His Beautiful Revenge

2. Chapter Two-2

Norah shut off the shower and dressed quickly. Lucian lay watching her, then, as she passed him, hooked her legs and pulled her down onto the bed.

“Stay, stay,” he said, pinning her down. She wriggled out from underneath him, annoyed.

“Quit it! Too much to do. Get off, get off.” She struggled to her feet and swatted his head, smiling to soften the snub. “Up, up. Time to do manly stuff.” Lucian rolled into a sitting position, yawned and smiled at her.

“Manly stuff?”

She grinned. “Yep. Chop wood, hunt bison, that kinda stuff.”

From downstairs, they heard a pitiful whimper—Ziggy wanted his breakfast.

Norah sighed.

“I gotta feed the kid.” She left Lucian to shower and thumped downstairs. Ziggy was beside himself. She fought him off while reaching for his food, his nose seeking out the meaty chunks. As soon as she put his bowl on the floor, Ziggy fell on it with abandon.

Norah switched on the coffee pot and surveyed the contents of the fridge. Eggs. Eggs sounded good. She snagged a mixing bowl from the cupboard, feeling the satisfying c***k of the shell against her palm. She grimaced as the egg white stuck to her skin and flicked the food into the bowl. She was whisking the eggs, adding some paprika, when Lucian came down the stairs.

Ziggy had finished his food and was now l*****g the empty bowl around the kitchen, the metal scraping against the floor tile. Lucian snatched up the bowl and Ziggy looked up at him with hope.

“Now you’ve done it,” Norah shook her head. “He thinks he’s getting extra.”

Lucian shrugged. “No dice, dog,” he addressed Ziggy, “Live with it.” He threw the dish into the sink. Ziggy harrumphed and wandered off. Lucian grinned and slid his hands around Norah’s waist, pretending to bite her neck.

She put the bowl of eggs into the microwave, fixed the time, and pressed start. She turned to face him.

“Boobie check.” Lucian pulled her shirt out and peered down her cleavage. “Yep, still there.” She half-smiled, a little irritated by his cheerfulness. Norah was not a morning person.

Lucian smiled. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Do you want eggs?”

“Please.”

They were interrupted by the sound of wood being chewed. Lucian grabbed Ziggy and tugged him away from the table.

“Hey, hey, quit that.” Ziggy grumbled, rolling onto his back and biting his own leg, wiggling his body from side to side. Lucian laughed at their dog, teasing him with his toys and playing tug of war. “Stupid mutt.”

“Don’t call him stupid,” Norah said and bent to kiss Ziggy’s head. “You’re Mummy’s favorite boy. Yes, you are.” Ziggy licked her face and she giggled.

The microwave beeped. At the same time, a knock came from the front door. Norah threw Lucian the dish cloth.

“I’ll get the door. You deal with breakfast.”

“Okay. I’ll let his majesty out for a run. He’s antsy.”

The postman was waiting with a package for Norah to sign. She thanked him and was opening it when Lucian came back into the kitchen. “Anything interesting?”

Norah was studying the contents—a Conti-Tech brochure and letter outlining their future projects. The letter, by the looks of it handwritten by Giacomo Conti himself, asked her to keep the contents secret and requested she call his private office to set up a meeting.

I have studied your portfolio, Miss Reddy, and I think we can work well together. I’d like to hear your vision and see if we can build a professional relationship.

Look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Yours,

Giacomo Conti

Norah felt her body tremble. Conti-Tech wanted her? She felt a little breathless. If she landed a Conti-Tech contract …god, it would send her career into the stratosphere. “Just a possible future client,” she said casually, stuffing the contents back into the envelope and slipping it into her bag. “Nothing interesting.”

As they ate breakfast, Norah asked herself when she had stopped confiding in Lucian about the important things in her life. Then it struck her. Had she ever? Had she ever trusted him? She studied him now. “How’s work?”

Lucian shrugged. “Busy. Too many egos at work on this latest job. I tell you, never work with diva photographers or supermodels. A nightmare to work with. It doesn’t matter what we’ve pitched; they always, always change their minds. You’re lucky in your line of work.”

“Yes,” Norah said dryly. “Because clients never change their minds in my line of work.”

He waved away her sarcasm with his hand. “You know what I mean. You don’t have the high-pressure work that I do.”

Norah gritted her teeth. This was more like it. The affable, fun-loving boyfriend of this morning was gone and in his place, the egotistical douchebag who belittled her at every turn. Her eyes narrowed at him. “Why do you do that?”

“What?”

“Put me down? Does it make you feel like more of a man?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You don’t have the high-pressure work I do.” She mimicked him, knowing it annoyed him. “I run my own business, Lucian, and you think I don’t have pressure? Actually, I run two businesses. So don’t give me that bullshit.”

Lucian looked astonished at her outburst. Finally, he started to smile. “Are you menstruating?”

Wanting to pound the smirk off his face, Norah got up. “I’m going to work.” She looked around for her phone, and realizing she’d left it upstairs, she headed out of the door.

Upstairs, she sat on the bed and took a deep breath in. Why was she so annoyed? Maybe because this is what Lucian did—he’d be playful, friendly when it suited him, and distant and dismissive when it didn’t. She was sick of it. She dropped her head in her hands. It was Saturday and she was glad that she had the bookstore to open. Maybe it would distract her. She grabbed her phone, then saw her pill packet next to the glass of water on her nightstand. God, she’d forgotten to take it this morning. Hurriedly, she swallowed it with some water. No, Lucian, I’m not on my period because I make sure I never have them. She didn’t question why she had always made absolutely sure she wouldn’t get pregnant …not with Lucian’s child. As she walked back downstairs, she asked herself the same question she had asked herself for a long time now …

Why the hell am I still with him?

Lucian heard her on the stairs and stuffed the envelope back into her bag. Conti-Tech. Giacomo Conti wanted to hire Norah. Coincidence? He didn’t think so. Norah came in and grabbed her bag, giving him a short, “See you later.” He grunted in reply, then when he heard the front door close, he pulled his cellphone out.

Tara’s greeting was a purr, but a few seconds later she was much less friendly. “What the f**k are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about your boyfriend hiring my girlfriend. Does he know about us?”

“No, of course not. How could he?”

Lucian sighed. “I thought you said that friend of his might have seen us.”

“Carmel? That situation is being dealt with. Put it out of your mind.”

“How do you mean ‘dealt with?’”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t think this thing with Giacomo and your girlfriend is anything to worry about. Didn’t you tell me she was an excellent graphic designer?”

“Well, yes …”

“Giacomo has a habit of nurturing new talent. He probably just sent out feelers to a whole slew of young up-and-comers. If we freak out about it …well, that’s just going to confirm issues.”

Lucian rubbed his eyes. “When can I see you?”

“Soon. As soon as this other situation is over with.” Tara’s voice warmed again. “I’ll miss you. I’ll miss your c**k inside me, baby. I’ll miss sucking it …”

“God,” Lucian gave a moan of desire. “I want to c*m inside you so hard, beautiful …”

She laughed softly. “I’ll be thinking about you …”