Chapter 9
Breakthrough
The destruction of a seemingly strong defense, often by means of sacrifice
Lucian sighed. Contentment was not an accurate enough word for the peace filling him. His fingers brushed the hair out of Evelyn’s eyes and watched as she slowly drifted to sleep. He almost couldn’t believe she was there in his bed, in his arms. It was impossible to stop touching her after such a long period of not having the luxury.
Things had to change. They couldn’t go back to where they once were. Too much had happened. She’d opened up parts of him he never shared with anyone. When he thought he’d lost her, he became crippled with regret. Losing her again was not an option.
His mind contemplated the ring in his drawer. His fingers idly played with hers. Her unconscious state allowed him to explore and study the many facets of her sleeping body. He wanted to slip that ring on her finger now, but knew that would upset her.
Was it him or something else? She’d admitted she loved him. There had never been more precious words. Did that mean she’d reconsider being his wife? He was never letting her go again. It simply wasn’t an option, so why not marry him?
The sound of his phone vibrating from the floor distracted his thoughts. He ignored it and continued to observe her as she slept. She was so beautiful. Her dark lashes gathered like the feathers of a quill, making soft shadows over her cheeks. Her lily-white skin was softer than the petals of a rose. There was no one as beautiful as Evelyn.
He considered Nicole. She’d royally fucked up last night when she called Evelyn trash. He wanted to retaliate, but feared what the woman would do in return. The last thing he needed was some escalating game of tit for tat, especially if what Evelyn said was true and Nicole knew about Pearl and her past.
It didn’t bother him, where Evelyn came from. Nor should she be held responsible for her mother’s poor choices. But his baby was a prideful little thing, and that sort of exposure would crush her. She’d feel like she embarrassed him, which was bullshit, but it would be a challenge to convince her otherwise. If he could avoid a situation like that altogether, it was best for everyone.
He had a ton of shit to do. He’d been backed up with work since Evelyn had moved out. His mind just wasn’t in it. There was one deal in particular that was weighing on him.
For over a year he and Shamus had been persuading Labex to move their green energy plant into the care of Patras Industries. The site was ready, blueprints drawn, and the nearer the deal came to closing, the more he wanted it done. There was a ton of money and man-hours at stake, and everyone was getting anxious the longer the preliminaries dragged out.
His phone buzzed again, and he carefully slipped from the bed and found it in the pocket of his pants. Climbing back into bed, he ignored his call log and texted Dugan.
Go to the apartment on Cypress. Take Manuel and Frank. I want all of her stuff packed up and brought back to the penthouse.
The phone vibrated a moment later.
What of the small apartment on the boulevard?
Lucian pursed his lips. That was her place. He couldn’t touch her stuff without her permission. It irritated him that he not only had one apartment to consider, but two. In the past month, Evelyn had lived in four different places. The most he could do was take care of the apartment he’d rented for her. That was a mistake he’d be happy to never revisit again.
Just the one on Cypress for now.
He stayed in bed all morning, simply holding her. Around noon, she became restless and he sensed her waking up. His lips pressed into her temple. She sighed and stretched.
“Hi.”
He smiled down at her. “Hi. Did you have a nice nap?”
“Very nice. I thought it was all a dream.”
“Nope. It’s real.” He took her hand and brought it to his growing cock. “This is very real.”
“You’re gonna have to give me a minute. I’m out of practice and a little sore.”
“Did I hurt you?”
“No. My body forgot what it feels like to be thoroughly loved.”
He was silent for a moment, hesitation caused by his knowledge that he’d never let certain things go and that his question may totally destroy the peace of their morning.
“What is it?” she asked, snuggling closer.
“Will you tell me?”
Her brow crinkled. “Tell you what?”
“What happened when I was in Paris?”
Her expression shuttered, locking those secrets away tight. His need to know what happened with Hughes ate at him every day. Did he touch her? Fuck her? She said she hadn’t been with anyone else that way, but what if she was lying?
“I don’t want to talk about that,” she said, rolling away.
He caught her hip and stilled her escape. “Fine. We’ll put it away. For now.”
“Forever, Lucian,” she said sternly. “Bringing it up is only going to make us fight.”
True, but his curiosity was tormenting him. He automatically imagined the worst. When he’d returned from Paris and gone to the apartment on Cypress and found nothing but empty pantries and her key on the counter, he feared he’d lost her forever.
The only worse thing than that fear was finding her in Hughes’s bedroom half dressed, knowing he might be too late. He’d beaten the living shit out of that fucker and wanted to do it all over again every time his imagination played games with him.
He gritted his teeth. Now wasn’t the time. Their reconciliation was still new and delicate and he didn’t want to push her too hard. “How about a bath?”
She smiled. “A bath sounds lovely.”
***
His knees pressed into the porcelain walls. Evelyn’s back weighed lightly on his chest as he soaped her breasts with a sea sponge. “Where are you working, Evelyn?”
“I don’t want to tell you.”
He stilled. “Why?”
“Because it’s always a fight, me working. I like my job and I intend to keep it.”
“I don’t have a problem with you working.”
She snorted and turned, the water lapping at the walls of the tub. Her breasts swayed as she faced him, tiny droplets laced with suds traveling over her curves, gravity pulling them back to the water’s surface. “Since when?”
“A lot has changed. Someday . . .” He drew in a breath, preparing for her opposition. “Someday, I’d like you not to work, to be at home, our home, taking care of our children.”
Her smile melted away to a blank expression. “Lucian . . .”
He held up a hand. “I know. I’m not talking about tomorrow or even next month. I’m talking about the future, our future. It will happen, Evelyn.”
“And what if I don’t want children?”
He frowned. “Of course you do.”
“Why? Because other women my age do? I’m not like them, Lucian. Children need good parents. Otherwise it isn’t fair to bring them into this world.”
“Are you saying I wouldn’t be a good father?”
Her lashes lowered. They were spiked from the humid air. “No. I was talking about me,” she quietly admitted.
He grabbed her chin and tilted her face until she met his gaze. “Hey. You are not Pearl. You would make a wonderful mother.”
“I’m very single-minded.”
“That’s because you’ve spent your entire life trying to survive. In time, you’ll learn that you can trust me and I’ll take up that burden and you’ll never have to worry again.”
“I do trust you, against my better judgment,” she admitted. “But I’ll never be able to surrender my independence. I’ve worked too hard for it.”
He couldn’t hide his grin and ignored the second part of her admission. “That’s a start.”
She sat on her bottom, this time facing him, her legs pulled up, her feet now tucked against his hips, a somehow possessive touch. “You wanted to know about Parker.”
He stilled, not expecting her to readdress the topic so soon. Something had changed? But what? “Some. Only what I can handle without going on a rampage.”
Evelyn wouldn’t meet his gaze. Her finger slowly chased a cluster of tiny bubbles along the surface until they dissolved into bath oil, leaving nothing more than an iridescent film on the surface.
“He was different,” she whispered so low he had to strain to hear her. “When he touched me, he always asked.” Was she saying she preferred that? Lucian wasn’t someone used to asking permission.
“One time, he kissed me and I wanted to like it. I needed to feel something other than the hollow ache you left behind.”
His throat worked to swallow. He’d asked for this and he’d listen, but knowing he was getting his way did nothing to alleviate the pain or jealousy raging inside of him.
“At first it was nothing, and I realized there was a great deal to be said for chemistry. We had nothing like what you and I share, what you can do to me with just a look in a crowded room. But I wanted to like him. I hated you for abandoning me and I don’t know if it was a self-preservation thing or because I wanted to punish you.”
Her brow creased and she blinked as though she were recalling something and still trying to make sense of it. “The one time he kissed me, I forgot about you for the briefest moment.” Her words sliced through him, but he remained silent, allowing her to carry on. “I don’t know why. We’d been laughing and the ever-present awareness that gutted me again and again after you left, just somehow slipped away. But then . . .”
She paused and he quietly asked, “Then what?”
“Then he’d pause as if to ask if what he was doing was okay and I knew it wasn’t. I didn’t want to be loyal to you, but by letting him kiss me I was being disloyal to my heart. But it was more than that. When I’m with you, something happens to me. I slip away to a safe place that I don’t have to worry or think. I couldn’t find that place with him. He’d hesitate and reality would come crashing down and break any peace I felt.”
“That’s what surrender feels like, Evelyn. That’s the peace I can give you when you give me your submission.”
She met his gaze. “Is that normal, to feel that way?”
“Do you care?”
She lifted a narrow shoulder, the motion delicate, reminding him of her innocence. “I guess not. I’ve just wanted my entire life to be normal, like everyone else’s. I was afraid you broke me somehow . . . for all other men.”
His eyes narrowed. “If I did, I’m glad. The thought of some other man seeing you the way I do, watching you fall apart when you come, seeing those exposed moments of vulnerability—they’re mine, Evelyn. The idea of someone else seeing you like that is excruciating.”
“I feel the same way about you.” She looked back at the water. “When I thought you moved on, I felt like my insides were rotting. Something so dark and angry came over me. I just kept thinking about stupid things, like how you wake up just before dawn and sit at your desk to watch the sun rise. It killed me imagining her intruding on those moments.”
He understood that level of jealousy, the covetous way she thought of his habits and behaviors. “And with everything you’ve just told me, what hurts the most to hear was that Hughes had your laughter. Those are my smiles. I’m a very possessive man, Evelyn. I don’t ever want to share you. Not your body, not your mind, your smiles, certainly not your laughter. I covet all of you in a way I’ve never experienced greed before.”
She smiled and it was just for him, secret and somewhat carnal, hidden at the corner of her plush mouth. He held out his hand. “Come here.”
She pushed through the water, causing it to ripple in her wake. He pulled her to his lap and her legs went around his hips. His mouth kissed over her damp skin slowly, drugging her with tiny nips and licks until she softened completely.
His hand reached to fit himself to her sex. She leaned back and slid down on him, engulfing his cock in sensual heat. Her tight little pussy gripped him. It was his pussy. Never had it known another’s touch. The notion did things to him.
Grasping her nipped waist, he guided her slowly, pumping his flesh in and out of her. He’d need a solid week to make up for lost time, and he wanted to spend every moment of it buried inside of her.
His spine tingled as she came. Her soft whimpered cries, tiny treasures to his ears. “Say it,” he whispered, dragging his mouth over her damp shoulders. “Say you love me.”
“I love you.”
His muscles tightened and he filled her with his release. Briefly, he resented the tiny man-made device hidden deep inside her that prevented pregnancy, but his emotions were hot, her words compensating for the little things he could not yet have from her.
She loved him. She loved him and she’d admitted it. It made everything, in a way, seem worth it, just to have those three magic words.
***
They decided to go to dinner. It had been a long time since he’d taken Evelyn out and their last trip to a restaurant had been tainted with fear and guilt of what was to come. Lucian wanted a fresh start and planned to make one tonight.
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Your clothes are here.” When she frowned, he explained. “There are still some in the closet, but Dugan retrieved your belongings from the apartment on Cypress. Everything’s at the hotel, I just need to call down and have it brought up.”
Her mouth twitched. “You had my stuff brought back?”
He wasn’t going to apologize. “Yes. Is that a problem?”
She lunged at him, catching him completely off guard and tackling him to the bed. Her mouth opened over his and she kissed him with unleashed passion. “Thank you. I hated that place and I never wanted to go back.”
He rolled her to her back and parted her robe. “I hated that place too.”
His hand cupped her breast and squeezed. Her knees came up and gripped his hips. He arched a brow. “Again?”
She nodded. “Take me, like you used to.”
Something dark unfurled inside of him. His fingers gripped her wrists and lifted them over her head, pressing them into the mattress with one hand. The position caused her tight nipples to lift. He pinched one pink tip and pulled, twisting slightly. She moaned.
Releasing her breast, his hand went to his cock. He pumped his flesh, eyeing her intently. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want you inside me.”
“Beg me.”
She writhed, her hands remaining above her head like a good girl. “Please fuck me, Lucian. I miss your cock. I want it.”
He growled and kissed her, his hands yanking the robe wide. His mouth went to her breasts and he pulled one tight nipple into his mouth, sucking hard enough to bruise the delicate flesh.
He forced her legs apart and slid a finger deep into her wet slit. Her arousal coated his fingers as he fucked her with his hand. His mouth moved to the other breast and left it dark and wet from his saliva. Withdrawing his fingers, he flipped her to her stomach. “Up on your knees. Good girl.”
Her pert ass rose and he glided his palm over the soft flesh. He gripped her cheeks and spread her. Once his eyes spotted that tiny rosette, he couldn’t resist. He leaned forward and kissed the tiny pucker. Evelyn purred and rocked into him.
“Stay still,” he said, standing and swatting her ass. He went to the bathroom and found the oil. When he returned, she was exactly as he left her, his handprint leaving a delicate pink star on her cheek.
He climbed onto the bed and uncapped the oil. “Do you want me to fuck that tight ass of yours, Evelyn?”
She moaned her agreement. There was nothing more satisfying than knowing her desires matched his, equally dark and insatiable. He rubbed oil over his fingers and cupped her cheek, pulling it aside. Her little rosette clenched in anticipation and her folds glistened with arousal. He thumbed the little knot until she relaxed.
Once she was at ease he lined up his finger and sunk it deep into her back entrance.
Her spine stiffened and her shoulders shook as she tried to remain still. “That’s it, baby. You love my finger in your ass almost as much as my cock, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she moaned, her damp hair fanning down her back and shoulders.
He withdrew and drove the oiled digit back in. She rocked slightly, but he saw the effort she was making to control her movements and remain still. He slapped the inside of her thighs and she spread her knees wider. The fingers of his other hand cupped her pussy and her body trembled.
He pushed two fingers into her sex and she lurched forward, catching herself on her elbows. “Where are you?” Her fingers formed the signal that told him she was okay and didn’t want him to stop.
Twisting his finger in her ass, screwing her with each pump of his wrist while the fingers of his other hand pressed deep, searching for that soft spot deep inside her. He found her G-spot and applied pressure.
Her hips bucked. “Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!”
“I want you to come so hard my sheets are wet. I’m going to make you come that hard, do you understand?”
“Yes!”
He slid another slicked finger into her ass and began to fuck her harder with his hand. He pressed down on her G-spot. “Now, Evelyn. Come for me now. Scream my name.”
“Lucian!” Her cry sunk into the mattress. Her body convulsed as her sex contracted in rapid pulses over his fingers and her snug little asshole tightened. She gushed over his fingertips and he withdrew both hands.
Flipping her on her back, he wrenched her trembling legs apart and licked up every drop of her release. Sweet ambrosia coated his tongue. Nothing had ever tasted so good, so right, as his Evelyn.
He loved making her come that way. He still remembered how sensitive she was the first time she realized a woman could come that way. She flinched and jerked under his gentle laving, her body overstimulated and vulnerable to the most delicate caress. Once he had licked her pussy clean, he sat up and extended the hand that had been in her sex.
“Open.” Her lips parted and he pressed his fingers into her mouth, slowly fucking them over her tongue. “Suck them clean. See how good you taste.”
She shut her eyes and moaned. His fingers withdrew with a pop. “Good girl. Now turn over. Cup your ass and spread yourself.”
He held her arm as she slowly adjusted her position. Her face pressed into the bedding, her shoulders catching her weight. She spread her cheeks wide and he leaned forward. She gasped as he licked her from the tip of her sex to the tip of her spine.
“Are you ready for my cock, baby?”
“Always.”
He uncapped the oil and coated his length. Dribbling a generous amount over her ass, he speared it inside her entrance with his finger. Easing up on his knees, he pulled close.
Withdrawing his fingers, the tip of his cock pressed into her tight muscle. She hissed and her back moved with the rapid way air filled her lungs. “Take me, Evelyn. Remember how I taught you.”
She exhaled slowly and the tension in her body eased. He pressed in, stretching her, careful not to go too fast or hurt her. A long sigh escaped both of them as he seated himself to the hilt. Blanketing her, he leaned forward and kissed her nape. “Beautiful. You can relax your arms.”
Her fingers released her cheeks, the soft weight folding around the base of his cock, cushioning him. Her arms curled under her head and he slowly pulled back, nearly exiting her completely. “Hard and fast or long and slow, Evelyn? I’ll give you the choice.”
“Whichever pleases you most,” she panted, sounding on the brink of madness.
Jesus Christ, he nearly came. Could there have been a more perfect answer? He slammed back into her and her head shot up. He thrust into her without relenting. He’d had her mouth, he’d had her pussy, and now he was reclaiming her ass. By the end of the week there wouldn’t be a single spot on her that didn’t wear his mark.
Sweat burned his eyes as his hips snapped forward. She mumbled and moaned curses and prayers of pleasure.
He pounded into her and his climax built so powerfully he felt it in the soft undersides of his feet. He withdrew and yanked on his cock. Hot jets of cum shot across her back and up her shoulder.
Collapsing beside her, he cupped the back of her head and dragged her mouth to his, kissing her with everything he had. “You are . . .” he said between kisses. “The sexiest . . . woman . . . I have ever seen in my entire life.” She smiled through dazed eyes. Her expression completely sated. “Don’t ever change,” he whispered.
“Only if you promise the same.”
***
After yet another shower, the boxes were delivered. Evelyn was in the bedroom, sorting through her old belongings, when Lucian noticed Dugan looked bothered. He walked him away from the bedroom door and toward the front of the condo.
“What is it?”
Dugan glanced back at the bedroom and lowered his voice. “Fucking paparazzi.” Lucian relaxed. That was nothing new. “We’ve had the cops here twice already. I don’t know what’s gotten into them. They’re like vultures today.”
Lucian sighed. He hated the press. There was little to no peace away from his homes, which was why he’d become quite the hermit in his adult years. “Some things never change.”
“Do you want me to pull the car around to the service entrance?”
Lucian considered it. “No. Let’s see what they want. I’ll throw them a comment about whatever they’re after and that should satisfy them for a while.”
Dugan nodded and took his leave.
When Lucian returned to the bedroom, Evelyn was pulling on the heel of a dainty sandal. Her hair was down and reached almost to her ass. She wore a slim little number, the color of jade, accentuating every fine curve she had. He came up behind her and smoothed his hands over her hips.
She chuckled. “You, settle down. I’ve already had two showers and a bath. I’m hungry and you need to feed me if you expect me to be up for anything else.”
He grinned into her soft hair. “I’m just touching.”
She swatted his hands away and turned. “Touching leads to fucking.”
“Can you blame me? You look incredible.”
She blushed. “Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself. Where are we going?”
“I made reservations at DeLuna.”
She grabbed her purse and followed him to the door. He shut out the lights and they settled on the elevator. She turned and caught him looking at her. “Stop looking at me like that. I need food.”
He grunted. “Feisty when you’re hungry.”
They rode in silence to the first floor and Lucian spent the entire time eyeing her legs. As they stepped off, he asked, “How’s your knee?”
“Ugly, but I’ll live.”
“You need to be more careful with how much you drink.”
“You need to not make me want to drink.”
His arm wrapped around her and guided her through the lobby. He understood he was partly responsible for her actions last night, but that didn’t excuse her carelessness. She’d been plastered and with a guy he knew nothing about. Sometimes her invincible attitude made him crazy.
He let his concerns go for the sake of their evening. He didn’t want any unnecessary stress. They’d have dinner, talk, laugh and enjoy themselves. The doorman held the door and she froze as a hundred flashes went off in their faces.
“Mr. Patras, can you tell us what happened with Nicole Nottingham?”
“Lucian, is it true you rescued Ms. Keats from a shelter?”
“Ms. Keats, did you threaten Nicole last night?”
“Where is your mother?”
“Ms. Keats, how old are you? Were you an adult when Mr. Patras seduced you?”
Jesus fucking Christ! He grabbed Evelyn’s wrist and dragged her through the crowd of vultures. Dugan held the door to the limo wide as they fled inside.
The door slammed and the flashes of cameras beat against the glass. He was seeing spots. The car lurched, its wheels squealing as it pulled into traffic. He rubbed his eye sockets and faced Evelyn. Fuck. She was white as a sheet.