The words settle heavily between us. Lucien turns back toward the road. The car pulls forward again and silence fills the space between us once more. The car turns off the main road and onto a long, winding driveway. The tires roll slowly over smooth stone as we climb toward the house. Tall trees line both sides of the drive, their shadows stretching across the headlights like dark fingers reaching across the ground.
Then the house appears. It’s enormous. A modern cliffside home, all glass and steel, with clean sharp lines and huge floor-to-ceiling windows glowing warmly against the night. At least eight bedrooms if I had to guess, spread across two wide levels that stretch along the edge of the cliff.
Beyond it, the view steals the breath from my lungs. The ocean spreads endlessly into the darkness, moonlight shimmering softly across the water. Below the cliff, the city lights flicker like thousands of tiny stars scattered across the coastline.
It’s beautiful.
Lucien parks near the front entrance, the engine going silent. For a moment neither of us moves. Then we both step out of the car at the same time. The ocean wind brushes softly against my face as I walk around the front of the car. Lucien closes his door, his eyes already on me.
“Lucien—” I start. My voice falters slightly. “I think I just need to… get a hotel nearby.”
He studies me.
“And why is that?”
My chest flutters.
I look away from him for a moment, staring out toward the dark ocean below the cliff.
“You know why.”
His jaw tightens slightly.
“No,” he says quietly. “Say it.”
I shake my head.
“Lucien… I can’t.”
The silence between us thickens, heavy with everything we haven’t said for days.
Then he steps closer.
Close enough that I can feel the warmth of him in the cold night air. The ocean breeze moves between us, but it doesn’t matter. Standing this close to Lucien makes everything else fade. The house behind us, the glittering city lights below, even the distant sound of waves crashing against the cliff.
“I want you, Sera,” he says, his voice low but intense. His eyes search mine like he’s been holding these words inside for far too long. “Is that what you want to hear?” My breath catches. Because the way he’s looking at me feels intoxicating. The kind that makes you forget everything you’re supposed to be. “I’m in love with you.”
The words hit me like a wave crashing against the shore below us. For a moment I can’t move, can’t breathe, can’t think. Lucien steps even closer, his hand slowly lifting until his fingers brush against my cheek. His touch is warm and steady, like he’s grounding me there with him.
His thumb traces gently along my jaw, tilting my face slightly toward him. “I tried to walk away,” he says softly. “I tried to give you the space you needed.” His eyes soften, but the intensity in them never fades. “But every time I do… I end up right back here. Right in front of you. Like you’re the only place I know how to find my way back to.” He says. “And it’s not over,” he continues, his voice rough with emotion.
“It still isn’t over.”
Before I can say anything, he pulls me toward him. His lips crash against mine. The kiss is deep, desperate, like days of restraint finally breaking all at once. My hands instinctively grab the front of his jacket as I kiss him back, the world around us fading into nothing but the sound of theocean and the pounding of my heart. Lucien lifts me effortlessly, his arms wrapping around me as he holds me against him.
And for a moment, everything else disappears.
He’s still kissing me. I barely have time to catch my breath before his lips find mine again, deeper this time, like he’s been holding back for too long and finally refuses to stop. I’m instinctively wrapping my arms around his neck as he carries me toward the house. The ocean wind brushes past us, but the warmth of his body makes the cold night disappear. My fingers slide into his hair as he kisses me again, slow and hungry.
By the time we reach the front door, neither of us has stopped. He shifts me slightly in his arms so he can reach the keypad beside the door.
“Hold on,” he murmurs against my lips.
But neither of us actually stops. He tries entering the code with one hand, his focus completely ruined as I kiss along his jaw. His fingers miss the numbers once.
Then again.
“Jesus…” he mutters under his breath, half laughing.
