put aside her anger at all to see to his needs on his birthday meant that she still cared and he could work with that.
As he neared the open door to the Study, his senses spiked and he gave off a devilish smile. He opened up his minds eye and released his twin, then waited for a moment before jumping in front of Luke and yelling 'Boo!' just as his twin grabbed his Daughter with a jolt and raised her in the up air quickly, causing both children to scream in fright at the top of their lungs.
'Told ya' Caleb said smugly, smiling at the terror of his siblings, then his smile disappeared when he spotted Gail stood with her arms folded at the opening the Kitchen and staring unimpressed at the frightened young ones.
Lucas sensed Caleb's mood shift and instantly felt a strong irritation aimed at him. He turned towards the Kitchen to see Gail Jr running crying to her Mother and Gail shook her head in agitation at him as she picked her up, pulling her close to her chest and stroking her back reassuringly.
'It was just a game Love' Lucas advised, picking up Luke who was not near as scared as Gail Jr.
'Your opinion will count when you have to waste hours settling them down' Gail retorted unimpressed, then headed back into the Kitchen with her Daughter to cut off any reply that he may have had.
Caleb inhaled deeply in frustration as the tension rose in the room, then got up and handed his Father his present in an attempt to act as though everything was fine for Luke. 'Happy Birthday, it ain't much but what do you get the guy who has everythin' right?' he asked sarcastically, taking Luke from him so he could open it.
Lucas smiled at Caleb's attempt to keep things running smoothly, even if it was just for the sake of his Brother. 'The Satanic Versus by Salman Rushdi...you thought of this on your own?' he asked curiously.
'I'd be lyin' if I said I did, it seems someone ain't as disloyal as you'd think and she does actually put the effort into pleasin' you even when you don't deserve it' Caleb responded, not wanting to take sides but unable to shake the wounded look on Gail's face when his Father had insulted her.
Lucas shot Caleb a look of warning for speaking out of turn, then watched as he just shook his head and exited the Study with Luke.
'I don't know what you've done but I'd just go to work, enjoy bein' spoilt by the people you serve and these lot will get over whatever's irked 'em' Abe suggested as he entered the Study with Stacie, not blind to the hostility Gail had been attempting to hide over the past week.
'I think you're right 'ol man, I'd take the tedious well wishes of my townspeople to this irritable lot...Come on, I'll give you a lift in' Lucas sighed, signalling for Abe to follow him and not bothering to say goodbye to his family.
'Daddy's mad' Gail Jr said sadly, as her Mother brought her back into the Study when he was gone.
'Oh we're all mad here Sweetie' Gail forced a smile and sarcastic tone, then took in a deep breath to calm herself and returned to the Kitchen to continue preparing the large birthday cake for her Husbands party.
Lucas nodded charmingly towards the two elderly ladies who had brought him a basket of muffins as they exited the Sheriff's Station, then placed the basket beside the other 12 basket of muffins that he had received earlier.
'Well, it's safe to say that you're still highly thought of' Ben laughed, staring in disbelief at the amount of food gifts and flowers that had been brought in throughout the morning, which were scattered around the reception area.
'What can I say, my public have good taste' Lucas responded, then shook his head at the state of his Station.
'Oh I don't know, one may call it blind obedience, or just an overall low intelligence of herd mentality' Merlyn added sarcastically and smiled at the look of irritation that Lucas shot her, clearly annoyed that he had been so distracted to sense her arrival.
'I thought you were on vacation?' Lucas asked abruptly, not dignifying her comment with a response.
Merlyn moved closer and leaned over the counter casually, wondering how many homeless people that all this food could feed. 'Billy didn't wanna miss your birthday, and I wanted to check in to make sure Gail ain't murdered you and buried you under the patio due to your insensitive remarks' she joked, then sensed his rage spike and realised that Caleb had not been overexaggerating the tension when he had called her.
Lucas approached her dominantly, feeling a sudden need to punish her insult, then felt a wary hand grab his arm.
'I don't know what's goin' on with you and Gail, but she's only jokin'. Don't do anythin' you'll regret' Ben advised cautiously, knowing the look on his face all too well and not wanting to deal with the fall out of an incident.
Merlyn saw the rage in his eyes and could not believe that Ben was willing to turn the dangerous attention to him. 'He's right Lucas, I don't mean no harm...You need to take a minute to think' she added, not wanting Ben to deal with the danger alone.
Lucas looked from Ben to Merlyn, then let out a small laugh and headed to his office away from any interruptions. He closed the door and sat behind his desk, taking in a deep breath to regain his composure. Lashing out would be the worst thing he could do right now, it would appear unwarranted and it would only hurt his family.
'When did you become so whipped?' Malcolm asked from the corner of the office, shaking his head at his Son's inaction. Before he had met the Heathen, he would not stand for any remarks against him whether they were a joke or not.
Lucas closed his eyes in exasperation and leaned back in his chair. 'Since when do you have the balls to insult me so openly? You think hidin' in the shadows implies any form of strength?' he shot back at him, not believing his bad luck and just wanting to be left alone.
'Fine, I'll go bother your eldest. He's more willin' to have fun than you are these days anyhow' Malcolm sniped, then disappeared before his Son could respond.
Lucas took in another deep breath, then slammed his fist hard on his desk in anger and stood up, ready to unleash all hell on someone deserving of his attention.
'Whoa there cowboy, you don't think you're headin' out alone do you?' Billy asked sarcastically, as he opened the door to the office just as Lucas was charging out.
'What do you want?' Lucas snapped, not in the mood for any more lectures.
'Hey, I just cut my trip short to drink myself into an immense stupor with you, you wanna lose the attitude friend?' Billy responded bluntly, speaking to Ben previously and refusing to allow his best friend to be in a mood on his birthday.
'I'm Sheriff of Trinity and it's the middle of the day, this ain't no time to hittin' the bottle' Lucas advised, starting to push passed Billy then staring at him in disbelief when he continued to stand in his way.
'If now ain't the time, then when is?' Billy asked playfully, pulling out a hip flask full of whiskey and taking a sip before passing it to Lucas expectantly.
Lucas let out a small laugh at the man's audacity, then realised he was serious and shook his head. 'I suppose it would be insensitive of me to allow you to drink alone when you have dragged yourself away from that tight young thing' he responded coolly, then took the hip flask from him and took a large gulp.
'Atta boy, that's the Lucas Buck I know' Billy laughed, placing his hands around his shoulders and led him out of the Station to have some fun.
-To be continued-
