Dear April (Sunshine & Shadow Book 2) (7 page)

April’s eyes still filled
with worry.

“It won’t be as bad as
you think.”

“I won’t like seeing you
with her.”

“I know,” he said. “But
that part will be minimal, I promise. Outside of
acting
, the only time
we have to pretend is at premiers and events. They think we’re a couple but
we’re not inseparable; we have our own lives. And Violet won’t make it harder
for you. She understands.”

April closed her eyes.
Oh,
Lex, how do you not see what I see? She doesn’t understand. She’s manipulating
you.
But, for what, April just didn’t know.

“I know it’s hard but you
have to trust me. I will do anything to make this work.”

“I know that. I just need
a few days to ... figure things out. I can’t just leave my job without notice.”

“Take all the time you
need.”

The rest of the afternoon
went in a blur. Music, drinks, and Lex, always Lex.

April walked up to the
hotel room in a haze. Lex was waiting in the lobby, surrounded by paparazzi. They
were buying the description of his relationship with April. The job really was
the perfect excuse to be seen together.

April packed her things
as quickly as possible and rushed to the elevator, jamming her hand on the
button for the lobby. As the door opened, she hurried out and they left the
hotel. The valet handed Lex the keys of his Audi R8 and they zoomed off down
the street, leaving the cameras and reporters behind.

The hotel was on the
other side of town.
April relaxed into the
comfortable leather seat and settled in for the hour long drive. Lex’s
attention seemed completely on the road, but every now and then she saw him
sneak a glance at her.

The sun was setting low
on the horizon as they passed a lookout over the beautiful lake that bordered
one side of the city. The orange glow reflected off the surface, highlighting
the exquisite autumn colors the trees were turning. April made a promise to
herself to take this way more often. It reminded her of home.

What would it be like in
L.A.? Concrete, and tall buildings. More people than in Seattle, though April
was already overwhelmed by the masses that surged the streets outside of her
apartment every day. But she would be around horses. She would be paid to do
what she loved. And she would be close to Lex. They could spend time together.
They could tell everyone they were working with a horse. There would be moments
when they could be alone, and they wouldn’t have to hide.

It seemed to April that
her decision was already made, but she didn’t think it was the right time to
tell Lex. She would have to quit her job and get everything organized before
she told him. Violet still tugged at her mind. Something just wasn’t right
about the job offer, because it had been her idea.  

She shook her head. No,
she was being silly. Violet wouldn’t be that childish. She had done a nice
thing for a friend. That was all. Whatever flame she might have carried for Lex
in the past had been snuffed out. It was April’s turn now, and she wasn’t about
to blow it.

They pulled into the
underground parking garage at Bridgeport and Lex opened April’s door. When she
saw that they were alone, she took his hand and let him pull her into his arms.
She sunk into his embrace and kissed him back feverishly. Lex pulled on a
baseball cap and sunglasses and they got in the elevator.

Inside the apartment
foyer, April was not at all prepared for the onslaught of color.

Vases filled with bright
roses covered every surface. There must have been hundreds. Red, blue, yellow,
white, pink, orange, purple, turquoise – the apartment was full, from the
windowsills to the end tables, and even the kitchen countertops. Even the vases
themselves were impressive, intricately blown glass with delicate patterns
carved into their faces. Each bouquet had curls of silver ribbon hanging
between stems and the fragrance of the beautiful flowers wafted into April’s
face as she was ushered into the room by Lex.

She turned to him and
gazed at his face through the tears pooling in her eyes. “Lex ... why?”

“Because I could. Because
you deserve it.”

“This is why you needed
my address?”

He nodded.

“I still think your
methods were creepy…” she joked. Her voice was only a murmur.

He laughed deep in his
throat and wrapped his arms around her, grabbing a small remote from the end
table and pressing a button. A huge entertainment center that April hadn’t
noticed opened with a gentle whir. Her TV sat nestled among even more roses.
These ones looked like they had been dipped in crystals, each petal coated in
sparkling silver. Above them sat a wide stereo system.

“I noticed you didn’t
have a stereo,” Lex said.

He brushed the hair off
her neck and kissed her skin softly as he pressed another button. Music flowed
from the speakers dotted around the room. She closed her eyes and let the
melody flow through her. It was a sweet song, one she had never heard.

Lex’s hands moved to her
back and he turned her so that she was in his arms. He swayed to the side and
suddenly they were dancing. He spun her around the room as the music rose to a
faster pace, the bass guitar rocking their bodies suggestively in the other
hands. April let her body move in sync with Lex’s strong rhythm against her. He
held her tight, his fingers digging into her as her hips thrust into him. He
gasped and she swallowed his breath in a passionate kiss.

The moment seemed to
stop. April didn’t know how long they swayed there, holding each other, to the
gentle music that had softened again. It could have been days; it could have
been seconds. All she knew was that as they pulled apart her breathing hitched and
her stomach clenched. Something strong grew inside her.

“I’m yours,” she
whispered against his lips and fastened herself to him once again.

Lex made a sound in his
throat and held her to him. Nothing seemed to matter except the feeling of
their bodies held fast by the other, gripped by the other, loved by the other.

Sudden sparks flew inside
April and she wound her fingers in Lex’s hair and jumped, wrapping her legs
around his waist and forcing him to steady her with his hands on the tops of
her thighs, delightfully close to areas April wanted him to touch. Their
tongues wrestled as Lex staggered to the bedroom. He dropped April onto the bed
and stripped her naked in seconds. April couldn’t help but notice this was the
second time those clothes had been ripped off in one day.

He removed his t-shirt
but left his jeans on. As he climbed over her, April let her fingers play in
the waistband of his boxers, showing at his lower back. She delicately stroked
the wispy hair that covered his skin there. It mirrored the front of his body,
where the soft line of hair travelled from his belly button to his groin,
teasing the eye of the things to come. She undid his belt and he slid out of
his jeans.

Their bodies pressed
together, April ground her hips into his, purring in the back of her throat,
begging to be closer, addicted to the feeling of his body against hers. His
teeth dug into the flesh at the base of her neck and she threw her head back in
ecstasy. The sensations were too much and she groaned, pleasure radiating
through her like an electrical current. They rolled twice, April only getting a
taste of what it was like to see Lex beneath her, vulnerable, naked. She was
pinned again, his hips pressing her to the bed, holding her prisoner and giving
her no release. It seemed he was determined to take his time when all she
wanted was for him to take her.

April moaned. “Please.”

“Please what?” Lex
murmured into her skin, the vibrations of his voice sending shivers down her
spine and tightening sensitive areas. His teeth grazed her earlobe and nipped
gently. She gasped, closing her eyes.

“I want you. I need you.”

“To do what?”

She groaned again, this
time in frustration. He locked his teeth into her neck and let his hands travel
down her body. “…Please.”

He pulled away and stared
into her eyes, his passion unlocking a deep craving inside April. She felt
primal, like an animal in heat, displaying herself, pleading for what she
needed most. She loved this feeling, this torture. And he knew that. He enjoyed
tormenting her with her own body, making her wait, making her beg.

“Tell me what you want,” he
growled, his fingers exploring, agonizingly slowly.

Her eyes rolled back into
her head and she mumbled.

“Tell me, April,” he
said, quickening the pace of his assault on her body.

Her upper body arched off
the bed, Lex’s spare hand holding her hips down, not allowing her to escape his
relentless fingers. She struggled subconsciously, the sensations getting
stronger and stronger, almost to the point of delicious pain. Her mouth opened
as a heavy gasp flowed out from between her lips.

He kissed down her body
again, his lips leaving tingling circles on her skin. It felt like every nerve
ending in her body was on fire and she closed her eyes, letting the feeling
overwhelm her, forgetting his question. The wave was building and Lex moved his
spare hand from her stomach to her breasts. He grazed his nails down her
exposed torso, from her nipples to her pelvis, leaving raised pink lines down
her skin. Her body convulsed from his rough touch. She loved the way her skin
stung under his hand, getting warmer with every second that passed.

“…Lex…Please.” April’s
voice was barely a whisper.

“Please, what?”

She groaned, arching her
body off the bed again. He resumed his torment between her legs and the wave
began to build again.

“Yes…” She gasped.
“Please.”

“Please what, April? Tell
me.”

Words escaped her. Her eyes
drifted shut and she let herself bask in the glow rising over her naked skin.
She was warm, hot, but she couldn’t do anything about it, with Lex’s merciless
fingers maintaining their delightful torture on her body. Lex brought her to the
brink, holding her on the edge, not letting the wave crash to the shore and she
writhed on the bed beneath him, digging her nails into his arms, begging him
with her body. He slowed his rhythm again, forcing the wave back down, leaving
her without release.

“No, why…?” she was able
to gasp out.

“You have to tell me.”

She groaned and his
fingers increased their pace again. Her body was ablaze with passion.

“Please, please, please,”
she repeated, pleading for mercy. “I want…”

“Tell me, April. What do
you want?”

She didn’t think it was
possible for him to torment her further but he succeeded. He alternated between
digging his teeth into her neck and running his nails down her torso, keeping
the wave at its highest point but somehow knowing when it was about to crash
and slowing, just enough to let the anguish continue.

She didn’t think she
could take much more. Her body was alight with ardor and she couldn’t stop her
chest from bowing off the bed, reveling in the excruciating ecstasy. Lex’s
fingers were unrelenting, quickening and slowing, being gentle and manipulating
cruelly. April’s mind was a blur, her body pure sensation, rising and falling
at the whim of her lover.

Lex leaned down and
pinched April’s earlobe between his teeth, biting down and forcing a small
scream to erupt from her throat.

“Please…” she mumbled,
almost incoherently, as his fingers reached their highest speed yet.

“Tell me,” Lex growled,
aggressively, the passion in his voice sending shivers down April’s spine and
making the wave climb even higher. She didn’t think it was possible.

As the wave began to
descend and Lex’s fingers slowed once again, April thrust her body back into
Lex’s hand.

“Make love to me…” she
whispered.

“That’s my girl.” Lex’s
fingers picked up where they had left off and pushed April over the edge. She
rode the wave the entire way down, leaving red lines along Lex’s arms and back from
where her nails had tried to tear their way through the overwhelming feelings.
Her head tipped back to the sky and her body convulsed on the bed as the
sensations tore screams from her throat and forced her eyes shut. It was
flirting with the line of pain, agonizingly close to stepping over it. The
feeling held its ground and let April ride it, as wave after wave came crashing
down, seemingly endless. As long as Lex kept going, they would never stop.

“Lex!” she gasped out.

“What?”

She groaned at his
tenacity. Another wave crashed and tore a passionate scream from deep within
her.

“Please!” she begged.

He took her at her
request, all softness gone, replaced by uncontained fervor.

They lay together,
wrapped up in the disorganized sheets, their breathing irregular and erratic. Sweaty
skin stuck together but they were both too exhausted to move into a more
comfortable position. April’s body still tingled from Lex’s assault and she
knew he was aching, a positive reminder of a spectacular event.

She kissed his chest. He
moaned and hugged her to him.

Kissing her forehead, he
said, “That was…amazing.”

April nodded. “It was.”

Her breathing began to
calm and, although her body still tightened lusciously whenever she moved in a
certain way, she stood on shaky legs and looked at the man in front of her. She
had a feeling she would have to sleep alone tonight, so she wanted to gaze at
him while she still had the chance.

Lex’s hair was in
disarray, his emerald eyes shielded from the light. His lids were framed with
the darkest, longest lashes April had ever seen on a man. His forehead was
still glistening from sweat and his mouth was open slightly, showing his one
dimple clearly. His breath came and went easily; his lips were still a dark
pink color from the forceful attack on April’s body.

She followed his breath,
his chest rising and falling softly. When her gaze travelled back to his face,
his eyes were open, watching her curiously.

“You’re beautiful,” April
said.

“Isn’t that supposed to
be my line?”

She shrugged. “It’s the
truth.” She pulled on pajama shorts from where she had thrown them last. Was it
really only a few days ago? So much had happened since then, and yet the
weekend felt way too short.

“What are you doing, baby?”

April ignored his
question. “Are you staying tonight?”

Lex looked apologetic,
his eyebrows rising in the center in angst. He shook his head slowly. “You know
I can’t do that.”

She nodded. “I know.
That’s why I’m getting up. Because if I stay in bed, I won’t want you to leave,
and we both know it isn’t a choice.”

Lex’s eyes were full of
sadness. April hated seeing it there.

“Hey,” she said, softly.
She sat on the bed and crossed her legs, taking his hand. “It’s not forever.
And I’m sure we will find time to spend the night together. I’m not angry.”

He looked confused, and
stared at April’s hands holding his.

“Why aren’t you angry?”
He looked up at her, and the expression in his eyes made her heart crack. He
honestly didn’t understand how she could be so accepting.

“Because I want this to
work, and I know it won’t be easy for the first little while. But I know it’ll
be even harder for you, and I can’t be selfish.”

He shook his head,
something like awe in his eyes. “You can’t be real. I’ve done nothing to
deserve such an angel.”

She smiled. “I’m no angel.”

“You’re my angel.” He
returned her smile and kissed her hand, swinging his legs over the edge of the
bed and attempted to smooth his hair.

“Good thing you brought
this.” April retrieved his baseball cap from the floor and pushed it onto his
head.

He pulled it off and held
it in his hands. Putting on his jeans and padding barefoot to the door, he
turned back to April. “You want a drink?”

“There’s white wine in
the fridge.”

After he disappeared,
April’s mind dwelled on the feelings of love she felt for the topless man who was
now rooting around in her kitchen. She waited for a few minutes, and then followed
him. Opening the bedroom door, his voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Hi…I’m just letting you
know I’m not going to make it tonight…I’m stuck at the festival…I know, I
promised, but…Look, I’ll come tomorrow night okay?”

The fridge door closed.

“Look, it’s not as simple
as all that…of course I want to, it’s just complicated…”

The floorboard creaked
under April’s foot.

“Look, I have to go…I’ll
call you tomorrow and we’ll set up a time. Bye.”

April took a deep breath
and walked into the kitchen.

“Finding everything
okay?” she said.

He nodded, filling two
glasses with wine. He handed April a glass.

April decided not to say
anything. The second he left she would mull over what she had just heard, but
she didn’t want him to find out she had been eavesdropping. For all she knew,
he had been speaking to Cash on the phone.

Lex lifted his glass and
smiled at her.

“To?” April asked.

He pursed his lips. “To
the future.”

The glasses clinked and
they both drank.

“Should you really be
drinking? You’re driving.”

 “One glass won’t hurt.”
He found the stereo remote and switched it on, letting his eyes slide shut as
Mumford & Sons drifted into the air around them.

Hours later, they were sitting
on the couch facing each other. April realized the bottle on the coffee table
was empty.

“What?” Lex said, as she
looked around.

“You drank way more than me.”
A giggle escaped her. “I only had a glass.”

Lex held up the bottle,
turned it to the light and hiccupped.

“Now how are you gonna
get home?” April said.

“Maybe I should call a
cab…” Lex tried to stand and fell back into her lap. She chuckled; even drunk
he was adorable.

“You’ll be seen. I’ll
call Cash.”

April felt his pockets
until she found his cell phone. It was off. She turned it on and found Cash in
the contacts just as a soft snore sounded from Lex, still collapsed on her lap.
She shuffled out from underneath him and went into the kitchen to make the
call.

The clock alerted her to
the fact that it was three in the morning as Cash’s voice shouted into the
phone. “Lex! Shit, man! Where the fuck are you? I’ve called you ten times!”

“It’s April.”

 “Where’s my brother?” No
‘Hello, April’
.

“He’s here at my
apartment. He’s fine. Just a bit drunk. Can you come get him?”

Cash groaned. “Of course.
I should have known. Fucking hell…Fine, I’ll be there in a bit.”

Of course
?

I should have known
?

Did Lex make a habit of
this sort of behavior? April wondered how many times Cash had been woken up in
the early hours because his brother needed his help.

Lex grunted from the
couch and tried to get comfortable. April was just about to stash his phone in
his jacket when she remembered the phone call from earlier on. She glanced at
Lex. He was fully asleep on the couch, so she quickly and with a tiny twinge of
guilt, clicked on the icon for Caller ID. Beneath Cash’s name was Violet’s.
April’s heart dropped. Somehow she had known it had been Violet, but she hadn’t
wanted to believe it. She didn’t feel guilty anymore.

Well, no more lying to
herself. If Lex wanted to have a relationship, it had to begin with honesty.
And he better tell her the truth.

Someone knocked on the
door. Cash smiled stiffly at her when she opened it. She ushered him and a man
she didn’t know inside. They each took a side and lifted Lex to his feet. He
woke up with a start and smiled at his brother.

“Hey, man! Wha’ are you
doin’ here?”

Cash patted him on the
chest, heaving Lex’s taller frame, taking more of the weight. “Saving your
drunk ass, once again.”

Lex looked at April.

“April. Can we bring
her?” he said to Cash.

“No, Lex, April’s staying
here. She has to work in the morning.”

Cash thanked April and
heaved Lex out of the door. She shut the door behind them and leaned against
it, her hands behind her back. Wow, what a night. Her mind was still reeling over
Lex’s phone call to Violet, and what Cash had implied about Lex’s habits.

As she made her way to
bed she noticed Lex’s jacket still hanging on the chair. She picked the jacket
up and laid it over the arm of the sofa, where she would be unable to miss it
in the morning.

A faint buzzing
distracted her. She looked at the jacket where she had thrown it on the couch.
She knew she shouldn’t pry into Lex’s personal life, but what if it was an
emergency? She pushed the shame down by telling herself she was acting
honorably. She reached in the pocket and as she picked up the phone, the screen
lit up.

The message was from Violet
and April couldn’t help but open it.

11:54pm

Did you tell her yet? She
needs to know the truth, Lex. See you tomorrow.

April’s heart nearly
stopped. What the hell was going on? What sort of game was Lex playing?