Prologue: The Forbidden Fruit

His palm lands hard on my ass.

I try to squirm away from the sting but he’s holding me firmly in place.

I should’ve known better than to sneak off. Lucien always finds out. He always has his eyes on me. But I needed to know what Elijah knows.

“What the fuck did I say?” Lucien’s hard voice breaks into my thoughts as another slap lands.

I bite my lip to keep from screaming.

“What did I say, Layla?” he repeats.

“Stay away from Elijah Wolfe.” I mutter and turn my head to look at Joncil in the driver’s seat.

He keeps his eyes on the road. Smart man.

“Why aren’t you?” Lucien whispers as he soothes the skin he just spanked with his hand.

I don’t look at him. “I wanted to ask about my father.”

The secrets surrounding my father’s disappearance always sit heavy between us. I don’t trust him and he certainly doesn’t trust me. I know there are things he and Vivian are keeping from me. Like why my father was in Manhattan to begin with.

“What did he tell you?” Lucien asks.

“Nothing,” I say quickly. “Nothing, I swear.”

The lie comes out very easy. It always does between us.

I remain still across his lap, breathing through my nose, waiting for the next hit. It doesn’t come right away.

He continues rubbing slow circles over the heat he left on my ass. His palm is cool against the heat, making the contrast sharper.

He shifts underneath me just enough that my hips settle deeper against his thighs. I feel the hard length of him through his pants. He doesn’t hide it.

“You’re lying to me again,” he says, low and close to my ear. “I can smell him on you. You let him get that close.”

My stomach tightens. I open my mouth to deny it, but he lifts his hand and brings it down again, harder this time.

“Lucien—” I moan.

“I didn’t say you could talk,” he cuts me off with another slap.

Then another. He spaces them out, giving each one time to settle before the next one lands. My skin is starting to feel tight but I refuse to cry. Every time his hand comes down I jerk a little, and every time he holds me tighter so I can’t get away.

“You think I don’t know what that wolf wants from you?” His voice stays calm while his hand keeps working. “He wants to sink his teeth in. Mark what’s mine. And you went to him anyway.”

I want to scream that I am not his and he’s not mine. That he belongs to my mother. Instead, I moan again before I can stop it. The sound is small and shaky. His hand pauses on the curve of my ass, then slides lower, his fingers tracing the edge of my underwear where it cuts across my cheeks.

“Listen to you,” he murmurs. “Already making those little sounds for me. You like being reminded who you belong to, don’t you?”

I shake my head but my body betrays me. My hips push back into his hand without permission. He chuckles under his breath.

“Yes you do. Look at the way you’re moving. You’re wet already and I’ve barely touched you.”

His fingers slip under the lace. Cool tips brush over the skin, then lower, finding the damp fabric between my legs. He presses there, just enough pressure to make me suck in a breath.

“Fuck, Layla. Soaked through. All from a few smacks and my voice. You were made for this.”

He rubs teasing circles over the wet lace, never giving me more than that light friction. I try to push into his hand, but he refuses to give me what I want. I swear he’s trying to drive me insane.

“Please,” I whisper.

“Please what?”

“Touch me.” I’m shamelessly begging now.

“I am touching you.” His fingers don’t stop moving. “Be specific. Tell me exactly what you want.”

My face probably looks like a tomato. The words stick for a second. “I want your fingers inside me.”

“Good girl.” He pulls the lace aside and slides two fingers into my wetness, filling me in one long stroke that leaves my mouth wide open.

A loud moan spills out of me. I can’t help it. He always knows how to curl those fingers and find the spot that makes my whole body tremble.

“That’s the sound I want. Let the driver hear how wet you get when I punish you,” he says against my ear.

I moan again and almost scream. The heat from the spanking mixes with every thrust of his fingers until my whole lower body feels like it’s on fire in the best way.

“If you ever go anywhere near him again,” Lucien continues, voice still low and steady while his fingers keep that slow, relentless pace. “I’ll use more than my fingers.”

“Lucien… oh fuck…”

“That’s it. Keep moaning for me. Let it out.”

I gasp as he adds a third finger. My hips start moving on their own, rocking back to take him deeper. He lets me control the pace for a few strokes, then presses his free hand down on my lower back to still me.

“Stay still. I decide how you take it,” he growls.

I try. God, do I try. But every time those fingers curl inside me my hips can’t help but move on their own. Slow at first, then faster and needier.

Lucien’s thumb finds my clit and starts rubbing in slow circles while his fingers keep fucking me deep and steady. The pressure builds so intensely it almost hurts. My breath turns into short sounds.

“Feel how you’re gripping me,” he murmurs. “So greedy. You want to come already, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I breathe. “Please. Please let me.”

“Not yet.” He slows even more, drawing it out. “I want you dripping down my wrist first. I want you so close you’re shaking. Then maybe I’ll let you.”

I whimper. His fingers keep working while his thumb circles with just enough pressure to keep me right on the edge.

“Listen to those wet sounds,” he says, sounding pleased. “My fingers sliding in and out of this soaked pussy. You sound fucking filthy, Layla. And you love it.”

“I do,” I moan. “I love it. Please… I’m so close…”

“I know. I can feel you fluttering around me. Hold it. Don’t you dare come until I say.”

I try to hold back. My whole body is trembling across his lap. Every stroke of his fingers pushes me closer to the edge.

“You’re going to come on my hand like a good girl. The next time you even think about going to that wolf, you’re going to remember exactly how this feels.”

His fingers push deep and stay there, curling hard against that spot while his thumb presses firm circles on my clit.

“Lucien… I can’t… I’m going to…” I scream.

“Come for me. Right now. Let me feel it.”

The orgasm hits hard. My whole body locks up and then shudders against him. A deep moan tears out of my throat as I clench around his fingers. Wave after wave rolls through me. He keeps moving through it, slower now, drawing every last pulse out of me until I’m limp and shaking and gasping for air.

He doesn’t pull away. His fingers stay buried, just holding me open while the aftershocks fade. His other hand strokes gently over my ass.

“That’s my girl,” he says softly. “So pretty when you come for me.”

I can’t answer. I just breathe, with my body still twitching around his fingers. He finally eases them out. Then he fixes my underwear and smooths my skirt back down as he helps me sit up.

My ass is throbbing. Lucien pulls me against his side and wraps an arm around my shoulders like nothing happened. Like he didn’t just make me fall apart in the back of his town car.

He leans in close one more time, lips brushing my temple.

“Next time you go near him, I won’t stop at my fingers,” he warns.

Like he needed to tell me again.

I close my eyes and lean into him anyway. His pale skin feels cold against my own flushed skin. But I still find comfort in the scent of cologne mixed with coffee.

And I already know I’ll end up back in Elijah’s orbit again.

Lucien knows it too.

The worst part is, I don’t think I want him to stop me.