Page 12 of King of Rage

Lucius had stared at her in confusion.

Then she had pretended to be surprised.

“Oh, thank you,” she had said, as though he had just given her the gift himself. “Our first anniversary gift.”

He had been completely caught off guard.

But her ridiculous little act had amused him. There had been something so loving and spontaneous about her that a smile had immediately tugged at his lips.

Before he could say anything, Stella had happily asked him to put the necklace on her.

He still remembered lifting her onto the edge of his desk and stepping between her knees as he fastened the delicate chain around her neck.

It had suited her perfectly.

She had looked exactly as beautiful as he had imagined she would.

Lucius’s eyes darkened as the memory faded.

His fingers tightened around the necklace, and a dull ache settled in his chest.

After a moment, he climbed out of bed and reached for his trousers lying on the floor. He pulled them on just as the bathroom door opened.

Stella stepped out.

Her eyes immediately landed on the necklace in his hand.

She hurried toward him and reached for it, but Lucius lifted it out of her grasp before she could take it.

His other hand closed around her waist.

He stepped forward, forcing her backward until her shoulders met the wall. Then his lowered his head, his towering frame closing the space between them.

At six-foot-five, he made her feel impossibly small, even though Stella was far from short. There was something unsettling about the way his body seemed to surround hers, leaving her nowhere to retreat.

Her breath caught.

She lifted her hands and reached for the necklace again, but Lucius held it just beyond her fingertips. His arm remained locked around her waist, keeping her against the wall as he raised the necklace slightly higher.

His expression hardened.

“If you don’t want anything to do with me, and you want us to remain strangers, then why are you still wearing my gift around your neck?”

Her eyes flashed with irritation as she looked at him.

“It’s something I bought for myself. It wasn’t a gift from you.”

Lucius raised an eyebrow, his expression almost incredulous.

“I transferred one million dollars into your account that day as our anniversary gift. You used that money to buy this. So technically, you bought it with my money. Which means it’s my gift.”

Her anger only grew.

“You’re being unreasonable. Do you really think that makes sense? I purchased it before you—”

She didn’t get to finish.

Lucius leaned in and captured her mouth with his.