Chapter 14 Teach You What Real Consequences Look Like
Briar's POV
"I'm not really used to this kind of thing," I said finally, my voice coming out quieter than I'd intended.
Before either of us could say anything else, the little girl from before came running back with her pigtails bouncing. She grabbed my hand with both of hers and tugged insistently.
"Please be on my team," she begged, looking up at me with enormous hopeful eyes. "You look nice and I want you to be my partner, please please please?"
I opened my mouth to refuse, but before I could form the words Ash appeared behind the girl with a grin. "Come on, Briar," he said cheerfully. "It'll be fun. You can't just sit here all evening watching."
Lucian stood up and held out a bottle of sports drink toward me. "Try it. It might be more fun than you think."
I took the bottle and our fingers brushed for just a second, and then I was standing up and shrugging out of my blazer, rolling up my sleeves while the little girl bounced excitedly beside me. I realized I couldn't remember the last time I'd done something this spontaneous.
The game started and somehow I found myself being chased by a pack of giggling children while my supposed teammate abandoned me. I ran between the swings and around the merry-go-round, my sensible mid-heels clicking against the rubber surface and making me stumble while the kids easily outmaneuvered me.
I ended up climbing onto the jungle gym and got thoroughly stuck with my skirt riding up and my hair falling out of its neat bun. The children thought this was hilarious, and then I heard it—a low, rich sound of genuine amusement that made me look down.
Lucian was standing at the base looking up at me, and his expression was so completely different from the controlled professionalism I'd seen before that I almost didn't recognize him. His eyes were warm with something that made my breath catch.
I finally managed to wiggle free and collapsed onto the bottom of the nearby slide with my chest heaving. My face felt hot and I knew I must look ridiculous, all sweaty and disheveled, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to care.
I looked up to find Lucian leaning against the railing with his arms crossed, and the park lights caught the angles of his face in a way that made me suddenly aware of how attractive he was. His shirt collar was unbuttoned at the throat and I could see the line of his collarbone, and he was just standing there doing nothing, but somehow my eyes kept getting drawn back.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I pushed myself up and walked over to where he stood. I reached out and gave him a solid shove that sent him stumbling backward onto the slide.
He slid down with a look of surprise that quickly transformed into something lazier and more knowing, his body sprawled in a way that was somehow both casual and deliberate. When he looked up at me his eyes held an expression that was far too direct, and I felt my face break into a smile that was pure mischief.
The sounds of the park faded into background noise and I became suddenly aware of my own heartbeat thundering faster than the running could account for. My hair was sticking to my neck and my cheeks felt like they were on fire, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd smiled this hard.
Lucian walked over holding out another water bottle. I took it and drank half in one go while trying to catch my breath.
"That wasn't fun at all," I said, but I could hear the lie in my own voice.
He made a sound that might have been a laugh. "Really? Because you smiled more in the last twenty minutes than I've seen in all our meetings combined."
I wiped sweat from my forehead. "Those kids are demons. I want to fight them."
"I'll help you get revenge," he said with amusement, and walked back toward the playground to chase the children around while they shrieked with delight.
I sat trying to regulate my breathing, watching Lucian play with a patience that seemed at odds with the serious businessman I'd met in conference rooms. The children eventually surrounded us in a circle while one pulled out a phone to take pictures.
Lucian walked back over and I looked up at him, and my eyes dropped without permission to where his shirt had come more unbuttoned, revealing the hollow of his throat. I felt heat creep up my neck and quickly looked away.
He draped his jacket over my shoulders before I could protest, the fabric still warm from his body. The evening breeze had picked up and I hadn't noticed how cold I was getting until the weight settled around me.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but Ash came jogging back with tired children. "I'm exhausted," he announced. "Lucian, you should drive Briar home since we're heading in the same direction."
I started to protest but Ash was already herding children toward their parents, and Lucian was looking at me with a quiet question. I ended up nodding because some part of me actually wanted to spend more time in his company.
The drive was quiet except for Ash's cheerful chatter from the back seat. I sat in the passenger seat aware of Lucian beside me, and occasionally I'd feel his eyes on me for just a second before he'd look back at the road.
The next few days passed in a blur of preparation for the bid, and Julian didn't contact me once. I threw myself into work, staying at the office until late every night.
On the fourth night I finally took a break, running a bath and soaking until the water cooled. I climbed out and wrapped myself in my bathrobe, padding toward my dresser.
That's when I heard it—the distinctive electronic beep of my door lock being overridden.
My entire body went cold. This was the fourth apartment I'd moved to, the fourth time I'd changed all my locks. But Julian always found me, always somehow got the new address and cracked whatever security I installed.
I moved on autopilot, pulling out a high-necked sweater and loose pants. My hands shook as I dressed and I could hear his footsteps in the hallway now, heavy and deliberate, each step letting me know he was coming.
I backed up until my legs hit the bed, watching my bedroom door with my heart hammering. Julian appeared in the doorway and his expression was cold in a way that made every instinct scream at me to run.
"Shouldn't you be with your fiancée?" I asked. "I'm sure Chloe is wondering where you've gotten to."
He didn't answer, just reached up and loosened his tie with slow, deliberate movements that made my stomach drop. He pulled the silk free and wrapped the ends around his hands, and I watched the fabric stretch taut while my mouth went dry.
"Come here," he said quietly, and his voice was so controlled it was terrifying.
I tried to run, tried to dart past him toward the door, but he moved faster and suddenly I was being shoved backward onto the bed. The tie wrapped around my wrists before I could fight back, pulling tight and binding my hands above my head, and then he was tying the other end to my headboard with practiced efficiency.
I pulled against the restraints and felt the silk cut into my skin, and for the first time I felt genuine, bone-deep terror. Everything before had been survivable, but looking up at Julian's cold eyes I realized whatever was about to happen would be worse than anything that had come before.
My shoulders started to shake. He reached down and grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back at a painful angle.
"I warned you last time," he said softly. "I told you what would happen if you kept defying me. And yet you're still running around with that man."
He leaned down until his face was inches from mine.
"Time to teach you what real consequences look like."