Chapter 2 Is He Your Boyfriend?
The shift was so sudden that Stella blinked, her gaze fixed on his face as his jaw tightened and his fingers curled against the mattress.
A low growl rumbled from his chest.
“I’ve been holding back for more than a year.” His eyes searched hers, his breathing growing heavier. “Are you sure you want to provoke me right now, darling?”
Confusion clouded Stella’s mind. She couldn’t quite understand what he meant. The only thing she knew was that kissing him felt good, and she wanted more.
Her hands immediately slid around his neck again. With a sudden tug, she pulled him toward the bed.
Lucius lost his balance and fell beside her. Before he could react, Stella twisted toward him and shifted until she was straddling his hips. Her hair spilled around her face. She leaned down and captured his mouth once more.
Lucius planted his hands against the mattress, letting her hold him there while she kissed him again and again. Her palms pressed against his wrists, keeping his hands pinned to the bed. Her lips moved over his with a hunger that only seemed to deepen.
She kissed him until she could barely catch her breath.
Then her mouth left his lips and moved to his jaw, leaving a trail of soft kisses along his skin before reaching his neck.
Lucius kept his eyes open.
He wanted to watch her.
He wanted to see every expression that crossed her face while she kissed him with such unrestrained need. His Adam’s apple bobbed when her lips traveled from one side of his neck to the other. Her impatient mouth lingered against his skin before drifting lower toward his chest.
The need between them grew into something more.
Stella’s hands moved restlessly over him, her fingers tugging at his shirt in an attempt to pull it open. She fumbled with the buttons for only a moment before Lucius’s hands closed around her hips.
With one swift movement, he turned her beneath him.
Now positioned above her, he looked down at her for a brief moment before his hands moved to the top she was wearing. He removed it and tossed it aside, his gaze lingering over her exposed skin.
Stella reached for him again, but Lucius lowered his head before she could pull him closer.
His mouth traveled along her neck before brushing across her shoulder, returning to her skin again and again. His tongue traced delicate paths over her, the familiar sweetness of her taste filling his mouth.
The more he touched her, the more his hunger grew. He tried to hold on to the last remnants of his control, forcing himself to move slowly even as his mind became consumed by her taste and the warmth of her body beneath him.
Whatever restraint he had been holding on to finally disappeared. He attacked her lips with the hunger of a man who had been dying to taste her, consuming her kiss and stealing her breath until Stella sucked in a sharp, shaky breath.
Her hands tightened around the back of his neck as his mouth moved down to her neck, kissing and lightly biting her skin as though he intended to take everything he wanted. Every touch of his lips, every delicate brush of his tongue, sent another tremor through her body.
His touch was soft and gentle, yet it made her tremble so intensely that her legs began to shake.
Lucius moved her legs to the side, positioning his hips between them as his mouth descended toward the top of her breast.
The sensations overwhelmed her completely.
Stella could no longer think. She could no longer make sense of anything beyond the feeling consuming her. There was nothing left in her mind except the warmth of his body, the touch of his lips, and the overwhelming sensations coursing through her.
When morning came, Stella slowly woke, the overwhelming sensations that had consumed her throughout the night having finally faded. The intensity of it all had left her dazed, and at some point, she had drifted into unconsciousness without even realizing it.
She blinked against the brightness and glanced around.
She was in a bedroom. The curtains were drawn across the windows, but enough sunlight filtered through to fill the room, making it far brighter than the darkness that had surrounded her the night before.
However, the light wasn’t what had woken her.
Soft lips moved over her shoulder and neck, kissing and teasing her skin. The gentle press of his mouth, followed by the occasional graze of his teeth, sent a tremor through her body. Her back stiffened slightly when a familiar sensation raced from her neck down to her core.
Then, all at once, she realized it hadn’t been a dream.
She was in bed with Lucius.
Another bite landed on her shoulder, and Stella turned her head slightly. The moment her eyes met his, she found them burning with an intense, unmistakable hunger.
Her body immediately responded to him, becoming a slave to his touch and the heated look in his eyes. He didn’t need to say a word. The intensity of his gaze was enough to tell her that everything that had happened the night before had been real.
Her heart began to pound.
A year had passed since she broke up with Lucius. Yet somehow, she had woken up in his bed once again.
When Lucius noticed that she was fully awake and saw her eyes settle on him, his hand rose to her face. His fingers cupped her cheek, and his thumb brushed over her skin with surprising tenderness.
He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before pulling back.
“Does it hurt? Should I order some medicine?” he asked in a deep, gentle voice.
As he spoke, his hand slipped from her face to her jaw, then continued down the side of her neck to her chest. From there, his fingers settled around her waist before his palm came to rest against her hip, his thumb moving over the spot in careful, soothing strokes.
“I’m sorry I was too rough last night. I lost control,” he murmured, his voice soft with regret.
Before Stella could respond, Lucius lowered his head and kissed her shoulder, his lips following the curve of her neckline. The familiar scent of his skin and the warmth of his breath surrounded her, pulling at memories she had spent a year trying to bury.
He smelled exactly the same.
That familiar scent. That familiar touch. Everything about him felt dangerously easy to remember.
And then the truth hit her.
Last night hadn’t been some drunken dream.
She had slept with Lucius.
Her ex-boyfriend. The man she had left a year ago.
Only yesterday, she had returned to Manhattan after spending an entire year in London. She had barely been back for a day, yet somehow, she had already ended up in his bed.
What the hell was going on?
Stella abruptly pulled away and sat upright. She snatched the covers and pulled them to her chest, holding the sheet firmly in place before turning toward him. Whatever confusion had filled her moments ago was quickly replaced by a guarded expression.
“Mr. Frost, did you forget your own rule?”
Lucius sat up beside her, watching her closely.
“You said that once we ended our relationship, we would become strangers. If we ever broke up, there would be no contact between us afterward. Have you forgotten that?”
Her voice was strained, but her expression remained cool and stern.
Lucius said nothing.
He simply moved closer, slipped an arm around her waist, and drew her against him. His face dipped toward her shoulder, his lips brushing the side of her neck.
“I regret having that rule,” he whispered against her ear.
Stella went completely still.
Lucius had always been precise about his rules. Once he set a boundary, he expected it to be understood and obeyed. He never left room for ambiguity when it came to what he wanted.
Yet now, he was telling her that one of the rules he had created himself was something he regretted.
Her heart gave a hard, uneven beat.
Before she could make sense of his words, his lips brushed her shoulder. He followed the curve of her neck, lingering against her skin with an almost desperate familiarity, and Stella’s fingers tightened around the sheet.
She turned her face slightly toward him.
His mouth was only inches from hers.
Lucius leaned closer.
The phone on the bedside table suddenly began ringing.
Stella startled and pushed against his chest, breaking the moment. She quickly removed his arm from around her waist and shifted toward the edge of the bed. Reaching across the nightstand, she grabbed her phone and answered the call.
The room was quiet enough for Lucius to hear the voice on the other end without the call being on speaker.
“Stella, Shane’s coming home today. His conference should be over by now. Should I make some of his favorite dishes for dinner? I thought he’d enjoy coming home to a proper meal after being away for so long.”
Stella’s expression changed.
She instinctively turned away from Lucius, hoping to put some distance between them.
He didn’t let her.
His arms stayed wrapped around her waist. He leaned closer, his mouth hovering near her neck while he listened intently to the conversation.
“Who’s Shane?”
Stella glanced at him.
Lucius’s eyes were already on her.
“What does he have to do with you?” he asked, his voice low. “What’s your relationship with him?”
His gaze narrowed.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
His voice was low, but the questions came one after another. He watched her intently, searching her expression as though he could uncover the answers she refused to give him.
Stella ignored him.
Turning slightly away from Lucius, she kept the phone pressed to her ear.
“Yes, Aunt Darla, please. He’ll probably be exhausted when he gets home.”
She paused, listening.
“His favorites are on the list I left on the fridge. Just pick whatever you think he’d like. You know what he enjoys better than I do anyway.”
The woman said something that made Stella smile.
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
A moment later, Stella ended the call.
She lowered the phone and immediately slipped out of bed.
Lucius watched her as she glanced around the room, searching for something to cover herself with. Before she could find anything, his voice cut through the silence again.