Chapter 5 Be My Secret Lover #3
She shifted slightly in her chair, then forced herself to remain still.
But she refused to let him see any of that.
She kept her expression cool and composed, meeting his gaze as though his presence had no effect on her. She refused to fidget or look away, even when the weight of his attention made it difficult to breathe normally.
Lucius folded his arms across his chest and leaned back slightly, his face stern and his eyes fixed on her.
The movement drew attention to the broadness of his shoulders and the quiet authority in his posture. He looked entirely at ease, as though he had all the time in the world and intended to make her wait for whatever he planned to say next.
Stella held his stare, forcing herself to remain calm despite how difficult it was to sit across from him. She could feel the tension gathering between them, stretching across the table and filling the silence, but she refused to be the first to acknowledge it.
Her fingers tightened briefly against one another in her lap before she deliberately relaxed them.
Eventually, she broke the silence.
“Since you’ve agreed to what I’m asking for, we can do it every Saturday. I have to work on the other days of the week, and I need the rest of my time for myself.”
She delivered the words in one steady rush, not giving him a chance to interrupt. Her chin lifted slightly as she spoke, her gaze remaining fixed on his.
“If you have a problem with that, we can end this right now and not go through with it.”
Her hand remained resting against her thigh, her fingers curling slightly into the fabric of her dress as she waited for his response.
Lucius had put on a shirt and was now wearing his trousers.
His shirt was casually unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, exposing the veins and defined muscles beneath his skin.
Even dressed so casually, he looked every bit as expensive as he always did.
The clothes were from one of the most exclusive brands, their impeccable cut accentuating his broad shoulders and powerful frame.
He had left his tie and jacket behind, but their absence did little to diminish his usual air of authority. Sitting across from her, he still looked like the kind of man who could walk into a boardroom and have an entire room of executives fall silent without raising his voice.
His arms were folded across his chest, his posture relaxed but commanding as he studied her from beneath his slightly lowered brows.
“Stella, I cannot be satisfied with just one day a week. You know that better than anyone.”
His voice was deep and businesslike, carrying the same quiet authority he used when negotiating multimillion-dollar deals. There was no irritation in his tone, nor did he sound as though he were asking for her permission.
He was stating what he wanted.
“So I want Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays of every week.”
Stella looked at him, surprise flickering across her face. This time, she made no effort to hide it.
“You want three days?”
Lucius merely held her gaze, his expression impassive.
She remembered how, throughout their relationship, there had not been a single night when they hadn’t slept together.
Like clockwork, Lucius had followed the same routine every evening. Around ten, he would return from his study after finishing his work, take a shower, and emerge from the bathroom wearing nothing but his trousers.
Then he would climb into bed beside her, pull her beneath him, and kiss her before making love to her.
As far as she could remember, he had never allowed a single night to pass without sleeping with her.
Eventually, Stella would grow too exhausted to stay awake. Her eyelids would grow heavy, and she would drift off despite her attempts to remain conscious. And even then, Lucius would pull her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her and keeping her tucked against his body as they slept.
The memory alone made her even more aware of how insatiable he had been.
He had been so relentless that he hadn’t been willing to let go of even one night without having her in his bed.
‘If he couldn’t control himself for even a single night throughout all those three years, how many women had he slept with during the past year?’
The thought struck her without warning.
A faint crease appeared between her brows as she considered it. She had no right to question him about the women he might have been with during their year apart. She was the one who had walked away. She was the one who had insisted they remain strangers.
Still, the thought of him touching someone else left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She looked up at him again, her eyes finding his across the table.
“Fine,” she said.
Her voice was calm, but the brief hesitation before the word betrayed how much she had been thinking about his demand.
“I agree.”
Then she leaned forward, placing one hand flat on the table. Her fingers spread against the polished surface as she held his gaze, her chin lifting slightly.
“But this time, I’m the one who has three rules.”