Chapter 91 Won't Let You Down
Briar's POV
I pulled away from him before I could do something stupid, my heart still hammering against my ribs as I forced myself to stand up from the couch. I needed space, needed to clear my head before I completely lost control.
"I'll get you some clean clothes," I said, my voice coming out rougher than I intended. "There should be some spare men's stuff in the guest room closet."
Lucian didn't argue, just watched me with those eyes that had finally faded back to their normal dark brown. I walked down the hallway, acutely aware of his gaze following me, and grabbed a plain white T-shirt and dark sweatpants from the guest room closet. I hung them on the hook outside the bathroom door, then turned to head back to my own room as the sound of running water started up behind me.
My imagination immediately supplied vivid images of Lucian standing under the spray, water cascading down those hard muscles I had just been touching, and my face burned hot enough to rival his earlier fever as I practically ran back to my bedroom.
I stepped into my own shower, letting the hot water hit my skin, but it did nothing to wash away the memory of his touch, the weight of his body pinning me to the couch, the rough edge in his voice. My fingers drifted up to my neck, finding the spot where he had bitten through the chain of Julian's necklace, and I pressed down on it, feeling the faint ache that lingered there.
I stayed under the water until my skin was flushed pink, then stepped out and pulled on my silk robe. I was toweling off my hair when I heard the knock on my bedroom door, soft but insistent.
I opened it to find Lucian leaning against the frame, wearing the white T-shirt I had left for him, his dark hair still damp and dripping water onto his shoulders. He stepped into the room without waiting for an invitation and sat down on the edge of my bed, patting the space next to him. "Come here. Let me massage your wrist. You were gripping the steering wheel too hard today."
I hesitated, but then crossed the room and sat down next to him, leaving about half an arm's length of space between us. He took my hand, his fingers warm and strong as they pressed into the sore muscles of my wrist, finding the pressure points with practiced ease. The ache that flared up under his touch was immediate and intense, and I closed my eyes, letting out a breath. How did he even notice something like that?
I asked, "So where are you planning to sleep tonight?"
He raised an eyebrow, his fingers still working on my wrist. "What are you suggesting?"
I let out a sharp laugh, pulling my hand back. "You've got options, Mr. Kincaid. The penthouse at Apex headquarters, that villa in the south district, the riverside mansion. Take your pick."
He gave me a look that was pure wounded innocence. "I thought you'd at least let me sleep on the couch."
I rolled my eyes. "Try the floor."
He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to that low, rough register that made my stomach flip. "Tonight, I don't want to be the CEO of Apex."
My heart started racing, but I forced myself to match his teasing tone with sarcasm. "So what do you want to be? My personal escort service?"
The dangerous glint in his eyes intensified. "Are you implying that you're dissatisfied we didn't go all the way earlier?"
Before I could respond, he stood up abruptly, his movements sharp and sudden like he was forcing himself to pull away. He took a deep breath. "I surrender. If I stay any longer, I'm going to do something inappropriate."
He turned and walked toward the door, and when he reached the threshold, he paused and looked back with a crooked smile. "Good night, Briar. Sweet dreams."
The door closed behind him, and I sat there staring at the empty space, my chest tight with disappointment.
I was just about to turn off the light when another knock sounded. I pulled the door open to find Lucian standing there again, this time holding a dark velvet jewelry box.
His expression was serious now. "I almost forgot. This belongs to you."
I took the box from him, my fingers trembling as I lifted the lid, and the breath left my lungs when I saw what was inside. The emerald necklace. My mother's emerald necklace, the one Marcus had sold off to pay his debts.
My vision blurred as I reached out with shaking hands to touch the green stones. "This is my mother's necklace," I whispered, my voice breaking.
Lucian nodded. "I bought it at the EVOS auction last month."
The memories hit me all at once. After my mother died, Marcus had given the necklace to Diane, and she had worn it constantly, flaunting it in front of me at every opportunity. Then when Marcus's debts caught up with him, he sold it without a word, and when I confronted him about why he would auction off the one thing my mother had left me, his hand had cracked across my face hard.
Julian's cold dismissal when I told him I wanted to buy it back came later, his voice dripping with contempt as he said, "Briar, you're too sentimental. Businesspeople shouldn't be ruled by emotions."
A tear slipped down my cheek, and Lucian reached up and brushed his thumb across my face, catching the tears as they fell. "Reginald mentioned that this necklace was very important to its previous owner. I figured it must be important to you too."
His hand moved to cup my face, his touch gentle and grounding. "Everything you've lost, we're going to get it back. All of it."
I looked up at him through blurred vision, and for the first time in years, I felt something crack open in my chest, something warm and fragile and terrifying. I just nodded, clutching the jewelry box to my chest.
---
I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon and coffee. I padded out into the hallway to find Lucian standing in my kitchen wearing the T-shirt and sweatpants from last night, a dish towel slung over his shoulder as he flipped bacon in a pan. He looked up when he heard me approach, and that crooked smile spread across his face.
"Morning. I took the liberty of using your kitchen. Hope you don't mind."
I sat down at the table, staring at the perfectly arranged place settings, the toast cut into neat triangles, the coffee poured into my favorite mug. Something warm and unfamiliar bloomed in my chest.
We ate in silence, the kind of comfortable quiet that didn't need to be filled, and when we were finished, Lucian started clearing the plates. "I can drive you to work if you want."
I shook my head. "We should take separate cars. Don't need people seeing us arrive together and starting rumors."
He nodded, but as he walked past me toward the door, he paused and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead that made my breath catch.
"See you tonight, then," he said, his voice low and warm.
---
The moment I walked into Vance Botanicals, I knew something had changed. The usual clusters of employees gossiping by the coffee station were replaced by people hunched over their desks, actually working.
Someone looked up as I passed and gave me a bright smile. "Morning, Briar! The new product samples have already been sent to production!"
Lily appeared at my elbow, tablet in hand. "The news about the bidding win has been making waves. We've had three different distributors reach out this morning wanting to discuss partnership opportunities."
I took the tablet and scrolled through the reports, scanning over approval workflows that had been completed ahead of schedule, production timelines that showed we were already moving into manufacturing. Everything was running smoothly, efficiently.
I called Eric into my office an hour later, and he arrived with his arms full of folders, clinical trial data and extraction formulas that he spread out across my desk. I picked up one of the reports, scanning through the test results, and then looked up at him. "I've made a decision. We're opening two new production lines—wolf-specific nutritional supplements and herbal pain relievers."
Eric's eyebrows shot up. "Those are Montgomery Medical's core product lines. You're talking about going head-to-head with them in the medical wellness market."
I set the report down and met his gaze directly. "We can't keep relying on a single product forever. Lunar Stabilizer proved we have the research capability to compete in the wolf physiology market. It's time to expand into broader medical nutrition."
I stood up and walked over to the window before turning back to face him. "Your herbal compound formulations have real clinical value, Eric. They're different from Montgomery's chemical synthesis approach, and that's exactly what we need to differentiate ourselves. You remember when Devon tried to recruit you for their R&D center? He saw your talent in botanical pharmacology."
I walked back to my desk and pulled out the authorization documents I had prepared that morning, sliding them across the surface toward him. "You're always telling me to be brave, Eric. But what about you?"
His hand trembled slightly as he picked up the papers, his eyes scanning over the grant of authority, the budget allocations, the carte blanche I was giving him to build this new division from the ground up.
"You have the ability to develop products that are safer and more compatible with wolf physiology than anything Montgomery is producing," I continued. "You just need a platform that lets you do it. Full hiring authority for pharmacists, equipment procurement, research direction—it's all yours."
Eric looked up at me, and for the first time since I had met him, I saw something other than skepticism in his eyes. I saw hope.
I leaned forward, bracing my hands on the desk, and gave him the same challenging smile he had given me so many times before. "Show me that same fire you had when you were arguing with me about the Lunar Stabilizer formula. Prove that you're not just talk."
He straightened up, clutching the authorization papers to his chest. "I won't let you down."