Temptation [A Young Writer's Prize Submission]

Noble

Chapter Forty Five

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:11

I woke up to Lucien shaking me, and knew that today was the day I would face the Isaacs again, knowing as instinctively as I did that I was the one responsible for their misfortune. At least I was able to wake up with a smile; Lucien’s face being the first I saw was enough to lighten my heart.

“Good morning,” he breathed, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. “Time to get up, sweetness.”

I caressed his cheek, enjoying the way he leaned his head into my hand. After a moment or so, he kissed my palms and pulled me out of the bed.

I glanced over at Anna’s bed; she’d been missing for about four days now – and nobody seemed to be batting an eyelid about it. Lucien followed my gaze.

“I saw her leaving a while ago,” he murmured to me. “Come on, I want to get an early start on the traffic.”

I grabbed some clothes to change into in the bathroom. As I tugged off my pyjama top, dashing into the en suite, the look in his eyes filled me with a daring pride. I closed the door behind me and started up the shower.

“Does your family know you’re coming?” Lucien asked me.

I stepped into the shower. “No,” I picked up the body lotion and started squeezing it onto my hand. “I’ll call Susana on the way.”

“Sure.” He responded, but it sounded like he was having trouble concentrating on our conversation. Perhaps it was the acute knowledge that I stood naked in the next room. Quite enjoying that thought, I finished my shower quickly, stepping into a towel. The heat from the water had sent clouds of mist circulating around the room, and I entertained a thought of Lucien entering, pulling the towel away from my body and pushing me up against the wall, slamming his body into mine.

A sudden gust of air-conditioning sent shivers across my skin, banishing the thought. I dressed quickly, almost before I was properly dried, and stepped out of the room. Lucien still waited, sitting on my bed and watching me with a ravenous expression as I dried and brushed my hair.

“Do you want some help with that?” he asked, offering to take the brush once I’d finished with the hair dryer.

I shrugged. His warm fingers enveloped mine as he pried the hairbrush away from my hand, beginning to work through the tangles.

By the time he lifted his head, I was the one staring at him, with a hunger that almost overwhelmed me.

“We should get going,” Lucien, though he had noticed the desire in my eyes, shifted his own, handing me a coat and my rucksack, full of overnight clothes.

“Before the traffic,” I assented, brushing past him and downstairs.

We intended to get breakfast on the road, trying not to bump into anyone, but Vanessa and Tasha met us as we came into the main hall. Their eyes went first to Lucien’s hand clutching mine, and then the rucksack in my hand.

“Where are you two headed?” Vanessa asked; an edge to her voice.

“My foster-father’s funeral is today,” I explained, before Lucien could react.

“Why is he going?” Vanessa demanded.

“Please don’t make this more difficult for me,” I begged. “Lucien is giving me a ride up, and help me get through the ceremony without crying.”