THE BAIT THAT STOLE HIS HEART

Chapter 10

Celeste’s POV.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I arrived at my room. I barely enjoyed the gala.

Slamming the door shut behind me, my breath caught as I leaned against it, my heart pounding like a war drum in my chest.

Killian. It had always been him.

The scent of his cologne and his rough voice when he asked Adrian to back off, everything stayed stuck inside my mind, refusing to go away.

"Stay away from her," he had said with the calmest, deadliest voice I had ever heard.

It didn’t make sense. None of it did. He was cold, detached, and emotionally unavailable.

Yet, there was something in the way his jaw clenched, the way his eyes darkened when Adrian was with me.

He was giving me mixed signals. I didn't want to think about it, but I just couldn't help it.

I freshened up but kept pacing, barefoot, restless - the silk of my nightgown clinging loosely to my body. I hated that his words lingered like heat against my skin.

He didn’t own me. We had a deal, and love or feelings were not involved. But his possessiveness, it stirred up something unexplainable inside me.

And worse, I liked it.

A soft knock landed on the door.

I ignored it. It was definitely one of the maids.

Another knock. Then, “Celeste, I know you're not asleep. Open the door.”

His voice was low. Deep. Rough.

My heart raced.

“Go away,” I tried to breathe, though quietly for fear that he might hear me.

I heard the creaking of the door as I watched it open. Slowly.

It wasn’t locked.

Killian stepped inside like he owned the air I was breathing, his shirt sleeves rolled, three buttons undone. I couldn’t stop staring at the veins on his forearms.

“Do you always ignore people when they knock on your door?” he asked, not with anger, but an emotion I hadn't seen or heard before. An emotion I didn't understand.

“You cannot be here, Killian,” I whispered in a shaky voice.

“I can. I own you, Celeste.” He said confidently.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes even, but tension gripped me, making my legs shake.

I turned my back to him,

"Get out," I said sternly.

Then I felt him behind me almost instantly—his hardness pressed against the back of my ass, making me let out a quiet moan.

“Why are...you doing this?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

“Doing what, Celeste?” he asked, his breath burning against my skin, especially at the back of my neck.

The scent of his cologne registered in my head all over again. Killian was killing me.

Still in his grip, I turned around.

He lustfully rubbed my ass, pressing it slowly and before I knew it, his mouth was on mine.

It wasn't gentle or soft, like the ones I had imagined for a first kiss.

It was fierce. Starved. Like he had been holding back for too long and had finally had an opportunity to release. His hands cupped my face, then slid into my hair as he backed me against the wall.

He moved his tongue swiftly in my mouth, then took every bit of mine without hesitation.

I wanted to stop it. But I couldn’t.

I kissed him back like I was falling apart—because I was. Then his mouth moved to my neck, and my legs wrapped around his waist before I even realized it. He lifted me like I weighed nothing and placed me on the dressing table in the corner of the room.

His hand found the slit in my nightgown.

I moaned. Loudly this time.

God, I hated how much I wanted him.

His fingers brushed up my thigh, rubbing it slowly yet quickly. But the moment he touched my underpants, I jerked.

I shoved him off me.

"I'm sorry," he said, fear lingering in his eyes.

“No!” I gasped, staggering to my feet, trembling. “This... we can’t. I can’t be one of your toys.”

He stood, panting. Then he ran a hand through his hair. “You think I will play with your feelings?”

“You will. Just leave. Please,” I whispered.

Then I watched as he turned and walked away, away from everything I wasn’t ready to feel.

Killian’s POV.

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't even stay in the shower for long. Flashes of Adrian flirting with Celeste overwhelmed me, making me more furious by the second.

I thought it was impossible to love her, so I couldn't understand what I was feeling.

I needed to see her, talk to her, warn her about Adrian - anything. I wasn't going to let everything slide like I wasn't affected.

I knocked gently at first.

No response. I knew she wasn't asleep. I felt it.

So I opened up immediately after calling her. She stood by her bed, sexy as always.

Hair down, beautiful lips, and a silk, see-through nightgown she wore.

My eyes caught her standing n*****s while briefly taking in the size of her breasts. I couldn't look too much. She was already making me hard.

“Do you always ignore people when they knock on your door?” I teased.

"You cannot be here, Killian." She said in a strangely low voice. Then I knew I wasn't the only one feeling something.

"I can, I own you." I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but it did, and I liked it. I meant it.

"Get out." She said, turning her back against me.

I expected it, but I moved closer to her, so close I felt her soft ass, my hardness couldn't help it. It became harder. I pressed it against her, letting her have a feel of what she was doing to me.

She leaned closely, eyes closed, letting her whole body relax while I grew bigger. Harder.

"Why are you doing this?" She said in the softest whisper I'd ever heard.

"Doing what?" I pretended not to understand as I massaged her ass.

Then I turned her around, swiftly burying my mouth in hers, roughly.

I didn't know how much I yearned for her until this moment.

I took her tongue. She moaned.

Fuck! I would give anything to hear those sounds every day.

I lost control. I carried her effortlessly and placed her on her dressing table. I didn't want to have s*x, not yet.... but I wanted to know how she tasted down there. So I rubbed her thighs... gently, yet roughly. I touched the hem of her panties.

She jerked.

"I'm sorry," I said frightfully.

Shit.

I hated myself already for moving too damn fast.

“This... we can’t. I can’t be one of your toys.”

Her words were breaking me.

“You think I will play with your feelings?” I asked slowly.

“You will. Just leave. Please,” she said.

I saw how her eyes seemed broken as I walked away. I didn't want to force anything.

I got to my room, alone in a storm of my own making, her taste still on my lips, her scent still on my skin.

I wasn't the type to lose control like that.

But seeing Adrian near her, grinning at her like she was something he could take,

It awoke something inside me.

And now I was falling.

Fast.

And I had no idea how to stop.