Chapter 18
951 Words
The night air was crisp as I stepped outside, the lingering warmth of the office fading as I took a deep breath. My head was still spinning from the tension of the evening... the way Cassian’s golden gaze had lingered on me, the way Lucas had hovered so protectively. Their cryptic conversation, obvious that they knew each other better than they admit, revealing nothing! I needed air, space, anything to clear my mind.
But, of course, Lucas wasn’t about to let me wander off alone.
“Eloise,” his voice came from behind me, soft but insistent. “You alright?”
I turned to face him, my stomach flipping as I took him in under the glow of the streetlights. He looked… dangerous in the best possible way. His suit jacket was slung over his shoulder, the top few buttons of his dress shirt undone. The sight of his throat, his collarbone, was almost too much. I swallowed hard.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Everything feels… intense.”
He stepped closer, his presence magnetic. “Intense how?”
I let out a soft laugh, shaking my head. “Like I’m caught in something bigger than me. Like I don’t know what’s coming next, but I can’t walk away.”
Lucas smirked, eyes darkening. “Maybe you’re not supposed to walk away.”
I shivered. Not from the cold, but from the way he was looking at me. Like he could see straight through me, straight into the part of me that wanted this, wanted him.
“Let me take you home,” he said, and though it wasn’t a question, I nodded.
The car ride was quiet, thick with tension. My heart pounded as Lucas pulled up in front of my apartment. He turned off the engine but didn’t move to leave. Instead, he shifted in his seat, facing me fully.
“Are you inviting me up?” His voice was low, teasing, but there was something else too, something serious.
I hesitated, my pulse hammering. But then I thought about the way I felt around him. The way I felt around Cassian. The way I was drawn to them both like gravity itself was pulling me in two directions at once. Maybe it was time to stop questioning it and just… feel.
“Yes.”
The second the door to my apartment shut behind us, Lucas had me pressed against it. His hands framed my face, his body caging me in, and his lips... oh, his lips... crashed against mine like he’d been waiting for this moment for lifetimes.
Maybe he had.
I moaned into his mouth, heat coiling low in my stomach as his hands trailed down, gripping my waist, pulling me against him. He was hard, solid, every inch of him screaming restraint even as he devoured me.
“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against my lips, his breath warm, his voice rough.
I didn’t. Instead, I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled him closer.
Lucas groaned, deep and guttural, before lifting me effortlessly into his arms. My legs wrapped around his waist instinctively as he carried me toward the bedroom, never breaking the kiss. I barely registered the feel of the mattress beneath me before he was on me again, his weight delicious, his hands everywhere.
His lips trailed down my neck, his teeth scraping along my pulse point, and I gasped, arching into him. “Lucas...”
“I’ve got you,” he murmured, voice thick with need. “Just let go, Eloise.”
And so I did.
The world outside ceased to exist. There was no past, no future. Only the present, only the way his touch set my skin on fire, the way his body pressed against mine like he was afraid to let go. And maybe he was.
His fingers explored me, unhurried but thorough, like he wanted to commit every inch of me to memory. I could barely breathe, barely think beyond the sensations flooding me.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” Lucas whispered against my ear, his voice like velvet and sin.
I clutched at him, nails digging into his shoulders. “Then don’t stop.”
A dark chuckle rumbled in his chest. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
His lips returned to mine, softer this time, slower. Like he was savoring me. His hands slid down, gripping my hips, rolling us over until I was straddling him. He looked up at me, eyes molten silver in the dim light, and for a moment, we just stared at each other.
The air between us was thick with something more than just lust, something deeper, something dangerous.
But I wasn’t afraid.
I leaned down, brushing my lips against his, and he groaned, hands gripping my thighs as he guided me against him. I could feel every inch of him, hard and ready, and I rocked against him, a whimper escaping my throat.
Lucas sat up suddenly, wrapping his arms around me, pressing me flush against him. “Eloise…” My name on his lips sent shivers down my spine.
I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to question. I just wanted to feel.
And with Lucas, I knew I would feel everything.
Somewhere in the haze of our passion, my mind flickered to Cassian. To the way he had looked at me, the unspoken promises in his golden gaze. It was a dangerous thought, one I barely had time to process before Lucas had my full attention again. But it was there. A whisper. A possibility.
And something told me this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
- Writer
