Chapter 62

The thick velvet curtains were closed, keeping out the afternoon light and plunging the room into shadows. Someone loomed over her, his warmth surrounding her as he held her still.

Kendall would recognize his scent even if she were blindfolded. She couldn’t say anything, his hand was firmly pressed over her mouth. His face hovered over hers, and, despite the shadows, she could feel the intensity of his glare as he stared at her.

Then he spoke, and his voice, a low vibration of anger, buzzed through the narrow space between them. “What are you doing here?”

He had an arm across her chest, pinning her shoulders against the door as he silenced her with his other hand. So, helplessly, she blinked up at him.

Lucien realized he wasn’t letting her speak and sighed, slowly lowering his hand from her mouth.

Releasing a long exhale, she continued chewing the bit of apple she’d had in her mouth.

“I asked you a question,” he muttered.

Kendall swallowed and looked at him. “I’m here for a sleepover.”

A moment of silence passed. “Are you messing with me right now?”

“Sabrina asked me to come over.”

“And you did?”

She blinked in surprise. “Wait. You mean… I’m not allowed to come over anymore?”

Lucien heard the hurt in her voice, but he couldn’t afford to care. “I wouldn’t have said anything if you’d come over a week or a month from now. But today? You find out I’ve fired you, and you suddenly want to come over for a sleepover?”

“I was trying to ignore that fact,” she muttered. “I’m here for my friend, not you.”

“I wasn’t born yesterday,” he fired back in a low murmur. “You sat at that table, enjoying how uncomfortable I was, didn’t you? What? You wanna blackmail me?”

She went cold. Staring at him, Kendall could barely process what he’d just said. “…What?”

“Don’t act innocent,” he said. “We both know you’re not. So, what is it you want? Hm?”

“Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about—”

“Cut the bullshit,” he whispered. “And tell me what you want. What are the terms? I give you money and you refrain from telling Sabrina everything?”

She was beyond offended at what he was accusing her of. That he would think so low of her… With a subtle scoff, she pressed her lips together and forced herself to remain calm.

When she looked at him again, her eyes were filled with something fearless. And it didn’t stem from liquid courage this time.

“You know what?” she whispered furiously. “Yeah. I am here to blackmail you.”

The words slipped out, stemming from a confusing blend of hurt and desire. She hadn’t planned for things to go this way. But he’d hurt her and made her want to make him pay. It was supposed to be a simple game.

Until she saw the hunger in his eyes.

He stared at her. “What?”

“You heard me. But it’s not money I want, I have enough of that. But whatever I want, you’re going to give it to me. Otherwise… I’m going to sit your daughter down and tell her how badly you want me.”

He stared at her in open-mouthed silence, his energy buzzing with anger and arousal. How dare she? “I don’t want you.”

“Yet you’re the one touching me right now.”

He looked at the arm pressed against her chest. “I’m barely touching you.”

“True,” she said casually. “This is nothing if we compare it to last night.” She felt him tense and smirked. “When you broke the kiss, I thought you wanted to go all the way. Especially when you carried me downstairs to your car. Only for me to wake up in my own bed, alone.”

“I carried you because you were drunk. You fell asleep in the car—”

“You were so close, weren’t you?” She cut him off. “You didn’t do it, but you nearly did. All you did was kiss me, but the hunger told me everything I needed to know. You wanted so much more. You were so close to going feral, to ripping my clothes off and fucking me on the table.”

Shock, both at her vulgar words and the way they heightened his arousal, hit him hard, and he pushed away from her. She caught his shirt, yanking him back against her to restore the physical contact he’d broken.

“Don’t run away now,” she taunted coyly. “Don’t pretend you don’t like this.”

Lucien shut his eyes, every fibre of his soul trembling with a mixture of outrage and helpless seduction.

He felt her lips against his neck and gasped, moving his head away. “Stop...”

“You touched me first,” she countered. “I was being nice until you ruined it. You always ruin it.”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“Don’t. Lose control.” She smiled. “You almost did last night. I’ve never been kissed that way before, Mr Sinclair. Do it again, please.”

“Kendall.” He gave another of those trembling sighs that made her want to continue torturing him.

“Do it,” she whispered. “Or I’m telling Sabrina everything. I’m telling her you enjoy kissing me. And playing with my breasts—”

He grabbed her neck and jerked her toward him, shoving his lips against hers until her words were muffled by his mouth.

“Mmff… hn..” Her words faded as the kiss deepened and his tongue invaded her mouth. She welcomed it, craning her neck and taking everything he was offering.

The moulding of their lips was still more electric than anything Kendall had ever imagined. She clung onto him, eyes closed in bliss as his hands roamed her body.

She got to experience the fascinating effect of his kiss again. With nothing but his lips, he managed to make her body heat until she clenched her thighs together.

His hands circled her waist, squeezed and then separated. One hand stroked up her back while the other curved over her buttocks, squeezing.

Her pleated skirt moved under his palm, making way for him, the longer he rubbed her ass.

His body being pressed against hers from chest to thigh allowed her to feel every ridge of his sculpted form. Including the hard part pressing into her lower belly.

His hands moved to the front of her body, and, without breaking the kiss, he started fiddling with the three buttons on her chest.

Kendall only realized it when the buttons were opened, exposing a good portion of her breasts to him. He broke the kiss, and while she blinked, trying to gather her wits, his hands struggled with the partial opening. It wasn’t enough to give him what he wanted.

With an impatient grunt, he tugged her blouse out of her skirt and pushed it up.

Pressed against the door, she watched as he uncovered her chest like he was taking a cloche off his dinner plate. He held the fabric to her lips.

“Bite."

She parted her lips, and he pushed the fabric into her mouth until she bit it, holding it up for him.

In seconds, he had her bra fluttering to the floor, letting her breasts fill his hands.

His head dipped. Her breathless pants broke into a shuddering moan as her left nipple was suddenly engulfed in his mouth.

He sucked on the aching bud, flicking her with his tongue until she was throwing her head back against the door. Pulling it out of his mouth with a pop, he grabbed her waist and lifted her.

Her legs surrounded his waist, and he leaned her back against the door, nearly groaning with pleasure at having her breasts at the perfect height for his mouth.

“This,” he whispered feverishly, stroking his tongue over her glistening nipple and sucking it into his mouth for a hard suckle. “Is this what you wanted? You little slut.”