LOGINLUCIENThe elevator doors slid open with a soft ding, and I stepped into the quiet hallway leading to Scarlett's apartment. My heart pounded hard in my chest, each beat echoing the worry that had gripped me since her call.She hadn't sounded right; her voice was shaky and weak, like she was fighting to keep it together. “Lucien, please come,” she'd whispered, and that was all it took for me to bolt from the house, leaving breakfast and all its awkward tension behind. Maeve's heartbroken eyes flashed in my mind, but I pushed them away. Scarlett needed me now.I pulled out the spare key she'd given me ages ago and let myself in. The place was dim, curtains drawn against the gray morning light filtering through the rain-streaked windows. The air smelled stale, like no one had opened a window in days.That alone made my heart stutter.“Scarlett?” I called as I stepped inside.A faint rustle came from the bedroom. I hurried down the short hall and pushed the door open. There she was, cu
MAEVEI was sleeping, my body heavy and relaxed at the same time from the night before, when a warm, insistent pleasure stirred between my legs. My pussy was still very tender and sore from Lucien's thick cock stretching me wide, and now it was throbbing with a gentle heat. I moaned softly in my dream, shifting my hips, thinking it was just my mind bringing in echoes and feelings of last night's pleasure, a fantasy where his mouth was on me again.But the sensation built, the pressure against my folds growing, a slick tongue lapping at my entrance with slow, deliberate strokes. My breath hitched, a low 'mmh' slipping from my lips as wetness gathered, my clit swelling under the teasing touch. Then, a hot mouth sealed over my pussy, sucking hard on my sensitive nub, pulling a sharp cry from my throat.“Ahh!” And that was all I needed to yank me awake, my eyes flying open.There, between my spread thighs, was Lucien's face, his dark eyes gleaming up at me, his lips shiny with my arou
MAEVE“Ahhh—”Lucien’s kiss swallowed my breathy gasp as he pushed inside me, that first slow thrust stretching me open with a deliberate hardness that made my body jolt.Inch by thick inch, he sank in deeper, one deliberate, hard stroke that buried his cock to the hilt. My body jerked back against the mattress, another sharp 'ahh' escaping my lips, trembling with the fullness, my walls clenching around him instinctively.He pulled back almost all the way, eyes locked on mine, then drove in again, unyielding, another slow, powerful stroke that had me arching up, a soft whimper spilling out, 'mmph, fuck!’ as pleasure rippled through my core. Each time he bottomed out, my hips bucked involuntarily, that erotic jolt rippling through me, making my toes curl.Even through the haze of pleasure clouding my mind, I noticed the shift. This wasn't like before. Lucien and I have never fucked like this. There were furious slams, no bruising grip, and no dirty downgrading talk. It wasn't gentle
MAEVEThe rain started during dinner. It started as a light downpour and then turned into a heavy downpour, almost a ThunderStorm.By the time dessert was cleared, my mother was already coaxing me to stay the night, her voice warm, concerned. “That doesn't look like it's letting up anytime soon,” she said. “Your apartment's all the way across town, so don't you just stay the night? No sense driving in this mess.”I didn’t put up much of a fight. My place has been giving me the creeps lately, that uneasy feeling like eyes watching from the shadows, whispers in the vents. So, I agreed to stay for the night, not even thinking deeply that there was someone in this mansion I was actively avoiding. I showered and tried to wash the heaviness off my skin. When I stepped back into my room, a towel wrapped tightly around me, my breath caught.Lucien was there, lounging against the bedpost with his arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes fixed on me like he had been waiting.My heart slammed
LUCIEN“I will not do it,” The words came out sharper than I intended, clipped with restraint that was already running thin. My father looked at me like I had just spoken a foreign language.“Excuse me?” His brow cocked up in question. “I won’t do it, father,” I repeated. “I refuse to marry someone I don't love. It's not just about politics; it's my life you're gambling with.”“Love,” he scoffed. “That’s what you’re choosing to prioritize now?” He laughed humorlessly. “You’re a prince, Lucien,” he went on. “Not some lovesick pup chasing tail in the woods. Love is a weakness the council exploits. Prioritize the pack. It is your duty over some fairy-tale nonsense.” He threw his hands out in frustration.“That's exactly their game, father!” I shot back, pacing the room. “This isn’t even about romance. The council wants me tied to one of those women so they can watch and monitor me. They want someone who will watch my every move and report back. Whoever I marry becomes their eyes and
LUCIENI sat hunched over my desk in the study in front of my computer, sleeves rolled up and my jaw tight.My fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up every scrap of data I could on John, his financials, travel logs, that bizarre chanting in the warehouse before his skull basically imploded from the inside. None of it added up. They refused to align, no matter how many times I rearranged the facts.What I knew for sure was this: something dark was pulling the strings here, this ghost person John couldn’t stop chanting about.And I needed to figure out whatever or whoever it was before it spiraled out of control, before it touched her again.A soft ping from the monitoring software snapped me out of it. One of my men had rigged cameras throughout her apartment the night I dropped her off.They were at discreet angles in the living room, kitchen, and her bedroom. Just a precaution, to keep tabs on any threats circling her. So far, the feeds had shown nothing but mundane quiet: he
MAEVEI couldn’t speak.My mind stalled, like everything inside me had short-circuited at once. Shock, disbelief, emotion, all crashing together until I felt rooted to the spot, staring down at him on one knee with a ring glittering between us.John looked up at me, hopeful and terrified all at onc
MAEVEI didn’t sleep.I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, rolling from one side to the other, my thoughts refusing to settle. Every time I closed my eyes, John’s voice came back to me. His explanations. His documents. The way he’d said my name like he was still entitled to saying it.I couldn’
MAEVESeeing John felt like being hit in the chest with something heavy and familiar.Everything I’d been holding back boiled up at once. The lies. The manipulation. The way he tried convincing me that an open relationship was progressive and honest, that it would spice up our sex life, only to us
LUCIENI couldn’t get Maeve out of my head.That was the problem.I was supposed to be fucking her out of my system. Using her until the craving dulled, until the edge wore off. That had always worked before. Desire burned fast, then disappeared.Not this time.The more I touched her, the more I wa







