Chapter 19
Lucan
Sadie fills my mind.
She’s like a drug. The more I’m around her, the more I want.
Cradling her head in my hands while she sucked my cock tipped me over the edge from fascination to obsession. I need her to acknowledge how perfect we are for each other. To admit it to herself.
This past week, she’s been hiding from me as well as she can, which isn’t very well. I watch her like an addict.
She’s coming to the gala tonight, so I’ve avoided looking at the camera feeds from her bedroom or on campus. I don’t want to cheat myself out of seeing her in a gown in the flesh for the first time.
The museum hall is packed with people for the Heritage Gala. Tuxedos, silk dresses, and glittering tiaras surround me. A string quartet plays elegant strains from a platform.
But the space feels empty because she’s not here yet.
I know exactly when she’ll arrive, thanks to the tracking app on her phone. She’s currently midway between Darkbloom and Ember Falls.
Swigging my whiskey, I attempt to define what I’m feeling for her, but I can’t.
I’ve been interested in Sadie for some time, but there’s a new layer now. A deeper, uncharted one.
The new layer troubles me because I’m troubled by anything outside of my control.
I think having sex with her is the answer. It’s a way for me to take ownership of the huge, primal thing developing between us.
Or it’ll drive my fixation to new depths, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take, because I need to do it. I’m going insane watching her on screens, unable to touch her.
Keeping cool has never been a problem for me. Ever. What is Sadie doing to me? She wields some seductive, unfathomable magic.
I glance at my phone screen to find she’s nine minutes from arrival. I take another draw of whiskey, annoyed at everyone and everything due to my impatience to see her.
My father heads for me when he sees me, smiling and nodding through the crowd. He sponsors the event as a longstanding member of the Heritage Foundation.
The gala is allegedly in service of historical preservation, but every conversation around me is a transaction. People attend for political, financial, or personal gain. The only preservation they care about is that of their own legacies.
“Annabeth Dubois is here,” he says when he reaches me. “Go and say hello. She’s the heiress to Gunner Holdings and is making a name for herself as an actress. Quite the stunner.”
I trade my empty glass for another whiskey from a waiter’s tray. “I know who Annabeth is.”
She’s a paper-fucking-doll, like every woman who isn’t Sadie Marlowe.
“You’re the future of the company and the Hale name,” says Dad. “Hurry up and choose a wife or I’ll choose one for you. You’ve had long enough.”
“Not quite,” I say, half to myself.
I check my phone screen.
Seven minutes.
“I’m too soft on you.” Dad adjusts his cufflink. “Reeve Lauder’s parents are aggressively stepping up their efforts to find him a match.”
“Reeve agreed to that?”
“It’s not up to him. That’s my point.” Dad scans the ocean of faces. “Your uncle’s here somewhere with Teenie and the twins.”
I nod. “The twins are at Royce, right?”
Royce University is Darkbloom’s rival school across the valley, known for new money and ethically questionable STEM research.
“That’s right.” Dad grunts. “I confirmed with the board that the twins are Gareth’s new heirs, as we suspected.”
I give a low whistle. “Do you really think they could’ve had something to do with Hannah and Parker being killed?”
“My gut says no, but we won’t leave any stone unturned. Our people at the precinct are discreetly looking into their alibis. Any leads from your end? Have your private detectives tracked down the car stolen from Darkbloom?”
I shake my head. “They got the same results as the cops. The vehicle seems to have fucking vanished. I don’t understand it.”
“The bastard must’ve dumped it somewhere. It’ll show up sooner or later.”
“Sooner would be better than later.”
“Indeed, we don’t want any more dead young people.” He heaves a sigh. “Keep an eye on the girl. The witness.”
I sip my drink. “I am.”
“Our agents are patrolling the building’s perimeter, along with gala security,” says Dad.
“I know, I spoke to them.”
“Excellent. Tonight should be wonderfully ordinary then.”
“Don’t jinx it, Dad.”
“No such thing as jinxes, Lucan.”
He moves on, leaving me to watch Sadie’s progress on my phone.
Three minutes.
A hand wearing a gold family-crest ring waves between the screen and my face. It’s Reeve, his blond hair nearly as white as his teeth, and Madox is with him.
“Earth to fucking Lucan,” says Reeve. “What’s got you glued to your phone?”
Madox smirks, rubbing the shaved side of his head. “More like, who. Sadie. The writer girl.”
I slip my phone into my pocket. “Yeah. And?”
“Nothing,” says Reeve with a deep nod, like he’s equally surprised and impressed. “Glad someone finally caught your highly discriminating attention.”
Madox snickers. “Is Sadie glad?”
His slight Irish lilt is more noticeable from the whiskey he’s been drinking.
Madox was born here, but his parents’ accents rubbed off on him, as did their enthusiasm for violence.
“She will be,” I say.
Madox claps my shoulder. “I would never doubt a Hale.”
“I hear your parents are laying out your future,” I say to Reeve.
His eyes narrow. “What are you talking about?”
“They’re set on locking down a wife for you.”
“Fuck me. Mom swore she’d talk him into giving me more time.” He downs the rest of his whiskey. “Excuse me while I go and ruin their plans.”
Madox watches him leave. “At times like this, I’m ecstatic to be a second son. Fewer expectations.”
“You coming to the afterparty tonight?” I ask.
“Can’t.” He grimaces. “Pudding’s sick. I need to give him his meds before bedtime.”
I snort. “That cat has you whipped.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, friend.” He peers at the red-carpeted entrance of the museum hall. “Speaking of devotion. The object of yours has arrived.”
I follow his gaze to where Sadie walks in with her friends. My pulse kicks up, like her arrival injects me with fresh life.
“See you later,” I say to Madox. “Give Pudding my best.”
He salutes. “Enjoy terrorizing the woman of your dreams.”
I ghost through the crowd to observe Sadie before she spots me.
Shimmering burgundy dress, hair swept up. Candlelight glows on her bare neck and shoulders. Glossy rose-red lips.
Fuck, she’s gorgeous.
Her fingers brush her gown like she’s grounding herself. I keep moving, hungry for every angle. She glances back at the door, as if already considering leaving.
Though Sadie tries staying in her friends’ shadows, she still stands out.
Men notice her. Conversations stall while every guy nearby finds a reason to gawk in her direction, as if they have any right to assess her and imagine.
I should go and say hello to her. It’s only polite.
Juliette clocks me first, nudging Clara as I close in. Without exchanging a word, they move in front of Sadie to form a protective barrier.
I’d be pleased, if they were doing it to anyone but me.
“Good evening, Clara, Juliette.” I look past them. “Sadie.”
She fixes me with a sullen stare. “Hi.”
Her soft voice is barely audible over the chatter and string music. Yet the single syllable shoots straight down my spine like a bolt of lightning.
“May I have a minute?” I say to her friends.
Clara raises her brows at Sadie. “Can he?”
After contemplating me for several moments, Sadie nods like it costs her something.
“We’ll be right over here,” says Juliette to Sadie, pointing at the champagne fountain.
Clara holds up a finger to me. “One minute, Hale. And no running off with her this time.”
We’ll see.
I shrug. “Whatever you say.”
Once they’ve left, I step toward Sadie. Already pressed to the wall, she has nowhere to go to escape me. I’m so close I can smell her intoxicating honey scent. Blood rushes to my cock and my heart in equal, stirring measure.
Her lively gray eyes glare up at me. I lean in further, just for the pleasure of seeing her chest rise and fall more rapidly.
She’s rattled from me fucking her throat the other night.
I understand, I do. It was a lot.
But I’m not going to leave her alone, because I can’t. If her friends hadn’t interrupted us on the tower, I would’ve eaten and claimed her sweet cunt under the sky and stars.
“How nice to see you here,” I say.
Her eyes roll. “You say that like you haven’t been monitoring my every move.”
“I do that for your safety.” And to feed my addiction. “Why have you been avoiding me?”
She crosses her arms, which pushes her breasts together in the most jaw-dropping way. Tendrils of hair brush her neck and her pulse flickers against her skin.
“Because I’m embarrassed,” she says.
“Of?” I ask.
“Of what you did!” She gestures at me like I’m a wild, dangerous creature. “Of what I did.”
I speak low, so no one else can hear. “What we did.”
Her cheeks redden. “Yeah.”
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You were so fucking great.”
“Stop saying that.” She presses her palms to her face like she wants to disappear.
I bite back a smirk. “Because you enjoy my praise?”
I’m still in total control. I don’t know what I was worried about earlier.
“No,” she says emphatically. “I enjoy nothing about you. I meant it when I said we were done.”
“And I meant it when I said we’re not.”
Her teeth grit together. “Why won’t you listen to me?”
“Because you’re still lying to yourself.”
“I’m not.”
But she’s stuttering and can’t meet my eyes. She’s flustered as fuck, and it makes me physically ache to take her in my arms.
“You don’t get it, Lucan.” Her sweet voice is braided with frustration. “You’re guaranteed a good life no matter what you do. But I’m not. I didn’t come to Darkbloom to be your plaything. I came here for an education.”
Something stabs low in my chest. “I’m making sure you can do that. You can’t get an education if you’re killed.”
She shakes her head and looks away, like she doesn’t want to waste any more breath on me.
Her dress strap slips to the edge of her shoulder. Before she can object, I slide my finger under the fabric and drag it into place, feeling the warm softness of her body.
That might’ve been a mistake though, because she shoves me in the chest. A rawness enters her eyes, as though she’s genuinely torn and confused.
My protective instincts come to life, tinged with regret. Making her blush is fun, but I didn’t mean to upset her in a real way.
Can I reach for her? Will she let me?
Juliette steps between Sadie and me, jabbing me with her elbow. “Your minute’s up!”
“Come on,” I say. “Another minute.”
“Nope. That was the deal.” Juliette takes Sadie’s hand. “Time for champagne.”
Without another glance at me, which sharpens the blade lodged low in my chest, Sadie goes with her friends. The three of them clink flutes, sip, and chat. It’s like I don’t exist, except for the tightness in Sadie’s shoulders.
Fine, so she’s deep in denial.
I can work with denial.
All I have to do is get her alone and make her understand.