The Billionaire Serpent King's Bride

Chapter 11

LUCIEN'S POV

The lie tasted like ash on my tongue, but I forced the words out anyway. "I have business to attend to, Selene."

It wasn't a lie, not entirely. The business was her. The business was ensuring that every single petal, every stitch of fabric, and every note of music for our wedding tomorrow was exactly how I think she will like.

I wanted her to wake up to a world where her deepest fantasies had been realized by my hand. I hadn't told her the wedding was tomorrow. I wanted the surprise on her face to be the first thing I saw when she opened her eyes.

I left the mansion, the cold air hitting my face, but my mind was already racing back to her. I hated leaving her alone in that house, even for a second.

The thought of her wandering too close to that black, forbidden door made my blood run cold. If she found what was behind it, if she realized the depth of the darkness I kept locked away for her safety, she would run. She would run before I could make her my wife.

The thought of her running, of her leaving me before I could claim her as my own, awakened something cold and violent in my chest. My hands tightened on the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white, the leather creaking under the pressure.

She isn't going anywhere, I told myself, the voice in my head dark and possessive. Not ever.

I pushed the thought aside, forcing the monster back into its cage, and drove. When I returned, the house was silent.

"Mr. Lucien," Margaret said, her voice low as she met me in the foyer. "Miss Selene went to sleep a long time ago. She seemed... exhausted."

"Of course she is," I muttered, a pang of guilt hitting me. "I'll see her in the morning."

I took the stairs two at a time, my body aching with a fatigue I hadn't noticed until now. I went straight to my room, peeling every fabric of clothing off my body until I stood naked in the dim light.

I stepped into the shower, turning the water to cold. The shock of it hit my skin, biting and sharp, but it was exactly what I needed.

I leaned my forehead against the tiled wall, letting the water cascade over me, trying to wash away the tension, the possessive urges, and the fear. The cold water made my muscles ache less, or maybe it just numbed me enough to think clearly.

Would she stop? After everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours.

I switched off the water and wrapped a towel around my waist, dripping onto the bathroom floor. I dressed in simple clothes, just shorts and a t shirt, and climbed into bed.

The silence of the room was deafening. My mind raced.

I missed her. I had spent the entire day without seeing her face, without hearing her voice, and the absence of her was a physical pain.

I sat up. f**k it.

I walked out of my room and down the hallway to her door. My hand hovered over the knob, my heart hammering against my ribs.

I gripped the lock, ready to turn it, ready to go to her. But then I stopped.

Let her rest, I told myself, my hand dropping. She's had a long day. She needs sleep.

I turned back, forcing my feet to carry me to my own room. I lay down, staring at the ceiling, but sleep was impossible.

My mind drifted back to the afternoon. The memory of the towel slipping from her fingers played behind my eyelids like a movie I couldn't turn off.

My c**k twitched, hardening instantly at the thought. Damn, she had a beautiful body.

The way her curves flowed like water, the perfection of her skin. I could still see the way her p***y had glistened with the shower water, pink and inviting, looking so perfect it made my breath hitch.

And that tattoo, the little flower on her left thigh. It was a mark of innocence on a body that tempted sin, and it made everything about her even more perfect.

I had spent years wondering what she looked like naked, fantasizing about her in the darkest corners of my mind. Now that I had seen her, the image was burned into my brain, brighter and more vivid than reality.

My hand moved down, wrapping around my erection through the fabric of my shorts. I was about to push them down, to use the image of her to relieve the pressure building in my veins, when I heard it.

A scream.

It was loud, guttural, and filled with pure terror. It vibrated through the walls of the mansion, shaking the very foundation of the house. It came from her room.

Time stopped. Then, I was moving.

I bolted out of my room, barefoot, the cold floor biting into my feet, but I didn't feel it. I didn't feel anything except the primal, raging fear that something had hurt her.

I slammed into her room, my heart in my throat. She was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide and unseeing, staring at something only she could see.

She was shaking, her breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps. She didn't even register that I had entered the room.

"Selene!" I shouted, rushing to her side. "Are you okay? What happened? Talk to me!"

She didn't respond. She was trapped in whatever nightmare had her in its grip, her mind miles away from this room, from me.

I didn't know she suffered from nightmares like this. Whatever she had seen in her dreams must have been horrific to reduce her to this state of shock.

The sight of her like this, so vulnerable and broken, tore something inside me. "Selene, look at me," I said, my voice softer now, though my hands were shaking.

I gently pushed her back down onto the mattress. She didn't fight me, but as soon as her back hit the pillows, her hands shot out, grabbing the front of my t shirt.

Her grip was desperate, her knuckles white. "Please don't leave me," she whispered, her voice trembling, tears streaming down her face. "Please stay."

I tried to gently pry her fingers off the fabric. "I'm not going anywhere, Selene, but I need to..."

Her hands tightened, pulling me closer, her grip iron clad despite her frailty. "Stay," she begged, her eyes finally focusing on me, filled with terror. "Please."

I froze. I had no choice. I couldn't leave her like this.

"Okay," I whispered, my voice rough with emotion. "I'm here. I'm not leaving."

I settled myself on the edge of the bed, and she immediately scrambled closer, burying her face in my neck. Her arms wrapped around me, holding on as if I were the only thing keeping her from falling into an abyss.

Her body was shaking against mine, her hot breath fanning against my skin. I sat there, stiffly at first, then slowly relaxing as I felt her breathing begin to steady.

The terror in her grip slowly faded into the heavy weight of sleep. She drifted off, but she didn't let go.

Instead, she shifted, pressing her body fully against mine, her leg tangling with mine, her hand resting over my heart. Damn it.

How was I supposed to sleep with her holding me like this? I could feel the softness of her breasts against my chest, the heat of her body seeping through my clothes, her scent filling my lungs.

She was warm, alive, and in my arms. My body reacted instantly, the blood rushing away from my brain to my groin.

My c**k hardened again, pressing against the fabric of my shorts, a painful reminder of what I wanted, what I needed. Damn, she is going to be the death of me.

The temptation was overwhelming. I could feel the pulse in her neck, the trust in the way she clung to me.

I could f**k her right here, right now. I could take her while she slept, while she was vulnerable and clinging to me for safety. It would be so easy.

But I'm not a monster. I gritted my teeth, forcing my body to still, forcing the beast back down.

I wasn't going to take advantage of her fear. I wasn't going to be the kind of man who used a woman's trauma to get what he wanted. I had a whole life with her ahead of me.

Tomorrow, she would wake up, and I would show her the wedding I had planned. Tomorrow, she would become my wife.

She would say her vows, she would be mine in the eyes of the law and God, and then... Then I would f**k her anywhere, anytime I liked.

I would take her in every room of this house, on every surface, until she knew exactly who she belonged to. But it had to be her choice.

It had to be when she was awake and willing. I let out a long, shaky breath and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer, protecting her from the nightmares, from the world, and even from myself.

"Sleep, Selene," I whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I've got you."

Eventually, the exhaustion took me too. The rhythm of her breathing lulled me into a deep, dreamless sleep, my arms locked around her, holding the only thing in this world that mattered to me.