Badly.
My heart sang in my chest. His words fueled me, making me shift my hips, letting my pelvis join his rhythm. “Lucien..” I groaned. His eyes never leave mine even as he slowly lowers himself to his knees in front of me. The movement is deliberate, almost reverent, like he’s taking his time with something that matters.
My breath catches.
Lucien’s gaze lifts again, meeting mine with that same burning intensity that makes my pulse race. One corner of his mouth curves slightly, but there’s nothing playful about the look in his eyes now.
Only desire. His hands slide to my waist, lowering my jeans but not my underwear. His hands drifting lower, slow and unhurried. The touch sends a spark racing through my body. He leans forward, his lips brushing lightly against my skin, leaving a trail of warmth that makes my breath falter. My fingers instinctively find his hair, gripping softly as my heart pounds in my chest.
He kisses the intimate part of me between my thighs, licking it, savoring it. He’s devouring it like he’s been starving. My underwear is dripping wet. He’s tasting a part of me and I find myself wanting to surrender tohis tongue. I groan, my hips involuntarily rolling toward his mouth, desperately seeking what he’s so cruelly depriving me of.
I can’t handle this anymore. I just want him to make me come. So, I straddled his face and pressed myself harder onto his mouth. When I felt his hands grip my ass, pulling me closer to his mouth, my head rolled back for a delicious moment.
My head feels weightless, like I’ve stepped into a moment where nothing exists but the pulse of this feeling. The night air is cool around us but everywhere he touches feels like fire. He goes back up to kiss me. For a second we break apart just enough to breathe. My chest rises and falls quickly. His forehead touches mine.
Footsteps crunch somewhere along the path behind us. Voices drift through the trees, two people laughing, their conversation loose and careless, the way strangers sound when they’re enjoying a night that means nothing to anyone but them. Lucien and I freeze at the same time. He pulls back slightly, his hand still resting at my waist as we both try to look like two perfectly normal people standing near a river instead of two people who were seconds away from forgetting the rest of the world existed.
The couple passes a few yards behind us, their laughter fading as they continue down the path, lantern light flickering across their backs before the trees swallow them again. When they’re gone, Lucien looks down at me. I’m already looking at him. A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. I shake my head, smirking.
“We almost got caught.”
The corner of his mouth lifts slowly.
“That’s half the fun.”
My eyebrow lifts. “You say that like you were planning it.”
Lucien’s gaze drops briefly to my lips before returning to my eyes.
“I don’t plan things like this,” he says quietly.
“Like what?”
His voice lowers just enough to send a shiver down my spine.
“Like wanting someone this much.”
The air between us shifts again. Lucien studies my face, his eyes moving slowly between mine. Not hurried, not uncertain. Just steady, burning with something I can’t quite name. For a few seconds he says nothing. He just looks at me and the way he does it makes my pulse stumble.
Then he leans down and kisses me. This time it’s different. Slower. Not the kind of kiss that steals breath, but the kind that lingers. The kind that feels deliberate. Like he intends to stay right here for as long as I let him. His hand slides gently along my jaw, holding me there as if the rest of the world can wait.
The river moves quietly beside us, lanterns drifting farther into the dark.
And for a moment, the night feels endless.
CHAPTER 10
Lies We Tell
By the time we reach the hallway, everything feels blurred together. The drive back, the elevator ride, the quiet between us that somehow feels louder than words.
Room 107.
Room 108.
Lucien stands close enough that I can feel the warmth from him. His hand brushes mine again, almost unconsciously.
“You’re leaving tomorrow,” he says softly.
