My thoughts shot to Luke. I wanted Luke – no, that wasn’t quite right, I needed him. My need for Luke suddenly made things clearer for me. I needed to call him and get to somewhere where he could find me. I shouldn’t be standing on my own in a marquee where anyone could come in and no one would be any the wiser.

I bent and snatched the phone from the floor, instantly rejecting the call as I bolted back out of the door and into the middle of the crowd, not stopping until I was right in the centre of the attractions where it was busiest. I knew that if the guy was watching me that he’d be able to see me right now, but at least he wouldn’t be able to do anything while I was surrounded by people. I kept darting my eyes around for anything suspicious as I hit speed dial one and called Luke’s number. As the line connected my phone battery beeped, signalling it was about to die soon. I whimpered, praying it would hold out enough until I spoke to Luke.

Thankfully he answered after a couple of rings. “Hey, baby. Where are you?”

The sound of his voice brought a lump to my throat. “Luke, oh God, the phone, a message, please,” I rambled.

“Message? From the person that’s harassing you? Damn it! Where are you? Tell me where you are and I’ll meet you there. Stay with Zach!” he barked angrily.

My chin trembled as I looked around quickly, trying to find something I could describe to him so he’d know where I was. “The shooting stall next to where you won my crocodile,” I muttered, not having the will to explain that I was on my own.

“Okay, I’ll be there as quick as I can.” He disconnected the call. I let my hand drop to my side as I walked further into the crowd and just stopped in the middle of the walkway, not even apologising when people walked into me or bumped me because I was in the way. The crowd made me feel slightly safer, but not as safe as I knew Luke’s arms would make me feel.

An hour and a half later I’d given a full report to DI Neeson. Luke had called them after he’d finally managed to calm me down. He’d also called Zach, laying into him down the phone about leaving me alone and how he was lucky I was alright and hadn’t been hurt. The happy atmosphere had died out almost straight away; the fun had been sucked out of the night. Luke and I had left the others at the fairground to continue with the merriment, while Luke drove me to a McDonalds close by so I could give my statement to the police. He’d arranged with Charlotte that I was just going to stay at his place tonight instead of going to hers. I was actually extremely grateful for that. Being in Luke’s arms tonight was just what I needed. I hadn’t informed my dad of the change of plans. He would probably say no and insist that I go home, but I couldn’t be alone right now. Staying at Luke’s was what I desperately wanted.

I swallowed the last of my coffee, looking up at him now. His expression was a mask of concern as he looked back at me with those big brown eyes that I fell in love with so deeply. He reached out, taking my hand across the table and interlacing our fingers. DI Neeson had not long left and we’d just been sat in silence for the last few minutes. I didn’t even know what to say. I longed for life to go back to normal, for us to be normal and together, for me to stop being terrified all the time. I hated everything about my life at that moment.

“Come on, let’s go. I’ll run you a nice hot bath when we get to mine and you can soak and relax,” he suggested, helping me up from the seat.

I sighed dreamily at how nice that sounded. “Thanks.” We hobbled out across the practically deserted parking lot and over to his Jeep that was parked in the corner. When we got to it I leant against the side of the car, watching as he dug in his pocket for his keys. “I can’t wait to graduate and leave for college,” I mumbled, shaking my head tiredly. “Think all this will stop when we go away to college?” I asked hopefully.

His eyes searched mine as he nodded. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “Have you… have you decided on college then?” he asked, dropping his eyes to the floor and playing with his keys in his hand.

Decided on college? What is he asking me that for? “I thought we’d decided on that months ago.”

He looked up, confusion clear across his face. “Yeah but, you know, things changed since then. I screwed up. So I assumed you’d be looking at colleges closer to your family instead.”

I shrugged. “Why would I do that?” I questioned. We’d talked and talked about colleges before, we’d decided on one that offered us both great opportunities.

His mouth dropped open in shock. “Are you saying that maybe we could still go to Oregon together?” he asked. The hopeful tone to his voice made my heart stutter.

Standing in the cool night, illuminated by a streetlight a little way away, it hit me just how much I loved him. All of this stuff that had happened recently just proved to me how much I needed him in my life. He was the one for me. He was my first thought when I was scared, the one I wanted to comfort me when I cried, and the one I wanted to share everything with. He had always been that person for me, I’d just been too clouded by hurt to see that us being together was inevitable.

All of this stuff, this being in danger stuff, had all served to show me how precious each day was. I shouldn’t be wasting time being sad and lonely, when the thing I wanted more than anything, wanted me too. I was just doing myself an injustice by denying myself something that made me incredibly happy all the time.

“When we leave school I think everything will be better. Right now every time I look around I get reminded of what you did, the people all know so I feel like they’re laughing at me. I think once school is over and we’re at college then we can start afresh,” I suggested. Starting afresh sounded like bliss to me.

His eyes widened as he stepped closer to me, so close that his body was merely inches away and his toes actually touched mine. “Start afresh. Please tell me you’re saying what I think you’re saying,” he begged. His voice broke as he looked at me so intently that it made my stomach flutter.

“Well, do you think I’m saying that I just can’t be without you anymore?” I asked, reaching out one hand and placing it over his heart. I could feel the steady drumming under my palm, and I smiled at how precious it felt to me.

“That’s what I pray you’re saying, baby,” he whispered, leaning in closer to me and touching my cheek, brushing his fingers there softly. He leant forward, placing his forehead against mine as his breathing became more ragged. His other hand gripped my side tightly. “Please. Please, Maisie,” he begged.

Emotion was threatening to boil over as happiness hit me in waves. I knew then that this was the right thing to do. Screw everything and everyone else. Luke Hannigan made me happy, and I just couldn’t not be with him anymore.

“Tell me you love me.” I slid my hands up to his neck, pushing one into the back of his hair and weaving my fingers into the soft silky strands.

He gulped loudly. His eyes danced with excitement, his whole body seemed to go rigid. “I lov-” I crashed my lips to his before he could finish saying it. I didn’t need him to say it. I already knew.

As soon as his lips were on mine, everything else seemed to evaporate and all that was important was him and me and that his lips belonged on mine. He made a small startled moan in the back of his throat but kissed me back immediately, pushing against me, trapping me between the hardness of his body and the cool metal of his car. The passion that went into the kiss almost knocked me sideways as his tongue met mine. His taste exploded against my taste buds as I fisted my hand into his hair, squeezing myself to him tighter, wanting to melt inside him and never get out again.

Everything about the way he kissed me, the feel of his hands as they gripped my waist, the way he pinned me tightly against the car as he kissed me like I had never been kissed before in my life, all of it was beautiful. It was familiar, incredible, passionate, but most importantly, it was right. My whole body seemed to come alive with a hunger that he always seemed to evoke in me. I pulled my mouth away from his, desperate for air, gasping as my knees went weak with longing. My love for him was overwhelming, almost too much to cope with as everything built inside me like a raging inferno. I needed to release this passion before it made me explode. I fumbled behind me, grabbing the back door handle, pushing him away from me for a second so I could move to the side and force the door open.

When I looked up at him I knew that he felt exactly the same as me in that moment - desperate and needy. My skin seemed to prickle all over as I whimpered. Grabbing his shirt and yanking him towards me, I sat on the back seat, hooking my legs either side of his and trapping him against me. “Luke,” I whined, not having the words to describe what I needed from him.

He flicked his eyes behind him, a little bewildered as he gasped for breath too. “Here? Seriously?” he croaked, his voice all husky and thick with lust.

I didn’t answer, just leant forward and pressed my mouth to his again, capturing his bottom lip between my teeth and biting roughly. He grunted, and that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed as he moved forward, forcing me onto my back as he leant on top of me, wriggling and fumbling behind him, slamming the door closed, trapping us in the back of his car. Almost instantly the temperature in the car seemed to spike as he looked down at me with eyes that were so ecstatic that it made my heart ache.

Reaching out, I snagged his hoodie and T-shirt, yanking them both over his head in one easy movement. His phone slid out of his pocket and thumped to the floor, but neither of us paid any attention as he leant down, brushing his lips against mine softly, just once. My fingers dug into the bare skin of his back, just marvelling over the weight of his body on top of me again.

“Tell me you love me,” he whispered, tracing my nose with his.

My legs moved, wrapping around his waist, pinning him to me. “I love y-” but just like I hadn’t let him finish, he didn’t let me finish. I felt him smile against my lips as I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, happier than I had been in weeks. While I was with Luke like this, everything was right in the world and nothing else mattered.

Chapter 27

As sleep ebbed away, the first thing I noticed was how comfortable I was. The soft sheets were pulled up to my chin, and the hard, warm thing I was cuddled up to felt like luxurious satin against my bare skin. A lazy pattern was being drawn on the small of my back with a fingertip. My first thought was: heaven. Blissful, beautiful heaven I was waking up in. I already knew what I would see when I opened my eyes.

Blinking against the sunlight that was filtering in through the blood red drapes, I looked up into Luke’s warm brown eyes. He was already awake, just lying there silently, watching me sleep as he traced his fingers over my back. His other arm was wrapped loosely around me, holding me against his chest.

Happiness seemed to radiate through every cell in my body at once, warming my skin and making my heart stutter. I raised a hand, tracing the line of his jaw, just wanting to check to make sure he was definitely here, and that this was definitely happening. It almost felt like a dream. It had been so long since I’d woken up with him like this, like part of a couple, that it didn’t feel real. His night’s growth of hair scratched against my fingertip and I let out a little contented sigh.

A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, his eyes glittered with elation as his arm tightened around me. “Hi,” he whispered.

I chewed on my lip, fighting with my hormones that were currently raging and would soon burn everything in their wake. “Hi,” I croaked, hating that my voice was thick with sleep and not in the sexy way that some girls had.

His boyish smile grew into an outright grin as I snuggled closer to him, wanting to feel every part of his skin on mine. As I moved, I realised that my body ached in delicious ways that it hadn’t ached for in weeks. My muscles felt tight and overused because of what we’d gotten up to last night in the back of his car, and after in the front hallway downstairs, and then again in his bed. My body was out of practice with all this physical exertion, but I would get used to it again pretty quickly, that much I was sure of.

“How are you this morning?” he asked, his eyes searching my face, almost as if he was trying to ascertain the answer without me even speaking.

I felt the heat flood my face. Silly little girl in love Maisie was back again. “My body aches. I think I have sex muscle syndrome,” I answered, giggling and looping my arm around his neck.

He laughed at my answer and rolled gently so I was half under him. “You do? Want me to give you a massage?” he offered, bending his head and tracing his nose across my cheek before breathing in lungful’s of my hair as his hand instantly started massaging my outer thigh.

I closed my eyes, overcome by sensation as my fingers dug into his shoulders. “No,” I croaked. “How about we just stretch them out again?” I offered, gasping as he kissed the sensitive spot on side of my neck, just below my ear.

He didn’t immediately jump on me like I was expecting. Instead, he pulled back, his eyes tight, seeming slightly worried. “Baby, this isn’t just a sex thing is it? This thing that’s happened, this is us getting back together again, right? Not just us sleeping together.” His eyes searched mine and his hand stilled on my thigh as he seemed to hold his breath in anticipation.

My heart melted because he just looked so hopeful and so pleading. He wanted me back so badly that it made my insides tremble. In that moment, my love for him was overwhelming, and I knew that he felt the same as me, that we belonged together. Even after everything that had happened, I was destined to be with Luke Hannigan forever, I knew it deep down in my heart.

“This is us getting back together again,” I confirmed, fisting my hand into the back of his hair.