Club X Ch. 07

Settling in and laying her head back against his shoulder, she started talking about what had happened and how Lars had almost sent them crashing to their death. Until the driver took off and left them, with Lars furiously firing after him. "After going through that, I was so shocked when the three of you found me, that I'm not even sure that I remembered to thank Shar for saving my life. If she hadn't gone back and told you what Lars had done, I don't know what would have happened."

"I was sure glad she did. Otherwise, we'd never have known that Lars had you, or been able to follow you on the highway. But I was surprised to hear that Diego decided to call 911 and tell the police where you were headed."

Lila turned her head, looking confused. "Who's Diego?"

"He was the one driving the limo for Lars. I had seen him around the club, but never really knew why he was there. But I don't think he thought much of Lars trying to shoot him. And he probably decided if he called the police and tried to save you, the courts might go easy on him, considering all the stuff he'd been involved in."

Hungry for a taste of her, Heath brushed the hair away from her nape and began to trace his tongue along the long, lean column of her neck to her ear. Lila shivered, smiling back at him. "Well, I'm just glad you found me."

"Believe me, so am I. Oh, and there were also a few 911 calls, people reporting a limo driving along the highway with a hand waving from the tail light. So, I think you helped to save yourself, since they were able to give us the exact location of the car."

"Well, I wasn't just going to lay there waiting for Lars to do his worst. So, I made a hole in the brake light and started waving like crazy at anyone who drove by. And I'm just glad it worked."

Heath turned her in his arms, looked up at her straddling his hips and smiled, deciding she had to be not only the bravest, but the sexiest woman alive. "And I'm glad that you're a lot stronger than you look, and that you didn't give up, and that he didn't hurt you."

Her voice shaking with emotion, she looked into his eyes. "I knew I had to do whatever I could to get free, or I might never have seen you again."

"I would have found you, Lila, no matter where he took you. I would never have stopped looking."

Her gaze on his, she turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his head, and softly moaned as she hugged him tight, pressing her breasts against his face. Then she giggled when he lashed out his tongue and began licking at her nipples.

Tipping up his head, she touched her lips to his, tracing his bottom lip with her tongue.

Groaning, Heath thrust his hips up, rocking his erection against her pussy, while sliding his tongue between her lips, letting their tongues do their own mating dance.

Just the feel of him pressing against her, nice and hard had Lila moaning into their kiss, anxiously sliding back and forth, shifting her body till she could feel him nudging at her opening. Taking hold of him, she sank her body down, till he had her fully impaled. She grinned, letting out a little shivering sigh, thrilled to have him right where he belonged. Especially since only a few hours before, she had wondered if they'd ever see each other again.

Lost in the feel of her, Heath flexed his hips, smiling at her contented little whimper as he touched his lips to hers. "It just feels so good with you like this," he whispered.

Waggling her eyebrows, she smirked. "Mmm, especially since we don't have to playact anymore, and we can just be ourselves."

There was no getting around it, during the course of their time together he'd fallen pretty hard for her. And now that he had her back, he knew one thing, no way in hell was he ever going to lose her again.

Cupping her breasts in his hands, he flicked her nipples with his tongue, one after the other, smiling at her sexy little moans as he toyed with her breasts and flexed his hips, thrusting deep into her body. "I love this with you," he told her, holding her gaze. "The feel of you, the taste of you, I love everything about you."

Playfully rubbing her nose against his, she whispered, "I love you, too. I realized just how much when I was locked in that trunk, thinking the week we'd just had, was probably all we'd ever have, if Lars got his way."

"Well, hopefully, he's swimming with the fishes in the Atlantic by now, so we won't have to worry about him anymore."

Just thinking of everything that vile creature creep had put her through, was enough to make her shudder. Wrapping herself tightly around him, she squeezed Heath as hard as she could, whispering, "I just hope you're right." Deciding she needed more than just to hold him, touching a finger to his chin, she sank her tongue between his lips and kissed him, long and slow.

When he finally pulled back, he made her laugh at first when he gave her butt a little pinch, till he told her, "I've got an idea. Why don't we try and forget about Lars, the club and all the horrible stuff we've been through over the last week, and just enjoy the here and now."

As she thrust her body down to take him all the way inside her, as he began to increase the power of his strokes, he smiled watching a little shiver racing through her. "Hmm," she agreed. "Good idea, because I'm sure as heck enjoying the here and now with you in this tub."

The enticing sight of her breasts bouncing in front of his eyes had Heath groaning, as she thrust down as he flexed his hips, thrusting up.

The way they were moving around thrusting harder and faster as they mated, had the water splashing up over the sides like a mini tsunami. But right now, the way she had him feeling, he didn't care how much water was sloshing out of the tub.

Arching her back, as a little ripple went through her, her mouth dropped open as she let out a satisfied gasp.

He could feel her clenching around him as his body began to tense. His nuts getting painfully tight, as they got closer and closer. "God, you feel good," he told her.

"Hmm, so do you," she whispered against his lips as she slid her hand behind his neck and claimed his mouth in a red-hot kiss.

The way he was hitting her clit with every stroke, she began shivering like mad, every inch of her tingling as their tongues tangled, doing their own erotic coupling.

Digging his fingers into her hips, Heath groaned into their kiss, as he felt himself begin to erupt.

Grinning at the delicious sensation of him pulsing inside her, Lila tightened her inner muscles, squeezing him as hard as she could. Wrapping his arms around her, Heath hugged her to his chest, splaying his hands across her back, to hold her in place, both of them shuddering with their release as they reached their peak together.

Feeling utterly sated and more than a little breathless, Lila collapsed against him. As he brushed the hair back from her eyes, smiling back into his, she smirked. "Well, that was fun."

Chuckling, he nodded. "Yeah, no kidding. Just be careful getting out of the tub, because there's probably more water on the floor out there than there is in here now."

She took a look over the side, looked back at him and winced. "Yikes. Maybe we should try not to splash around so much, unless we're in the pool."

"It's just water, I can mop it up," he said as he wrapped his arms around her, got to his feet and lifted her out of the water. "Now how about we dry off, and get comfortable in bed?"

Lila smirked. "For the rest of the night?"

"Or, maybe the rest of the week. We can always order food in, and I've got a TV in there to keep us entertained."

She laughed, realizing they wouldn't need a television to keep themselves entertained, especially with his sex drive. "Hmm, sounds like a plan."

Now that they were together, seemed that neither of them wanted to be apart.

***

A few days later, they were at the indoor T-ball sports facility, geared to little guys like her nephews. Lila's sister Mandy was smiling as the two of them watched Heath carefully tossing a ball at her youngest son Charlie, telling him, "Way to go. Good catch, buddy."

The boy's eyes went big as saucers, as he smiled from ear to ear, holding the soft ball high over his head when he managed to catch it before it fell to the ground. Everyone watching, laughed, because he just looked so thrilled with himself that he'd managed to do it for the very first time.

Mandy elbowed her sister as Heath then patiently taught her son how to catch the ball in his mitt, and then throw it back. "You know, Lila, I think this one's a keeper. And if I were you, I wouldn't let him get away."

Lila couldn't help but smile, because of course she was right. Though she'd never be able to tell anyone how they'd met. It didn't matter anymore how it happened, only that she had him in her life, and knew they were meant to be.

After the game, the boys looked at each other grinning when Heath offered to take them all out for an early dinner to a family friendly diner, near the ball park.

Watching Heath doing his best to look interested as the two boys excitedly chattered non-stop about the T-ball game, with his dinner sitting in front of him getting cold, Lila felt her heart melting just a little more.

She couldn't believe how good he was with kids. Though she remembered that he'd had a younger sister, until he'd lost her.

Still, she knew there weren't many guys who would take an interest in kids their age, especially since they were actually her nephews. Which only confirmed what she already knew, that he was something pretty special.

Lila laughed when her sister Mandy finally pointed down at their food, and told her sons, "Okay guys, I think it's time you picked up your burgers and started to eat." Wrinkling their noses at her, they kept right on talking to Heath.

At least until Heath suggested, "Hey guys, how about we eat up. Then we can talk again before dessert, okay?" Of course, one word from him and the boys nodded, picked up their burgers and dug in.

They had just ordered coffee, waiting for the boy's sundaes with sprinkles to arrive when the waitress set a big slab of chocolate cake in front of Lila with a lit candle in the center. A few of the servers even gathered around to sing, 'Happy Birthday.' After she'd thanked them and they'd walked away, Lila said to her sister, "You know, it's not my birthday yet."

Mandy pulled the candle off the cake, gave Heath a sly little smile as she passed around the forks and told her, "But it will be in a couple more days, on Friday."

Heath mouthed, "Thank you," and Mandy just gave him a wink.

He had no idea when her birthday was, only that he knew she was about to turn twenty-eight, after seeing her age on her auction record at the club. Now thanks to her sister, he'd have time to go out and get her something, since he'd feel pretty stupid if he ignored her big day.

On the drive home, when Heath reached for her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers, smiling across at him, Lila gave his hand a little squeeze. "Thanks for being such a good sport with the boys today, Heath. With the hours my brother-in-law works, he rarely gets a chance to see them play. So, I think they really enjoyed having you join them for their game, and show them how to catch. And then taking them out for dinner and spoiling them with ice cream sundaes for dessert, probably elevated you to hero status in their eyes."

Heath just shrugged. "They're nice kids, and I enjoyed it." Lila just gave his hand another little squeeze, deciding he really was a keeper.

That night they were sitting out in his heated sunroom, staring out at his covered pool set in his big well-treed backyard. As they were enjoying a glass of wine, Heath got a call from George Hanson, his old friend and the cop who had helped him rescue Lila.

"Hey, Heath. Just thought I'd let you know that this morning a jogger came across some body parts that had washed ashore, just up the coast from where Lars jumped in."

Heath sat up straight in his lounge chair, clutching his phone. "Just body parts?"

"Yeah, there are sharks in those waters, so... if he managed to survive the fall from that bridge, he might not have had a chance to swim back to shore if they got to him first."

"When will you know if it's him?"

"If there's any of his DNA on file that we can compare it to, we should know pretty soon if it's him or not."

"Well, thanks for letting me know."

"No problem. I'll call you with the results as soon as we've got them."

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks, George."

"What was that?" Lila asked, since she could tell something was up, from what he'd been saying.

Heath hesitated, not too sure what he should tell her, in case it was someone else who'd washed ashore. Finally, he repeated what George had told him. "So, I guess we'll know soon enough if we've seen the last of him."

When he noticed her starting to shiver, probably at the prospect of ever having to see Lars again, he pulled her onto his lap, and ran a hand down over her back till he was cupping her backside, with his forehead pressed to hers. "Whether that was him or not, I promise, there's no way he's ever getting anywhere near you again."

"I hope not. But I can't stay here with you forever. Sooner or later, I'll have to move back to my own place."

With a little smile on his lips, he brushed his lips across hers, and murmured, "Why would you want to move back there? Aren't you comfortable here with me?"

She smirked. "I'm very comfortable, maybe even a little too comfortable. But I don't want to overstay my welcome."

Heath just rolled his eyes, like that was even possible.

Though he was hoping that she'd agree to move in with him, he didn't want to push her. She'd been through so much lately he knew that she might need some time on her own to think things through.

Next morning when she got dressed, he watched her pouring herself a cup of coffee and hoped she'd tell him where she was going.

Finally, she looked up at him, and informed him of her plans. "I'm going back to my place to get dressed for work. I'm not planning on staying all day, but I think I should check my emails, just to see if there's anything pressing."

He put his cup down on the counter. "You want me to drive you?"

"If you want, you can take me home, so I can get ready. But I think I'll be fine driving myself to work."

"I really don't mind driving you wherever you have to go. And I'd be happy to pick you up after you're done."

Lila set her coffee cup down, and with her eyes on his, she brushed her hand across his cheek. "Heath, I have to get back to work. And I can't have you driving me around forever. I'll be fine on my own. I think we both know that the danger's past, now that Lars is gone."

Though he nodded, he didn't look too sure.

Once he'd driven her home, after she'd kissed him goodbye, he asked one more time, "You sure you don't want me to wait?"

Heaving a sigh, she told him again, "I promise, I'll be fine. And if I need to phone you, I will, okay?" He nodded and pulled her in for what turned into a pretty long kiss, which had her smiling against his lips once they finally pulled apart.

A little breathless, once she managed to pull herself together, Lila got out of his SUV, and waved him off. Still feeling a little tingly after that goodbye kiss, she walked into her building and picked up her mail.

Once she'd unlocked the door to her condo, she walked over and opened a window to let in some fresh air. As she turned and looked around, she wondered why it didn't feel like home anymore. Probably because she'd felt so comfortable staying with Heath, it felt kind of odd to be alone in her own place.

But knowing she couldn't rely on him forever, she sighed, went and got dressed in a business suit and heels, took the elevator down to the garage, and headed over to the school. As she drove along the familiar route, she just hoped there wasn't too much waiting for her.

Stopped at a red light, after only driving a few blocks, she realized as she kept looking back, that the car behind her seemed to be following her. Curious to see if he'd follow, she made a fast right, without putting on her signal. But when he made the same move, and had to cut off another car to do it, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, knowing she was in trouble.

Pulling into a supermarket parking lot, her fingers shaking, she called Heath. As soon as he answered, she blurted, "Heath, I think I'm being followed."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, trying to keep her voice steady. "I can see him. Oh, my god, now he's pulling in right behind me. Heath, he followed me into a parking lot!"

"Okay, calm down. Has he got dark hair and glasses, driving a silver Camry?"

She looked at the phone, confused, before she took a look back at the car. "Yeah, how did you know that?"

"That's Jerry. Just give him a wave, and he'll wave back."

"Wait a minute. Isn't Jerry one of the guys that works for you?"

"Yeah, his is," he said, sounding a little sheepish.

"Heath, I can't believe you had me followed."

"I'm sorry, but I was worried. Especially with it being your first day on your own."

Lila shook her head as she looked back at his friend. "Well, I guess I'd better get out and say hello, then. And tell him that he better go back where he came from, because he is not following me around all day."

In no mood to argue, she hung up before Heath could even respond.

Jerry was all smiles when he got out of his car and extended his hand to shake hers. "A pleasure to meet you, Lila. You probably figured out that Heath asked me to act as your escort to make sure you get to work okay today."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Jerry. But I just got off the phone with Heath, and told him that I'd be fine and I don't need anyone trailing after me."

"Oh." Jerry looked kind of uncertain as he suggested, "Well, what if I stay back a few car lengths, just to be on the safe side. And you won't even know I'm there."

"I understand why Heath's worried after what happened, but I really don't need anyone fallowing me around 24/7, despite what he thinks."

Jerry nodded. "Okay." Then he reached into his pocket, handed her his card, and shrugged. "Just in case."

"Thank you, Jerry." After she tucked it in her pocket, she gave him a little wave, got back in her car and drove off.

Navigating her way up the long winding driveway to the old manse, formerly a convent, but now a beautifully refurbished private school, Lila always thought it looked so stately. Set in amongst a stand of towering pine trees, surrounded by green open fields, with a hillside beyond, it was hard to believe it was in the heart of the city.

Once she got to her office and started going through her emails, it felt like she'd never left. She'd just started to respond to a few of the most important, when her friend, pretty red-haired Suzanne, poked her head into the doorway to say hello.

"So, tell me, world traveler, how was Italy? Meet any hot Italians?"

Though she laughed, Lila had almost forgotten that while she was busy enjoying a little naughty fun with Heath at the club, that everyone assumed she was over enjoying a little sun and fun in Italy.

"It was great," she finally responded, though she felt a little guilty about lying. "Got to see all the sights, and enjoyed a lot of good food, too." At least the food at the club was top notch, so that wasn't exactly a lie.

Suzanne wrinkled her nose as she leaned in to study her complexion. "Doesn't look like you got much sun, though."

Lila scrambled to think of what to say, considering she never saw daylight for the entire week she was under lock and key at the club. "Well, I'm so fair skinned, I don't really tan, I just burn. So, I decided I'd spend most of my time on tours, and I never even thought about checking out the beaches. And late November isn't exactly beach weather."