Gail sat behind her desk, staring at the blank screen in front of her. It had been a trying time with having to monitor Christie's suspicions whilst working on a story herself and she was becoming tired of it all. She had considered stealing the Tattooist story, they had both been investigating and she would write a more gripping article anyway; however, this would involve her lying to ensure Lucas was kept far away from the subject matter and she had sworn that she would never sacrifice her professional integrity for anything.
The situation was infuriating and to make matters worse, Lucas had changed tactics and started sending her unusual gifts rather than flowers, after she had showed her loyalty when he found her with Dylan. Gail was trying her best to stay mad at him; however, the last gift he sent was very well thought out and she could not deny that she he was beginning to break through her barriers.
Maybe it was their lack of union of late, she would never had guessed that being cut off would bother her so much and it was starting to impact her ability to remain in control. Either that or releasing her darkness had caused their connection to stir once again and she could not deny that pushing Dylan had made her feel good.
Gail gave herself a mental shake and focused on the problem at hand, she pondered over her options for a moment and smiled when an idea came to mind. Gail began typing, her smile getting wider as she released her creativity in a way that would benefit several parties and she could not believe she had not considered this sooner.
Lucas lay in bed staring up at the patterns carved into his ceiling, the sun shone through the open bedroom window and it accentuated the workmanship that had gone into this room.
He heard Luke pulling at the wooden bars on his crib and did not have to look at him to know he had pulled himself up, in an attempt to escape. His youngest son was getting strong and he had no doubt that the boy would surpass all others with his development; however, it was about time he got the boys Mother home, to ensure both of their talents were nurtured in the appropriate way.
Although Gail had proven her loyalty with the act on Johnson's Bridge, she still appeared to be gunning for him on a professional level and she did not appear to be impressed that he had allowed Dylan to survive the ordeal she had forced upon him. Lucas thought that showing some compassion may have turned her back to his way and had arranged for several unique gifts to be delivered to her office to show his appreciation of her; however, this only served to push her further away and he was running out of ideas of how to correct this situation.
What did not help the matter was Christie, he had noticed she was questioning the murder of Gail's Tattoo Artist more and more these days. Gail was still mad at his loss of control and was not providing any assistance; therefore, he was left with a hard choice of what to do with the meddling Reporter, who happened to be his estranged wife's best friend of late.
This situation had dragged on for far to long and the longer Gail was away from him, the more outside influences tried to keep them apart. He would not have that and he was starting to grow tired of the disobedience which surrounded him.
A small knock took him away from his thoughts and he nodded at Caleb peering around the door, to authorise his entry. Caleb waved happily at Luke, then disregarded his brother's frustrated cry to be freed and sat on the bed beside Lucas.
'You need a lift to school?' Lucas asked, without moving from his position on the bed and continued to stare up at the ceiling.
'Nah, I'm gonna ride...You need anythin' from me before I go?' Caleb asked, wanting to show his willingness to serve his father.
Lucas sensed the boys eagerness to please him and shook his head. 'If you can drag your cousin back here, then great. If not, we're all good for now son' Lucas forced a smile and signalled for him to leave.
Caleb let out a long sigh and shook his head, annoyed at his cousin for affecting their family life. 'Here' he said, throwing the Trinity Guardian newspaper on the bed and gave Luke a kiss before leaving the room.
Lucas inhaled deeply, then got out of bed to pick up Luke and sat back down with him clinging to his chest. He picked up the newspaper and turned it over in his hands, not interested in mundane articles by his loves colleagues; however, his attention was instantly drawn to the front page headline when he realised who the author was. His mouth opened in shock at the words, then he quickly turned to the two page spread and began reading curiously.
Lucas disregarded Luke pawing at his face and began laughing, causing his son to mirror his reaction. He threw the newspaper down and headed to his wardrobe with Luke and picked out suitable outfits for them both to head to his office.
Ben stood behind the Sheriff's Station counter, staring disapprovingly at the Reporters who had filled the reception area. He had not been impressed that he had been kept out of the loop and was furious that Lucas had thrown him to the wolves by not turning in.
'Come on Deputy, surely you have a comment? Is it true that he's already been arrested and is here in the Station?' a tall pale man asked and pushed a tape recorder into Ben's face.
'Have you had him in custody for long? And is it true that he could be linked to the murder in Goat Town?' Danielle asked, trying to gather more information than had been published in the Trinity Guardian for her television segment.
'Calm down Danielle, you wouldn't wanna force me to scare my boy with the grizzly details of such a crime would you?' Lucas asked charmingly, as he entered the Sheriff's Station with Luke in his arms.
Danielle turned towards him and melted at the sight of the beautiful baby, who looked to image of his father. 'Of course I wouldn't want this gorgeous boy to be subjected to any bad comment, but we all have to work extra hard to keep ahead of your wife Sheriff' she said with a hint of accusation in her tone, then remembered who she was talking to and took a cautious step back.
'I guarantee my wife doesn't get the scoop from me' he informed her, 'In fact, I'm pretty damn pissed that this story ran before I could give an official statement'
'And what would that statement be Sheriff?' Christie asked bitterly, not entirely sure that she trusted the information her friend had gotten published.
Lucas walked up to her casually and stared deep into her eyes. 'That I won't comment on any active case, regardless of who's askin'' he said bluntly, then signalled for all the Reporters to leave.
Christie stood tall and stared at him defiantly for a moment, then shook her head and left with the other Reporters.
Lucas watched her leave, then shrugged at Ben when he shot him an accusing glance and handed Luke to him, before heading to the cells. He glanced through the small window on the door and smiled when he saw Dylan in a cell, apparently passed out. He did not know how he had gotten in there and he was curious as to what this all meant.
After Dylan had gotten on his radar, he had found out of his unauthorised actions with a lot of women in his Town and had added him to his list of townspeople who required punishment; however, it appeared the matter was already in hand and he was intrigued about what his love had been hiding from him.
'You should be more concerned about what isn't being hidden' Gail said from her seated position behind his desk and waited for him to come to her.
Lucas sensed her immediately when the words came left her mouth and headed straight for his office. He smiled when he found her sat with her legs crossed on his chair and closed the door, so they could be alone. 'Have you been a good girl Mrs Buck?' he asked teasingly, as he approached her position and knelt down in front of her, unable to hide how impressed he was with her actions.
Gail inhaled deeply and shook her head. 'I'd have been a very good girl had your townspeople not caused a Reporter to start digging up dirt on you' she advised, disregarding her own blame in adding to Christie's suspicions.
Lucas laughed, then licked his lips as he parted her legs and ran his hand up her calf slowly. 'It ain't my fault your friend's jealous of what I am to you' he stated knowingly.
Gail narrowed her eyes at him, then let out a small laugh and leaned closer to him. 'Jealousy isn't what drives people like Christie and I, it's inconsistencies and falseness that lead the way for a take down' she advised and allowed him to keep touching her for the moment.
'Well the last time she decided to threaten me, you hurt her fatally...Do I need to be concerned with a potential sudden outburst?' he asked, disregarding her comment and enjoying their closeness. 'Truly I don't mind your colourful behaviour, but I'd like a little warning to make sure you're well protected from the backlash'
'You should be concerned about how you're going to get that man in there to confess to a murder he didn't commit, when my article only details his sexual assaults' Gail advised, disregarding his question and attempting to ignore the pleasure of his hands stroking her legs.
'And you're fine with me puttin' an innocent man in this position?' he asked, knowing how much her morals and integrity mean to her.
'That man isn't innocent. I know how many women he's hurt and there's a list of a lot of his victims all neatly labelled in that envelope over there, to enable you to close this case promptly' Gail glanced towards the large white envelope she had sealed with his name on it, then held up her wrist and showed her bracelet. 'I suppose I should thank you for this'
Lucas ran his finger over the white gold bracelet, with a small dreamcatcher attached and a symbol carved into it. 'I gathered you'd appreciate something a little unique, rather than the 100 bouquets of flowers that I've sent you in the past few weeks' he advised and watched her closely, unsure what to make of her change in behaviour and not wanting to give her an excuse to pull away.
Gail inhaled deeply and tried to remember how it felt when he pressed the knife against her neck, in an attempt to push away the sudden wave of feelings that flowed through her. She did not know why she had come here, she initially thought it was to revel in the justice she had started for the victims of Dylan's attacks; however, her attention was not focused on him, it was firmly on the Adonis in front of her.
Lucas sensed her thoughts and inhaled deeply. 'Infinity, you recognise the symbol?' he asked, then pushed his hands gently beneath her short skirt and smiled when she did not fight him.
Gail closed her eyes and shook her head, he had hurt her deeply and no gift was going to take that away; however, if he had truly hurt her so bad, why was she plagued with thoughts of how good it felt when he was inside of her? Her mind was conflicted and she was using all of her will power to remain in control.
'I'm sorry' he whispered, as he cupped her chin in his hands and gently pulled her lips to his.
Gail kept her lips closed, not allowing him pierce her barrier; however, when he repeated the words again she felt a strong wave of warmth flood through her and welcomed his tongue into her mouth. They kissed passionately for a moment, then Gail pulled away and stood up.
Lucas grabbed her hand from his kneeling position and pulled her back to him. 'Don't go' he requested, close to pleading and nipped at her fingers teasingly.
'I'm already gone' Gail advised, stroking his soft beard gently and tried to leave again.
'No' Lucas ordered and pulled her down to a kneeling position on the floor with him. 'This ends now'
Gail was about to insert her own dominance when she saw the yearning in his eyes and let out an exasperated breath. 'Is this something I'm supposed to get used to?' she asked, ignoring his statement and stroking his beard again.
Lucas had expected her to fight him and her question threw him. When he regained his senses, he pushed her down gently and slowly parted her legs. 'Only until I have my fun' he said seductively, then removed her panties and rubbed his beard softly over her sweet spot.
Gail allowed herself to be controlled and welcomed his touch. The small hairs tickled her and she could not hold in her laughter, until he pushed his tongue inside of her and caused an intense surge of pleasure to flow through her.
'Come home' he whispered, then began making patterns inside of her with his tongue.
Gail bit her bottom lip and shook her head, not wanting to allow him to win.
Lucas sensed her action and pushed two fingers inside of her, then licked her delicate area while pushing his fingers in and out of her. 'Come home' he repeated, sensing her enjoyment and willing her to unravel for him.
Gail was losing her mind, it had felt like a lifetime since he had satisfied her and she was trying so hard to remain in control. 'No' she snapped, then let out a low moan when she felt him nip her playfully and let out a small laugh.
Lucas sensed her barrier falter and unzipped his pants quickly, then thrust his hard manhood inside of her. He laughed when she let out a surprised moan and began moving in and out of her slowly. 'You will come home today' he ordered, then sped up his movements and let out a loud moan when she ripped open his shirt and clawed at his chest.
Gail shook her head for a moment, then let out a frustrated breath and kissed him passionately. She missed her boys and the way Lucas made her feel, no matter how much he had hurt her. Lucas was complicated, she knew that before she got involved with him and she also knew that he would not openly try to hurt her, unless he sensed his sons in danger.
Lucas waited for her response and when none came, he slowed his movements again. 'Yes? he asked hopefully.
'Yes' she repeated, begrudgingly.
Lucas smiled and pushed himself deeper inside of her. They were not back to how they used to be; however, it was a start and he was determined to ensure nothing broke up his family in the future, including his loves best friend.
-The End-