CHAPTER 46
Sera didn’t remember walking through the halls.
One moment she had been in the lower chamber, watching the life drain from the man she’d just killed. The next she was standing outside Lucien’s office door, her pulse still pounding in her ears like distant thunder.
Her knuckles brushed the dark wood once before she pushed the door open.
Lucien was inside, leaning over the massive desk that dominated the room, sleeves rolled up and tie loosened as he studied a stack of documents. The warm amber light from the lamps carved sharp shadows across his face, making the angles of his jaw look even harder.
He didn’t look up immediately, but he knew she was there. Sera stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind her.
The soft click made Lucien glance up. Their eyes met and for a moment, neither of them spoke.
His grey gaze moved slowly over her face, her hair, the faint specks of blood still staining the sleeve of her shirt. Something dark flickered behind his eyes.
“You should be asleep,” he said calmly.
Sera walked further into the room.
“I couldn’t.”
Lucien leaned back slightly against the edge of the desk, arms folding across his chest. The movement made the muscles in his forearms shift beneath his shirt sleeves.
“Because of tonight?” he asked.
Sera stopped only a few steps away from him.
“No,” she said quietly. “Because of you.”
That got his attention.
Lucien tilted his head slightly, studying her like she was a puzzle he was deciding how to solve.
“Careful, Seraphina,” he murmured. “You’re walking into dangerous territory.”
She laughed softly.
“You say that like I haven’t been living in dangerous territory since the moment I met you.”
Silence settled between them again, thicker this time.
Lucien pushed himself off the desk slowly, taking a step toward her. Then another.
Sera held his gaze, refusing to move even as the distance between them shrank.
When he stopped in front of her, the air felt heavier somehow.
“You walked into my interrogation chamber,” he said quietly. “And killed a man I was questioning.”
“You already had what you needed.”
“That wasn’t the point.”
Sera shrugged slightly. “Maybe I wanted to prove something.”
Lucien’s eyes darkened. “And what exactly did you prove?”
She stepped closer until there was barely an inch between them.
“That I’m not something fragile you need to protect.”
Lucien let out a quiet breath.
His hand moved suddenly, fingers curling around her wrist. Not rough, but firm enough that she felt the strength in it.
“You were never fragile,” he said softly.
The low tone of his voice sent a shiver down her spine.
His other hand lifted slowly, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face before trailing down along her jaw.
Sera’s breath caught.
“You walked into that chamber,” he continued quietly, “like you belonged there.”
“Maybe I do.”
Lucien studied her for a long moment. Then his thumb brushed lightly across her lower lip. The touch was slow. Deliberate. Dangerous.
“You have no idea,” he murmured, voice dropping lower, “how much trouble you’re going to cause me.”
Sera tilted her chin slightly. “Then stop me.”
Lucien gave a quiet, almost disbelieving laugh.
“Stop you?” he repeated.
His hand slid from her jaw to the back of her neck, pulling her just a fraction closer. His forehead almost touched hers now.
“If I wanted to stop you,” he said softly, “you wouldn’t have made it past the door.”
Sera could feel his breath against her lips. Every nerve in her body suddenly felt electric. Her hand slowly moved to the front of his shirt, fingers curling lightly into the fabric.
“You’re not stopping me,” she whispered.
Lucien’s jaw tightened slightly and for a moment, it looked like he was fighting with himself. Then his hand tightened at the back of her neck and he pulled her closer and that was the exact moment a sharp knock sounded against the office door.
Lucien froze.
Ronan’s voice came from the other side.
“Boss?”
Lucien closed his eyes briefly, exhaling slowly. Sera stepped back immediately, smoothing her hair as if the moment hadn’t almost exploded into something much more dangerous. Lucien ran a hand down his face before straightening his posture.
“Come in,” he called.
The tension between them didn’t disappear. If anything, it had only just started.
Lucien closed the door behind Ronan.
The office fell silent again, but the quiet didn’t last long.
Sera turned toward Lucien immediately, fire already burning in her eyes.
“I’m coming with you.”
Lucien didn’t even look up from the weapon he was checking on his desk.
“No.”
The single word dropped into the room like a stone.
Sera blinked. “You didn’t even think about it.”
“I already did.”
Her hands clenched at her sides.
“You can’t just leave me here every time something happens.”
Lucien slid the magazine into the pistol with a sharp click before finally lifting his gaze to her.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Sera let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Unbelievable.”
She began pacing across the office, agitation radiating off her in waves.
“You gave me a dagger,” she snapped. “You made Ronan teach me how to shoot. You let me kill a man in your interrogation chamber!”
Lucien leaned back against the desk, watching her carefully.
“And yet somehow I’m still expected to sit here like some decoration on your bookshelf while you go out and play king of the underworld?”
“Seraphina.”
“No!” she shot back immediately. “Don’t you fucking dare Seraphina me.”
She stopped pacing and turned to face him again. “I am not a thing you keep locked away.”
Lucien pushed off the desk slowly. “Sera”
“I’m coming with you,” she said again, more forcefully this time.
Lucien took a step toward her. “No.”
She stepped forward too, refusing to give ground.
“I’m not asking.”
Something in Lucien’s expression changed and the room seemed to tighten around them.
“You think this is a game?” he asked quietly.
Sera scoffed. “I think you’re treating me like I’m fragile.”
Another step. Now they were only a few feet apart.
“You think I can’t handle it?” she continued, voice rising. “After everything I’ve already seen? After everything I’ve already done?”
Lucien’s eyes darkened. “That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?” Her voice cracked slightly now, anger mixing with something deeper. “Because from where I’m standing, it just looks like you don’t trust me.”
Lucien moved faster than she expected. One second she was standing there. The next his hand had closed around her wrist, pulling her toward him.
Sera gasped softly as her back hit the edge of the desk. Lucien’s other hand braced against the wood beside her. Caging her in.
“Trust you?” he repeated quietly.
His voice had dropped into something low and dangerous. “You walked into my lower chamber and executed a man without hesitation.”
Sera’s breathing had quickened. “Exactly.”
Lucien leaned closer. “I trust you to be dangerous.” His gaze burned into hers. “But I will not throw you into a battlefield just to prove a point.”
“I don’t need protection…”
Lucien’s hand moved suddenly, gripping her jaw just enough to stop the words.
“Seraphina.”
The way he said her name made her heart slam against her ribs.
“You don’t get to decide this one.”
Her eyes flashed with fury. “Watch me.” For a moment the two of them simply stared at each other. The tension between them felt like a live wire.
Lucien exhaled slowly through his nose. Then his grip shifted, pulling her closer against him instead of holding her back.
“You are impossible,” he murmured.
“And you’re controlling.”
His mouth twitched slightly. “Correct.”
Before she could respond, his hand slid to the back of her neck again. The same grip from earlier. Firm and unyielding.
“Sera,” he said quietly, his forehead almost touching hers again. “You think I’m trying to keep you on a shelf?”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “That’s exactly what you’re doing.”
Lucien shook his head slowly. “No.” His voice dropped lower, “I’m trying to keep the world from realizing how dangerous you actually are.”
Her breath caught.
Lucien’s thumb brushed along her jaw again.
“You walk into a room,” he continued quietly, “and men underestimate you.” His gaze moved over her face like he was memorizing every detail.
“That’s power.” His hand tightened slightly on her waist. “If I start taking you into war zones with me, that advantage disappears.”
Sera swallowed. The logic irritated her but it also made sense.
Lucien noticed the shift immediately.
“Stay here,” he said softly.
She hesitated.
Lucien leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper now, “Trust me to do my job.”
Sera studied his face for a long moment. Then she sighed sharply, “You’re insufferable.” Lucien smirked faintly. “I’ve been told.” But his hand didn’t leave her waist.