تسجيل الدخولHe was scaring her. Eveline had seen Lucien in many ways before. She’d seen him get livid and angry at Gerald. Worried, when she collapsed in the hospital and had to be laid up on a bed. She’d seen him concerned. She watched his eyes darken with desire when he kissed her. She’d seen him broken, the day she found out about his brother, Michael. She knew what happy Lucien looked like, too. When he smiled at her, her heart lit up each time. She felt butterflies from him. She knew what warmth from Lucien felt like when he held her in his arms; when he cuddled her in bed, her head lay on his chest. She knew what his protective side felt like, when he baited Shane into punching him so he could save her from a horrible dinner with Mary. This…This was scary. He looked like he couldn’t breathe. As if, at any moment, he was going to fall to his knees. And it frightened her too. “You don’t have to tell me now.” Her voice trembled with the fear of the unknown, as she shook her head. “W
Lucien Lucien’s voice carried a cold, almost lazy cruelty that made the air between them feel thinner.“Cat’s got your tongue, Gerald?” he taunted. His eyes never left his brother’s face, watching for the smallest crack.Gerald’s teeth ground together so hard a muscle jumped along his jaw; white foam had already gathered at the corners of his mouth and dried there in flaky patches. His shoulders hunched forward and his hands flexed open and closed at his sides. Lucien waited. He had been waiting for this exact moment for an entire decade. “You think I didn’t know the truth?” he continued, the words uncoiling in long, measured stretches. “That you killed them because Dr. Callahan was going to tell everyone about your medical malpractice?”Gerald’s nostrils flared as a tremor started in his lower lip and traveled down into his throat, where it turned into a hard, audible swallow. His gaze darted once toward the door, then back. Lucien’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “He was their fa
Lucien Lucien looked over his shoulder as Dr. Ashcroft walked in. She straightened her coat, acknowledging him with a friendly smile as she sat down.“Dr. Roswood,” she said. “What do you think about coming to work here?”“At your clinic?” He asked. She laughed, waving her hand. “I know how it sounds. We’re not as big as Green Hill. But we have specialists here—might even go ahead and say we’re more equipped at dealing with complex cases than Powell’s hospital.”“But—“ she leaned in, her arms folded on her desk, her expression serious and no longer patronizing. “We still need people like you.”He frowned, shaking his head slowly. People like him? “I don’t think I’ve contributed to your clinic in any way, Doctor. If anything, I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on you—to keep my brother’s presence a secret, making visits without calling beforehand.”“Exactly,” she nodded. “There’s a lot you can learn from a person by how they treat their loved ones, Dr. Roswood,” Ashcroft told him so
Eveline “Hey there.”Eveline propped against Lucien’s door, dangling a file from her fingers. “Do you have some time? I was hoping to talk to you about something.”She glanced down at his desk, at the pile of work in front of him, and shook her head quickly. “You’re busy. I can come—Lucien swept everything to one side before she could finish. “Nope,” he leaned back, a half-smile tugging at his mouth. “I’m free. Come in.”She grinned. “Did you just toss all that aside? I know you’re busy with Gerald’s duties, Dr. Roswood. So I’m more than willing to wait in line.”He waved her concern away with a pfft sound, standing up. “You mean this? It’s nothing. I’ll be done by the end of the day.” “Oh?”She gave me a wink before she turned to the door, slowly turning the lock. She sauntered over to him, but he caught up with her in the middle of his officeEveline gasped delightfully when he yanked her close with one arm sneaking around her waist. He leaned in, his lips brushing against hers.
The hospital room fell silent, after Lucien spoke up. He stepped back, running his hands down his pants. He faced Jonah. “I love your daughter. I love Eveline. I don’t know what I’d do without her, Jonah. But—” he raked his fingers through his hair roughly, his chest too heavy to breathe. “I meant it back then. I don’t deserve her. It kills me, god it does,” he rasped, sounding broken and raw, “—but I don’t want her to find out that the same man she thought she could build something with, somehow had a hand in bringing her pain.”The betrayal…he would never recover from it. It was better for him to break her heart right now, than to bring her pain and then have to let her go. “Wh—what are you talking about??Jonah tried sitting up. “You should lie down,” Lucien urged, but he helped him all the same, doing it slowly so the stitches wouldn’t come off. Jonah glared at him. “All I hear are excuses. What is so bad that you would deny yourself—and her—happiness?” Lucien clenched
Lucien “Dad!” Lucien stood back instinctively, hanging by the door so he could give Eveline and Jonah some space. He watched Jonah wince as he laughed, when she all but flew on him, hugging him tight. “Sometimes I forget you’re no longer my little girl,” he said, chuckling. She pulled back, her brows slightly furrowed and her eyes instantly scanning his body. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Jonah shook his head, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m fine, pumpkin. I doubt you could do me any much damage—because I feel incredible. Like I’m alive again, for the first time in a very long time.” “That’s good,” she nodded enthusiastically. “That’s great. Lucien…” she glanced over her shoulder, her gaze meeting Lucien’s. It softened, shimmering bright with unshed tears. Her mouth twitched into a small, grateful smile that made his heart squeeze with a good ache. “Lucien said you were going to be fine.” “That’s right.” Jonah looked at Lucien too. He nodded curtly, but there was so much in
“Miss Storm.” Eveline stood rooted to the spot as he walked into the room, a polite smile on his lips. He walked over to her, stretching out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Roswood. I’ll be handling your father’s case.” She couldn’t say a word. Her lips wouldn’t move and her brain wen
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime, and Eveline rushed out, panting softly. She’d run through the parking lot—from the free spot she found to park her car, through the hospital lobby, narrowly avoiding a man in a wheelchair and an IV hooked to his arm, barely making it into the elevator be
Eveline pinched the card between her fingers as she spun around, hiding it behind her back. Her heart thumped behind her ribcage, and from the way he was staring at her, she was almost certain he could hear it. Lucien’s lips twitched with a flat smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s not how yo
Eveline wasn’t sure how she got from the bar to this spacious, luxury high-rise apartment with the glass walls that overlooked the city’s skylight. But the stranger standing in front of her was looking at her like he wanted to devour her whole. “Something tells me this isn’t something you do on







