Coming Home (12 page)

They fell onto the mattress and his body pressed over her, igniting the longing that never stopped smoldering deep inside her. She arched as his mouth worked down her throat to the sensitive curve of her shoulder.

Cool fingers slipped under her shirt and over her belly. She lifted as he removed her shirt. Easing up on his knees, he crossed his arms over his belly and pulled off his own shirt, tossing it to the floor as well.

She stared up at him, truly seeing him. He was beautiful, so different from other men she’d seen. Lucian’s olive skin was smooth. His muscles showed all over his trim body beneath a dusting of hair. He was entering the prime of his life, but he was no less gorgeous.

Her fingers traced up his torso and he cupped her hand, dragging it over his heart. They breathed heavily, the moment weighted in such intensity. Curling her fingers over his, she pulled his hand down to her chest and pressed it over her breast.

Her need outweighed her self-preservation, and the truth of what she wanted could no longer be denied. Strong fingers squeezed gently and she arched into his hold. Fingertips stuttered over the lace trim at the swell of her breasts, teasing her nipple into a tight point. He undid the clasp at her back as she lifted for him and the fabric pulled over her arms and fell away.

In the dim morning light, blocked by the curtains, Lucian’s skin glistened in hard splendor. He slid off the bed and she watched as his fingers slowly undid the snap of her jeans. Once stripped away, along with her panties, he removed the remainder of his clothing.

Something was different about this time. Yes, the urgent need to have him inside her was there, but there was something so potent, it was tangible. This would change everything. Not back to the way it was before, but to something new and perhaps even more powerful than what either of them had ever known. This was a validation of their need, honed by willing abstinence.

The mattress dipped as he climbed over her. His motions were measured. His body braced above hers and he lowered his head. Lips tickled hers as his mouth opened, not giving her his full kiss. Head tipped back, she arched, seeking more, but he continued to tease.

His body was a welcome weight over hers, encasing her in his strength. Heat singed her where their flesh touched. The weight of his arousal hung heavily on her belly, and she parted her legs.

Toes pointed, she slowly draped her knees around his hips. They rubbed their skin together softly, teasing, tempting, bringing each other slowly back to life. “Kiss me, Lucian.”

“If I kiss you, I’ll never be able to stop,” he whispered into her mouth as their bodies writhed.

“Then don’t.”

His lips crashed over hers as he took her mouth. His muscles bunched under the grip of her fingers. His hand traveled up her thigh, squeezing, massaging, and settled on her hip. His erection landed in the seam of her folds and grew slick with her arousal.

He ravished her mouth and she gave every drop of passion she had into that kiss. Tearing his lips from hers, he kissed and sucked her throat, biting softly at the tender spots and making her keen with need. She held his broad shoulders as he kissed a trail down to her breasts.

Easing back, he cupped her breasts and licked at the sensitive tips. It had been so long since she had been touched like this. Need burst inside of her. Her nails pressed into his muscled flesh as he pulled one turgid tip into his mouth and suckled hard.

His hands gripped her ribs, holding her in a way that made her feel delicate next to his strength, small and cherished. The fire inside of her built. Flames licked at her belly as his mouth traveled lower. Heat blazed in her loins.

He kissed a tender spot on the side of her stomach, and her back bowed. Lips traveled down to her hips, and fingers trailed through the soft patch of hair at the apex of her thighs.

“You’re different,” he whispered and heat burned her cheeks.

She’d lost weight and not been to the salon in well over a month. “I haven’t needed to . . .”

He smiled. “I know. I like that no one else has been here. This is mine, Evelyn. Don’t ever give it to someone else, or I may have to commit murder.”

She smiled. Her body belonged to him whether she’d accepted the reality of that or not. When she’d kissed Parker, there was something fundamentally lacking.

His fingers trailed over her dewy folds and teased her sensitive bud. “What are you thinking about?”

“You. What you do to me. No one else has that effect on me, Lucian. Sometimes it’s scary.”

“You do the same to me. I can’t choose to give you up. My body and heart forbid it. You’re like a drug.”

His head dipped and the soft glide of his tongue over her crease had her arching in his grip. She moaned at the gentle probing of his tongue.

“God, I’ve missed the taste of you.” His mouth closed over her, and a thousand volts of electricity shocked her back to life. Sprays of light flashed behind her eyes as he sucked at her tender skin.

His hands slid beneath her bottom and lifted her to his mouth. His tongue delved between her slick folds and he gently began to fuck her with his tongue. He pressed deep and her body jerked at the profound penetration, remembering what it was to be filled in such a tender way.

He nibbled at her flesh, flicked his tongue over her sensitive clit and proceeded to fuck her with his fingers. She came in a rush, crying out his name as waves burst from within, rippling her body. She jerked in his grip, but he never let her go. His mouth was relentless, driving the currents of pleasure further and further out, then pulling them back in.

He eased her down onto the mattress, dragging his fingers up the underside of her trembling thighs. Cupping beneath her knees, his hands pulled her legs further apart, exposing her.

“You’re all glossy and pink. Beautiful.”

There was no shame in having Lucian see her this way. He adored her feminine parts and taught her to never hide from him. His arm extended and he pressed his middle finger into her sex slowly, reaching for that soft patch of nerves hidden deep within. Her heels pressed into the mattress and she lifted into him.

“Very good, baby. Show me you need it. Show me how much you missed my touch.”

Oh God, she missed it. Another finger joined the first and then a third. Her body stretched around the intrusion. He tickled her G-spot, and soon his hand was fucking her hard, the wet slaps of his fingers sinking into her the only accompaniment to their heavy breathing.

She rode his hand, arching, her back coming fully off the bed as she came hard. Her second release surpassed her first, and she shook violently. He removed his fingers from her slick sex and rolled her on top of him.

Her hair formed a curtain around them. Her legs straddled his hips, her breasts clinging to his chest as she leaned over him and found his mouth. He tasted of her. He tasted of
them
. She kissed him hard, licking and biting at his lips, unable to get enough.

Her mouth traveled over the stubble of his sharp jaw, down his throat. Fingers combed through the hair traveling over his cut abs. She flicked his dark nipples with her tongue and he moaned.

Sliding lower, she gripped his cock in her fist. His flesh was burning. She squeezed him and his hips lifted. Meeting his gaze, she whispered. “I want you so much right now I can barely control myself.”

His lips parted and she was suddenly gripped and thrown to her back. Lucian’s mouth slammed down on hers and he kissed her almost violently, yet his touch was controlled. Fingers ran over the high arch of her cheekbones. His thumb smudged over her lips. Neither shut their eyes, staring intently at one another as he pressed his lips to her jaw and whispered. Each word dragged over her flesh like its own caress.

“I’ll come. I haven’t been with anyone since our last time at the estate. I want you so desperately right now, Evelyn, I’m afraid I won’t last.”

“Let me have you. I want you to come in my mouth.”

He growled and rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him again. She crawled down his body and fisted him, pumping in two long solid strokes that had him groaning before she took him into her mouth.

He was already salty with precum. Her scalp pinched as he fisted her hair. Hissing, he pressed her down. Her lips stretched over his thickness as he pressed to the back of her throat. She worked her fingers at the root, her other hand cupping him, massaging gently as he pulled and pressed her over him.

Her nails softly teased at the underside of his sac, tickling the path of skin just below. He groaned. “Touch me, Evelyn.” Her fingers explored his body. “Yes, that’s it baby. Make me come.”

He growled through gritted teeth. She jerked him hard, scraping her teeth lightly up his shaft as she sunk down on him, engulfing him in the heat of her mouth.

He lurched and arched, nearly severing their connection. His hand fisted in her hair as he rapidly fucked her mouth. She pressed deep and his guttural moan filled the room. “Fuck! Enough. I need to be inside you.”

Scout kissed up his trembling belly and he grabbed her. Her legs wrapped around his hips as he sat up, hugging her tightly, his face pressed into her throat. He nuzzled her through her wild hair. “I love you so much,” he whispered fiercely.

He was still hard against her flesh. They sat upright, trembling, as his mouth kissed over her breasts. When his lips found hers, they stilled and stared at each other through hooded eyes. His potent need clear in his smoldering gaze.

Scout lifted her hips, shifting her position, as he guided his cock to her sex. Their eyes never wavered as they each were locked in that moment in time. She was drenched with need. As his length filled her, Scout’s moan paralleled his. The shock of pleasure broke their intense stare. Back arching, she fanned her fingers through his dark hair, fisting and pulling his head back as she came down on him and bit at his rough jaw.

Strong hands gripped below her breasts, spanning her waist as their bodies slowly began to move in tandem. Skin clung to skin. Breath mingled, and whispers of affection and pleasure filled the room. It was possibly the most intensely beautiful moment of her life.

Dark eyes stared into hers and there was not a secret between them in that moment. Everything was raw and honest and undeniably carnal. Their bodies glistened with sweat. Fingers dug into tender muscle as nails titillated and scraped. They would each wear marks of their possession.

She seated herself and his cock pressed into her G-spot. His mouth sealed over her throat and sucked as she rode him, rotating her hips and stealing her pleasure. Hot breath beat at her neck. “That’s it, love. Take what you need. Let me feel you come all over my cock.”

Bowing, her mouth opening in a silent plea of pleasure as desire exploded into something unnamable and delicious, her body pulsed and twitched as he held her. Warmth erupted into her channel as he came, his own cries of pleasure mingling with hers.

Tipping back onto the bed, trembling, holding tight, she never wanted to let him go. Harsh gasps for air filled the quiet room as she stared into Lucian’s expressive, dark eyes. Her thumb combed over his dark brow and he gently kissed her lips. “I love you, Evelyn.”

It was time, time to face her reality. She caught her breath and met his stare. “I love you too, Lucian. Please don’t hurt me ever again.”

His eyes closed and his grip tightened. She knew how long he’d waited to hear those words. They were offered freely, without coercion, without guile. They were the only truth she had in this world. She loved him and that love terrified her, because it had the ability to tear her to sheds and leave nothing behind.

Part X

Lucian

Chapter 9

Breakthrough

The destruction of a seemingly strong defense, often by means of sacrifice

Lucian sighed. Contentment was not an accurate enough word for the peace filling him. His fingers brushed the hair out of Evelyn’s eyes and watched as she slowly drifted to sleep. He almost couldn’t believe she was there in his bed, in his arms. It was impossible to stop touching her after such a long period of not having the luxury.

Things had to change. They couldn’t go back to where they once were. Too much had happened. She’d opened up parts of him he never shared with anyone. When he thought he’d lost her, he became crippled with regret. Losing her again was not an option.

His mind contemplated the ring in his drawer. His fingers idly played with hers. Her unconscious state allowed him to explore and study the many facets of her sleeping body. He wanted to slip that ring on her finger now, but knew that would upset her.

Was it him or something else? She’d admitted she loved him. There had never been more precious words. Did that mean she’d reconsider being his wife? He was never letting her go again. It simply wasn’t an option, so why not marry him?

The sound of his phone vibrating from the floor distracted his thoughts. He ignored it and continued to observe her as she slept. She was so beautiful. Her dark lashes gathered like the feathers of a quill, making soft shadows over her cheeks. Her lily-white skin was softer than the petals of a rose. There was no one as beautiful as Evelyn.

He considered Nicole. She’d royally fucked up last night when she called Evelyn trash. He wanted to retaliate, but feared what the woman would do in return. The last thing he needed was some escalating game of tit for tat, especially if what Evelyn said was true and Nicole knew about Pearl and her past.

It didn’t bother him, where Evelyn came from. Nor should she be held responsible for her mother’s poor choices. But his baby was a prideful little thing, and that sort of exposure would crush her. She’d feel like she embarrassed him, which was bullshit, but it would be a challenge to convince her otherwise. If he could avoid a situation like that altogether, it was best for everyone.

He had a ton of shit to do. He’d been backed up with work since Evelyn had moved out. His mind just wasn’t in it. There was one deal in particular that was weighing on him.

For over a year he and Shamus had been persuading Labex to move their green energy plant into the care of Patras Industries. The site was ready, blueprints drawn, and the nearer the deal came to closing, the more he wanted it done. There was a ton of money and man-hours at stake, and everyone was getting anxious the longer the preliminaries dragged out.

His phone buzzed again, and he carefully slipped from the bed and found it in the pocket of his pants. Climbing back into bed, he ignored his call log and texted Dugan.

Go to the apartment on Cypress. Take Manuel and Frank. I want all of her stuff packed up and brought back to the penthouse.

The phone vibrated a moment later.

What of the small apartment on the boulevard?

Lucian pursed his lips. That was
her
place. He couldn’t touch her stuff without her permission. It irritated him that he not only had one apartment to consider, but two. In the past month, Evelyn had lived in four different places. The most he could do was take care of the apartment he’d rented for her. That was a mistake he’d be happy to never revisit again.

Just the one on Cypress for now.

He stayed in bed all morning, simply holding her. Around noon, she became restless and he sensed her waking up. His lips pressed into her temple. She sighed and stretched.

“Hi.”

He smiled down at her. “Hi. Did you have a nice nap?”

“Very nice. I thought it was all a dream.”

“Nope. It’s real.” He took her hand and brought it to his growing cock. “This is very real.”

“You’re gonna have to give me a minute. I’m out of practice and a little sore.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No. My body forgot what it feels like to be thoroughly loved.”

He was silent for a moment, hesitation caused by his knowledge that he’d never let certain things go and that his question may totally destroy the peace of their morning.

“What is it?” she asked, snuggling closer.

“Will you tell me?”

Her brow crinkled. “Tell you what?”

“What happened when I was in Paris?”

Her expression shuttered, locking those secrets away tight. His need to know what happened with Hughes ate at him every day. Did he touch her? Fuck her? She said she hadn’t been with anyone else that way, but what if she was lying?

“I don’t want to talk about that,” she said, rolling away.

He caught her hip and stilled her escape. “Fine. We’ll put it away. For now.”

“Forever, Lucian,” she said sternly. “Bringing it up is only going to make us fight.”

True, but his curiosity was tormenting him. He automatically imagined the worst. When he’d returned from Paris and gone to the apartment on Cypress and found nothing but empty pantries and her key on the counter, he feared he’d lost her forever.

The only worse thing than that fear was finding her in Hughes’s bedroom half dressed, knowing he might be too late. He’d beaten the living shit out of that fucker and wanted to do it all over again every time his imagination played games with him.

He gritted his teeth. Now wasn’t the time. Their reconciliation was still new and delicate and he didn’t want to push her too hard. “How about a bath?”

She smiled. “A bath sounds lovely.”

***

His knees pressed into the porcelain walls. Evelyn’s back weighed lightly on his chest as he soaped her breasts with a sea sponge. “Where are you working, Evelyn?”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

He stilled. “Why?”

“Because it’s always a fight, me working. I like my job and I intend to keep it.”

“I don’t have a problem with you working.”

She snorted and turned, the water lapping at the walls of the tub. Her breasts swayed as she faced him, tiny droplets laced with suds traveling over her curves, gravity pulling them back to the water’s surface. “Since when?”

“A lot has changed. Someday . . .” He drew in a breath, preparing for her opposition. “Someday, I’d like you not to work, to be at home, our home, taking care of our children.”

Her smile melted away to a blank expression. “Lucian . . .”

He held up a hand. “I know. I’m not talking about tomorrow or even next month. I’m talking about the future, our future. It
will
happen, Evelyn.”

“And what if I don’t want children?”

He frowned. “Of course you do.”

“Why? Because other women my age do? I’m not like them, Lucian. Children need good parents. Otherwise it isn’t fair to bring them into this world.”

“Are you saying I wouldn’t be a good father?”

Her lashes lowered. They were spiked from the humid air. “No. I was talking about me,” she quietly admitted.

He grabbed her chin and tilted her face until she met his gaze. “Hey. You are not Pearl. You would make a wonderful mother.”

“I’m very single-minded.”

“That’s because you’ve spent your entire life trying to survive. In time, you’ll learn that you can trust me and I’ll take up that burden and you’ll never have to worry again.”

“I do trust you, against my better judgment,” she admitted. “But I’ll never be able to surrender my independence. I’ve worked too hard for it.”

He couldn’t hide his grin and ignored the second part of her admission. “That’s a start.”

She sat on her bottom, this time facing him, her legs pulled up, her feet now tucked against his hips, a somehow possessive touch. “You wanted to know about Parker.”

He stilled, not expecting her to readdress the topic so soon. Something had changed? But what? “Some. Only what I can handle without going on a rampage.”

Evelyn wouldn’t meet his gaze. Her finger slowly chased a cluster of tiny bubbles along the surface until they dissolved into bath oil, leaving nothing more than an iridescent film on the surface.

“He was different,” she whispered so low he had to strain to hear her. “When he touched me, he always asked.” Was she saying she preferred that? Lucian wasn’t someone used to asking permission.

“One time, he kissed me and I
wanted
to like it. I needed to feel something other than the hollow ache you left behind.”

His throat worked to swallow. He’d asked for this and he’d listen, but knowing he was getting his way did nothing to alleviate the pain or jealousy raging inside of him.

“At first it was nothing, and I realized there was a great deal to be said for chemistry. We had nothing like what you and I share, what you can do to me with just a look in a crowded room. But I wanted to like him. I hated you for abandoning me and I don’t know if it was a self-preservation thing or because I wanted to punish you.”

Her brow creased and she blinked as though she were recalling something and still trying to make sense of it. “The one time he kissed me, I forgot about you for the briefest moment.” Her words sliced through him, but he remained silent, allowing her to carry on. “I don’t know why. We’d been laughing and the ever-present awareness that gutted me again and again after you left, just somehow slipped away. But then . . .”

She paused and he quietly asked, “Then what?”

“Then he’d pause as if to ask if what he was doing was okay and I knew it wasn’t. I didn’t want to be loyal to you, but by letting him kiss me I was being disloyal to my heart. But it was more than that. When I’m with you, something happens to me. I slip away to a safe place that I don’t have to worry or think. I couldn’t find that place with him. He’d hesitate and reality would come crashing down and break any peace I felt.”

“That’s what surrender feels like, Evelyn. That’s the peace I can give you when you give me your submission.”

She met his gaze. “Is that normal, to feel that way?”

“Do you care?”

She lifted a narrow shoulder, the motion delicate, reminding him of her innocence. “I guess not. I’ve just wanted my entire life to be normal, like everyone else’s. I was afraid you broke me somehow . . . for all other men.”

His eyes narrowed. “If I did, I’m glad. The thought of some other man seeing you the way I do, watching you fall apart when you come, seeing those exposed moments of vulnerability—they’re mine, Evelyn. The idea of someone else seeing you like that is excruciating.”

“I feel the same way about you.” She looked back at the water. “When I thought you moved on, I felt like my insides were rotting. Something so dark and angry came over me. I just kept thinking about stupid things, like how you wake up just before dawn and sit at your desk to watch the sun rise. It killed me imagining her intruding on those moments.”

He understood that level of jealousy, the covetous way she thought of his habits and behaviors. “And with everything you’ve just told me, what hurts the most to hear was that Hughes had your laughter. Those are my smiles. I’m a very possessive man, Evelyn. I don’t ever want to share you. Not your body, not your mind, your smiles, certainly not your laughter. I covet all of you in a way I’ve never experienced greed before.”

She smiled and it was just for him, secret and somewhat carnal, hidden at the corner of her plush mouth. He held out his hand. “Come here.”

She pushed through the water, causing it to ripple in her wake. He pulled her to his lap and her legs went around his hips. His mouth kissed over her damp skin slowly, drugging her with tiny nips and licks until she softened completely.

His hand reached to fit himself to her sex. She leaned back and slid down on him, engulfing his cock in sensual heat. Her tight little pussy gripped him. It was
his
pussy. Never had it known another’s touch. The notion did things to him.

Grasping her nipped waist, he guided her slowly, pumping his flesh in and out of her. He’d need a solid week to make up for lost time, and he wanted to spend every moment of it buried inside of her.

His spine tingled as she came. Her soft whimpered cries, tiny treasures to his ears. “Say it,” he whispered, dragging his mouth over her damp shoulders. “Say you love me.”

“I love you.”

His muscles tightened and he filled her with his release. Briefly, he resented the tiny man-made device hidden deep inside her that prevented pregnancy, but his emotions were hot, her words compensating for the little things he could not yet have from her.

She loved him. She loved him and she’d admitted it. It made everything, in a way, seem worth it, just to have those three magic words.

***

They decided to go to dinner. It had been a long time since he’d taken Evelyn out and their last trip to a restaurant had been tainted with fear and guilt of what was to come. Lucian wanted a fresh start and planned to make one tonight.

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Your clothes are here.” When she frowned, he explained. “There are still some in the closet, but Dugan retrieved your belongings from the apartment on Cypress. Everything’s at the hotel, I just need to call down and have it brought up.”

Her mouth twitched. “You had my stuff brought back?”

He wasn’t going to apologize. “Yes. Is that a problem?”

She lunged at him, catching him completely off guard and tackling him to the bed. Her mouth opened over his and she kissed him with unleashed passion. “Thank you. I hated that place and I never wanted to go back.”

He rolled her to her back and parted her robe. “I hated that place too.”

His hand cupped her breast and squeezed. Her knees came up and gripped his hips. He arched a brow. “Again?”

She nodded. “Take me, like you used to.”

Something dark unfurled inside of him. His fingers gripped her wrists and lifted them over her head, pressing them into the mattress with one hand. The position caused her tight nipples to lift. He pinched one pink tip and pulled, twisting slightly. She moaned.

Releasing her breast, his hand went to his cock. He pumped his flesh, eyeing her intently. “Tell me what you want.”