Chapter
Sixteen
Lucian
The office is quiet, too quiet. Papers litter my desk, contracts half-signed, notes I haven’t read, all meaningless. I shuffle through them anyway. A ritual, a thin excuse to feel productive while my mind is somewhere else.
Since Elliot left, I’ve been…adrift. Every time I think about leaving this office, tracking her down, pulling her back into my arms, I stop myself. I can’t. If I go after her now, I confirm every hateful thought she has about me. That I manipulate, that I control, that I use her.
I hate this. I hate the ache. I hate that I can’t fix it. But I love her. I love her so damn much it hurts like fire beneath my ribs. And that—more than anything—is the part I can’t control.
There’s a knock on the door.
I groan, already knowing who it is.
“Vittoria, leave me the fuck alone.” I continue to shift through the scattered papers, the words blurring into nothingness.
The knock comes again, this time louder and more insistent. I grit my teeth. “I said leave?—”
The door swings open anyway. I don’t look up at first, assuming it’s Vittoria in one of her sour moods, until a familiar voice cuts through the quiet of the office.
“I’m here for the interview.”
My head snaps up. My eyes find her, and for a moment the world tilts. Even dressed simply, in clothes that shouldn’t compete with the way she takes my breath, she’s beautiful. Golden curls, clear blue eyes, a look of innocence that I know hides a sharp wit and fiery attitude. Every nerve in me ignites.
“Monty…” I breathe her name.
“I heard there was an opening for Mr. Vale’s assistant,” she says with a small smirk. And I can’t help it, a smile curls my lips, too.
We’ve been through this exchange before, or at least something very similar, when she’d first come into VMR and uprooted my life. I hadn’t known then just how much of an impact she would leave on me.
“You’re not what I expected,” I repeat my line, remembering it well.
But instead of following it up with her comment about her name and me mistaking her for a man, she says with a sigh, “Neither are you.”
Elliot walks around the desk to meet me. I’m about to stand up, but she puts her hand on my chest to keep me down and then straddles me on my office chair. My hands come down on her hips, still caught between disbelief and desire, and the air between us crackles, thick with everything left unsaid. With everything I’ve wanted since she walked away.
I want to explain myself, tell her the truth about Vittoria andKayla and assure her that I’d had no idea, but she cuts me off before a single word leaves my mouth.
“I know, Lucian,” she says as if reading my mind. “And I’m not mad at you for that.”
“Monty…you have to know I never—” I pause, searching her eyes. “I never thought you were like Nell. That’s not why I turned you. That’s never been why. Nell’s parents…yes, I killed them. I never told her out of fear, but I carried that guilt with me. I’ll probably carry it for the rest of my life.” I take a steadying breath. I need her to understand, truly understand. “I turned you because I’m a selfish bastard who couldn’t give you up.”
“I guess we have that in common then,” she says. “Because I’m also a selfish bastard and can’t give you up.”
I can’t help it. I laugh. “I suppose it’s fitting that we’re both damned for eternity.”
She nods. “I never wanted Santiago. I just wanted the freedom I thought he was offering. Especially after feeling so trapped here, like I was your prisoner?—”
“I understand.”
“But I found out what he’s been up to. What he’s been plotting against you and VMR.”
“Oh? You mean with de Santis’s holdings?”
“No, actually, de Santis was more of a cover for what he was really doing behind the scenes,” she explains. “You’ll find it all sent to the email designated for incoming hires, where I first sent my resume. But I figure a man like you must have sway with law enforcement in this city. You’ll have all the proof you’ll need to shut Sanguine down for good.”
“Your snooping finally comes in handy,” I say with a short chuckle.
