Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Lucian
I pace the floor of my place just like I did that first night, only the tumbler of whiskey I poured is left forgotten on the bar.
Then, I was waiting for a stranger, a virgin, a prize that went to the highest bidder.
A simple transaction. One night. No strings attached.
A dark laugh rumbles in my chest. “God, I was so na?ve.”
Thinking I could find a way to quench my thirst, satisfy my need, and never get attached.
Never get hurt.
I didn’t get the shy wallflower I’d bet on.
Instead, I got Erin. A beautiful warrior. A survivor.
The woman who wrecked me.
I think back to the first time I saw her, standing there at my doorway. There was nothing vulnerable about her; her chin held high, those bright blue eyes sharp and focused, and she wore her long dark hair like a crown.
Now, I’m desperate.
Desperate to see her. To hold her. To smell her.
My phone feels heavy in my pocket. Finally, I bring it to my ear, waiting for the voicemail I know is coming. She hasn’t answered in days.
Is it wrong that hearing her voice on the recording gets me aroused?
“Hiya, it’s Erin. You know what to do.”
And I do.
“The time for games is over. If you don’t come here tonight, I’ll hunt you down.”
I toss the phone on the bar and reach for the whiskey.
A half hour later, the door opens. She closes it, slipping the fob in her pocket.
My heart lurches to my throat. “You’re here.”
She smiles at me. “You’re late.”
I have to grin at our inside joke. “You’re the one who’s late.”
“No, I’m not.”
She stands there, untying the belt of her coat, letting it slide to the floor, just as she did that first night. She’s wearing the same simple black sheath dress, with the same expression on her face.
I can barely breathe.
“I’m early. I was already headed here when I got your voicemail.” She cocks a brow. “Hunt me down?”
“Lucky for you, it didn’t come to that.”
Her turn to smile. The corner of her mouth curls into a half-grin.
She’s here. She’s real.
I approach her in three strides, and I have her in my arms.
Right where she belongs.
There’s no teasing or hesitation. Just heat and desperation from both sides. The way she kisses me back feels like she’s afraid she’ll lose the feel of me if she doesn’t get me now.
I back her against the wall, her breath catching as her spine hits it. Her legs wrap around my waist before I can even ask, and my hand moves between her thighs as if it has a mind of its own.
Fuck, she’s already soaked through her panties.
“You’re finally here,” I rasp, burying my face in her neck. She smells like her familiar scent and regret. “Why haven’t you returned my calls, Erin?”
She doesn’t respond with words. Instead, she responds with need. Fingers in my hair. Mouth seeking mine as if she’s starving. Hips moving, pulling me closer.
I hold her back from kissing me to demand, “Say my name.”
She holds my gaze, breathless. “Lucian.”
The sound of my name on her lips—it makes me desperate.
I slowly slide my hand over her panties, deliberate and intense. She remains silent.
“Did I tell you to wear those?”
She shakes her head.
“No,” I say for her. “Remember my rules that first night? I said no panties, didn’t I?”
“Yes, sir.”
Her voice cracks on the last word, and my cock twitches at the sound.
“You disobeyed.”
“I’m sorry.”
I press a hand back between her thighs. Wet. Hot. Ready for me.
“Not sorry enough.” I slide her panties to the side, my breath hitching as I connect with her bare skin.
I tease her slowly, circling her clit, dipping a finger inside, then pulling back before she can find relief. Again. Again. Until her hips are bucking.
“Lucian,” she begs. “Please…”
I lean down, close to her ear. “You think you can show up, disobey, and not be punished?”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“But you did.”
I thrust two fingers inside her in one hard push, and she gasps—her back arches, body tensing.
“Is this what you came for?” I demand, moving inside her with a ruthless rhythm. “Is this what you want?”
“Yes,” she whimpers. “Yes, Lucian—please don’t stop.”
But even as her voice pleads for more, her eyes remain distant. Her hands clutch me, but her mind is elsewhere.
I slow, watching her unravel.
And for a moment, I think she’s about to break.
She’s close—so close—but I still hold her hips, keeping her close, my fingers inside her but not moving, denying her.
She cries out, frustrated, lips trembling.
“Not yet,” I whisper. “You don’t get to come until I say.”
Her eyes close. But she obeys.
“Good girl.”
I work her with my hand, finally bringing her off. She makes that sound I’ve come to crave. I growl low in my throat, pulling her dress up around her hips and yanking her panties down, barely getting them off one leg before I’m inside her.
She gasps, her hands cupping the sides of my face, her forehead pressing against mine. “Lucian—oh God—”
“You feel that?” I thrust harder, forcing her to cling to me, her nails digging into my shoulders. God, I’ve missed that biting feeling of them sinking into my skin with her need. “You’re mine.”
I draw every breathless moan from her lips. I watch her come undone, clinging to me like I’m the only thing anchoring her to this world.
Each stroke is a promise. Each thrust is a punishment. “This pussy belongs to me.”
Her whimpers turn to pleading. Her cries turn to broken sobs of need. “Please. Don’t stop.” Her hands move to my hair, dragging through it and clinging.
I hold her as tightly as I can, her entire body trembling against me—and still, I can’t get close enough.
She shatters around me with a cry, the sound tearing from her with desperation. I am immediately drawn into her chaos, following her into the need that swallows us whole.
My breath catches as I whisper her name, the syllables a vow, a promise never to let her go.
No matter the cost.