Chapter 53 Chapter 53
Cynthia's POV
For the past three days, Lucien hasn't shown up. He leaves early and returns late. I don't know if it is because he is guilty of what he did or if something is brewing in his mind.
The distance gave me enough time to heal. Although I couldn't forget what Lucien did to me that night, I can't let that overpower me.
If I want to take revenge on my family, I would have to move forward and play the game the way he wants. I have promised Adrian.
I sighed and filled the jar with the cookies.
After making sure, Aurora had slept, I came to the kitchen to bake her favourite cookies. She has been carving for them for a long time.
Suddenly the temperature of the kitchen dropped, and I felt uneasy. A shiver ran down my spine but before I could turn around, a manly and very familiar voice reached my ears.
"Where were you?"
His voice was low but dangerous. My hands froze above the jar lid. I bite my lip hard to stop my heart from hammering so loud.
I took a few deep breaths before slowly turning around to find him standing against the refrigerator with his arms folded to his chest. His tuxedo coat was gone, the upper button of his shirt was open, the sleeves were rolled to his elbows and his hair looked slightly messy.
"I asked you something" he repeated and I remained silent "You were out of the house for four hours. Where were you?"
My eyes narrowed at him. I straightened up my spine and folded my arms to my chest.
"I am not your prisoner, Lucien," I snapped "I have free will."
Slowly he moved and started stepping towards me like a predator.
"You are my mistress. You came to me by yourself, remember?"
"Yes, and I am still here," I retorted, my voice trembled slightly as he closed the distance between us "I have every right to move around when you don't need me" I breathed "I am here for my daughter. That is the only reason."
Lucien stopped just inches away. He shoved his hand in his pocket and looked down at me like prey. His shadow swallowed me whole.
"The same daughter you left at home? Alone with a stranger nanny?"
"I left after ensuring she was fed and asleep," I hissed, refusing to let him make me feel like a bad mother. "And I know she is safe here. I have other duties to fulfill as well."
"Duties?" One of his eyebrows lifted as his gaze dropped to my lips.
"You are forgetting, Mr. Vaughn," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs. "I have a husband. I need to look after him as well."
I expected him to explode or feel jealous the way he always had but instead, he did something far more terrifying.
He chuckled.
Darkly.
I flinched when he lifted his hand to drag his thumb across my lower lip, pulling it down just enough to expose my teeth. He did it slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.
"Really?" he whispered, amusement dancing in his dark eyes.
I felt a chill run down my spine. This was wrong. For the first time, he wasn't jealous or angry at the mention of Adrian. He looked like a cat watching a mouse run into a dead end.
This made my heart pound even louder in my chest. I could practically hear it beating in my ears.
Before I could breathe, his hands were on my waist. Swiftly he scooped me up and sat me down on the cold marble of the kitchen counter. A soft gasp escaped my lips when my dress hiked up and my bare thighs met the freezing stone. But the other second I felt the heat of his body between my legs.
He leaned in and buried his face in the crook of my neck while his thumbs drew circles on my waist. I felt the rough stubble of his jaw against my sensitive skin, sending a jolt of electricity straight to my core.
"And how is your so-called husband?" he murmured against my skin. His breath felt hot and damp. "Is he resting well?"
My fingers instinctively curled at my sides, my nails scraped against the marble of the kitchen counter. I struggled to keep my thoughts straight as his tongue flicked against the sweet spot behind my ear.
"How could you do that to him, Lucien?" I gasped out, thinking of the way he had ruined Adrian. "How could you be so cruel to him? Your enmity was with me"
He pulled back just enough to smirk at me. I swallowed hard as he looked like a man who held all the main cards but he was forgetting that that one chance could change everything.
"I could do worse. You already know that, don't you?"
I breathed heavily, my chest heaving against his. The air in the kitchen felt thick, like we were breathing in steam.
"And it doesn't matter to me what you think about me anymore," his voice dropped to a whisper. "Because you have always misunderstood me, Cynthia. You have made me the villain in every version of your story."
Another gasp escaped my throat when he returned to my neck. His lips traced the line of my collarbone and his fingers dug sharply into the flesh of my thighs.
I shivered, my body betraying me, wanting more of the very man I was trying to destroy.
"You are right about that, Lucien," I whispered. "I have always misunderstood you"
I could never understand him, truly. His intentions, his real face, his motives, they were always hidden from me. But right now, with his hands gripping my thighs and his mouth marking my skin, he felt painfully real.
Suddenly, he pulled back, bringing us face to face. We were just a breath apart, our noses were almost touching. His hands moved from my legs to my shoulders, pinning me in place.
"But I know your truth," he said, his gaze piercing through me like a blade. "You can't lie to me, Cynthia."
My heart stopped. Does he know?
"I am not lying," I said, my voice cracking. "I actually went to meet Ad..."
Before his name could slip through my lips his lips crashed against mine.
The kiss was brutal and full of hunger.
"Using his name to keep me away?" He mumbled against my lips "Huh?"
Before I could breathe he reclaimed my lips. His palms slid down my arms to my waist. I gasped when he pinched my flesh and he thrust his tongue inside my mouth.
My hands moved up to his chest to push him away as I ran out of breath.
“Lucien!” I gasped.
He pulled back.
"This is the only name that your lips are allowed to take."
I could feel the need radiating off his body that mingled with my own conflicting heat.
"Now, will you tell me the truth of your relation with Adrian on your own or do you need hard lessons?" He asked
My throat turned dry but I tried to keep up with a normal face.
"Wh- what?" I mentally slapped myself for stuttering "I don't know what you are talking about. We are ma..."
He smirked and then without giving me a chance to complete myself he suddenly lifted me off the kitchen counter and started taking me towards his bedroom...