“Nothing I already didn’t know about you,” I growled thickly. “He warned me that you were dangerous, that you’d break me into tiny fucking pieces, but he’s a little late to stop that from happening.”
“Get your things,” he said, pulling away from me as I was left shivering without his heat. “You shouldn’t have left the abbey, but you seem incapable of listening to advice.”
“It’s not advice when it comes in the form of a demand,” I muttered as I swayed on my feet, pushing from the wall.
“You’re not healed,” he growled as he pulled me against his side. “Which room is yours?” he asked, already walking towards it.
“You already know which is mine,” I grated out as I rolled my eyes. He knew which one I’d slept in, either by scent or however he knew everything he did. There seemed to be little he didn’t know or wasn’t aware of anymore.
Once we were inside my room I collected my things as Luna, the little traitor, jumped into Lucian’s arms and immediately began purring. I pulled out my bags and filled them with the things I needed before grabbing for the picture of my family we’d taken before Joshua had gone off to war.
With my clothing packed, I opened the drawer and pulled out the small message that had been wrapped and hidden in Luna’s collar. I pushed it into my bag and paused looking down, eying my bloodied and torn clothing, then sighed.
“I need to change,” I said sternly, hoping he’d take the hint and leave.
“So change,” he smirked roguishly.
“I don’t suppose if I asked you to turn around, you would?” I asked.
He grinned and I frowned deeper as I turned around, giving him my back as I pulled out a pair of joggers and a tank top. I carefully pulled my hair into a loose ponytail and set the clothes beside me before I started to peel off the pants. I winced and groaned as I slid them down, ignoring the gasp as Lucian took in the rest of my bruises. I didn’t turn around as I felt him closing the distance between us.
“Bloody fucking hell, Lena, you’re lucky to be alive,” he growled angrily.
“I’m fine, Blackstone,” I repeated. I slipped the panties down and reached for the new ones, only to feel his mouth as it kissed my hip where the worst of the bruises were. I stiffened as I tried to ignore the urge to cave and allow him to continue. “Stop,” I warned, looking at him as his gaze held mine from where his mouth was inches away from my pussy. He didn’t force the issue. Instead, his angry stare took in the other bruises as I lifted my shirt and gave up trying to hide myself from him. Propriety and Lucian didn’t even belong in the same sentence.
He stood up, staring at the bruises covering my naked chest as I slowly pulled on a top. I knew I was fucked up; I felt it even though Benjamin had done his best to heal the inside of my body. The outside was only getting worse. The bruises were a mix of reds and blues, and I looked as if I’d been thrown around for fun by a giant.
“They won’t get to you inside my club,” he murmured as he pulled me close to him, uncaring that I didn’t want his pity or attention. His arms cradled me like I was made of glass as he placed a soft kiss against my temple. “If you don’t stop taking chances with your life, I will chain you to a fucking bed and keep you there until this ends, or he is dead.”
“I’m not yours to protect, and isn’t that why we’re here in the first place?” I asked, stepping back from his embrace. “Because you fucked me,” I laughed coldly. “Maybe we should stop doing that, since it ends up getting me hurt in the long run.”
“Get your stuff, we’re leaving now,” he growled.
“I have to grab some things from the library,” I stated firmly as his lips quirked into a seductive smile.
“It’s being brought with us, along with a few other things your grandmother requested. If you’re good, I may let you read some of it.”
“You think you have me right where you want me, don’t you?” I mumbled.
“And where is that?”
“At your mercy,” I murmured as I stepped closer to him.
“Oh, Lena, I don’t have any fucking mercy.”
Chapter 25
We stood in line waiting for rooms as Lucian stood mere feet away from me, issuing orders. They were removing items from rooms as each person who waited in line was sent to them. I knew what kinky shit they were removing from those rooms. However, no one else seemed to have a clue what the holdup was. Every once in a while, my gaze would drift to Lucian, who wore a pair of faded, ripped up jeans and a regular T-shirt, something you didn’t often see him dressed in. It was a welcome change from the suits he wore.
“Your face is seriously killing me,” Kat announced as she slid back into line, handing me a bottle of water. “I think it’s gotten worse since we got here.”
“Thanks, I had no idea,” I deadpanned as I forced my gaze away from the muscles rippling beneath Lucian’s shirt and eyed her with a look of utter disgust. “I wouldn’t have guessed it unless you had pointed it out so delicately.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, you seriously look like you bounced your face off the floor,” she replied flatly. “The guys coming in are all looking at you and it’s not because you’re hot. More because you look like roadkill,” Kat rambled as she did a double take of a group of guys who were passing us.
I’d noticed a ton of witches flowing into the club since we’d arrived. Lucian apparently had a much longer reach than my grandma, because the ones she’d reached out to had shown up less than twenty minutes after we had, and there hadn’t been many of them.
I still had to confront them about what I’d discovered. But between the pain and my wounds coming back as if the accident had just happened moment’s ago, I’d decided to wait. I wasn’t up to it, not with my insides twisting from red hot pain that was making it difficult to remain standing in this never-ending line, let alone dealing with a difficult confrontation.
I leaned over to see how many more people were in front of us and started to fall, only to have a stranger catch me.
“Wow, sweetheart,” he murmured as he took in my face with a wince. “You okay?” he asked smoothly. He had dirty blond hair, vivid green eyes, and a smirk that bespoke of sin.
“I’m good,” I muttered in embarrassment.
“This is Lena,” Kat piped up as she helped me back up against the wall for much-needed support. “Normally she’s not such a klutz, but gravity is kicking her ass today. I’m Kat, and you would be?” she asked as she extended her hand and grinned like an idiot.
“Falcon, Falcon Sutton,” he announced as he accepted her outstretched hand and placed a kiss against the back of it. “I look forward to seeing you ladies around.”
“As do we,” she giggled, and I rolled my eyes as his green ones lingered on me longer than I liked.
I would have watched him walk away, but turning my head hurt more than it would have been worth. I did, however, find Lucian glaring at me as he took in my battered face. I dropped my head back against the wall, closing my eyelids as I tried to ignore the burning pain growing inside of me.
“I think he noticed your face,” Kat mumbled in warning.
“Who?” I wondered out loud, but didn’t have long to wait to figure it out.
One minute I was against the wall, ignoring the world, and the next I was being dragged from the line. I opened my eyes, a shocked cry exploding from my lips as the subtle movement sent pain spiraling through my entire body.
“Stop,” I cried out, noting he did as I asked. Everyone stared at us, and tears rolled down my cheek as the pain became overwhelming. Whatever Benjamin had been trying to do to heal me had failed. I was steadily getting worse with every tick of the minute hand that went by. Lucian’s midnight irises ate away at mine and then slowly lifted above my head to where the line of witches watched us.
“You’re coming with me; either walk or I will carry you. Choose,
Lena,” he demanded softly. “You’re getting worse; whatever your brother attempted to use to heal you is failing, and I don’t give a shit if you want my help, you’re getting it. So start walking or I’ll put you over my shoulder and carry you.”
“Lead the way,” I mumbled as I slowly stepped closer to him, wincing as pain enveloped me. I followed him until we reached a hallway without witnesses and then leaned against the wall, unable to go any further. It had taken everything I had in me not to fall on my face as we’d left the club’s main room. “Blackstone,” I called out when he’d continued walking without a sign of stopping.
He spun around and eyed my weak ass as I started to slide down the wall, unable to even hold myself against it.
“Bloody hell,” he growled as he hefted me up into his arms, cradling my body against his chest as we moved through the hallway. “You should have said something.”
“I’m not your problem,” I stated, hating that I had to be carried, but unable to stop myself from inhaling his masculine scent greedily as my nose touched his neck. My eyelashes fluttered as I gave in to the security he made me feel. I wasn’t afraid of him, I was afraid to be alone with him. Something about this man made me need him, want him.
I craved his touch and scent. As if my soul was attached to his by an invisible thread, and we’d been tied together. No matter how much I ignored it, fate kept shoving us together in one way or another.
“Is that what you think? I told you from the start, little witch,” he purred smoothly, “you’re mine, and I don’t care what you say about it. It doesn’t matter if I am fucking you, I claimed you. It can’t and will not be undone, not even by you. You’re mine to protect, and you’re safe here. Let those walls down, Lena, and let me inside to help you.”
“Those walls? I put them there to protect me from being hurt,” I laughed soundlessly as I opened my heavy eyelids to find him watching my response. “I let them down with you last time and you fucked me, so don’t expect me to make that mistake again. What you did shouldn’t have happened. Not after I let you in and trusted you, only for you to wreck me at the first chance you got. I’m not some stupid girl who falls for the same mistake twice, Lucian,” I whispered as I tried to keep my eyes open.
“You’re not stupid, but you’re already craving what I can give you. You’re pissed, so be pissed at me. I couldn’t care less if you like me, Lena, as long as you know that you’re mine. You were mine from the moment I saw you outside your house staring at it like you were lost in memories. The moment our lips touched, you were a goner whether you wanted to be or not. You want to know why Lucifer wants you. Because you are the first woman I’ve laid claim to in centuries. So fucking hate me if it makes you feel better, but know this: if you touch another man, he dies. I won’t fuck around when it comes to you. I did what I did to protect you. I couldn’t lose you, and if that ends with you hating me, fine. At least I know I did what I could to save you. I’m not the guy who gives a shit if fucked up things happen to people, but I cared if it happened to you.”
He kicked a door and I cried out as it sent a wave of fresh pain running through me. His words shook me, and yet I couldn’t ignore what I now knew. He’d taken my tattoos, my memories of us. He’d made me think I was going insane, and worse, he’d fucked me beneath the moon and I remembered everything. I’d kidnapped him, and he’d allowed me to and for a moment, he’d let me come back to him only to push me away again. The things he’d said and done had all come back with a vengeance that had torn me apart inside, leaving me more broken than anything he could have done to me.
The man turned me inside out and watched me fade away as he’d maintained his selfish choices. He’d come here with a goal, one that I didn’t fit into, or maybe I did and neither of us had known it.
I hesitated as he sat me down inside his bedroom. My vision moved to the bed, the very one he’d claimed me in as his men had watched us. It took effort to tear them away from it and to stare at him as he moved to the other side of it, punching a code into the wall.
He stepped back as the wide doors swung open, revealing a secondary room which had been hidden behind the paneling. I wondered how many more secrets this club of his held. Many, would be my guess; he was full of secrets.
“Get your ass in here,” he growled when I continued to sit on the bed, hesitating on whether I should ask to go back to the line, or follow his lead. Lucian had healed me before, a few times. Whatever Benjamin had done was coming undone quickly, and that scared me. I had no idea how bad my injuries from the wreck had been when he’d taken me.
I moved, albeit slowly as I followed him into the room. There was a huge tub in the room. One big enough to fit a few people if they wanted to sit closely which, considering where I was, may or may not have happened a time or two.
“Have you…” I started to ask the question and paused. What, Lena? Ask if he’s fucked other women in it. Hey, Lucian, have you happened to have had an orgy in your tub? You know, just checking and stuff? Brilliant.
“Used it with other women?” he snickered as he turned those midnight orbs of seduction in my direction. “Jealous of them?”
“Envious,” I shot back, and then faltered. Maybe I’d sustained brain damage in the accident.
He laughed huskily and shook his head. “Take your clothes off and get in,” he murmured as he turned his back on me and started withdrawing items from drawers. I didn’t strip as instructed. Instead, I observed him as he worked, staring at his reflection in the mirror. The moment his eyes lifted to mine, I twirled around with a guilty flush that crept up to my ears.
I started to undo my joggers and then stood upright, grasping on to the wall as my head swam with dizziness. I felt Lucian’s hands touching me as he gently pulled on my shirt, allowing me to lean back against him for support as he removed it. His fingers slid over my hips, pushing the panties down until they were around my ankles. I didn’t face him, knowing I’d be entirely too close to him if I did. Once he’d helped remove my clothing, I continued to face away from him as his heat comforted my battered skin.
After a few moments, I stepped away from him, touching the cool wall with my forehead as I felt him putting distance between us. The sound of the water being turned on soothed the ache I felt at needing him to touch me. This man, this dark ethereal creature undid me. He unraveled me until I was laid bare to his midnight gaze. He hadn’t just broken down my walls; he’d taken a wrecking ball to them and obliterated them without me even realizing he’d done it.
I swung my head in his direction, hesitating to move as he did his best to ignore me. I waited until the water had reached halfway before I walked around it and slipped into the watery depths. I sighed deeply as it soothed the aches of the outside wounds. I didn’t bother with modesty; he’d already seen me naked more times than I could count. I slid my legs flat and rested my head against the smooth edge of the tub.
I stared at Lucian’s back as he lit candles and placed them around the room until it looked as if it was being set for seduction. Once he’d finished lighting them, he dropped what looked like bath bombs into the water and silently went back to the counter. They fuzzed, sending a multitude of tiny bubbles exploding into the heated tub. The moment it spread across my skin, it numbed it.
“What is in them?” I asked, letting my fingers move through the bubbles.
“Salts from Switzerland, rosemary, peppermint, and my blood,” he announced as he spun around and tossed some flower petals in.
“Your blood?” I asked, coming out of the water a little as I stared at the fizzing balls. The petals changed the color of the water as I watched. He pulled off his shirt, which drew my attention to him as he slowly tossed it aside and knelt beside the tub facing me. His smoldering stare ate up the sight of my naked form and then held mine in open challenge, as if I’d try to expel myself from the tub.
“You’ve had other parts of me inside of
you, and yet you recoil from the idea of my blood upon your skin? Need I remind you that when I claimed you, you drank it?” he whispered thickly as he whispered something in another language that caused the candles to leap higher, sending more light into the room.
“Lucian,” I murmured as my body responded, not caring that it was covered in angry bruises or that my insides were bruised as well.
“Don’t worry, Lena. Not even I am asshole enough to force this when you’re injured and covered in bruises I didn’t put there. These should help you heal rather quickly, though.”
“What do they do?” I whispered, ignoring his hooded gaze as his fingers trailed through the pink-hued water that I sat in.
“The water will heal the outside,” he replied carefully, his stare moved from my body to gaze at me. “I’m sorry, Lena,” he murmured.
“For what?” I asked, unsure I wanted his apology when I was exposed as I was.
“For this,” he said, moving faster than I could respond. I was pushed beneath the water without warning. My response was to scream, opening my mouth as I inhaled water into my lungs. My hands grabbed for his arms, scratching him as I struggled to get out from the watery grave he intended to put me in. When that failed, I grasped for the side of the tub, coming up to gasp as water secreted from my mouth as I coughed and sputtered, only for him to climb in atop me and push me back under.
My lungs were on fire, filling with water. He straddled me, holding me under as I stared at him in horror. I’d trusted him and he was going to murder me with my entire coven just out of reach to help me. My arms grew heavy, and my mind started to shut down when he pulled me out. I grasped for him, wrapping my arms around him as I sputtered and expelled water from my stomach, heaving it out as my body trembled from shock.
“You’re okay,” he mumbled as he pushed the hair away from my face. I glared at him, pushing him away from me and then shoving him into the water as I held him down. He smiled back up at me through the murky depths as if it wasn’t even bothering him. He stayed there, gazing up at me as no bubbles escaped from between his lips.
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