Chapter 3
By the end of the day, all the staff had been sent away on a fully paid break, Lucy insisted. She didn’t need prying eyes, and she refused to put anyone else in unnecessary danger. Besides, Mary was going to arrive soon, and she would have the house and everyone in order.
Mother number three, Lucy thought with a faint smile. In thirteen years, she had gone from having one mother to three, each one of them had shaped her in ways she hadn’t expected. She giggled to herself quietly as she made her way to the back room.
Byron was waiting. The last time she’d seen this room, it had been transformed into a makeshift medical ward after he’d been shot. Now, it was padded wall-to-wall.
Lucy arched a brow. “Am I being sectioned?” she teased.
Byron chuckled, shaking his head. “No. Sit with me. We’re starting your training.”
She tilted her head. “Training in what exactly?”
“When I was younger,” he explained, lowering himself to the floor, “the way I learned to control my powers—and how I unlocked some of them—was through meditation. It didn’t happen quickly, but it worked.”
Lucy dropped cross-legged onto the mat with a sigh. “Time is something I don’t have, Byron.”
“Maybe not,” he said calmly, “but we all need to start somewhere.”
So, she tried. She allowed herself to sink deeper, slipping past the noise in her head, into silence.
And then—darkness hit, she was standing in it, surrounded by shadows. Far ahead, a golden orb pulsed. She walked toward it, eager, but each time she reached for it, it darted away retreating further into the void. She chased it repeatedly until frustration clawed at her chest.
Her breathing quickened. Muscles twitched. She screamed in exasperation and snapped out of the trance.
Byron was already kneeling in front of her, his hands steadying her shoulders. “Lucy? What happened?” His voice was calm, but his eyes showed concern.
She blinked rapidly, still trying to shake the strange sensation “I did what you said. I meditated. I wasn’t just sitting here with my eyes shut.
I was in this dark place. And there was this golden orb.
Every time I got close, it ran away. It made me feel…
I don’t know. Dirty. Like I wasn’t meant to touch it. ”
Byron leaned back slightly, intrigued. “I’m telling you, Byron, it kept on bouncing around playing a dumb game of cat and fucking mouse.”
He gave a crooked grin, trying to break the heaviness. “I can think of plenty of other ways to make you feel dirty.”
Her lips curved, the tension easing. She edged closer, her voice was laced with mischief. “Oh, yes. You did promise to bend me over, didn’t you?”
Byron’s smirk deepened as he slid an arm around her waist, pulling her in. “And I never break a promise” his breath grazed gently against her neck.
Lucy’s body turned weak in Byron’s arms, his lips pressing hard against hers. He grew tense beneath her touch, his body rippling with raw energy. She had always had this power over him, but now he was insatiable, like an animal who had been unfed its entire life.
He pulled her top over her head, his mouth trailing down towards her breast, she gasped when his mouth perfectly fixed onto her nipple, sucking on it like he was desperate. Her fingers fumbled at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin against hers, she tugged hard, and then they heard it.
Barnaby, his voice rang out, sharp with excitement.
“They’re here! They’re all here!”
Lucy froze, still caught between breathless desire and the sudden weight of reality.
Byron pulled back, his jaw tight, his eyes dark.
“That boy…” he muttered, clearly not impressed
Whatever was burning between them would have to wait. The Oxley's had arrived.
The vans pulled onto the drive with the grace of a military procession.
Mary stepped out first, pausing on the gravel.
She lifted her chin, breathing in. “It’s not clean,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose.
“But it’s liveable.” Coming from the countryside, she was used to fresh air and silence.
Even though they were not exactly close to the city, she could already taste the fumes.
Sam and Nick followed close behind.
“Barnaby!” Mary cried, spotting him sprinting across the courtyard.
“Mary!” he shouted back, practically throwing himself into her arms.
She scooped him up with ease, towering over him even though Barnaby wasn’t short. Her tall, slender frame almost swallowed him in her embrace. “My boy,” she whispered, smoothing his hair. “How have you been? Have they treated you well?”
He grinned. “Yes! And you’ve got to see inside. It’s amazing.”
The group followed him toward the grand entrance. Before they reached the door, it flew open.
Lucy burst out, just as excited as Barnaby. “Mary!” she squealed, racing forward. “Nick! Sam!”
She threw her arms around them, hugging all three at once. “I’ve missed you so much. I have so much to tell you.”
She led them inside with a wide smile. “Normally the staff would take your bags, but you will have to make do with Corey, Damien, and Byron. They are good for the heavy lifting.”
Right on cue, the three men appeared from different directions like the world’s most casual welcome committee.
Lucy laughed. “Just in time, I present The Three Musketeers.”
Corey stepped forward first. “Mary” he said with a nod before introducing the others “This is Damien,” then, with a smirk, he added, “And you should introduce Byron, Lucy. After all, he is your ... Boyfriend.”
Lucy’s cheeks flared hot. She stammered, searching for words, but Mary was already striding forward.
“So, you’re Byron,” she said, towering over his six-foot plus frame. “You can carry my bag and tell me about your intentions with our Lucy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Byron replied quickly, placing her case onto his shoulder.
Before trailing slowly behind them Lucy Shot Corey a glance and a message only, he could hear, ‘asshole.’ Corey, cottoned on quickly and responded as a thought 'Dance Corey, was it?
A wry giggle concluded his trail of thought.
She stuck her middle finger up and then hurried after Mary and the others.
Byron set Mary’s bags by the bed. When he turned, she was already standing in front of him, arms folded, eyes sweeping over him in a slow, assessing pass.
“So,” she said in that soft, honeyed voice that somehow felt more dangerous than a shout, “you’re the one keeping Lucy awake at night.”
Lucy groaned. “Mary…”
Mary held up a hand without looking away from Byron. “Let me speak, sweetheart.”
Her attention sharpened on him again. “Tell me, young man… are you here to protect her, or distract her?”
Byron swallowed once, then steadied himself. “If I am honest… both. But I would never let anything happen to her.”
Something flickered across Mary’s face, not approval, but recognition.
“A fair answer,” she murmured. “But do not mistake my calm for softness. You are not immune to consequences where she is concerned.”
She stepped in, close enough that only he could hear her. Her voice dropped to a velvet threat.
“Lucy is not just important. She is essential. If you hurt her, I do not care how quickly your body repairs itself, I will make sure you stay down.”
Byron’s jaw tightened, but he did not move.
“Noted.”
Lucy blinked between them, confused. “Wait, how did you know he heals fast?”
Mary finally glanced her way, a small smile tugging at her lips, “Oh, my darling… I know far more than you think.”
Then to Byron, her hand briefly brushing his shoulder warm but warning.
“Keep your word, and you will have me in your corner. And trust me, there’s no better place to be.”
Just as abruptly, she stepped back and clapped her hands lightly.
“Now, the two of you off you go. I need a nap before these bones start filing complaints.”
Byron and Lucy slipped out, neither speaking until they were safely down the hall.
Lucy broke first, a laugh escaping her mouth.
“Well… at least that’s done.”
Byron exhaled hard. “I have walked into enemy fire without flinching, but your mum? She nearly turned me to stone.”
Lucy grinned, bumping her shoulder against his.
“So, the mighty Byron finally has a weakness… my mum?”
He gave a crooked smile. “And your pussy!” he whispered
Lucy froze, her mouth dropped opened wide, Byron placed a finger under her chin “You really do keep begging for me to fill it?” as he gently forced it shut!
Lucy huffed, whilst grabbing Byron's hand, pulling him away from Mary’s door, putting a swift end to his foul imagination