LOGINLUCIANRight now, I’m beyond pissed.It’s been more than an hour since mom texted us to join the rest of them for brunch, but that was the last thing I wanted was to do. If I have my way, we wouldn’t be leaving this suite for the next three days.I wanted to keep her locked behind closed doors, I wanted to spend the afternoon smoldering her with my body and marking her so thoroughly that the entire world would know exactly who she belonged to. But Corinne, stubborn as always, insisted on going.“Let’s skip,” I repeated.She paused in front of the mirror and let out a sigh without looking at me. “That’s the ninth time you’ve said that.”“And my point remains valid.”“The answer is still no, Lucian.” She held her hair up. “Zip me up.”I stepped behind her and deliberately brush my knuckles against her warm skin as I dragged the zipper higher.The inappropriate thoughts running through my head as I traced the curves hidden behind the fabric with my eyes were so obvious that she let out a
LUCIANSomething is wrong. Something is very fucking wrong with Corinne, but she is actively shutting me out and not talking to me.I sat up at the sudden, freezing distance between us the second she scrambled up my body and bolted for the bathroom. The primal need to keep her close to me roared to life and I moved without thinking. I threw the sheets aside and followed the blur of her bare skin but I wasn’t fast enough because by the time my feet hit the hardwood, the bathroom door was slammed shut and the lock turned into place.I reached the door in two strides and pounded a heavy fist against the solid wood. The muffled sound of retching drifted through the paneling, and my chest constricted so hard I could barely breathe.“Open the damn door, Corinne,” I rattled the brass handle but the metal grinded uselessly without giving way. “What’s going on?”Another ragged, painful heave cut through the quiet, followed by the running of the faucet. Then, her voice came—gurgled, breathless,
CORINNEI don’t know what exactly woke me up. It could have been the faint glow of sunrise creeping through the curtains. It could have been the remnants of a strange dream. Or maybe it was the simple fact that I was feeling significantly warmer than usual.I slowly cracked my eyelids open, only for the drowsiness to evaporate when I tried to move my limbs.My entire body was trapped and locked down.A massive tattooed arm was wrapped around my waist while another rested possessively across my middle and someone’s leg was tangled with mine beneath the sheets, effectively pinning me in place.Holy fuck.My heart immediately launched into overdrive and for the first few seconds, I simply stared at the wall, trying to process how the heck did I end up cuddling with an unknown…My brain finally caught up to the identity of the stranger at the exact same moment Lucian’s muscular arm glided across my chest. His heavy hand landed on the mattress on my other side and with an unconscious grunt,
CORINNEI knew it was coming.I’d seen the hunger in his eyes, felt the unyielding grip of his hand, but nothing prepared me for the sheer, world-altering impact of Lucian clamping down on me. The moment his hot tongue licked a slow, wicked line up the center of my pussy, a violent tremor rattled through my soul and body, completely shattering what was left of my sanity.Part of me still wanted to be annoyed at him.Actually, scratch that. I absolutely should be furious.Did I care that he had known about my identity as Lux all this time and still played along like I was a joke? Yes, I cared. It made my blood simmer.Should I be angry that even when I thought I was steps ahead of him, he’d actually been the one holding the upper hand from the very start? Yes, I totally should be.And trust me, I have every intention of tearing him a brand-new one for deceiving me. I’m going to make him pay for every single silent moment he’d hidden from me.But not now… not right now. Right now, my bo
LUCIAN“I was the dancer you met that night… I am Lux.”I quietly waited for the rest of the grand confession. I thought there was more coming, something bigger or something devastating enough to explain the fear sitting in her eyes. But as the seconds ticked by and the longer I stayed silent, the panic in her hazel eyes doubled.I stare down at her with a frown. “Is that it?”She looked completely thrown off balance. “What do you mean, ‘is that it?’ I just told you that I am—”“Lux,” I finished for her. “I heard you perfectly fine the first time.”“You’re not reacting.”“I am reacting.”“No, you’re standing there looking at me like we’re discussing the weather,” she argued, her voice shaking as she tried to force me to care about a secret that already belonged to the past. “I lied to you, Lucian.”“No, you didn’t. You weren’t obligated to tell me.”“But I…” Her words trailed off and I watched realization settle over her features. “Wait. When did you find out?”I sighed. “Our first me
CORINNEEver since my conversation with Shannon in the tea room, my mind has been a chaotic, spin-drying mess. Talking to her didn’t just open my eyes; it completely shattered the protective lens through which I’ve been viewing Lucian. She’d unknowingly cracked something open inside me and now I’m hyper-aware of the man.And with that awareness came the endless, suffocating loop of questions.Does he actually feel something for me, or is he just being cordial because I happen to be the convenient, contract-bound body in his vicinity?Does it truly not bother him that my ex-fiancé is the reason his wife is dead? No matter what Elena did, she is still the mother of his sons and the woman he loved.I remember how wary he was about me getting close to the twins when we first met. Does that caution still hold beneath the surface?What about my family background? Will I ever find the courage to tell him everything about Maya and I?And God help me, how violent will his wrath be when he fina
LUCIANPeople scrambled to clear a path as I walked into the lobby, it was like they could read my mood before I even got close. The air in the building felt stagnant compared to the salt and wind of the island. With my hands shoved deep in my pockets, I didn’t acknowledge a single greeting sent my
CORINNEDid… did he just call me a kitten?Kitten?!The remote in my hand practically begged me to press the button as I glanced back at the door, already mapping out an escape. I reached for the wall switch instead and dimmed the lights even more, letting the shadows swallow the room.It took real
CORINNE“Are you sure you’re okay?” Benny paused halfway through my makeup, asking for what had to be the fifth time.I rolled my eyes. “I’m perfectly fine.”And I was telling the truth. Mostly.Still, Thursday had rattled me. Yesterday too. The necklace sat heavy in my thoughts, its sender still a
LUCIAN“Mr. Delacroix, you really don’t have to do this,” George said from where he was standing by the doorway in his ever-crisp suit, tablet in hand. “You already have a packed schedule today. I can handle the session with their homeroom teacher and report back to you.”I stood behind Lucas and tr







