Chapter 16: How Lonely Are You?

"Feel good, baby?"

Morning light spilled through the curtains.

Claire lay stretched across the sheets, a few faint marks scattered across her skin.

She opened her eyes, found Julian watching her with that same wicked grin, and smiled back.

"Very."

"You're something else, you know that."

She leaned in and pressed a lazy kiss to his mouth.

After they'd both cleaned up, Julian drove her to work in the Bugatti, the car drawing more than a few stares as it pulled up outside her building.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek before she got out.

She smiled, stepped out, and gave him a small wave through the open door.

"Bye."

"I'll pick you up after work," he called after her, something warm in his voice.

She hesitated only a beat before nodding, a smile tugging at her lips.

She turned and disappeared into the building, her heels clicking against the pavement.

Claire settled into her office chair, crossed her legs, and took a sip of water before turning on her computer, ready to get to work.

The door slammed open without warning.

A tall figure stormed in, radiating a coldness that made the whole room feel colder.

Claire looked up, startled, and found Lucas standing there.

His jaw was tight, his face pale with barely restrained fury.

He crossed the room in a few strides and pulled her up out of her chair.

Claire stared at him, completely blindsided by the look on his face.

"Well. Look at you."

"I'm gone on a business trip for a few days, and you're already with Julian."

"Is that what this is? You can't stand being alone for five minutes?"

His grip on her collar tightened, his usual composure nowhere in sight.

His eyes burned with something far past irritation real, unguarded anger.

And suddenly it clicked. He'd been out of town, not ignoring her. He must have seen Julian drop her off just now.

He's jealous, she realized. Actually jealous.

She reached up and gripped his wrist, smiling despite the tension in the room. "Lucas, we slept together twice."

"So explain to me what exactly gives you the right to tell me who I see?"

"Last I checked, being my boss doesn't put you in charge of my personal life."

Lucas's jaw tightened further at that, his temper barely holding.

"Say that again," he said through clenched teeth, staring at her infuriatingly calm expression.

They'd barely been together days before she'd moved on to someone in his own circle.

He'd given her something he'd never given anyone else, and she'd walked away from it without a backward glance.

His chest rose and fell hard, his fists clenched at his sides, frustration written across every line of his face.

"Just not my friend. Anyone but him." He finally managed to say it, releasing her collar, his voice rough with something he clearly didn't want to admit to.

God only knew how much it had cost him to watch her walk toward another man.

He wanted her. Only her. And the thought of anyone else touching her had apparently unraveled him completely.

Claire sank back into her chair, crossed her legs again with deliberate calm, and picked up her teacup for a slow sip.

"President Kane. Are you my husband? My boyfriend?

Since when is this any of your business?"

"I'll see whoever I want. That's not something you get a say in."

She turned back to her monitor and resumed typing like the conversation was already over.

Lucas stood there, practically vibrating with frustration.

He exhaled sharply, then leaned down, bracing his hands on the arms of her chair, boxing her in.

His face was inches from hers now, his breath warm against her skin.

"Claire. I don't care what happened with Julian. From this point forward, you're mine. Only mine."

Her pulse spiked at the closeness, but she held his gaze, refusing to back down.

"Lucas. Who exactly do you think you are?"

"You don't get to decide that for me."

Something in his expression cracked at that anger and want tangled together, impossible to separate.

He kissed her then, hard and urgent, all that pent-up frustration behind it.

Claire's eyes went wide for a moment, her hands coming up instinctively against his chest and then, slowly, she stopped pushing and kissed him back just as fiercely.

He pulled her closer, one hand cradling the back of her head, the kiss turning deep and consuming, neither of them holding back.

Claire's breath caught, her hands fisting in his shirt, a small sound escaping her throat.

The more she leaned into it, the more it seemed to undo him completely.

She took something from me nobody else has, he thought, and she still went straight to Julian the second I was out of the picture.

How empty do you have to be to need that badly?

She's going to understand exactly who she belongs to.

When he finally pulled back, he scooped her up into his arms without warning and carried her straight out of the office.

Employees in the hallway stopped and stared, wide-eyed, as their CEO strode past with Claire in his arms.

Outside, he set her down beside his white Koenigsegg, opened the door, and guided her in before closing it and rounding to the driver's seat. He started the engine in one smooth motion, jaw still tight.

Claire sat back, a little breathless, watching him from the passenger seat.

This side of him was new. The composed, untouchable CEO from the boardroom was nowhere in sight.

He just carried me out of my own office. In front of the entire floor.

The boss just walked his own staff meeting straight into gossip for a week.

He always seemed so controlled, so deliberate about everything.

But right now, he looked completely unraveled furious, reckless, and unmistakably jealous.

Maybe, she thought, watching the muscle ticking in his jaw, there's more under that composed exterior than I gave him credit for.

All I did was see someone else. Why does that hit this hard?

Unless…

She studied his face tight, tense, unmistakably affected and felt a small, satisfied smile creep across her own.

Her mood, which had been quietly sour for days, lifted considerably.

She'd assumed he'd simply lost interest and moved on.

Turns out, it had never been that at all.

And the fact that Julian of all people happened to be someone in Lucas's own orbit was, admittedly, a strange twist of fate.

Though the more she thought about it, the less she minded.

Two of the most striking, powerful men she'd ever met, both wrapped around her finger.

She had to admit there was something deeply satisfying about that.

Claire closed her eyes, leaned back against the seat, and let herself enjoy the moment in quiet, private triumph.