Chapter Thirty

Elise threw the last of her clothes into her suitcase and slammed it shut with a loud snap, pushing her thick hair back from her face in frustration and anger.

Damn Tucker Hale.

Why did he have to be so wonderful?

Why did she have to fall for him?

And why did everything have to fall so spectacularly apart?

She threw her purse on top of her suitcase, and then surveyed the room once more to see if she had left anything behind.

Anything besides her heart, of course, she thought wryly.

God, she loved this room. She was going to miss waking up with the sun streaming in every morning, the view of the lake and the beach from her windows, the soft feel of the pillows under her head, the quilt keeping her snuggled warm at night against the chill in the Michigan air.

How could she ever go back to ‘real life’ when this had become her reality, her sanctuary, her life?

She was going to miss Timberline so much it hurt her heart to even think about it.

And God knew she had no idea where she was going. She’d asked Jed to arrange a car to drive her away from Timberline to… somewhere.

She had no idea where, as long as it was away from Timberline.

She had almost all of the money that she had earned by tutoring Betsy – not having a lot of expenditures while she was living here was a tremendous help in that regard – but she knew it wouldn’t last forever. She needed to find somewhere to stay that wasn’t too expense, and a job that would at least put some money in her pocket for food and shelter.

She thought she was done living hand to mouth, but just as quickly as her dream job had come up, it was being shattered apart by circumstances put into play when she was still in middle school.

Talk about unfair.

She wasn’t going to think about the money though, or the lack of somewhere to sleep tonight, or about not having a job, or probably even a reference of what she’s been doing the last few months, work-wise. She was going to just think about putting some distance between herself and Tucker, between herself and Sophia, between herself and Timberline.

Yes.

That was as far as she had to think in this minute. Everything else would fall into place.

It had to.

She jumped as the bedroom door creaked open and Tucker strode in, his face determined.

God, she loved that face.

She loved everything about him.

She took an involuntary step back as he stalked towards her, then squeaked as he grabbed her shoulders, not roughly but not gently either, and without pause propelled her against the wall that was a few steps behind her, pinning her body between the wall and the hard line of his body.

God, he felt so good against her body.

“I can’t let you go,” he whispered, his eyes locked on hers searchingly. “Not when I just found you. Not when I’ve found my perfect fit. And you are my perfect fit, Annaliese Blake. You know it as well as I do.”

Elise swallowed, realizing she’d lost the power of speech. He tugged at both her wrists, tenderly pressing a kiss to the inside of each one before pinning them against the wall next to her ears, one of each side. His body pressed against hers in all the right places and her body melted at the feel of his arousal, his nearness. She inhaled the scent of his cologne, his soap, his skin and wished she could bottle it for all time. He teased a few kisses to her temple, her eyelids, the pulse at the base of her neck before his lips crashed down on hers, stealing her breath and making her knees truly buckle.

He held her up by her wrists and by the force of his thighs pressing against hers, his mouth hungrily exploring hers until Elise sobbed out in sheer lust and emotion. “Oh god, Tucker…”

God, she’d waited her whole life to feel like this, to find someone who ‘got’ her and now…

And now…

He continued to explore her mouth, to murmur sweet nothings into her hair, his hands finally releasing her wrists, though she kept them right where they were as though powerless to move. His hands roved over the curves of her body, cupping her bottom and pressing her core even tighter against his, heat searing between both of them. She heard him beg her to stay, beg her to forgive him, beg her to keep loving him even as her body yielded to his touch.

It was everything she could do not to shuck off their clothes and tumble onto the nearby bed, to speak volumes to each other with their bodies without saying a word.

It would be so easy to just forget what she had seen, to let him take her to a higher plane, to soar together and then to crash back to reality, their own reality, one of their own choosing…

An image of her mother flashed into her mind then – a tired, broken woman standing in a doorway, begging a tall man with a Mercedes to stay, to love her, to take care of her. She would be his mistress, his lover, whatever, as long as he would take care of her…

The image gave Elise the strength to put her hands on Tucker’s chest and push slightly, then harder when he showed no signs of breaking the kiss, breaking the feel of their bodies pressed together.

“Stop,” she whispered, tortured. “Please stop.”

Tucker immediately ceased his ministrations on her mouth and took a step back, his body releasing her, his hands falling to his sides, obeying her plaintive cry.

“Please don’t make this harder,” she begged, and his reached up, tentatively, to thumb away a tear on her cheek, his face filled with longing, with sympathy, with a thousand emotions she couldn’t begin to catalog.

“Don’t make it hard at all,” he said in reply. “Just stay with me. Please.”

“I need time, Tucker,” Elise said. “I need time to think all this through, to decide if this is the life I want. Believe me, it’s not easy for me to walk away…”

“Then don’t.”

“Stop asking me to stay. For my own sanity, my own emotional well being, I have to go. I need some space, and some time. Surely you understand that…”

His eyes sought hers and he slowly nodded when they met. “I understand. I hate it, I hate this, but I understand… just… just give me some hope. Some sign that this isn’t the end forever.”

Elise swallowed thickly. “I… I haven’t said anything to Betsy. I don’t want to hurt her or disappoint her. Will you tell her goodbye for me?”

Tucker winced, noting that she had evaded his request for a sign that all might turn out well after all. “You’re going to break her heart by leaving without saying anything? Don’t you think you owe it to her to say goodbye, to explain that you’re leaving, but that you might be back?”

“I know, I know it’s not fair for me to just walk away, or to ask you to say goodbye on my behalf. I know that.” Elise said softly. “But it would break my heart worse to have to say goodbye to her, knowing that…” she shrugged, then continued. “Not knowing what the future holds not just for me, but for you, and for her.”

“Elise…”

She reached up and cupped his stubble roughened cheek, caressing it softly. “Thank you for everything. Thank you. Thank you for loving me, and showing me I can be loved. And know that no matter what happens in this life, I’ll always love you.”

“Elise,” he begged hoarsely. “That sounds awful final. Please tell me you might be back, that you might return to Timberline. Give me hope, at least. Please.”

“I have to go,” Elise said, trying to sound braver than she felt. “I hope we’ll see each other again someday. Sooner, rather than later. I do. I have to go,” she said, standing on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek. “Goodbye, sir.”

“Sir again,” he said plaintively, slumping as he watched her fly out of the room with her suitcase in hand, heard her pound down the stairs and out of the front door, which slammed shut in her wake. A moment later, he heard a car in the driveway start and flew to the window to watch as Jed drove Elise out of sight – and out of his life, possibly forever.

It was everything he could do not to punch the wall with all his might and beg any and all available gods to bring her back to him, to not let her go.

And yet, the car didn’t stop.

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