Chapter 33
I stretched out on the bed, and even that caused my body to protest. Holy fucking Moon, that was mind altering. I’d been wrung out in every imaginable way, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. He was so utterly delicious.
“Lucian?” There was no answer, but a maple syrup scent played along my senses.
I breathed in again and sat up, dropping the comforter on the mattress.
A set of silk pajamas were on the nightstand beside my cellphone.
I slid them on, then went to the tray and wheeled it over to the edge of the bed.
The metal cover was cumbersome. I unveiled the waffles and side of fruit and slid the metal cloche into the second slot of the tray.
With my legs crossed, I settled in to eat.
Upon grabbing the fork, the edge of the paper lifted, and I picked it up.
It was a slim sheet with Lucian’s familiar writing.
I’ll be working, my Josephine. Don’t step out of this room. Call if you need me.
Lucian
I sighed, trying not to grin like a maniac, but I genuinely couldn’t help it. With my phone in hand, I scrolled through one of the social media apps Verity told me to download while I ate. I was still getting the hang of messing with the cell phone. It felt like a different world.
Now that I was thinking about Verity . . . I opened my messages and didn’t have any from her. I navigated to her name. After settling on my side, I dialed her and put the phone to my ear.
It rang twice until she answered.
“Joey,” she began. “You didn’t tell me fucking him would be like that.”
For a moment, I stayed frozen and silent. How had she known I’d been fucking?—
“Alexander Wilder is a fucking God.” Oh , she gave in.
I grinned into the phone.
“So you ditched work for sex?” I tried to sound as scandalized as I could.
“Stop, you know I already feel bad about that,” she huffed. I cackled, shaking my head.
“I’m so happy for you.”
“Are you sure? You’re not weirded out?”
“It sounds like you’re the one with reservations,” I drawled. I rolled onto my stomach and curled my legs so my feet swung in the air behind me.
“He’s thirteen years younger than me.” I couldn’t stop laughing. She sounded horrified. The age gap was close to the one between Lucian and me.
“And?”
She groaned. “You sound like Alex,” she muttered.
“If you’re trying to find someone to convince you to reject Alex, I’m not the one.”
“Dammit, Joey.” She sighed. “Fine, well, since you called, I figure I’d ask if you wanted to work an event tomorrow night. It’s last minute.”
“Yeah,” I said, not hesitating. I hadn’t had an opportunity to build up my savings account.
“Perfect, I’ll pick you up.” A deep voice rumbled in the background, definitely not hers.
“Is that Alex?” I asked, playfully.
“No.” She cleared her throat. “It was the television, Alex had to run out of here because your man called him, but he mentioned something about you going through some sort of shifter thing?” Her tone became inquisitive.
News must have already spread via Karol because Lucian would never gossip.
“I just went through my Heat Season.”
“What the hell is that?”
“A really fucking good time,” I retorted. A shiver crept up my spine as I recalled how delicious it was.
“It sounds like it. Do I get a Heat Season?”
“Only Alpha’s mates do,” I sighed.
“Oh, now you’re rubbing it in.” She snorted. “It must have been good.”
“Girl, you don’t even know. He knew how to give me orgasm after?—”
“Nope! I won’t sit here and listen to you gloat,” she said over me. “And don’t forget to text Deedee your banking info so you can get direct deposits. Payday is this weekend.”
“I’ll do it now. See you tomorrow,” I said between giggles, and hung the phone up.
I couldn’t stop kicking my feet.
I navigated to my banking app to find the routing information. For a moment, I stopped and exited the app. The number displayed in my account wasn’t what I had deposited. It was twenty times the amount.
I shook my head and logged in again. There were a lot of zeros.
I made minimum wage, not this— damn it, Lucian .
That damn sneak.
I settled into the bed, legs crossed, and did the math to figure out what was allotted to me based on the time I’d worked.
Two could play this game.
LUCIAN
I shut off the car.
Josephine stifled her yawn. She’d been half asleep the entire drive home. Her temple rested against the cold pane, and she remained unmoving. I got out and went to her side of the car. I opened it and caught her before she spilled out. I swept her up into my arms.
Her eyes widened, and she gasped.
She blinked up at the sky and said, “It’s already tomorrow?”
“It’s dawn,” I confirmed.
“I’m going to work in a few hours.” She smothered another yawn. I hid my reaction. It was a good thing she’d be distracted. I’d have someone watch her while I hunted for Cierra.
“How about you rest for a bit first?”
She grunted.
My feet crunched over the gravel until I reached the front steps. I nudged open the door and had her upstairs within the next moments. She was already snoring.
I smiled, shaking my head.
With one arm balancing her, I pulled back the comforter, lowering her slowly so as not to wake her, but her eyes popped open.
She brushed my hair back from my temple, her eyes searching my face. When she looked at me—when she was around me— everything about her —drove me to distraction.
“You are so pretty,” she muttered. My lips twitched at her begrudging compliment. “It’s not fair loving a man prettier than myself.” Her fingers caressed my jaw. I froze, my grip stiffening against her.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened and closed. As she reeled, I experienced a shift inside. My heart thundering so hard as if it tried to escape. Her words continued to echo in my ears, but I wanted more of them.
“Say it again,” I ordered gruffly.
“What?” she spat, panicked. “Nothing! I didn’t say anything.”
“You said you love me.” My voice sounded foreign to my ears, awed. The muscle in my chest pulsed. “You love me.”
This swell of emotion made it hard to breathe. I couldn’t take my gaze away from her face.
“Say it again,” I rumbled.
She gawked up at me, mouth opening and closing.
“Josephine.”
“Yeah?” She yawned, exaggeratedly, and wiggled onto her side, pillowing her face under her hands.
As much as it started as an act, her breathing leveled out quickly. I lowered to my knees next to the bed to lean over her.
“I love you.” I pressed kisses across the bridge of her nose and to her cheeks. I reclined against the side of the bed, hand stretched to cup her jaw as I scrolled through my email notifications.
One of them was for a denied deposit from her account.
I shook my head at her.
Stubborn girl.