Chapter 76 Took The Bait

Chapter 76 Took The Bait
Briar's POV

I stood at the window, watching Julian's car disappear into the rain-soaked night, the red taillights blurring into streaks of color before vanishing completely around the corner.

My phone felt heavy in my pocket as I pulled it out and powered it back on. The screen lit up immediately, flooding with notifications, and my stomach dropped when I saw three missed calls from Lucian, all within the last hour. I stared at the screen for a moment, my thumb hovering over his name, and before I could second-guess myself, I called him back.

He picked up on the first ring. "Where are you?" His voice was low, controlled, but I could hear the tension beneath it.

"Home," I said quickly. "I'm at my apartment. I just—"

"I'm outside your building."

My heart skipped. "You're here?"

"Yeah." There was a pause, and then he added, "I'll wait for you downstairs."

I didn't even bother grabbing a coat. I just shoved my phone into my pocket and headed straight for the elevator, my pulse racing the entire ride down. When the doors opened and I stepped out into the lobby, I could see his black Range Rover parked under the streetlight just outside the entrance, the rain still coming down in a steady drizzle.

I pushed through the glass doors and saw him standing beside the car, one hand in his pocket, his gray-green eyes locked on me the moment I appeared.

He didn't move right away. He just stood there, watching me, and I saw his nostrils flare slightly, his gaze sweeping over me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. I felt a strange flutter of guilt rise in my chest, and I rushed to explain before he could ask. "I'm sorry, I turned my phone off earlier because—"

"It's fine," Lucian said, cutting me off. He stepped forward and pulled off his jacket, draping it over my shoulders without another word. The warmth of it sank into my skin immediately, and I pulled it tighter around myself as he gestured toward the building. "Let's go inside."

We walked back through the lobby together, and I led him to the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor. The ride up was quiet, and I could feel him standing close behind me, his presence filling the small space in a way that made it hard to think about anything else. When we reached my floor, I unlocked the door and stepped inside, flipping on the lights as I turned to face him. "I need to take a shower. Make yourself comfortable."

Lucian nodded, his eyes already scanning the apartment as I disappeared down the hallway toward the bathroom. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it for a moment. The hot water helped, washing away the cold and the anxiety that had been clinging to me all evening, and by the time I finished, I felt almost normal again.

I stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in my robe, my hair still damp from the shower, and headed straight to the kitchen. I pulled open the refrigerator door and grabbed a few sheet masks and my eye cream from the top shelf. The cool products felt refreshing in my hands as I made my way back toward the bathroom.

I was halfway down the hallway when I heard Lucian's voice from the living room. "Why don't you just keep those in the bathroom fridge?"

I stopped, turning to look at him with a confused frown. "The what?"

"The fridge in your bathroom," he said, standing up from the couch and walking toward me. "You don't use it?"

I stared at him blankly. "There's no fridge in my bathroom."

Lucian raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement crossing his face as he gestured for me to follow him. We walked back into the master bathroom together, and he moved straight to the wall beside the sink, his fingers brushing over the smooth marble tiles. "Right here."

I watched as he pressed down on one of the tiles, and there was a soft click that made me jump slightly. A hidden panel popped open, revealing a small refrigerator tucked neatly inside the wall, its interior light glowing softly.

I stood there completely stunned, the sheet masks still clutched in my hand, staring at the fridge I had never known existed. I had been living here for months, walking past this wall every single day, and I had never noticed it. Never even thought to look. I stepped closer slowly, running my hand along the edge of the open panel.

Lucian closed the panel with a quiet snap, and I turned away, finishing the last steps of my routine in silence. When I was done, I followed him out to the living room, where he had already settled onto the couch. He reached out and pulled me down onto his lap without warning, his hands firm on my waist, and I let out a small laugh as I adjusted myself to sit more comfortably.

"So," he said, his voice dropping slightly as his fingers traced slow circles against my hip. "Three days until the Montgomery Medical Group bid."

I nodded, trying to focus on the conversation instead of the warmth of his hands on my skin. "Yeah. It's going to be tight."

"Ash told me something interesting," Lucian continued, his gaze steady on mine. "Someone approached him recently, thinking he worked for Vance Botanicals. They wanted to interview him."

I frowned, thinking back. "That was probably when I went to inspect the factory. Pinnacle was doing their due diligence, asking questions about the operation."

"And?" Lucian prompted, his thumb brushing against my waist in a way that made it difficult to concentrate.

"Still waiting on the results," I said carefully, choosing my words with deliberate vagueness.

They were checking the funding sources for some of the orders. It was complicated, and I couldn't really get into the details right now.

Lucian didn't press further. I shifted the conversation quickly, my voice lightening as I looked up at him. "You know, back when we first started talking, when I asked you to stay on the phone with me while I fell asleep... that was probably kind of weird, huh? We barely knew each other, and I just asked you not to hang up. Pretty forward of me."

"I didn't think it was weird."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, studying his expression. "You didn't hang up, though. Was that when you started... I don't know, getting interested?"

Lucian leaned in, his lips brushing against my ear as he spoke, his breath warm against my skin. "You mean, was that when I took the bait?"

My breath caught, and I felt my pulse quicken. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew." His hand slid up to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling gently in my hair, the touch both possessive and surprisingly tender. "But knowing didn't change anything. Did you ever think that maybe one day you'd be the one caught instead?"

"Caught how?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He didn't answer with words. Instead, he tilted my chin up and kissed me, slow and deliberate, and I felt the world tilt slightly beneath me. I wasn't sure when I had shifted from sitting on his lap to lying back against the couch cushions, but suddenly his weight was pressing down on me, his body warm and solid against mine, and I couldn't think about anything except the way his mouth moved against my lips, my jaw, the side of my neck.

"At Reginald's estate," he murmured against my skin, his voice rough and low. "That night you came to find me. I wanted to do this then."

I let out a shaky laugh, trying to catch my breath. "You sure had a lot of self-control."

Lucian pulled back just enough to look at me, a slow smile spreading across his face, and I saw something warm and amused flicker in his eyes. "I'm not planning on having that much anymore."

I felt my face flush as he kissed his way down my throat, his lips lingering at the curve where my neck met my shoulder. It was the third or fourth time he had focused on that spot, and I couldn't help but notice the pattern. "You really like my neck, don't you?"

"Yeah," he said simply, his fingers tracing the line of my collarbone with deliberate slowness. "I do."

I grinned, emboldened by the admission, and slid my hands under his shirt, tugging it free from his waistband. My fingers found the firm muscle of his waist, and I squeezed lightly, feeling the heat of his skin beneath my palms and the way his muscles tensed slightly under my touch. "Well, I really like this."

Lucian laughed, the sound vibrating through his chest and rumbling against me. "So we're keeping score now?"

"Why not?" I moved my hands higher, resting them against his chest, and I felt his heartbeat steady and strong beneath my fingertips. "Fair is fair."

He caught my wrist and guided my hand to the buttons of his shirt, his eyes gleaming with amusement and something darker. "I thought you'd be a little bolder than this."

I narrowed my eyes at the challenge. "You staying tonight? There are a couple of spare bedrooms."