Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
brIAR
By the time we get back to Lucien’s loft, the city lights are spilling through the floor-to-ceiling windows, painting the space in gold and shadow.
It still amazes me, this place — sleek, modern, and yet somehow…
him. It’s so different to my own home. My flat was tiny and could fit in the living room of this place.
And I certainly didn’t have the magnificent views Lucien enjoyed.
Once I may have lived in such luxury, when married to Matteo, but I was only too happy to give up that lavish lifestyle, built on crime and killing, and live modestly as I have done for the past few years.
Oddly enough however, living here with Lucien has started to feel natural. Dangerous, maybe, but natural.
I kick off my heels near the door while he shrugs out of his suit jacket, tossing it over the back of a nearby chair. “You want wine?” I ask, already heading toward the kitchen.
“Always,” he says, his voice rough from the long day.
The soft pop of the cork and glug of liquid fills the quiet as I pour two generous glasses. When I turn, he’s leaned against the counter, sleeves rolled up, tie loose, watching me like he always does — like I’m the only thing worth seeing.
It unnerves me, the way his attention feels like a weight and a tether all at once.
But I cannot think of not having that feeling when around him.
An enigma I cannot quite process, even though I know this probably cannot last. How can it when I have the sinking feeling, no matter what he does for a living, there is another side of Lucien that’s hidden, a part that I cannot reconcile or have anything to do with again.
“I can cook some pasta for dinner if you’d like to eat in?” I’m not the best at cooking, but I do try and it’s the effort that counts, isn’t it?
Lucien throws me an amused smile and gestures for me to go ahead. “Sure, whatever you wish.”
I go about the kitchen, grabbing a saucepan and filling it with water before placing it on the gas oven to boil.
I remember to add salt and the pasta, stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Without asking, Lucien rises and pulls out a jar of pasta sauce, leaving it on the counter next to the stove, his sexy-as-hell grin making my stomach clench deliciously.
The man is too encompassing, too much, and yet I can’t get enough of him.
Not that I should think too far ahead of whatever is happening between us.
He is my boss. I’m here for my own protection.
Being someone’s fuck buddy didn’t mean he’d put a ring on it.
And no matter how much he tried to hide it from me, he was part of the underworld which I couldn’t stomach again.
Once was enough.
Not that I thought Lucien was a crime lord, or at least I hope he wasn’t.
His father used to be as criminally minded as Matteo, but everything I knew of Moretti Global was legit.
I had to hold on to that small hope that what I feared would come to fruition, wouldn’t.
Lucien promised to keep me safe. Surely he would do so by using the law to his advantage and not underhanded ways like my ex.
Lucien’s phone buzzes and he glances at the screen, jaw tightening before he answers. “Yeah.” His voice is low and clipped. I can’t hear much of the conversation, but I know it’s business — but is it Matteo Romero troubles again?
By the time he hangs up, his wine sits untouched, and there’s a familiar tension riding his shoulders. Before I can ask, there’s a knock at the door. Lucien sighs, setting his phone down. “That’ll be Stephen.”
His brother Stephen steps inside the loft, and his solemn visage puts me on edge.
Stephen loosens his tie in a similar fashion to Lucien and it’s clear visually that they are related.
He heads straight for the kitchen island, plopping down on a stool and taking in the domesticated scene.
He throws a couple of peanuts that are sitting in a bowl on the counter into his mouth and tips his chin in hello at me.
“Matteo’s digging his heels in,” he says without preamble. “He’s refusing to approve the sale.”
Lucien’s expression doesn’t change, but the tone of the room seems to darken. “Of course he is.”
I lean against the counter, cradling my glass of wine. “Is this about the property we had a meeting for the other day?”
Stephen nods. “Moretti Global has majority shares of the prime real estate, but Matteo’s little slice of the pie means he can stall us if he wants. And apparently, he wants to do exactly that.”
Lucien’s eyes narrow on me as he thinks. “He’s playing games.”
I swallow a sip of wine, hesitating before I speak. “It’s me, isn’t it? Now that he knows I’m working for you, he’s playing hardball to get at me through you. Letting me know he’s still pulling strings.”
Stephen looks at me, then away. Lucien pins me with that sharp, unflinching gaze. “Why would you think that?”
“Because…” I set my glass down, my fingers tightening around the stem. “He hates that I work for you. That I’m tied to Moretti Global. If he can’t control me directly anymore, maybe this is his way of…making a point?”
Stephen exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. “Wouldn’t put it past him. The guy’s a control freak, always has been. But no one knows you’re here, Briar, so it doesn’t make sense that Matteo would be consumed with jealousy.”
Lucien leans on the counter, hands braced, watching me like he’s piecing together a puzzle. “He’s using his leverage to rattle you. He may not know everything that’s happening in your life, but he’s jumping to his own conclusions.”
“And what conclusions are true?” Stephen asks, looking between us both.
I don’t say anything, but I look to Lucien who merely smirks. “Those conclusions are none of your business just like they’re none of Matteo Romero’s business either.”
Stephen sighs, seemingly giving up his fight of inquiry. “I’ll keep pushing for a deal. Maybe we can persuade him somehow to see our way of thinking is the right way.”
Lucien nods once, sharp. “Do what you can and keep me updated.”
Stephen grabs his jacket and heads for the door. “Will do.”
When the door clicks shut behind him, the silence stretches.
I can feel Lucien’s mood shift slightly, not as carefree as he was when we first arrived back at his loft.
I set my glass down and cross to him, placing a hand lightly on his arm.
“Hey,” I say softly. “Matteo may try and rattle me, but I’m safe here and he can’t hurt me while I’m working for you.
I’m sure in time he’ll find someone new to obsess over and I’ll be free of him.
I’m sorry to put all this trouble on you.
The divorce was years ago. I thought he’d be over it by now. ”
Not that I truly thought that. Matteo was anything but forgiving, still perhaps moving back to New York, working for a company that had a history with Matteo was a bad idea. Had I just worked elsewhere, perhaps he would never have gotten wind I was back in the city. But I thought I’d be safe here.
Lucien’s gaze lifts to mine, and there’s something unreadable there, something that makes my breath catch. “I don’t like him using you against me,” he says, voice low. “I don’t like that you’re even part of his calculations, if that’s what he’s doing.”
I shake my head, sliding closer until my hip brushes him. “He doesn’t get to control me, Lucien. Not anymore.”
Something shifts in his expression, something hungry and dark, and before I can react, his hand slides to my waist, pulling me flush against him.
The kiss he gives me is rough, heated, and steals my wits and makes me forget all about the dinner cooking on the stove.
It steals my breath, his fingers threading into my hair as he backs me against the counter.
I gasp against his mouth, clutching at his shirt as the tension of the entire night — hell, the entire day — coils between us, sharp and undeniable. I ache to have him, to feel him in me again, giving me what I crave.
“Lucien,” I whisper, and he groans softly at the sound of his name on my lips.
In one smooth motion, he scoops me up, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. The wineglass clinks softly as it settles somewhere on the counter behind us.
His mouth trails down my throat, teeth grazing skin, sending tremors racing under my heated flesh.
Every nerve in my body feels strung tight and alive.
He picks me up as if I weigh nothing but a feather and carries me down the hallway to his bedroom. I’ve not slept in here before and my heart hammers hard in my chest. He kicks the door closed, it’s shutting hard behind us, closing us off to the world and all the troubles that follow us there.
His kiss steals my breath. I’m so wet, achingly ready for whatever he wants to do to me. I’d let him do anything he wants, even knowing him the short amount of time that I do. A crazy yet honest admission.
He sets me down on the edge of the bed, his eyes dark with want, with possession and need I’d never thought I’d see from anyone.
I thought only such burning hunger was what was written in romance novels, but to see it here and now, in the flesh and directed at me, sends my pulse sky rocking.
He kneels before me, his hands slide up my thighs and our mouths collide again.
“Lucien…” The ravenousness in my voice is not something I can hide.
He pulls my panties down and I scramble onto the bed farther.
He follows me, his muscular, warm, so-fucking-hot body pressing against mine.
I wrap my legs about his waist, and he reaches between us, ripping open his pants.
His cock springs frees and he rubs it against my cunt.
He grinds himself where I want him most, and I moan. I can’t wait. I need him in me.
Now.
“Lucien…” I’m not past begging at this stage.
He thrusts into me and we both groan. He’s large, hard, and doesn’t hold back. He pushes into me, clasping my leg to tip my hip up to make him go deeper. God, he feels good.
I arch my back, relishing the feel of him filling me. “Fuck me,” I beg, wanting him with a desperation I’ve never known.
All my thoughts center on him, of how he makes me feel, safe and desired. He’s an elixir I cannot wean myself off. How would I go on with my life should this not last? I don’t even want to think about it.
“Come for me.” It’s an order and the determination in his voice only makes me wetter.
“Make me,” I taunt, not wanting this to end, even if our dinner is still bubbling away on the stove in the other room. Let the loft burn, let the world burn for that matter, as long as I get to stay here with him.
He growls and tilts his pelvis. I gasp as his cock hits that sweet spot inside of me, a place few men have ever been able to reach during sex. Lucien, however, seems to have perfected the fucking stroke.
“Lucien.” I’m babbling his name, my breath stolen from my lungs, my skin pricking in sweat. I’m close. I can feel the start of the sweet tremors that are going to catapult through my body. I want to come. I’m desperate for release, for him to fuck me until I shatter.
“Oh yeah, that’s it’s baby,” he growls, and it’s enough to push me over the edge.
I come.
Hard.
It’s as sweet and delicious as I expected. I hold on to him, riding out and enjoying every last tremor that throttles through my body. He leans over me, his hands on either side of my head, watching me.
His gaze is intense, and I’m mesmerized by it. By him.
“I’m coming.” His voice is low and rough.
I’ve never watched a man come before and I’m hypnotized by the pleasure that crosses his handsome face. I want to make him come every day. I want gratification and sex with this man for as long as I can have it.
I want to please him and be there for him. I don’t know how I’ve become so gripped so quickly but I can’t help but think that he’s everything I’ve ever wanted. The type of man I wished I’d met on the beach in Spain instead of whom I did.
“Briar.”
My name on his lips sounds like a promise as he comes, thrusting into me until he’s spent. He slumps beside me on the bed, our breaths labored, still half-clothed but satisfied.
For now.
“I suppose we should go turn that pasta off. Hopefully it’s not burning the pot.” I turn and grin, not really wanting to go anywhere.
“I can’t hear the fire alarm yet, but I’ll go. You jump in the shower. I’ll finish up dinner.”
“Really?” I didn’t think he’d be the type of man to cook.
“Of course. You’re my guest and I do know how to take care of you…and how to cook pasta.”
“You certainly do,” I tease, not meaning food at all. Lucien gets the meaning of my words and chuckles, bussing my mouth with a quick kiss before standing. He rights his pants and leaves the room.
I sigh and stare after his muscular back a moment before staring up at the ceiling, marveling at my life right now.
I feel safe and content, two emotions I’ve not felt for a long time, and I don’t ever wish to leave.
But I can’t hide here forever. While I don’t know what will happen between me and Lucien, I know I have to pull my big girl panties on and continue my life, even if my crazy ex refuses to do the same.
Something tells me, though, convincing Lucien of that will be a whole other battle I’ll have to forge through.