Chapter 20 20. Sex Without A Merger Contract
For one stupid, dangerous second, I almost leaned in—almost.
Then my brain kicked back in. This was Lucien Hayes, chaos incarnate wrapped in Armani.
"In your dreams," I jerked away from him, nearly tumbling backward in my haste to escape his lap. My legs wobbled as I stood, and I smoothed down his shirt.
Lucien lounged back on the couch, a wide grin spreading across his face as he watched me flounder. The bastard was enjoying this.
"Shouldn't you be at work?" I paced left to right, unable to stand still with the lingering heat of his touch on my skin. "It's Monday."
"Thanks to somebody who disobeyed my instructions and went to a rival's party instead of our scheduled appearance, I had to rearrange my entire week." He rose from the couch, and I backed up a step.
"But I suppose I should thank you. I haven't had a day off in years."
"You're joking."
"When you build something from scratch, you protect it. With Hayes Corps, every minute counts."
"Whatever." I shrugged. "I need to get going. I'll see you at work tomorrow."
"No, you won't," Lucien stated flatly. "You're not coming to work tomorrow. Or for the rest of the week."
"What?"
"You heard me. By our contract, I can order you to take time off whenever I deem necessary."
"I can't stay home for an entire week! Ro—" I caught myself. "Things with my roommate aren't exactly great right now. The tension at home is unbearable. What am I supposed to do alone for a whole week?"
"You mentioned escaping reality on weekends, right? How exactly do you do that?"
The question caught me off guard, but I answered anyway. "Books."
"Great. We are going book shopping then."
Of course he turned my escape into his command. Typical of a man like him.
Lucien was already heading toward the stairs. I hurried after him, following him up to his bedroom. The sheets were rumpled, still bearing the imprint of where I'd slept.
"Why?" I asked, trailing him to his walk-in closet.
He rifled through drawers, pulling out clothes. "Think of it as your job for the week. I'm going to be extremely busy at work this week, and I don't need you around."
"Ouch," I replied with mock hurt.
"Use this week to rest, read, and prepare for the gala on Saturday." He turned to face me, expression serious. "And don't go out of line."
He tossed gray fabric at me and instructed me to put them on outside.
I huffed and marched out, finding a guest bathroom down the hall. Once safely inside, I locked the door and held up the sweatpants. They looked ridiculously large for my frame.
Before pulling them on, I couldn't resist lifting them to my face. I inhaled deeply. That same cedar scent. I quickly slipped them on, rolling the waistband several times to keep them from falling. I straightened my hair with my fingers and stepped back into the hallway.
Lucien was already at the elevator. He wore a black fitted t-shirt that outlined every muscle of his torso, paired with black chinos and sunglasses perched on his head. His intricate tattoo shone under the hallway lights.
I'd never seen him in anything but suits before. The casual look suited him far too well—and it was unfair!
"You get to dress like that while I look like this," I scoffed past him and entered the elevator.
"Life's unfair, Sterling. Get used to it." His lips curved up a little before he entered.
Our first stop wasn't the bookstore but a high-end electronics shop. Lucien purchased the latest smartphone for me, entering his number before handing it to me.
"Your phone was destroyed in the fire," he explained. "I retrieved what was left to avoid complicating the investigation."
At the bookstore, several women immediately noticed Lucien, whispers and phone cameras following us. His tattoo alone drew particular attention. When a group of giggling women approached, asking for a photo, Lucien actually smiled, chatting easily with them and the starstruck store attendant.
I scoffed and wandered away, finding the dark romance section. My guilty pleasure.
The sight of new releases from my favorite authors made my heart race.
One, two, five, eight books piled in my arms until they reached my jaw and I couldn't hold another without dropping them.
"'I'm fucking you because I can't stand not fucking you another second. Haven't you figured it out yet? I'm yours.'"
My eyebrows shot up as I turned to find Lucien holding an open book, reading aloud.
"These are the kind of books you read?" He grabbed another and flipped the pages. "'She loved the darkness in his eyes, the pleasure he gave her, the way he stopped to watch when she whimpered and wriggled.' Fascinating."
"Stop it!" I snatched the book from him. "Not everything in life has to be a quarterly report, Lucien. Some of us like emotion."
"And sex?" he teased.
"Especially sex. You should try it sometime without a merger contract involved." I pushed my stack of books into his chest, forcing him to take them.
Lucien's gaze intensified, and I knew he was about to dig deeper. Before he could, I turned back to the shelves, selecting more books. Series, standalone novels, everything that caught my eye.
By the time we checked out, I'd amassed twenty-eight books. Lucien paid of course, carrying the heavy bags to the car while I practically bounced with excitement.
"Are you really that thrilled about books?" he asked as we drove toward my apartment.
"Absolutely," I admitted. "Books are my happy place."
I turned to him, curious. "What about you? What gets you excited? What makes you feel that kind of euphoria?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
And he didn't.
He helped carry the books to my apartment door.
"I'll pick you up Saturday," he said, turning to leave before glancing back. "Wear the red dress."
I smirked. "Bye, Mr. Hayes."
Inside, I arranged my treasures on the coffee table, eager to dive in. Last night was my first night away from the apartment in years.
Had Maya worried when I didn't come home? Somehow I doubted it.
Hours later, I was deep into my first book when I heard Maya's key in the lock. She bustled in, phone pressed to her ear, laughing at something.
"I know, right?" she said to whoever was on the call. Her voice was light and bubbly, the Maya I'd missed these past days. My heart lifted, hoping we might finally talk.
She glanced at me, then turned away. "At least my mother didn't sell me out," she said with a cruel laugh, disappearing into her bedroom.
Her words pierced my heart like a knife. My chest tightened, tears springing to my eyes.
How dare she?
Maya knew what that night did to me, how I'd stood our building's roof that night, wondering if falling would hurt less than living. A sharp ringing filled my ears.
I threw my book down and stormed to her door, pounding my fist against it.
"How dare you!" I screamed. "You know what that night did to me! You held me back from the ledge, Maya! And now you're making fun of my pain?"
Silence answered me. I slid down to the floor, tears streaming down my face.
"Friends don't make fun of each other's pains even during fallouts," I whispered before retreating to my room, crawling under the covers, and crying myself to sleep.
\---
When I stepped outside, Lucien stood by his car in a tux that made sin look civilized.
His eyes found mine, and his lips parted, eyes raking over me with naked admiration, his whole body tensing as if pulled by an invisible thread.
I finally reached his front, my pulse quickening under the weight of his stare.
"I hate to admit it," he voice came out rough, "but Lucas was right."
I tilted my chin up,
"Do you want to have sex with me, Mr. Hayes?"