i grinned as the front door opened before i could turn the knob and tears filled my eyes as i looked at my whole family, all my friends, and even my boss filling the living room, yelling welcome home and holding signs with different messages for me.

chapter 25

my welcome home party was great, but exhausting. everyone stayed for a while eating, drinking, and generally just hanging out while taking turns talking to me and hugging me constantly. i don't think i'd ever felt so loved in my life!

when everyone had cleared out except for allie and the guys, allie came and sat next to me on the couch while the guys cleaned everything up.

"emma..." allie began, haltingly. her eyes began to swim with tears and i shook my head at her, silently pleading for no more crying. she blinked rapidly, trying to keep them from falling.

i wasn't being heartless; i just knew that if she started crying i would, too. but i didn't know if i'd stop.

allie cleared her throat and began again. "when luke called me, asking if you'd called me, i just got this overwhelming feeling that something wasn't right. it really...i just...god, em, i didn't know what to think. and then brandon called and said that luke was going apeshit nuts because he'd gone down to the office and found your car still sitting there with the doors unlocked and the keys kicked under it...i couldn't even hardly understand him."

i closed my eyes for a second. it was hard to hear, hard to think about, but at the same time, i wanted to know what had happened while i was gone.

"i flew over here. your parents and sisters and calland were here, and noah, of course, and your poor mom was trying to calm luke down. even jackson was going crazy! i think what had gotten luke the most was the fact that they found blood splattered on the car and on the ground. i guess it was from when he hit you?" she blinked quickly again, but it didn't help. the tears were flowing down her cheeks and my eyes were starting to water, too.

"i guess...i just...i wanted you to know that he didn't give up on you. we didn't give up on you. but most especially, the fact that if you didn't know it already, luke is head over heels in love with you and he wasn't letting you go without a fight."

i smiled a watery smile at her while she reached out and grabbed my hand, holding it tightly. "he almost got arrested...did you know that?"

my eyes widened and i gaped at her in shock. "what? no! i didn't know that...what happened?"

allie grinned, wiping her eyes with her fingertips. "he was going crazy trying to get to you while they were unloading you from the ambulance and getting you in a treatment room. he was yelling your name like mad, yelling at them to let him go with you, jumping up and over people...it was insane. they called security on him and the only thing that saved him was noah jumping in and flashing his badge, promising that he would get him under control. he did...barely...but he finally calmed down when they let him sit beside you. he didn't ever leave your side. brandon and jackson came in to see you whenever the nurses would allow, and then camped out in the waiting room along with all of us. it was a loooong two weeks!"

i shook my head in fond disbelief, glancing over my shoulder to where luke was putting food away in the kitchen. he looked up and caught my eye, winking and grinning back at me.

allie finally left around midnight, saying she needed to get a couple things done at home before work in the morning. i shrieked as luke lifted me off the couch into his arms and carried me upstairs to bed. doug followed but was sorely disappointed when luke told him he wasn't allowed in tonight. poor thing hadn't left my side since i came back home. he huffed out a big doggy sigh and padded back downstairs, more than likely to crawl into bed with brandon or to sit on jackson on the couch.

i crawled into bed after stripping my clothes off, not bothering to put any pajamas on. luke made quick work of his own clothes and slid into bed beside me, gathering me into his arms gently. we hadn't been alone, really alone, in three weeks. honestly, i just wanted to wrap myself up in him and let him help me forget.

i tilted my head up, my lips finding his in the darkness. he kissed me softly, sweetly, his lips brushing back and forth across mine. i tried to deepen the kiss but he wouldn't let me. i pressed myself against his warmth, loving the feel of his hardness against my softness. he let the kiss deepen a little at a time, holding back for my sake, not wanting to spook me.

i finally had enough of his gentleness; i wanted him to make me feel alive and loved! i wanted it all, just like it was before. i pushed against his chest and pressed him back to the bed, rising up over him and straddling his hips with my thighs. i slowly slid my slickness against the hard heat of him, smiling in the darkness at his primal groan that rolled through the room.

he brought his hands up to grip my hips, his fingers tightening before releasing almost immediately. i growled in my throat and grabbed his hands, pulling them back to my hips and pressing his fingers into my flesh. he made a sound of protest and tried to pull away.

"luke!" i half-yelled. "stop treating me like i'm going to break! i'm sore but i need this...i need you! goddamn, it! fuck me already!"

i heard his breath release on a gasp. "emma...i don't want to hurt you, baby. your side...you just had the stitches out and you still have the cracked ribs. we can be gentle tonight, sugar...don't rush it." he was murmuring softly to me, trying to placate me.

"luke, that's not what i want. i told you what i want." my tone brooked no argument, but i could still tell that he wanted to argue. so i did what i had to. i positioned myself, wincing a little when my ribs twinged, and even as luke started to protest, i slid down onto him, seating myself fully over his hardness. i started to move, slamming myself down on him, trying to adjust to a rhythm that would allow me to move without hurting.

luke, sensing that i was hurting a bit, began thrusting up into me, holding me still with his hands on my hips. i allowed him to set the pace, content to feel his strong thrusts between my thighs until they were trembling and i was hanging on the edge, ready to explode. my head thrown back, i went over, cresting and riding the waves as my body clenched rhythmically around his hot, thrusting length, bringing him over the edge with me, coming hard and slamming himself home one last time as he filled me.

as soon as he quit shuddering beneath me, he sat up, gently taking me in his arms and laying me beside him. i heard him swear softly before leaning up over me.

"emma...you were hurting and i didn't want that to happen!"

"luke, its fine. i just...i wanted it normal. okay?" i closed my eyes against the tears that were welling.

leaning down and resting his forehead against mine, luke whispered, "i'm so sorry, baby. i love you so much...i...god, i'm so glad you're home."

i just wrapped my arms around him, holding tight as we drifted off to sleep.

i spent the next couple of weeks lounging around the house and around skin deep as much as luke would allow. i wasn't allowed to go back to work yet, and as sad as that made me, i didn't think i was ready to go back just yet. floyd had called in a "floater" which is basically a temporary secretary, someone who fills in whenever and wherever needed, either in attorneys offices or in the court offices. she'd called me a couple times to get clarification on a couple things, and sure, she was nice enough, but was lacking that people person vibe.