Chapter 18 – Crimson Breakfast
336 Words
Sunlight bled through the curtains like a guilty confession, falling across the sheets that still held their heat. Lucien was the first to stir this time. He blinked lazily, a rare softness in his features as he stared at the man sleeping beside him.
Zarek looked… human when he slept. Not like a mafia heir. Not like someone who could break bones with his bare hands. Just… Zarek. Beautiful. Scarred. His.
Lucien leaned over and kissed the edge of his jaw.
Zarek stirred. “Mm. That’s illegal, touching a mafia prince before 10 a.m.”
Lucien grinned against his skin. “Arrest me.”
Zarek rolled him under with one arm and nuzzled his throat. “Maybe I will.”
They didn’t leave the bed for another hour. But eventually, the real world came knocking—hard.
Literally.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Zarek was out of bed before Lucien could speak, grabbing the gun hidden in the nightstand. His voice dropped into command. “Stay here.”
Lucien grabbed the sheet. “Zarek—”
“I said stay.”
Then he was gone, the door swinging shut behind him.
Lucien sat in silence, heart pounding.
Moments later, the door slammed back open—and this time, Zarek wasn’t alone.
A man stumbled in, bleeding from the mouth, shirt ripped, one eye swollen shut.
Zarek shoved him to the floor like trash.
Lucien stood, grabbing the first thing he could find—a black silk robe.
“Who the hell is that?” he asked, staring at the bloodied stranger.
Zarek’s jaw was tight. “My father sent a warning.”
Lucien’s stomach dropped. “You said he didn’t know—”
“He knows everything now.”
The man on the floor coughed, muttering, “They’re coming for him. Tonight.”
Lucien stepped back. “What does that mean?”
Zarek stared at him with cold eyes that didn’t match the man who had kissed him hours ago.
“It means you’re not safe anymore.”
- Writer
