Chapter 36 Still Refuse
Briar's POV
I took a step forward, close enough to catch the clean scent of his soap lingering in the air between us. "We need to talk inside."
Lucian's hair was still dripping, water trailing down the side of his neck, and his eyes held that hazy, unfocused look that came from steam and heat. He looked at me again, really looked, and something shifted in his expression that I couldn't quite identify. "It's late. If it's not urgent, we can discuss it tomorrow."
"No, it has to be tonight." I rubbed my arms lightly, feeling the cold night air seep through the thin silk and raise goosebumps on my skin. "Please let me in. It's freezing out here."
A flash of gold flickered in his eyes, barely visible but unmistakable, and his throat worked as he swallowed hard. When he spoke again, his voice came out teasing, almost playful. "Dressed like that, I thought you weren't bothered by the cold."
He stepped aside to let me pass, his body heat radiating in the space I had to cross to enter his room, and then he moved to his closet with deliberate, measured steps. He pulled out a thick cardigan and draped it over my shoulders, his hands careful not to brush against my bare skin even as the fabric settled into place.
My heart kicked up its pace as I caught sight of the dark mole below his collarbone, a single water droplet still clinging to it and catching the light, and I forced my gaze away before he could notice where I was looking.
He kept his distance as I moved toward the seating area, and I felt the weight of that space between us like something physical, tangible, a barrier I'd have to find a way to cross. This was going to be harder than I thought.
I settled onto the sofa, the leather cool against my thighs where the nightgown had ridden up slightly, and my mind worked through what I needed to accomplish tonight. This was my last chance in the manor to get closer to Lucian, to understand what he wanted from me, to see if what I'd been feeling these past days was real or just wishful thinking on my part.
If I couldn't figure him out, couldn't get him to show me something genuine, then I'd cut my losses and focus entirely on securing the business partnership with Apex Bio-Solutions instead.
Only important people and important things are worth taking risks for. The thought settled in my chest like a stone as I drew in a deep breath, steadying myself for what came next.
I patted the space beside me, trying to project confidence I didn't entirely feel. "Sit here."
Instead, he leaned against the armrest, maintaining that careful distance he'd kept since letting me in, and his eyes studied me with an expression I couldn't quite read. I noticed how loosely the bathrobe hung on him, how the line of his collarbone drew shadows in the dim light, how the fabric had fallen open just enough to show the defined muscles of his chest, and my mouth went dry.
I reached out and covered his hand with mine, my fingers trembling slightly as they made contact with his warm skin, and I traced the edge of the tattoo that wound around his wrist with my fingertips. His breathing changed immediately, grew heavier and more deliberate, but he didn't pull away.
I gripped his hand more firmly and tugged, hard enough that he lost his balance and fell onto the sofa beside me, the bathrobe shifting open wider as he caught himself.
Gold flared bright in his eyes, almost overwhelming the gray-green, before he forced it down with visible effort, and his mouth curved into something that might have been a smile. "Just sitting? You pulled hard enough I thought you were planning to eat me alive."
He didn't let go of my hand though, instead lacing our fingers together and drawing slow, deliberate circles against my palm with his thumb that made heat crawl up my neck and settle in my cheeks. We were pressed together from shoulder to thigh now, close enough that I could feel his body heat through the thin silk of my nightgown, close enough that every breath felt charged with something dangerous and electric.
My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I was sure he could feel it, and the air between us turned thick and burning.
I tried to keep my expression neutral even as my pulse went wild, even as every nerve ending seemed to wake up and take notice of exactly how close we were. This was different from that first night we'd met, different from every interaction since.
I cared what he thought now, cared enough that approaching him felt like walking on glass, and I couldn't blame alcohol this time for whatever happened next. Every choice I made tonight would be my own, and I'd have to live with the consequences.
His gray-green eyes watched me in the low light, patient and steady and impossibly deep, waiting to see what I would do.
I tightened my grip on his fingers, my lashes lowering briefly before I forced myself to meet his gaze directly. "Do you remember what I asked you at Neon Nights? About whether you wanted to try to be with me?"
The silence stretched out for what felt like ten full seconds, heavy enough to suffocate, and I watched his face for any sign of what he was thinking. When he finally spoke, his voice came out low and rough, barely above a whisper. "Same answer."
The same answer. The same rejection. I let go of his hand immediately, all the air leaving my lungs in a rush, and suddenly every warm moment between us felt like something I'd imagined, every careful touch and lingering look just wishful thinking on my part.
I pulled the cardigan off my shoulders and set it aside, standing up before the humiliation could show too clearly on my face, before he could see how much that simple phrase had gutted me.
I turned away from him, keeping my voice light even though my chest felt tight and my throat wanted to close. "By the way, Julian's coming to the manor tomorrow."
I paused, then added without looking back, "If he asks, please don't mention that you've seen me before. He'll be angry if he finds out." Another beat of silence, then I forced myself to continue. "It's better for both of us this way."
The air behind me changed, went cold and still in a way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and my stomach drop. I'd barely taken one step toward the door when fingers clamped around my wrist like a vice, yanking me backward hard enough that I stumbled and lost my footing completely.
I fell back against Lucian's chest, his arm coming around me to keep me from falling further, and when I twisted to look at him the easy warmth in his expression had vanished completely.
His hand slid from my wrist up to my shoulder, gripping tight enough that pain shot through the joint and I gasped at the pressure. I tried to pry his fingers loose but they didn't budge, might as well have been carved from stone, and when I looked up at his face I saw gold eyes staring down at me, fully shifted, cold and calculating in a way I'd never seen from him before.
His voice came out dangerously quiet, each word precise and cutting. "Afraid Julian will be angry?"
I froze, caught completely off guard by the sudden shift, by the way his whole demeanor had changed in the space of a heartbeat. This wasn't the patient, gentle Lucian I'd been getting to know. This was someone else entirely, someone who'd been hiding behind that careful mask, and I didn't know what to do with the stranger holding me now.
He pulled me tighter against him, his other arm wrapping around my waist to trap me completely, and the pain in my shoulder made me inhale sharply through my teeth. I struggled but his grip only tightened, and he leaned down until his mouth was right beside my ear, his breath hot and almost scalding against my skin.
"So I should just tuck my tail between my legs like a good dog and pretend I don't know you when he shows up?" The mockery in his voice cut deeper than his grip on my shoulder, sharp enough to draw blood.