Chapter11: Come Here
671 Words
"Why are you still standing there? Get up."
Someone in the room reminded Nina, probably feeling that Mr. Aaron had gone too far.
Her knees were in pain. She struggled to get up, her body swaying slightly, not daring to look at Lucas Parker. She gave a quiet thank-you and practically fled the private room.
“Mr. Parker…” Mr. Aaron was starting to panic, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“That was disappointing,” Lucas said casually before leaving the room.
Everyone looked at each other, stunned. They had gone to great lengths to get Lucas Parker to show up tonight, hoping to curry favor. Instead, things ended like this.
......
By the time Nina left the hotel, a light rain was falling again. The rainy season had arrived in River City—humid heat mixed with endless drizzle made everything feel irritable and heavy.
Her knees ached, and she hadn’t driven lately. The hotel was far from the city center, and it was even harder to get a cab in the rain.
But even if she could get one, she had no idea where she could go.
Lucas stepped out of the hotel just as he was watching a video sent by his maid. His little one at home was trying to hide a carrot at the bottom of the bowl, thinking no one would notice. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Mr. Parker, that’s Miss Nina,” said his driver.
Lucas looked out the car window and saw her sitting on the bench at a bus stop. Soaked through, wrapped in his jacket, arms wrapped tightly around herself, she looked like a stray kitten abandoned by the roadside.
“No parents, and now betrayed by her own uncle... Poor girl,” the driver murmured.
A breeze passed, and Nina shivered. A car stopped in front of the bus stop. She recognized it, it was Lucas Parker’s. She hesitated for a moment, then braced herself and opened the rear door, getting in.
The car’s air-cond was cold and sharp against her damp skin. They didn’t speak a word the entire ride. The car drove directly to Lucas’s private apartment on the top floor.
Inside, the decor was black and white, cold and lifeless. She stood at the entrance, hesitant, puddles of water forming beneath her.
“There’s a bathroom over there,” Lucas said, pointing to a room.
Her clothes were damp with rain and wine, sticky and uncomfortable. She took a quick shower. Without a change of clothes, she used a towel to dry her hair and wrapped herself in another towel as she stepped out.
The apartment was eerily quiet.
“Mr. Parker?” she called.
“Lucas?”
She walked into the silence living room.
Had he left?
She went back to the bedroom, realizing she was alone. Her guard dropped a little, and she opened the wardrobe, hoping to find something to wear. Inside were only men’s shirts and suits.
She casually picked a black dress shirt and let the towel fall.
Just then, the bedroom door creaked open.
She instinctively turned to look.
Lucas was standing there in the same black shirt and pants from earlier. His gaze was intense, piercing, burning into her.
Nina's breath caught.
She was completely naked. The only thing she had now was that shirt she quickly grabbed to cover herself.
Her skin flushed a pale pink from embarrassment, and it made her look even more delicate.
Lucas didn’t say anything. He turned and walked out.
When Nina stepped into the living room dressed in his shirt, Lucas was there smoking. The black shirt was oversized, falling mid-thigh, revealing long, bare legs.
Her knees were still bruised, harsh and jarring.
He took a slow drag from his cigarette. The ember lit his eyes like fire through the haze of smoke.
His gaze locked onto her, intense and unreadable.
Then he patted his thigh. His voice was low, gravelly, and commanding:
“Come here.”
- Writer
