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“No. You’re right. I do enjoy whipping them until they cry. I’d enjoy seeing you cry for me, but not like you are now. Like you’re afraid of my touch.”
“I’m not afraid!” I argue, suddenly feeling defensive.
“Yeah? Then why are you pressing your thighs together?”
I unclench my legs, which I hadn’t realized were clenched in the first place, and look away. “I have sex. Lots of it. So, I don’t know what you’re trying to insinuate.”
“You have sex on your terms. When you’re in control. You’ll never control me, petit corbeau. I’ll always be the dominating force in our situation. You need to learn to let go.”
“Like you know how to let go?” I snap.
Lucien clears his throat, reminding us both he’s still standing at the end of the bed.
The implication of what I was about to let happen between Elias and me while he was there has a fresh blush filling my cheeks.
I don’t hate the idea; in fact, it makes a new tingle wind through my bones.
“I think you should take a beat, Elias.”
It’s strange how Lucien seems to be in charge of them, even though he’s also the loose cannon I’m here to manage.
I’m hopeful that when Elias moves off me, I’ll finally be able to see Lucien. The curtains are wide open, and the whiteout outside illuminates the room.
But when Elias grumbles something under his breath and gets off me, there isn’t anyone in the room but us.
I sit up, scanning everywhere.
As if Elias knows exactly what I’m looking for, he sighs. “He doesn’t let anyone see him. Don’t take it too personally.”
“I thought you said you all wanted me?”
“We do. He’s just… complicated.”
I nod, biting my cheek. “I’m sorry for…”
He cuts me off. “Don’t worry about it. We had too much to drink, and I shouldn’t have stayed in here. I should’ve just let Lucien handle you.”
His face tenses, as if he’s just realized what he let slip.
“What do you mean, let Lucien handle me?”
“I shouldn’t have told you that. Fuck, I always put my foot in my mouth.”
My feet hit the cold wood floor, a creak following when my weight presses down. I wrap my arms around myself against the cold filling the room. “What did you mean?”
“Lucien… He has sat with you every night since you got here, soothing you in your sleep. Nothing creepy, just keeps you from becoming too fitful.”
“He touches me in my sleep, and you don’t think that’s creepy?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know, it’s just… Don’t tell him I told you, please? I can’t take his bullshit today.”
“Where can I find him?”
“Sera, hear me when I say this: you don’t want to do that. Lucien finds you; that’s how it is. You don’t go to him.”
“Where?” I double down.
Elias seems to analyze the seriousness on my face, sighing as he runs his hand through his hair. “The basement.”
