Page 30 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

He leans one broad shoulder against the doorframe, the motion stretching the fabric of his suit jacket tight across his chest.

Behind him, Caleb shifts.

“All of this is a game to you.” My voice is shakier than I want. “I have a life I like, one I built. Clients who depend on me. A mother whose life literally hangs on treatments you dangle like bait. But I won’t have it.”

Caleb settles his hand on Lucian’s shoulder, and he nods.

“The payment for your mother’s next cycle was sent through last night.”

My knees sag, and tears of relief sting my eyes.

“We kept our end of the bargain.”

Before I’ve fully processed the news, he goes on. “And you’ll keep yours.”

Setting my chin, I meet his eyes. “I never agreed.”

“You’ll need to move into the penthouse in the next week. Once news gets out that you’re our intended, you’ll need the safety and security we can offer.”

Need?

Oh God. My breath threatens to strangle me.

They are criminals. Even if they’ve never been prosecuted.

“Would it be so awful?” Lucian muses. “Our protection. Your father’s peace of mind. Your mother’s health taken care of. The freedom to continue your practice.”

At what cost?

The silence grows uncomfortable, and I push my foot beneath his to get him out of the doorway.

“We do not expect you to thank us tonight.”

“Arrogant much?”

He goes on, dropping his voice another fraction, and it’s suddenly intimate in a way that makes the air feel thicker. “We expect you to fight us. And when you finally let go, you’ll realize you don’t have to carry all this alone.”

Lucian steps forward then.

The door gives way under the gentle pressure of his shoulder, and suddenly the space between us vanishes.

Caleb follows him into the apartment, and he closes the door behind them with a quiet, final click.

My back meets the wall before I realize I have retreated.

Purposefully, determinedly, Lucian advances, stealing my breath.

Slowly he lifts his hand to slide his fingers along my jaw.

He traces the line of my lower lip with his thumb, exactly as he did last night.

The contact sends electricity racing across my skin, and my lips part on a soft inhale.

“You can make this easy on yourself. Or you can fight the inevitable. The choice is yours.”

Caleb stands close enough that I’m hyperaware of him.

Lucian drops his gaze to my mouth. Hunger flickers, raw and unfiltered, in his eyes.