Ruined By Your Blood

Chapter 12: More Than Just Words

They arrived at the Vaughan house. To stop Arthur and Larcus from finding out about the company theft, Luther acted well. He threw his truck keys on the kitchen counter and yelled loudly so the staff could hear. He complained about how boring his father's speeches were, making it seem like their disappearance was just a wild, fun drive.

Larcus could not see anything in the text. Because the manual switch on the tenth floor did not set off the voice alarms, the security team thought it was a small technical error from the server crash the day before.

However, Larcus did not ignore the disobedience. To punish Sienna for failing to control her person, he made her stand alone on guard for 24 hours at night in the cold, muddy fields of the estate.

At 2:00 AM, the wind blew loudly through the iron gates, and the cold rain soaked Sienna's thick tactical jacket. She walked along the dark stone paths, breathing out mist and splashing through puddles in her boots. She was very tired, but she could not stop thinking about how Luther held her waist during the fight at the office.

"You really are a stubborn creature, aren't you?" a deep, known voice said from the dark.

Sienna turned quickly and reached for her gun when she saw Luther's large body. He wore a thick black wool coat, and his dark hair was wet from the rain. He carried a large patterned blanket under one arm and a hot metal thermos in the other.

"Mr. Vaughan, you are breaking the security rules," Sienna said. She tried to sound professional, even though her face turned red from the cold. "Larcus has heat-sensing cameras watching the eastern lawn."

"I disconnected the eastern cameras five minutes ago," Luther said with a mischievous smile. He walked close to her, ignoring how she tried to stay away. He wrapped a heavy, warm blanket around her shoulders and held her tightly against his chest to keep the wind out. "Drink the coffee, Sienna. That's an order."

Sienna looked at the thermos he gave her, her heart beating fast and nervously. She took a slow sip of the hot, sweet drink, feeling the warmth move through her shaking body. "You should not be out here, Luther. If your father finds out—"

"My father is sleeping deeply and dreaming about his popularity," Luther said with a quiet laugh, leaning his large shoulder against the stone pillars of a private security booth. He reached out and softly wiped a drop of rain from her nose with his thumb, touching her very gently. "Also, I could not sleep knowing my beautiful shadow was freezing out here just because she helped me rob my own family."

Sienna looked up at him, feeling shy because of the strong love in his eyes. She tried to look away at the wet grass. "I was just doing my job. The guards were a danger to the person we were protecting."

"Oh, was that it?" Luther joked with a low laugh. He leaned down so his lips were very close to her ear. "Because during our fight, I thought you blushed when I told you that you looked beautiful. You are a very good fighter, honey, but you are bad at lying."

'H-honey?' she thought. Her face turned very red as she looked up at him. She could not hide how much she wanted him and how much she wanted to kiss him again. "Don't tease me."

"I'm not teasing," Luther said, sounding very serious. He put his hand on the back of her neck and moved his thumb along her jaw to lift her face up. "I meant what I said in the archives. I am preparing the legal files for Elena's building tonight. When this trial ends and this month is over, we are leaving."

Sienna frowned and stepped back. The thick blanket he had put on her was trapped between his large chest and the cold stone pillar.

"Leaving?" she asked, her voice tense as she tried to sound calm and professional again. "What do you mean, Luther? I am just a worker hired by your father's security company. I am not making any promises to you."

Luther didn't back down. A slow, attractive smile appeared on his face, and his eyes looked happy because she was acting defensive. "Is that true?"

"Yes, that is right," Sienna said. Her face turned very red, and she avoided looking at his lips. "We are not together. Last night was just a mistake. It does not change our future plans, and it does not connect us. We are not a couple."

"An operational anomaly," Luther repeated. His deep voice turned into a low laugh. He stepped closer, closing the gap she had made, and placed his large hands firmly on her waist. "You really love those instruction manuals, don't you, honey?"

"Mr. Vaughan—"

"Shh," Luther whispered, leaning close to her ear in a playful way that made her feel very weak. "You can lie to yourself all night, Sienna. But your heart is beating very fast and your hands are shaking. If we are not together, then why are you standing here with me in the cold rain?"

Luther didn't give her the chance to lie to him again. He moved his large hand from her waist to the back of her neck, putting his fingers in her wet, black hair to hold her head. He lifted her face, rubbed his thumb against her red cheek, and kissed her.

The kiss was quick, strong, and very intense. It broke her attempt to stay professional and silenced her protests. Luther tasted the hot coffee she had drunk and the fresh air of the midnight storm. He pushed her back against the stone pillar. His large, warm body blocked the rest of the world and protected her from the cold wind.

Sienna made a soft moan against his mouth as her resistance faded. Instead of pushing him away, her hands gripped his heavy wool coat and pulled him close until she felt his warmth against her. She kissed him back hungrily, following the rhythm of his movements.

Luther made a low sound of pleasure. He put his hand under the thick blanket and grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to him. The feeling of their bodies touching was intense, mixing the cold rain with their body heat. He kissed her until she felt dizzy, moving from her mouth down to her jaw and then to the sensitive part of her neck.

"Ahh—" Sienna softly moaned.

"Tell me one more time that we aren't together," Luther whispered against her warm skin. He breathed heavily as he pulled back slightly to look into her bright, confused eyes. He was no longer smiling; instead, he looked at her with deep, honest love. "Say it to me, Sienna."

Sienna could only breathe heavily, still holding his coat tightly, her face very red. She could not hide the truth anymore—not from him, and not from herself.

He kissed Sienna's neck again slowly, moving down to her chest—did not wait for her to answer. He held her waist with one hand as her legs grew weak from his deep kiss. He nipped lightly along the upper curve of her chest before returning to her lips, drawn back by the sound of her soft groan. He moved his hand slowly over her chest, making the moment feel even more intense.

She pressed harder against the wall as he moved closer, leaving no space between them. She grabbed his shirt to steady herself.

"What are we?" he whispered close to her lips, barely speaking.

Sienna stayed silent again. She slowly looked into Luther's eyes while breathing heavily, then suddenly looked down at his lips.

"What?" Luther said, teasing. He bit his lip and saw Sienna do the same. That made Luther want to own her. He continue kissing her deeply, and Sienna gripped his shirt tightly.

Every touch felt stronger and could not be ignored. Sienna could hardly follow Luther's hands, but she felt them everywhere. His touch stayed where he held her earlier—her chest, firm but soft, moving slowly and carefully, making her forget everything else.

She moaned harder and turned her head slightly.

They both stopped at the same time, as if they understood each other without speaking. For a moment, no one moved. They breathed heavily in the small space between them while looking at each other—close enough to feel each other.

"You're..." she whispered. "You are annoying," her true voice finally showing through her calm face.

Luther smiled a real, bright smile that lit up the dark gazebo. He leaned down and gave her one last, long, and very sweet kiss before slowly letting her stand on the ground. "Come on. Let's get you inside before Evans sees that his cameras are playing a recording."