Chapter 36
Business Dinner
Creams Tower glittered that night, chandeliers dripping diamonds, Bordeaux swirling beneath the hum of international accents. It wasn’t just dinner. It was war in silk and cufflinks, fortunes sealed with eye contact.
Maddison stood at Lucas’s side in crimson silk, heels sharp enough to stab a man, smile polished into something halfway between charm and warning. She was there to shield him, to read the room, to remind every CEO in attendance that Lucas Creams wasn’t untouchable.
He was taken.
And then she saw it.
Lucas leaned just a little too close to the woman across the table , an Italian CEO with slicked-back hair and diamonds swinging from her ears. His hand rested casually on the back of her chair, his half-smile dangerously close to charm. She laughed, throaty and low.
Maddison’s nails bit into the stem of her wine glass. She didn’t make a scene.
Not Here.
But the second they slipped out the Tower’s side exit into the cool night air, the mask
Cracked.
“Enjoy yourself?” Maddison snapped, heels striking pavement.
Lucas blinked, tugging at his tie. “What?”
“Flirting with diamond-earring Barbie while I stood there like your PA.”
His brows drew tight. “It wasn’t flirting. It was business.”
“Business that made you laugh at her jokes. Business that made you put your hand on her chair the way you used to put it on mine.”
Lucas stopped dead, turning to face her. His jaw flexed. “You’re jealous.”
Her laugh came sharp and bitter. “Damn right I’m jealous. I shot a man for you, Lucas. I bleed for you. And you think I’ll just smile pretty while you play charming CEO with someone else?”
The air crackled hot between them. Maddison’s chest heaved, fury sparking in her eyes. Lucas stared like she was the only living thing in the city.
Then he grabbed her.
He shoved her back against the cold brick wall, his mouth crashing onto hers like punishment. Teeth clashed, breath ragged, his hand already under her dress.
“You’re everything to me,” he hissed against her lips. “Fucking everything.”
Maddison moaned into his mouth, clinging to him like she wanted to tear him apart.
The alley stank of smoke and city grime, but she didn’t care. She wanted him furious,
unhinged, hers. Lucas hooked her leg around his hip, yanked his zipper down, and drove into her with a broken groan. Maddison bit his shoulder to keep from screaming, the stretch and the fury colliding until she was gasping.
“Harder,” she panted. “Come on, is this how Helmet Daddy fucks? Show me.”
He pinned her wrists above her head, pounding her into the wall so hard it shook.
“Shut up,” he growled.
“Make me,” she moaned.
His hips snapped, curses spilling as he lost himself inside her. When she shattered around him, crying out into his mouth, he followed with a guttural growl, trembling as he emptied himself into her.
They stayed tangled, ruined, her back against cold brick, his hand stroking her thigh like he couldn’t bear to let go.
Lucas finally pulled back just enough to see her , mascara smudged, lipstick ruined, fire still burning in her eyes. His forehead pressed to hers, his voice wrecked.
“Marry me.”
Maddison blinked, still panting. “What?”
“Be my wife. Be Maddison Cream.” His eyes burned into hers. “Mrs. Cream. Sounds filthy. Sounds right.”
Her laugh cracked, half shock, half awe. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.” His hands trembled as he cupped her face. “You terrify me. You ground me. You’re the only one who sees me.”
Her smirk faltered into something softer, tears brimming. “You’re insane.”
“Say yes.”
“Lucas…”
“Please,” he whispered. “Say yes.”
Her chest hitched. Wild. Alive. She nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course yes.”
His mouth claimed hers again , desperate, reverent, like he couldn’t believe she was real, like she’d vanish if he let go. And somewhere behind them, the city carried on. Cars roared past. Music thumped from the Tower. Life moved forward.
But for them, it was the beginning of a twisted fairytale: an alleyway fuck and a wedding proposal.
Exactly the Creams way.