LOGINCHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR — TEN DAYS UNDER HIS ROOFRAIN'S POV The launch party ended in a haze of champagne and forced smiles, but the real storm began the moment we stepped into the cars.I thought Lucien would take me straight back to the penthouse — back to the place where our secret still felt somewhat contained. Instead, as the driver pulled away from the glittering estate, Lucien’s voice cut through the silence like cool steel.“We’re staying at the family house for the next ten days. I have business in the area that requires my presence.”My stomach dropped so fast I nearly gasped. Ten days. Ten whole days under the same roof as Vivienne, Evelyn, Sophia, Thelma, and the rest of the cold-blooded Vale family. Ten days of pretending I didn’t know exactly how Lucien’s fingers felt between my thighs, how his voice sounded when he groaned my name like he was losing his mind.I glanced at him. He sat beside me in the back seat, one leg crossed over the other, looking every inch the untouc
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE — SOPHIA’S LITTLE RECORDINGRAIN’S POV The moment Sophia hit play, my entire body turned to ice.It was my voice.Soft, broken, and unmistakable. The breathy little whimpers I’d tried so hard to keep quiet upstairs. Then came Lucien’s voice groaning like a curse and a prayer at the same time. Even through the phone’s tiny speaker, the sounds felt intimate. My stomach dropped so violently I thought I might be sick right there in front of everyone.Before I could spiral into full panic, Marcus moved like lightning. He snatched the phone from Sophia’s hand, his expression shifting from lazy amusement to something sharp in a heartbeat.“Turn that off,” he said, voice low and lethal. “Right now. Before you make Lucien your enemy for life.”Sophia only smiled like a cat who had finally caught the canary. She clearly thought she had recorded Lucien and Evelyn in some filthy moment upstairs. She had no idea it was me. Not yet.Thelma recovered faster than any of us. She
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWORAIN’S POVThe party did not calm down after Lucien’s speech.If anything, it got louder.People moved in circles of money and perfume, laughing too brightly, drinking too smoothly, talking about deals and legacies like they had invented both. The string quartet had stopped, but soft music still floated through hidden speakers. The courtyard glowed gold under the lights, and everyone looked polished enough to belong in a magazine.I stood near one of the tall tables with a glass of something I had barely touched, pretending I was not aware of Lucien every second.It was impossible.I felt him before I saw him.Every time he crossed the courtyard, every time his voice drifted over the crowd, every time someone stopped him to speak and he turned with that cold, perfect control, some part of me tightened.The worst part was knowing what had happened upstairs.He wanted me.And now I knew it.I was trying very hard not to smile like an idiot over that fact when Thelma a
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONERAIN’S POVThe outfit Lucien left for me was sinful.I knew that the second I unzipped the garment bag and saw the dress.It was black. The kind of dress that looked simple until I put it on and realized the fabric clung to every curve like it had been made with Lucien’s hands in mind. It stopped above my knees, the neckline modest enough to behave, but the back dipped lower than anything I had ever worn in his presence.I stood in front of the mirror too long.My lips still felt swollen from his kiss. My breast still tingled from where his hand had been.A knock came at the door.“Rain?” Thelma called. “Are you decent?”“Come in.”She walked in, took one look at me, and froze. “Oh my God.”I turned awkwardly. “Bad?”“Disgustingly good,” she said, grinning. “If Uncle Lucien picked that, he’s either very brave or very stupid.”Heat rushed to my face. “Why would you say that?”Thelma gave me a look. “Because men are simple creatures, babe. And my uncle is still a man
CHAPTER TWENTY RAIN’S POVMy fingers were still buried inside myself when I heard the soft creak of the floorboard.I yanked my hand free, skirt bunched high around my hips, white cotton panties shoved to the side and soaked. My chest heaved. The orgasm was still pulsing through me in slow, humiliating aftershocks, my clit twitching against my own slick.And there he was.Lucien stood half-hidden in the shadowed corner by the tall wardrobe, arms folded, white shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows. His jaw was locked so tight I could see the muscle jump. His eyes—God, his eyes—were black fire.I scrambled upright on the sofa, legs shaky, trying to tug my pleated mini skirt down with trembling hands. It barely covered anything. My nipples were still tight against the thin fabric of my top, my thighs glistening.“L-Lucien—” The name came out broken, a stammer that sounded like a plea.He moved.One step. Two. Slow, deliberate, until the scent of him which was dark cedar and something sharp
CHAPTER NINETEENRAIN’S POVMarcus stepped in before I could reach her. His hand shot out, snatching the phone from Sophia’s fingers with a casualness that looked effortless but felt like a rescue. He glanced at the screen for half a second, then handed it back to me without a word. My pulse hammered so hard I was sure everyone could hear it. Thankfully, Sophia hadn’t scrolled far enough to see the name at the top—Lucien.“Sophia,” Marcus said, voice low and edged with warning, “stop picking on Rain.”Sophia blinked, all wide-eyed innocence. “Picking on her? I was just teasing. God, you’re so dramatic.” She stood up in one fluid motion, brushing imaginary dust from her sundress. “Anyway, I have better things to do.” She flipped her hair and sauntered off toward the house without another glance.Isabella rose too, linking her arm through Thelma’s. “I need to pick a dress for tonight. Come help me choose, Thelma? You have the best eye.” Thelma shot me an apologetic look but let herself







