Chapter 16
“Are you all right?”
I clear my throat, chewing the inside of my cheek, and if I’m quite honest with myself, ignoring the slight pain in my ankle. Of all the people in the world, why did I have to fall on my ass in front of Luc? I look over at him from the corner of my eye. “Well, that depends. How long have you been standing here for?” I cringe internally, hoping he didn’t hear me arguing with the inanimate object.
Luc shrugs his shoulders and nonchalantly replies, “Long enough to watch you have a fight with a suitcase.”
Double crap.
I clear my throat. “In that case, yep, I am perfectly fine,” I reply, heat creeping up my neck. Of all the things for Luc to witness, me falling flat on my back is not at the top of my list.
“Let me help you up.” Luc grabs my elbow in his thick hands.
“No, that’s not nec…” My argument is drowned out as Luc quickly pulls me into a standing position. I grab my forehead, feeling slightly light-headed, as I try to calm my spinning brain. My ankle hurts substantially more now that I’m putting weight on it. I try to clear the tears from my eyes, blinking rapidly, my ankle slowly moving from stinging to full-on throbbing.
“Are you hurt?” Luc’s face pulls into a frown with genuine concern. Cue the dangerous pulsing heartbeat.
He’s your enemy, Rory, remember. I wince at the hot wetness, rubbing a hand on the stinging spot on the back of my head. Your enemy who calls you “good girl” in text messages.
“Did I fall on strawberry jelly?” I ask, alarmed at the light pink smeared on my fingertips.
“Shit,” Luc swears, bending slightly at his knees. He moves aside strands of my hair to look at my scalp. “I think you’ve cut yourself,” he says, his voice mirroring my own alarm. A waft of his heady cologne tendrils drape over me, only adding to my spinning head.
“So that’s blood?” I wheeze as the back of my throat burns and my stomach coils; I have never been good at the sight of blood. My nostrils flare as more saliva builds in my mouth. I really didn’t want to vomit in front of Luc too. “Oh boy.” My last words before the world goes dark again.
“Aurora, Aurora, wake up.” Luc’s voice sounds far away, like he is standing at the end of a very long, dark tunnel, waiting for me on the other side. But in the darkness, I can’t find Luc. “Aurora.” I hear my name being called again as a light breeze touches my face, and I’m turning my head from side to side, looking to see where the voice is coming from. Fluttering my eyelids open, I slowly come to.
“Luc, I don’t want to alarm you. But do you know you have a twin?” I mumble, my eyes trying to focus on my surroundings.
“Aurora.” Luc’s two faces become one.
“Oh, never mind.”
A worry line forms deep between his dark brows. “You fainted,” he states, his hot breath brushing against my cheek. Close enough I swear I could feel his lips brush the corner of my ear. Good girl, I can almost hear him whisper. I shiver, goose flesh lighting my arms, and my nerve endings become electrolyzed just from that small touch. Luc’s eyes soften as they gaze into mine, his thick lips turning down in a small frown.
I wince, sitting up from the sprawled position on the bed. “Ow.” My head stings in pain.
“Easy.” Luc quickly wraps his arms around my shoulders trying to steady me.
“Feels like half the skin on my scalp has been ripped off.”
“Lucky, I caught you in time after you fainted. Otherwise, the scratch from your first fall would have been much worse.” He chuckles, making my cheeks heat again. It’s bad enough that Luc saw me fall, but I also had to go and practically faint in his arms like some damsel in distress waiting for her knight in shining armor. Any retort I have suddenly creates a bitter taste on my tongue. I stare into Luc’s honeyed eyes; he’s no knight in shining armor—more like knight in chateau-stealing armor.
I drop my arm out of his grasp and take a step away, putting some distance between us. “Right, well, thank you for your help today.” I stand all too quickly and my head starts spinning again, making my jelly legs give way, causing me to sit back down quickly.
“Woah there, easy.” Luc grabs my elbow again, sending shivers down my arm. I can’t help but notice the way his sweater stretches over his biceps. Without thinking, I lick my lips; biceps have always been my weakness. You know how men can be like ass or tit men, I’m a bicep woman, and Luc’s are really bitable. “Do you want to go to the doctor?” Luc asks, his lips pull into a thin, terse line, shaking me out of the lust haze clouding me. “You might have hit your head a little harder than we thought.”
“I’ve got it,” I say sharply, pulling my arm from his grasp. “Was there a reason you came here today?” Other than to watch me make a fool of myself.
“Yes, I’m moving my things into the g?te. And we’ve got work to do fixing this chateau up. You sent me a message there is now running water in the place.” An arrogant smirk lines his lips, only irritating me more. Maybe I shouldn’t have sent him that message. I’m reminded for the second time today how much I hate Luc. And to think a second ago I was fantasizing about his biceps and how good they would look strained over my head.
Focus, Aurora. You need to focus. Remember the hot man ban. Or better yet, remember the Luc ban.
It’s only then I notice a few bags strewn against the wall. As per the will, Luc and I need to sleep in the chateau. And the only livable space seems to be the g?te, with a single king bed inside. “We have a problem.” I watch Luc hang another suit on the rack.
“What’s that?” He doesn’t stop unloading his many, many bags.
“You’re moving in here.”
“Was the whole unloading my clothes not clue enough for you?”
“No, I mean, you’re moving in here, and there is only one bed.” I point to the single offending item.
“Yes, it seems so.”
A growl escapes my lips, and I tug on his elbow, halting him from placing his neatly folded jeans in the drawer. “What are we going to do?” My stomach hardens.
“Beds are usually for sleeping, unless you proposition me, in which case I would have to respectfully decline. I’m not the type of man to just drop my panties the moment a beautiful woman crooks her finger at me.”
“Oh my shit.” My jaw drops and my eyes bulge out of my head. “That is not what I meant.” Heat creeps up my neck. “I meant we both can’t sleep in the same bed?”
His expression slackens. “Why not?”
“To paraphrase, because I don’t just fall into bed when a beautiful man crooks his finger at me.” I cross my arms over my chest and lift my chin, proud of my comeback.
“You think I’m beautiful?”
My lips thin, and my nostrils flare. “This is serious.” Of course, he would fixate on the fact I think he’s beautiful. The truth is I don’t just find him beautiful; I think he’s the most breathtaking, panty-melting man I’ve ever laid eyes on. But that doesn’t mean I won’t stop at anything to make sure I can inherit this place.
Luc throws his head back, the brown strands of his hair falling loose as he laughs. “Oh, I know that, Impératrice, it’s one coffee morning serious. Since I survive off about five coffees a day. That’s grim.” His eyes pierce through my soul.
Shit, that’s really serious. Luc’s addiction to coffee almost rivals mine. It should annoy me we have that in common, but somehow, it makes me oddly content.
“Right, so how are we going to navigate this?” I steer the conversation back onto the problem at hand. There is only one bed and there are two people who need to sleep in it.
“By sleeping in the bed.” His blaze reply has my jaw falling open.
“Together?”
“I mean, if you’re happy to have my feet in your face, that’s on you. But just know I don’t have a foot fetish—but hey, you do you.”
I rest my forefinger on the bridge of my nose and blow out a breath to calm my rigid nerves. “I do not have a foot fetish.”
“Good to know.” He winks at me, like we’re on a first date and this is the get-to-know you portion.
“Counteroffer, we take turns sleeping in the bed.”
“And where would the other one sleep?”
“On the couch.” I point to the ratty thing that seems like it’s lived two lives, its better days well and truly past it. Luc runs his tongue along his teeth, considering my offer.
“Counteroffer, I have the bed five nights a week, and you can have the other two.”
“Counteroffer, no.”
“Counteroffer, you can have the bed three nights.”
“Every other night, and that’s my final offer.” My fists shake by my side. If he’s going to be this difficult just to create a schedule for sharing the bed, the chateau renovations are going to be fun.
“Deal.” He offers me his hand. “Oh, but my night starts tonight,” he finishes just as I place my hand in his, already sealing our new deal. I stare over at my new bed; I’ve never considered myself a light sleeper. That is until I had to sleep next to the man who is my new enemy.