I couldn’t bring myself to act shocked or angry, after all, I had been doing the same exact thing for just as long. But as Lucien told me about all he had been up to, I started to wonder if this was normal or if I had completely lost all common sense.
We had gotten into my car, with him insisting to drive, and sped out of the parking lot within seconds. I had asked him where we were going when I noticed him driving in the opposite direction of our apartment complex, and he had smirked, saying he had somewhere special in mind. Numbly, I noticed that none of the alarms Eli, or any other man for that matter, started in me were present whenever I was with Lucien. It was oddly disturbing, to know that despite not knowing each other very well, despite the fact that he was a 200-year-old supernatural creature, despite his own admission that my blood drove him insane, I could not bring myself to fear him. After around thirty minutes he had stopped the car on top of a cliff, coming around to open my door for me. He had taken my hand in his — oddly warm despite the fact I couldn’t hear a heartbeat anytime he hugged me — and had brought me to the cliff’s edge, and that was where we had been ever since.
The view was stunning. City lights twinkled in the horizon, dancing like little fireflies. Stars blinked in and out of existence in the vast expanse of the dark sky. Silence that you could only dream of in the city engulfed us, making me feel peaceful.
“When you say, you have been watching me,” I said, scratching my neck. I tried to keep my voice steady, not knowing if it was excitement or confusion I was trying to hide.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on you, making sure you’re safe.” Lucien rubbed my arms, pulling me into him. He must have noticed the chill that ran down my spine, because in one swift move, he took off his long black coat and draped it around my shoulders.
“Like that night in the alley.” I wrapped the coat around me and tried hard not to remember the events that followed my birthday celebration.
“Yes,” he whispered, stroking his thumb up and down my cheek.
“Were you following me?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“A while.”
I tilted my head to the side, keeping my eyes on his. There was something in the back of my mind, an idea that kept nagging at me, but I couldn’t make it out yet.
“How often do you do that?”
“As often as I can.”
“So when you said you were on a business trip the past three weeks…” I trailed off, waiting for his explanation. Lucien sighed, pinching the top of his nose.
“I didn’t go far. I had to leave my apartment to keep myself from breaking down your door,” He paused for a moment, as if contemplating how far he could go before he scared me off for good. I decided not to let him know that there was nothing he could say that could drive me away. I figured it was too soon for such a declaration. “After I had saved you that night, your scent, it stuck with me. It took every morcel of self restraint I could muster not to rip you apart in the elevator . I knew I had to leave then, I had to keep my distance.”
The gasp that left me was almost undetectable to my ears, but to Lucien’s keen senses, it must have been as loud as a bomb. He winced, as if he finally heard what he said.
“You wanted to kill me?” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, his words were clear, and there was no room for debate.
“No!” Lucien held me closer, his hands at the small of my back as he rubbed small circles with his fingers. “I didn’t mean that. You have to understand, little fox, everything about you is intoxicating. It’s not just your blood. It’s your hair, your eyes, your freckles. It’s your body, your voice, the way you move and talk and look at me. I had to leave so I couldn’t claim you in every way a Fated can be claimed. I had to stay away from you so I wouldn’t scare you off. I have waited so long for you, I would have never forgiven myself if you ran from me because I couldn’t control myself.”
As he talked, his voice dipped lower and lower, his tone sweet and alluring. He leaned in with every word until our noses were touching and our breaths interlinked. My heart picked up speed, drumming away at my rib cage so hard I thought it was going to burst out of me and run to him. His soft smile mirrored my own as he placed a hand on my chest, right on top of my heart.
“How is your control doing now?” My question was merely a whisper, afraid I’d ruin this intimate moment.
“Holding on by a thread.” Lucien closed his eyes, his forehead resting on mine. “But it’s better than the alternative.”
“And what’s that?”
“Watching you go out with other guys.”
The missing link in my thoughts finally clicked into place, the nagging idea materializing with crystal clear clarity.
“Lucien,” I said, narrowing my eyes in suspicion and taking a singular step back to have a better Look at him. “What did you do?”
“ What do you mean?” He leaned back on the hood of my car, pulling me into him once more. It was like he wanted to annihilate every spec of distance between us, and fortunately for him, I liked his touch far too much to complain.
“I never had problems with dating before. Yes, the last couple of years were hard, with the pandemic and the quarantine, but it never explained why I had three guys ghost me in the span of three months.” I cleared my throat and licked my dry lips, willing myself not to look away from his intense eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“You’re mine.”
I blinked. Once. Twice. His statement sent my heart into overdrive, my stomach clenching and my core heating up. My lips opened and closed like a fish, trying, but failing to come up with a retort. That was certainly not what I had asked, but the possessiveness with which he had said those three simple words, the unbridled desire in his gaze, the determination in his hold on me, made all of my thoughts evaporate within seconds.
“What did you do?” I finally managed to ask, my voice hoarse.
“I may have persuaded them to never contact you again.” He smiled, his fangs peeking from under his lips. The sight sent a shiver down my spine, and by the way he was looking at me, he too knew that it wasn’t a reaction out of fear.
“Did you kill them?” Did I care? Would it change anything if he said yes? Was I completely and utterly insane?
He shook his head. “I didn’t have to.”
“Did you compel them, too?” I asked, remembering that he told me he compelled the girls he brought over every time he needed to feed.
He didn’t answer me, his eyes locked on my lips. His chest rose and dipped under my hands, his breathing coming out in short bursts. I could feel my cheeks heating up under his intense gaze. My mouth suddenly went dry, my whole body was coiled up, waiting desperately for a moment of release.
“Lucien?” I mumbled, shaking him slightly.
“Don’t run from me, little fox.”
I was about to answer him, ask him why he thought I would do that, but all of my words died in my throat as his lips descended on mine.
Lucien kissed me as if he was starving, as if he was desperate, as if he was a sinner and my lips held the keys to his salvation. His hands snaked under his coat, exploring my body like he was on a mission, like my skin had the answer to all of his questions, his desires, his prayers. He moaned into my mouth, my tongue dancing with his. Effortlessly, he brought his hands just under my ass and lifted me up, and I put my legs around him, holding on as if he was the one who was going to run away. In the back of my mind, I could only pray this moment would last forever. With every chill that ran through me, every soft caress his hands drew on my skin, every sound that came out of him as we kissed, I could only hope that this was real.
YOU ARE READING
Fated
Fantasy"Lucien kissed me as if he was starving, as if he was desperate, as if he was a sinner, and my lips held the keys to his salvation. His hands snaked under his coat, exploring my body like he was on a mission, like my skin had the answer to all of hi...
